The Sunday Oregonian., July 25, 1909, SECTION SIX, Page 2, Image 56

2
THE SUNDAY OREGOMAN, PORTLAND, JULY 25, 1909.
ONE
MAM
II.''" ir . - ill isob
i-.'-B
1 V '
xx I
1
RUNWiG3
He Has Taken Exclusive Charge of the
Business and Systematically Dictates
Every Detail; Modern Innovation
That Will Be Watched With Interest.
t cult. VSVi-. E .
4
3 &
:'S.:.':'--& 1
. 1. i s. . . .
rsi a x t
y
a .. " . . .
v3T) (T f-J t? ' 4
IT
HE"SWia - ...; . '
it.
r n
is,.
if r 7 v.- f
V f
w
to.--!
ONE mn, TT. J. Pilklngton, of Dea
Moines. Iowa, has assumed the
huge project of taking- full charge
of the business of a whole town.
Every enterprise In Dexter, Iowa, is
under his direction,' is being run ac
cording to his ideas and the systems
he has Installed, and he la entirely re
sponsible for success or failure.
Th task Mr. Pilklngton has assumed
is perhaps without parallel in the busi
ness history of this country, and is an
I'iea so radical that if it succeeds its
adoption Is certain in other communi
ties.
Mr. Pilklngton starts out with the
Idea that the application of city meth
ods Is what Is needed to stimulate the
business of a country town. He Is the
editor of the Merchants Trade Journal
and his headquarters are at Dcs
Moines.
For several months he will be the
power back of the throne who will
dictate every business move that is
mado in Dexter, and if at the end of
that time progress has not been shown
It will be an end of the experiment.
But If there ia a big gain it will be
up to the town to go ahead on the same
Unas
In Dexter. Mr. Pilklngton Is rep
resented by Guy Q. Pogue. and the two
men together control all the banks and
business houses. They spend the
money, formulate policies, superintend
tha baying, authorise retrenchment In
some departments and expansion in
other, place the advertising, regulate
the employment of help, fix salaries
and In general show what ought to be
done to boost the town.
Mr. Pilklngton has been In command
for nearly two months, and the early
stages of the experiment indicate pos
sibility of big returns for the courag
eous act on the part of Dextcr's com
mercial leaders in being willing to at
tempt a plan so unusual.
In the five months yet to Intervene
before the contract Is finished. Mr.
Pilklngton hopes to increase the sales
of the various enterprises so that the
profit will be doubled.
Thirteen business men. representing
ail the stores In the town, and two
banks, agreed to place their business
under the direct supervision of rilk
Inrton and to abide by his decision and
his Judgment In business matters.
They are:
13. A. Blohm. groceries and meats.
Crane & Son. general merchants.
J. G. Stanley. ilrugRist.
F. H. Nolton. Jeweler and optician.
J. W. Bryant, harness dealer.
J. M. Besig. harness dealer.
t C. Downey, general merchandise.
S. Callison. Jeweler and optician.
C K. Hunter, furniture and funeral
supplies.
A. G. Bryan, novelty and racket store.
Harry K. Palmer, hardware.
K. K. Pohle. druggist.
Dexter Savings Bank.
State Bank of Dexter.
Mr. I'llkingtnn Is now putting into
practice an experiment that he has
long had In contemplation, and has
believed would be the solution of the
problem of giving the country town
its proper business dues.
It is an undoubted fact that there
are many minor towns In the country
which had all the natural advantages
of raw material and fuel, as well as con
venient railroad facilities. All that
has been needed is a means of getting
their facilities before the world.
The merchant in the big city has at
his command all the modern organiza
tion of business. The merchant in the
country town is hampered by lack of it.
The Pilklngton plan was simply to
transfer such an organization into
small town, and put It at the disposal
of all the merchants so that the result
should be decisive on a large scale.
In his confidence that he has the
right Idea, and the profits would war
rant him In making the effort, Mr.
Pilkintrton is taking all the risks, and
Is bearing all the expenses of the test-
Ills main contention is that a store
with up-to-date methods and fair dealings
to its customers ought to succeed any
where.
Dexter is a small town, with a popu
lation of 860. It is five miles from
Stuart and 14 miles from Linden.
Owing to his Inability to leave nls
business in Des Moines, Mr. Pilklngton
has placed Guy Q. Pogue in charge of
tho stores. Immediately after taking
charge the same business methods were
introduced in every store and an in
voice of stock and open book accounts
were turned over to Pogue with
statement of the receipts, expenditures
and profits for the eame seven months
last year. Sales slips were Introduced
into every house and where they were
not already in use they were furnished
free of charge. Every business is con
ducted Just as before, except that Pilk
lngton and Pogue dictate the policies
and the buying.
Kvcry evening at 7 o'clock Pogue
goes to each store and collects the
sales slips, showing, the business for
the day.
He takes these to his office where
a complete record of every store, every
department and the sales of every clerk
is kept. These slips are returned the
next morning to the store. They show
how much goods each store sold in each
department, how much each clerk sold,
how much produce they handled, how
much their cash and credit sales were.
This report also shows the number
of customers and the average purchase
of each, and on the first day of each
month a complete statement is made
out for each place of business for the
past month. This report snows ex
penses and profits, so that every" mer
chant every month can tell Just what
amount of business he does and ex
actly the amount of profit.
From these reports depends the buy
ing. All this is done under the super
vision of Pogue and In case the sales
In one department are short the stock
Is reduced accordingly. Should they
Increase the stock Is Increased, and In
this way tho stocks are kept cleaned
and In shape with no useless expendi
ture of money for goods for which
there Is no demand.
When a traveling man goes to Dexter
the merchant calls in the superintend
ent and he does the buying according
to the results of the daily and monthly
sales reports.
Eesides authorizing the buying the
superintendent places the advertising,
writes the ads. and decides whether it
shall be circular, letter or newspaper
publicity. He dictates the amount of
space to be taken in the papers and
how often the advertisements shall run.
Each month a report of the money
spent for advertising is made, together
with the per cent of sales used fot
advertising last year and this year.
One of the Innovations already
started Is the store and window decora
tions in an effort to make the store
windows pretty and attractive, and F.
C. Mitchell, the expert window trimmer
for the Merchants' Trade Journal,
trims all the windows. Then another
thing is the elimination of the dry
goods boxes In the street, so often
found in country towns, and the edu
cation of the people in keeping the
streets clean and the walks passable.
Although the city government was
not turned over to Mr. Pilklngton, he
practically dictates what it shall do. as
most of the Councllmen are merchants
and are heartily in favor of the move
ment to boost Dexter, and increase the
business of the town.
Since June 1 the streets have been
kept clean and in good condition, sev
eral public improvements have been
started and people have awakened to
the need of civic pride. The experi
ment is being watched by manufac
turers, jobbers, merchants and travel
ing men throughout the United States
and as a result Dexter is securing an
abundance of free advertising.
In short, the business of Dexter has
been placed on the plane of a large
city. The same business methods which
are used in a city are employed in Dex
ter now, allowing for the small change
In conditions. Under the new arrange
ment the expense of most of the busi
ness houses Is increased by advertis
ing, but it is expected to show that to
make money It Is necessary to spend
money.
In picking Dexter for the experiment
Mr. Pilklngton did not make It easy
for himself. Two cities, Stuart, only
five miles away, and Des Moines with
100.000 population, only 14 miles, means
a severe competition to be faced by
Dexter. But Mr. Pilkington welcomes
a decisive test.
Figures of the stock and the profits
of the various merchants under the old
conditions have been prepared, and
these will be compared with the show
ing for this year when the seven
months' contract has expired.
If the results are what Mr. Pilking
ton expects then he will have taken a
place among the great modern busi
ness innovators.
Fright Destroys Power of Speech.
Traverse City, Mich., Dispatch.
Thinking that she was about to be
run down by an automobile, Miss Rhoda
Rottenbury, 25 years old, was so
frightened that her vocal chords were
paralyzed and she is unable to speak.
Physicians say that It is doubtful if
she will ever regain her speech. Miss
Rottenbury stepped out of a sight-seeing
automobiie only to see a touring
car approaching. So close were the
two machines in passing that it was
only by rising on her tiptoe that Mi3S
Rottenbury escaped being crushed be
tween them. After the danger was
over she collapsed and was taken home.
Uses for Cacti on Plains
Valuable Experiments by the Carnegie Institute at Tucson, Arizona
FAMOUS OLD HORSE DEAD AT AGE OF 31 YEARS.
. ... -i .i ... u . I. ,M..jj.nii llJ:lW-!P'l.; -If .MWWI. j- I J -r- -I'-.-; i .-
i - v - Pi. r:FHr mm
BLACK GELDING JAY EYE SKK, FROM P1CT1BE TAKEN IX HIS PftlMB.
At the venerable age of 31 years, the black gelding whose turf career is one of the brighest pages in har
ness turf history, has gone the way of all living things. Jay Eye See died last week at Pleasant View Farm,
near Racine, Wis., where for a number of years he had received the tenderest care. Ho had been steadily
failing for months and his death was painless. The body of the brave little ex-champion was Interred on the
farm on Friday evening and a granite shaft will be erected to his memory" Jay Eye See was, foaled 1878
at Ixlngton. Ky.. and was bred by the late Colonel Richard West. He was sired by Dictator 113. dam Mid
nlght tdam of 4. by Pilot Jr.. 12). His maiden race, under the ownership of the late Jerome J. Case, was at
Chicago in September. 1S83. in a four-year-old breeders' stake, in which he defeated Bronze, taking the first,
third and fourth heats In 2:22. 2:19. 2:19. In 18S3 he won seven races and three trials against lime, ending
that campaign with a record of 2:10, which made him champion of five-year-olds. The following year he
was started against time, there being no classes for him. In 1S84 began the rivalry between Jay Eye See
and Maud S. The black gelding was repeatedly sent against time, but succeeded only once out of seven ef
forts, which was at Providence, where he trotted over the new sod track at Narragansett Park in 2:10 flat.
This gave htm the trotting championship, which he held for only 24 hours, as tho next day Maud a trotted
at Cleveland. At a trotter Jay Eye See never succeeded In beating 2:10, but In 1892 Jackson I. Case
converted htm to the pace, or rather so ripged him that he took his chosen gait, as ho was a natural pacer,
and Jay Eye See paced the kite track at Independence, la, in 2:06Vi. His last appearance in a meeting of
prominence was also in 1S9-, at the Minnesota State Fair, where he paced in 2:09. He was then in his
fourteenth year.
TWO miles from this town, on tho
top of a hill, the Carnegie Insti
tution has set up a sort of bo
tanical workshop, the business of which
is to make a study of desert plants,
says a Tucscon, Ariz., correspondent of
the St. Louis Globe-Democrat. The ob
ject of the investigation is to find out
how such plants manage to get along
with almost no water.
This is a kind of knowledge that will
be very valuable when applied, so far
as may be practicable, in the raising
of ordinary crops in parts of the West
where rainfall is deficient. But, inci
dentally, efforts are being made to find
uses for some of these plants of the
desert especially for certain cacti,
which. It Is believed, can be made to
vield marketable products.
There is, for example, one kind of
prickly pear (growing wild in Arizona
and New Mexico), tne irun or wmcn
has juice or a brilliant red color. This
fruit. Is already utilized to a consider
able extent for preserves. But it is
thought that the juice might have im
portant commercial value as a veget
able coloring, its hue, when the fluid
is concentrated, being as rich as that
of the cochineal.
A number of species of prickly pears
yield edible fruits, which are largely
consumed in Mexico, and which might
easily be grown in the Southern part of
.the United States, and particularly in
the Southwest. Experiments vith some
of these were made not long ago, by
Dr. Leon E. Landone, who lived for a
number of days on the fruits and
leaves, the latter being eaten as greens
and fried like eggplant.
Of such cactus fruits there are a
good many kinds, produced by a cor
responding number of distinct species
of plants related more or less nearly
to the common prickly pear. All of
them are known In Mexico, in a general
way, as "tunas," but according to va
riety, they bear different names, such
as "cardona." "amarilla," "blanca,"
"pale altena," "fafayuea" and "ran
rhera." These, indeed, are only a few
out of the many.
Such cacti in Mexico are cultivated
simply by planting them In the
ground and surrounding them with a
fence to keep out animals. They rare
ly receive any further attention, be
yond gathering the annual crop. The
fruits, however, are utilized for a num
ber of different purposes, some of them
being eaten raw, while others are em
ployed In the manufacture of "tuna
honey" and "tuna cheese," which are
marketable products.
To make tuna honey the juice of the
fruits is boiled in kettles until it
reaches the consistency of molasses, and
then is poured into wooden troughs
to cool, after which it is stored in
bottles and earthen jugs, being tightly
sealed, and rich jn sugar, it will keep
indefinitely. Of course, it does not
taste like honey; but is of about the
Same consistency as liquid honey, and
might apparently be called cactus mo
lasses. One of the most highly prized fruits
of tills kind is the cardona. Dr. David
Griffiths, of the Government Plant Bu
reau, says that he himself once ate
200 eardonas in a day. This was to
find out whether they ere wholesome
or not. Even such a quantity did not
disagree with him at all. But it should
be realised that the pulp of the cardona.
which is the Only part eaten, is nearly
all water. The fruit, in fact, frequently
serves the natives' as both food and
drink in the arid legions of the South
west. In the structure of the cardona t'ne
walls of the cells that hold the Juice are
very thirx so trmt there is only a small
amount of fiber. By pressing the pulp In
muslin baga practically all of it can be
forced through, separating out the seeds.
Perhaps the greatest objection to these
cactus fruits lies in the plentifulness of
their 6eeds, but persons accustomed to
eating them raw do not seem to mind.
When the pulp is taken in the manner
above described. It is separated In the
Held and carried in earthen jars to the
factory by the pickers.
Sometimes a fermented drink is made
from the pulp. For this purpose it is
boiled for two or three hours, strained
and set away to cool. The longer it
stands the more intoxicating it is. Or, if
preferred, the boiling is continued until
the liquid is reduced to the consistency
of a paste, which is sold in the Mexican
markets as a sweetmeat. There are Other
products made from the pulp, or from
the juice, one of them being the "tuna
cheese" aforementioned, which Is put up
for sale in neat little bricks, covered with
tinfoil.
The problem of storing a supply of
water for their own use, and of prevent
ing its evaporation, has been solved by
the desert plants in many most Ingenious
ways. Perhaps the most noteworthy ex
ample is the so-called "water-barrel."-which,
of about the size and shape of an
ordinary beer keg, is, in fact, nothing
more nor lesa than a living water tank.
Its whole interior is composed of storage
cells so admirably arranged that the pulp
which they form contains something like
& per cent of pure water. The water,
indeed. Is of excellent quality, and access
to it easily obtained by cutting off with
a machete the top of the "barrel,"
which is covered all over with formidable
spikes and hooked spines, evidently de
signed to protect it against destruction
by animals.
In the vailey of the Rio Grande there
grows, on barren and rocky soil, a queer
little cactus that looks like a small rad
ish covered with sharp prickles. In the
top of each plant is a peculiar tuft about
an inch in diameter, which when dried is
hard and brittle and has somewhat the
appearance of a button. One of these
buttons, put into the mouth, quickly
softens, the tnste of it being rather un
pleasant: but two or three, when rhewed
and ewallov.-cd, will produce a strongly
toxic effect, engendering visions some
what Jike those induced by hasheesh.
Th? Indians of that region eat the but
tons on occasions o;' religiovs ceremonial.
ani regard the constant dreams as reve
lations from th?. divinities they worship.
Science has given to this cactus the name
Anhalonium lewinii. Specimen of the
buttons luiV2 been analyzed, and have
been found jo contain a hitherto un
known alkaloid, separated out in whlt
needlelike crystals, which, it is thougl t,
mav prove of important medicinal value.
One of the rarest and most curious
cacti Is the "old man" so called because
it looks like an old r. an's head, covered
with long, silky, white hairs. But. in
order to objrve the freaks in this l!n?
which nature has I'evelcped, one should
visit the region south of the Gila River
and west of the Sierra Madre Mountains.
There is found the home of the cactus
family, where these monstrosities of veg
etation compose whtilo forests, and wnera
tha entire- landscape presents to the eye
an aspect sd abnormal nd weird that the
traveler might well be excused for imag
ining himself transported to a scene upon
some other and unfamiliar planet.
1