Omaha daily bee., 1905-02-14
LIFTING ny BOOT STRAPS.
what Our Commercial club IL said
TO no for Omaha.

r. A. Eaton, under the caption. Lifting
by Boot straps
Omaha Is today one Of the greatest job
bling centers in the United States, and
! it has been made so solely through the
efforts OF its business men.
Omaha today stands as an example of
what push and determlf alton by business
men, organized as a commercial club, can
| accomplish.
Omaha, in the beginning had CONNER
| cial difficulties to overcome that would
| have appalled, some towns. 1t was prac-
tically surrounded by competition. South
and southwest 1t had Kansas City and
st. Joseph, to say nothing of st. Louis.
East and north was Chicago and north
were Sioux City, st. Paul and Mnneapoli
Going west, Omaha competed with San
Francisco and the cities in the northwest,
! with Denver at one side.
Apparently there was little hope for
Omaha to become a jobbns center, but
the business men of that city decided TO
make IL one of the big jobbing centers,
not only for the transmississlppi country,
but Of the entire country.
About eighteen years ago the business
| men of the city organized a chamber of
commerca. II struggled along as best il
could, bolstered up spasmodically, it's pTin.
cipal aim being to advertise Omaha. Out
! OF this grew the Commercial club of
Omaha. In the spring OF 1889 hustling
members Of the chamber OF commerce
decided that it was time to do something
| They organized a special excursion TO the
Black Hills country and northern wyom-
| ing. taking in Nebraska enroute
This was the beginning. As result of
| this excursion Omaha business men real
| lied that with lively hustlng they could
make a fact of what had been only a
prophecy.
The chamber of commerce gave way to
| the Omaha Commercial club Business
men, jobbers and manufacturers and pro-
| fesstonal men and hustlers were taken
into active membership of the Commercial
club. The club secured the top floor OF
one of the principal business buildings In
| the heart of the uptown business section.
An experienced man was employed to have
charge of the rooms and a force Of clerks
was employed. The object was to make
these rooms the home OF the business peo-
pie of Omaha and of business visitors.
Business men throughout the territory
tributary to Omaha were taken to this
club and dined when in town. Tickets
were given to business visitors and they
| were made to feel at home In the club
| IL Jones brought a business friend into
| the rooms he was introduced to Smith and
| Brown. no matter If the visitor was a
| hardware dealer and Smith and Brown
were in the grocery and dry goods busi-
| ness respectively. The idea was to make
the stranger feel acquainted
There were frequent meetings of the
club, so that all members became ac-
. A.l
took their lunch in the club rooms and
| the noon day hour was one of not only
social, but business intercourse. This
| brought the men together. 1t promoted
harmony. There was an interchange of
views and out of it all grew the prosperity
! of Omaha
| Early in the history of the Commercial
club IL was recognized that Omaha must
have better freight rates Kansas City
| and Chicago were crowding Omaha be-
| cause of their advantageous rates. Omaha
labored under the load of unjust rates
John A. UT, an experienced freight man,
| was employed by the club as a commits
| sioner. The story of the struggle is
| long one. but in the end Omaha gained
| the point 1t sought. 1t secured freight
rates that allowed its business men to do
men in the other cities.
1t was a long and bitter fight, for Kan
| sas City fought Omaha, and so did st.
Louis. ST. Joseph, Chicago, Minneapolis,
st. Paul and other cities. But victory
came in the end.
The business men, however, did not give
up the fight because they had secured ad-
vantageous freight rates. They kept UP
their fight to make Omaha a commercial
city. The Commercial club kept in touch
with manufacturers and others desiring a
new location and these manufactures were
secured. Money was secured, too, for
manufacturers already stablished to en-
large and spread out.
In the course OF all his fight for SUI
premacy houses came to Omaha from st.
Joseph and st. Louis and other cities
Great manufacturers opened big branch
! houses In Omaha and the city became one
of great commercial Importance. This
| night In Omaha is still going on. Today
there is as much activity as when the
fight began Today Omaha jobbers send
| their men all over the country west of the
| Mississippi river and into the Chicago and
st. Louis territory and into the San Fran
cisco territory, and their men go into the
republic of Mexico and the goods are
enlppeu 10 SoHth ana Central America.
| Omaha today controls all the territory
| between the Missouri river and the, Rocky
mountains and much OF the territory west
of the mountains.
When the Burlington built its cut.off
| from Brush It was believed that Denver
would get the bulk of the Black Hills,
| Wyoming and Montana business. Omaha
business men, however, sent their travel
| ing men through the territory. Not one,
but four, six, eight men went out from
! each house to travel In the district and
make friends.
I'VE had 10 do II, we believed" said
| the general manager OF an Omaha whole
sale grocery house that employs forty-hve
| travelling men, 'End our experience was
that instead OF losing through the road we
! gained, for these men we sent out got
new business. The cut-off has not af-
| fected a single Omaha jobber or manu-
| factureT"
II will be remembered that Denver did
| absolutely nothing TO gather in all this
| trade at the time.
As Omaha prospered the business men
OF the town began reaching out for more
business and they got &. They got all
the rates they went after and they got
! all the business they went after and then