The Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1???-1928, 1908-08-02
MERCHANTS TALK
AFTER DINNER
HOW TO DEVELOP WHOLESALE {
TRADE OF CAIRO SUBJECT
or DISCUSSION.
URGE TRAFFIC BUREAU
AS Most important Means to the End
Also Pull Together Policy
BY Big Firms and Trav-
cling Men,

One of the best merchants meet
ings held lately was that Of yesterday
at the grill room Of the Alexander
club. Half a hundred business me.
We're present and there We're some in
teresting talks on subjects of concern
TO the community. The committee
in charge consisted of H. L. Denisou
Of the Denison Gholson Dry Goods Co
T. j Kerth of the Weber Dry Good.
Co., and Judge W. S. Dewey with Mr.
Denson as chairman and spokesman
The dinner was served earlier thar
usual and there was more time foi
speech making Mr. Denison suggested
that the wholesale busines of Cairo
and how TO increase 1t in volume
would be a subject worthy of attention
and called upon p. II, Smyth, of the
Weber Dry Goods Co. for some re
marks on the subject.
p. n. Smiths Address.
After a three days trip over into
the sticks" returned Thursday
afternoon, and about the first thing
that caught my eye on glancing over
papers on my desk, was note thai
read as follows want you to make
a five or ten minute talk at luncheon
Saturday, on Enlargement of the
Present Wholesale Interests in Cairo.
This note was signed by my friend
Leon Denison. Nnw gentlemen ! am
too recent a recruit to the mercaAtile
interests of Cairo to talk on the sub
iect inteiligently without some prepa-
ration There are men here that have
had years of experience, men that
have been identified with the business
interests of this city for a quarter of
a century or more, that | am sure are
much better qualified than | am to
handle so important a subject. How,
ever, as no harm can come of an hon
est expression of opinion, no matter
how humble that opinion may be, !
am going to avail myself OF the priv.
ilege that YOU have sok kindly ac-
corded me.
Cairo, with its many advantages,
natural and otherwise, shoud ma
te1ially advance during the next few
years. Although this city today occu-
pies prominent and respected posi-
tion in the business world, and its
business institutions looked upCn as
sound and substantial, yet there are
greater things ahead for us and we
should make every effort possible for
their accomplishment. AS my com
mercial experience in this city has
beer confined exclusively to the
Wholesale dry goods business, | shall
address my remarks to that interest
alone.
The birth of the wholesale dry
goods business in Cairo dates back to
1889. and was the outcome of CO
partnership between Patier e. Wolf.
The first concern to engage in the
dry goods jobbing business in this city
was the New York Store company.
company was organized in March,
1883 its purpose was to engage in the
Wholesale and retail of both dry
goods and groceries. This corpora
ton was capitalized at $25000.00. F1i'
C. o. Pater was its preside"t anu
general manager. The frst Knight
of the Grin" that carried a line of dry
goods out of this city was NJ. S. Lefeo-
witch. familiarly known as Beck Mar
fin | am reliably informed that the
sale of dry goods during the first year
of the life of the New York Store
Co amounted approximately to- $G5,-
600.
The second in the field of whole
sale dry goods was w. Il. Ghoisoh'
Their followed Kaufman Bros, MatX-
White. later Marx-Denison and now
nanieon-Gholson. the Weber Dry
Goods company, Marx-Nassauer CON-
pany and the Weber-Payne company
The wholesale dry goods business in
Cairo has greatly advanced during
the last decade, and it is conserV-
atiyely estimated that the sales at the
present time will run close to $l.5vo :
Oo0. 1t is safe to predict that WITHIN
the next five years this amount VIII
he more than doubled. In order to
facilitate this growth that we hope Tor
the business organizations of Cairo
should keep in close touch with every
movement that effects the prompt ana
cheap distribution of merchandise to
the iobbers and then the trade. The
deep waterways movement should re
ceiye the hearty and substantial sup
mort of not only every business man
in Cairo. but also Of every person tha'
has the interest and welfare of this
CITY at heart Cairo has more to gam
from the completion of a deep water
way than any other city located on
the western rivers. 1t matters no'
what improvements are made upon
the Mississippi river above Cairo. this
citv win of necessity be the head O
navigation during the reater part Q