Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-12-15
REvoLUTIONIzING BUSINESS.
Striking Out on New Paths-The Heavy
Artillery of Advertising.
From tie P1NadelDhja Grocer.

From tie PhiladelDhi1 Grocer.
Prophets are ever classed as lunatics.
The boys in Noahs time jeered at the
ark, and said that there would only be a
shower. To disagree with the common
current of thought is considered as a
form of insanity more or less pronounced.
Yet an English thinker lately declared
that he had come to believe that TO be OPP
posed to the generally accepted theories
of the British public was to be right So
perverse is the public, however, that it
shuts its eyes to the plainests results, and
still answers an accomplished success
with a croaking c0unter-prOphecy OF com.
ing disaster.
Ii the whole world is perverse in this
particular, Philadelphia is peculiarly so
aud man with new theory, or a new
philosophy, had better (tO use an anach-
rOnism adapted from Artemus) pray that
be may be born outside of its precincts.
II CLAIMS flourish where, although the
climate is sultry, the blood is 5luggish-
then clans must find their natural
home nearer Philadelphia than Atlantic
City.
We have a strange character here in
our midst-a man who has revOlutiOnized
trade, but whom merchants still look
askance at. Who has done wonderful
teats in the line of newspaper cOnquests,
but whom newspaper men still measure
in the pint cup Of their success with him
instead of in the great measure of his
success with the world, against which all
our commercial artillery is trained. Who
has revOlutiOnized many forms Of adver-
tising, virtually creating the science Of
| heavy artillery where nothing but bird
shot was used before. and standing like
krupp among lesser men of his line, but
whom publishers often smile incredul-
ously at, and whom advertisers openly
condemn.
The tides and currents of commerce
carry commercial men and their ventures
along accustomed channels, and they
pride themselves on their seamanship
when they pass old landmarks and we'll
marked coasts. How seldom does one of
our modern merchants dare to sail in I'M
known seas and, Columbus-like, make
new discoveries. Credit has bound with
an iron chain all our trading. until it
would be thought madness to attempt
any extensive enterprise In opposition to
its laws. Yet this man has been daring
enough to attempt it. Without capital
at first, without any sustaining sympathy
or support, because his ideas were at Vari-
ance with the popular current of thought
and of trade, with his own peculiar
the management of large business on a
basis of absolute cash, no order leaving
his great factory until the money is in his
hand. Yet other merchants and manu-
facturers, grooming under the ever-in-
creasing evils Of credit, are too proud or
too narrow-minded even to praise the man
who In liberating himself has really
shown them the light. The power which
he has used to accomplish this, and out OF
nothing to build up great business, has
been the columns OF the newspapers,
used, as we have said, like heavy artillery
yet we have never seen the paper which
has commended his course with any COM
nonsense. Pufs we have seen-cast as
baits-but from the great newspaper
press not handful OF comment. For
ourselves our own course
answers-we have openly COM
menEd on and criticised all that we
have considered important to our readers
and at all times we have admitted that
in trade and in advertising he had taught
the world new lessons which they were too
dun to learn and which fully and entirely
Justify his 0it-repeated, and sometimes
bitter, cry to an unbelieying public,
Don't be Clam"