The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1904-05-01
ke, every advantage III the matter OF
time.

tk6I evGTy HuSuutdNS - '''S d
time.
3# The Outlet.
rh6n Richn,onds position as disttl-
buting point for ilic South. he sow
snsf md Tho Southwest cnniiot be over
rnr,, 5bySanv interior competing point, Tor
6ern Inn wholesale shoe merchant mas
threh nrnhd triink lines going INTO NC
Southern and southeastern States, wncil
,rith their branch lines and connexions
ana various ramil1catons, put Hlchhon"
IN quicker communication with every re-
4 Nil 5pbint thar any other market ihat
can possibly compete III the shoe puSi+
ness. Going westward, We nave wv wv
equally MS important trunk lines. wy" VIZ,
their varying side lines ana cohiect'o,ia'
ra,nifcations that give Richmond shoe
tarri, n,v ~ q ana beyond the Mississippi
river. 1hat Richmund's shoe trade mas
invaded MI of this vast territory Is, W
to,,rsc. tli,c In large measure W ~,
4. energy enterprise, progressive ~
arr,essjveness OF her live, Wlde-"WaNu,
Z up.to.tlnte merchants. But " must pe
admitted that they have wonderiui IVY
nrc III the matter of quick lrahsp o' e",'o.
and advantageous freight rates 10 az "
whieh they are entitled by thelr laV"i
NM ncsi,ion II is to their everlasting
credit. however as well as TO thelf apu'."-i
ant profit. that they have been wlae-
awake enough, to take advantage oi lheir
favorable position. and all the people W
Richmond are. or should be, PROUD OIL the
fact that by their far-sightedness ana
their energy they have given Rlchlnohu
the reputation of being the iifth largest
Shoe market in the world. and II Is no'
only possible, but quite likely thaI tile
figures being made this year VIII Pu.
n IN Tho fourth place, 1t is now nip and
tuck with Philadelphia, and there is
c,.ery Indication that they will win from
Tint CITY this year the position OF fourth
place.
The Men Who Do 1t.
Tho wholesale shoe business in Rich
mond is now being done by six well-c
tablshed, thoroughly equipped and largely
\ ca pitalzed wholesale and iobbing houses
MS follows: Stephen PutneS Shoe Com
pany. Wingo. Elicit g. Crump Shoe COM
pany, stern & Co, Freshman, Morris "
Company, Roberts & lIoge, and MaSrns
1Iessberg. These firms maintain large
and up-to-datc establishments equipped
with all the modern paraphornalla, ma
cbinery and facilities necessary for the
quick ana accurate transaction OF tho
business. They keep upon the road not
less than one hundred travelling sales
men, who are every hour In the day
blowing Rchmond's horn throughout tho
South and Southeast and into the South
west up to and beyond the Mississippi
river, as far as Western Arkansas and the
Indian Territory. They carry upon their
pay-rols the names OF something over
go people and pay out annually. in wages
and salaries. not less than $4,000.
What They Buy.
Figures that may be regarded as Off
cial, ana are certainly accurate. show
that these six houses bought from the
New England shoe factories last year
and sold throughout the South, Southeast
and Southwest 172,224 cases of4shoes. This
many cases By actual count were shoppcd
from Boston and other New England ports
direct to Richmond All these houses
bought large quantities OF goods from
Pennsylvania, Western New York and
Western factories and other manufacture
ing points. These purchases added to
the official report above mentioned Will
easily make the total number of shoes
bought and distributed by the six Rich
mond jobbins houses last year 100000
cases. This means considerably over
g. 600 pairs of shoes wholesaled from
Richmond last year. Any man with Il
large family, consisting of wife, two
or three boys and four or five girls, will
be willing to give an affidavit that esti-
per pair is within conservative bounds.
Therefore, the conclusion is reached by
conservative calculating that the Rlch-
mond shoe iobbors sold last year consid
ably over 100000 worth of footwear.
Comparisons Not Odious.
Some ancient philosopher has said that
comparisons are odious. but they are
not necessarily odous to the fellow who
gets the best end of the comparisons.
The Shoe and Leather Reporter of Bos-
ton is the recognized authority on all
matters pertaining to the shoe business.
That journal eNpends a great deal Of
money every year collecting accurate
statistics concerning the shoe and leather
business it has access to all the books
Of the various railway lines. showing the
business of the shoe shipping merchant
and the figures it sets forth are implicitly
relied upon The figures we gather from
that, in every way reliable journal,
show that last year Virginia took fifth
place as shoe distributing State and
Richmond took fifth place among all the
cities OF the United States as Il shoe dis
tributing market. These figures show
that the Virginia markets distributed
more shoes th>a any state or territory
In the whole urtoh, except New York,
Pennsylvania, Illinois and Missouri in
tiiis Cpllllefhlpil II may De well 10 remark
that Virginia stands seventeenth among
the States OF the Union in the matter Of
population. and Richmond stands forty
sixth among the cities in the matter of
population. But Virginia stands NTH
among the shoe distributing States, and
Richmond NTH among the shoe jobblng
centres.
A Few More Figures.
As before remarked, comparisons are
sometimes odious, but right here In this
connection they may be little pleas
ing. Richmond received and sold and
Shipped more cases OF shoes and more
dollars worth of shoes last year than
Atlanta, Ga, Memphis Tenn. and Sa-
fannah Ga. combined. Last year Rich
mond received sold and shipped more
dollars worth of shoes than Nashville
Tenn, and Louisville, Ky.. combinea
Richmond received and sold ut whole
sale more dollars worth of shoes than
Knoxville, Tenn New Orleans and Sa-