Lexington gazette. [volume] (Lexington, Va.) 1871-1962, 1907-12-25
HIS SOUND GOSPEL,
The Drummer Gives the Country
Storekeeper Some Pointers.
70 KEEP TRADE AT HOME.
instead Of Mutual Howline Society
Organize a Local improvement Club,
He Suggests - Advertise Literally
and Beat the Bargains offered.


l. Organize a Local improvement Club
He Suggests - Advertise Literally
and Beat the Bargains offered.
81 was just reading in the Atlanta
Constitution" said the travelling man
that the National Association of r
r. d. men is going to meet in Atlanta
| The Constitution goes on to remark
that these men are doing more to
make rural life happy and comforta'
bile than any other body of men in the
nation"
"R. r. D. rural free delivery
Huhr' grunted the owner Of the gen.
eral store In the Arkansas town In
front of which the group Of local citi-
zens and the drummer were spending
warm October afternoon hour,
"Why do you say it in that tone OF
voice?" the drummer inquired.
Simply because the storekeeper
replied, "these rural free mail fellows
are beginning to knock the tar out of
business In towns like this. It's not
their fault, of course. They're gov
eminent employees, and they must
carry the mails, no matter what goes
in the mails. They are beginning to
have their wagons stacked up with
! packages ordered by mail from the
big cities and delivered through the
mails right at the door of the farmers
house. You sell dry goods and things.
Don't you see that this thing is going
to hurt your business as well as mine?
If 1t keeps up I'll have to decrease my
orders from you. So it's up to you
and me to organize a mutual bowling
society. Misery loves company, you
know"
One of the farmers in the group sud
denly felt in his inside coat pocket
for those three letters which his wife
and daughters had handed him to give
to the rural delivery man as he came
along the road. They were addressed
to stores in st. Louis and Chicago.
ut
81 quoted that stuff from the Atlanta
paper" he said, "just to wake you up
on this subject. knew what you
would say. But we don't want any
mutual bowling society. What we
want is a mutual self preservation so.
ciety, or, rather, that is what you
people in this community want. You
can't buck up against the eternal spir
1t of progress. Uncle Sam has estab-
lished the rural mail delivery, and 1t Is
being widened constantly. Every day
new routes are being created. That
paper Is right in saying the service
adds much to happiness and comfort /
in the country. People on the farms
now get their letters and their news |
papers every day instead Of waiting |
till the man bitches up for the Satur
day afternoon drive to town. They |
know every day what is going on in
the world, and a daily paper helps
nightly to relieve the monotony Of
lonesomeness Of farm life."
ut sure does" put In the farmer.
'T'm regular subscriber to our local
daily now as well as the weekly. All
my folks like to read the papers,"
Sure" assented the drummer.
"Now, the point Is this. You mer-
chants want to keep your trade and
not let it go to the mail order houses
Very we'll You've got to do some
preaching to the farmer folks, not 10
speak of the town folks, who also
patronlze the mail order stores con-
siderably. You ought to organize a
home trade league, or you might be-
ter call it local improvement socie-
ty. That would take In the farmers
as well as your townspeople. Hire
hall and brass band, too, If neces-
sary to get Il crowd. Preach the doc
trine that every dollar circulating at
home makes home q better place to
live in. That's good sound gospel A
town or community with It's cash tied
up in tomato cans or sealed up in en-
velopes directed out of town, which
Is practically the same thing, is not
likely ever to fall over Its own feet In
making progress. Money In circula-
ton is the life blood Of a community.
Otherwise there is nothing but stag
nation. Town business will stagnate.
Farm property will stagnste. You
tOwnspeople and the farmers around ,
lere are mutually dependent. II your
store has to go to the wall and quit
fhn Oh bo OF
closes and the town is full of empty ,
houses that is going to decrease the ,
yalue of farm property.
"Now, the r. F. D. men have no
,hoice They've got to deliver the
nails. They also deliver, as you know,
he local papers. Likewise they de-
liver to some of the farmers the big
,ity papers saw in a st. Louis
lally the other day two page adver-
isement Of a big mail order house
here. found that paper at your ho-
ell here. You local merchants must
compete with that paper. You must
lse your local paper to do it. Sup
lose you follow the advertisements of
hat particular house In the city pa
'er and make up list of bargains
ou have in your own store and adver-
Use them in your own paper? You
an meet lots Of those bargains and j.
eat 'em. Then with your mutual aid
ociety well organized, with some of
be farmers occupying some of the
nical positions, you ought before very
ing to work up sentiment for home
rade that will make your business
Ike an upshoot. I'm handing you 0
ne straight goods. It's up 70 you"
I'm in," said the farmer who had ?
orgotten to mail the letters. Sounds Q
, me like good common sense talk" J