The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1915-10-16
Saturday October is, 1915.
HELPING A TOWN

To promote the growth and pros
perity of town the old idea, and the
one acted on by most boards of trade,
was to get some concern to move in
to town to do business and employ
labor.
The Banner has often urged that
this is not the only way. A town
should develop its own resources and
build on its own foundation. A town
the size of Bennington produces
many men of ideas and ability.
Most of these so away from home
to develop their success. This is
largely because we are all prone to
overlook the things that are under
our own nose while we covet things
that are distant and often not to be
easily attained.
Big things grow from small begin
nings and the citizens and boards of
trade should watch for chances to
build up the business possibilities
that are inherent and potential in
every town and which are much more
valuable than something that is tax
Ell up by the roots and transplanted
from another where it perhaps wasn't
growing very we'll else it would not
have been moved.
Having advocated this view for sew
eral years The Banner is particularly
interested in the following from an
article by James H. Collins in the
Saturday Evening Post OF this week.
The factory-promotion idea has
changed lately" "A few years ago
town boosting meant effort to bring
in factories from other places Today
it means helping the factories in your
own town to grow"
In a certain city the Board OF
Trade held a conference to discuss
ways of bringing more factories to
town, and an expert who had been in
strumental in building up factories
in another city was asked to speak.
! ON his advice a committee was
formed 1t was made up OF bankers,
general managers. wholesalers, retail
merchants. sales managers and traffic
men, Every manufacturing concern
in the city was listed and members OF
the committee were detailed to get
acquainted with all Of them and call
on each concern at intervals of a
month or So In a little while this
committee was getting astonishing
results.
One factory was found to be pros,
porous in everything except money
matters. It's goods were excellent
and widely sold at good profit but the
plant was run by man who under
stood chiefly the production and sell
ing ends and had no skill in finance
He borrowed money in a careless
way, made no provision for taking
up the loans, and was running just
block or two ahead of the sheriff
most of the time. Busy in making
goods and with nobody to guide the
money end he was handicapped in
growth. Two bankers on that com
mittee Strengthened him out in a few
udg Will IL SNutHt VI hhuiNC ihAl
gave him more working capital and
relieved him of pressure.
Another promising little factory
was sound financially and in produc-
ton, but had not grown big enough to
hire capable sales manager. So its
goods were not being marketed at
tractively or intefligently. It's terri
tory was only half covered and avail
able new territory outside was ne
elected altogether. Two high-priced
sales managers with big concerns
took the selling end in hand and laid
out a scheme that brought immediate
growth.
There is another city where town
boosting takes the line of starting
promising new concerns with home
capital instead of spending money to
bring established ones in from out
side The business men keep their
eyes open for the small man with a
good idea and a good head, If he |
passes their scrutiny the word goes |
round and he gets capital. One of |
.he local bankers will look over his |