Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1912-11-02
R. S. Abbott Manager of the Ford Company

but as messenger" for the barsEa
trust
One of Mr.. Vests jobs in those days
was to grab a carload of bananas hitch
it on freight train and to sell them by
the bunch at every stop. 1t took fast
talking, at which Mr.. West is adept, but
he managed to beat the game a bit. He
accomplished this by slipping the engi-
neer bunch of bananas at the end of
the trip, With this habit established,
the banana messenger managed the
train. If, after short stop. the con-
ductor should signal go ahead" before
Mr.. West had completed his transac-
ton the engineer would grab out a liz
tie hammer, dash down and begin
pecking away at a cylinder OF. a drivtle
rod until the banana man slipped the
signal that business was over. Then
the engine repairing would cease. the
train would move on again and all
would be well.
Fruit and Conversation.
Barney and bananas did it.
This same quality of blarney. which
is technically known as "a good line Of
talk" combined with brains has put Mr.
West right at the top in the tire bus,
ness. He got into this business some
six years ago.
At first Mr. West Travelled out Of Mo-
bile. So successful was he ana 50 well
dld he know the Southern field that ne
was called by a big tire company t.
take over its Southern branch. This he
aid in September of three years ago.
1 got lot of cheap credit out of the
branch says Mr. West 1T came easy
lhere wasn't any competition. We had
the field all to ourselves. | was willing
to mix around and to travel around
And | couldn't help but sell stuff
So great was the success of the Mo-
bile tire man that he was soon called
to St, Louis to take charge of the Fire
stone branch in that cit Here the sue
cess continued. but Mr.. West was q
Southerner and was not satisfied with
Missouri. He wanted to go back to the
South. aud he knew the possibilities
there. SO he talked the South"
steadily TO the Firestone company. and
asked them to send him down as man
ager of Southern branch.
Enthusiasm Did It.
il happened at that time that Presi-
dent Firestone, of the Firestone Tire
and Rubber Company, couldn't see the
South very clearly He liked the eli
mate-but not the business prospects.
"Wylie," he said one day, do you
mean to say that you would leave this
big St Louis branch and open one in
the South?"
Sure" said Mr.. West. Il can leave
on ten minutes notice"
The next day he got orders to go.
His enthusiastic belief in the section
convinced the Firestone Tire and Rub
Der Company. And they have lived to
see the Atlanta branch outstrip that at
San Francisco, at ST Louis. at almost
every one of the innumerable points
where Ffrestone branches are located.
Il determined the day | had a talk
W ltli A'll' J. II t'tDllf llltL IL ne sent me
back to the South ! was never going to
leave stone unturned," says Mr.. West.
when it stood in the way Of getting
recognition for this section. And that's
why l work so hard with the show"
The Atlanta branch was opened on
May 8, 1871. In the short time that has
elapsed since then it has become one
of the few really big tire branches in
Dixie.
When Mr. West first came to Atlanta
there were three branches here Now
there are fifteen direct factory branches
and seven agencies That givs "a bit of
am idea how the business has grown.
Mr.. Abbott a Real Veteran.
Another of the live wire members
Of the show committee is Robert Stuart