Norwich bulletin., 1916-10-20

Recognizing the value of Merchants Week to the people of Eastern Con- necticut and wishing to again demon strate the quality and great variety of stock always carried by the merchants of NorWich the Norwich Retail Deal CTS Association has decided to repeat Merchants Week once more, and they have set the dates for October tweny- ty-first to October twenty eighth, in- elusive.
 Beginning Saturday of this week and continuing throughout next week un- til closing time on Saturday night Oc- tober 2oth, the merchants of the Rose of New England will offer exceptional values to every purchaser who visits their stores whether they reside in Norwich or come from out of town and as a further inducement to their out of town patrons they will rebate fares as in past Merchants Weeks. To enumerate the hundreds, nay, thous- ands of articles which may be pur- chased in our stores would be but to repeat what has already been told in the past but 1t Is safe to say that whatever the need may be 1t can be supplied to the entire satisfac ction and with profit to the patron who pays visit to the stores of Norwich during MerchanN' Week.
 Here are some of the reasons why Eastern Connecticut people find Nor wich one of the most attractive busi- ness centers in New England:
 Norwich is the natural trading cen ter for all Eastern Connecticut and Western Rhode Island, not only on account of the accessibility by trolley and steam railway, but because of the reliability of it's mercantile establish ments, and the high standard of the merchandise which they carry.
 There are several things which go to determine the natural trading Tnfr1f for nv given tarrftOTyv of the chief factors is. the transporta- tion facilities. The large number of trolley lines that traverse Eastern Con- necticut and Western Rhode Island find natural center in Norwich and as the great majority of the people living in the smaller communities must, of necessity, seek other markets to do most of their trading, travel by trolley offsets a convenient and econ orical mode of transportation any given territory the logical market place for the people residing in that section.
 Another factor which contributes largely to the trading advantages which any community can offer is its accessibility to the great distributing centers of the country. Here again, is where N orwichreaps the advantage of locality. Boston is "The Hub of New England" and all the great manufac- turing concerns of that sectoion as well as many from other parts of the for their products. New York is the metroplis of the United States. It is the port through which, nearly all the imports of the country find an en- try. and market in which every do- mestic manufacturer of any standing must show his wares.
 Norwich is situated about midway between these two great wholesale markets. It Is thereby enabled to keep in close touch with all the latest style tendencies, whether introduced from some foreign land or developed in our own country; and on account of the nearness of New York and Bos- ton, the merchants or Norwich are able to make frequent visits to both cities in search of the newest and best merchandise in every line. Moreover, the freight on commodities, which is an important item of expense, is min mixed in this section by the short haul and the splendid transportation facilities by rail and water, which Norwich enjoys.
 If there were no other reasons than these already enumerated 1t would seem that Norwich occupied a most strategic position as a market place. But there is still another, and more convincing argument why Nor wien is better able to serve the mer- chapdise needs of the people living in the territory under consideration and Rs 1t is along tr7A line Of economy it should appea7 .. To trading public It is a well known e2c- that the price of any commodi,~ is regulated by the cost of the article plus the evDense of conductiIg the business of selling it. In the large cities of the country owing to the higher cost of doing bus hess the percentage which must be added to t&e first cost of the rler- chandise is greater than it is in a city the size of Norwich. Here rents are low. lighting is cheap, advertising, delivery and the other expenses of conducting business are considerably less than in cities like Hartford Wor- cester, Providence and Boston, and this fact enables Norwich merchants to offer their goods at correspondingly lower prices.
 It is only fair for the people of any community to patronize the home mar ket as far as possible; but those who live in the smaller towns and villages, or out on the farm. find that there are many things which the village store cannot supply If your home mer- chant ha not what your want, then you must seek some market that can supply your needs, and that Is when Norwich, with its large and varied stocks of merchandise, its fair and reasonable prices and it's accessibility by trolley, which in our day is the most convenient and economical meth od of travel, should take its place as territory within a radius of thirty miles.