Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-09-23

to come along. City trade Is drawn by news
paper advertising. Merchants cannot do
business without advertising. Trade all
goes to the advertising merchant. People
were long ago educated up to the idea OF
looking through the advertising columns
for directions where to buy what they want
or for the new things offered for sale at the
old stand.
Local jobbers cannot sell to the out-of-
town merchants without getting In touch
with Them One of the old and approved
ways of doing this is through the COM
mercal traveller. All over the south one
meets the drummers from Baltimore firms
The drummer works up a personal acquaint-
ance with all the purchasers in bis territory
He sells goods by sample. or If the pro-
spective buyer wants to look over the whole
stock he goes to the firms main house. His
old friend, the drummer. meets him, or he
is met by a member of the firm or one of
the firms good jolliers. He is shown the
city sights. etc. ETC. This is called Civ
ing the glad hand subject that engaged
the pen of The Stars representative with
the Greater Washington special Friday.
When merchant forms the habit of buy
ing from a particular firm or set of firms it
requires some energetic work and induce
ment to pry him loose from the attachment
1t is as it is in city. man will walk
by half dozen cigar stores or dairy lunch
es to buy a five-cent cigar ham sand
witch in the place where he is In the habit OF
buying them. and where he sustains per-
sonal relations with the clerk. Washington
merchants must not only compete In the
matter of price and goods. but they must
also compete in persuasion to buy.
Some Washington houses do follow the
plan of keeping in touch with the small
town merchants in nearby districts by
means of personal representation, and
these firms do an out-of-town business in
proportion as they persuade the customers
Several Washington jobbers in groceries
sell in southern Maryland and northern
Virginia. Let a man go ten miles out In
the country from Washington and enter a
country general store The groceries-four
meal, salt meats. canned goods, syrups-
candies etc. were sold by Washington
firms, but the dry goods, notions, boots.
shoes, hats and caps were bought in Bal
timore. The Washington grocery jobbers
divide the field with Baltimore and the
merchants in the other lines of trade have
not tried to do it.
Personal representation does great deal
of business. There is a little cigar estab-
lishment in Alexandria. Go into almost any
country store in northern Virginia from the
Potomac to the Rappahannock, and that
firms cigars are there. In scores of little
crossroads stores a smoker will not be able
to buy any other cigars than these. Hustle
did it. The world is full of cigars just as
good and cheap.
Representatives of business houses who
are on the Greater Washington special are
reported as taking many orders for goods.
This is natural. The special trade train in
these parts is novelty and spectacle, and
is drawing crowds. A free show will al
ways do this. A great many of these orders
are probably complimentary" orders. and
some of the merchants giving them do not
intend to break loose from the firms they
have dealt with for years. But these
merchants may be kept in touch with
and cultivated. Old merchants pass
away and old stores close every year.
New merchants come to the front
and new stores open every year. Wash
ington jobbers ought to get a large part
of the trade of these merchants who have
no old-time associations and obligations.
With sustained effort Washington mer-
chants can supply the country that natural
" depends upon them for goods.