The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1922-08-05


of our splendid county.
/ also have. read in your paper
that the enterprising young men Of
the Young Mems Business League
of Sumter have appointed Mr.. W.
A. Bryan as chairman Of a COM
mittee to- devise plans for increas-
ing the trade of your business con-
Germs through systematic and con-
certed advertising methods to
show that Sumter has the goods
to deliver and has the advantage
over some other Of the larger
| and middle sized town and city
merchants in the variety Of stocks
carried and in competitive prices
also.
Now will you permit me to sug-
gest that this is in my opinion,
from the viewpoint of country
man and a consumer who pur-
chases his necessities in more or
less retail style that. this Is spIen-
did movement. Also to say that
the Young Men Business League
idea Of advertising Sunter's busi-
ness concerns should be linked up
with the Sumter County Chamber
of Commerce ideas ofs years prac-
tiee Of bringing the city and the
country districts into direct, closer,
and friendly elbow touch by the
business men and women of Sum
ter going to the country and meet
ing the rural men and women and
the boys and girls in the real
country districts. mingiing togeth-
er, getting much better acquainted,
talking over our social, agricultural
educational and general economic
problems, and at the same time
having a good time and knowing
each other better.
Some people no doubt consider
these annual visits of Sumter's
business and Professional men and
women to the rural districts as
merely Joy riders" and pleasure
jaunts with no real commercial
significance or benefits attached
thereto. / seriously disagree with
any such ideas as these. You
know that breaking bread" to-
gether is well estab blished and hos
pitable indication of friendship and
good will, and when seven or eight
hundred people of any rural section
meet and eat with several hundred
people from Sumter, and then en-
JOY themselves in various ways for
day and listen to a couple of good
speeches on sound topics Of the
times, that there is feeling OF co.
operation, friendship, understand
ing and good will created that
stand for years between city, town,
and country.
Sumter has not the practical mo-
nopoiy of business that she enjoyed
years ago before the days OF rail-
roads. automobiles, and better
roads.
Sumter now has much more
competition from other towns and
cities near the remote sections Of
Sumter county. far distant from
Sumter but much nearer to other
competitive points that carry good
stocks, and competitor nnch near
er to Camden for instance as Ha-
good, .Rembert. Borden, Horatio.
and other. western and extreme
western Sumter county points are.
You know that. the Wateree
bridge and approaches connecting
Sumter and Richland counties
will soon, make. Columbia as close
to these sections of our county as
they are to Sumter. That Rich
land and Columbia already has
splendid hard surface highways al
most to the Wateree river and are
rapidly getting ready to complete
direct and magnificent hard SUR
faced or gravel highway to con-
meet that bridge with the splendid
hard surfaced highway leading
from Eastover to, Columbia, and
that this road and bridge are going
to prove trade drawers for Colum-
hia if Sumter doesn't watch its
steps. OF course this bridge can
be made good feeder for Sumter
business concerns also, but that
will depend almost entirely on
which city, Sumter. or Columbia.
does the biggest amount of real,
business-like hustling for the trade
of the people of the extreme wes-
tern sections of Sumter county,
and the eastern sections of Rich
land county, and if Columbia goes
after this trade Columbia is going
to get lot of it. II Sumter shows
the western Sumter county men
and women that Sumter is as ane
place TO trade, or better still,
the best place in which TO trade,
also shows Richland county, and
undertakes to show that Sumter
wants this business bad enough to
ride out here. spend day. and get
next to these consumers. why
Sumter is going to keep all OF its
friends and customers of today and
gain many new friends and custom
ers as we'll.
You can take it from me when |
say that E. I. Reardon, our COM
mereial secretary, and our Cham
Der of Commerce knew what they
have been doing for the past eight
or ten years in having hundreds
of county and community meet
~,