The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1917-11-14
Investigating Body of Retail
ers League Suggests Six
Different Ways to
Proceed
TAKING CARE OF VISITOR
Establishment of Comfort Sta
ton is One Big Factor
Advertising and Good
Roads Necessary

Roads Necessary
An interesting and complete report
on trade conditions affecting Keokuk
was made last night at the Keokuk
Retailers league by the investigat'
ing committee appointed at the Sep
TENDER meeting. The report was
made by Chairman J. p. lngle. ana
represe nted much serious work on
the part of the committee composed
of j. P Ingle, chairman, Jacob Schou-
ten, j. w. Winger, H. L. Beach, G..
w. Durrett, j. J. Chapman and M.
e. Justice. The investigation was
made along three lines, first. how to
best acquaint the people In the neigh
boring communities with what Keo-
kuk has; second, how to get them
here; and third, how to take care
of them after they were brought here.
The league received the report
with considerable enthusiasm, and on
motion of Mr. Chapman took up the
six recommendations separately and
discussed them. Action was taken
towards the establishm ent Of COM
fort station, and Rand park another
season will be mecca for out or
town parties The Ad club boys will
handle group advertising In out or
town papers, and there were various
other features which were discussed:
The committees report was as fol-
lows:
The instructions given this COM
mittee were to, If possible, endeavor
| to determine why Keokuk does not
! get more Of the trade OF the people
in the territory contiguous to Keokuk
and what can be done to increase the
amount of retail trade in Keokuk
from the surrounding territory.
This was rather large matter to
handle in the space Of six weeks, but
your committee, after having spent
considerable work on this question.
having visited practically all OF the
towns surrounding Keokuk and hav-
ing talked with many merchants,
business men and farmers within
radius of twenty-five miles or more.
have arrived at certain conclusions
which we submit, for your considera-
ton.
We found by personal inspection
that the retail stores in Keokuk were
as up-to-date, carried as large an
assortment of stock and were as at
tractive as the stores in other towns
competing with Keokuk for the retail
business Of this locality. We also
found that the prices charged in the
Keokuk stores were as favorable as
those charged in stores in competing
towns.
This being true, our next step was
to determ inc why some farmers and
residents of smaller towns within
radius of twenty-five miles of Keokuk
did not come to Keokuk to trade,
but went to Burlington, Fort Madf-
son, Quincy or other towns. We
found that one Of the main reasons
was that the Keokuk merchants did
not advertise as much as they should
even in the Keokuk paper and that
they did almost no advertising in the
newspapers published in the towns in
the surrounding territory. Mr.. Chap
man, a member of this committee
wrote a report giving the results of
his investigation along this line
which report is so complete that 1t
is given in full and is as follows:
The Newspaper Field.
tigate the local situation from the
paper, / wrote the editors of the
trade, and asked them to tell me
more business from their neighbor-
hood. Practically all replied with
helpful letters and copies of their
papers.
"The most striking feature Of all
these replies was the complete alb
sence of any mention Of mail order
competition. while practically all
called attention to the fact that
local trade with Burlington, Ottumwa,
Quincy and F't Madison was growing
in exact ratio to the amount of ad-
vertising done by those com munfties.
Carthage reported from four to
ten times as much Quincy advertis-
ing as Keol,uk with about the same
split In business.
"Keosauoua reports the bulk of
business going to Ottumwa although
train service is just as good to Keo-
kuk. About the only thing they hear
about Keolsuk up there is through an
occasional Keokuk commercial trav.
eller. III
"Nauvoo reports that the bulk of
their trade goes to FIT. Madison and
Burlington because the advertising
done by those towns is out Of all
proportion to the amount done by
Keokuk merchants and an interest
ing letter calls attention to the fact
that Keokuk has just as good a
IS