The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1890-06-18
A SUGGESTION.
To the Editor OF the Eagle.

| To the Editor OF the Eagle.
As the gray hairs of men increase, Their
convictions usually grow stronger, and one
of the convictions that is getting pretty
thoroughly riveted in the brain of the
/ writer is that personal solicitation is the
only great, moving power of man with
man. Let a man stand on the corner OF
Main street and Douglas avenue with a
| hundred punches of pins to sell, and if he
does not say anything, he may stand there
all day without selling many pins; but if
he asks every person that goes past TO buy,
| his stock will soon vanish. Let whole
sale merchant open up in any line
here and advertize his fine stock through
| the neighboring towns, and he may, by a
! bare possibility, get little sorting up
order now and then, but if he wants any
real trade he has to get his trading men
| out to meet the merchants face to face and
personally solicit their business.
When we want loan at a low
rate on the Y. NJ c. A. building,
we monkeyed around for while by cor
respondence with our moneyed friends in
the east, sent them picture Of the build
ing, statements of value, etc, etc, but we
did not get the loan until we sent a man
to personally solicit 1t, and II Is safe to say
we could not have secured IL otherwise.
When we thought Wichita was ripe for a
packing house we sent good strong COM
mittee to Buffalo and by personal solicit
tation the Dolds were secured. And again
the thing was repeated in st. Louis and
the Whitaker responded
So with the other enterprises which are
located in our midst. The day is past and
gone if it ever existed, when large enter
prises come begging the privilege of locat-
in their western cities and opening their
doors for business.
Now, far be it from me to decry the bene-
fits of advertising. In these days of print
er's ink a liberal use of the press is abso-
luteIv necessary. When one says at the
east he is from Wichita it is large point
in his favor to lind the party
addressed knows that Wichita Is the SOUTH
west metropolis and is informed as TO our
advantages and it is the newspapers that
have given him the information, probably.
What we want to get at IS, that Wichita
must have more of their personal sollclta-
ton to secure the numerous paying indus
tries which she needs. Just how TO get at
this is a puzZling question. Possibly a
paid travelling secretary Is the thing. usuch
man as Herr Rouse, Herr Oliver, Herr
Hewitt or Herr Carpenter could be put on
the road for a year we believe that with
the help rendered him by our citizens and
their personal friends in the east a large
number of these industrious ought be Sc
cured.
Suppose he starts out to get paper mill.
By little inquiry at the paper centers,
now so much depressed, he in few days
gets the names of good persons or firms
who will be likely to listen to the advan-
tages we have to offer and an interview or
two soon proves whether they can be
moved to come west. In this way the bur
den of listening to propositions of impecu-
NOUS individuals hunting up commercial
standing, etc, such as our board of trade
has had to go through so many times will
be avoided. We find what we want and
go for it.
Mr. Rouse at the directors meeting
Monday, said that he was about to visit
Cincinnati and the east, and he would es
TEEN it both privilege and pleasure to
represent the interests of our city and to
do his best while away to induce other
wholesale houses to come here. His ex-
ample should be followed by every one of
our people who 70 away this summer.
This will do some good, but the right man
making this his sole business and securing
the cooperation of our citizens and in con
slant communication with the home sec
rotary of the board of trade, would be the
moving power we need. a. A. II.