The gazette-times. [volume] (Heppner, Or.) 1912-1925, 1922-01-05
The Merchant In
This Community

Did you really ever give the sub
ject Of the local merchant and you
any serious thought?
Perhaps you are a loyal citizen
and patronize local shops and stores
as matter of loyalty, but as this is
not lecture it will do no harm to
read this, anyhow.
If you are one Of the misguided
folks who imagine you can do better
elsewhere by all means read this
Your local merchant is first a citi-
zen, a resident of your community
the same as you are.
He lives in your community, pays
taxes along with you for the upkeep
and improvement of your communi-
ty; he raises his family and sends his
children to school-schools which he
helps, with you, to maintain.
II he is butcher, he buys clothes
and shoes for his family from fel-
low-merchant. No matter what his
line of business, he spends money
with other business men of the COM
munity.
He banks in local banks; he takes
his family of an evening to the local
shows.
Summed up, the money he makes
in the community is spent in it.
Were it not for your local mer-
chant, there would be no schools,
no paved streets, no public buildings,
no progress nor prosperity. He is
here day in and day out, rain or
shine, giving his time and energy
and money to whatever will benefit
the district, taking part in the admin
istrations Of the community or aiding
to regulate the administration for
the best interests of the community
by his vote.
ia ~ n SlllLLN
Is he not entitled, then, to consid-
Grafton?
But there is something more than
a call for your loyalty to him as citi-
zen to citizen-neighbor to neighbor.
Living here as he does, he comes
to know his customers. They are to
him not Just customers" but Eel
day, his business gets his personal at
he will be here tomorrow and the
next day and next year, meeting his
customers face to face, day after
his business gets his personal atten-
tention-every transaction is a per-
sonal dealing between him and his
patron.
He in not your huge store where
thousands flock in daily, many for
the one time only He is not your
fly-by-night get em-once-and-gou
'em-good fakir.
He is your neighbor-your fellow
citizen, building for tomorrow and
next year, and fully cognizant that
the only way to build is to sell good
goods at right prices.
Your local merchant is in himself
guarantee of his goods and prices
and services because he is always at
the same stand meeting largely the
same customers.
He cannot exist upon the pat
ronage of transients-his liveli-
hood comes from permanent resi-
dents; his aim is to make permanent
residents regular customers. He
must do this-hence his wares, his
prices and his service are all and al
ways arranged and held to this end
You never heard your live-wire,
Iwide-awake home merchant say, "Oh,
we'll one customer more or less
makes no difference" Every GUS
toner, to him, is important; a new
customer is eagerly sought, and a
customer less-well, your local mer-
chant will not let it happen if any,
thing just and reasonable under the
sun will prevent such thing hap
pening.
So not alone out of a sense of 10y
atty to your community, but for your
own sake-for the sake of your purse
and the satisfaction of being given
personal attention and sevice-buy
of our home merchants. - Venice
| (Calf.) Vanguard.