Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1917-04-11
An Appeal for a Dying Town.

An Appeal for a Dying Town.
For. the past FIVE years it has
struck the majority of the business
men that the town ls dying. Why
IS the question raised? Simply be-
cause Capital is not put behind the
town, but taken away to help other
cities This does not mean real
estate or bank capital. but the plain
shoppers and their capital.
In other words, cash taken to the
city to buy goods that could be
bought right here in your own town
is not only a knock at the town; but
another shovel full on the grave.
If all the shoppers would buy at
home it would help the town won.
derfully. In that way all the locaI
stores could be improved, and would
cause the town to become more pros,
porous. Which in the end would
cause water works and sewer system
to be established; also an all day
electric current. Why? Merely
because the people had taken it in
to their heads to push their OWL
town and that is certainly the only
way to make town grow.
You will remember that the lead
ing speakers of the Augusta Booster
trip while in Edgefeld were strong
for the people to buy what they
could at home in that way helping
their home town, and not going
elsewhere unless they couldn't gel
what they wanted at home.
II you would only pause and con.
slider that one goodlnvestment gene
rally leads to another. What bet
ter investment could be made than q
plan of buying at home causing the
town to flourish, and cause its peo.
pie to take a pride in it. A save
the-town-plan could be worked un
causing the people to trade at home,
helping their home town and not
the other. A plan that will in a
few years time put the town
on a better footing, and better pros.
poets for an Up.to.Date City. That
is if this plan could be put in opera
ton and make person who had to
shop elsewhere think that they were
traitor and had no personal well
fare for the town at heart, or cared
if they lived in it or not.
Time was when the town did a
thriving business, ,and had prospects
of bright future before it, but all
of a sudden it has ceased to grow.
Why? Simply because many of its
citizens have deserted it, taking
their money elsewhere, leaving the
town in lurch, and not caring if
their next door neighbor had to
move the next day Ito where better
citizenship was in evidence) or not.
It is not to be denied that our
Young men are leaving the country
towns everywhere and concentrating
in the large cities. All the large
cities are growing with tremendous
impetus. What will our country
towns be like in another quarter
century, and what will our cities be
like? Is the country to be drained
of its capable young men and ils
business capital. leaving the farmer,
in his isolation, to get his supplies
from afar?
7 look at it from another view
point: Will the big cities be able
to support all the men who go into
them from the small towns and
country; and what kind of living
will these men and their families
have, if they survive at all? 1t
stands to reason that the vast majori-
~ of breadwinners will be employ
ees with small means and no inde-
nendence. But suppose that the
time comes whep the cities are
oorged with people. Already we
are approaching this situation. The
high cost of living is reflection of
it: crop failures, or labor disturb