Passaic City record., 1892-12-17

Encourage Your Tradesman.

Encourage Your Tradesman.
To give an invitation to the To-
cal enterprises of a community
and foster the tradesmen who aid
to build up city and, by a business
effort, endeavor to aid to raise its
standing in the scale of progress
would seem to be duty devolv-
ing on those who have likewise
made their dwelling place in the
same locality, and it is from such
that their encouragement must
come.
So long as like conditions exist,
a common regard for the interests
of the city or town demands that
preference be given in matters of
trade to the individuals whose in
terests are centered in the vicinity
of their stores or who are engaged
in an enterprise which benefits the
community, and upon the other
hand tradesmen are to remember
| that the active competition of a
great metropolis attracts for many
miles, and tends to divert the
home trade from home channels
unless the dealer is abreast of the
times and alive to the demands of
that competition whose influence
| is felt in every line of business in
which men are engaged.
The trade of all cities within
radius of fifty miles of New York
is more or less drawn upon to sus-
| tain the great business houses of
that city, while some people would
go twice that distance to purchase
! 70. cash and use their home dealer
as a make-shift on credit.
The system of credit, too, has
been in the past few years most
frightfully abused. 1t no longer
takes responsibility or honesty to
purchase on time, for so greedy
has the the New York storekeeper.
become that all manners and
methods have been resorted to
| in order to tempt the unthinking
to step beyond their means and
purchase without money at ruin
Gus price. The risk is great one,
but It is freely taken. It is kind
of robbery into which the pur-
chaser is led a willing captive,
with no thought of repentance
which will come later. This kind
of competition is not fair to our
local tradesmen, for the burden of
the result falls upon them in the
| long credit they are asked to give,
while they are at the same time
compelled to compete with metro
politan houses.
Few, if any, of our retail trades
men have such a surplus of cash
that they can afford to wait for
months for their pay, besides sus-
tanning many losses during the
year from unscrupulous customers
who never intend to pay their
/ honest debts if they can possibly
avoid doing so. Probably no bust
ness suffers more in this respect
than the suburban newspaper.
It's patrons seem not to realize
that it must pay its employees and
paper bills on time, and that an
advertisement or subscription has
cost the publisher so much money,
Just the same as the work on a
building has cost the contractor
a large sum for the labor he has
employed.
Our business men should be
treated fairly and given encourage
ment for their efforts toward max
ing the city not only a place of resi-
dence but place to which local
pride can point with satisfaction.
The cry of encourage home indus
tries-o of the unprotected "
ones-is as old as the hills, but It
is none the less true that they need
encouragement /; and as the enter
prise of the town depends largely
upon the merchants who conduct
! its trade and give it a financial
standing or commercial snap and
briskness, improve its social condi-
tion. advance its business interests,
present its claims for patronage or
its advantages for investment, SO
they are to be recognized, and, all
things being equal, entitled to the
first claim upon the patronage OF
the townspeople, and in just such
measure as they are encouraged
just in such proportion will the
| town advance or retard-