The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1906-01-20
Richmond's Advantage Over
New York.

New York is Dragging that within
the past twelve months the tax basis
OF the city has increased approximately
s5no.oOo,0oo and that in the last six years
the increase in the valuation of its real
estate has been more than two and
half billion dollars. or approximately 30
per cent between 1900 and 1905.
That is n great exhibit, but there are
always two sides TO question, and the
Baltimore Sun points out that this means
necessarily an enormous increase in rem
tails and cost of living, and hence in the
cost of doing business, and directs at
tentistn.s OF Southern merchants to the
fact
with rentals increasing at the rate of
80 per cent. in six years" says the Sun,
at is clear that New York merchant
cannot compete successfully with a Bal
timore merchant. That he must make
larger profit out of his customers to
pay a store rent which grows 10 per cent.
n year. 1t ought to be as clear as day
to the Southern merchant, therefore, that
New York is not. and in the nature of
the case cannot be, city of low prices
With the expenses of the merchants
Of that city increasing all the time and
additional burdens imposed on the own
Frs of real estate 1t IS impossible for New
York TO sell merchandise OF the same
kind on the same margin OF profit as
that which is satisfactory to the mer-
chant OF Baltimore"
This applies with even greater force
TO the city of Richmond. Our merchants
have the advantage Of the lowest freight
an advantage even over the city
of New York. The cost of doing business
here is necessarily much lower than it is
in New York or In any of the large
Northern markets and the Southern
merchant gets the advantage of the diff
ference.
There is another fact which cannot
be too often stated. New York jobbers
deal with merchants from all parts of
the country and they must carry pro-
Richmond iobbers deal especially with
Southern 'fncrchaats and their goods are
purchased TO meet tile peculiar demands
OF the Southern trade. When the South
ern merchant goes to New York he must
hunt through promiscuous stocks to find
what he wants; when he comes to Rich
mond he finds nothing but the class Ct
goods he needs. In addition to all this
Richmond merchants understand South
ern merchants and Southern conditions
better than New Workers understand them
and dealings between men OF the SAME
section andltraining are necessarily more
agreeable and more generally satisfac-
tory.
The greater cost in New York applies to
The retail trade as well as TO the job
bling trade, and hence goods sold in New
York must be sold at higher price than
goods sold in Richmond yet there arc
citizens of Richmond who make a prac-
tice of sending TO New York for their
supplies and sometimes they so to New
York on shopping expeditions, pay out a
Z considerable sum for personal expenses
and deceive themselves with the idea
that they are saving money by dealing in
New York.
BY and by we of the South will learn
that it is not only patriotic, but com
mon sense and economy to buy at home.
instead of bestowing our patronage upon
Northern merchants. Northern insurance
companies and Northern institutions in
general,