The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1916-07-21
MERCHANTS WHO REALLY
WANT TO GET BUSINESS

The Merchants Trade Journal adj
~vocates actual canvass for business,
even with storekeepers who have all
their lives been used to seeing the
business walk into their arms with
ont making the slightest effort.
Times are so now that those who go
after business gather 1t in and with
competition growing up 1t lis well
nigh impossible to even hold ones
own in the old frontier way of sit
ting back in a dark corner of the
shop like a spider in a dusty web
and living on what trade was forced
to come in by hunger and cold.
Says The Merchants Trade Jour
nal:
I'm Wisconsin are two brothers in
the furniture business. They ere
panning on holding a special sale.
Both brothers went out among the
people. One day one of the brothers
found a farmer sitting at his table
just finishing writing an order to a
mail order house for a library table.
The farmer was persuaded to go and
see this merchants stock. He did,
and not only a library table was sold,
but merchandise to the amount Of
something like $50 and within two
weeks aIfother bill of over $50 was
sold this same farmer.
lone day a, certain clothing store
! concluded to try out the suggestions
made by The Journal and on a GER
tain day when business was slow two
of their salespeople started out call
ing on the men of the community,
soliciting orders. for suits of clothes.
That afternoon each of these sales
men took an order for a suit Of
clothes.
Statesmen from the outside had
been coming into the town solicit
ing these orders. The barber shops
and other places had sample books
and had been doing a clothing bust
ness.
Some of these days we are going
to be able to persuade the readers
of The Journal to go out after bust
ness, to go out and ask for 1t, and
whenever we do accomplish this
task we will have recolutionized the
business of 80 per cent of u read
ers.
IF. on the first day of July the
Merchants Trade Journal could start
every merchant in the United States
out among the people, getting &C
quainted, helping, asking for bust
ness, it would drive every catalog
house in the country out Of business
inside of five years. They simply
could not stand up against any such
methods" as
This is not the writing on the wall
for Blackfoot merchants. In fact
the writing has been upon order slips
and railroad tickets which should
worry them. Blackfoot is getting to
be known among knights of the hasty
grip, once travellers and such like,
as an easy place to make a haul.
About all a nan will buy without
some urge is expressed in two COM
mon words, food and shelter. For
strict necessities like that a town the
size of Blackfoot would need one
department store, n lumber yard,
and for the oat-scattering young
bucks a t~onsorial cigar shop. 1t is
a very sad but heavy fact that a
merchant who refuses to create a
market for his wares soon falls by
the wayside because of those who are
willing. Happy is this day for the
particular buyer that efficiency Is the
watchword of business-the honey
gatherers with a friendly buzz are
calling in the hungry, while industri-
ously killing off the drones; and to-
day we are better fed, clothed, en-
tertained, educated and served on
the whole than any other age of men.
But, those who would serve must
show a little life.