Newspapers / Zebulon Record (Zebulon, N.C.) / April 16, 1937, edition 1 / Page 10
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SELLS NO UR SELF Now that the depression is over, we find on all sides a growing dissatisfaction with jobs and pay. Some are sitting-down to get higher salaries; others are planning ways of making themselves worth more. Among the latter, the new’ best-seller “They Sold Themselves” is required reading. In this article Howard Stephenson and Joseph C. Keeley, the authors of the book, discuss some of i.s fascinating stories and ideas. “Entirely of our own volition we are organizing what may some day be con s dered as one of the most exclusive clubs in the world. Certainly it is un usual, since there are no meetings, no uniforms, no secret passwords, not even dues to be paid,” the authors say. “Among the members are Fannie Br.ce. Elizabeth Arden, Frank A. Van derlip, Fred Waring, Carl Laemmle, Louis K. Liggett and Milt Gross. These people of course are nationally known personages. But on the ether band the membership of the club in cludes at least a few of whom you have probably never heard. You won’t find them in 'Who’s Who.’ Some of them, we suspect, are not even in the ’phone book. One, by his own admission, is an ex-convict. Still, by their works they merit membership in the club, •which is unique in that it is exclusive an 1 at the same time h'ghly demo- C i i t •C. * ,’he club we shall call, fer the time being, 'The 300.’ since its membership is made up of the 300 people, more or less, whose stories we tell in ‘They Sold Themselves.’ In case you are not familiar with the book, let us introduce you to a few typical members of our club. ' One of them is Louis K. Liggett. Today he is a great drug magnate. Yet his first step up the ladder of success came because he dug through his boss’ waste-paper basket and found some samples. Using the samples he made a good sale and won a promotion. Fred Waring is also eligible for mem bership in the club. At present Fred is making a picture on the coast for Warner Brothers. In it will be fea tured the famous Glee Club of War ing’s Pennsylvanians. Yet, when Fred went to Penn State he failed three times to get into the college glee club. ' Vice President Garner is an honor ary member of the ‘The 300’ because of a mule. Not the Democratic Party’s mule, but a sick one he nursed back to health when he was boy. When the mule had recovered young Garner sold it at a handsome profit, and used the proceeds to study law. You have heard of course of Gerard Swope, General Electric’s president. Mr. Swope has worked for G. E. ever since he gradu ated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Yet when he started, it was not as a white-collar worker. He tucked his diploma away, donned overalls and went to work as a ■y x ' : ■■ LOUIS K. LIGGETT H. once picked templet ou of kit bolt' west*, bosket ■■■ dp'■- T I JQjmd ■ mechanic's helper—for $1 a day. Then there’s Roger Babson, the noted finan cial expert. One day he answered a want ad, waited at the post office to find out who the advertiser was, and then applied at the man’s office before EDDIE RICKENBACKER Who as a youth proved that ha could “taka it" he had a chance to open the Babson letter of application. “On the‘radio you’ve heard Bob Hope and his not-too-bright girl friend Honey Chile. In real life Honey Chile is Margaret Johnson, a native of Texas. She got her job by telephoning Hope, and putting on a monologue act in southern dialect. Her dialect was authentic because of her Texan back ground, and she was clever enough ERED WARING Couldn’t male the college glee club, L-if (having two college degrees) to act dumb in the Honey Chile tradition. Also numbered among 'The 300' is Eddie Rickenbacker famed war ace and aviation official. When Eddie was a boy he worked loi-g hours at night in a mill. One night he heard there was another job open in a factory at the other end of town. He put in a full shift at his regular job one hard enough for a full-grown man—then he walked to the other end o town and began his new task, an amazing dis play of endurance for a young lad. “We just mention these cases to give you an idea of the membership of our ‘3oo’ club. They are interesting people. They have had amusing adven tures, harrowing experiences, heart breaking tragedies and hilarious mis haps. Yet somehow they managed to land right-side-up, and proved them selves capable of putting across their personalities and ideas. “Can you think of another club, which you would rather join? Well, there’s a drive now on for new mem bers. The depression, as you may have heard, is over and opportunities are once again opening up. But. along with the opportunities there are thou sands upon thousands of opportunity seekers. In fact the competition is terrific. But for those with the proper qualifications for membership in ‘The 300,’ success is assured. “These qualifications are IMAGI NATION, NERVE and TACT. They were not established by us but are plainly evident in the cases of those whose exploits are recounted in the book. In fact, we made a real effort to refrain in every case from insert.ng our opinions, since the actions of the men and women were far more con vincing than cur own editorializing could have beer.. “In some casts, the actions of our heroes and heroines were so dramatic that we had to refrain from mention ing their names, to avoid embarrass ing them. In others the stories were so unbelievable that we regretfully de leted them. After all. Mr. Ripley, is handling the ‘Believe It or Not’ situa tion quite satisfactorily. But the hun dreds of cases, printed and deleted* convinced us of one thing. That is that the person who uses his imagination, and flavors it with a dash of nerve and a pinch of tact, can always sell himself. From a selfish standpoint, we hope that more people make use of these qualities. When they do it makes in teresting reading. And it might as well be made known here that we are pit paring a sequel to ‘They Sold Them selves.’ In other words we are going to increase the membership of our mythical club. Application' r» now being considered. What are your qualifications?” Margaret Johnson Sfi* was smart enough tc act dumb.
Zebulon Record (Zebulon, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
April 16, 1937, edition 1
10
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