West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1908-12-31
HOME TRADE ADVICE
Keep Your Dotlars Moving In
Your Own Town.
LOCAL UPsUlLDINe NEEDED.
This. Win the Night Spirit and Pride,
VIII Make Any Community Thrive.
Fsiissy Of Trading With the Mail
Order hevsss.


Faiissy Of Tsadina With the Mail
Order hevsss.
There II the same reason for building
up the trade and Industries OF COM
munity that there is for building up
the trade and industries of n nation.
II soes without saying that the coun-
try which does most 20 foster the com.
merce, the manufacturing and the pros
perity OF its own people soon outdis.
tances the country which neglects
these things. The same thing applies
to small communbties.
Now. that is just the principle in
volved In trading with home mer-
chants rather than with distant mail
order houses. To trade with the home
merchant helps home commerce and
home industry. To send money 10 the
distant mail order house helps that re-
mote concern. but depletes the commu-
nifty from which the money Is sent.
Every dollar taken out OF n community
makes everybody I'm the community
that much less prosperous. If more
water flows out Of a lake than flows
into IL. there In only u question OF time
when the lake will go dry. If more
dollars dow ont of community than
how into II. there Is only question OF
time wheH everybody that lives there
VIII sufrer for lack OF money.
Take the farmer. for example. Sup
pose he trades with a mail order house
on the supposition that he can buy
goods cheaper there. a supposition that
actual investigation shows I'm most
cases to be untrue. Every dollar the
farmer sends away leaves his commu-
nifty short that one dollar. As result
the home merchant suffers. When all
the home merchants suffer. the village
itself becomes less prosperous. This
rssets on the farmer. II is a truism
tnae q farm near a thriving town is
worth more money than one near q
poor town Therefore every time the
farmer hurts the merchant of his near
sst village he is depicting the value of
his own acres. This II not a theory,
but condition shown by rundown vii
iages and abandoned farms I'm many
partA Of the land. The thing that
caused this havoc was not deteriora.
tion OF the soil, but deterioration IN
the local public spirit. The same thing
tnAt causes dollars to go to the distant
city when. they should remain at home
causes the boy or the girl to 90 to The
distant city when he or she should re-
main ut home. The fault does not lie
In soil or other outer conditions so
much as In the people themselves.
They fall to appreciate their locality,
Its charm and It's possibilities. The
outcome OF all this Is that the city be-
comes congested both with men and
wealth. while the rural community
falls behind In the same degree. This
" not a healthy condition. Any M.
tion is In bad way whose cities grow
at the expense OF it's farms. When
the farmers are prosperous the nation
Is prosperOus. and no true and perma-
nent prosperity IL possible otherwise.
But the farmer cannot prosper I'm the
highest degree unless those about him
prosper also. Local spirit, local pride,
local upSuilding. are the only things
that VIII make a locality thrive. This
helps everybody In the community. IL
creates more enterprise. more hope,
more emulation and more trade. All
these things mean better work, better
looking environments. better prices.
better results all around. Even IL the
farmer gains a few cents by sending
his money away, he thus loscs far
more than he gains. But. OH the whole,
article by article and dollar for dollar.
be can get better values by trading Mt
home than he can by sending his money
to the mail order house. This IL sus-
ceptible of proof. and. indeed, has been
proved over and over again. But aside
from the few dollars involved one way
or the other II Is the principle that
counts.
The question is, Does one prefer
home prosperity or distant prosperity
The farmer who sends his money to
the distant concern is not a true friend
te his children. IL he expects them 20
live In the same community he has re-
duced the future prosperity Of that
community. This can only result I'm
tmpoverishing his children to that ex-
tent or la driving them to the distant
city where his dollars have gone. We
are parts Of the society about us and
can no more be Independent Of its con
ditions than q fish can be independent
" s"N AAa@o " Whttr " ~ iu. n ITtHn
water nah cannot live in salt water;
neither can a prosperous man live per
manentiy In an impoverished com
munity.
Patronize your home concerns. They
are your best friends. As you help
them they will help you. BE proud OF
your own community and have n com
tnrnity Of which you can be proud.
This sort Of spirit builds nations.
builds states. builds municipalities and
builds neigbborhoods. Nothing else
will build them. A man that does not
provide for his own is worse than an
in0dsi, and a man that does not help
10 upbuIld the community ia which he
lives IL a traitor to his neighbsrs. 10
his children aud to his own best inter
eats. This Is the plain truth Of the
matter plainly stated. II Is phi.
lcsophy that has been proved since the
beginning Of time.
JAMES A. EDGERToN.