Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1897-09-17
A Few Words Of Counsel.

warm affection for our beautiful little
town, will he read with interest, and
perhaps with profit:
81 hope the people OF Olympia will
follow your advice and act unitedly
for promoting their local interests
God helps those who first help them.
selves.
" met our mutual friend, Mr.. Bill
ger to-day. | asked him if he did not
think he had made mistake in leav.
ing Olympia, after her darkest day
seems to have passed / told him
that there was very little doing here
now in his line, as the Klondike rush
is off till spring. He said that he
woGid be here to reap the benefit when
trade revived. He seemed, however
to have made no count of the much
higher rent and other expenses he will
have to pay, nor that he will have to
build up trade, and have in compe.
tition many who have already estab.
lished business. venture the opin-
ion that, despite stagnation in dis
tricts that have not been awakened to
life by becoming points of supply for
the gold regions, or are not benefited
by being in the wheat belt, that Mr..
B. LETT q better trade than he can
build up in Seattle before spring. If
he was DESTROYS of lettering his condi.
ton, he should have gone to Skaguay,
where all are on a common level, and
the demand for his wares is excessive.
81 have heard that the Racket
Store was coming here. That would
be another mistake. We have scores
OF racket stores here, and each has its
district of trade and its line of custo-
mers, controlled sometimes by friend
ship and largely by habit. And how
imperious is that force, habit! People
walk on the same side of the street 60
ing down town, sit on the same side of
the church when all the pews are free,
and patronize the same stores year in
and year out, without being able to
give the slightest reason for these pref
erences, and it requires command of
the will at the dictate of some strong
reason to switch the individual off to
another course or induce him to pa
tronize other stores.
"The Klondike excitement trade
has done much for Seattle and has
kept several of her merchants from go
ing to the wall. There are plenty of
tradesmen here. The competition is
close. The expenses of conducting a
business are higher, and the prospect
for making bare living-to say moth
ing of becoming rich-certainly no
greater than where the money saved
may be counted as money earned.
"If a person buys into an estab-
lished business here, that is quite an
other thing, and he may have fair
chance in the struggle constantly 60
ing on in all trade-centers which ulti-
mately results in Survival of the
fittest.'
cit might be we'll for you to echo
this warning: so many act from inn
pulse and without giving such an inn
portant stepias that involved careful
consideration. They come down here,
see the hurry and hustle on Alaskan
steamer days, and imagine they can at
once get in and-swim. Unfortunate
presumption! The beach that lines
the bounds of commercial endeavor is
strewn with the wrecks of barks that
have put to seq laden to the guards
with resolution, and energy and hope.
Some understanding of the channel,
some knowledge of the shoals Us we'll
as thorough equipments and favoring
gales, are necessary to reach a haven
OF rest when life's tempestuous voyage
is DER. 1t is said, you know, that
while smaller craft stay near the shore,
The stately ship may venture more"