The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-03-16
BIG EFFORT WILL BE
MADE TO ATTRACT THE
RURAL TRADE TO CITY
Fowlkes Explains What Business
Mems League Is Contemplating.
Merchants Notified of Events
Over the State Relating
to Their Business

Scnenle OF Ine DuSiileSS hc-i icoS VIC
by which it is hoped to put new spirit
and business energy into Birmingham
Will be launched at directors meet
ing of the league a week from to-
morrow.
President b. b. Burton. Secretary
Sam H FowllSes and the other Off
cials of the league hope by this new
scheme to perform some wonders for
Birmingham, especially in the way OF
getting out Of town business. Now un-
der consideration is the matter of the
formation of an order of "Co-ops,
which means cooperation. and the
members of the order will each wear
a button or badge with the word
Scoops" on it, The kernel of the
whole scheme is cooperation and 1t
will be to this end that the league will
work
The plan as it stands at present is
TO have luncheons at the headquarters
of the league about every two weeks,
the one of the directors a week from
next Monday being the first. After
this will be held a luncheon of MEM
bers of the league who form kind of
an affiliation. such as the dry goods
men, then the boot and shoe men, then
the hardware men, the advertising
men, the railroad men. and SO on down
the line, covering every line of busi-
ness followed in the city.
To Serve Free LuncheOns
The luncheons to be served at each
of the cooperative meetings Will be
furnished free by the Business Mems
league and Secretary Fowlkes has
made arrangements to this end. The
idea will be to have the different busi-
ness men meet, talk over business
methods which might be, advantageous
to all of them get their midday lunch
con at the same time and lose no time
from their business. The spirit of the
meetings will be cooperation, pure and
simple. All petty jealousies will be dis
carded between merchants selling the
same line of goods; instead of COM
peting with each other they will work
with the each other to get out -of-town
trade to Birmingham and then, after
1t is here, 1T is up to the best man
in a good natured way to get the
business.
That Birmingham presents field for
this kind of work which cannot be
equaled in any other city in the south,
is the Cld1In Ol NIL II OWihtS. ipy Nos
of illustration he mentioned yesterday
a conversation he had with a man who
handles one of the most popular and
widely advertised soft drinks in the
country. This man stated that larger
business was done in his line In the
small mining towns and camps about
Birmingham than in any other terri
tory in the south. He stated that this
was because the miner Is so much
II To. fn6 a "a
of people found in the rural districts
about Atlanta. Chattanooga, Memphis
and other surrounding towns. "These
farmers get very little actual money
into their own hands he stated, 'and
when they do get 1t in the fall of the
year when they harvest their crops
they stick to it rather closely.
.eWith the mining class of people
who inhabit the rural districts about
Birmingham" said Mr.. Fowllxes. ut is
entirely different. These men make
anywhere from So to as high as $40
ner day and they spend their money
freely. Like this soft drink man said,
they buy more of his goods than any
other class of people and the same
thing is true if we can get them to
Rirmingham and to trading regularly
with our merchants. All we need is
to get them into the habit and the
rest will take care of itself This is
one of the things we hope to accom-
plish through the cooperative lunches
which we will inauguratc at lunch
con of the directors a week from Mon
day.
Four Elements in Situation
"There are four elements which en-
tor into the situation. They are the
neople. the newspapers, the railroads
and the merchants. The people and the
merchants stand on opposite sides and
the newspapers and the railroads in
betveen to draw them together.
with the aid of the news
railroads in between to draw them to-
oether. With the aid Of the news
papers and the railroads that's what
we are going to attempt to get the
merchants and the people to do, get
together; and the best way to do it,
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