HOME AND FARM MAGAZINE SECTION
Home and Farm Magazine Section Editorial Page
Suggestions From Our Associate Editors, Mowing For an Interchange of Views Written by Mm offiqperimce on Topics With
58 Which They Are Fully Acquainted Hints Along Lines of Progressive Farm Thought.
CHEER UP THE TRAVELING
HEN.
THE past tliree months of busi
ness conditions have probably
tried the courage and optimism
of the traveling men more than at
any time since the soup kitchen
period of 1895. There are many
xeasonB for this. First, the abnor
mal money stringency. The gen
eral inclination of banks to curtail
loans or call them in, 'and a more
pertinent factor, the widespread
tendency to. buy from hand to
month. While orders were hard to
obtain, they also averaged small A
As one traveling man put it,
"It's like trying to squeeze sap
out of a brick to sell anything."
. And it takes a lot of courage and
indomitable will power to keep out
and keep up during such times. We
feel assured, also, that few of the
bosses, the firms whose men are
out, realized how much "sand" it
took for them to face these dull
times and keep on. How hard a tax
it was on their courage and ner
vous energy.
No blue nnd discouraged sales
man can sell goods. He positively
must keep cheerful nnd courageous
or it's all off with him. And none
know this better than the boys
themselves. But it was a case of
just had too, or get left A wood
chuck situation in fact.
And tho bowos have not always
been as considerate as they might
be. We recall meeting one travel
ing man during the past winter in
tho dining room of a popular hotel
and whilo we both waited tho serv
ing of our orders, he was reading
a two-page letter from his firm, as
he soon divulged.
"Do you know," he said, with
a meat ax look on his face and
folding the letter, also apparently
anxious to unburden himself upon
some one, "that I'd like to go into
our office and kick seventeen kinds
of Btuffing out of our business
manager f IIo was never on the
road a day. Has no mora concep
tion of how hard it is to get busi
ness than a blind fool, yet writes
me a call down that has horns and
teeth in it.
"I've done fairly. Small orders,
of course, just patch up in my line,
gents' woolens, but what with in
ventory timo, bad weather and the
cussed tariff, they have been thin.
Ifo doosn't think of these things,
however. Doesn't think of any
thing only to slam me if orders are
email. And I never worked hard
er." , "Why not tell him sot" we ven
tured smilingly. "Tell the kid a
few facts ho evidently hasn't
grasped. ' '
"And make an enemy of him,"
rejoined the irate drummer. "No,
what's the use. You can't tell
euch young nincompoops anything.
They know it all already. And in
' the position he is ho could make
it unpleasant for me, so I've just
got to grin and bear it."
i But such vexations are not all
the boys have to endure during dull
( periods in business. They, one and
all know, when they are or are not
( paying expenses and some over.
And not one worth the name of
( traveling man but what feels the
eatno and not satisfied unless he is
making good. And so when they
( strike such hard sledding as the
' past three months, yes, almost a
year, it is one long hard struggle
to koop up courage and act choer-
ful whon they cannot feel so.
But wo predict tho end of this
dull spell is within sight. Stocks of
( every name and nature are low.
( Nobody has full sholves or stock
J rooms. All' are down to the lowest
' mark. And whilo wo expect thai
in some lines competition will be
) keen, wo still havo faith in Ameri
ean brains and shrewdness and that
thoy will win in tho trade battle
jro must wage.
' It's lime to cheer up the travel
ling mon.
fiivo thorn some big orders.
A GREAT LETTER WRITER.
LETTER WRITING is an art that
anyone can learn.
Not all can become great letter
writers, but all can make their
letters clear and easily understood.
Before a letter is written an an
alysis of the subject should be pre
pared. Almost any proposition you
attempt to pr.ove has a number of .
sub-divisions. Some are important,
some unimportant. A common fault
is emphasis on non-essentials. It is
worth while in thinking out a letter
to choose the important or essential
phases, and run lightly over or
ignore the others.
As evidence on this point the fol
lowing letter is given one from
Abraham Lincoln to General Mc
Clellan about the proper plan for
the movement of the Army of the
Potomac. It is short enough to
quote in full and clear enough to
show the advisability of piling on
four or five essentials to the avoid
ance of all other elements in the
case.
Abraham Lincoln was one of the
greatest masters of letter writing
as well as speech making that the
world has ever seen. A careful
study of his letters would be as
good a text-book for any man of
an analytical turn of mind as the
best treatise which could be writ
ten. The letter is as follows:
Executive Mansion, Washington.
Fehruary 3, 1863.
Major-General McClellan: .
My Dear Sir: You and I have dt
tlnct and different plana for a move
mont of the Amy of the Potomac youra
to be down the Chesapeake, np the Raps
pahannock to Urbana, and across land
to the terminus of the railroad on the
York River; nine to more directly to a
point on the railroad southwest of
Hanaasas.
If you will kits me satisfactory an
swers to the following questions, I shall
(lailly yield my plan to yours.
First Docs not your plan Involve a
greatly longer expenditure of time and
monpy than mine!
Socond Wherein is a victory more
eertain by your plan than minef
Third Wherein is a victory more
valuable by your plan than mincT
Fonrth rn fact, would It not be leas
valuable In this: Thit it would break
no great line of enemy's communications,
whUe mine wouldf
Fifth In case of disaster, would not
a retreat be more difficult by your plan
than minef
Yours truly,
ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
Major-General McCMlan.
$
GASOLINE VS. ICE CREAM.
T'IRRE are approximately 1,000,
000 automobiles in use in Amer
ica alone. It is estimated that
they will average 15,000 miles per
year, making a total of 5,000,000,
000 miles traveled by motor ears in
America per year, which is equal to
going around the world approxi
mately 200,000 times.
Figuring the average miles got
ten out of a gallon of gasoline for
all sizes of cars at ten miles per
gallon, it wUl take 500,000,000
gallons of gasoline per year to run
the motor cars of America, which
on tho basis of 20c per gallon means
$100,000,000, America's gasoline bill
for motor cars in a year.
These look liko startling figures
tintil we consider what we spend
for other things; for example, our
ice cream bill alone in America is
. said to bo $200,000,000 per year. It
will surprise some to note that our
gasoline bill for running all these
motor cars 200,000 times around the
world is only one-half of the ice
cream bill, and yet they are both
large figures.
Motor cars have come into such
general and practical uso that this
fuel bill is being considered as quite
an item and there is little wonder
that so much interest is shown in
the amount of gasoline tho motor
car is consuming.
The motor car has already reach
ed a stage of perfection where there
are a great many of tho well-regarded
staplo cars, tho repair and main
tenance expenso of which has got
ten to be of so little consequence
it is hardly worth considering, so
that engineers have naturally
turned their attention to the sav
ing of fuol as tho next job to be
tackled.
THE WONDER OF RADIUM.
IMlTII RADIUM selling at $180,-
000 a gram, and one gram the
largest quantity for which an
order can be taken, it will not re
quire many freight cars to trans
port the entire ontpnt of the plant
at Sellersville, Fa., to the market;
yet it is interesting to know that
there is an establishment which is
engaged in giving to the world the
inscrutable substance that seems
destined to play an all-important
part in the materia medics of the
future.
A pound of radium would be
worth $52,000,000. Dr. Kclley has
estimated that there are now from
15 to 20 gTams in the entire world.
A thousand tons of ore in the Para
dox valley (Col.) mines of the new
"Radium institute" yield seven
grams. Though the life of radium is
approximately 2,000 years, the enor
mons number of victims of cancer
makes it imperative to increase the
meager available supply, if there is
any hope of using it on a large
scale as a therapeutic agent. Phila
delphia 's death rate from this cause
is 87.2 peT 100,000, as compared
with 111.2 for Boston and 122.8 for
Albany. The average rate for the
whole country is 75 per 100,000. In
other words the deaths due to this
dread malady number about 47,000
a year.
With the organization of the $1,
000,000 corporation by Mr. Du
Pont, Pennsylvania is becoming the
center of the world's radium indus
try. This important development is
in conformity with the tradition
which in the early days of our
country established Philadelphia's
pre-eminenee in medical science,
maintained to the present day.
THE BIG MAN.
THE bigger the man the less he
tries to impress the general
public with his bigness.
We know the president of a large
manufacturing coneern; some peo
ple think he steps over five dollar
bills to pick up nickels because
ho can be found now and then
talking to some $60 a month clerk
in one of his various departments.
But how much bigger this man
really is than the man who hides in
an office labeled "President," and
refuses to see any one. Wo mean
the man who surrounds himself with
a bunch of understudies that have
not the power to say "yes" or
"no." This is the man who is step
ping over the $5 bills. He is not in
close enough touch with the differ
ent things his company's money is
spent for to get a full dollar's re
turn for every dollar spent.
-
A REAL INVENTOR.
FUR traveling men of different
nationalities were exchanging
experiences down at a hotel the
other day. The talk drifted to the
great contributions which have
been made of recent years to
science. One man warmly praised
Marconi for his marvelous inven
tion and another contended 'that
Edison had no equal among living
men of science. "I cast my vote for
tho late Wilbur Wright,'"' declared
a third member of the party. "What
do you say, Abet" he queried, ad
dressing a littlo man who had been
sitting silently in the corner during
the discussion. "Well," said the
little man, "tho man who invented
interest was no slouch."
($i$JSJ8vjss
S TO ADVERTISERS.
$ Advertisers in this locality
$ who wish to fully cover all sec
tions of Oregon and Washing
$ ton and a portion of Idaho will $
$ apply to local publishers for
rates.
$ General advertisers may ad- S
$ dress O. L. Burton, Advertising 3
Manager. 411 Panama Building, S
Portland, Oregon, for rates and S
Q information. $
$ The publishers will accept
$ business from no advertiser
S whoso reliability can be ques
tloned. S
Of Course.
OTHER," said a little boy, re
ly turning from Sunday school, "I
can't understand the text we
had to stndy this morning: It is more
blessed to give than to receive.' What
does it meant"
"Mother would rather yon thought
the matter out for yourself, dear. Think
about it awhile; then, if yon ean't un
derstand, eome to me."
Half an boor later mother inquired:
"Do yon understand what 'It is more
blessed to give than to receive' means
now, dealt"
"Yea, mother, I think so. Tho Bihle
most be speaking of eastor oil."
Fired on Susjddfln.
A husky young Irishman secured his
first great freight handling contract
after serving some yean as ens of tho
gang."
Promptly at T o'tloek that morning
he ealled 500 of the bnrry "dock wallop
ers" to order and shouted:
Now, rez are all to worrak for me,
and I want ivery one of yez to under
stand me right now that I kin lick any
man in the gang."
"onr hundred and H-niety-irme swal
lowed the challenge, but one large giant
built warrior mored nneaaQy, and, step
ping from the line, he said: "Ton
ean 't lick me, Mike Htnncsey."
"Oh, I cant, eant II" yelled Hen
nessy. "No, yon eant," was the determined )
answer.
"Well, then, go to tlie office an' get
your money," said Horn easy. IH havo
no man in me gang that I eant lUK"
The Embittered btritor.
Tour aristocratic American mflHoti-
aire will often make a mesalliance and
marry a chorus girl or a parlor maid.
But I notiee that your aristoeratifl
American millionairess, always keeping
her head, makes a good match."
The speaker was Km. Montesson, the
Italian educator. She continued:
'On my way hither on the boat there
was a beautiful American heiress, to
whom a young magazine writer from
the West paid assiduous court. Bat he,
on account of the low rates of the maga
zines, was as poor as a ehnrch moose,
and so the heiress would not eanaider
him seriously.
' As they leaned Bide by side error the
rail one afternoon the heiress, looking
out over the rolling blue waters, sighed
and said:
" 'I love the bcs.'
"The impoverished and embittered
magazine writer retorted, with a sneer;
" 'I don't see why. It basnl got
any money."
She Couldn't Have It
A small boy who was sitting next to
a very haughty woman in a crowded ear
kept sniffing in a most annoying manr
ncr. At last the lady could bear it no
longer and turned to the lad.
"Boy, have you got a handkerchief f"
she demanded.
The small boy looked at her far a few
seconds and then, in a rtignifVd tone,
came the answer:
"Yes, I have, but I don't lend it to
strangers. ' '
Hardly Enocgh.
Applicant for Position "I have here
a letter of recommendation from my
minister.
Head of Firm "That's very good as
far as it goes, bnt we won't need your
services on Sundays. Have yoa any
references from anybody wh knows
you the other six days of the weekt"
Not Taxable.
A member of the Pacific TTnion Crab
San Francisco, owns a handsome ptaee
up in Marine county in whieh he takes
great pride. A few days ago he was
boasting that he niado $6000 off it last
year.
"Did you includo the earnings of the
farm when you made your income tax
return t" asked an irreverent son of
Bcnicia.
"I did not. Why should It"
"Whv, you said you made $6000 from
it."
"Oh, that wasn't actually cash;
$5000 of it was personal gratification."