Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1908-01-04
HIS SOUND GOSPEL,
The Drummer Gives the Country
Storekeeper Some Pointers.
TO KEEP TRADE AT HOME.
Instead of a Mutual Howline Society
Organize a Local Improvement Club,
He Suggests - Advertise Literally
and Beat the Bargains Offered.

Organize Local Improvement Club,
He Suggests - Advertise Literally
and Beat the Bargains Offered.
Il WAS just reading in the Atlanta
Constitution" said the travelling man.
chat the National Association OF Il.
+. ID. men is going to meet In Atlanta.
The Constitution goes on to "rmarIl
that these men ar" doing more to
make rural life happy an:l comforta-
bic than any other body of men in the
nation"
"R. F. d. - rurai free delivery,
IIUh." Gruntcd The owner of the gen
eral store in the Arkansas town in
front of which the gro';p of ";l citi-
zcnS AMI the drummer were spending
a warm October afternoon hour
why do YOU say il in unt tone of
voicc?' the drummer inquired
Simply because" the storekccpcr
replied. these rural free mail fellows
are beginning to knock the tar out of
business in towns like taiS. It's not
their fault. of course. They're gov
crnmcnt employees. aul they must
carry the mails, no matter what goes
in the mails. They are Ec@ilning f.
have their wagons stacked up with
packages ordered h. 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 we'll us mine!
If it keeps up III have to decrease my
orders from YOU. SO its up to you
ana me to organize Il mutual bowling
society. Misery loves company. you
know"
One of the farmers in the group sud
Genly felt in his inside coat pocket
for those three letters; which his wife
ana daughters had handed hi,n to give
to the rural delivery man as he came
along the road. They were ad resscd
to stores in st. Louis and Chicago.
The drummer smiled.
Il 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 Il mutual self preservation so
ciety, or. rather, that is what yol
people in this community want. You
can't buck up against the eternal spr
it 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 daily paper helps
nightly to relieve the monotony of
lOnesomeneSs of farm life"
1T sure does" put in the farmer.
I'm regular subscriber to our local
',aily now as we'll 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 1t go to the mail order houses.
Very well. You've got to do some
preaching to the farmer folks, not to
speak of the town folks. who also
patronize the mail order stores con-
s:dcrably. You ought to organize n
home trade league. or YOU might bet
ter call it local Improvement socie
ty. That would take in the farmers
rs well as your townSpeuplc. Hire a
hall and brass band. too, if neces
Sary to get Il crowd. Preach the doc
trine that every dollar circulating at
home makes home II better place to
live in. That's good sound gospel. A
town or community with its 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 fail over its own feet In
making progress Money in circula-
tion is the life blood of community.
Otherwise there is nothing but stag
nation. Town business will stagnate.
Farm property will StHgnate You
townspeople and the farmers around
here are mutually dependent If your
store has to go to the wall and quit
business and the store up the street
closes and the town is full of empty
houses, that is going to decrease the
value of farm property
"Now, the Il. +. d. men have no
choice. They've got to deliver the
mails. They also deliver. as You know,
the local papers. Likewise they de-
liver to some of the farmers the big
city papers | saw in Il St Louis
daily the other day Il two page adver-
tiscment of Il big mail order house
there ! found that paper ut your no
tel here. You local merchants must |
compete with that paper, You must |
use your local paper to do it, Sup
pose you follow the advertisements of |
that particular house in the city pa
per and make mp Il list of bargains |
you have In your own store and adver-
tise them in your own paper? You |
can meet lots of those bargains and |
beat 'em. Then with your mutual aid |
society we'll organized. with some Of |
the farmers occupying some of the
official positions. yOu ought before very |
long to work up sentiment for home
trade that will make your business
take an upshoot. I'm handing you
the straight goods. It's up to you"
I'm in," said the farmer who had
forgotten to mail the letters. Sounds
to me like good common sense talk"