The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1898-05-30
A GREAT BUSINESS.
Developed Along the Lines of Meri-
torious Goods, System and News
paper Publicity.

Will do.
Frank P. MacLennan, editor and pro-
\ prietor Topeka State Journal, who was
| in New York recently, was invited by
A Frank Richardson, to a lunch and
afterwards to a walk down Pine and
Wall streets.
There said Richardson, as we en-
tered Pine street, sis the building in
which the famous DR.. Slocum medi-
cines are made, to cure consumption
ana other diseases of a kindred nature. -
We We're standing in front of a large
four story building extending through
to another street in the rear
Two years ago they occupied three
rooms in a loft over there" pointing
block away.
marvellous growth?" said Mr.. Richard
sons companion.
Simply to solid merit and genuine
worth of the medicines and acQuainting
the people with these facts through the
aid of the newspapers"
Let us go in,' continued he.
We went in; there stood Mr.. Lord,
an experienced man, formerly with the
st. Paul Pioneer Press and Minneapolis
Tribune, with stenographerS and sew
era1 clerks about him. Back of the
business office was a shipping depart
ment, where great trucks of medicines,
packed in boxes. were ready to be load
ed on to wagons to be taken to the
docks and railroad stations for ship
ment to all parts of the world.
Upstairs we went. There was DR..
P. r. Whitcomb, the president Of the
company, a very kindly gentleman, who
took few moments of his time to chat
with Mr.. Richardson and his friend.
Near by were clerks opening letters
that had come in by the morning mails;
letters from all portions of the globe.
Upon being introduced, the question
was naturally asked: How many let
tiers do you open in a day-a thou
sand?" ''Well, yesterday the morning
mail brought over three thousand. We
open thousands and thousands OF let
tiers each week."
The visitor here made a hasty men
tai calculation and he figured it out
that in simply running the letter open
er rapidly through the envelopes, one
person at the rate of about twenty let
tiers per minute would put in two and
one-half hours of constant, hard work,
in simply breaking the envelopes ready
for another clerk to pull out the let
tiers.
Come upstairs" said Mr.. Richard
son.
Upon entering a large, we'll lighted
department, some thirty or forty ladies'
were seated about tables with open let
tiers before them, addressing envelopes.
At on side was a memorandum contain
ing the names of various newspapers
and figures following, showing the
number of replies noted down by each
young lady from the various papers as
she opened the letters at her left.
It should be stated that the DR.. Slo-
cum advertising is so prepared that let
tiers written for the medicines nearly
always refer to the paper in which the
writer saw the advertisement
At the front end of this room, in an
office by herself with an open door
leading into a larger room, was Miss
Nash in charge of this department.
She had a compilation before her show
ing the total number of envelopes ad-
dressed by the young ladies under her
the day before, and also showing the
number of replies and the names of the
papers referred to in those letters;
1t may be interesting to note that a
hurried glance of this compilation
showed that the number of replies re-
ceived from certain individual pa
pers, Of fKnown Circulation" of course,
ran up into the hundreds.
You have not seen it ALL" said Mr..
Richardson, as we took the elevator for
another floor Here the marvellous
method of bottling and packing the
bottles six in a row and as close one
way as another, were before skilled OPP
orators, whose duty it was to perform
this portion of the work. A large pipe,
silver lined, in order to prevent oxida-
ton, or any deleterious contact, led up
to the mouths of the bottles by means
of a x-fingured spout. By the touch
of lever the operator moved one row
of bottles just filled to the next row
and in a space not more than four sec
onds of time another row was filled
connected with the laboratory, pic
ture of which was recently published in
this paper.
''The greatest care is used in all of
our laboratory work." said Doctor
Sayre, the superintendent of the labor
atory department." and we have sew
eraI of the most eminent physicians
who constitute our consulting board.
Prominent on this board are Doctor
King and Doctor Snow"
In the adjoining corresponding de-
partment, is a large filing case on
which the names of various individual
states and cities were pasted. Going
to one of them, marked kansas" DR..
Stockton pulled out a handful of let
ters Look at these" said the Doc
tor Here he read over slowly many
touching replies from Kansas people
who had received these medicines and
said they had been greatly benefited or
cured If some of these letters were
quoted literally the reader would scarce
believe them, did he not know the in
dividual who wrote them. The letters
filed were those received during the
last few months. Bushels of them had
been thrown away. They seemed to
represent, from closer examination,
not only every city and town in the
country but every village and hamlet
and school district as well.
The Dr. Slocum medicines are evil
IDENTIFY meritorious. There are thous-
ands of people writing every day ex-
pressing their heartfelt gratitude for
benefits received; the original letters
are on file for inspection.
Dr. Slocum has just acquired an ad- !
Joining double building of four stories
which will be added to take care of the |
growing business.
CrOTNN NH $ VUTNN