The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1916-09-18
AMONG OURSELVES

Sdlu III IHe past WSSh5 Win q VIC" W
awakening our business men to the
encroachments made on our territory
by the merchants of other towns.
Some people, of course, who don't
like the Star anyhow, have put an in
territorial misconstruction on what we
have said, and said we are advertis-
ing other towns. Such charge is
silly and not worth answering. Others
say that while what the Star says is
true, it should be discussed only
among ourselves. That is what the
Star has been doing. These prods to
Ocala, published in our daily paper,
which sends comparatively few copies
out of town, have not been published
in the weekly, which has a large
country circulation. Not that we
think this makes much difference.
The country people are plenty wise to
all these things. But we have always
pursued the policy of filling the week
ly up with the matter which we think
is of first interest to them, and by the
time that has been done there is not
much space left for what mostly per-
tains to the town.
The ostrich policy, of trying to sup
pose nobody will kick you if you have
your head in sack does not pay any
community any more than it pays an
individual. The Star has been trying
to pull the sack off.
Two or three weeks ago we pub
lished a circular letter sent out in
Marion county by Gainesville firm,
and setting forth the advantages to
be gained by trading with the said
= firm. Every household in the terri
tory in which said firm was operating
had already received copy of that
letter, but very few Ocala business
men would have known it had been in
circulation if they hadn't seen it in
the Star. Was that advertising
Gainesville or telling Ocala what Ocala
needed to know?
If this country was at war with an
other country, and the enemy, un-
known to Americans, had weapons
that gave them a great superiority
over our people, and this fact became
known to an American newspaper
what should that newspaper do
Keep quiet for fear of causing some
of our people to drop dead with heart
failure, or scatter the information
broadcast so that all might prepare,
Only one answer to this can be made
by sensible person.
Business is, and always will be, a
war. One Ocala merchant will take
business away from another, if he
can. Ocala merchants will take bust
ness away from Gainesville merch-
ants if they can. And of course
Gainesville merchants will take bust
ness away from Ocala if they can
Business men will take the bread Out
of the mouths of each others chill
dren in the way of competition, even
tho they might split their last dollar
to help feed another mans child il
necessary. And in business war, as
in the war of guns, information OF
what the other fellow is doing goes 9
long way.
The Star has been observing these
things for some time. 1t has had re.
liable information, and for number
of months it spoke about it only BY
word of mouth. What it said seemed
to be of little or no effect, so it begar
to print, and there was something do.
ing right away.
1t is one of the most ridiculous
things in the world to think that the
country people can be fooled about
these things. They know more about
them than the town people. They
have, as general thing, less money
than the town folks, and they calcu
late more closely and buy more care
fully. They know just how much they
can obtain for their produce and fol
their money in Gainesville as we'll a.
they do in Ocala. Gainesville has seer
to that. Gainesville has been hustline
for their trade more diligently thar
Ocala has.
1t is claimed with some reason tha
we do considerable business with tn,
southern end of Alachua county. PEG
pie who are well informed on the mat
ter say that Ocala drygoods store:
are better equipped and give better
prices than those of Gainesville. W.
have much better roads than Alachua
and it is natural for people who hav.
autoes to come to Ocala and to buy
while they are here. But we thinl
that close examination of this bust
ness will show there is not enough O.
it to keep even one Ocala store run
ming. 1t is very small item compar
ed with what goes into Alachua count,
from Marion county by railroad.
1t is the same way with the north
eastern corner of the county, where
ten people go to Palatka to trade
where one comes to Ocala. You seldom
see an Orange Springs man on oul
streets, but we never open a Palatks
paper but we see notice of severa
Orange Springs people being in thai
town.
As for other matters that Marion
county people have in complaint
against Ocala. several of them werf