The daily banner. (Cambridge, Md.) 1897-2008, 1910-05-30
A TEMPEST IN THE
BAKING POWDER CAN.
The Amenities of Modern Merchandising
on Large Scale-A Battle in Which
Both Trusts Apparently Won.


man, swarthy, plump, genlal-vlsaged'
and fifty years old if a day. He sat on
the hotel piazza, at Hurlock, placed
two stubby fingers on his lips. sent an
amber stream of tobacco juice several
feet into the leafy foliage of the lawn,
gave an ominous grunt, and vociferated:
ssScrap-talk about scrap-we've had
q scrap in the baking powder business
that makes the traditional broil between
the monkey and the parrot Sunday
afternoon function of the infant class.
The bunch of drummers grinned, as
though possessing special and expert
information on business contests OF the
character suggested.
"You see the Royal Bengal Baking
Powder people thought they'd get INTO
our Southern territory. They thought
we didn't have any money; so they
came around and offered US hundred
thousand dollars for our outfit. They
didn't make any more of a sensation
than a wilted strawberry on 2OO-car
trainload. Our people smiled aud SAID
they guessed they wouldn't sell. There's
something in the good old book that we
read so seldom that says, "lts good
plan to let we'll enough alone, and the
managers of our baking powder enter
prise just happened to remember, bark
ing back to those good old days before
reading that book went out OF date,
that it is right good idea to let good
enough alone. So they didn't SELL
Now, right here comes the story:
s'Indignation, with cap l, manifesto
itself in the home office of Royal Ben
gals when they heard of our decision
They decided to make our Southern
business look like the ghost of the ira
ditional 80 cents. So they made a lo'
of big packages-monster packages-o1
ROYAL Bengal Baking Powder, and went
down into our good Southern territory
with rings on the fingers and bells on
their toes. They were going to make
some music, and intended to make the
K1Qu Oh muSlC tual WOuiu Liza ~ oS SiSAA
They didn't know how much money we
had. We didn't intend to let them
know. They began to the tune OF i've
cents for package of the Royal Bengal
baking powder. The package was Sc
big they had to get mule team to car
nv it home. The news of that gigantic
baking powder package struck our mana
gers like hunk of dynamite dropped
from an aeroplane. They saw then
Southern baking powder vanishing like
smoke. Then they got busy. They
began that very night the manufacture
of baking powder package that. COM
pared with the billet of Royal Bengals
was like spring pea to water melon
Down we went into the South with thai
monster package, and We took up the
merry strain of five cents, and we sang
it all over the country, wherever the
Royal Bengals showed their spots. Talk
about your circuses. We went into the
public schools and handed out packages
to the teachers and the little children.
They formed gangs to help each other
carry home the packages. Moreover.
we went into the stores and bought ur
all the baking powder in sight that bore
the Royal Bengal insignia. The first
thing the Royal Bengal concern knew
they were down and out. You couldn
find one of their million packages any.
where in the Southern country.
"'Pretty strenuous, wasn't it?' sug
gested one of the commercial in the
interim of the narrator's expectoratlon
strenuous? No word forit. A thou
sand times during that campaign
thought l would collapse. But | lived
through it, and we put those fellows
completely to route.
"Is the stuff any good?' mildly IN
quired chap from Missouri.
"Good? Well, it's as good as theirs
The Royal Bengal stuff is full of Ro
chelle salts, and ours is made of burnt
alum. Just about skies, so far as the
stuff being any good. l don't eat stuff
made out of either of 'em. if | know 1t
Bread stuff made out of flour, salt
yeast and elbow grease is good enough
for me. Why, the Bengals tried to stop
us making our powder on the ground
that it contained alum. That was the
fight of their lives. We went through
all the courts In this country, and finally
beat them out. But that's another
story, and the trains comm. I'll tell
you about that legal fight someday."
And then the victorious commercial
traveller, expelling the well-masticated
lump of Tiger tobacco in an inundatlng
flow of saliva, seized his bag and made
for the stage, on his way to Salisbury.