The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1892-01-06

of the wonderful commercial territory OF
which Wichita is the center, spoke to
them of its railway facilities and of its
prospects of being the great commercial
metropolis of the west. He impressed
them so favorably with the proposition
that they concluded to try it and
accordingly put in small stock here with
the gentleman referred to In charge.
The business was not in operation three
months when all what Mr.. Mcknight
prophesied came to pass and 1T Was at
once concluded to make the temporary
establishment of the business permanent.
Accordingly they purchased the three
story brick building which they are in.
put in a $4,000 stock of goods, put three
travelling men on the road and to-day they
are selling goods in more states in the
union than any other house west of the
Mississippi river. This may sound strange
but it is fact nevertheless, for the EAGLE
man saw the companies ledger which
contains scores of accounts in all the
states and territories west of the Mississi-
ppi from the canadian line to the Gulf OF
Mexico.
To illustrate the extent of their bust
ness more forcibly, let it be said that it
takes one year for each of the travelling
men of the Wichita house to make his
round trip. They advertise in $50 newspa-
pers and have file of each one of them in
the Wichita Office. Mr.. Mcknight is a
great champion of advertising, but he
| says his success is in advertising steadily
and continuously and he hasn't got par
ticle of faith in spasmodic or periodic ad
vertising
Now the house is established here as
| permanently as the other house is in New
York. Every article of cutlery manufac-
tured for them is branded New York and
Wichita, every label is branded New York
and Wichita, every advertisement gives
their places of business as New
York and Wichita and so does every bill
and letter head sent out. The res
ident members of the firm have just
bought property on Topeka avenue and
will at once commence the erection of fine
residences.
Mr.. Mcknight well leave for New York
probably tomorrow to make arrangements
with the company to double the stock at
| this point and put more travelling men on
the road, and will be absent about a
posed Improvements.
They do business on the second floor of
the building to avoid a retail trade, as they
will sell to no one but to wholesalers, aud
then only to most prominent and respon-
sible hardware merchants of each town
they sell in. Their pocket knives are bet
ter known perhaps throughout the west
than any other pocket knives in the world.
1t was only yesterday the company
shipped fifty dozen of them to the
Oragonian, the second largest paper in the
state of Oregon, to be given away as
premiums with that paper. Every knife
in the consignment bore the brand of
wichita" so it can be seen what a fine
advertisement their goods are to the Peer
less Princess. Sometimes business gets so
rushing that the three travelling men can
hardly take care Of it, and Mr.. Mcknight
takes the road himself Last week he
went to southwest Missouri to introduce
his goods there and he tells a good story
about his trip. He went into the princi-
pal hardware store of Webb City and
solicited an order for cutlery, stating that
he was from the Wichita wholesale cut
lery house. The merchant looked at him
and said: "Well I'll be damned If you
haven't got your gall along with you; the
idea of Wichita asking me, the boss
hardware merchant OF southwest Missouri.
TO buy cutlery from her. Why. my dear
young man, buy my goods in New York.
Mr. Mcknight laughed, mechanically
opened up his case before the astonished
merchant, made him prices and in that
trip alone he sold 81. 500 worth of cutlery.
The fact is, the Wichita house sells its
goods at precisely the same price af the
New York house, and being nearer the
consumer accounts, of course, for its sue
cess
The most singular thing of all is the
fact that the Wichita office has only lost
one bad debt of SIS since it has been
opened. This success is caused by the rule
of the company TO sell no merchant who is
not quoted good for s., 600 by Dun's Com
mercial Agency.
In addition to the regular cutlery made
especially by and for themselves, they
also handle the Rogers silver goods for
which they have large trade The mail
orders of the Wichita Office alone amount
TO about $500 a week. This of course,
means only orders sent in directly from
country merchants to replenish their stock
with
Take it all and all the Mcknight Cutlery
company is one of the great institutions of
Wichita, which is prospecting beyond ali
the expectations of their owners
Mr.. Mcknight said that Wichita wanted
q good wholesale hardware store, that it
would do a big business and felt SO sure
of what he said that his company are
ready and willing at any moment TO take
several thousand dollars worth Of stock in !
one il, OF course, the right parties will
take hold of il.
The EAGLE man has talked with many a
business man during the past three !
months with reference TO the business, |
present and future, Of Wichita, hut be has |
met no Que better pleased with the Peer |
less Princess than Mr.. Mcknight, or one |
who has sucn 8 strong faith in its ulJl- |
mate triumph as the greatest commercial !
center in the west.