The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1890-03-12
Cash Trade OF Manning.

Last Saturday was regulation winter
day, and it was feared that the cold weather
would cause great many people to remain
at home and not come to town to do their u.s.
usl Saturday trading. The merchants were
carrying their chins on their watch chains
in the early part of the day, with counter
ances so detected that it made one tired to
look at them. But the people Of Clarendon
county are built Of sterner material than to
allow little cold weather to keep them
away from the county seat on Saturdays.
About midday quite large number OF
wagons, buegies, and carts were arriving in
town, the streets soon began to have busi-
ness appearance, and the merchants had
hauled up their chins to their natural
places, and changed their detected looks
into broad smiles, as bundles after bundles
were being wrapped up by their clerks and
the iingling of the silver and the rustling
of greenbacks was heard going into their
tills.
We talked with several Of our merchants,
and they say that they realize the fact that
competition is the life Of trade. The very
| fact that other towns are springing up all
over the county makes them feel the compe-
tition and the necessity of Offering to the
people special inducements in order that
they may hold on to their present trade and
induce other trade to the county Seat.
| There is no doubt about it that the cash
trade Of Manning is on the increase, and
| judging from the large number of loaded
vehicles we saw leaving town Saturday, 1t
was better than usual. The people them
selves who formerly complained Of not be-
ing able to make their purchases here now
seem perfectly satisfied, and our merchants
are doing all in their power to keep the
trade at home.
The only complaint we have to make about
our merchants, that is to say, the majority
Of them, is that they do not invest enough
| money in printers ink, in other words they,
with only few exceptions, don't advertise,
and we venture the assertion those few that
do advertise are successful There is no use
trying to deny it, advertising pays, and no
merchant need content himself with the
hope that if one Of their number has public
spirit enough TO advertise he will be benefit
! ted ty the trade that the advertised merchant
draws. People in the country read adver-
tisements, and when IN need OF o certain
line OF goods they first 20 to the house they
saw advertising the articles they were IN
need Of. The consequence Is that mer'
chant who has drawn trade to his store by
advertising gets the first chance to sell, and
it is natural to suppose he will make the
sale.
The business Of newspaper is to send
the trade to the merchant, and then it is his
business to prove to the people that he will
do what ne says and sell the goods. An
other thing, advertising helps the town in
several ways. If person abroad picks up
county paper and finds that the paper
contaius no town advertisements he at once
comes to the conclusion that the town is nc
good ana the merchants are drag back sort
of set, afraid to let people know that there
is town called Manning, and afraid others
will want to open up stores also.
We have been and will continue to lend
our assistance towards the building up Of
Manning. We feel it duty, but when we
see merchants who have greater interests at
stake than we have, stand in the way OF the
towns progress, it makes Us feel somewhat
discouraged. We venture the assertion that
there is not town in South Carolina that
its merchants advertise as little as they dc
in this town, and We also assert that few
towns have more to compete with than tins
town has, hence the more need for adver'
|