The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1910-10-02
RICHMOND, GREAT
JOBB|NG CENTRE
.someof the Census Fig
ures That Tell Encour-
agingTales andWhy?
BIG RICHMOND is
SOUTH'St GATEW Az
Old James River Gives Whole
sailing Richmond a Whip Hand.
Railroad Facilities That Lay
Over All Other Southern
Marke -Wonderful
Growth in Decade.
BY FRANK S. wooDsoN

BY FRANK s. wooDsoN.
Nor nearly a week past, ever since
The Times-Dispatch made the ex.
elusive announcement concernina
Richmond's population according
the government census Just taken. peo-
pie In this good old town have been
working over those figures and thou
sand and one are the calculations that
have been made and ren1ade and verI-
fed and yet made over again the
figures that concern trade as we'll as
population.
Possibly the figures that have at
tracted the most attention were those
which essayed to show the wholesale
business OF Richmond and its growth
within the past decade. The real CEN
sus figures concerning this business
are not yet available, and. those used
in The Timss-Dispatch last Thursday
morning, as was explained at the time,
We're taken from the Cha mber of Com
merce records, which records run up IN
this case only to the 1st of last Jam
uary. According to those figures the
jobbing business OF Richm ond has kept
pace In the matter OF growth with
everything e.se and perhaps has a lit
tie overreached the results in soma
other lines.
Here are the figures published:
Figures Never Lie.
Capital invested ten years ago IN
jobbng, sS.l.o.5oO; capital invested In
1909. st2,I1s.250 Increase in nine
years. So per cent. Jobbers' sales ten
years ago, s35,377.2s5: sales last year.
ssS,o4o425; increase in nine years. 80
per cent. These figures, be IT under
stood. are of date of January y last
The official data from that time to the
present is Of course not obtalnaeie
inst now, but all OF the calculators
ma aii Of the business men and status
tlcians agree that the year.fSlo nas7
show, more growth in the wholesallng
ana iohblnr business OF Richmond than
was ever shown In any one previous
YEAR IN the history Of, Richmond. anu
thav therefore. figure THAT when the
connlete returns for the ecade rom
1ooo to 1910 come to the fro;S thss
viii show Richnlord's increase tiA
wholesaling and jobbing business eo ~
have been considerably more than less-
FER cent
And now the question hasuIs I.
arises why this great increase ,..
easv enough to answer. Richmonass
SPLENDID geographical position. Pc
Ing the gateway to all of the soulh. -
!. bie advantage as 1t STANDS AN
makes this city naturally the dis-
tributing point for all OF the soutti. so.
But this natural advantage would nos
cut very much OF u figure II Richn'olu ~
did not have other good thlhSs W
backstand It 1t has those other sood
Misunderstanding facilities and bank
ing capital that are not exceeded oy
any city of Richmond's size IN az OF
the country. also tremendous lever
age; railway and shipping taclNties
that are simply superb put the 5000
old town In the very closest touch VIII
every Southern and Northern aip1
Western point that Is worth trading
with, There is from time to time a
good deal OF criticism Of the railways
and their methods. Well, the rail-
roads are here to make money toF
their stockholders, and. OF course, they
must try to make every edge cut, put
taken by and large. ! am tncllneo 70
think that the big railways that centre
in Richmond have the city's interest
at heart, If a railway can be said to
have u heart. and l do know that
there is no city In all of the South
or all of the country that is IN afbee-
ter position to compete for business
so far as railway freight CHARGES ak-
feet said business.
Dear Old james River.
I believe the railways are disposed
to tote fair with ureater Richmond,
and are toting fair, but II they We're
not so Inclined Richmond has whip
hand, and whip within Its hand that
It can use on the transportation COM
panies whenever itflikes. and the big
business men of the great wholesalinS
town have never failed when occasion
RI n,aSa good use of q that
whip.
I, of course, ,eter to old James
River, which carries q great vtSama
OF water and enlpties into the ocean In
a way that enables steamships and
schooners and tlatboats. and all other
kinds OF things that can float freight.
to get to town loaded down with mer-
chandise and get away on short notice
in like condition. and carry to the
uttermost parts of the earth Rich
mond's trade and bring back the trade
Of the universe for distribution from
fRichmond's wharfs and wareholses.
AS long as James River continues to
enpty into the Atlantic Ocean Rich-
lnond will hold the bulge on all Of tha
inland towns like Nashville and Chat
tanooga and Atlanta and Birmingham.
and will be able to land goods from
her Wholesale and jobbing houses rlght
at the doors OF these towns at cheaper
freight rates than those said towns
ever dreamed of
Tho wholesale houses OF this city sell
goods In every tate of the Union but.
OF course, their best hold Is In the
South and the southwestern States.
could fill UP a whole page telling what
Richmond sells mall OF this vast
territory, but 1t can be summed up IN
a small way by simply saying that
It sells everything that good folks
want to buy Dry goods groceries,
shoes hats. millinery drugs hMrtl-
ware farm implements. building ma
tertals. and, in short, every and nny-
thing that human beings demand ara
shipped by the wholesalers OF Rich
mond TO every point OF the compass.
and the shipments are made sYsry
t1y In tho year,