The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1922-02-25
As Others See 1t
LET'S COL

Geo. R. Hilty in the Southern Utilities Bulletin.)
OF all improbable forms of occupation, waiting,
If occupation it can be called, is the most futile.
Waiting is the essence OF inertia Its net result is
nothing.
The tropical savage who lies under tree wait
ing for gravity to bring him a ripe banana, is no
more an economic nonentty than the business
executive who sits at his bare desk, or ahandons
1t for a round of pleasure while he waits for some
mysterious providence to bring trade up to an
underlined level of expectancy.
The man in the bread line today would work.
but cannot, largely because the executive in the
cobwebbed Office can work but will not.
The bread-liBer has no choice, because he can
not originate his task. That is why he is in the
line. q
| Last year was bad year with good many
! business men. Some of them are still waiting
for 1922 to show signs of being better. What
manner of sign they expect is not clear. The
inference is that they intend to remain inactive
until spontaneous popular demand forces them
into the industrial limelight. There will be no
such evolutioh-no such sign.
| Last year was good year with some business
men. They are the ones who never did wait for
trade, and never will. They are doors, not walters
William Wrigley JT and his organization are
doers H. H. Bassett and the Buick Motor Car
establishment, A. R. Erskne and the Studebaker
Corporation, and most respectable aggregation
of other wellseasoned Names Business is good
with them, and has been right along.
The salesman, whether he sells goods or
ideas, is the star on todays industrial stage, but
only because he is the most conspicuous figure
Give him the backing Of a good product and the
economical production that follows alert manage.
ment, and he has no ground for inaction There
is always plenty Of present work for him to do
and nothing to wait for.
| Honest work judiciousy performed never yet
was wasted. The acquaintance made last year
are this years customers; the economies made
| last year are this years profits. But those who
waited, and still are waiting, made no acquaint.
ances nor economies last year, and have no GUS
toners profits this year.
Inertia never brought any benefit to repay the
cost of its waste The rewards of waiting are
4 myth. The opportunities that finally come to
them who wait are but the overplus developed by
those who do not wait, but do their obvious share
toward forcing into existence the activity they
DESIRE
Waiting for better business is nothing more
than vicious habit, that has become prevalent
only within the past year So Now its addicts
are waiting for the buying to commence, and
! the buyers are waiting for the selling to start
So the economic force they represent remains
rnotiohless, though the world rolls on and Amer
icas hundred millions continue to live and pro-
gress and purchase their needs and their fancies
Business is tired of waiting for external stimu-
lation. The people who buy are tired of waiting
to be offered what they want. All of US are
tired of waiting for the manufacturing executive
who will not cut his production costs until he
gets more business, and cannot get the business
until he does. The whole world is tired of in.
ertia, inaction, motionessness.
Let's all do some hard work without thought
OF immediate profit, just to get everybody into
high speed again. Let's set a pace that will
stir the laggards into scramble for place, or
drop them cut along the road Let's go!