Page 121 - Past Chair Book-Pre 2020

l:irst .Innitdl CintZi'iilion

P r e s id e n t S t r o n g : I sec Mr. Templeton, the representative
of the Whitman & Barnes Manufacturing Company; he probably
knows the conditions existing in the twist drill trade.
M r. T e m p le to n : Mr. President and Gentlemen: As the
youngest of the charter members of the twist drill manufacturers,
we have perhaps laid ourselves open to considerable criti­
cism in the methods we have pursued, but I think you will agree
with me that none of you, as jobbers, would go out and take the
personal interest in advancing the sale of our goods that would
be necessary to make the business grow the way it should. For
a great many years the Whitman-Barnes people have canvassed
this country very carefully, and they laid themselves open to the
criticism 01 selling to everybody, and of trying to carry water on
both shoulders, but it is a matter of considerable gratification to
me for personal reasons that the firm has, within the last few
years, reversed that method of doing business, and their plan
today is to do all their business through the medium of the
legitimate jobber, and I will say very frankly that in the territory
in which I am best acquainted it does not make any particular
difference to us what price the jobber makes as compared with
the price we make. The business will go through the jobber.
W e have taken a great deal of pleasure in sending our sales­
men through this territory, doing a good deal of missionary work,
which has been very expensive, and we have turned the results
over to our jobbing friends. To my notion it is the only method.
The point was brought out yesterday at the meeting which
I had the pleasure of attending as to the necessity of local
organization. We find there is a great deal more trouble in
maintaining prices because of competition among yourselves than
between the manufacturers, and I can’t sufficiently urge upon you
the necessity for maintaining these organizations such as Mr.
Strong has told you was organized in Cleveland.
We are all pretty nice fellows, and want to make money; we
are all pretty honest, and if we would trust the other fellow I
think we would win out a little better. I don’t know that I can
say any more.
I want to thank you for the opportunity of making this little
explanation. (Applause).