New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1917-03-07
CITY MANAGER Is
A POPULAR PLAN.
COMMUNITY SPIRIT BETWEEN
TOWN FOLKS AND FARMERS
HELPS BOTH.
HARDWARE CONVENTION TOLD
OFF WAYS TO BENEFIT ALL
CONCERNED.

F. H. Retzlaf, who returned last week
from the annual meeting of the Mime
sofa Retail Hardware Dealers Associa-
ton, which was held at St. aul last week,
reports an enthusiastic and instructive
gathering, in which great deal of good
was accomplished. Mr.. Retzlaff was
honored by being elected member of
the Board of Directors Of the association,
and also director Of the insurance de-
partment.
He was also elected delegate to the
National Retail Hardware Dealers Asso-
citation meeting which will be held in
St. Louis in May.
4 Community Development
Among the most important discus
sions at the convention, Mr. Retzlaff
said, was contained in an address by
Judge Frank T. Wilson of Saltwater, of
the Extension Bureau of the University
of Minnesota, who talked on Com
munity Development. In the course
of his address Judge Wilson said:
''There are some 312 commercial clubs
in Minnesota, Of these only Is are,
really alive and on the job" said Judge
Wilson. Community development is
in the air. It is growing. It is proving
success in every community where it
has been adopted along correct lines.
Cooperation is the big word of the pre-
sent day. "
"You merchants from many different
towns in Minnesota need the people
living on the farms adjacent to your
town. Without these people your bust
ness would amount to nothing. The
people on the farms in turn need you
and your business. Without your bust
ness enterprises their farms would not
be worth more than five dollars per acre.
your problems are common ones. You
must thresh them out together.
| Everybody interested
eve must get it firmly fixed in cur
minds that there is no enterprise in any
community in which all the people OF
that community are not partners. They
are not tied up financially. Their only
interest in that business may be their
good will. But, without the possession
OF the good will of the consumers, your
business cannot grow and thrive. ..:
In organizing club in your town and
community distribute the responsibility.
Don't let any one man or any one set
OF men run it, There is nothing to
breed interest like distribution of re-
sponsibility. .'..y
IF you organize do not make the
mistake of organizing either a Farm
Club or a Commercial Club. On the
other hand. organize Community Club
and one which lives up to the fullest
meaning of the term. Get every person
IN your trading territory interested.
Make them partners in the enterprise.
How can you get members? The
only way of which know is by personal
solicitation and the use of shoe leather.
Advertise the things which your organi-
cation has to offer. Create a mental
desire for membership. Show how help
full to every person such an organization
can and will be made. ISL.
Rules of the Game
Get man in charge of the affairs
OF the organization who knows how to
run such business. Never mind if he
does cost a little money. Good men
are always cheaper then cheap men,
Taking up the question of catalog
house competition the speaker gave it
as his opinion that the greatest source of
relief from this admitted scourge of re-
tail merchants is along the line of com
munity effort and community work. Too
many merchants are like the ostrich in
sheir attitude toward catalog house
competition, in the speakers estimation.
Replace They With We
Eliminate the pronoun they Sub
stitute the pronoun we instead. The
moment you can get the farmers of your
trading district in the habit of speaking
OF the club as ours and to refer to the