The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1904-03-09
WhittIeby and Trade Tricks


We all sat there nursing our silent
wrath against Whittleby who also sat
there evidently engrossed in admiring
his beard.
There are tricks in love and tricks in
war" said the Marine Broker (after
WHITLEY had lordily settled a dispute
as to the exact number of square miles
in Belgrave), but the combined tricks
in each of these two branches of human
research are simply not to be compared
with the tricks in business
WHITLEY tilted back his chair inter-
| negatively, contrarily, aggressively, in
that subtly contradictory manner which
causes US so utterly to loathe and de-
spise the man.
What's the application of that stu
pendous theory?" he asked, in tones
politely sarcastic.
Last fall. explained the Marine
| Broker restraining himself with an eff
fort).-. our firm decided ztoab buy few
| thousand calendars with our name
| printed in one corner, and distribute
them among our customers
III bet the subject was Moonlight
at Sea-" interrupted Jonesy, who hap
pens to know the Marine Brokers line
/ of business.
You win your bet" responded the
Broker. We bought these calendars
and gave them out. Last month we got
a letter from Wisconsin from a man
who signed his name as Walter Clark.
Clark said that he had just returned
| from a visit to New York, where he had
| been profoundly impressed by the beau
| ty of our magnificent Art Calendar,
| Moonlight at Sea- Clark said that he
would consider it a great favor if we
would kindly send him one of these
/ handsome calendars, as he wished to
have it framed and placed in a pronlf-
nent place in his house,
The Broker paused and mutely invi-
| ted US to observe that Whittleby had
assumed an expression as though he
n 4
ending of the story, no matter how
| startling and thrilling it might be.
1.-The Old Gentleman was tickled to
DEATH" continued the Broker, evidently
referring to the head of his firm. He
4 had picked out those calendar himself.
and this unexpected confirmation of mis-
| artistic taste was very gratifying TO
him. Now, 1 happened to be in Wis
| consin at the time, hunting up business
| among the grain shippers. and the Old
Gentleman forwarded ClarkS letter TO
me and asked me to call on Clark and
see if l could do any business with
| him. So I called on Clark" continued
| the Broker, "and what do you think?'
We all shook our heads, with the ex-
ception of Whittleby, who simply look
ed as though he didn't want to spoil
the Brokers story.
Il found that Clark was the western
agent of the photographers from whom
| we had bought our calendars. Evi-
IDENTIFY he had been writing to every
eastern firm to whom his house had
sold any calendars. and his letters had
undoubtedly tickied them all the same
as it had tickled US, and probably every
one who got Clarks letter will buy al
their future calendars from that par
ticular firm of photographers"
That's an old one remarked Whit
tleby promptly, smiling and running
his fingers through his beard. That's
very old one
Now business always appeals to me
as a piece of covered machinery" said
Romano (after we had all sat and
hated Whittleby for a few minutes)
ut produces results, but the methods
are generally more or less under cover
I'm inquisitive, 1 am, and 1 like to see
how the wheels go around. You al
know that I've recently moved into my
new house. 1 hadn't been there long
before / began to get circular letters
from business houses of whom i hao
never heard before. They wanted tc
< sell me books, stocks Ia gold mines
antique rugs, desirable real estate
drugs and clothing noticed one point
in common in all these letters. AL
though my name is spelled R-o-m-a-i
ne, these letters persisted in address
ling me as R-o-m-a-i-n, without the
in my new house and one day, while
looking over the telephone book
noticed that my name in it was spelled
without the final e. It appears. there
fore, that there are a lot of business
houses who keep a careful watch or
the telephone books for new names
and / suppose that they work on The
Theory that a man who puts in a phone
lis progressive enough and flush enough