The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1901-02-12
RECIPROCITY IN BUSINESS.

RECIPROCITY IN BUSINESS.
With characteristic loyalty and pat
riotism the newspapers of the state,
with few exceptions, have taken the
cause Of home industry and protection
OF home interests and are engaged in a
vigorous crusade against the practice
of sending away from home for dry
goods, clothing, groceries and the
many other articles Of merchandise
that enter into the daily lives of the
people of the state. In doing so all
are prompted by the same unselfish
motive. They desire to see their
respective communities prosperous
and growing. They want those who
have established themselves in bust
ness, the men who pay taxes and Ii
cense, patronized, that they may re-
ceivo returns on their investments and
prosper so that all may prosper i'll
proportion as money is spent at home
and circulated among those who pro-
duce it. Of course, the object is a
laudable one and the natural SUPPOSE
ton would be that it is appreciated
by those in whose behalf the newspap
ers are raising their voice and whose
interests they SO vigorously seek to
conserve. Very often, however, as
almost every publisher in the state
can testify, such is not the case.
Often it occurs that those most bene-
fitted regard the newspapers as per-
forming no more than a duty they owe
to their communities and would ex-
press surprise that any person should
have the temerity to hint at such a
thing as reciprocity. They have
grown so accustomed to seeing the
newspapers champion every interest
of the communities in which they are
published that they regard it as a
matter of course and something they
have the right to expect, or if need be
demand. They forget, or probably
have never thought of it at all, that
others besides themselves are engaged
in business and enterprises requiring
money for their successful conduct
and that like themselves they are de-
pendent upon the revenue derived by
patronage for the means Of the needed
income. They regard it as no more
than right and proper that newspapers
should inveigh against the custom Of
buying by catalogue and sending
money to houses in the east that never
spend a penny in the state. They de
not, however, think that in return thu
newspapers should expect application
of the principle to themselves. Will
they expect others to patronize then
and consider it wrong if they SEM
, abroad for their merchandise, they d.
not think it wrong if they decline t
I subscribe to the home newspaper, bu
l instead take some foreign publication
> because it is bigger and cheaper.
> For the sake of saving the differenc
l in price they are content to read new
! three or four days, sometimes a wee
old. For the same reason they do no
Z advertise and by advertising tell tn
= pubiic what they have to sell and
l what prices.
IS The Great Falls Leader a few day
u ago published the following who
d applies to Billings, Butte, Helena {
8 any other town in the state as we'll {
n to the place in which it was first mac
: public:
% Andrew Thisted made a pretty goc
point at a merchants meeting tt
r other night when he spoke of poop
sending away for their goods. VIII
he said was all so and it is a shan
u that people will do this, instead
spending their money in their oW
town and helping their own people.
The merchants of Great Falls pr
70 taxes and also pay license for DOH
business and they should be supporte
D. You often hear people say that thu
so send ava because they cannot bt
,e the goo6s they want here. This, II
90 is true, is either because they ha'
not tried or because the merchant n
Of not advertised his goods sufficient
~ or in the right way to let Peep
ly kow what he has on hand. Jt
latter is not always the case, but it
the seat of the trouble about nj
times out Of ten.
~ The merchants look to the people
IN p~atronize them and should take pal
or to let people know just what they III
purchase in Great Falls. This G
only be done through the medium
!S, mons and while ne is la]