Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1917-07-24
Knox. Business Lecturer.
TO SPEAK AT cHAUTAUQUA.

A big lecture feature of the Chautau-
qua week is James S. Knox, lecturer on
business subjects.
Mr.. Knox of Cleveland Las long been
recognized a. one of the foremost bust
ness experts to be found anywhere. he
has sold goods on the road. BE has
been the head Of q successful business.
he has met with many of the obstacles
the average man in business goes up
against. He lost everything in the San
Francisco earthquake-and fought bis
way back. he has twice built from the
bottom up. he is no mere theorist. he
has practiced the methods he teaches,
given them the acid test In his own bust
ness and In others and bases his business
talks on actual, everyday experience.
AUTHOR OF FIVE BOOKS.
In the same way his books have been
written. He Is the author of five books
on salesmanship and merchandising.
Not . sales plan went into his books that
has not first been proved q success.
evil 1t sell the goods?" was the test re-
quired of each selling plan, and that fact
alone determined its worth.
He has addressed hundreds OF gather
ings of merchants and manufacturers
aud conventions of sales people. he
has spoken to boards of trade, c0mmef-
cial clubs, rotary clubs, ad. clubs and
merchants associations In nearly every
city of consequence from the Allegha.
MES to the Pacific. he has received
large fees for these addresses. He made
two lecture tours 10 the Pacific coast In
one year and made from two to four ad-
dresses day to business associs atoms
and educational institutions. He has
talked to the sales forces of large de-
partment stores, addressing az many as
thousand clerks in one meeting. He
was one of the principal speakers at the
recent national meeting of retail mer-
chants.
He has done more than this. In
Cleveland be has built up an organixa-
ton that is training young men end
women to be better buyers and better
sellers of merchandise. Through his
text books be is aiding thousands of
public and private school instructors to
do In night and vocational schools what
he Is doing in Cleveland. Thus the in
flusnce of his work Is not confined to
single community nor to single coun
try. His methods have been introduced
into Canada, France and Japan.
STUDIES MERCHANTS METHODS.
His survey of towns and counties has
brought him into intimate touch with
scores and hundreds of communities
and given him better insight into the
business life of the average city and
town than anything else. These are con-
Quoted with the assistance of one or
more trained investigators from bis
plant in Cleveland. They have gone
into the homes and talked to housewives
about the methods of merchants, about
this store and that, why do You trade
here or there instead of over yonder,
why do you buy from mail order houses
instead of at home. Such questions as
these they have asked and received the
answers direct. So conclusions he has
made are not based on rum0r or on the
DRY or anything of that kind, but solely
on the facts as they exist. And, Of
course, you know that conditions are the
same In the main in one town as In an
other.
Mr.. Knox Is a pan of strong and dom.
mating personality and is right in his
prime. He speaks rapidly, forcefully,
convinoingly and systematically. The
Review at Spokane, WASH, said, HE
has driving punch in every sentence,
and fifty sentences minute is fair
working average"
He believes that the purpose of city
is to serve itself and Its trade territory,
and In bis Chautauqus address he shows
how this can be done. he believes
further that the fundamentals of COM
munity building are organization, CO.
operation, loyalty and efficiency. The
same qualities are needed In the build
ing of business. He shows how these
things can be developed and put into
play.
| His address will stimulate greater in
terest in business efficiency. Its value
will depend in large part on the efforts
made by the men of the community to
make his coming an event OF Importance
and get all out Of it that's in 1t. He
spoke to the chamber Of commerce at
Oneida, N. Y, not long ago, and the
Syracuse Herald, which had made full
report Of his talk, said some weeks later,
"Some of the moro modern movements
which may be attributed In large meas.
ure to Mr.. Knox's address are the agita-
ton In favor OF the city agent and the
move to secure better roads to divert
country trade into the channels Of the
city" And can any one estimate what
this would be worth to city like Onei-
da?
The season tickets will sell for 90.
These will admit to all the ten sessions.
They can be procured through any
member Of the Chautauqua association.
of3csrs for the Milliken regiment OF