The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-01-07
TALKS WITH THE DEALERS
Called Best Developed Business
 in the City.
Annuai Business Now Foots sp {, About Two Million Dollars and Menssemery Houses Travel TwentIy Men--sale of
 Agricultural Instru-
 naents.
By win T. sheehan.

The hardware business in Montgons- cry has doubled in the past five years eorras rms ,nrs,,sar rssmarka6ie S development of business but It's allied lines. For one thing the International Harvesting Ma chinery Company has opened it's State agency Tn Montgomery, and the big business 1t Is doing in Montgomery has been built up In the past two years. So when both the hardware business and look fer growth and development, W. Ms -TeaEue. IT,, of the firm of Teague x Son does not hesitate to say that the hardware trade has increased 100 per cent. in the past five years.
 Noe only has the business shown this remarkaple development, but there has been a distinct and sensible change in Inc qualities OF goods demanded by the trade.
 'sThe demand for high-cIass hard ware, the demand for better goods has mous.'' said John W TulIls, Jr., of the snow Tullis Hardware Company. one of the oig firms of the city. Especially impiements'e There is oa aniVersal M ralm,nS ana consistent demand. If we consider the past five years it is easy enough to find evidence of this want of higher class
 For Improved Machinery.
 In Montgomery five years ago there could not be found a single hardware saving Implements. Now two of the the largest houses have established such departments and the International Har- vesting Machinery Company has se- for the State of Alabama
 Still the growth in implements by no means embraces the increase expe- rienced by the hardware trade in the past live years. In every way the growth has come. It has, too. been a remarkable growth. I am satisfied that were to make public the increase of their business. were to make public the figures bearing upon their busi- astonishing For one thing we have increased our territory. The territory of Montgomery's hardware trade is much larger than the territory of it's grocery trade.
 Because of the difference in both the class of shipped goods and the stopped by the freight rates after he has filled out a certain territory. In hardware the same thing applies to the heavier goods. such as malls But in the lighter and costlier goods, what we call shelf goods, cutlery, tools, locks and items of that nature, the question of rates really do Pct concern us; We considering the rate so small is 1t in comparison to the value of the articles. As result Montgomery hardware men have gone beyond the prescribed ter ritory of the wholesale grocer.
 .'.Moreover. the prospects for an in- crease in the already satisfactory hard We have recently secured. together with Selma, a material reduction in freight rates. Announcement of this tails and all the classes of goods which will be affected by 1t have not been made public by the railroad people. effect will materially help us in the fu- ture in competition with Mobile and Selma.
 Twin to Agriculture.
 ware business of Montgomery should show the astonishing growth pointed out by MT. Teague. Of all Southern Montgomery. is closer to the i'm terest of farming and agriculture.
 Outside of the heavy business done business which 1t has itself shown a splendid development. Montgomery's hardware interests are entwined with the hardware interests of the State. ts the heart of agricultural Alabama. Its immediate territory is, perhaps, the richest farming country Of Alabama. sections and counties where the farm ing interest is the pre-eminent inter- enormous business in mining machin- cry. mining outfits. mining tools and blast powder. Mobile has a great busi- ness in saw mill machinery and saw mill supplies, and Alabama's seaport ships a great deal of machinery to Cuba and Central America. as well to other foreign ports. But in the sale of hard ware for the farm, in the scale of agri- cultural implements. 1t is perhaps pos sible that no Southern city does quite as much as Montgomery.
 A Five Fat Years.
 with good reason has the increase come. for the past five years have been fat years for the Southern farmer. In this generation at least. and perhaps in no generation that went before. has his condition been so independent, has hts lines fallen in pleasanter places, or his farm been worth more in money and satisfaction to him than in the