The Durant news. (Durant, Miss.) 1882-1985, 1940-06-20
Our Opportunities

Today ,as never before, small towns are having a
bad time fighting for their existence. The tendency
generally is for local people to go to nearby larger towns
to do their trading.
This is due mostly to improvement in transportation
afforded by modern highway systems. Much, too can
he said for the system of merchandising and advertis-
ing used by these larger stores.
Albert Haring, professor of marketing at the Univer-
sty of Indiana, offers a ine-point program which he
believes will be of great help to small communities. His
conclusions are:
First, it must maintain a good movie house. Second
in importance, at least one good eating place must be
maintained. Other factors are: That adequate parking
facilities be provided-not by large parking areas, but
by keeping the traffic moving by limited parking time;
displays of seasonable goods in show windows; main
tenance of a good newspaper with emphasis on local
news; good lights for streets and stores; cleanliness
Including liberal use of paint and colors); maintenance
of a reasonable stock of merchandise in a price and
quality range suitable to the community; and above all
for merchants I'd keep any promise made to a customer.
Durant can justly pride itself upon having in suf-
ficient degrees seven Of these nine points.
The notable exceptions area good lights for streets
and stores and cleanliness including liberal use of paint
and colors.
We're sorry to have to admit it but Durant more
or less resembles a tomb starting about seven o'clock at
night. This might be very effective if all our buildings
were painted white so as to resemble tombstones. But
there are TOO many or our buildings that haven't been
painted in ten or twenty years.
Towns are like women. If you see a woman with
a pretty face and dressed in good taste you just natural
ly expect something of her. You expect a certain a.
mount of brains, intelligence and character. You would
not be attracted to a woman with a dirty face and a
slovenly appearance.
The same thing is true of towns. Where the store
fronts are modern and clean looking folks are interested
In going inside to trade. When they go inside they
supply their needs if thew find quality goods at reason
able prices.
If every merchant in Durant will make the most
of his individual opportunities our community as a whole
will have no complaint about lack of business.
If every merchant in town would have attractive win
dow displays changed often and lighted up attractively
SO that folks who come to town at night would be
tempted to look around and see what the different
stores have to offer his trade could probably be doubled
IN a very short while. We have a large number of peo-
pie from smaller communities around Durant who come
here every night for the picture show.
If Durant merchants make it attractive enough these
people will be happy to come back in the day time to
trade.
Here is one opportunity that local business men surely
cannot afford to pass up.
Illinois Central Railroad
The Illinois Central railroad is probably the largest
employer and taxpayer in the state of Mississippi.
Figures have been released on the major expenditures
for 1889 showing that the &c employs in the state 4,719
people with the annual payroll running S 6 ,674,491. The
Company paid So, iii, 081 in taxes and made 81, 548, 34S
purchases during this period.
Monies expended for public water, utility power and
service phones runs the state total to $10,446,317.
Mississippi is second only to Illinois in the number
of employees and the amount of payroll expended by
the &c.
Holmes county has the fourth largest number of en-
ployees and fifth largest payroll of any county in the
state. We are exceeded by Pike, Kinds and Warren in
employment and by Pike, Warren, Kinds and Yalobusha
in payrolls. The &c pays into Holmes county each year
0,277 in taxes.
This railroad is a good citizen and has contributed
substantially to the growth and PROCESS of this state since
its beginning. While there have been times when trains