The Ronan pioneer., 1917-11-30
vely. He added other lines to his
ire business and orders came thick

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tire business and orders came thick
and fast.
He couldn't handle them alone and
SO he interested Audrey Clapper, a
school mate, who up to that time
knew more about hitting the line in
foot ball game or doing hundred
yards in record time in behalf of the
Billings high school, than in playing
the game of business. But he hit the
ball squarely on the Aead in the
business world and speedily got the
fine points of the game. The boys
proved whole team in themselves
and the business that has been erect
ed on the small start they had, is one
Of the marvels of the northwestern
business world.
Interest Their Parents.
Business was great, but the boys
felt the lack of capital, and so an
appeal was made to their parents. G.
H. Guthard, farther of the Guthard
boy, investigated the business and
looked into it's possibilities, listened
to the enthusiastic tales of his son,
and then talked it over with the lads
mother, with the result that ten great
big thousand dollar bills went into
the business. From then on it was
easy sailing. The institution was in
corporated, and outside capital came
begging to get in. The father be-
came president of the concern and
looked after the financing but the
boys ran the business, and the record
is really due to them.
They have an institution now with
paid in capital of 100000 and no
stock for sale, with fine brick struc-
lures three stories in height in Bill
lings and Great Falls, completed, and
another in Pocatello, Ida, under con-
struction. At Billings they carry a
stock that invoices over $175,0OO; at
Pocatello, one worth $4,000 and in
Great Falls, one worth $75,O0O.
Young Guthard runs the business
at Billings, which is the headquarters
of the concern, and Young Clapper is
manager of the Great Falls branch
Around them they have built a really
remarkable organization. They have
eight travelling salesman making the
Montana territory alone and corps
of 80 employees in the head office and
warehouse.
This year the institution, which the
two school boys started four years
ago, will sell more than one and one
half million dollars worth of access
sories. So we'll have they gotten the
trade that there is hardly an auto
user in Montana, northern Wyoming
or southern Idaho who does not con-
tribute his mite to their business cof-
fers.
Showing the Fasteners.
Naturally the phenomenal growth
of the business has been a matter of
comment among auto accessory man.
ufacturers, and so when the boys de-
cided to hold an annual convention
for statesmen and for the benefit of
the retailers, who handled the lines
they jobbed, the heads of the biggest
concerns in the country were glad to
accept invitations to attend.
Forty presidents and managers of
big eastern accessory institutions
went to Billings to the meeting, and
incidentally had the time of their
lives. The boys gave them a real
touch of high life. The annual ban
quet was an event every one of them
will remember.
When they went into the rathskel-
Ter of the building, they found it
transformed to represent an old
frontier town. Cowboys and COW
girls were there aplenty, and every
kind of game was running. Entering
each guest was given bunch of pho
ney money to gamble on the roulette
wheel or at faro and occasionally the
play was interrupted as some "wild,
bad man" shot up the place. The
boys explained they had hired regu-
lar cowboys for the occasion, and des-
pite the fact that most of the cowboys
were from the warehouse, they got
away with it.
The fact that the young fellows,
starting with nothing, in four years
had built a business, selling more
than a million and a half annually,
enabled them to make the pilgrims
from the east swallow their explana-
tion without a murmur.