Southern Illinois Record

              HE Southern Illinois Record
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A  Good  Newspaper  i»  a .I'ower  in   the   Home.  Sehool.  State  nnd   Nation
VOLU.ME 4
FLORA. ILINOIS. THURSDAY, DFCE.MHKR 2. IJ)I5
NO 19
NAIL ORDER VS. THE HJNE NERCHANT
Speaking of business, we have always believed that fair competi¬ tion stimulated, and was the life of trade, both In larvre and sniall towns and communities. Competition between the business men of a tuwn draws trade and the merchant who advertises Ids business tells people what he has to sell tliem and names tbe price is some¬ thing more than an individual worker for his own gain, he U a boomer for his town. He Is a big factor in the towns development. He Is helping to build up Ills town by adding to Its wealth. Kor il¬ lustration here In Klora, whicii will apply anywhere, Supjiose you look at the assessed value of unimproved lots for tbe year lilld and the assessed value of the same lots In lill4, Vou will tind that the unimproved lots have added nothing to the assessable value of prop¬ erty In Klora, while the ones upon which homes or business houses have been erected has added anywhere from ten to twenty fold In taxable wealth. As one Illustratinn take the lot on Nortii Avenue, which four years ago had no Improvements except an old frame building, one of the first erected In Klora, Now- look at this same lot, J, C, Meyer and JaViValbert purchased the lot, removed the old building and erected a new one, giving to Klora two tine modern bnslness houses. If you have any doubt abont these gentle¬ men adding something to the actual and taxable wealth of Klora go to the tax Ixioks and compare the assessed value of this lol for IIMO and 11114. Hut this Is only one Instance tliere are many others witli¬ in the past four years and many years back of that, wherever a good business house or a home, big or little has heen liuilt, llliaslncrca,sed the wealth of Klora, nol only In the value of the building, but liy enhancing the value of oilier property.
We may lake another view if any citizen of Klora lias Increased his buslne.ss, and made ll greater, that too has enriched Klora In a general way. These stalement are so self evident no one will deny them. Hut none-the-le,ss we are face to face with this proposition. What should and must we do If Klora Is to continue to grow. There Is only one way. Work for the success of our own husiness and Hie general welfare. If we are to be succe.ssful in our elTorts. Is it not wise to fully understand, nol only Immediate disadvantageous con¬ ditions which are a menace and liable to become more dangerous, and be prepared to meet them or any others which may arise.
So far so giMjd, Now mav we ask the merchants and people of Klora, and the farmers who live In the country surrounding us. What do you think ab iut the mall order house as a coinpedltor'i' Do you believe that if all the peopie wlio reside within the trade terri¬ tory of Klora, Clay City, Louisville, .\eni,i or any otiier trading point in Clay county sliould by all their needs from the ni,ill order house, the merchants In any of tbese towns could continue In buslnes.s'i' You know tiiey co'uld not. If this proposition Is true as a whole is it not proportionately true inany pari. If you as one individual pur¬ chase of the mall order house *Klii in one year and one thousand more people do the same that means thatSlOO.lXKI has been sent out of yoiu county. If the prolit to the foreign house Is 1(1% then this county has lost $10,0(X) because the home dealer Is that much out In his trade.
We are not pe.ssimlstic enough to believe tliat Hie sinall merdiants at lea,st all of them, will ever lie entirely eliminated but wlien we see and know wiiat Inroads these foreign large retail tirms are mak¬ ing on Hie trade of the home town business men, we feel that It Is time to take warning and acl. In a united spirit or community good fellowship to iielp our own town and ourown people if we are to lie factors of any conslderalile Importance   in  the  years  to come.
We sure know some tilings about ourselves. It was necessary for Clay county to build a new court houre, 11 was necessary for Klora to have a waterwork and a sewerage system, for otlier towns to have needed improvements. Kor lots of money to lie spent In our various townships for bridges and keeping up the roads. That tliese things, as well as supporting our churches, schools, county, townships and towns re(iulres a large and Increasing aniount of money and we know- that to raise this money, a tax must be levied on real and personal property and paid by home people; and we know also that the mail order hou.se will not contribute one cent nor pay one cent in any way toward meeting these obligations and Is not for tliis reason and others that can lie mentioned a fair comjieditor and should not be patronized.
Floru Hiih 14  Ewing College 9
"We met the enemy  and  they  are rs."
The famous and renowned foot ball earn reprersenling Kwing College vent down to defeat. Thanksgiving )ay in the hands of the Orange and Hue fool hall game representing lora High,
The Ewlng biys, remembering the -ore which they piled upon usa few aturdays ago were over contident nd expected an easy time wliile iiere, ut alas to their surprise tliey were p against it and were glad to come ut even second best.
riie game was a nard fought one nd one of Hie-best ever seen on the ical gridiron, four liundred eiilhus- .stlc fans were out to ,see Capt. lyklns' team win In good style. The Klora boys went Into the game itermined to win, had lots of nerve, ep and bull dog tenacity which Is und to win any fool Ijall uame. Three of the lojal b lys defended the range and Hlue for the last tims ut Itwasnt their last fool ball game any means, for next year we shall sar of Capt. Dykins al Ilarvard, Tubby" Jones wllb the Illinois id Mllcliell intlie .Vriny and Navy line gaining more fixil ball fame. The result of last Thursday's game ies to show Ihat Klora will have a lecessful team next fall, if our Ixiys ;t down to "dig out" tlieir daily sks and become eligible to play, t's try to surpass all the "ifs" be¬ re tlie next season opens. We were proud of the seven men the line for they held the op- nents again and again like a stone ill set In eoncrete. The work of e backs was superior in every way. le plunges by Valbert our big half ck, and "Tubby's" llfty yard run ire a feature of the game.
Cive Thanksgiving Dance
The dan 'c given by the Crabo Club Thanksgiving night i.s Hie best so far tills season. The music was furnished by four members of Hie Hrldgeport orchestra, wlioare musicians of rare ability.
Tliose pre.sent were: Messrs I'aul I'owell, ,Ioe DeVanney, .loe McCehee, Luke I'ixley, Earl Iliil, IVllliain Karr, (;iayhorM Hay wurth, Kd Ilud.son, Leonard Irwin, S. H. Moore, \'ivlaii Ilarwiiod, Dr. Wm. Hol.iday, II. K. Harrison, Cecil Hrown, Hen Watson, Harlan Krlend, Harold Southwlck, Bertie Scudamore. Misses Thelma Scudamore, Sliell Kriend, Zoe Kriend, ,1ennie Hartman, Kathryn DutT, DoroHiy Kogle, Kathryn Hill, Helen Horders, Viola Smith. Kathrjn I'ee¬ ples, Hattie I'eeples, Nellie Ingles, Kathryn Macklin. Mesdames Luke I'ixley, S. H. Mixire, H. K. Harrison, L.   W. Irwin.
Family Reunion
Among the many s