The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1914-01-18
INSIDE INFORMATION.

THIS IL the Gay Oh lnSlue lnIOTutatlOb
The desire for intimate facts abouB
people is no longer confined TO politi.
clans and persons Of other deep aud
mysterious callings. In all branches Of
business tho practical value Of such
data Is recognized.
a wholesale concern In Kansas City
whose customers are scattered oil over
the Southwest has an exhaustive card
index OF the personal foibles - its
patrons. For instance. q reference t.
one card will show that Smith nj Anar-
lilo Is q strict church man and vigor-
Gus temperance advocate. Tho sales
manager may also learn that Jones Is
a bowling enthusiast, who is not avcrSe
to an occasional highball when busi-
ness demands may he put aside with
convenience.
To take advantage of the store Of in.
formation thus gathered the sales force
Is composed Of men OF many tempera-
ments. Hawkins is n church man and,
having something In common with
Smith of Amarillo, finds him an easy
customer. Burns, n salesman OF quiet.
sporting proclivities, handles Jones
with ease. And so on through the rest of
the force. BY detailing men Of the right
characteristics II Is often possible To
make sales when less congenial sales
men would find themselves up against
the wall OF customers idiosyncrasies.
Phelps, who writes for the magazines,
has learned from experience that one
editor Is particular to the point Of be.
ing finicky about the ncatness of man.
uscripts. Consequently, anything In
tended for him he prepares with Infinite
care. His card index tells him that a
certain associate editor rather favors
the author who accompanies his manu-.
, script with n short, CHEEKY, personal
note. Phelps does not fail 10 take adj
| vantage OF this.
The author also knows through +
brother writer that the chief reader for
review is bald and extremely sensi-
: two on that subject. Therefore, wheu
, Phelps writes a story for that review
he has no bald characters held up to
| ridicue. The writer adds daily to his
fund of information and finds that his
card index Is quite as much responsible
| for his success as writer as the quail.
! ity Of material he writes.
Freeman sells newspaper features
verse, humor. sports and the likely
! mail. Experience has taught him the
! value Of observing the personal char
! actcristics OF managing editors. lie
knows. for instance that one will noe
, read a form letter; that another is par.
tial TO letters explaining in much detail
the feature offered: that a third cons
tracts for all such matter at the boz
ginning Of the year. Such information
enables Freeman To compete very sue
cessfully In an overcrowdcd field
The rule applies not only to sellers,
but TO buyers. 4 fur-dealing concern
In Cincinnati. through corps Of corre-
spondents, amasses fund OF informa.
ton each year relative to the catch OF
fur-bearlng animals throughout It's con.
tributing territory. An eastern Ken.
lucky correspondent furnishes the in
formation that in a certain ne!ghbOr.
hood trappers are resorting to arsenic
poisoning to increase the catch. Quail
ity being endangered. the fur buyers are
especially cautious with regard to skins
from that section. The furriers also
know that n very mild fall in Michigan
has lessencd the value OF pelts from
that region. 50 that prices offered may
be rated accordingly. The firms in
formal ton bureau. maintained at an an
nual cost OF less than $3.50. has been
found To pay very gratifying dividends.
4 similar recognition of the value OF
inside facts prompted a Tennessee
school teacher 10 begin a course OF in
quiry that revealed much of the en-
vronment Of each of his pupils. BY
cautious questioning he learned that
one stubborn. obduratc pupil had q very
deep regard for his mother. Therefore
when an appeal was made to him on the
sror. of his mothers expectations he
yielded, though all other appeals would
have me, with mulsh refusal. a back
ward stammerin- lad who never
seemed able to prepare his lessons thu
teacher ascortained stood in terror OF
constituted authority because OF pa
rental tyranny. once the boy was
made 10 understand that the teacher
: intended no punishment OF him he
ovcrcamc his apparent inetiiciency and
became II leader in his classes.
\ common sense application of pedA-
goGica methods upon the basis pros
!, vidcd by his store of Information lifted
:, this teacher from an !ll-paid place in a
j rural school to the SUPPLEMENTARY al
the county high school.
, Not only in the workaday world
~ but in that empire Of ne'er do wells
= trampdom, inc value OF advance dope
- is fully recognized. lIobucs blazing new
r. trails leave signals chalked or
u fence posts barn doors, box cars
aud water tanks, rs q guide ol
p conduct tor their fellow tramps
, \ sign un Mrs. Van Rrnl's gate posi-
/, will indicate to the next weary willis'
e that She has a heart fun az sympa.
e Thy and Il pantry fun of yiunds for The
= dusty. tattcred knight ~ the long road
= An equally mysterious mark on a tele-
~, ,t.in
:. wandercr that m" city lookup yawn:
:, for him.
T. In every Inc it has come t. b" under,
u stood that lattcr-day methods in wort
Il or play are most successfully appiet
u 10y men Who keep the inside Information
I always n their finger tips.