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Ansd May 19

Copy to Chas. L. Freer Esq

Parke, Davis & Company
(FOUNDED 1866. INCORPORATED UNDER THE LAWS OF MICHIGAN, U. S. A.)

April 27, 1915.

MANAGERS' MANIFOLD LETTER NO. 29

Mr. George Hargreaves.

Dear Sir:

In pursuance of a resolution adopted by the Directors of Parke, Davis & Co., the following memorial has been inscribed on the records of the Board:

"The Directors of Parke, Davis & Company owe a special tribute to the memory of Fred Milton Fisk, whose death in London, England, on Saturday, April 10, 1915, closed a long career of extraordinary value in the upbuilding of our international trade. If we are today in the fullest sense of the phrase a world house --if we have every right to say proudly, "The work is our field," we must credit our international position in no small measure to the hard, wearing pioneer work performed by Mr. Fisk on the Pacific Coast, in Hawaii, in China, Japan, Java, India, Australia, and notably in Europe. Entering our service in 1885 as a traveling salesman, he soon conceived a strong sense of our opportunities in the foreign field. His method of attack was characteristic of the man's self-confidence and faith. Large stocks of our products were consigned to meet him at remote cities, and his was then the task of finding the purchasers, detailing the physicians, creating the market, and building up a permanent demand. Our present business in foreign fields is largely the outgrowth of the connections which Mr. Fisk first established. His greatest achievement was, of course, the upbuilding of our house in England, the first and largest among our foreign branches. Today it numbers its 400 employees. Few can realize the appalling difficulties and discouragements which marked its early years, or the dignity, the dogged resolution, the skill, the fidelity to the highest traditions of our House, and the brilliant success with which the problem was ultimately solved. In Britain a losing venture has been transformed into a highly profitable branch of our business, and nowhere in the whole world have we a stronger grasp on the respect of physician and pharmacist, or a brighter outlook for the future. Those of us who have watched Mr. Fisk in action with the principals of the old, reputable houses that now represent us on the Continent have been struck with his power to command their personal deference, and their assent to his propositions. Wherever he went he was greeted and treated like a prince.

"We regret deeply the loss of a strong executive, a faithful servant of the House, a dignified, upright man who maintained everywhere the best traditions of Parke, Davis & Co. In justice to his memory this statement will be entered on the records of the Board and a printed copy will be sent to the members of our European staff."

Very truly yours,
E.R.Swift

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