The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-05-24
WHAT THE ANN|STON STAR HAD ID SAYFOR
 THE TRAVELLING MEN
Harry Ayers, in Editorial, Eulogizes the Commercial Travelers-Says U. c.
 T. Tends to Elevate

In the Friday issue of the Anniston
 Evening Star. Harry Ayers, the editor
 carried an editorial that will be of gen
 eral interest to the United Commercial
 Travellers in Alabama. Mr. Ayers is one
 of the cleverest editorial writers in the
 south, and his pert paragraphs bring
 smiles to some of our most esteemed
 grouches. MT. Ayers is a prince of good , fellows and created fine Impression
 among the ranks of the L. C. T.s oi
 Alabama.
 | Following is the editorial:
 l One of the greatest transformat tions af-
 fecting the commercial life of the United
 States in recent years is that which has
 taken place in the personnel of the com
 mercial travellers
 :, The drummer that we knew yester-
 day is no more. He was jolly happy
 go-lucky fellow, with a large stock of yarns and modicum of ability: he was
 generous with cheap cigars and often his
 breath exhaled odors of rum of rather
 questionable quality; often he was pro- fane and in his dress he paid slight att tention to the niceties.
 The drummer" however, has given
 way to the demands of efficiency the same as his type in other walks of life; and the man who carries the grip today is essentially business man, representa- i tive of the best that the company by which he is employed affords.
 The commercial traveller of today is
 genial, and occasionally he still has a 1 girl in every town. His geniality, how ever. is marked by refinement and his whole demeaHor squares with the exac- | tions of modern business He Is sober honest. straightforward and well in- formed. He must know men, psychology and mental arithmetic; he must be a convincing talker. have a pleasing ad-
 dress and possess intimate knowledge of his own business, as well as familiarity with that of his competitor Yet, the best commercial travellers today have ceased to "knock' their rivals in trade,
 realizing that they can solicit to success
 only by playing up their own goods. In-
 deed, the primary requisite of success full solicitation today Is that the so- licitor be botster.
 | Due to the fact that he must combine force of personality and intellect, that he must advertise the concern for which he works. many houses are today putting their best men on the road. As a con sequence. higher priced men are taking | up the grip every year. and it is signifi- cant that there are more married men , among the commercial travellers today than ever before. men of stability and se-
 rious purpose in life
 In organization there is strength and no organization can survive unless it be founded on right principles. Hence. the United Commercial Travellers associa- tion has tended to steadily elevate and improve the body of men composing it's
 membership, with the result that commer- cia, solicitation has acquired the rank of profession in some of it's aspects It is no longer an avocation taken up by man who happens to be out of a 1 Job norris open to apprentices in busi- ness or to any man whose only quali- ficatlon is ready tongue.
 | Many of Annston's foremost citizens | turned out to the opening session of the 1 grand council of Alabama this morning, 1 and the session Was opened with prayer. an act expressing the serious and funda- mental characteristics of the organization {, in our midst.
 Hence 1t is that Anniston today gladly 1 turns over it's keys to the men composing | the grand council. We bid them welcome as our guests, and we fain would have them as d part of our permanent citizen | ship We need men of their type, men who see and appreciate the best in life and tell of it to their fellow men as they pursue the daily, routine of their voca- | ton.
 l Lieutenant Governor Kilby, in his well come address cited several of the advan- l tages of Anniston as place in which n | live: and this paper emphatically in- dorses his cordial invitation to the vis- | itors in our city, that they remain with us and continue to enjoy the benefits of attractive Anniston. Not only this. but a glance through the columns of today 6 edition will suffice to prove that the i men of the grand council of Alabama, United Commercial Travellers of Ameri- ca. are wanted as cltizenes by our people without an exception. for the greetin $ we carry in our pages express the VIII
 of all.