The weekly Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1911-1922, 1911-05-25
Pointer for the
Follow Up Man

GA NY mail for me?" asked Mr.
"A Grind of Mrs. Grind, who met
him at the homecoming door.
why, yes" replied Mrs. Grind. as
she handed him bundle of mail be-
fore he had untangled himself from
both sleeves of his overcoat. Here's
one from the Abraham Nathan Iron
and Metal company, and another
from some one-looks like a wo-
mans handwriting-in South Dako-
ta"
Scott still think I'm in the rags-old-
iron business on account of that ar
ticle wrote three years ago for The
Waste and Iron Age But the Da-
kota letter gets me-"
Mrs. Grind looked over his shout
der as he sat down aud tore open the
envelope of the letter, which did
seem TO be addressed in a feminine
hand. Its penmanship was good
that of an educated woman-and
from their reading of it several thing
were evident. The writer had spot
ted Mr.. Grind as an eminent author
ity on waste of all kinds; she lived
In a stock country, whose people
were mostly on the move, and, as she
expressed it, lived out of tin cans"
and she wanted TO find out how and
where to sell these tin cans, with
which her country was cluttered and
which were going to waste.
Further, she was not greatly bless
ed with the goods of this world and
would find life more enjoyable" il
she could discover a market for bones
end cattle and badger hair, with
which the prairies were covered; she
had boys and teams, but no markets
Now, l don't care what you say
land as the eyes of the readers met
Mr.. Grind could see that his wife was
half laughing and half crying1
that's real pitiful letter. Dear,
old soul! With all her boys and
teams-tin cans, bones, and hair, all
around-but no place to send 'em to
I can just see her In the Dakota
ranch. with old clothes on and crack
ed knuckles, writing here End there
trying to follow up this business that
makes money from thrown away
things-if one only knows where tc
sell 'em-and supposing you know al
about 1t because you wrote as If you
did"
But she's not so far out of the
way as these so-called business men
who have been writing to me-" inter.
posed Grind, for the last three years
on the superstition that I'm a whole.
sale dealer In all kinds Of waste pro-
ducts"
Now this Mr.. Grind once, when In
a desperate moment, needing an over.
coat, slid over a raft of fanciful top
ics and selected "Rags-Old-Iron" foI
his subject, wrote 1t up, sold it. and
got an overcoat big enough to flor
around his heels.
Those "follow-up" fellows saw the
article, got his address from the city
have been trying to sell him carloads
Of iron and other metals, rags, bur
laps. and all the castoffs mentioned
In his article. They are the same fell
lows who advertise thus:
'WANTED-Position where the
abilities of q first class follOw-up
man. a business getter, will be ap
preciated; have made a study of let
ter forms and correspondence, and
when / once get on the trail of man
hs cannot escape"
II don't think you have anything
on rae," announced Grind Jr., who had
entered In his new high school gradu-
! Atom suit. I'm still getting letters
from four business colleges which
commenced to send me circulars when
/ graduated from grammar school
four years ago, inviting me to take
special summer courses, special winter
courses, and what-not to make I'D fol-
my deficiencies in writing. spelling
and arithmetic. You'd think some OF
those guys would wake up after three
or four years and say to themselves
Jimmy Grind, Jr., must be quite 9
lad by this time. He's either goi
through high school and knows how
to write fair letter, multiply twelve
times twelve, and spell two syllable
words. or made up his mind some.
where near what he wants to make
of himself. So / guess I'll quit firing
at him and save my shots for some
body know something about"
Out of this conference on the hi
or miss follow-up methods as applied
to one small family it may be thai
the business may get at least one
| pointer toward practical REFORM Ii
short, you follow-up men revise your
lists once in a while. The Dakots
woman tells her own story of strug
Cling in the dark for information ant
something to make life more enjoy
able but you are supposed to b.
business men So don't shoot in the
dark until you get gray Wake VI
and find out how many of your shoti
really hit anybody