Smyrna times., 1898-06-29
EARLY CLOSING OF STORES.
An Agreement Completed With the-Business
Wen Of Smyrna

Men OF Smyrna.
The business men Of Smyrna have at
length completed an agreement among
themselves by which all the stores are
to be closed as follows: On
Mondays, Tuesdays. THURSDAYS.
Fridays al r. H.
Saturdays al II P. NJ.
Wednesdays at the convenience OF
the owners.
We most heartily congratulate all
concerned in this very decided step
upward IN the progress Of civilization
In the past. the business men OF
Smyrna have been remaining in their
stores much longer than the business
OF the town iustifies them in doing:
some Of them because their homes are
there: others under protest that they
coUld MT close up because their com
petltOrs in the same line of business
UOUid not. The evils flowing out of
this competition for trade OF the com
munity have been manifold. Homes
have suffered in more ways than one.
Fathers have not been able 10 see 70
the training of their children as they
should. Husbands have utterly ne
elected the social side Of life. To
some OF the best men in Smyrna, home
has been only place To sleep and eat.
The long hours of business have wea-
ried out the clerks, depriying them Of
that association with one another and
with their elders which is so helpful
and healthy. All this we believe Will
be changed and a new order OF things
will be iuaugurated under this wise
resolution OF earlier hours for both
owners and clerks We do not believe
any merchant Will lose by the pro-
posed united action. There IS Just so
much business TO he done aud we think
the merchants can regulate the hours
for the doing OF that business. Just as
the bankers do in their department.
OF course in the evolution from a
bad system to a good one. like the one
IN question, there are difficulties 10 he
met, but they are in this case not in.
superable. One Is the suspicion Of one
merchant that others Will steal a march
on him and sell during the forbidden
hours. Merchants OF Smvrua. trust
one another III TINS matter for a little
while, at least until all can adjust them
selves and the public 70 the new order
Of Things. DO not suspect too quickly.
Then the yarlOUS lines Of merchaudiZe
have to be considered. Drugs. bread
ice cream, each constitute a business
| by itself, which cannot conflict with
| the grOcers and dry goods and hard.
ware merchants Let those engaged
| IN these lines Of trade see TO il tha'
/ they do not betray the confidence
| which the other merchants Will be com
| PEELED to place in them under this new
| dispensation.
Business men Of Smyrna, 10 not hes
| ltate to say No to any inconsiderat,
| customer who may wish. through his
neglect, to make You break up thi.
movement by selling after eight o'clocl
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday
| and after eleven o'clock Saturda,
nights. An approving public will b,
| behind you. And let the citizens o
the town, more particularly the wive
mothers and sisters, who Will b,
greatly benefited under this system
see TO II that they do their buyin.
within the hours named in the above
Use your influence to persuade other.
not to tempt the merchants to sell dur
ing the forbidden hours. Remembe
that one gross violation Of this agree
ment will justify all the other partie
to 1t IN a most righteous indignation
against the offender. For those VIII
have lnagurated this movement hay
| been actuated by two motives solely
one IS the belief that no one Will be in
| lured pecunlarlly by this mercautil,
union and the other IS that ont Of tn
shorter business hours will come TO til
community an ameliOration if not al
abolition of some of the evils the com
munlty at present suffers from, sue
as Saturday night pandemonium S
frequent now, the street walking G
certain children who ought to be a
home, and the desecration Of Sunda
now 50 common with certain meI
chants, who later in the day sit yer
high in the churches as models to til
rest Of the community.
Let all concerned bring their com
mon sense, their reasoning powers an
an honesty Of purpose to bear on thi
splendid union of business interests
and after few weeks, when the roug
places to be found in all new move
ments are smoothed out, the new regim
, will work as easy as the old one, plu
the benefits derived and after a fe,
, months of trial we could no more per
suade the merchants Of SMYRNA to Q
J back to the old order Of things than vo
: could man of the 18th century to iiv
again in the dark ages, or moder
lady who works by an electric light (
: fall back on a tallow dip.
The HAZEL Bell, in the rear of Cos
z griff & Beek's Office, will be rung by tn
Chief of Police, JOS. H. Garner, Mon
days, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and FIR.
days at 8 o'clock P. NJ, and Saturday
at II O'Clock P. NJ, to give notice of tn
; | oIouip,r of +bo efo,oe