Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-09-27
FIRST OF "H0LD-UP" WIRES
Splendid Results of the Greater Wash.
ington Exposition Flyer.
STRANGERS IN A STRANGE LAND
Some of the Places Through Which
the Train is Travelling Did Not
Know About Capital.
Special From a stafr Correspondent.

M u, ocplcuOST H.
Thomas E. Cross. representing Golden &
Co. on the Greater Washington special, re-
ceived telegram last night that should
interest everybody who has been following
the tour of the exposition train sent out
under The Stars auspices to introduce ma
| tional capital jobbers to the southern trade.
Here 1t Is:
WASHINGTON. D. c., September %.
ct. E. Ross, Greater Washington special,
| Monroe, N. c.
"Stop selling lard. Have all orders we
can fill for ten days. GOLDEN & CO."
| 1 am novice in all matters pertaining
| to the pike" which Is the latest term
for the once familiar ION the road" but
from the expression on Mr.. Cross face
when he read the above telegram I am
able to gather few Impressions. It may
help the layman to understand the situa-
ton when I explain that during the first
five days that the Greater Washington
special was on the road Cross sold 1O2 500
pounds Of stuff-lard. bacon and hams.
Most Of this was put out In virgin field,
to absolutely new customers, and as Col
den & Co. sell close to their production
swamped them. If this isn't proof that
the secondary purpose of the Greater
Washington Specialize securing of imme-
date business-is booming along in great
shape then I am foolish with the heat,
and I'd hate to think that.
The Only Hold-Up Wire.
That is the only 'hold-up' telegram that
has been received to date. but this doesn't
mean the other travelling men haven't been
doing big business. But only a few of
them represent manufacturers. and SO no
matter what orders, they receive in q job
bling capacity they will come close to filing
Cross has been forced by that telegram to
cut out one of the subjects in his regular
lecture on Greater Washington and it's
products, but he says that everything goes
so easily on the Greater Washington train
that he expects to make up for that stop
order by selling an excess of everything
else In this line. There hasn't been a stop
yet since the special left Washington that,
In addition to the regular work of spreading
broadcast the news of the awakening of the
national capital to new fields of commercial
endeavor, some or all the travelling men
haven't done not only business, but big
business. Down in this country, in all the
towns where we have stopped during the
last couple days, Monroe, Wadesboro, Rock
ingham and the rest salesman for a
Washington house is practically unknown
I met one man back in Statesvile who
remembered having seen g. Washington
drummer few weeks or months before the
Johnstown flood. He could not fix the date
any more accurately than that, but he
was the lone exception to the general rule
and I don't know enough about him to
tdAe Odtl 10 Ills VeTeiclty. Inc incidents
of each stop are getting to be such an old
story, albeit an interesting one that some
day soon I am going to forget that the
majority of the folks of Greater Washing
ton are not mind readers, and merely wire
another stop, sale grand, sweet song
mat would about cover the situation. I
must say. however, that the further we
get from> Washington the more the good
people OF North Carolina seem to be inter-
ested in the Greater Washington special
and the commercial movement it is intend
ed to advance. If wasn't afraid of losing
my job I'd say that some Of the benighted
folks down here never heard of The Even
ing Star or The Sunday Star.
About the Limit
But of course that would be the limit of
ignorance, the climax of hearsay and I'll
carefully refrain. But seriously there is a
splendid chance to SOW the seed Of knowl-
edge concerning Washington, its CONNER
cial advantages and the use that is intend
ed to be made of them. No bets are being
overlooked, either. By advance stories in
the local newspapers and by Geographic ad-
vices to town officials the section traversed
by the special Is aware that The Stars spe-
cial. the advance agent Of Greater Wash
ington, Is on the way, consequently when
We land in a town the mayor and his aids
and the leading merchants, business men
and town boomers are waiting for u.s.
Reasons Of Congenital Curiosity.
Inc rest or the town is there, too, but
most of them come for reasons intimately
connected with the congenital curiosity that
abides in the average mortal.
The special left Hamlet a little town on
the line OF the Seaboard, at 10 O'Clock this
morning and pulled into Laurinburg an
hour later. We leave here at 2 o'clock for
MaxtOn, and between now and tonight will
cover besides that town, Lumberton, Penn
brake and Fayetteville, where We spend the
night and stay until noon tomorrow
Mayor Bundy Of Laurinburg Is no more
enthusiastic than his like in other towns
we have visited. The following few COM
ments Mr.. Bundy made to me a little while
ago are fair sample of the southern view
point of the Greater Washington special:
"A unique and splendid idea for adver-
Using commercially city that Is already
world famed for its wonderful beauty l
have no doubt whatever that Washington
will profit enormously by the publicity of
it's commercial ambitions obtained through
the medium of this great exposition train.
l wish you every success in the world. Not
a southern merchant but would rather buy
in Washington If he could obtain even as
good treatment as he now obtains in Bal
timore or elsewhere. Get your goods, ad-
just your freight rates and We will hello
with our money as well as our talk"
Sounds pretty good, doesn't 1t, and really
believe the dear man meant 1t. too.
len.
THAW EXAMINED AGAIN.