The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1908-04-03
Trade AT home.

ever, In nine cases out or ten, YER
little is offered the people as an In
ducement to leave home for the pun
pose Of making their purchases. IN
latest scheme is a so-called free trip q
Nashville. the merchants OF that cit!
proposing to pay the railroad fare Q
all who come during a certain perio'
and buy goods TO a requisite amount
Merchants in Nashville and ever.
other city are in business for wha
they can make. They are no
paying licenses, rent, clerk hire and
other expenses for their health THIS
will not be denied. None Of them are
philanthropists to the extent that they
are willing to dig down in their pock
cts for the necessary coin to pay for
hundreds Of railroad tickets merely
10 give the citizens Of the rural com
munities the pleasure Of seeing the
sights OF Nashville. Therefore this
free ticket racket does not cost the
city merchant one cent. On the con-
trary, 1t is a source of profit to him
otherwise he would not ofter the in
ducement.
The party who buys the goods pays
for the ticket. OF course that fact is
not stated on the price label To do
so might make the scheme less allur-
ing to the gullible individuals who can
be persuaded to believe Otherwise.
But it is true nevertheless. The cost
of the ticket is added to the price OF
the articles sold. 1t is just like the
tariff. Every sane man knows and
will now admit that the consumer
pays the tariff It is true that twenty
years ago our Republican friends tried
to make the people believe that the
''furreigners" were philanthropic and
generous enough to pay the tariff
merely for the privilege of selling
their wares in the Gland of the free
and the home of the brave"
This falacy las been long since ex-
ploded and no man would now risk his
reputation for sanity by contending
otherwise. But this is just the princi-
pie upon which the Nashville mer-
chants are operating their attractive
schemes" Then what will it profit
the people of Columbia and Maury
county 10 pay the expenses of a trip
to Nashville to buy goods which they
can purchase as cheap or cheaper at
home and avoid the loss of time and
trouble of going miles away?
The home merchants pay more tax
es in proportion to the capital invested
than any other class of citizens. Pro-
portionately they are taxed higher
than any other property owners. Their
taxes help to support the schools,
build the roads and pay the costs OF
law and order in the COM |
munity. The merchants of Nashville |
do not pay one cent of taxes that di-
,ectly benefit the people of Maury
Every dollar spent away /
rom home makes it the harder for
he merchants to meet their obliga-
ions here. AS rule the merchants
ire liberal and charitable. When a
mans house burns, or new school is
o be erected, or any other charity
lided the merchants are the first ap-
,ealed to-the merchants of the home
own, not OF Nashville.
The merchants of Columbia do not
,ay as much for clerk hire, for rent,
or lights or in taxes as the merchants
f Nashville and are therefore in posi-
ion to sell on smaller margin of
rofit than their city neighbors.
lside from all these considerations,
owever, the people who live here,
Tho earn their daily bread in this
ection, owe duty to their home COM
lunity. All things being equal they
hould give preference to home indus
~.
The Herald not only holds these
sntiments but it acts upon them. 1t
as recently declined to accept a num-
er of attractive advertising contracts s
ecause the parties offering them sold
oods that came into competition with
rose those of its local advertisers.
declined to accept contract to ad-
srtise this latest scheme Of the Nash
lie retailers.
q