Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1906-07-11
LARGE
IDEAS

NOuh&
world L want to challenge the general
utiterance as untrue. Two of the best
reasons in the world may be given as
to why thu statement is misleading.
In the first place the men of Charge
ideas rum SO few in the 10000 of the
ranks that butiness man of the larg-
est IDEAS could not afford the time
for such f-nitless search; and as a
seoonl greater reason, these men in
the po;sible position of seeking tho
man of large ideas are themselves too
marrow and complacent to feed the
need This is not discouragement for
the young man. either. Rather it is
intended to anticipate the young
mans dfscouragements when in his ex-
ube'ancs of spirits he shall hay siege
TO the world.
The old "large ileas' utteramce
found expression from the sales end
of busin:s. There scarcely is am In
dustry in the country whose respon-
sibbe heads do not regard more highly
the best statesmen of the establish
ment than they -egard the designers
an aTtifcers who make a sales de-
partmsnt practicable. Anybody in
this age can manufacture goods or lay
i'm stocks of goods at wholesale, but
| it is tine selling of these goods at a
p,,ofit which troubles the business
wordd 1t may appee- simple for a
MAN 10 take cass of shoes In assort-
ed siz.s anal standard material and
machine make and sell ut TO the man
who needs the shoes for the replenishr
ment of his stock. But evidently it is
no simple proposition within a good
shoe salesman can command SALARY
of $4,000 to $4,000 yea. But will
one adnit THAT the shoe salesman is
th, ideal "man of large ideas" i'm bus
iness' If he is, why should II be
sasD of the travelling salesman at
large that when he has passed 45
years of age he grows stale
In this eto mad promise that men
are seeking other men of large ideas
whatever of distinct truth is in it
will be found unSGti- a cloud and mist
OF circumstances, at best. 1t Is one
of the easiest of propositions that a
man or seb of men, shouldering a prof.
itable business, is in position a.
once to accept a Moses who will lead
him "from the willerR,ss." But 1t
must not be forgotten that in this
emergency the head of such an estab.
lishment Is likely to be too marrow
10 recognize thi9 Moses when he s.es
him. Or that the Moses himself is
far too wise TO lead him out.
/ I KNEW two men a few years ago,
one of them this man in the business
wilderness and the other his Moses.
The man in the wilderness of an eaec-
trical business I'm the central west had
need of Spreading out his sales do
pa tments, anil his Moses was young
salesman in New York commissioned
to open city salis department there.
But the New York salesman had the
large ideas of New York while the
employer had tho smaller ones Of
Ohio. This was the beginning.
In the frs. place there was a protest
from the Ohio headquarters against
the engraved announcement cards for
the office opening. 1t was argued that
printed lettering wouM have been suf'
fciendIy servieeable, that the manag-
ing saIeCman's cards need not have
BEEN engraved, mi that in many ways
the equipment Of the Office was ex'
travagant. so ii would have beeu in
Ohio but in New York the managing
salesman for the territory know that
he was making the bast possible ex-
peuditure of his employers money in
order to try 70 approach the richness
OF equipment shown by his comPetit-
Ors
There were the criticisms Of the en-
ployer. Those of tie employe from
the beginning we-s that in hundred
ways his employer was not rising to
the hDe OF competition. SlOvenainess
anil inaccuracies in the Irodncts were
intOg Gabie In the metropolitan market
for the goods. Back number methods
Il