The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-08-17
For Good of
 the Community
Birmingham's Purchasing Power Is eLike the Latent Energy of Niagara or Muscle
 ShoalS---Needs Control to Be Potent

credited the roaring mass of that tumbling water with potent influences over the lives of men. The white man harnessed Niagara and made 1t serve.
 At Muscle Shoals the Tennessee hurls it's ponderous flood over the rocky bottom and splits it's power into foamy spray that dissolves into nothing and does nothing beyond creating awe of it's monstrous potentiaity.
 Latent there are 680,OOO horse power of energy to drive machinery making things for mankind. Not only useless but an impeachment to man progress is Muscle Shoals as it s It is braggart giant lustily vaunting what he can do and should be doing without doing it. Put the harness on this giant and he will bear Alabama to new and greater prosperity
 In Birmingham there is. the purchasing power of the south industrial center. It has the force and the compelling strength to do for this district wonders that have barely been dreamed of. It will work no miracles unhar- messed; unorganized
 That is why the slogan of the wholesale job bers and manufacturers of Birmingham is to be put on that harness and make this giant pull for us This time the slogan is not an idle boast In ways it has been already done. When the job is complete there will be glorious realization of just how big and strong we are.
 The wholesale produce dealers held con- ferences with their travelling men, They talked Buy in Birmingham from many angles. They interchanged ideas these men who see the trade and know the 'sins and outs by actual contact and the men who stand at the source and direct their movements. Eighty men are now working as one team and the mass strength is hammering out results.
 One purchasing agent of large local con- cern got busy with the men offering to sell him goods. One by one he asked these gentlemen where they sold the most goods. One by one they said this district was their biggest cus- toner.
 Then, said this purchasing agent, why not have offices and warehouses in Birmingham in- stead of in places where less business is done? Why not be more convenient to the trade that does the most buying? Why not be neighborly with the man who takes the most goods and ought to be closest to the source of supply?
 In very short time eighteen agencies, not heretofore located in Birmingham, were To- cated here More warehouses came with them More offices were rented, more clerks em- lployed. More people claim Birmingham as their home and buy their food, their clothes and their pleasures here. More wear the label Birmingham and are working for Birming- ham,,
 Therefore it is that the wholesalers and their travelling men are going to have big mass con- ference to organize the purchasing power of Birmingham so that it pulls as that one purchas- ing agent has caused it to pull
 1 Murray Brown threw out an excellent pointer when he suggested that travelling man selling certain lines of goods to Clanton and Boligee merchants, ask them whether they draw on Birmingham for other lines of goods | The merchant from Cullman who buys Br- mingham shoes will the quicker make other purchases if the shoe salesmen remind him of the existence of first-class houses selling the other goods.
 I Just like hitching Niagara to the car of ser vice. Like making Muscle Shoals serve rather than make a meaningless noise. We always J-: kI<>vry kol l.e