The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1910-02-10
FOR TRADE At HOME
Things That Lead to Success
In Country Stores.
INDIVIDUALITY is A FACTOR.
Small Merchant Who Depends Upon
Others to Run His Business Will
Prove a Failure-Question of BUYING
Stock important.

DuSlueSS as III Olner Things. system
Is necessary. as are all the mechanical
aids. but above and beyond these sue.
cess or failure depends on the man
| The personal equation cannot be neg
! lected. Mere rules will never take
the place of the character. manner.
method. charm. magnetism and init
mate touch with customers that be
long to the merchant himself This is
true even of the great department
stores of the cities. One man sue
ceeds. while another fails. yet their
outer methods. the mere machinery
! Of their business. are not largely diff
| ferent, at least so far as appearances
| 90. 1t is the animating spirit. the soul
/ behind the machine. that in the last
analysis is the determining factor
There are frequent little turning points
! in a business as well as in nation
| where "A slight change of direction. a
! feathers weight in the scales may be
decisive. 1t is here that the individual
| counts. Emerson has said that an in
| StitutiOn is the heightened shadow
of a man" and it is equally true that
| a business concern reflects the nature
Of some dominant personality. This is
especially tue of the village or coun-
| try store In ii the merchant comes
| into personal touch with his customers;
| he buys goods. arranges the stock, di-
! reefs the advertising and shapes his
| business in hundred ways. His spir-
| it animates it. He alone is the arbter
of its fate. He determines its success
or failure.
In the last analysis the winning of
| home trade depends on the individual
/ merchant. There are certain general
/ rules that can be laid down. certain
methods that can be outlined certain
| suggestions that can be made. but be
| yOnd these the merchant himself is
/ the trade winner and trade holder If
/ he has the knack of 1t. the know of it.
/ he will win in spite of catalogue
houses. city competition. rivals in bust
ness and all other obstacles His en-
| ergy. his methods Of buying of cutting
! corners, of keeping accounts, of dis
! playing goods. Of advertising. of tell
! ing his customers the truth of win
| ming their confidence and friendship,
| of selling and buying for cash or as
nearly SO as poSSible-all these things
ana many more that are peculiarly his
/ own will determine what sort of
/ business lac builds up and maintains.
| This line Of thought was suggested
/ by sentence from an address OF Med
| ford Walls of Church Hill Md. on
/ How to Conduct Il Country Store"
/ Mr.. Walls deals with his subject in
/ such sensible manner that his talk
is commented on and largely quoted
/ by James c. Henry in the Cleveland
/ Leader Here is the sentence that
/ struck my own eye:
/ Back of all rules that may be laid
/ down there must be certain individ-
uality. and 50 far as my observation
| goes | find it true that the man who
does not run his own business. but
! leaves ii solely in the hands of his
clerks, will either not make "A success
or else will soon have none to run
The clerk in the big department
store is. for the vast majority. the
only point Of contact that is had with
1.-THE powers that be" And likewise
in the country store the clerk is sec
ond in importance only to the pro
prietor. For this reason Mr.. Walls
insists that the small merchant should
/ have las experienced and capa bic help
as the business will justify.
| And the practice once upon time
l. ti,,,r
/ the quality Of goods is now relegated
to the past. along with haphazard and
uncouth arrangement of the stock
/ Modern store fixtures. with their ac-
campaigning cleanliness, have replaced
the former, or should. and lit is bet
ter to miss IA sale than to have a Gus
/ toner tell us we have miSrepresent-
ed" is now the rule of business of the
| successful merchant. whether his
store is ten story building or a sin
| gle room at the crossroads
In his advice Mr. Walls lays EN-
phasis on the question of buying.
which by some is said to be of more
Importance than being able to sell.
He says: I'VE will never be able to
| buy to the best advantage until we
| have established reputation for pay
ments."
Another condition which the new
country merchant has completely
overturned is the matter of credit.
His prototype almost without eXcep-
ton followed the unlimited" plan.
! Six months was probably the average
| time before John Smith" would set
tie his account, or it might be year.
But this was not business according
to the modern meaning of the term.
"A customer ought not to expect it,"
says Mr.. Walls.
Advising the country merchant to
advertise literally Mr.. Walls declares
that the time has come when he must
follow out some system in keeping
| count of his expenses and profits. 1t
is as much part of the new era as
is the discarding of the free lunch
cracker barrel
This system Of keeping account OF
everything that has to do with the
business and being able to lay ones
| finger on any detail however trivia.
| it may seem at first sight. is one o;
! the keynotes of How to CONDUCT
Country Store Successfully"