The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-12-31

The year Just closed has been one
of unparalleled success for the Sail
Lake jobbers. They have won no new
territory, it is true. from their outside
competitors, but they have clinched
their grip on the territory already wor
and have driven back the interiopers
as never before. The year 1898 was q
record-breaker for Salt Lake johbers
up to that time. The business of that
year was % per cent in excess of any
previous year; but that great year is
thrown into the background by the
year just closed, which shows an in
crease over 1898 of over 81 ,000, 900. oil
more than so per cent. A good portion
of this increase is due. of course, to the
unusual prosperity that has come to
this region. and the radical rise in
price OF all commodities; but a good
portion must be set down to business
wreStec from outside competitors, and
is the best proof at hand that Salt Lake
has come to be recognized as the nat
ural Jobbing center for the whole inter-
mountain country.
Salt Lakes Advantage.
The chief advantage that Salt Lake
offers, the one that carries most weight
with small dealers, is that they can
order in small quantities, have their
orders filed quickly and not be out of
the use of their money for long time,
which would be the case did they order
in large quantities from the east. Then
by buying from the Salt Lake jobber
they get a discount on their freight,
which, in the course of years bust
ness, makes an item worth considering.
1t works in this way: A dealer buys-a
pair of shoes in the east for 81, less
per cent discount-S.94 He pays 10
cents freight and his shoes cost him
laid down Sl.09. If he buys from the
Salt Lake jobber he pays 81, the first
cost, plus Is cents freight; but he gets
the whole bill of s1.15 discounted at 6
per cent, which would make his shoe
cost him $1.0s. This seems insignifi
cant. but if applied to all the goods
purchased in Salt Lake last year 1t
would represent a saving Of $4,000.
Salt Lakes Territory.
The territory that naturally belongs
to the Salt Lake jobbers includes all
of Utah, southern Idaho, southwestern
Montana, western Wyoming, eastern
Oregon, eastern Nevada and south
western Colorado. In some special lines
the representatives of Salt Lake houses
go far beyond these limits, reaching
out as far as Denver on the east and
Portland on the west, but where the
battle for business is fought is in the
intermountain region proper, and here
the home merchants have all the adj
vantage. The splendid Rio Grande and
Oregon Short Line railroad systems,
running up and down the full extent
of the region, with their many spurs
shooting off into rich mining camps
and farming countries, and having their
natural center in Salt Lake give the
local jobber shipping advantages that
81.
And the fact that both Of these syS-
TENS are sending out new spurs and
constantly improving their train ser
vice adds that much more to the adj
vantage of the home jobber. Every
advantage of this kind is quickly grasp
ed by the wide awake 6alt Lake mer-
chants, and their hustling representa-
tives cover the territory as never be-
fore. The statesmen. from outside are
met on every frontier by the men from
Salt Lake. and were driven back in the
past year to the extent Of S20,000,000.
Future Prospects.
Looking forward the prospect is still
brighter 1t is a settled conviction
will enter Salt Lake. This will mean
not only better freight rates than those
now in existence, better facilities for
getting in goods and better facilities
for distribution Added to this are
greatly extended telephone service
over the territory. and improved facil
tiles for handling goods in Salt Lake. |
In this connection may be mentioned |
the movement among the heavy jobbers |
in the direction of having warehouses |
on the tracks. During the year one |
such house was completed, and next |
year Will be fully utilized by a new !
wholesale grocery firm. Within the |
past few months ground has been Sc
cured for similar warehouses on the |
company, the Salt Lake Hardware !
and the z. c. NJ. l. These !
will no doubt be followed by others |
during the coming year. By this means
large drayage bills will be saved and
given for handling large
quantities OF freight quickly that are
now waning. In this way the jobbing
business Jetween Salt Lake and dis
tart points viii be greatly augmented.
Enriched By the Rise.
Another factor that has aided much
in making 1899 a prosperous year for
the jobber is the rapid rise in prices of
I'll commodities. Most of the Salt Lake
Iobbers We're clear sighted enough TO
place unusually large orders very early,
by that means getting prices far below
hose now prevailing. Those who have
had to buy at later prices have had
great difficulty in meeting the prices
If the early buyers. While this has not
operated especially to the advantage
,t the Salt Lake jobber as against the
it does explain in part the
unusual prosperity of the jobber in
general.
Another fact to be taken into con-
'ideration is the unusual activity in
he mining camps dependent upon Salt
AXE for supplies. The demand for
taples in the line of hardware. grocer
es and certain lines of dry goods has
,een great throughout the year. and
he local jobber has been the direct
Groceries, Fruit and Produce.
In point of dollars and cents groceries
nd produce stand at the head in the
0bbing interest of the city. They
tand near the top. too, in the gain Of