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EVERAL years ago the merchants of a little city out West found themselves seriously harassed by mail-order competition and by a host of other trade problems. Individually they made no progress in fighting back. Eventually, however, they formed an unusually strong association and by vigorous united action they soon had most of their problems on the run. So effective was the trade-development work of the organization that in two or three years it was discovered that the merchants of that place were selling all the goods that the town's territory would stand. The saturation point had been reached. What could be done to increase business? Obviously, no extension could be expected until the earning capacity of the people of that section had been raised. Since the community was almost solely dependent on agriculture, it was apparent that the only course open was to enable the farmer to get better results. Accordingly, an agricultural expert was engaged by the association. With his help, gradually farmers began to get larger crops and the general level of prosperity of the whole community was lifted up higher by several notches.

This incident is told because it illustrates the sort of businessbuilding wisdom that characterizes all the advertising and sales activities of the International Harvester Company. The immediate business of this concern, of course, is to sell its machinery to the farmer. However, that in itself is a comparatively simple sales problem. The larger task that lies before the company is to make sure that, the farmer needs machinery, and that he is able to buy it. With this idea before it, the company for several years has engaged in a vast educational work. Its Agricultural Extension Department, now under the direction of P. G. Hold

en, the man who made Iowa such a great corn State, is a most important end of the business. It almost vies with the Government in the number of educational publications issued to the farmer.

But now the International people are going even further. They realize that the educational effort must be started on the children, or, in other words, on those who will be prospects for machinery twenty years from now. In this way the drift from the farm to the city can be stopped. Instill in boys and girls a love for agriculture and they won't desire to leave the farm. The International is, therefore, encouraging the teaching of agriculture in schools. Its latest book shows how the study of the subject can be vitalized. For some time agriculture has been taught in many schools, but the attempt was not entirely successful, simply because there has been too much book work and not enough practical experiments. This new publication shows how these conditions may be overcome. It suggests a plan whereby the subjects are rotated and tells what has been accomplished in a few States by these methods. The book is filled with cartoons and pictures, which visualize the tragedy of wrong methods of instruction and shows how interesting the study is when practical methods are followed. The company has available over a dozen publications suited to the needs of schools, such as "A Pig for Every Boy," "Fly Catechism," "Binder Twine Industry," etc. It also furnishes charts and slides for lectures, patterns for a flytrap, a "rag doll" for testing seed corn, stencil patterns on various subjects and other helps to encourage the child to stay on the farm.

The whole effort is a splendid example of the business institution that is not so bent on getting to-day's orders that it forgets about building for the future.

T may be interesting to a num

read of the experience our house has had with special window-display men. There has recently been a lot of discussion as to whether a manufacturer selling the retail trade can profitably employ men for this kind of work alone, or whether he should employ some outside service making a specialty of doing this work for him.

Let it be said in the first place that much depends on the character of the business. If the manufacturer has a number of retail outlets in a city it is more profitable, as a rule, for him to put a special display man in there than when he has but two or three stores selling his wares. The reason is obvious. It costs something to get the man to that city, so make it worth his while to stay there.

In our business we sell through a large number of the stores in each town, even in towns as small as eight or ten thousand population. On the average, taking big cities and small towns all over the country, our distribution runs slightly over seventy per cent. So no matter where we may send a man he is sure to find dealers who know us and carry our goods. This, of course, is a decided advantage.

Window trimming by special men was started by us two years ago as an experiment. One man went out at that time. We have gradually increased the number until now we have seven. We intend to have more in the future. The reason we are gradually increasing our force is the only one that could possibly influence us to do so, and that is-it pays us and our dealers. The work is carefully checked up, as will be explained later.

We pick young men with good education, good address and men who are eager to become salesmen and who see in this work a valuable foundation for selling. They know before they start out that the work is seasonable, and they know exactly when they will be through. They are told that if they make good they will stand a chance of trying out on our secondary sales force.

They are carefully schooled at headquarters in the elementary principles covering good displays as applied to our goods and our dealers. They set up specimen displays. They work out new ideas. They study all of our selling plans and propositions. They get the spirit of the work-to help the dealer sell-not to sell the dealer.

WORK CAREFULLY LAID OUT

Then each man is set to work for a few days in the home town or in a neighboring city, so that his work may be watched and so that he can easily get any information he may want. It takes but a very short time, not over a couple of days usually, for the man to get full confidence in his ability to do the work.

Each man works alone. He has his own territory. The stops are all mapped out before he starts. He knows exactly how long to spend in each town. We know just where the man will be at any time. For some time previous to his departure, our regular salesman in the territory to be worked has been advised of the coming of the window trimmer, and in his work he has booked a number of displays for the young man who is to follow.

The advantages of this are twofold. First, the salesman is able to offer his customers the services of an expert display man free of

charge, and on the strength of this co-operation he often receives extra business. The dealer knows that he will sell more goods if he has the display, so he orders more goods. The salesman knows in advance just what towns the display man will visit, when he will be in each town and how long. He knows just about how much the display man can accomplish in a day, and he knows how many displays to book.

The second advantage accrues to the display man. As a result of this co-operation from the salesman he knows just what he has to do and he loses no time in booking displays. In most towns his time is entirely booked up. But of course in places where he has extra time he gets busy and books enough extra displays to keep him working. We furnish him no list of dealers. He either seeks the co-operation of a local jobber or locates the stores by asking questions and by observation.

The display itself is not elaborate. It is a fairly simple one to install, but consists of so many pieces joined together that the dealer is tempted to have it stand in the window longer than he usually would because it's a big job for an inexperienced man to take it down. Our boys are skilled in putting up the display and can do it quickly, but the average dealer has to spend quite a little time taking it down. This, I think, is one big reason why our displays stay in two weeks on an average. the display were a simple one, twoor three-piece affair, the dealer would have it out in a jiffy, unless it were a sensational seller.

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Of course we have figured out the cost of this work most carefully. Take the man's time, his expenses and the cost of the material, add it all together and divide by the number of displays installed, and we have our cost per display. It's cheap advertising as we figure it. Our boys receive $15 a week and living and traveling expenses. The material is not costly nor elaborate, but when properly installed makes a strong and attractive display. Those on

the force maintain such a good average of displays installed per day that the cost per display is really cheap, especially when one figures that he owns the man's window for two weeks.

Qur trimmers are spurred on by contests. They receive points for all work done. They have to send in daily written reports on all calls made and signed receipts for all advertising matter installed. At the end of each week the highest point winner gets a cash prize. In some stores they visit where displays are refused and where a counter display case or a show card is installed, they receive credit in proportion for each piece installed. A grand prize is given to the man getting the greatest number of points for the trip.

This work is carefully checked up. A letter is sent to all dealers who have displays asking them if they have had increases in sales. These answers are all carefully tabulated. They tell whether this work pays or not, and sometimes give valuable suggestions. They also serve to check the work of the display men.

one.

MEN ARE TRADE SCOUTS ALSO

But here is where this work pays an additional dividend and a big Our trimmers are not only display men, they are carefully trained investigators-information getters, one might call them. They send us detailed and valuable information on competition, trade conditions, etc., which are carefully compiled. They know what to go after, and they get it.

Another thing, they create a very favorable impression on the trade for the company. They come to the dealer, not to talk him into an order, but to show him how to make more money. They often come long distances just to make it easier for the dealer to sell his stock. It creates no end of good will for us among the trade.

They know how to take care of complaints, how to answer all questions, how to size up a man's needs, etc. They are excellent representatives of the company