Phoenix tribune., 1919-07-26
FURNITURE DEALER
SAYS CO[ORED PEOPLE
HIS BEST CUSTOMER
tBy Associated Negro Piess)

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich, July 90.
1T is the Negro who has made Il
furniture man of the south rich froi
his business. The whites have helI
ed, but the tremendous business
have been enjoying recently has con
in larger degree from the Colorf
man"
1t was furniture man from a
lanta, Ca. who was doing the talkin
and his talk was most interesting al
enlightening.
81 think | may say that the Neg
of the south has made more rap
strides in recent years than the whi
man has. The reason is manifest,
had a longer distance to go and 4
is covering that distance very rapi
ly.. He is taking advantage of the eH
ucational system and he is gettiTf
ahead in an economic way very ra
idly.
You know it is Characteristic
the Negro that when he has mone
he likes to spend it and when he do4
spend it he usually wants somethir
mighty good for it. AS result 70
may go into the homes of Negro
in Atlanta and find the very choiceN
furniture in them and usually a
of it, perhaps it is more than whi
man would consider good taste.
ut is very interesting to .go in
some of these homes. | have been
many of them and never cease to ma
vel at them Many of the homes a
very small and SO far as the hou
itself is concerned, is not at all pr
tentious. I've been into homes Of n
more than three rooms and found
one a $50 range and bed room SUI
that cost $500 or $400 In anoth 3
room would be mighty fine livii&
room suite along with $500 pia1
and a 5000 Victrola. | have even bed
into the homes of single, men livil
in one room and found it beautiful
furnished with fine Victrola. as
ed one old fellow why all the furl
ture. since he was there only lol
enough to sleep, and his reply W
that sometimes he had friends call a.
wanted his home to look nice.
"The Negroes are making mo
money than they ever did befo
Some of them own farms and raj
tremendous crops on them and q
kind of crop in the last few years p
been worth real money. This tn
are putting into their homes ye
largely and since the. advent of p
hibition the money has gone into
homes more than ever.
"Tll Just give an example Of
trade we have with the Negroes.
while back l was credit man for a
concern doing a heavy instalime
business. We did perhaps $3.50
worth in one year and from Is to
per cent of the accounts we had We
with Negroes. Now a few Of the
like a few white men, did not pay
ularly, but I'll venture to say that q
ter than 95 per cent of them came
very regularly, and paid something
their accounts. Sometimes they cor
not meet what they had agreed to n
weekly, for the Negro will promise
most anything. but they would col
in with something and keep it up
til the furniture was paid for. N
that is a pretty good record.
1.-The one thing the Negro has
contend with more than anything e
lis his gullibility. Some Of your nor
erners come down there with all SO
of fake schemes and prey upon the
A favorite trick is to come down W
lot of fifty cent jewelry. mark
s4.9S, take one dollar down and
rest in installments. Now, If q
never get any more than the ini
payment, they clean up 100 per G
profit. After they have been ther
while they will sell their accounts
some jeweler, make nice clean
and get away This sort of thing
the bane of the Negroes life and Ike
him back. but in spite of it. they
going ahead faster, | think, than
whites and it is to them that we
the tremendous business we are b
ing now s.