Americus Times Recorder

AMERICUS WILL START HOLIDAY SHOPPING SOON
WISE ONES WILL NOT DELAY TOO LONG

While Christmas is yet several weeks in the future, conservative Americus people, and there are many of them, will, as usual, complete their purchases before the holiday rush begins. Even now, not a few are quietly buying articles they know will be required then. There is no argument that can be advanced against it, while there is every reason for doing it, a fact borne out here in Americus by experience of several holiday seasons. From the points of view of the purchaser, clerk and merchant it is better than jumping in with a shopping list on the day before Christmas, when stores are jammed with shoppers and weary salespeople are fretted. Everybody shops for Christmas. There are presents to buy for the children, for father and mother and sisters and cousins and aunts. If everybody waited to buy these things until the eleventh hour the children would not be satisfied, father and mother would feel neglected and all the other relatives would wonder why such gifts as they received were sent them. And all of this for the reason that it is impossible to make mature selections, take the time to look over the stocks carefully, or to find as great a variety of things in the stores just before Christmas as several weeks before that great day. It pays in every way to shop early. And it pays to shop at home. The money that is sent to some other city is gone from Americus. Part of it pays freight or express charges, or postage and so, other things being equal, it is more expensive to buy away from home. Merchants elsewhere pay no taxes to build our paved streets, pay for street lighting and fire protection and street cleaning and police protection. They contribute nothing whatever to this city's support. Americus merchants deserve all of our people's trade because they help support Americus and offer stocks of goods that furnish anything anybody in Americus wants.