The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-01-09
WIN WHO WOKE UP TRADE
,rRCHANTS' ASSOCIATION rs
TIE pPOUD OF ITS RECORD.

= MHfnOuS hhN AN
-, Buyer- TO Vow York This Honr
-, Merchants Association OF New York
l.nIisbcs all that II aims to do tho new
~ Work will soon DO tho commercial and
M.J.l capital OF the world. II Is q mere In
hp %, having been Incorporated on june 10
~. hut Il Is q lusty infant and is growing In
y" noUrer, AMI scope every day. H. was
pS 10 boom business, or. In its W words,
~. ,oster the trade and OF Now
80 and so far It has succeeded admirably.
,,..h,nts consider that 1t wos n well-hdyised
Ssr,ment and that much good has already
Nv. accomplished. They have mado In
Ss.,.d sales amounting to many millions OF
..n.,, IN consequence Of tho movement. and
W., IN do more booming than ever thisy year.
n, association, like Topsy. just growcd. 1t
-.,ru right UP because there was a distinct
land for It. and now tho promoters believe
~, II has como TO be n permanent necessity.
~. spring, whom tho Grant Monument cole
.-.,,on was goiug on, an extension OF time was
.n,ined BY wholesale merchants from tho rail.
-.v, RUNNING into New York city so that Wis
,rrp merchants or buyers could rcmain over
.ma make their sprins purchases In this mar
=, The results were felt at once, and mem-
~. NJ the committee who represented tho
~ho,csnle merchants ut the celebration met
and decided 20 form n permanent organization,
.,ovn. % the Merchants Association, for the
rrrpose OF keeping things humming In trade.
The nine original incorporators were John
cl,ain. William +. King, William f. Tefft.
CHARLES II. Webb, John G. Juhring. James II.
pre.in. Meyer Jonasson, Marcus NJ. Marks,
and Charles T. Root. Mr.. King WINS elected
President, Mr.. JuhrinS First Vice.Presidcnt,
NJ. Jonasson Second Vice. President, Mr.. Root
secretary, and Mr.. Webb Treasurer.
These officers, with the other incorporators,
tormed from the start the Board OF Directors,
With James B.. Dill rs counsel. An Advisory
Committee, consisting OF representative men
from various lines of trade, was appointed and
an active and aggressive campaign began.
When an officer Of the, association was asked to
tell exactly what had been accomplished by
te movement and what the boomers expect to
do In the future, he said:
1T Is impossible to estimate the increase Of
business in actual dollars and cents brought
about By the Merchants Association. Expert
uce In sucb matters. not opinion. is the thing
that tells. On the 1st Of last July wo took a
round floor suite Of rooms in tho New York
Life building. Will III is in the central part of the
Wholesale dry goods district. We decided that
The best way to foster the trade and
Of New York was to bring out-of-town mer.
chants in close contact with our merchants and
parkets. Our constitution provided that there
should be two classes of membership, known as
class A and class B. Persons eligible to class
A we're those doing business in the city of New
York or Brooklyn. and their annual dues were
fixed at SOS. Class b membership consists OF
persons, firms or corporations in good standing
IT. l.-.z. .,tz;ln - Nn,v vnr1r M IrnnE
lyn. These class b members pay no dues, have
30 voting power. are not eligible to office and
are not placed on the lists unless they have a
rating. Glass A member are entitled to vote
or hold office.
The association saw clearly from the start
that by way Of an inducement for out-of-town
merchants to visit New York reduced railway
fares would have a good effect. Application
was at once made to the Joint Traffic and Trunk
Line Associations for concessions Of this nature,
and after several arguments, in which the posi-.
ton Of the Merchants Association was fully set
forth, these two associations agreed to make the
experiment of granting reduced rates of fare on
the certificate plan to merchants throughout
their territory. who should be members Of the
Merchants Association. upon certain conditions.
AS soon as reduced fares were granted our
association sent 1925. 900 circulars, to merchants
llTOuRHOuL tne OTltcu SthlcS ANNOUNCING tuc
reduction, and asking them to become non.
resident members of the organization. TIC
each circular, was attached an application
blank, in which the merchant WAS also asked to
name the date when It would DO most conven'
lent for him to visit New York"
What about the responses you gotf' inter
They poured in immediately" was the re-
ply. Letters were received at the ratio OF 600
Or 700 a day, some days running as high as o
thousand, and within two weeks after the first
circulars were sent out the Merchants Asso-
citation had received more than 10000 applica-
i inS e f2e To si gssid ie tb me Hnie5s Fiji, se PeS,eesi.
dent membership list has been growing ever
aimee, and even now. although 1t contains more
Than 1000 different names OF men scattered
throughout the United States, it increases at
the rate OF about $50 n day.
While we were sending out our first circu-
tSrs a pamphlet had been prepared, setting
GGiial, commercial, and manufacturing centre.
II was handsomely gotten up and finely illus
tlated, and 100000 copies were mailed to mer;
chants throughout the country. This walked
come Of EN- up, and made them want to visit
New York. A charming old Southern gentleman
from Birmingham, Ala" told me he came here
things were as represented. He hadn't been
way from home in thirty years, and now ne
ihn'S die:, to ne come n at to s New Xo * , eGySry year until
tthfroERh Inducements offered by the associa-
'%it Is si i,aPo .sH IssP tS teii. On our book 1924
SSisltors registered, and they represented. every
s.ate IN The Union, bermuda, Honolulu, ia.
malca, Canada. and Mexico. That number
was u mere bagnIclic. for thousands and thou
SSands came on who did not visit our rooms.
Don't you remember how crowded all the hotels
aha boarding houses were and how packed the
theatres during August and Septembcri They
~cle n!lod with visiting merchants and thcli
families. Everybody suddenly realized that
business in every line vas The vol
ulne OF the early fail business exceeded that OF
my ~ reeen. yemr. Some SAID that 1t was due to
me work Of the Merchants Association, Others
slFlDuled 1t to the new Administration. The
ssociation doesn't care where tho credit i
paced 30 long as the business was done. That
tSnet We are after. We want to mako new
business for Now York. and II our utility cau
T measured by our success so far then the asso'
,aati0h Is a permanent necessity. Leading
merchants, retail and Wholesale dealers in dry
tHous, groceries. boots and shoes, millinery, jew
siry. cloaks. stationery. Oriental goods, and sill
,erwnre have made statements over and over
ttsain te'ttitying to tho grcnt increase in theil
y ogsihess brought about directly by the efforts
VI NE Merchants Association.
Inc increase In The wcst.bound freight ship
%hihnts In August. September, and sOctobcf
III. serve to give m idea OF the boon
~ business at that time. They increased 10 pei
I'M H. IN August, In September 20 per cent, ant
~ october they fell OF ono half Of | per cent
ilat ,hTinkago itself shows how things had
~ cumming. These increases do not in
, ANS the steamship lin $ running south or thu
always nor do they include the shipments
aaue ~ way OF the Norwich line boats 10 Can
fiuaS, the west.bound shipments by way OF Port
sOuhu TO local points in New York. New Jer
ty, and Pennsylvania or any New FnUlnn(