Abraham Lincoln's \flonderful Essay on Salesmanship

BY JACK DIONNE

With every yecrr thcrt pcsses, the ncme, the fcmre, lhe grecrttess, the chnost sublimity ol Abrahcrrr Lincohr" become more genercrlly crpprecicrted, understood, cnd cccepted.

And so men hcve cone to study his wordE more closely crnd more studiously thcrn they ever did belore. In those studies they lind continucrlly gnowing cnrd pyrcuniding evidences crnd proofs of the grecrt wisdom ol the mna. Knowledge, you undergtcnrd, is the milk ol lile; but wisdom is the crecur thcrt rises on thct milk And Lincoln possessed grecrt wisdom.

Iust the other dcry, in recding some of the known scryings cad wrilings ol Lincoln" I ccne ulron whct seems to me to be one ol the linest esscys on salesmanship thcrt I hcrve ever recrd. Since then I hcrve recrd qnd re-recrd it mcmy tines, cmd with ecrch recrding I find new selling thoughts within its line* Here is whcrt Lincoln wrote cbout selling-inlluencing

-lrople:

"When the conduct ol nen is designed to be inlluenced, persucsion-kindr urcsBUEing persucsion+hould ever be <rdopted. It is cm old cnd true mcxirn thcrt'a &op ol honey ccrlches more flies thqn cr gcrllon oI gcrll.' So with nen II you would win a mcn to your ccuse, first conyince him thcrt you cne his sincere lriend. Therein is c drop ol honey thct catches his heart which, scy what he will, is the high road to hig retrgon, anrd which, once gcined, you will lind but little trouble convincing his iudgment ol the iustice ol your ccuse, il indeed, thct ccnrse be huly cr iust one.

"On the contrcry, crssume to dictcrte to bis iudgnrenl or commqnd his cction" crnd he will retrecrt within himsell, close qll the crvenues to his hecrd crnd hecrt cmd though your ccuae be naked Euth itsell trqnslonned into the hecrviest lcnce, hcrder thcm steel crnd shcrrper lhcm sleel ccnr be mcde; cmd thouEh you throw it with more thcrn herculecrn lorce curd precision, you shall be no more cble to pierce hin thcm to penetrcte the hcrd shell oI cr tortoise with cr rye strcrw. Such is mcrn" cnd so must he be understood by those who would lecd hin, even to his own best interests."

lv!r. Lincoln wcs evidenlly convinced thcrt you must sell c mqn through the heart, crnd not through the hecd; qnd he was likewise convinced thcrt the worst lault in selling iE to try cnd "put the pressure" on lhe prospect.

Lincoln's gense of humor nerrer deaerted him. And his wag humor-not wil There is the same difference between wit cnd humor cs there is between the sting ol the bee, cmd his honen Lincoln never mcrde c remcrrk thcrt stung. During the Civil Wcrr, s Conledercrte Courmission cclled on hin, cmd was gdven cudience. They wished to trecrt on the subiect ol the wcu. Lincoln replied that he could not trect with men bearing cnns cgcinst him. One ol the Commission reminded him thcrt Chcrrles the First, ol Englcndr oDCe trecrted with cnr enemy under crtms, "And hcrve you lorgotten"" csked Lincoln" dryly, "whcrt hcrppened to Chcrles?"

Eastern Inquiry Gets Quiclc Action

The belief that Redwood lumber is still manufactured around Redwood City evidently still prevails in some parts of the East. This was indicated recently by a postal card from a home owner in Mount Vernon, N. Y., addressed to "Any California Redwood Lumber Co., Redwood City, California," asking for some Redwood paneling.

The Redwood City post office delivered the card to Gray-Thorning Lumber Co. This firm turned it over to Dolbeer & Carson Lumber Co., and the latter concern instructed its Eastern agents to see that the inquirer gets what he wants.

Red Cedar Shingle Bureau Holds 24th Annual Convention

Paul R. Smith of the M. R. Smith Lumber & Shingle Co., Seattle, was elected president of the Red Cedar Shingle Bureau at the organization's 24th annual convention in Seattle, January 10. He succeeds retiring president R. M. Ingram of the E. C. Miller Cedar Lumber Co., Aberdeen, who was outstandingly successful during his two years in office.

Ralph Wayland of the Wayland Mill Co., Seattle, and H. V. WhittaU of the Huntting-Merritt Shingle Co., Vancouver, B. C., were elected vice-presidents. Bureau Secretary-Manager W. W. Woodbridge was re-elected.

The all-day sessions were attended by approximately 200 shingle manufacturers, assembled from throughout the Pacific Northwest. They heard addresses by three outstanding figures in the lumber and allied fields-W. H. Badeaux, secretary of the Iowa Lumbermen's Association, Frederick J. Woodridge, member of the New York architectural firm of Evans, Moore & Woodbridge, and B. L. Johnson, editor of American Builder magazine.

One of the features of the meeting was the premier showing of the Bureau's all-color, all-talking travelogue movie, "Land of the Totem." It reflects a new trend in industrial films and was enthusiastically received, by its first audience.

James Oliver Davenport

James Oliver Davenport, retired lumberman, passed away in Berkeley, Calif., on January 23.

Born in Monterey, Calif., 86 years ago, he was the son of James Polk Davenport, the first Californian to conduct whaling operations from a shore plant, at Monterey.

Mr. Davenport conducted a lumber and shipping business in the San Francisco Bay area for 4O years, retiring several years ago.

He is survived by his widow, Mrs. Celia Davenport, a daughter, Mrs. Ruth Davenport Boyer of Seattle, and two brothers, H. A. Davenport of Berkeley, and Walter L. Davenport of San Pedro.