The Norfolk weekly news-journal. (Norfolk, Neb.) 1900-19??, 1908-04-10
ENTERTAIN THE DRUkMERS
COMMERCIAL CLUB SMOKER FOR
COMMERCIAL TRAVELLERS.
A FEAST OF STORY TELLING
Freight Rates Were Discussed, Presi.
dent Durand and the Committee
Reporting a Rather Favorable Out.
look for Lower Rates.

|
club aud commercial men at the city
hall Saturday evening, when the Com
mercial club gave smoker to the
resident travelling men of the city. 1t
was the regular time for the quarterly
open meeting of the club and the
officers decided that 1t was an appro.
pirate occasion to entertain the travel.
ing men. AS most of the travelling
men are also members of the club It
was after all but a great big family
meeting of the commercial interests
OF the city. The meeting was well
attended by both travelling and resi-.
dent business men.
The early part of the evening was
devoted to a report of the clubs com.
mittee on freight rates as applied to
Norfolk, and the later hours to story
telling and a social time. The refresh
ment consisted of cigars of Norfolk
manufacture, which were passed
around freely and frequently from
early in the evening until the last
guest had departed. In the story tell.
ing contest, Tom Price, one of the
most genial travellers who calls Nor
folk his home won the prize of a box
of cigars.
President A. J. Durland OF the Com
mercial club presided over the meet
ing. He opened by giving a concise
statement of the work the Commercial
club is engaged in this year--the Sc
| 80 ;,b
duce jobbing houses to locate here and
the development of a water power on
the ElkhOrn that will bring factories
and plants using power. For the pur-
pose of investigating the water power
proposition, Andrew Rosewater, city
ing the week and give the proposed
project a thorough inspection.
Mr. Durland as one of the COM
mittee on rates, related what had
been done on the freight rate question
and believed that there is every pros
pect that a much lower rate may be
secured than Norfolk has. The COM
mittee has met with the railroad com
mission of the state, and on Friday
| held meeting in Omaha with freight
agents of the various roads entering
| Norfolk AS the result of this confer
ence the committee is very much en-
couraged to believe that Norfolk may
| become the distributing center that
| its location entities it to be. II. c.
Bronze of Omaha, leading attorney
of the state, has been employed by
the club to look after the interests
of Norfolk. 1t is hoped that a rate
| satisfactory to this city may be put
in without resort to the courts, but
it may be necessary to appeal to the
interstate commission.
Mr.. Durland's report was followed
by statements by p. F. Sprecher and
f. A, Bullock, other members of the
committee. Mr.. Sprecher rather
thinks it will be necessary to fight
for every concession, while Mr. Bull
lock is more sanguine and believes
that any kind of a wholesale house
that might want to start in Norfolk
would receive such rates that it could
compete with Omaha, Lincoln or
Sioux City.
After the reports were disposed of,
Mr.. Durland on behalf of the club
and the city expressed his appreca-
ton for the large attendance of tray
cling men, and said that the club con-
sidered them as much business men
as though they were behind the count
er of some Norfolk institution. Their
hn,, ,l,1,y TOD
here, and Norfolk is anxious to be-
come such a city as will attract this
desirable class of people here as per-
manent residents.
A number of the travelling men re.
sponded to this sentiment and said
that the time was when the travelling
man from Norfolk always registered
from the town where his house was
located, being somewhat ashamed of
Norfolk. But for the past year things
have changed and now every resident
travelling man and some who do not
live here register in firm hand from
Norfolk, Nebraska. Now they are
proud to be classed as Norfolk peo-
pie. They have become boosters
and they can boost and do it we'll
they are talking Norfolk and giving
it send off every time an opportunity
is presented to do so. They believe
it is destined to become great city
and they are building homes here and
investing money in betterments which
all help a town.
Then the story contest started and
was participated in by Messrs. SPEECH
err, Sturgeon, Price, Bullock, Doughty,
Day, Durland, Hoffman, Randklev,
Spear, John r. Hays and others.
When a travelling man starts in to
tell story it may be depended upon
that it is a good one and the spinning
of yarns accompanied the humiliation
of good tobacco until after midnight.
The committee awarded the box of
cigars to Tom Price as being the best
story teller in the bunch but the com
mittee had difficulty to determine
which was best, as all are artists