The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1900-01-07
CITIZENS INVITED TO MEET.
Continued from Eighth Page1

Gated in healthy place, with good houses
LOT us operatives, with the latest modern
machinery properly installed with prac-
zeal man IN charge. would pay as well
III savannah as elsewhere. The only other
requisite IS to get enough money together
10 make a good start, so that it would not
nave to be bonded for all it was worth
before 1t had run year.
PRESIDENT Is. h. Levy of the Merchants
Association expressed ideas somewhat on
the same line. IF this movement is TO
amount to anything" said Mr.. Levy. our
people VIII have to get out of their minds
the ldea that it is simply for the benefit
OF lew merchants on Broughton street
Ii is commonly enough heard. whenever
there is movement to get up something
10 attract crowd to fhe city and increase
ITS trade that the Broug hton street mer-
chants viii get all the benefit Take it
Tor granted that the retail merchants do
get the bulk of kAle money spent by the
visitors. What do they do with it? Do
they put it down in their pockets and
keep it there? Suppose, for instance. that
We take in $1,000 extra on some special oc-
casion and that on this 81 900 we estimate
q very liberal gross profit of 1914 per cent
Is that so much made and slowed awav
or does it go to pay rent and insurance
and the sa,ary of employees. Do not our
employees pay rent and board and put the
money in circulation in many other ways.
In other words. does not every dollar
brought into the city help everybody in
the city, and not simply the man in whose
place it is first spent?"
In talking of the need of factories"
said Mr.. Levy, we lose sight of the
fact that every large business is an in
dustrial enterprise in itself. Take the
Morning News, for instance, with its
large force of employees receiving good
wages. As an adjunct to the prosperity
of the city. the Morning News is more
valuable than a factory employing two or
three times the number of people, because
of the better wages paid. The same
thing is true of such establishments as
b. II. Levy IL Bro. Adler and a number
of others | could mention. Every busi-
ness house gives employment at fair wages
to a number of people, all of whom pay
rent or board and run up butchers and
bakers bills and spend money in other
lines If this were not so what would the
large real estate owners who have num-
bers of houses to rent do for tenants?
Who furnishes the tenants for these
houses? Should they not take this view
of the matter and spend the income de-
rived from these tenants among the peo-
pie who furnish them with tenants?
81 mention this to show that a move
ment of this kind is not intended for the
particular benefit of the retail merchants.
We would hope to derive some benefit by
the increased patronage; real estate OWL
ers would be benefited by having an IN
creased number of tenants for their houses
and every line of trade and supply would
feel the effect in some way. Whatever
we received in the way of increased trade
would be turned loose again through our
employees and our numerous other expend-
lures and the town thus doubly benefited.
If Savannah ever expects to grow our
people will have to get out of this selfish
idea that what helps one man is of no
interest to anybody else. We must learn
chat what helps one helps all. More
money in the pockets of the Broughton
street merchants means better stores,
larger stocks and more employees, and the
same thing is true of every other line of
industry. With the sources from which
We have formerly drawn our probable
commerce failing US or receding from us,
we must seek or provide other sources Of
revenue. and manufacturing seems to be
our natural and necessary resource