The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1901-06-13


Of their town. to enable their merchants
to bring beautiful goods and dispose of
them at a fair profit and, by an newt
able law, to increase. Also the influence
of that community.
If the women of Topeka would agree
to order through their home firms all
the needed supplies of their families
the commercial outlook OF our city would
brighten, and the reciprocal result would
be felt in every line of civic and social
hfe- The money sent from Topeka to
support the great retail stores in Kansas
City, Chicago and New York would if
spent at home be returned to the COM
munity in better homes. handsomer
school houses and churches. libraries
parks, and all the civic improvements
which we desire to see inaugurated.
In Kansas City, where the women
are organized into an auxiliary to the
Manufacturers association, the differ
ent factories and mills invite visits from
a committee of this association. and the
committee, after visiting them, returns
Kansas City, who tacitly pledge them
selves to ask for Kansas City products
in their shopping There is no need of
an auxiliary to the Commercial club of
Topeka, for the federation has a. civic
committee, and if a manufacturer
should desire to interest the women of
Topeka in the product of his factory, the
civic committee of the federation could
arrange that one woman from each club
should be among the visitors and report
to her club that special work and en-
courage L
twice a year each of the manufacturers
of Topeka should show a party of club
women through his plant and reports
were made to every Woman's club in the
city, I venture to predict that there
would be a better understanding of the
industrial outlook on the part of the
community and a sentiment Of loyalty
created which could not fail to be pro-
ductive of great good. Many Of our
women have never visited the wooden
mill or the Touring mills, the creamery
or the canning factory; and yet l am
told that they are all good takers, and
that it is dangerous to tell a, woman
anything for it is more certain to be
circulated than if published in the news
papers.
in Topeka. Every family should use
Topeka flour. for 1t is the best made
anywhere; and once heard that a wO-
man emigrated all the way from Scot
land that she might live where that flour
was made; and still there are people in
Topeka who do not appreciate it.
There was once a starch factory in
Topeka. Did it fall by the hand of the
trust, or because Topeka women failed
to patronize it? The output of the wooden
mills should interest the men especially.
I wonder if they do their best to encOur-
age this home mandatory, and how
many Topeka women ask for Topeka
made blankets when they are replenish-
ing their household stores.
INTEREST IN HOME CONSUMPTION
made in Topeka of which we have no
knowledge, for beyond a notice in the
newspaper that such a plant is consid-
ering coming to Topeka, or has located
here there is often no especial effort
made on the part of the factory to in
terest the general public, probably be-
cause it does not desire retail trade.
But if the interest of the women is
aroused, they will ask for the product
of Topeka factories in Topeka stores
and encourage the local dealers to
handle it.
an visiting factory women would
be quick to see anything not in proper
keeping or cleanliness, but having once
satisfied themselves that it was prop
erly conducted and scrupulouS cleanli-
ness observed, they would gladly bear
witness to the fact. If the conduct of
the works for the mandatory of food
products is not clean and sanitary, per
haps, after all, you had better not ask
the women to visit them. But have
such faith in home industry that am
sure every inspection would only
heighten our estimation of both the
product and the factory and bring
about a mutual interest between the
manufacturer and his customers which
would be Of benefit to both of them
Women are to a. very large extent
the purchasing agents of the home, and
if they did but realize how important a
factor in the commercial prosperity of
a town this purchasing power is, they
would rise to the OCCASION, am sure
But the women are not the ODly ones
who fail in this matter. The men are as
likely to send out of town for their per-
sonal needs as the women are to order
their new gowns from Kansas city
They forget that we have carriage fac
tories and dealers here and they i'm
port new carriages from Chicago and
elsewhere. They can not always re-
member our iron works or our planning
mills when they are building, and the
merchants themselves, who are the first
to accuse the women of lack of loyalty
sometimes fail to give our home man
ufacturers a fair chance. And so it is
the little foxes everywhere that spoil the
grapes.
Step by step goes a long way but
Topeka. will not make great progress if
only a few men and women are march
ing, but if every citizen of Topeka
would interest himself in the eneour-
agement of our home merchants and
manufacturers, the advancement of
the city would be phenomenal 1t would
not be q boom, but a healthy, vigorous
growth, encouraging the activity of
every line of business and making GER
tain every civic improvement.
when the invitation to attend this
meeting was read to the Topeka Fed
Grafton of clubs last Thursday. there
was expressed, in several speeches by
prominent women and by unanimous
vote, a desire on the part of the club
women to forward in every way the
loyal spirit which should control US all
in the latter of patrOnizing home in
dustries; and I believe that every wo-
man at that meeting fully intends to in
form herself in regard to home manu-
factories and to buy her goods at home.
II take pleasure in extending to you