Evening star., 1929-06-28
GROWTH OF DAIRY
FIRM IS REVEALED
McIneerny Started 0rganiza-
ton of Company Six
Years Ago.
BY JOHN F. SINCLAIR.
Special Dispatch to The Star.

Special Dispatch to The Star.
CHICAGO, June 20. Thomas H.
McIneerny of Chicago, now president
of the powerful National Dairy Prod
ucts Co, went to New York six years
ago to interest capital in the formation
of a large national dairy corporation.
He found hard shedding. New York
bankers were not interested. They
could see no future In such an ar
rangement. He pleaded with them,
argued with them and drew rosy pic
lures of the future. But to no avail.
One of the most powerful bankers
tlonally, refused at first. to see Mr.
McIneerny upon the ground that such
business lacked dignity" He
couldn't connect cows with finance.
Mr.. McIneerny finally received five
minutes of this mans time. He went
into the bankers ONCE and put his
watch on the desk, prepared to talk
"cows" just five minutes. The banker
kept him talking an hour.
It is a long story. The banker Of
fered him $5,000,000. Mr.. McIneerny
scorned 1t as chicken feed. At last he
got group of bankers to go the limit
with him on the development of what
has become the National Dairy Prod
ucts Co.
I'VE started first in the larger cities
and gradually extended our business
until today we sell milk, ice cream and
other dairy products as far South as
Tennessee and as far West as Ne
braska," Mr.. McIneerny said.
Last year the sales of the National
Dairy Products Co. amounted to
$212,000,000.
There Is one cow in the United
stnkA R~yn Grya le f.
McIneerny, "but you don't see them
walking down Michigan avenue. That's
why people can't realize the size Of our
buSiness-it'S larger than either steel
or automobile exceeds radio and
airplanes combined. Remember that
30 per cent of all the food consumed
by the American people Is in the form
Of dairy products"
"Do the people of the United States
consume more milk per capita than the
people of any other counrty?"' asked
Denmark leads and the United
States is second, But many European
nations are way down the scale. The
people of italy, for instance, consume
about one-eighth OF what Americans
do per capita.
when I asked about the extension Of
the National Dairy Products Co. In
Europe, Mr.. McIneerny only smiled
nom -committedly. He had nothing to
say on that subject-not a thing but
waitl
Charles 6. Pearce. 81, president
Of the Colgate Co.,
is a thorough believer in advertising
1t has been life study with him.
After he was graduated in 1903 from
the University of Wisconsin law de-
IN t.fV1 iYn IyolT },
Wis., he entered the employ of the B.
j. Johnson Soap Co., manufacturers
Of Palmolive soap at Milwaukee. Four
years later he became advertising and
sales manager.
IT remember in 1904, after our sales
had dropped. we had long conference
to decide whether We should put $10,-
600 into advertising" he said. This
year we will spend 500 In advertising
for every dollar spent then. We
are spending $1,000,000 a month In ad-
vertising and we are not through yet
Probably the most famous of this
company's ads has to do with that
schoolgirl complexion"
"Years ago." he said, "alt artist had
drawn for us a picture Of a very beau
tiful schoolgirl. When I saw 1t I said
to my associates, now that's what we
want, something that will maintain
that fresh schoolgirl complexion II
was said without any thought and the
expression Immediately took. There
we have it. said an associate, and SC
the expression that schoolgirl COM
plexion' was born"
This company has just completed
one of the largest and finest buildings
in Chicago. q 40-Story structure across
from the Drake Hotel, two miles from
kIaA T 4aI, --xllT -
the most powerful searchlight in the
world. So strong will the light be, for
the help of aviators, that 1t viii be
seen as far as Des Moines, Iowa. II
probably will be finished in about three
months.
James Simpson, Scotch-born presi-
dent of Marshall Field & Co., and chair
man of the Chicago Plan Commission
believes Chicago must overcome two big
obstacles IL it Is to maintain its place
of leadership.
What Chicago is interested in Is
transportation, rapid transit" he re-
marked. THE form this will take can
be left to engineers and traffic experts.
The Legislature has now granted the
city the power 1t needs to solve its
problem, and Chicago must inaugurate a
prompt use OF that power. think that's
OUT IlfSG JOp.
"The second one is to meet the In
creasing difficulties of traffic conges-
tion. Every week Thousand new auto
mobiles join the downtown procession
to make the problem still more difi-
cult. These are our tWi big immediate
problems"
While Chicago maintains its leader
ship as the greatest railroad center In
the world, with % important trunk lines,
feeding the city's commerce and in
dustry daily, Mr.. Simpson believes that
railroads ARE a factor of gradually
decreasing relative Importance"
We can no longer hope to maintain
our commerce prestige because Chicago
is great railroad center" he said.
Chicago, almost the geographical CEN
ter OF the United States, certainly the
commercial and banking center Of the
Middle West, got its great start when
IL became the railroad magnet.
Now all eyes are centered upon the
newer forms of tranSportation-au
mobile and airplane.
Detroit already is the automobile CEN
Cer But the airplane center-where
will 1t be?
(Copyright, 1929, by North American News