The talking machine world (Jan-Dec 1909)

NEW YORK, JUNE 15, 1909 RECEIVING THE TRAVELING MAN. Dealers Can Forward Their Own Interests in Many Ways by Confiding in the "Knights of the Grip" — A Heart to Heart Talk. The man who succeeds on the road to-day is the man who "likes his job." One night last week, coming out of Wheeling, I sat in the smoker with a fellow traveling man. He talked rather freely with me of the inconveniences — the poor accommodations of the hotels — the exposure of long drives, and wound up by saying, "It's a dog's life. I have been on the road for 10 years, and all I have ever gotten has been a bare living. I am tired of it all, and this will be my last trip." "My friend," I said, "it's not a dog's life, but a man's life, and calls into play all the best instincts of a man. The fault lies not with the calling, but with yourself. You have looked at life through smoked glasses, and your vision became blurred. The enthusiasm you should have carried into your work you wasted at the ball game. You awake with a grouch, and wonder why no glad hand is extended to you. You say you have toeen on the road for 10 years, and all you have received has been a bare living. My friend, I have been on the road twice 10 years, and there has never been a moment during that time when I felt that I wanted to quit. The friendships I have formed during the time I consider of greater value than a fat bank roll." It is a recognized fact of law that good will forms a real tangible asset to any business, and the friendshps of a salesman are as much an asset and more dependable than the average banking security. The salesman is vitally interested in your success. His interest does not cease when he has sold you a bill of goods. He has only done half his duty when the sale is made, and his work is not completed until he has helped you, by suggestion and otherwise, to dispose of your stock on hand. Look back over your career and find how often an idea of his has brought money and trade to you. He is in constant touch with the evolution of trade — he watches the successful methods of others, the selling schemes of some distant city that brought a revenue; this is yours for the asking. Meet him half way — tell him your troubles, the competition you have to meet, your plans for the future. Depend upon it, your confidence will be respected, and in return you will receive helpful advice, writes a traveling man in an exchange. The advances along this line should, however, c.ome from you. It is the duty of the patient to go to the doctor — not the doctor to seek the patient. If your business is in an unhealthy condition, talk it over with your friend, .the salesman. He will give you sound advice, and you will never be troubled with a bill for professional services. I called on a friend in the downtown district the other day, and on the swinging door leading into his office I noticed a little white enameled sign with black lettering that read: "Push! Don't Knock!" Gentlemen, I want you to take that as your motto for the current year: "Push! Don't Knock!" Push the town you live in, push forward the clerks who help you in your businesspush your fellow tradesmen, and take a vital interest in the affairs of your community. Forget the petty prejudices that cause you to look upon your competitor as an enemy. The man across the street is not a bad fellow when you get to know him. Notwithstanding the old Biblical injunction, "Knock, and it shall be opened unto you," the world to-day has little use for the "knocker.' We are growing broader gauged; a national trade uplift is going on. When you are in the game, play it, and play it hard — but play it on the level. Let us have no offside plays. The rules of the game are stricter, the rewards greater, but an umpire called Public Opinion will rule you out of the game at the first attempt at tricky play. With all due reverence for the knights of the road who are dead and gone, I believe that . the salesmen of to-day, as a body, are more intelligent, more thorough in their work, more loyal to the best interests of the dealer than were the salesmen of a decade ago. The law of progress calls for a higher standard of business ethics. The practices that were in vogue then would not be tolerated now. The work so well accomplished in the past five years in eliminating unjust competition has been truly marvelous, but I believe you will agree with me when I say that in all stages it has had the loyal support of the traveling salesman. He is the dealer's friend, loyal and true, not alone for the orders he receives, which are welcome, but because he likes the game, the enthusiasm that goes with conflict, the excitement of the battle, and incidentally because he realizes your success means his success. IDIOSYNCRASIES OF BENNETT. Does Not Believe in College Educations — Only Smokes a Cigar Half Up and Then Lights a Fresh One, George Jean Nathan, writing in the Outing Magazine, tells of the unusual personality of James Gordon Bennett, proprietor of the New York Herald. He says in part: "James Gordon Bennett was born in New York. He is now 67 years old. In appearance he is tall and slender and gives the impression of a vast amount of nervous energy. He carries himself with military erectness and his steelgray hair and moustache add to his general soldierly look. For many years he has made his home in Paris, and visits this country only about once in every two years. He literally edits the New York Herald by cable. And the story of the way he does this is almost as unbelievable as it is curious. "It is the general public opinion that Mr. Bennett lets the Herald run itself, and that, particularly of late years, he has not kept in close touch with its affairs and progress. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, it may be stated that he is devoting more time to the interests of his paper at present than ever before. "Every day there is sent to Mr. Bennett a copy of the Herald, every article in which is marked with the name of the man who wrote it. By this means he keeps in touch with the daily work and progress of every man on his staff. The slightest error will be quickly ferreted by his eagle eye and a warning bulletin is speedily posted by him following his detection in a 'story' of, for instance, the word 'gentleman' instead of 'man,' the use of some such phrase as 'J. Pierpont Morgan, the financier,' instead of 'J. Pierpont Morgan, a financier.' "Two of Mr. Bennett's idiosyncrasies are his lack of belief in the value of a college education and his aversion toward smoking the last half of his cigars. In relation to the first, it is not uninteresting to note that most of the men who have been given high position by him have been non-university men. Mr. Bennett himself is not a college graduate, and he holds that a collegiate training is not necessary in the making of newspaper men. Those few college men who have won the higher positions in his employ have not held them long. PIANOS AS A SIDE LINE. If Talking Machines Sell in a Piano Store Why Not Pianos in a Talking Machine Store? — The Oakland Piano Co.'s Proposition. For years piano dealers in all sections of the country have handled talking machines as a side line with great profit to themselves, and more recently talking machine dealers have awakened to the fact that "what is sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander," and have realized handsomely on a stock of pianos installed in their stores. Musical instruments are the logical companions for a stock of talking machines, and pianos handled by a talking machine dealer are brought to the attention of dozens of prospects daily, for anyone buying records naturally is musically inclined. • The Oakland Piano Co. have an interesting proposition to offer talking machine dealers seeking to augment their incomes by installing side lines. The pianos made by the Oakland Piano Co. have proven trade getters for many dealers, and it would prove to the dealer's interest if he would investigate the possibilities of those instruments. NO FIRE DANGER FROM FILMS. Manager of Underwriters Bureau of New England States That Sprinklers Could Control Average Blaze. " (Special to The Talking Machine World.) Boston, Mass., June 7, 1909. Gorham Daha, manager of the Underwriters' Bureau of New England, who testified the hazard of celluloid moving picture films packed in boxes, found that when tightly rolled and packed in pasteboard boxes, they did not ignite at unusually low temperature, and did not burn fiercely. He holds that there is no reason to fear that sprinklers will not control such a stock, except that when a large quantity is burning, enough gas might be generated to cause troU'Dle.