The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1897-03-17
A Sure Recipe for Local Prosperity.


with moving day" nigh it seems not
inopportune to suggest to Scrantonians
contemplating a change of residence
and naturally some additions to their
stock of furniture, carpets, etc. that
the proper place to buy these articles
Of merchandise is i'm some of the many
excellent stores of Scranton and not in
New York or Philadelphia. 1t is an
old story. this penchant of the we'll
to-do Scrantonian for out-of-town
stores. and it may be that correction
of it is out of the question; yet we can
not disbelieve that much of this for
eign buying is the result wholly of
thoughtless habit which may by argu
ment be overcome.
a few days ago announcement was
made of the closing through financial
embarrassment of one of the leading
carpet and drauery stores of Scranton.
The organizer of this firm has been
for many years Il respected and hon
orable merchant in this city, and when
his reverse was announCed-a merely
temporary one. we trust-we inquired
of a competitor in that line of trade
how he accounted for it, The reply
was "Overcompetition, due to the fact
that nine-tenths of the weather. citi-
Zens of Scranton do their shopping in
New York" If true in this one instance,
may we not safely assume that foreign
buying is a large cause of depression
in other local lines of business as well?
Uuun the occasion of a recent visit
to New York-not. however, for the
purpose Of purchasing what could be
secured quite as reasonably in Scran
ton-a representative of The Tribune
Witnessed in one hotel the registration
of eighteen prominent Scrantonians,
who, with their wives. had journeyed
to the metropolis ito do their spring
buying" These citizens were not pur-
chasing supplies for stores; they We're
buying individual household supplies,
such as clothing, carpets, furniture.
etc. one of the party had been in
the city three days. paying at least
$40 a day for hotel accommodations
and perhaps as much more for mis-
CellaneOuS expenses. His purchases
cost well INTO the hundreds.
Any one with a fondness for mathe-
matics who will take a pencil and es-
innate the total outlay of this single
corps of thirty-two Scranton shoppers
doing their spring buying" in New
York, can from that basis figure out
a tOlerably close guess at the aeg"e-
gate sum OF money annually diverted
by this pernicious habit from local
channels of business We shouldn't be
surprised if more than 81 10000 were
thus subtacted. At all events the
total is a large one, and if it could be
kept where it belongs, it would make
the very material difference between
local prosperity and depression in
trade circles.
Everybody now appears to desire the
return Of good times. The whole talk
of the country is for il and to eXpe-
dte ii a special session Of congress is
now in session. Prosperity throughout
the nation is most desirable; hut let us
suggest to Sc"antOnians that the best
way TO cause it to be felt in this i'm
mediate community is not to send the
earnings of Scranton labor or the prof
its Of Scranton capital off to a dis
tant place to be spent for merchandise
or stocks or bonds; but to spend it
right here where it will quickly get
into the channels of local distribution.
helping IN the payment of wages,
rents, taxes, repairs enlargements and,
eventually, perhaps, profits or divl-