New Britain herald., 1916-02-15
TERMS AMERICA
 WASTREL NATION
Economic Expert Declares We
 Are ThriftIeSS Lot

some astounding statements tend Ing to prove that America is the "dSlrel nation of the globe were made iast night by J. s. Knox, president of
 the Knox School of Salesmanship of
 CleVeland, Ohio, in an address before
 the Commonwealth club on Com
 munlty Development" The lecture
 was held in the Grammar school audi
 tOrium.
 Mr. Knox maintained that over
 |lhety per cent. of the people of this
 country nave one thing only which
 Keeps tnem out of the poor house and
 eiia' 'lilhs IS a job. In Switzerland
 'oo oul oI every thousand people have money III the bank, while in this coun- try the proportion is but ninety-nine to the thousand and the majority of llie savers are foreigners Americans squander money in many ways said MT. Knox. The "rnovies' alone take a ually toll of a million dollars. Mil iohs oI oollars, one-fifth of the wealth ol the country, is squandered on to- oacco III US various forms and it does hopouy any good from an economic slandpolnt, contended Mr. Knox. We are, he said, the spendthrift nation of the world and when we want 10 finance a public improvement we are forced to borrow from nations who have saved while we spend.
 Are Foolish Spenders.
 Mr. Knox said he could give n1,ner- ous figures to prove that Americans are the most foolish spenders in the world and educational deficiency is the cause of many business failures. He placed the cost of social vices at three billions a year and twice that amount on dissipation. Only ten per cent. or mans brain power is put to use and many people do not know what head is for. Germany awoke twenty-five years ago, but America is yet to awake. Ninety-seven Der cent. of the people in this country who have reached the age of sixty-five are de pendent upon relatives, friends or charity, and ninety-seven per cent of the men die penniless because of in efficiency. But three per cent of l Americans really succeed.
 Mail Order War.
 MT. Knox referred to the gigantic l battle which is being silently waged | in this country between the retail nler- 1 chants and the mail order houses and 1 he cited figures to prove that the mail order houses are taking huge sums yearly from every state, much of 1 which should go to the retail mer- chant. The speaker expressed sur prise that more high schools lid not install commercial courses and sales courses. He declared the 1 system of this country twenty-five years behind the times and vas in favor of salaried school boards. Send them to England or Germany to spend three years in the study of in iustrial educational systems and then them here," he said.
 Remedy Suggested.
 A problem must be acknOwled ged before it can be solved contended the speaker and therefore he argued he was Justified in calling us rather fore ibly to our weakness. Instead of selling muscle from the chin down, we need to prepare ourselves to sell brain power from the chin up. Up to recently the educators of America held the business man in contempt l and we are beginning to wake up to the need of reorganized agricultural, l and industrial education. The greatest asset of the country is maximum manhood and WOmanhOOd. The suspicion of the farmer towards 1 the trader; the businessman towards | the manufacturer must cease. We | must break out of our cocoanut Of 1 seIfishness. The purpose of a commit i nity is to serve that community to its | maximum capacity. We are too often 1 satisfied to rely upon experience but 1 experience based upon ignorance or 1 bad methods means failure.
 Community salesmanship is prac- l tically unknown in this country. The 1 one with the unused idea will get the ] business and if we don't take it our competitor will. The Chamber of Con- l merce and the school children should l study the amout of business our com munity does and figure out how much it ought to do. Business men must | invest in order to make. A Cham Der of Commerce amply supported 1 by liberal dues can do much. It is l not a question of what it costs but 1 of what it is worth. Members of con- | gress are not much interested in bus 1 mess efficiency. They are for the most l part lawyers. As a community we l must have definite aim; we must l be going somewhere in order to ar l rive. Aim, ambition, backbone and | a definite object coupled with unself- ] ish cooperation will achieve great re- suits, concluded the speaker.