Belt Valley times. [volume] (Armington, Mont.) 1894-1977, 1922-12-28
THE SIDE.

THE CUSTOMERS SIDE.
To the casual buyer, price alone counts. To the extravagant spend
er also price counts, but it is in the willingness to pay any pnc
Since the wal there has been an era Of price Advertising sucl
as we can never remember to have seen before. This Is our evi
dence that the buyers are exercising greater discrimination in
their purchases as well as showing proof that the housewives have
had to economic in household expenses.
When the Saturday specials in the Great Falls papers began
to be the regular program and subscribers to those papers in the
smaller towns began to discuss the goods and prices offered. It was
no unusual sight to see thirty or forty Belt cars in Great Falls on
a Saturday. These cars came home loaded with supplies, bought
1t was not long until the local merchants began to get the idea
that something was wrong with the Belt trade, They had been in
the habit of extending credit to customers OF thirty, ninety days
six months or a year. They began to have ~glimmering, misty, un.
noi d. cssh fr goods when h thew tb%s had Tt the money and that when when they
were short they charged at the local stores.
Many Of us have had a mistaken notion that the merchants
stock of ooods. like the widows cruise Of oil is replenished daily by
some miraculous arrangement by which although he removes tier
ward and fill their places like the soldiers of a well trained army
Of the fact that the merchant must pay at regular intervals
often dismissed the idea with the thought that the merchants
profits must be something enormous anyway, else how could he
run his business the WAY he does and never dqn as when ear &c
Many of us in times past have neglected to pay our bills
promptly although we had the cash on hand through some unfor-
tunate idea that the merchants did not need the money anyway.
dred people did the same thing. The interest the merchant would
have to pay on his back accounts would be $5 per month besides
the fact that life Is uncertain, adversely comes unannounced and
though our intentions are fine to pay sometime, yet out of five
hundred accounts several will always be found who for one reason
The merchants life may be a bed of roses but the thorns are
so plentiful that he doesn't get much sleep.
Any merchant can cut down his prices If ne gets cash for his
merchandise His clerk hire is the same, his bookkeeping is moth
ing, his cost for postage is nothing, his loss on bad accounts is
nothing. Payment on the first of every month is acceptable and
is considered to be practically the same as cash yet this neces-
states a lot of bookkeeping.
The Belt merchants have convinced US that they are willing
to meet us halfway. They have given US prices that we can not
beat in Great Falls or any other western city.
They have accommodated us many times in days that are past
AS a matter of fact we can not go elsewhere to trade except at q
greater expense than we have at home.
The cost of gasoline, tires, oil, meals, etc, added to the cost
of the supplies we buy makes us just that much the loser on 2
days shopping trip. For friend wife and self q days shopping will
cost: Gasoline, rs cents oil. 25 cents tires, $l15; meals. $180,
pieces. We have gone to Great Falls. We have bought the same
articles that we could have bought in Belt at the same price. We
in town. We have usually found that the leaders" are all gone
when we get there and have had to pay three prices for style.
with friend wife went several of the children and a ten dollar bill
would not pay the expense. /
local stores. but fail to remember that better patronage makes
better stores, a demand for any standard article will stimulate any
merchant to stocking it.
local shops, some of them will put in a supply.
Better patronage makes better business houses. Should all
of us first give our local merchants an opportunity to supply our
wants, in the course of a few months we would find that they in
turn would be able to supply everything in standard lines that we
need.
Of course VIZ would have to except the ephemeral fashions of
the prevailing style for ladies which no small store can handle and
which the larger stores can handle only at enormous advances on
first cost. We might learn to save a few dollars by trading at
home.
Our merchants will tell you what they have to sell in the Belt
advertiser and which is read by the buyer.
THE LEGISLATURE.
Within a few days the newly elected legislature will meet. A
few days viii be spent in the partisan scrap for the organization
of the house. A few statesmen in embryo will attempt to get the
stage in the usual manner in order to make their constituents
imagine they are going to rectify all the evils of our democratic
government in one fell swoop.
After a few days of bombast and oratory the silent conserva-
will proceed much as heretofore. Whether the Dixon forces will
be able to organize the house is problematical Much that we hear