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TTEARST’R SUNDAY AMERICAN, ATLANTA, OA., SUNDAY, JUNE 1, 1913.
WITH ATLANTA MANUFACTURERS
Chamber of Commerce Leaders Tell
Why City Needs Permanent Exhibit
u
Permanent Display of Manufac
tured Products From City’s 548
Plants Projected—Chattanooga
Trip Serves to Show Feasibility.
Exhibit Can Be Made Self-Sus
taining, and Will Impress Vis
itors Strongly, Besides Leading
Directly to Advantageous Sales.
•U:
bed by WThner L. Moore, pres
ident of the Chamber of Com
merce, sixty-five members of At
lanta’s leading “booster” organ
ization took a day from their
business at home and spent
Thursday in a trip to Chatta
nooga, where they inspected that
city’s exhibit of the goods manu
factured at home.
For ten years Atlanta has slow
ly been developing sentiment in
favor of a permanent exposition
of the same kind. Persistent
work by Brooks Morgan, Mr.
Moore and other enthusiasts
worked the vague sentiment up
into something definite this
spring. Finally, the interest be
came so great thatiit was decided
to find out everything possible
about the most successful exhibit
of the kind in the United States.
This means Chattanooga.
The trip was purely business. There
wu no entertainment program and
the Chattanoogans had been asked by
telegraph nut to make preparations.
It was an earnest, serious crowd
which boarded the special coach at
tached to the "Dixie Flyer.” bent on
ascertaining whether the hast Inter
ests of their City, present and future,
demanded such a venture.
The decision Is unanimously In fa
vor of the plan.
The Conclusions Reached.
After thorough Inspection of Chat
tanooga's display, after an exhaustive
inquiry Into every detail. Including
the financial question, the Atlantans
have decided that
There are no serious obstacles in
the way. ... ...
The expense Is not prohibitive.
The exhibit will be self-sustaining.
If Atlanta will establish a display
of the thousand-odd products of Its
643 factories the profit will be Im
measurable.
O. L. Hunn, secretary and assistant
treasurer of the Chattanooga Manu
facturers' Association, and E. M.
Temple, chairman of the exhibit com
mittee, guided the Atlantans from
lop to bottom of the two four-story
buildings,
Mr. Moore and Walter O. Cooper
plied the guides with questions.
They asked about expense, number
of visitors, how the funds were
raised, what the exhibitors think of
the results derived, and how the cas
ual visitor, if he shows Interest, Is
brought Into touch with the exhib
itors.
How It Was Done.
O. L. Bnnn gave In detail the plan
followed In estatillshlng Chnttanooga's
exhibit The site was offered the
Manufacturers’ Association at a figure
below what it would bring on the
market. Mr. Bunn took the option In
hls own name. Then he proceeded to
sell bonds to cover this amount. When
this had been accomplished, the man
ufacturers were called upon to engage
floor space. At 10 o'clock of the last
day of the option the deal was closed.
A holding company was organized
called the “Home Association." Title
to the property' is vested In It. The
Manufacturers' Association pays a
fixed rental for Its offices to this hold
ing concern, as do the exhibitors. The
rentals are enough to pay all expense
of operation and maintenance, to pay
Interest on the bonds, and to create
a sinking fund for retiring the bonds.
The rentals amount to a figure be
tween 60 and 90 cents per square
foot per year for exhibitors.
In the four years the exhtblt has
been In existence few manufacturers
have expressed dissatisfaction or quit.
Most of them are enthusiastic as to
Us advantages. Some can trace many
sales direct to the exhibit Others
have faith In It In the same way that
they believe In general advertising
that sales come even though they can
tot be traced.
Some Striking Examples.
Some striking example* of direct
sales are given. There was a conven
tion of textile mill superintendents in
Chattanooga, and one of the delegates
visited the exhibit, though he was not
Intending to buy goods A few months
later the manager of his mill needed
a device, and did not know where to
get it. He told hls plight to the
superintendent, who said:
“Why, I remember seeing Just that
thing in the Chattanooga-made «x-
'.ibit.”
A sale followed.
There Is a concern In Chattanooga
which manufactures automobiles.
During the Confederate reunion last
week three orders were taken as n
uirect result of the display.
Several devices are used to make
the display of value to the exhibitors.
For one thing the elevator (made In
Chattanooga, by the way) will not
stop at 'ntermedlate floors, but carries
»11 passengers to the top. This forces
all visitors to see the whole exhibit.
8al«smen Called to Hall.
On each floor is stationed an em
ployee of the association. He shows
viators through and explains the ex
hibits. If aiiv visitor shows that he
is particularly Interested In any ond
display too uitendaois goes to Uts tei-
A TLANTA needs to keep in view of the fact that its future
growth depends upon its development as an industrial
center. Already, it is the principal distributing point of the South.
Almost every concern of im
portance in the United States
which does a national business
has a representative in Atlanta.
But there is a limit to this. In
creased population, increased
real estate values, greater bank;
deposits, all hang upon the foun
dation of new factories and upon
the growth of those we have.
“For this reason, I believe an
exhibit of Atlanta-made products
is the most important project be
fore the city at the present time.
“Such an exhibit will bestow
two great benefits. First, it will
give the manufacturer publicity.
It will let the city and the rest
of the world know what is made
’ here, and will, in a few hours, do
more to show the visitor what
A TLANTA, by reason of its peculiar location, its climate, and
its railroads has become a city of 200,000 people, not one of
whom can give an intelligent answer to the inquiry recently sent
out by our splendid and loyal
‘Why is At-
m. i
m
t
b—
Atlanta is than will anything we can do in any other way.
“As I see it, we must have a distinct organization of manufac
turers, following the Chattanooga plan. I would favor adding to
the system there some means whereby sales could be made at the
exhibit. The real estate holders, the bankers, the owners of huge
office buildings all must be aroused to the benefits they will derive
from developing Atlanta as an industrial city.’’—Wilmer L. Moore,
president of the Chamber of Commerce.
■ m
citizen, J. K. Orr,
lanta?”
I do not want to be consid
ered a pessimist I am by nature
otherwise inclined, but in my
humble opinion, if Atlanta does
not begin to go along other and
more substantial lines, she will
not progress nearly as fast in
the future as in the past.
Our real estate values and
our position, from an invest
ment standpoint, can not bf |
maintained unless we do some
thirtg to increase our pay roll f.
Our pay roll, as compared witl ^
other cities with the same and j> r
smaller population, shows up in > j £[
a very unfavorable light, par -»—-——
ticularly alongside our neigh-•
bors—Chattanooga and Birmingham.
Pay rolls of the progressive cities of the United States come
from manufacturing industries. If Atlanta expects to increase
its pay roll, we must look to the manufacturing industries.
Georgia is the tenth State in population, the twenty-fourth
in manufacturing.
We believe a permanent exhibit of Atlanta-made goods would
increase sales right in the city, besides attracting hundreds of buy
ers from all over the country.—BROOKS MORGAN, Leader of
the Movement.
ephone ar.d call* up the exhibitor, who
sund® a salesman to the building at
once.
Then there are Inquiry blanks,
whereon the visitor write® hls name
and address, and the name of the
Arm from which he wishes Informa
tion. Inquiries of this sort are nu
merous.
Ordinarily, an attendant on each
floor and two Jalntors are enough to
take care of all visitors. When there
Is an unusual crowd, the office force
from the association’s headquarters
Is pressed Into service, and if these
are inadequate, members leave their
offices to assist.
At every display, descriptive liter
ature Is made available for visitors.
Booklets answer many questions
which no attendant could memorize.
Many displays explain themselves.
For Intance, a lighting device manu
facturer has a display of lights In
operation.
An effort Is made to group kindred
lines on the same floors, but this Is
not always practicable. Almost every
foot of floor space is in use, and it
has to be utilized to the best ad
vantage, so that competing manu
facturers of stoves, for instance, can
not always have their goods side by
side for comparison. There has been
no complaint from the exhibitors on
this account, however.
New Haven, Conn., and Richmond,
Va., have be. n 00 much impressed
with Chattanooga’s example that
these cities are following suit.
Every effort is made to maintain
an attitude which shall be strictly
impartial as between rival exhibi
tors.
Mr. Bunn records an actual conver
sation of recent date.
A man. a stranger to him, viewed
the exhibits and expressed hls Inter
est in office supplies.
Avoid® Neat Trap.
“I see you have two displays of
office devices,” ho remarked, “both
are excellent, but which Is the bet
ter?”
“Both are among Chattanooga’s
most progressive Arms,” replied Mr.
Bunn.
“But confidentially, now, which Is
the better firm for me to trade with?’’
persisted the visitor.
“They’re neck and neck,” said Mr.
Bunn. “You’ll have to decide for
yourself. Shall I call them up?
They'll be glad to send salesmen
over.” .
“You needn’t mind,” said the
stranger, “I’m one of Smith’s sales
men myself.”
laid a trap to test the attitude of
Smith was an exhibitor and had
the exhibit manager, lie was satis
fied.
One of the greatest tasks which has
confronted the Chattanoogans Is the
difficulty of making the exhibits
strictly "Made in Chattanooga” dis
plays.
This caused n tussle with the Job
bers. Many of the manufacturers
carry lines made In other cities,
which they sell as supplementing
their own goods. They wanted to
display these lines in which they are
distributors.
The association firmly ruled them
out
“We want to be able to tell every
visitor that everythinu in this build
ing was made In <in tanooga,” said
M. E. Temple, chairman of the ex
hibit committee. “And now we are
able to do so truthfully. It Is much
more impressive when this rule Is
adhered to strictly. I think every ex
hibitor sees It that way now, and
we are having no more trouble on
this particular score. Those whq
were exhibiting Jobbing lines have
withdrawn their exhibits and are fill
ing their space with their own goods.”
“We have no secrets,” said O. L.
Bunn, secretary and manager of the
Chattanooga Manufacturers’ Associa
tion “We are glad to explain every
thing. even to open our books to you
if you so desire. We feel that the
building of such an exhibit by At
lanta can not hurt us, and. in fact,
that it will aid up by advertising the
South even more widely as a manu
facturing section.”
Among other details which the in
quisitive Atlantan* learned were
these:
Ar* average of B0 persons a day.
year in and year out, visit the display.
Ffcw manufacturers who once make
an exhibit ever cancel their reserva
tion of floor apace.
Many sales can be traced direct to
the exhibit.
Some manufacturers have abolished
their sales* rooms and use their exhibit
space for this purpose.
During large conventions the visi
tors throng the building and carry its
fame to their homes all over the
United States.
While the Confederate reunion was
in progress 35,000 person® went
through the building.
The “home folks” do not Ignore the
displays. New Year’s Day, 1913, 15,-
000 Chattanoogans attended a recep
tion in the building.
Chattanooga Jobbers and retailers
are proud of the label. “Made in Chat
tanooga,” and they have been edu
cated to this point largely through the
exhibit.
There are 120 exhibitors in the
Chattanooga exhibit, out of 300 mem
bers in the Manufacturers’ Associa
tion. Within four years the exhibit
has outgrown a four-story building.
25 by 110 feet, and now fills another
building of identical elze. Rental of
floor space has served to pay all in
terest charges, expenses and to create
a sinking fund. It will not be many
years before the buildings will be free
of debt. As it is not the Intention of
the association to realize a profit on
the undertaking, it Is likely the rents,
reasonable enough now, will be re
duced from year to year as the debt is
retired and the interest charges grow
less.
Always Something New
Insure Brisk Trading with New Goods
When you buy, don’t you look for the
best and newest articles to be had?
If you do, our facilities for getting
new articles make it possible for us to
keep our customers supplied with the
latest novelties as well as the newest
staples at all times.
If you have tried us, you know; if not,
do so and we will make a friend of you
with our service and quality.
Ridley-Williamson-Wyatt Co.
Wholesale Dry Goods and Notions
77 North Pryor Street . . . ATLANTA, CA.
“Made in Atlanta’’
SEABOARD PUTS ON
LOW RATE TO RICH
MOND.
$16.70 from Atlanta, on sale June (
7, 8. Through trains, steel Pull- 1
mans and dining cars, unexcelled (
service. City Ticket Office, 88 j
Peachtree. <
MADE IN ATLANTA
VARNISH APPLIED WITH A CLOTH
Let our demonstrator show you. No hard work to apply. Only us« a
cloth. Runs to a free surface. A VARNISH, not a POLISH.
Varnish With a Goth
Varnish, Not Polish
Varnish With a Goth
Varnish, Not Polish
WATER-PROOF
DUST-PROOF
HEAT-PROOF
No brush marks. Dries In five hours TACCO will make your furniture
look like NEW. Don’t have to rub off.
THE AMBER CHEMICAL CO.
Office; 603*4 Forsyth Building. Phone 3131 Ivy
Laboratories: 91 Piedmont Avenue.
For sale by Alexander-Seewald Company and King Hardware Company.
Insist on Crystal Mist
“Ginger Ale”
Do not confuse with others. This drink is ab
solutely different from any on the market, and is
in a class by itself, as a thirst-destroyer and mild
laxative. Discriminating people know.
MADE AND SOLD IN ATLANTA BY
JACOBS’ STORES.
ATLANTA SODA COMPANY (4 Stores).
ELKIN’S STORES.
GREATER ATLANTA CONFECTIONERY CO.
BENJAMIN'S.
JOHNSON’S PHARMACY.
WEINBERG BROS.
PALACE OF SWEETS.
STERLING SODA CO.
ON DRAUGHT—IN SYPHONS
Crystal Mist Ginger Ale Co.
307 Peachtree—Ivy 6708
“THE SIMMONS
SAFETY”
NEVER SCREAKS
SIZES
AND
PRICES
F. O. B.
Nothing Better In
Porch
Nothing Stronger in Hangings.
Nothing More Durable.
We use light artistic steel frames and bolt them securely with carriage
bolts (NOT A NAIL IN THEM).
They are suspended by two strands of heavy chain at each end, giving
double strength, making adjustment easy, and also prevents their tilting.
Delivered throughout the city by auto, and hung in a very safe man
ner by an expert.
Or shipped complete with full printed instructions, for oash. (See
cut.)
A Boon to Heavy Weights
See our 102 Swings at Grant and Piedmont Parks.
Manufactured and Sold by
G. W. Simmons & Son.
1378 DeKalb Avenue Atlanta, Ga.
Bell Phone Ivy 5773-L
Calls Answered Day or Night