Ginger talks: Edward F. Trefz

              1909
246
GINGER TALKS

Figure

EDWARD F. TREFZ


EDWARD F. TREFZ, author, journalist, orator, and business man, is especially fitted by ability and training to address the American public on the aspects of business life which he has chosen as his subjects.  Beginning as an apprentice in a shoe factory, he became buyer for a chain of stores at an age when most boys are still in the high school.  At the expense of the severest work, he completed his preparatory studies in Midland College, Kansas, and his academic course and the post-graduate course for the master's degree at Princeton, working his way through college as a newspaper correspondent.  After several years of valuable experience in his chosen field, Mr. Trefz became managing editor of the St. Joseph Herald, at the time when that paper was engaged in a bitter fight on state and municipal corruption.

Mr. Trefz' leadership of the fight brought him into prominence as a publicist and orator of rare attainments.  His work on the biography of Senator J. J. Ingalls, with whom he had a close personal acquaintance, and his addresses and the success of his newspaper fight in St. Joseph, brought him into public life in the McKinley-Bryan presidential campaign, where again his oratorical powers were prominently displayed in a whirlwind tour throughout a number of western states.

With his attention once more turned to business, Mr. Trefz became publicity director for the Gunning Company, an advertising organization, and after three years of service in that capacity, he joined the lyceum staff of the Sheldon School.

His topics are those of the business world — his message the practical ethics of a man who is at once a business man and an educator of a high type — his presentation that of an orator of the highest rank.

Ginger talks aptly describes these addresses.  They are dynamic with practical, down-to-brass-tacks material of the kind in which business men believe.  There is nothing academic or purely theoretical in what Mr. Trefz has to say.  It has the red-blooded vitality which characterizes the business of today.

OMAHA AD CLUB
AFFILIATED WITH
THE ASSOCIATED AD CLUBS OF AMERICA
SECRETARY'S OFFICE, 1409 HARNEY ST.

Omaha, Nebraska, March 29, 1909.

My Dear Trefz:

It is my pleasure to inform you that at the last meeting of this club a new name was added to the list of Honorary Members, viz.: MR. E. F. TREFZ, of Chicago.

This is the highest expression the Club can give of its esteem and appreciation.  Your address at our Banquet, March 2nd, was a masterpiece.  The time and expense you devoted to our service in this connection were not unwisely directed.

Omaha holds you in high regard, and the Club of which you are now an Honorary Member is a better Club for this addition to a very select list.  Meet with us whenever you can.  Our best wishes are with you.

Yours sincerely, OMAHA AD CLUB,
RESwedeland
President.




The Basis of Business Efficiency
The life of business building is the business of life building.  In this epigram is summarized the subject matter of an inspiring address which presents fundamental ideas of profound value to business men.



On the Five-Yard Line
The last five yards is the culmination of a season's training for a championship team.  The closing of the sale is the focal point of the salesman's entire training and experience.



Finding the Customer
Advertising is the greatest of modern machinery for distribution of goods.  With all its past success and its wonderful present development, its future is limitless.  It has possibilities for almost every business and every organization, small or large.  This is a clear-cut, scientific exposition of a fascinating theme by an advertising man of conspicuous ability.



The Law of Mutual Benefit
The relations between employer and employe, and of both with the customer, are the very foundation of all successful business organizations, and determine the amount of service which these organizations can render.  On these hinge many of the biggest economic problems of labor, capital and distribution.



The Saving Remnant
Statistics indicate that from 5% to 15% of those who engage in business are successful.  The balance fail wholly or in part.  The factors which make the difference between success and failure in business are of great significance to every one engaged in producing or marketing goods.



State of Nebraska Executive Office Lincoln
THE SHELDON SCHOOL,
Chicago, Illinois.

Gentlemen: —

I assure you that I appreciated Mr. Trefz' address at Omaha the other evening very much, and am pleased to say that he showed eloquence and scholarly attainments which would command a hearing for him any place.

Very respectfully,
Ashton G. Sha




One of the Ablest Platform Speakers
I consider Mr. Trefz a very valuable and interesting speaker.  He talks only on subjects to which he has given much thought, and is, in my opinion, one of the ablest platform speakers of our country.

C. E. YOST
President Nebraska Telephone Company, Omaha, Nebraska.



Commands Close Attention
At our recent 'John Jay Dinner' we had the pleasure of having as our guest Mr. Edward F. Trefz.  Mr. Trefz responded to a suitable toast, and his address was received with the cordial approbation of the four hundred diners who were present.  Mr. Trefz is a forceful speaker, commands close attention of his hearers, and he has the happy faculty of saying what he desires, and knowing when he is through.  He is well fitted to adorn the lecture platform.

E. M. CLENDENING,
Secretary Commercial Club, Kansas City, Missouri.



Salesmen Will Profit by Address
Mr. Trefz' remarks on the occasion of our Board's annual reception were received with much enthusiasm.  Our guests, the traveling salesmen employed by our constituent houses, not only enjoyed what Mr. Trefz had to say, but the great majority of them will profit by the address.  Personally we found Mr. Trefz to be a most genial gentleman, and congratulate ourselves that we made no mistake in asking him to talk to us.

J. B. PEARCE,
President Wholesale Merchants Board, Cleveland, Ohio.



One of the Best Talks in Three Years
The members of the Men's Club are unanimous in voting Mr. Trefz' talk one of the best we have had the pleasure of listening to in the three years we have been having these talks, and we have had some splendid speakers.  Mr. Trefz' subject matter was first-class, and his easy manner and forceful language were highly appreciated by every one.  We count ourselves fortunate to have had a gentleman of his calibre appear before us.

A. H. PERFECT,
President Men's Club, Fort Wayne, Indiana.



A Man Full of Ideas
We found Mr. Trefz a man full of ideas, with a wealth of language and a splendid order of oratory.  He presented his subject with skill and force and polish, and yet with a vigor that impressed his ideas upon all who heard him.  His address made a deep and lasting impression for good on all who were present.

C. R. LANE,
Assistant Secretary Trade Mark Title Company, Fort Wayne, Indiana.



Best of Its Kind
All who were present at Mr. Trefz' address before the National Suit and Cloak Manufacturers in Toledo, December 12th, were very favorably impressed with what he had to say on salesmanship.  I heard many comments on the address, and all were favorable, and to the effect that it was the best on the subject they had ever heard.

P. B. PALMER,
National Suit & Cloak Manufacturers Association, Chicago.



Logical and Convincing
The address by Edward F. Trefz on the subject of 'Outdoor Advertising' was logical and convincing, so much so, in fact, that I afterwards heard several advertising men who were present make the remark that it had given them a better impression than they had heretofore had of the merits of outdoor publicity.  This, to my mind, is the best proof one can have as to the effectiveness of an address, that it is so convincing that one's auditors are thereby induced to change their previous impressions on a given subject.

E. S. HORN,
President Horn-Baker Advertising Company, Kansas City, Missouri.



Eloquent and Practical

Mayor Malone was followed by E. F. Trefz, a well-known business man of Chicago.  Mr. Trefz addressed the club (Business Men's Club) on business methods and the requirements in conducting a successful business, whether in the house or among the salesmen and representatives.  His address was one of the most eloquent which has been heard in the club in a long while.  It was filled with wisdom for the business man, and at frequent intervals humor gave added appreciation to his forceful thoughts.—
Memphis Commercial Appeal.



Helpful and Inspiring

The last speaker and guest of the evening was Mr. Edward F. Trefz.  His subject was 'The Law of Mutual Benefit.'  A more appropriate subject for this occasion could not have been chosen, and a more affable, able and eloquent man than Mr. Trefz could not have been found to present it.  His speech was helpful and inspiring.—
Mutual Protective League.



A Great Speech
Mr. Trefz made a great speech.  His subject 'The Building of a City' was ably handled and interested our people a great deal.  The close attention accorded him throughout, and the ovation given him by the audience at the close of the address, were ample evidence that he pleased his hearers.

E. V. CHILSON,
Secretary Lansing Business Men's Association.



Not Only Able, But Brilliant
The lecture by Mr. E. F. Trefz, before the Englewood Baptist Brotherhood, on 'The Basis of Business Efficiency,' was not only able but brilliant.  Witty, wise and winning describes the matter; the manner was direct, electric, charming.  The lecture made every man feel that he wanted to be at his best, and to go before the world with something worth while.

SMITH THOMAS FORD,
Pastor Englewood Baptist Church, Chicago.



Pleases Advertising Men
Dear Mr. Trefz:

I understand that you have made many interesting addresses before commercial clubs and business conventions during the past three months.  I am sure that these addresses were fully as interesting as the one I had the pleasure of hearing you make to the Convention of the Associated Advertising Clubs of America, held at Kansas City in August.  That address was logical, convincing and of high character.  I heard many favorable comments upon this address by the officers and other members of the Convention.

Yours very truly,
E. D. GIBBS,
President Associated Advertising Clubs of America.