Staunton spectator and vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1896-1916, 1899-01-12
CALLS FOR FIGURES.

q Editor SPECTATOR:-Thev very graf
| flying exhibit of the prosperous yea
1898, shown by the statements Of tn
many and leading merchants of th
city of Staunton in the Daily News o
January 4th, is source of JOY to th
good people of Augusta county, whit
felicitate themselves upon the larg
share they had in bringing about thi
happy state of things These state
mentS were great surprise to US, al
We were led to believe from what th'
merchants said along during the year
about the "dullness of business" il
general, that there was some little feal
that things were going to the dem
milton bow-wows.'' But we are much
reioiced to find that when they talk for
publication they are more careful than
wian tLey talk for private consump-
tion -
We congratulate all the merchants
of Staunton on their Spartan loyalty to
their city, and while few carpers out
in the county say ''the reports in the
News are so much alike and look and
read as if they were all gotten up by the
same party. We..scorn such an allega-
tion, but when we come to look at it.,
is it not somewhat serious that there
is not even one merchant in town
whose business has not been better
than it was in 1897? Is this prosperi-
ty at last?
The thanks of all the citizens of the
county and city should be rendered to
the Daily News for showing the world
at large this satisfactory state of
things, when so many of us feared the
contrary. But before we tender the
aforesaid vote of thanks, we will ask
the News to add to the debt we owe it
and tell US through its columns: ''How
much more business-in dolIars-these
true friends did In 1888 than in 1897,
and how much, if any, additional
profit was made on the'1s9S work ="
l have been taught that it was not
the volume of business that mer-
chant did that made him successful,
but the amount of net profit
which he can add to his capital. Two
men can sit on the curbstone and swap
dollars all day and do an immense bus
mess and neither be any better off
when the sun goes down and yet they
can brag in newspapers that ''business
was good" and money plenty. I only
use this as q homely Illustration of
what can be done and do not wish to
be understood by the News as insinua-
ting that any thing like it is or has been
done in our beautiful city in the pros
porous year 1898.
But we poor farmers, out in the
country, who find that when We sell
our wheat and corn and hay at the pre-
vailing low prices and pay our taxes,
labor. church and school fees, (Which |
never seem to get lower) and all our
other little bills, we somehow OF other
not only don't have anything left, but |
generally seem Het to have enough to
square things. But this does not pre-
vent us from feeling very glad indeed
that all of our good city friends are so
much better managers than we; that |
they can not only pay out, but have
some left over, and that brings us back
to the main question. How much bet
ter off is Staqnton on last years works
Now, please don't say, ''you don't
KNOW" give us guess. Many of the
are striking their balance
sheets and surely they know, and as
they We're so obliging as to say, IN a
general way. that business Was better,
they will hardly be so cruel as to re-
fuse to add the much desired informa-
ton as to how much. 1t would be a
great source of satisfaction to US farm
ers to know that though we have
to show for past years work,
''there are others" who have.
And when the status quo of pros
perity has been established, let the
suggestion of the News, that the mer
chants of Staunton contribute one
third of their net profits of 1898 to-
ward fund for establishing factories
in the city," be carried out. Let US
have furniture factory, glove facto-
ry, bicycle factory, a telephone facto
ry. Then will 1899 throw 1898 in the
sha d., and by establishing these va
rious Industries the city can help the
county by dividing their prosperity
with us. VIII the Staunton merchants
do this ?
We will see. 'RUSTICUS.