The citizen. (Honesdale, Pa.) 1908-1914, 1913-04-25
ASSESSED VALUATIONS SHOW GROWTH.
HOW TO KEEP TRADE IN YOUR OWN TOWN.

Mart Texas is of just under 5000 people, but here
the way the people of that headed by the Ad Club Of
the get after the away from home buyers We give the
story told by Mr. Surratt the Oklahoma Retail Assoca
ton:
This intensified study and discussion of advertising soon
brought the question of home trade rather trading
away home How get all the people trade
question greatest all of
Another question here "Who trades away from
home" Investigations showed that practically every one
cludng the advertisers did Then began realize
surd not to useless for to preach home trade
of merchants and their wives did find guilty The
hardware mans wife bought her hat of town. The grocery
man ordered his plumbing supplies by mail The dry-goods man
had his circulars printed Of and down line
The only home trader newspaper
doubtless he would have left town to trade had the legislature
knocked the free and compelled him pay cash
railroad fare.
How were we going to break up this out-otown trading
on the part of Our business men and their wives?
The plan we hit follows: We had couple Of
home trade banques which present the merchants
and the clerks Here discussed nothing but home trade
and had speakers show that the merchants and
their wives must of all people practice home trade.
We also series of home trade talks in the Mart Her
aid These created great deal of discussion the part the
merchants and their wives and they began realize that every
their business we'll Let that she is hurting
her husbands business and she will get right in short order.
Women who the beginning of the campaign openly declared
that they always had and always would trade where they pleas
ed and that they usually pleased trade away from home
best home trade preachers And of when you
the you have their husbands So far the home trade
campaign had extended only the merchants and their wives
After converting majority of the business and their
wives underook with their aid
the of the town and the farmers of the country 1t is
necessary call your to the VaStneSS OF the
task of what in the of adding trade the
Have any of you made any investigation learn the
amount of money that of your annually the
maorde houses? Or have any you small merchants
secretaries figured how thousands of dollars
farmers and spend in the nearby cities? You
will find that of customers who sending
much of their cash the maorder houses and spending
in the cities The people cussing you for being
hghpriced old "sknn You will also find that many the
maorde houses doing credit business and sell
ing many of your thirty-day customers.
Mart being railroad town people had been solicited by
every maoder going and of their minds had
been poisoned against local merchants
This is rich black land country and the mail order
advertiser has worked for all worth Through his adver-
tsemen in the farm journal he has nsinuated
again the local merchant is useless parasite
We undertook bring the farmers and the of the
town by appealing their loyalty and pride the
town We attempted make them that Mart could
be better than the people of Mart it. We showed