. EON CS SAFE MFO RCFE LG Ny BESS WRENN SER Ce ENSIGN BC ti yy ry eee aC ae AGS 3) gs | ‘ i] aI) NA Coe \ Cr — y aL € N n ES)\ AC $ +e A, ONS 2S &S WG & SS ie) SESSA ie \ Cn A) 2 Yh D) DQe sd a oe SOP AC ANT aK BY ke, ve Lad By NaS Ce SS x MCHA « ees DAE PPR) 3 Gay P eC) (ECE Neo ACE Na TS Aw ; KO (Gs PS ye ee (eS Eo ee a NCL. et UNS POE RGN OED) yong 3 CSPUBLISHED WEEKLY (ORE: SS TRADESMAN COMPANY, PUBLISHERSR ee) ) <3 $61 PE ¥S STIS OSE IE SG EGRESS IO SL LIss LEZ Da Volume XIV. GRAND RAPIDS, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 10, 1897. Number 703 A} CSS SSS SE BATS SESS Sieg SPOPooerooccccooooooooooscoooooooooooooos uty ¢ ® @ Sd ° o 09000000 00000000000000009006000000000000 % ° ;ARMOUR’S | /SOAP ® ARMOUR’S WHITE: Absolutely pure snow white Floating Soap, 10 oz. and 60z. cakes. Nothing finer made. ARMOUR’S LAUNDRY: A guaranteed pure neutral Laundry Soup, 12 oz. oval cake, fits the hand. ARMOUR’S FAMILY: Best Soap made for all Family purposes, 16 oz. solid cake of Pure Soap. 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ENTIRE BUILDING, 15 CANAL STREET, e Se eee Te a a GCOODOOGDOOOQOGQHOOQODDOQODOGQOSO1GDOSG1SEKSNSGVONS 1S. 01GSNSE1SSCE QOOQOOOOOOS SCRORORTOROROROHOROROCHROROROC TORO ROROROROROHOROROHORORO Four Kinds of Coupon Books 3 a T are manufactured by us and all sold on the same basis, irrespective of size, shape or de- nomination. Free samples on application. TRADESMAN COMPANY, aranp rapIps. CAKE FROSTING, Ready for immediate use. Simply —— ate reliable and absolutely pure. anufacture TORGESON-HAWKINS CoO., Kavramazoo, Micx. 90900000 909009 00000000 hboda dba db bbb bobbi bbbbio bho ty : AS SELL THE PEOPLE Strike while the Iron Is Hot WHAT THEY WANT ee you can secure one box free 7 Li : with every order for 10 boxes. 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FLOWERS, MAY & MOLONEY, Counsel, The Michigan Mercantile Agency SPECIAL REPORTS. LAW AND COLLECTIONS. Represented in every city and county in the United States and Canada. Main Office: Room 1102, Majestic Building, Detroit, Mich. N. B.—Promptness guaranteed in every way. All claims systematically and persistently handled until collected. Our facilities are unsurpassed for prompt and efficient service. Terms and references furnished on application. ROOFS AND FLOORS OF TRINIDAD PITCH LAKE ASPHALT Write for estimates and full information to Warren Chemical & Manufacturing Co., 81 Fulton St., New York, 94 Moffat Bld’g, Detroit. Offices also in CLEVELAND, CINCINNATI, TOLEDO, BUFFALO, UTICA, BOSTON and TORONTO. DETROIT BRUSH WORKS 30 and 32 Ash Street, Detroit, Mich. Largest Assortment PRAIRIE IIIA III INN Lowest Prices... ARIA III III INI IN IN INO No matter what may be your requirements in the line of printing, there is an establishment in Grand Rapids which can meet your requirements. The establishment is known as the . Tradesman Company REREBRERRAARERRRRAPERDARRADDIOME’ and it is located in one of the finest office buildings in the city, the. . eel ec et LL —_——o fi 5 p= j — \, LJ i) New Blodgett Building occupying two floors, each 66 x 132 feet in dimensions, which is the largest floor space utilized by any printing establish- ment in Western Michigan. Why deal with establishments which have not the necessary assortment or experience to turn out first-class work when the same money will buy full- count, full-weight, artistic work? Remember we have the . Largest Floor Space Best Equipment Most Complete Facilities. ) , A DESMAN Volume XIV. GRAND RAPIDS, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 10, 1897. Number 703 SeSeSe5e5e25e25e5e5e25e2. 144 is Twelve Dozen, Sir! . Twelve Dozen is a Gross, Sir! t A Groc-er’s Cost Book will help you keep tab on what your goods COST—‘by j the Gross” or “by the Dozen.” You can then BUY RIGHT. Send for sample leaf and prices. BARLOW BROS., . GRAND RAPIDS, MICH, agesesrsesesesesasas The...... PREFERRED BANKERS LIFE ASSURANCE COMPANY ++0000f MICHIGAN Incorporated by 100 Michigan Bankers. i all death claims promptly and in full. This Company sold Two and One-half Millions of In- surance in Michigan in 1895, and is being ad- mitted into seven of the Northwestern States at this time. The most desirable plan before vhe people. Sound and Cheap. Home office, DETROIT, Michigan. KOLB G SUN Established nearly one-half a century. Wholesale Clothing Airs, Rochester, W. ¥. All mail orders promptly attended to, or write our Michigan Agent, William Connor, Box 346, Marshall, Mich., who will show you our entire line of samples. Mr. Connor will be at Sweet's Hotel, Grand Rapids, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, March 23, 24 and 25. Snedicor & Hathaway 80 to 89 W. Woodbridge St., Detroit, Manufacturers for Michigan Trade. DRIVING SHOES, MEN’S AND BOYS’ GRAIN SHOES. Smith Shoe Co., Agts. for Mich., O. and Ind. The Michigan Trust 6O., Grand Rapids, Mich. Acts as Executor, Administrator, Guardian, Trustee. Send for copy of our pamphlet, ‘‘Laws of the State of Michigan on Descent and Distribution of Property.” COMMERCIAL CREDIT 60., Ltd. GRAND RAPIDS, MICH. Private Credit Advices. Collections made anywhere in the United States and Canada. THE z Gein ea om I = - $ ed $ 72S Conservative, Safe. rd J.W.CHAMPLIN, Pres. W. FRED MoBar, sad 00O00000000000000000 > Save hea Severosees TT QCBSIAN COUPONS GROCERS IN CONFERENCE. Meeting of the Michigan Retail Gro- cers’ Association. The sixth meeting of the Michigan Retail Grocers’ Association convened at Phythian Temple, Grand Rapids, Wed- nesday morning, March 3. President Wisler called the meeting to order and addressed those present as follows: We have come to this beautiful city to hold our midwinter convention, and I am glad to see so many from new towns. I have great hopes of the work and _ re- sults of this convention, for what should we not expect from a gathering of rep- resentative business men? I believe that these two days will go on record as red letter days in association work of this State; and I am glad to have the honor of being engaged in a line of business which is one of the largest in existence. The retail grocer stands between the manufacturer, the jobber, the farmer and the consumer, and makes up the backbone of every community. During panics and hard times he is called upon to give almost unlimited credit until confidence and prosperity are restored. When suffering exists, the grocer is the first man appealed to for charity. And every year we are meeting with sharper and sharper competition. Every year larger demands are made on us. There are about 8,000 retail grocers doing business in this great State of ours, and of that number who are here I am sure not one will go home at the close of this convention and say he was sorry he came. We should be better acquainted with each other. And I hope that each and every one present will take ar ac- tive part in our program, as the subjects are such that every business man cannot help but be interested. On motion of Wm. H. Porter, the reading of the minutes of the last meet- ing was dispensed with. Secretary Stowe and Treasurer Tat- man presented their reports, showing the organization to be in good shape, financially and otherwise, which were adopted. President Wisler then announced the following special committees: President’s — E. Pick- ett, Wayland ; Geo. Cook, Grove; E. A. Phillips, iciaue Peddling Law—E. N. Bates, Moline; O. P. DeWitt, St. Johns; J. C. Neuman, Dorr. Exemption Law—Joseph Knight, De- troit; Frank Dyk, Grand Rapids; D. Mansfield, Remus. Resolutions——R. D. McNaughton, Coopersville; Parke Mathewson, De- troit; T. W. Brown, Ithaca. On being asked to respond for the Detroit Association, E. Marks, Secre- tary of the organization, stated that the leaders of the movement had come to the conclusion that organization is nec- essary to secure needed reforms and desirable concessions. His organiza- tion had employed a competent attorney to draft an amendment to the peddling law, placing the exemption on the per- centage plan, because sucha plan did not appear to be oppressive to the poor man. If the amendment is adopted, it will enable grocers to extend credit to a man who works for a lower rate of wages than at present. The draft orig- inally included employes of the Govern- ment, State, townships and cities, but subsequent investigation and consulta- tion decided the members to eliminate that feature, so as not to create any an- tagonisms. Promises have already been secured from a considerable number of Representatives that they will favor such a measure, but as more pressure can be brought to bear on the Legisla- ture by business men than by paid at- torneys, the Association bespeaks the assistance of business men generally, and grocers in particular, in the effort to accomplish the result sought. Wm. H. Porter (Jackson) stated that he was much pleased with the remarks of Mr. Marks on so vital a subject and moved that the further discussion of the subject be made the special order of business at the close of the reading of Robert Johnson’s paper on ‘‘Exemp- tions’’ at the afternoon session. Adupted. Mr. Wisler called attention to the suc- cessful outcome of the agitation begun by the Association last fall on the ques- tion of lower freight rates, as the result of which potatoes have been reduced from 5th to 6th class, the reduction tak- ing effect Nov. 11 and continuing until May |. E. A. Moseley stated that good results had come through the reduction of freight rates and that he saw no reason why potatoes should not be carried as cheaply as grain. Wm. H. Porter read a paper on the subject of ‘‘Retail Grocers’ Associa- tions; Their Objects and Benefits,’’ which appears elsewhere in this week’s issue. Jos. Knight, President of the Detroit Retail Grocers’ Association, stated that it was not only the real estate exemp- tion that he complained of, but that contractors and municipal and Govern- ment officers cannot be reached by gar- nishee process. Every business man must add a percentage to his regular profits to cover bad debts. Grocers want a just measure only. Doctors are also called upon to bear an unjust burden, because of the irresponsibility of a large portion of their customers. Talk about oppressing the poor man! He, of all men, needs accommodation sometimes, because he is out of work a portion of the time. Unless the laws are changed, grocers must shut off credit and the poor man must suffer. It is a detri- ment to the honest poor to continue the present method any longer. The pro- posed amendment would, practically, do away with all law, so far as the col- lection of debts is concerned, because the debtor would know the retailer has recourse through the courts, and would adjust his accounts before permitting the creditor to resort to the law and add costs to the claim. The best paying customers the grocers have are railway employes, because railroads make ita practice to discharge a man after a cer- tain number of garnishees have been lodged against him. Organization will bring about shorter hours for doing business and Sunday closing. The rep- utable element do not wish the stores to be kept open Sunday, because it makes a grocer worse than a convict—no state asks a convict to work seven days in the week. The members of trades unions who are clamoring for eight hours a day six days a week are the most strenuous in insisting that the re- tail stores be kept open Sunday, and when reminded of their inconsistency they go somewhere else to trade. At the opening of the afternoon ses- sion, Hon. E. N. Bates, of Moline, read a paper on ‘* How the Food Law Should be Enforced,’’ which is published in full in another portion of this week’s paper. Joseph Knight doubted whether the law is what it ought to be. In his opin- ion, there should be a law compelling the manufacturer to brand his product with what it actually contains. Mr. Porter called attention to the fact that a great difficulty in enforcing the law lies in the fact that a large part of the goods sold in the State are manu- factured in other states. On enquiry as to whether the wage exemption could be amended by the Legislature, the services of ex-Judge Hatch were secured and that gentleman addressed the convention at some length, calling their attention to the fact that, while the real estate exemption is in the constitution and cannot’ be amended except by a vote of the peo- ple, the wage exemption is a statutory enactment and can be amended or abolished altogether at any session of the Legislature. ‘*Co-operative Buying among Grocers’’ was then introduced as the subject for discussion and held the attention of the convention for some little time, Joseph Knight asserting that it is his experi- ence that the greatest trouble met with along this line is the fact that the gro- cers are so little acquainted that they are afraid tu trust each other. Geo. F. Cook (Grove) believed the plan might be made profitable; in fact, he had made it profitable in his own case, although he had discovered that ac- quaintance with some grocers does not tend to create confidence. Another difficulty is the different methods of paying for goods, some insisting on discounting their bills, while others pre- fer to take all the time they can. O. P. DeWitt (St. Johns) believed in the theory of co-operative buying and stated that he had practiced it to some extent. He urged carefulness in select- ing men in whom to place confidence and insisted that any advantage thus se- cured should never be divulged by any party to the contract. Mr. Wisler stated that he is practic- ing this method to some extent, but thought it quite as desirable to confine his purchases to few houses, and that he buys package brands just as little as possible; in other words, he is working for Wisler, rather than for the manufacturers of package brands. M. R. Alden then read a paper on the ‘‘Reasons for the January Slump in Eggs,’’ as follows: Several have asked me the reason for eggs being so cheap in January. There are several reasons: Eggs were cheap in the Eastern markets and eggs in this vicinity must always be sold on a basis of what they are worth to ship East. New York appears to be able to estab- lish prices all over the country. If any markets undertake to dictate to New 2 York, they are liable to run against the question the elephant gave the fly, ‘*Whom are you shooing?”’ The warm weather gave great en- couragement to the hen and she cackled earlier in the season than usual; and, with a large supply of cold storage eggs all over the country, such were crowded on the market for whatever they would seil for and, consequently, eggs have sold lower than usual since the first of January. In my opinion, the day has passed for high-priced eggs in winter. The improvements in cold storage en- able speculators to buy and hold eggs for a few months, so that they come out almost as good as fresh laid, and it is done to so great an extent that making 100 per cent. on such an investment is a thing of the past. There have been some very heavy losses in speculations in eggs in the past two years, and it Is thought that speculation will hold off for low prices the coming season. Il see no reason why the supply should not be ample and allow the speculators al- most their own way. Mr. Sells (Ithaca) stated that the re- tailers are principally to blame for losing so much money on eggs, because they insist on paying about 2 centsa dozen more than the market warrants. If the merchant will not pay more for eggs in trade than he gets for them in cash, he will come out on the right side, but there have been instances where the merchant received but 13 cents in cash for his eggs, yet continued to pay 17 cents. The talk was an unusually in- teresting one, on account of its thorough practicability, and the Tradesman re- grets that it cannot reproduce it verba- tim. Mr. Sells urged the country mer- chants to sort their eggs carefully, ship- ping the small eggs and the dirty eggs apart from the others, as such classi- fication would surely result to the ad- vantage of the merchant. The same suggestion would apply to butter, which should be graded carefully, in order to secure the best results for the dealer. E. Marks stated that he would rather handle storage eggs than stale eggs. Geo. F. Cook made a witty speech about poor butter. He said that some of the butter which the country merchants are compelled to handle he would not take home, because he desired to be master of his own house and the _ butter was stronger than he. It would not do to throw such stuff away, because it would kill the grass. It will not pay to ship it to market, because the dealer who houses it would charge him storage —possible, also, render a bill for creat- ing a nuisance. Mr. Wisler stated that a good theory to follow is to consign nothing unless you get stuck. The retailer is in the same condition as the commission house—gets overstocked sometimes and is compelled to slaughter goods to pre- vent their deteriorating or spoiling on his hands. Mr. Sells stated that competent esti- mators claim that the egg product of America amounts to $200,000,000 an- nually, and that of this amount Io per cent. of the stock is dumped. A _ large part of this enormous loss could be avoided by the dealer’s using more care in taking in the eggs and exerci- sing more care in their shipment. E. Marks delivered an excellent ad- dress on the subject, ‘‘The Peddling Manufacturers, ’’ the subsequent discus- sion being participated in by Parke Mathewson (Detroit) and Mr. Teriff (Portland). The convention then adjourned, to meet at the office of - the Michigan Tradesman at 6 o'clock to partake of a complimentary banquet, the material features of which were as follows: MICHIGAN. Blue Points on Shell Celery Olives Consomme Pat-au-feu Lobster—a la Newberg Cucumbers Chicken Cutlets French Peas Game Pates Sweet Potato Croquettes Macedonne Salad Neapolitan Cream Angel Food Macaroons Sunshine Cake Crackers Cheese Coffee At the conclusion of the repast Hon. E. N. Bates assumed the duties of toastmaster and the following senti- ments were proposed and made: Welcome—E. A. Stowe, Grand Rap- ids. The Retail Trade—Joseph Knight, Detroit. : The Jobbing Trade—Amos S. Mussel- man, Grand Rapids. The Relation of the Wholesale and Retail Grocer—Wm. Judson, Grand Rapids. : The Proposed State Insolvency Law —A. C. Denison, Grand Rapids. Prospects of Its Enactment—Hon. E. J. Adams, Grand Rapids. | Value of Equality to the Retail Gro- cer—H. P. Sanger, Detroit. The Proposed Peddling Law—F. B. Watkins, Hopkins. Our Association—Jess Wisler, Man- celona. The New Grocer, from His Own Standpoint—O. F. Conklin, Grand Rapids. The New Grocer, from the ther Fel- low’s Standpoint—F. E. Pickett, Way- land. The Commercial Traveler—W. Weed, Buffalo, N. Y. | What I Know About the Grocery Busi- ness——Hon. Reuben Hatch, Grand Rapids. Retrospect—Hon. O. A. Baill, Grand Rapids. On the assembling of the convention, Thursday morning, State Food Commis- sioner Grosvenor read an_ excellent paper on the subject of ‘* Attitude of the New Administration Relative to the Food Laws,’’ which is published in full elsewhere in this week’s paper. N. L. Koenig (Detroit) enquired whether it would not be desirable for the Commissioner to publish a list of the brands of goods now on the market which do not come up to the require- ments of the law. Mr. Grosvenor said that such a policy would be unjust, because manufactur- ers, generally, are pretty apt to improve their goods to meet the requirements of the law as soon as they are notified of any detect therein. Mr. Marks enquired whether a grocer would be prosecuted for having sold im- pure goods, providing it was his first offense. Mr. Grosvenor stated that it had not been the policy of the department, and would not be his policy, to prosecute any grocer who paid full price for his goods, and supposed he was handling pure articles, on the first offense. If, a week later, he was found selling the same goods, after having been notified not to do so, he would probably be pros- ecuted. Mr. Koenig enquired as to the char- acter of the amendments to the food law now before the Legislature. Mr. Grosvenor stated that under the present law a dealer can sell vinegar which is not cider vinegar, yet which meets the requirements of the law. It is hoped to amend the law in this _par- responses TRADESMAN ticular by the substitution of the present Ohio law, which would completely rem- edy the difficulty. A paper on ‘“Thirty Years a Grocer, ’’ by Julius Schuster, of Kalamazoo, was then read. The reading was frequently interrupted by applause. The paper will be found verbatim on the oth and oth pages of this week's issue. O. P. DeWitt then read a paper on ‘‘Some Requisites to Success as a Gro- cer.’’ W. H. Porter read a paper on ‘‘The Retail Grocer,’’ and Nicholas L. Koenig read a paper on ‘‘Should a Gro- cer Advise His Son to be a Grocer?”’ These papers were well received and were discussed at some length. The Committee on Peddling reported the following resolutions, which were unanimously adopted : Resolved—That we heartily approve of the amendment to the peddling law, introduced in the House of Representa- tives by Hon. S. W. Mayer, and hereby unanimously petition the Legislature to enact same at the earliest possible mo- ment. Resolved—That every member of this Association be requested to immediate- ly circulate a petition among the repre- sentative business men and taxpayers of his community, favoring the enactment of the amendment, and forward same to his Representative without delay. The Committee on President’s Ad- dress presented the following resolution, which was adopted : Resolved, That we commend the ad- dress of President Wisler and heartily thank him for the earnest efforts he is making to bring this organization up to the front rank. The Committee on Exemption Law reported as follows: Resolved, That we put ourselves on record as unqualifiedly in favor of a re- vision of the present exemption laws, which shall render them more just and equitable to all concerned. Resolved, That we commend the efforts of the Detroit Retail Grocers’ Association along these lines, and here- by pledge ourselves to co-operate with them in securing the enactment of leg- islation which shall enable the retail dealer to conduct his business at a smaller ratio of losses from the ranks of the dead-beat. The following resolutions were adopted on the recommendation of the Committee on Resolutions: Resolved, That we heartily approve of a uniform insolvency law that shall be just and equitable to both debtor and creditor, and believe that a State law is preferable to a Federal law be- cause the country courts are more avail- able than the United States courts, be- side being less expensive to litigants. Resolved, That we approve of House bill No, 361, introduced by Represent- ative Adams, as embodying our ideas of what a State insolvency act should contain. Resolved, That a committee of seven members on organization be appointed for the purpose of increasing the mem- bership of the Association. Resolved, That the thanks of the As- sociation be tendered the Grand Rapids Retail Grocers’ Association for cour- tesies extended, and the Tradesman Company for the complimentary ban- quet. Resolved, That the thanks of this As- sociation be and are hereby tendered to E. A. Stowe, the Secretary of this As- sociation, for the able and efficient work he has done in promoting the in- terests of this organization and making the meeting the grand success it has proved to be. Resolved, That this Association ap- ee the good work done by the ichigan Tradesman forthe benefit of the retail grocers of Michigan, and that we most heartily commend it to our members as worthy of their confi- dence and support. President Wisler announced that he would leave the selection of a special Committee on Membership to the Sec- retary. Secretary Stowe moved that a vote of thanks be tendered the Detroit gentle- men for their encouragement and at- tendance, which was adopted. Joseph Knight invited the Associa- tion to hold the next meeting in Detroit, and E. A. Stowe extended a similar in- vitation for Grand Rapids. On motion, it was decided to hold the next meeting at Detroit, on such date in August as may be decided upon by the Executive Committee. There being no further business, the meeting adjourned. —__»> 2» The Commercial Traveler. You all know him. He has called upon you at all hours of the day, and I don’t doubt but in the night, for it has been my lot to travel with several sales- men and | know we have called upon you very late, 1 being one of those most despised by the retail grocers—-a soap man—and if there is any class of trav- elers the grocer hates to see it is a soap or tobacco man. Many people seem to think that a commercial traveler’s life is one continual round of pleasure. Let me tell you it is not, for the commercial traveler of to-day who would make a success of the line he is handling leads the hardest Kind of a life. He is away from home and friends 90 per cent. of his time; has to be up at all hours of the night to make trains; gets into some small town where he gets a cold room— he can't kick, for if he did it would do him no good ; starts out to see the trade and, as he is not the only man on the road, the first man he calls on says to him, ‘‘What, another soapman! Just bought a lot. Never saw so many men in your line on the road before.’’ You tell him, ‘‘Yes, but there’s lots more be- hind me’’ and finally show him your deal, for you never saw a specialty man who did not have a deal of some kind. Well, you generally sell your man be- fore leaving—nit. The commercial travelers have to ap- pear happy, no matter how dull business is; and I would suggest to some of the merchants in this State that it does not take a very large order these times to make us happy. If it be in your power give us a small order and send us away with pleasant recollections of your town or city. Wn. WEED. —_—__—_e0>__—_ What Foolish Men Should Do. The man who does not advertise sim- ply because his grandfather did not ought to wear knee breeches and a queue. The man who does not advertise be- cause it costs money should quit pay- ing rent for the same reason. The man who does not advertise be- cause he tried it once and failed should throw away his cigar because the light went out. The man who does not advertise be- cause he doesn’t know how himself ought to stop eating because he can’t cook. The man who does not advertise be- cause somebody said it did not pay ought not to believe that the world is round because the ancients said it was flat. 2» >__—_- W. C. MacDonald, a tobacco manu- facturer of Montreal, who has already given $1,500,000 to McGill University, has just made a further gift of $600,000 to that institution. Of this amount $450,000 is for the ‘erection of a build- ing for chemistry, mining and metal- lurgy, and for the endowment of chairs of architecture, mining and metallurgy. —____~>2>__ Even the thoughtful man does not progress when he keeps on thinking the same old things. MICHIGAN TRADESMAN Ge Bicycles News and Gossip of Interest to Dealer and Rider. Nearly every city or town of much pretension in the country is having, or has had, or is preparing to have, its cycle show. Jn these times of hurry and dollar-chasing the interest shown in the bicycle is really remarkable. When the project to hold a cycle show a few years ago was suggested, those of a critical mind argued that such an exhibition would be a dismal failure. They said that an exhibition of inanimate objects, where even the machinery or wheels were not in motion, could not expect to attract much public attention and could attract little or no public following. The conservative element thought that some spectacular features should be added _ to interest the public. These features were added at the start, but the crowd seemed to take only a passing fancy to the ex- hibitions and fancy trick riding. The people seemed to care more for the new models shown at the different booths. The conservatives surrendered and the cycle show became one of the institu- tions of the year. +. o There is possibly no other business in the country which could conduct a show on the same lines which would attract so much attention and general public enthusiasm. Of course such shows cost the manufacturers considerable money, and some of them are beginning to dis- cuss the problem if such shows really pay. Two national shows have been held in this country this year, one in Chicago and the other in New York, while local shows have been held far and wide. In nearly every case the ex- hibitions have been wonderfully suc- cessful, both from an artistic and a financial point of view. The talk of discontinuing such shows may amount to nothing. *x* * *¥ A horseman has called attention to the fact that now almost every carriage at night carries a lighted lamp. This prac- tice has sprung up since bicycles came into use so widely, and it is an excellent thing. It is very difficult to see a car- riage on a dark night, especially when two are traveling toward each other at a lively rate. + 1% It is said that in the course of the Cycle Show in New York cover 200 American wheels were disposed of to be used as samples for export. Others paid for them, agreeing to furnish bills of lading, as well as landing certificates, so as to assure the manufacturer that they were really for export, otherwise the manufacturers would not have sold at the export price. Where cash payments were made, the wheels, in the majority of cases, were intended for European markets. es A writer in the L. A. W. Bulletin makes the following suggestions for road-building: ‘‘Let the States request Congress to furnish soldiers and officers from the Army to guard convicts while building permanent roads. Let the Army officers be the engineers in charge, without other compensation than they get from the Government; en- gineering is one of their strong points and it will not injure them in the least to give their training practical tests. If they are at any time needed for actual fighting, the convicts can be easily and quickly returned to the prisons, and the Army be ready for duty in all the better condition for its active outdoor serv- ices. "” ———_> 22> _ Necessity of Business Publicity. From the Dry Goods Reporter. Any man having a comprehensive outlook over the field of retail merchan- dising cannot but be impressed with the fact that the. science of advertising is being more widely studied and better understood than ever before, and that great strides in the right direction have taken place duriny the past two years. The influence which has been mainly responsible for this change originated in the great business centers of the country, and has spread in ever widen- ing circles until its outer rings now touch the smallest towns. And in each at least one merchant, and sometimes all, are struggling with the best light and training they have to give their store effective publicity and inject into their business that potent elixir of commer- cial life—advertising. That hundreds of men follow adver- tisement writing as a means of liveli- hood, and a score or more prominent publications are devoted exclusively to this subject and are well supported, is evidence of the thorough manner in which the advertising leaven has worked through the whole commercial world. While the journals exclusively devoted to advertising do good work, they fail to completely cover all the needs of any particular class of merchants, so we find the various trade journals devoting a page specially to this subject, which is read with interest and profit by their subscribers. These pages are edited on practical lines, and although the men who write them acknowledge the ability and good work of the expert who stands ready to tackle any line of advertising, whether conversant with it or not, they naturally feel that the advice they give is more apt to be just the thing to fit the mer- chant’s special need. The advertising field is a special one, but it must be admitted that there are special fields within this branch for special effort. The practical dry goods, shoe or clothing man who has learned his business from the ground up, if he has the advertising instinct, and some one discovers it in him, or he discovers it himself and develops this talent, will write better advertisements for the par- ticular line in which he has been trained than he can for any other, and better than any general man of equal ability but with less knowledge of the subject. This, then, should be the star of hope for every country merchant who wishes to increase his sales and profits by bet- ter advertising, but must do the work himself because his business is not large enough to warrant the expense of hiring a man for these duties. He has a thorough understanding of his business, he knows the people he wants to talk to, and should understand better than any otber man just what should be said to these people and how it should be said. His only remaining need is the ability to put his message into clear and con- vincing language, and have it printed in a manner to attract the attention of the public. This is where the advertis- ing journal and the advertising page of the trade journal aid. They are preg- nant with hints on phraseology and typographical display, and a bright merchant who uses these helps intel- ligently will soon be printing store an- nouncements that will bring business and reflect credit on tne writer. —_—__»2-- How the Thrifty Housewife Plays Even. Recent information from Missouri seems to indicate that the wife of the down-trodden farmer can hold her own with plutocratic peddlers. Although the peddler, in his exertions to increase the volume of trade, and incidentally to dispose of a tin bucket or so, cheats the woman out of I! cents on her rags and 17 cents on a calfskin, she makes no moan, but calmly works off two dozen stale eggs on him at 15 cents a dozen and stuffs three pounds of hen feathers and an old boot in a bag of geese feath- ers she sells to him at 40 cents a pound. THERE'S: MONEY 0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-00-0-0-0-0-00:0-0-0-0-0-6-0 WHEN YOU have the right bicycles at the right prices there is no trouble about selling them and making good profits, ‘“‘if you are protected.” This idea of trying to SELL | | |; @ bicycle that any business manin your town can buy |} as cheaply as you do is ridiculous. You cannot make a profit, cannot establish a price and keep it, cannot do business. Get a line of BICYCLES your own selling price, make a profit, feel satisfied with and everybody else. We are “State Distribu- ON WHICH YOU ARE PROTECTED by a contract, as our agents. We name liberal discounts |; to dealers, giving them the most complete line of cheap, medium priced and high grades,as well as juveniles and Tandems, ever offered Catalogues and terms on application. | | {| | STUDLEY & JARVIS, Grand Rapids, Mich. : on which you get exclusive selling rights, establish yourself | ters” for Wintons, Keatings, Cycloids, Columbus and || Stormer Bicycles o o 00-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0. (ond Lapds( eg “Give them what they Want; That’s the motto of one of the greatest political hustlers in the State of Michigan. That’s the motto of the greatest and oldest bicycle maker in the Wolverine State. Business men and business women wanted a bicycle built for business, wheel that would stand up, stay away from the repair shops, look all right, the price fair to all. The Clipper people knew what they wanted and gave it to them; but, in order to do so, they sacrificed the expenses of rac- and wear well, with i cl. ing teams, “commission pluggers,’”? and other luxuries that did not add actual value to the bicycle. Result— Big sales of Clippers; good fair profits; clean business; well satisfied customers and riders; everybody happy. MIR. BUSINESS MAN, are you with us for ’97? Pratt 242.N I A Gentleman’s Mount poasomesesesasD $100 st ADAMS & HART, Local Distributing Agents, 2 WEST BRIDGE STREET. ee. and State 4 MICHIGAN TRADESMAN Around the State Movements of Merchants. Detroit—E. J]. Robinson succeeds the | E. J. Robinson Lumber Co. Coloma—A. G. Hursh succeeds S. A. Hursh in the grocery business. Saginaw—M. Gilmour has purchased the grocery stock of E. P. Stone & Co. Tekonsha—Abel & Welsh, meat deal- ers, have dissolved, Fred G. Abel suc- ceeding.* Bay City—C. H. Ueberoth succeeds the C. H. Ueberoth Co. in the crockery business. Marquette—The Marquette Co-oper- ative Association is closing out its gro- cery stock. Hancock--M. L. Funkey continues the meat business formerly conducted by Ecker Bros. Reed City—Vollmer Bros. have sold their Chestnut street meat market to Deloy White. St. Charles—A. T. Sanderson suc- ceeds Grinley & Sanderson in the hard- ware business. Flint—L. G. Willison succeeds Lyon & Co. in the dry goods and furnishing goods business. Marquette—W. T. Long, formerly D., S. S. & A. conductor, has engaged in the meat business. Morenci—V. W. Whitney succeeds Mrs. Frank Blair in the bakery and restaurant business. Saginaw—C. S. Ellis & Co. succeed the C. S. Ellis Co. in the crockery and wall paper business. Vassar—Michael Lambe, the grocer, is closing out his stock and will remove to some other town. Mendon——Victor Osgood and _ Ira Stephens have opened a new clothing store in the Osgood building. Scottville—W. D. Parkhurst has sold his jeweiry stock to Henry Chinnery, who will continue the business. Ann Arbor—J. T. Jacobs has pur- chased Chas. H. Allmand’s interest in the Jacobs & Allmand shoe business. Benton Harbor—S. M. Austin has surrendered his stock of groceries to the McNeal & Higgins Co., of Chicago. Jackson—E. Dack & Co. will open a dry goods store in the building formerly occupied by the Manufacturers’ Shoe Co. Vassar—P. L. Varnum, for the past twenty years engaged in the boot and shoe trade, has suld his stock to Wm. H. Stark. Muskegon——-Samuel Rosenthal will put in a stock of clothing, hats, caps, shoes ard notious in the store at 5 W. Western avenue, Wailin—Wm. J. Jeffreys has sold his meat market to Chas. Neal, of Thomp- sonville, who will continue the business at the same location, Union City— Minto & Hill will open a branch clothing at Sherwood, placing the business under the manage- ment of Roy Hawley. Mulliken—Wiil Stone, of Portland, and Marcy Reed, of this place, have embarked in general trade here under the style of Stone & Reed. Benton Harbor—Grant & Swiegert have sold their bakery and restaurant on Pipestone street to B. Vandecar, who has already taken possession. Menominee—An early opening of navigation is looked for. This has been a remarkably mild winter—barely enough snow for sleighing now. Vassar—Mitts Bros. have sold their grocery stock to Moon Bros., who will continue the business. Moon Bros. have ; j store stores at Flint and Saginaw, also. Saranac—P. M. Drezer has sold his grocery stock to E. P. Giffordand R. E. Arthur, who will continue the business | under the style of Gifford & Arthur. Woodland—L. 0. Crocker has sold the Woodland roller mill to Dr. C. S. Bur- ton, of Hastings. The purchaser will operate the mill to its full capacity. Jackson--Glasgew Bros. continue, at the same location, the dry goods, cloth- ing, carpet and boot and shoe business formerly conducted by Glasgow Bros. & Dack. Kalamazoo—C. H. Camp, who has been doing a jobbing business in teas, coffees and bakers’ supplies for some time, is closing out and will retire from business. Ovid—Chas. D. Ables and Wm. J. Hathaway have purchased the grocery stock of Chas. H. Frost. Mr. Ables has been in the employ of Rose Bros. near- ly five years. Reed City—J. M. Cadzow has sold his dry goods and boot and shoe stock to Charles and Harry Gerhardt, who will continue the business under the style of Gerhardt Bros. Benton Harbor——Dave Ryan has turned his stock of groceries over to P. W. Hall. The store has been put in charge of J. C. Russell, who will con- duct it for Mr. Hall. St. Joseph—Miss Jennie Jones and Mrs. Harry Stone have formed a copart- nership and on March 15 will opena stock of millinery in the north half of Stone's jewelry store. St. Joseph—F. C. Lucker has pur- chased the store building occupied by Hone Bros. and owned by Alfred Shep- ard for $5,30c and will occupy same with his meat market. Lake Odessa—H. C. Carpenter & Son have purchased the farm implement stock of Bodgley & Son and will con- tinue the business in connection with their hardware business. St. Johns—Sullivan & Koons, dealers in clothing and men’s furnishing goods, have dissolved. Edwin S. Koons will remove the stock to Fowler, where he will continue the business. Bellaire—Chas. Weiffenbach has taken possession of his new store building. He has opened a branch grocery store at his old location on the other side of the river, placing E. J. Childs in charge. Big Rapids—Morris & Crane, dealers in dry goods, will add a line of clothing abeut April 1. Theo. Lindblom, for many years with H. Goldstein, will take the management of the clothing depart- ment, Jackson—Willis Leisenring, employed at the drug store of Giddings & Hynd- man, has purchased an interest in the business, and the firm will hereafter be known as Giddings, Hyndman & Leis- enring. South Haven—L. H. Symonds _ has purchased the remains of the J. B. Lull & Co. grocery stock and will continue the business at the same place. Frank H. Clay (W. J. Quan & Co.) furnished the stock. Elk Rapids—J. D. Slater, who has been in charge of the furniture store of J. W. Slater for the past few months, has purchased an interest in the busi- ness. The new firm will be known as J. W. Slater & Bro: Sunfield—E. H. Deatsman and Thos. Welch have formed a copartnership under the style of Deatsman & Welch and opened a dry goods, millinery and furnishing goods store, having pur- chased the stock of F. E. Avery, of Benton Harbor. Marquette—Gooding & Ormsbee will move their men’s furnishing goods stock into more commodious quarters on Washington street in a few days. Jasper—The Lenawee Hoop Co., cap- italized at $10,000, has filed articles of incorporation with the County Clerk. The company is composed of W. J. Keller, R. J. Torbron, of Toledo; C. A. Rofter, H. H. Cylbertson, of Jasper. Marquette—E. A. Moye, Manager for the Manhard-Jopling Co., Ltd., has accepted a similar position with the Northern Hardware Co., Duluth. Mr. Moye is an old Saginaw boy, having been with D. H. Jerome & Co. for years. Lakeview—C. M. Northorp and E. C. Saxton have entered into a copartner- ship under the firm name of Northrop & Saxton for the purpose of conducting the grocery business. They will occupy the store in the Northrop block formerly occupied by C. E. Green. Traverse City—George Gane and Wal- ter Thurtell have decided to consolidate their grocery stocks on Union street and to do business under the firm name of Thurtell & Gane. The Thurtell stock will be moved to the store building now occupied by Mr. Gane and the business willbeenlarged. The active management of the business will devolve upon Mr. Thurtell, as Mr. Gane will spend some time on the road. Standish—The Michigan Mercantile & Manufacturing Co. has been organ- ized by local capitalists to continue the business of the Standish Stave & Head- ing Co., A. H. Welles & Co., dealers in clothing, boots and shoes and _hard- ware, and Robert M. Forsyth, dealer in drugs and groceries. The stocks will be consolidated and the manufacture of nail kegs and butter bowls will be vig- orously prosecuted. Saginaw—John S. Porter has been elected Treasurer of F..W. Wheeler & Co., at West Bay City, and while he in a measure takes hold at once, he will on April 1 assume entire charge of the finances of that extensive concern. The financiai depression and the exigencies of the ship building industry require a man of the highest business ability to take hold of these matters and Mr. Porter is believed to possess the neces- sary qualifications. Saginaw—Sanford Keeler, formerly connected with the F. & P. M. Rail- way, has gone to Chicago to assume the duties of Western Manager of the Nathan Manufacturing Co., of New York, manufacturers of locomotive, marine and stationary boiler injectors and sight feed lubricators and oil cups, a place for which he is admirably fitted. It is an old concern, and the territory over which Mr. Keeler will have charge extends clear to the Pacific coast. His office will be in the Rialto building, Chicago. Detroit--The auction sale of the stock of H. S. Robinson & Co. was held March 5 in the offices of the Union Trust Co. The appraised value of the goods was $47,919.79 and the selling price was $26,895, or nearly 56 per cent. of the estimated value. J. L. Hudson was the largest buyer, getting all of the stock but the leather findings. H. S. Robinson bought the fixtures and the safe. The firm’s accounts, appraised at $63,000, will be collected by the Union Trust Co, The first and second mort- gages of $49,000 and $48,000, respec- tively, may thus be paid nearly in full. There is, besides, a third mortgage for $41,076. 32. Wayland—Chas. E. Sherwin has ut- tered a chattel mortgage on the grocery stock conducted here under his name to Benjamin Van Anrooy for $254, which was the amount of the initial purchase from the Clark-Jewell-Wells Co. Al- though Sherwin claims to be backed by large capital, it now transpires that the real owner of the stock is Benjamin Van Anrooy, the Grand Rapids baking pow- der man, and that the ridiculous on- slaught on the other merchants of the town was made at his knowledge and by bis consent. It need hardly be stated that the merchants of Wayland and sur- rounding towns will not exert them- selves to push the sale of Sunlight bak- ing powder hereafter. Manufacturing Matters. Ontonagon—The Diamond Match Co. has decided to locate at Green Bay, Wis. Its immense plant was destroyed by fire last summer. Mendon——McDeid & Taylor are building a new factory for manufactur- ing mint cans, mint stills and to do a general jobbing business. Menominee—Two sawmills have be- yun the season’s work, cutting logs which come in by rail. The river is still frozen solid, so that no logs can be gotten out. Cheboygan—Pelton & Reid’s sawmill will start up as soon as the ice will permit, and from present appearances may have to run aight and day. This mill was the last to shut down at the end of the season of ’96. Saginaw—The Hemmeter Cigar Co. will move its factory from Saginaw to Detroit. This will be the second insti- tution of this kind that has left Saginaw because of the arbitrary action of union labor in dictating to employers until life became a burden. Empire—Thomas Wilce, President of the Empire Lumber Co., died last week at his home in Chicago. Deceased was the senior member of the firm of T. Wilce & Co., the largest flooring man- ufacturers in the country, with offices and yards in Chicago. Muskegon—M. O. Senseny, Secretary of the Standard Malleable Iron Co., has resigned and will be succeeded by F. C. Kidney, of Cleveland, who has come on to take the place. Mr. Senseny will move to Cleveland, where he will take a responsible position with the George Worthington Hardware Co. Saginaw—The Wellman Washer Co., of Dundee, has decided to remove to this city in order to secure better ship- ping facilities. The company’s prod- uct will be manufactured by local fac- tories by the piece and put together at the company’s headquarters in the Sage block. Saginaw—The manufacture of bicy- cles in this city is likely to attain con- siderable proportions during the year. Fischer Bros. are now making 300 wheels and expect to turn out many more. W. L. Marr is also engaged in the manufacture of wheels and expects to turn out many more than he did _ last year. Edmore—The Grand Rapids Lumber Co., in which Peter Morterson is inter- ested, is doing an extensive business in the lumber districts of Mecosta county this winter. The company is putting in 4,000,000 feet of logs at the mills at Barryton and Winchester, and also getting out a number of thousand telegraph poles. in the woods. Detroit—The Detroit Carriage Goods Co., Limited, have filed articles of as- It has about sixty men MICHIGAN TRADESMAN soctation with the Register of Deeds. The capital stock is $25,000, of which $5,000 is paid in by contributions of ma- chinery, tools and appliances at No. 103 to 107 East Woodbridge street. The stockholders are Hugo Scherer $3,000 and Fredr. E. Wadsworth and Otto Pauli, each $1,000. Cadillac—The lumber shipments from this city are increasing in a ratio that is encouraging to the Cadillac lumber manufacturers and to the managers of the two railroads which transport our lumber products. The manufacture of pine lumber will be resumed at all of the mills here, with full running hours, as soon as the lake is sufficiently free from ice to permit the floating of logs. St. Charles—The St. Charles Dairy Co. has begun suit against Victor L. Parsons, J. T. Burham, G. W. Gates, B. F. Gage, M. Morrison, J. W. Gra- ham, J. S. Graham, E. A. Stimson and John S. Lockwood, who composed the board of directors in 1895. The bill al- leges that in 1892 the company was or- ganized pursuant to law with a capital of $6,00c made up from 600 shares of $1o each for the purpose of carrying on a co-operative business. A few parties were interested who were not patrons of the business. The by-laws were so framed as to provide for deducting a certain amount from the receipts for running expenses and also a certain amount for necessary expenses. The bill alleges that these deductions were not made, but that the full receipts, less cost of operating, were divided, and that the property, which cost upwards of $5,000, was mortgaged for $1,500 con- trary to the by-laws. The depreciation in the property, makes the real estate worth about $3,000 now. The mortgage has been foreclosed and a decree granted for about $1,800. The bill charges that the earlier books of the concern have not been turned over to the present board of directors, which assumed charge on January 1, 1896, but from all the information that can be gained the losses were due to the viola- tion of the by-laws by the board of di- rectors. The bill asks for an account- ant, and that the directors may be re- quired to pay such sums as it may be shown were used contrary to the by-laws of the company. The claim is made that without some such relief the stock- holders will lose their investment. ie oe Flour and Feed. The past week has been without un- usual features in the flour trade, except a nervous feeling which has existed in reference to developments of the Eastern question. Stocks of wheat and flour are now so low that the beginning or declaration of war between Greece and Turkey would create considerable ex- citement in the wheat market. The winter wheat mills have now had to cur- tail their output for so long a time, on account of scarcity of wheat, that stocks of both winter wheat and winter wheat flour, visible and invisible, are smaller in this country than they have been be- fore in many years and will continue at a very low point before another harvest. The consumption of spring wheat flour has, therefore, been much more rapid and, in consequence, stocks are light. The city mills are grinding and turning out considerably more than the average winter wheat mills and have but small stocks of flour. Mill stuffs are in good demand with the advance in price well sustained. Feed and meal are low, price being nominally unchanged for the week. Wm. N. Rowe. Grand Rapids Gossip W. H. Taylor is succeeded by Lansing & Co. in the flour and feed business at 317 Wealthy avenue. Fred Bruse has opened a grocery store at Lansing. The Clark-Jewell-Wells Co. furnished the stock. Geo. H. Reeder & Co. are removing their boot and shoe stock from 5 and 7 North Ionia street to 19 South Ionia street. John G. Iutzi has embarked in the grocery business at Newark. The stock was furnished by the Lemon & Wheeler Company. S. E. Hanover has added a line of groceries to his notion stock at Marion. The Lemon & Wheeler Company fur- nished the stock. Edward L. Fry, flour and feed dealer at 251 Lake avenue, has taken the po- sition of local manager of the Osborne Agricultural Implement Co. Julius J. Wagner, grocer at I97 East Bridge street, will remove his stock to more commodious quarters at 205 and 207 East Bridge this month. H. F. Mull, meat dealer at 423 East Bridge street, has purchased the gro- cery stock of Cornelius Van Aarsten, at 425 East Bridge street, and will con- tinue business at both locations. Chas. B. Metzger has retired from the produce and commission firm of Bunt- ing & Co. The business will be con- tinued at the same location by Mr. Bunting, probably in company with an- other gentleman whose identity has not yet been disclosed. The Tradesman is authorized to deny the report that H. Leonard & Sons con- template retiring from the wholesale crockery business. Such a report has gained considerable currency, probably due to the fact that the house has been curtailing its expenses to that extent that comparatively few dealers outside the city have heard of the establishment for several months. ——__~> 2. __ The Grocery Market. Sugar—Soft grades from No. 8 to No. 16, inclusive, declined a sixpence on Monday, but on Wednesday Nos. 4, 5 and 16 advanced a sixpence. The mar- ket is strong, with indications of a higher range of values, owing to the prospect of higher tariff duties. Coffee—While not quotably lower, Rio grades are rather unsettled at the mo- ment, although most jobbers believe that it only requires the stimulus of a general demand to cause a better market. Java coffee has had a little boom of its own, having advanced 1@1%c. The position is very strong. Maracaibo is firm and quiet. Mocha is improving, in sympathy with Java. Tea—The higher grades are not yet affected by the new spurious tea law, but probably will be, as the stiffening effect of the law becomes more appar- ent. : Canned Goods—Tomatoes are decid- edly easier, with an unmistakable break of at least 2c per dozen for spot goods, and the possibility of dropping another 2c. Very few, even at the low price, are selling. Corn is likewise very dull and practically none is selling. The market is nominally at the full price, but figures are being shaded right and left. Peas are dull. It is too early to talk much about the new crop and the season for the old is nearing its end. Rice—Advices from the South note enlarging demand at all points along the Atlantic Coast, which, with shorten- ing stocks, keeps markets taut, with up- ward tendency. Foreign shows generally unchanged conditions both here and abroad. If the Burmah crop comes for- ward promptly, in sufficient quantity to meet these drafts and the usual early call for Europe, the market will prob- ably rule without material change. if, on the other hand, the crop is held back or the enlarged promise in anywise cur- tailed, the phenomenal experience of 1874 may be repeated, when values were advanced 50 per cent. within a few weeks. Provisions—No important change has developed during the past week. The distribution of product has been of large proportions, both for domestic consumption and for export, the latter showing large totals for both lard and meats. Notwithstanding the large pro- duction of lard the past month, the visible stocks, including supplies abroad and afloat, are but slightly in excess of a month ago. Fish—Round herring is scarce, none to be had at Gloucester. ag The Produce Market. Apples—-Local dealers hold carefully selected Spys and Steel’s Red at $1.50 per bbl. and other varieties at $1.25. Butter—Fancy dairy is still scarce and high, on account of the small receipts, readily commanding 14@15c. Factory creamery is weaker and lower, having declined to 18'%@Iigc Cranberries—Cape Cods have ad- vanced to $2 per bu. and $5.25 per bbl. Cabbage—50@55c per doz., according to size and quality. Celery—15c per bunch. Cider—s4 per bbl., including bbl. Eggs—The expected slump has taken place, fresh stock having declined to loc, with indications of still lower prices. Honey—White clover is in fair de- mand at 12%4@13c. Buckwheat is not so salable, bringing 8@u1oc, according to quality and condition. Lettuce—15c per lb. Onions—-The market is cleaned up and choice stock is scarce, command- ing $1 per bu. Potatoes—Dealers hold carlots at lic for white eating varieties and 15c for Rose suitable for seeding purposes. In a small way dealers find no difficulty in obtaining 18c per bu. i Squash—In light demand and ample supply at 3c per lb. Sweet Potatoes—Kiln-dried Illinois are in only fair demand, commanding $2. per bbl. CC . The Dry Goods Market. Kid cambrics have advanced !éc and are more plentiful. Delivery can be made from mills now in ten days to two weeks. Wash goods are low in price and are moving freely. Standard ginghams are quiet at 4%@4%c. Prints in best makes are well sold up, with delivery slow, at prices ranging from 4'4@5c. American goods hold their own in price, no change being recorded for the past three months. Dress goods are selling well and_ the styles are beautiful, goods as wide as 42 inches being sold to retail at 25¢. Cottons are low, with a large trade doing. All buyers expect a little raise before the month is over. Cottonade and Denims are in fair de- mand, with no change in prices. Ticks in low grades are fairly firm. There is no change in the better grades. Lawns, organdies and dimity are be- ing shown by jobbers, the new styles being unusually handsome. Goods 32 inches wide are sold to retail at 10@ 124%c, while lawns and challies retail as low as 4@5c. Purely Personal. N. B. Clark,’ President of the Mich- igan Bark & Lumber Co., has returned from Indian Mineral Springs, Ind., where he has spent some time in search of health and recreation. It afforded the Tradesman much pleasure to be able to welcome W. E. Godfrey, editor and manager cf the Ohio Merchant, to the informal spread tendered the members of the Michigan Retail Grocers’ Association last week. Mr. Godfrey's stay in town was alto- gether too brief, but he impressed all who met him with the inherent force and foresight which have enabled him to place the Merchant in the front rank of trade journals. Mr. Godfrey has made a remarkable record in Cleveland and richly deserves the encouragement he is receiving at the hands of both the wholesale and retail trade. Julius Schuster, whose valedictory as a grocer appears on the oth and loth pages of this week's issue, leaves Kala- mazoo next week for Milwaukee, which will be the scene of his activity in the future. Mr. Schuster has formed a co- . partnership with R. Phillipson and the firm will conduct business under the style of the Phillipson Dry Goods Co. at the corner of Sixteenth and Vleet streets. The Tradesman joins Mr. Schuster’s numerous friends among the trade in expressing the hope that he may achieve even a greater degree of success in the dry goods trade than he accomplished in the grocery business. Mr. Schuster is a genial gentleman who will grace any calling with which he is connected and honor any community in which he is a resident. ~ ee The Grain Market. Wheat has been lifeless during the week. The war news had a strengthen- ing effect on the market and other news is of a strong character. The visible decreased 1,000,000 bushels and the world’s shipments were only 2,700,000 bushels. The world’s visible will prob- ably show a decrease of nearly 5,000,000 bushels, and still there are more sellers than buyers! This caused a decline of 2c per bushel since last writing. All we can say is that there is a day not far distant when things will change and short sellers will do some hustling to fill their contracts. It is a very peculiar feature that when wheat drops c or t%4c the bears make more noise about it than is made when it advances 2c. Of course, this is done to depress prices still more, but even with all the bear news they have manufactured, prices remain very stubborn. The home situ- ation alone is enough to enhance the value of wheat considerably above the present price. Coarse grains, sympathy with wheat, are also down, in common with all commodities. There seems to bea surplus of corn.and oats, while it is the opposite with wheat. We await further developments. The receipts during the week were: 51 cars of wheat, 5 cars of corn and 4 cars of oats. Notwithstanding the decline of wheat in wheat centers, the local millers con- tinue to pay 82c here. C. G. A. Voter. . -oe - Children’s Caps. We are showing a good line ot chil- dren’s caps from $1.25 to $4.50 per in dozen in ‘Tams, Yats, Golf and Tur- bans. Also a line of crash and duck caps. Write for samples. P. STEKETEE & SONS. ——___~> <> -___— Gillies’ N. Y. Great Clearance Tea Sale now on. Phone Visner, 1589. 6 MICHIGAN TRADESMAN What Constitutes the Successful Gro- cer. He is the man who, in every civilized land, provides mankind with the suste- nance which makes life worth living. He is a necessity that came with civili- zation; he is an essential part of the powers of the world, adding to the pleasures and caring for the necessities of life. High and low, rich and poor, the honest and dishonest require and must have a living, and the grocer has to provide it. The clothes they wear and the food they require are all that a large majority get in this world. The clothing costs us, perhaps, one-sixth as much as the food, and from this fact we can estimate the value of the grocer as a factor in their existence. Mankind may ask heaven to give them their daily bread, but they cannot live by bread alone. For the remainder of their fare they must depend upon the grocer, and no true Christian will say grace without including his family grocer in his pe- titions. In the eariy part of the world’s history the grocer and the art of cooking were unknown, but the world has progressed, until, to-day, civilized man cannot do without his grecer. With all due def- erence to the church and its benefits to humanity, I must say that the preacher could be dispensed with far more easily than the grocer. The preacher furnishes spiritual food once or twice each week, but the grocer provides physical food three times a day for three hundred and sixty-five days in the year! The grocer’s business has become a fine art and cooks have lost their pres- tige. To-day one need only open a can to find prepared a better dish than his mother ever dreamed of cooking. The grocer has solved the ‘‘new wom- an’’ problem. Let her come, stay or go, it matters not. Give a man credit at his grocer’s, a can opener anda corkscrew and he can live like a king! The grocer, in his business, is a pub- lic benefactor. From all parts of the earth and from the depths of the sea he gathers their products for the physical enjoyment and needs of his customers. He is an honest, courteous, educated gentleman. He may not be up in Greek and Latin, but he is educated in the ways of the world and its people. He is honest with his patrons and with him- self. He is courteous to the poor, as well as to the rich, to the young and to the aged. He is patriotic, public spirited, open hearted and generous. He is interested in the church, the school, societies and in business associations. He takes an interest in all for the bene- fit they are to him and for the good he may do others. He isa man in whose judgment the people place implicit con- fidence. In every town and in every commu- nity the grocer holds a first place with the people. He is a good man, because he is honest and just in business, in the affairs- of the people and in personal matters. He always receives a friendly greeting, because he always extends one. The influence of the grocer among his people is so extensive that it would be impossible for me to state it in the time I feel at liberty to use before this convention. His influence in affairs of the church, school, societies, associa- tions and politics is always exerted in the line of what he thinks is right. He is always looked upon as a leader and in local and national politics his influ- ence is powerful. Beyond and above all else, he is the moderator of his cus- tomers and neighbors. If anyone is in trouble they go to the grocer; if they desire advice, the grocer is the one to whom they apply; and if it is informa- tion they desire, the grocer’s education and good judgment furnish it. Possibly, some of my brother trades- men may think I am drawing upon my imagination, or am speaking of grocers in other lands outside of our wonderful Peninsular State. Not so. There may be people who sell goods and think they are grocers, butthey are mistaken. We are all acquainted with men in trade who do not know the rudiments of busi- ness. They do not know how to conduct business; do not know what thei: goods cost them; do not know anything about what percentage of profit they are mak- ing, or losing, on their goods; cannot tell whether they are making or losing money in trade, and do not know any- thing about the value, quality or con- dition of stock on hand. This class of tradesmen (we will call them fakirs, as they are not worthy the name of trades men) cut prices on staple goods in order to get the better of their neighbor, and they do not know when to stop until the sheriff steps in with some of their un- fulfilled promises to pay. They then step down and out—perhaps to make room for others of the same _ kind, and, mayhap, for a real grocer. A grocer does not engage in business for the fun there is in it—not at the present time, at least. He is doing business for the living there is in it and the profit he hopes to gain. He figures the cost of doing business in all its de- tails; he adds the per cent. of cost to do business to the cost of his goods; to this he adds a percentage of profit, which he makes as low as he can afford and be honest with himself; and by so doing he is honest with his patrons. He never sells staple goods at cut prices to injure his neighbor, because he knows that by this method he is injur- ing himself the more, as he loses the confidence of his customers. W. H. PoRTER. Jackson, Mich. > 2. From the Tradesman’s Swedish Cor- respondence. Mill Iron, Feb. 28—Say, Measter, aie bane vorkang an das lumber wood bae Muskegon Ravar Gude many yar, aie bat yo. Aie bane vorkang on das lumbar vood bae Vite Ravar same taime, to. Aie vorkang bae Yoe Eeald bae Vite Ravar Saxten Yar ago das Vintar. Val, whan aie vorkang bae Yoe, aie skal com bae Fremont gude many taime. Yim Darlang, ha kapang grocary stor bae Fremont; an Yoe, hae by gude dat Peerlas Tobbaca an Over- ball by Yim. Yim bane Rad Headed; but hea bane gude fallar yust same. Von taime, aie bane by Fremont an stop bae Yonie De Haas; an lot Drumer fallar bane bae Yonie’s, to. Aie Skal tal yo dose Drumer bane bully gude fallar. Das taime bane Ed Frick, an Gus Sharp, an Yim Bradford, an some oder fallar—aie fargatang dare nam. Val, dam fallar navar by alcahala tan cant drank—allvays by thra for guvar- ter, to sav five cant. See? Das taime aie skal tal yo bout, aie tank das Drumer gang al bane bae suppar, an anonder fallar—aie tank hae bane Lum- barman—bane bar suppar, to. Aie tank hae gotang bout Dollar wort alkahala bae suppar taime. Hae bane eatin sup- par, an Yumping Yerusalam! hae yust yump up an fal over an bane dead in yust to minute. Aie bat yo averyone bane pretty bad scare. Mrs. Yonie, sha bane vite like gost, aie tal yo. Val, dae callang Doctar. Hae lookang at das fallar an sa he dead—bane ap- popplaxy kall ham—an govay. Val, anonder Doctar com an hae bane littla lame cus. Hae lookang bae ham, an putang has fangar bae has mouth, an Yumping Yahossafat! hae pullang out pace Beefstak big as yor thra fangar. Ha sae, ‘‘Appopplaxy? Hal! Beefstak kallang ham.’’ Val, aie skal tal yo, das Drumer fallar vas al lookang Blue. Von sae bae anonder one, ‘‘Aie skal navar ete Beefstak bae Yonie gan!’’ Yonie, hae sa, ‘‘Das Beefstak bane al rite, but das fallar fargatting to chaw at.’’ Aie sae bae mysalf, ‘‘Aie don’t vant to lose mae Yob; but aie tank aie skal lave Beefstak lane.’"' An hae bane long taime aie don’t etangBeefstak—aie yust bot quart alkahala an startang for Camp. YONIE YONSON. ______».ss __ A German inventor has hit upona method of putting soles on boots and shoes. He mixes a waterproof glue with a suitable quantity of clean quartz sand, and spreads it over the leather sole used as a foundation. These quartz soles are said to be quite flexible and practically indestructible. They give the foot a firm hold on the most slippery surfaces. The German who wants to stand well in the world will try the granite feet. MAPLE SUGAR WEATHER. Our prices are cheaper than ever on 1 Qt. Round Syrup Cans. 2 Ot. Round Syrup Cans. 4 Ot. Round Syrup Cans. 10 Ot I. C. Sap Pails. 12 Qt. I. C. Sap Pails. 10 Ot. I. X. Sap Pails. 12 Ot. I. X. Sap Pails. 16 Qt. I. X. Sap Pails. Pails are of full size and almost st:aight- Cans have double seamed tops and bottoms with packed screws. Wn. Brummeler & Sons, Manufscturers and jobbers of Pieced and Stamped Tinware, 260 S. Ionia St. Grand Rapids, Mich. ... Telephone 640... SURE Araneae caaen aus te as ee You want these in Stock Bie A Complete Outfit Of tools, etc., for general boot and shoe repairing, including Three pair of Half Soles and a half dozen Leather Patches ae Iron Stand for Lasts, Last for Men’s Work, ve 1 Be 1 Last for Boys’ Work, ro 1 Last for Children Work, 1 Shoemaker’s Hammer, =] 1 Shoemaker’s Knife, 1 Patent Peg Awl Handle, 1 Peg Awl, 1 Wrench for Peg Awl Handle, st 1 Pair Men’s Half Soles, 1 Pair Boys’ Half Soles, 1 Pair Women’s Half Soles, THE “BONANZA” COBBLER CONTENTS. Securely packed in wooden box with hinged lid. Weight 14 lbs. Every family should have one of these outfits. Will pay for itself many times over each year. Write for prices. FOSTER, STEVENS & CO. GRAND RAPIDS, MICH. rn re ST aEr arena 3 Large Leather Patches for Men’s Shoes, 3 Large Leather Patches for Wom- en’s Shoes, 1 Bottle Leather Cement, with directions for use, 1 Package Half Soling Nails for Men's Work, 1 Package Half Soling Tacks for omen’s Work. 1 Copy Directions for Half Soling, &c. MICHIGAN TRADESMAN Should a Grocer Advise His Son to Be a Grocer? If we desire our sons to become gro- cers, we must consider whether it will be beneficial and profitable to them. The son may ask, ‘‘Is it a healthful oc- cupation? What are my chances ina social way? Dol, asa grocer, stand a fair show in the financial world?’’ He may suggest that the hours of work are too long. Looking at this question from the standpoint of health, we can safely en- courage him, as this occupation requires an active, varied movement of the body, in lifting, carrying, walking and other exercise, and also an active brain in thinking, figuring and calculating. All this exercise is conducive to the health and the well-being of the mind and body. What are his chances in a social way? He has the best of chances, while stand- ing behind the counter, to observe the whims and conceits of the wealthy, as well as the misery and self-denials of the poor; he can study the greediness and selfishness of the customer who en- deavors to secure the best for herself and leaves the culls to her more easily- suited neighbors; he can draw his own conclusion from the buyer who comes in with confidence that you will do what is just and right in filling her order. In all these daily occurrences he has the best of chances to study the inclinations of the people, and is induced to take upon himself those virtues which will enable him to bea factor and a pillar of society, and thereby bring it toa higher plane of thinking and living, and, through intelligence, industry and kindness to the oppressed, he can _ be- come a_ benefactor to mankind, and so furnish a safeguard to the maintenance of our glorious Government. He may want to know in regard to the financial issues of these questions. After reflecting a few minutes, we can frankly state that there are thousands upon thousands of well-to-do grocers in this State who, by industry, frugality and good judgment, have accumulated considerable property. It is also true that hundreds of men make failures in this occupation; but do they start out with the right qualifications? Do they choose the right location? Have they had any experience {in trade? If they imagine anvone and everybody can profitably conduct the grocery business, they will find, to their sorrow, that not everybody can succeed. This is, how- ever, no reason why our sons should not adopt this vocation, as it does not re- quire a very large capital and they can, in a very few years, by industry and economy, accumulate enough money to get a fair start, and if they are just, prompt, attentive and accommodating in their dealings with their customers they will, without fail, be rewarded with a large patronage and thereby secure a remunerative competence. The young man must be taught that the money he takes in over his counter in return for his sales is not all profit; and he must not imagine that he can appropriate for his own use two or three cans or pack- ages out of every case he purchases; neither must he be careless and wasteful in weights and measures, as his stcck will slowly but surely slip awav from him and some morning he will find the balance on the wrong side of the ledger. He will fare better than most other trades in times of great business de- pression, as his shelves and bins will contain mostly the necessaries of life, which the people need daily for the maintenance of their existence. These very circumstances make it more safe for him to earn a livelihood. He may object to the long hours he has to spend at the store. This is not entirely the fault of the trade, but is to be attributed to lack of acquaintance and organiza- tion among ourselves. We are always afraid the merchant in the next block will take in 1o cents more than we do and, therefore, keep grinding away early and late. Another cause of late hours is the congregation of neighbors at the grocery store, who gossip about Tom, Dick and Harry; the aspirations of the Governor to be President, or Widow Snap Shot’s penchant to flirt with Squire Always Ready. A great im- provement in our methods of doing business would be made in shortening the hours so that we might have more time for rest, recreation and edification. Let them also remember that the lawyer spends many hours overtime in prepar- ing his case in order to present it properly. The doctor, also, spends many weary hours at the bedside of his patient. Many an hour are we in repose when he has to face the inclemency of the weather to answer the call of a pa- tient. The manufacturer has greatly in- creased our revenue by adding new va- rieties to our vast assortment, and has lightened our burdens by putting the various wares in packages of suitable quantity and attractive appearance, and if the grocer has tact and taste he can make his shelves and show windows look pretty and tasteful. After having carefully considered the advantages and disadvantages of oc- cupation, we can safely advise our sons to become grocers, as they will thus se- cure a livelihood, obtain a competence, and, by right dealing and right living, achieve honor in their calling and _ re- flect credit upon themselves and their parents by becoming useful members of society. NICHOLAS L. KOENIG. Detroit, March 3. 8 Relative Merits of Cash and Credit. Gladstone, March 5—As to the relative value of the cash and credit systems, there is, of course, some difference of opinion, and as I have used both at different times of my business career, with success, I can say a good word for each system If the cash system is chosen, it must be cash first, last and all the time, as no half-way business will go. Most of the concerns that have made a failure of the cash method of conducting business have made their mistake because they called it cash when, in fact, both methods were used. A merchant who advertises to sell only for cash, ard is really conducting a credit business at the same time, may be sure he will offend some of his best customers and in the end ruin his trade. On the other hand, I believe that if a man has enough capital he can do more business by granting credit than if he sells only for cash, providing he is ac- quainted with his trade, which will pre- clude the loss by poor accounts. It is apparent to any practical business man that a customer will buy more goods on time than he will pay cash for, hence his bill at a given store will be larger, and if he is good for the amount, the merchant who sells the goods is the winner. Of course, the question of bad debts will arise, and some will be made, but this, in my opinion, is counteracted by the increased amount of goods dis- posed of. There is a certain class of wealthy trade that will buy goods on time in spite of lower cash prices or anything else that can be brought to bear on the matter, and a merchant grauting these people favors is sure to have their trade. It would be better for the business world if the cash system were in gen- eral use, but I don’t think a cash system is practical in all cases. S. GOLDSTEIN. - Hardware Price Current. AUGURS AND BITS se lk, 70 PGHIHA , MOMUINO iss ooo 25&10 Jeapage, WRANStOR .... 5... 8. 8... 60&10 AXES First Quality, S. B. Bronze ................. 5 00 First Quality, = ee peers ec. 9 50 First Quality. S. B. S. Steel.. Ges ac chess Oe! First Quality, BD. B. Steel ................... 10 50 BARROWS Co) ee a $12 00 14 00 ARGO oe net 30 00 BOLTS Ree ee 60&10 Carriage Dew Hee 70_to 7 Seeder as Ccesu dees cous oS. 50 BUCKETS Wen Bin $3 2 BUTTS, CAST Cast Loose Pin, fisured......... ........-.. 70&10 Wrought Nao 75al0 BLOCKS Ordinary Tackle.... .......... 70 CROW BARS Cast ee se, per lb 4 CAPS BS ee ee oo, perm 65 " Se. perm 55 ee perm 35 M anak eee ee ee perm 60 CARTRIDGES Him. Wire 50& 5 Central Fire. ey oe cee cee B& 5 CHISELS CHen MUN: 80 Gwen PM cc 80 Renee COMB OT eo 80 SOGCMGL SCHM 8u DRILLS Mtorse’s Bi Stoecms i. ck. 60 Taper and Straight Shank...................5 50& 5 Mmorcse's Taper SHANE... 2.2... k DOK 5 ELBOWS Com. 4 piece, 6in...... .. ecg sues doz. net 55 CEO eo 123 ROC ec ek dis 40&10 EXPANSIVE BITS Clark’s small, $18; ~—. Oe. — Ives’, 1, $18; 2, Se sie oe FILES—New List UGE TTOPUCE 70&10 Ro ee 70 Heller's Horse Haspe...................... -60&10 GALVANIZED IRON Nos. 16 to 20; a eae See cee es 28 List 12 13 1... 17 Discount, 75 GAUGES Stanley Rule and Level Co.’s............... 60&16 KNOBS—New List Door, mineral, jap. trimmings.... ......... 70 Door, porcelain, jap. trimmings............ 80 MATTOCKS AO TE oe $16 00, dis 60&10 Rene Pye. es $15 00, dis 60410 Bme eee $18 50, dis 20410 MILLS Coffee Parkers Co.’s............ 55. Coffee, P. S. & W. Mfg. Co.’s Malleables. .. 40 40 Coffee, Landers, Ferry & Clark’s........... 40 Comee, Muterprise. ow... lk. 30 MOLASSES GATES Stebbin’s Pattern.. ; os . 60410 Stebbin’s Genuine.. bot aided ostomy ccm uibald saa 60&10 Enterprise, self-measuring ....... a 30 NAILS Advance over base, on both Steel and bees SCOP MMNIA DARG 8 ou. cl se 1 60 Wire nails, base..... See ae 1 70 20 to 60 HOVANES Base MP GGG OVENS. oo is oo ee Ud BOR ee 10 Meeeenee oo oe et 20 ee 30 Sevens... eee G Seay esas 45 ANNO oe ee qu Wrpea wavanee 8. ce cc. Ck 50 Caste 10 ccvamce ol 15 Casing S advance.........:..-.............. 25 Castine OG acvance. - |... ec... 35 Wore 10 BGVanee oe. fw ce ee ce Y5 RWIREN SO DUNW c Pipi Gadvence. o.oo ca. 45 Marre: & BGvATCe. gee 85 PLANES Onio Toot Co.'s, fancy... ....:. 2.2.2... Lc. @50 OOOO EE 60 Sandusky Tool Co’s, fancy................. @50 emer, MEAUQUBINEY. |. i oe ce i @50 Stanley Rule and Level Co.’s wood......... 60 PANS re ce es. “ce Sian. pelt iar eee cl RIVETS Erou amar Tanned ...: 2.2... ck 60 Copper Rivets and Burs..................... 60 PATENT PLANISHED IRON ‘“‘A”” Wood’s patent planished, Nos. 24 to 27 10 26 “B” Wood’s _ atent planished, Nos. 25 to27 9 20 Broken packages %c per pound extra. HAMMERS Maydole & Co.’s, new list........ ..... dis 33% Ne aay dis Verkes & Plami’s..... 00. os a 40&10 Mason’s Solid Cast Steel.......... .. 30¢ lis Blacksmith’s Solid Cast Steel Hand moe Hist 40&:10 HOUSE FURNISHING GOODS Stamped Tin Ware. - new list 75410 Japanned Tin W: are. 20&10 Granite Iron Ware......... oa aoe. “new list 40&10 HOLLOW WARE Pots... . 60810 Kettles . ... 60&10 Spiders .....-.... coe ee ee . 60&10 HINGES Gate Ciameae £24... 2... 8... dis 60&10 Ce per doz. net 2 50 _— oe: Bright.. — a sae 80 Screw Eyes. ee a 80 Hook’s.. i 80 Gate Hooks and Eyes.. ee 80 LEVELS Stanley Rule and Level Co.’s............dis 70 ROPES meeen, 56 ren One ieeee............... .-. 6 ee een os 9 SQUARES Ren MON RE ee ee 80 Geg@ ee . Mee... ee SHEET IRON com. smooth. com. Moe, Wit i... a oe 2 40 Nea tat gag 2 40 ET 2 6C TO eee icc eee ees zn Nos. 25 to 26 3 70 2§ No. 27. 3.80 2 90 All sheets "No. 18 ‘and Ti ghter, ‘over 30 inches wide not less than 2-10 extra. SAND PAPER Hiss acta 1 Oe. ks dis SASH WEIGHTS Houma Meee... per ton 20 00 TRAPS” Steel, Game.. 60&10 Oneida Community, “Newhouse’s....... 50 Oneida Community, Hawley & Norton’ s 704610810 Motes Grae 6 per doz Mouse, delusion. .. per doz 1 25 “WIRE Drie Mee a = Annealed Market. . eee Comoere MORN 70&10 Samee Wearece.. we 62% Copperca Siving Steor.......... ........... 50 Barbed Fence, galvanized . 215 Barbed Fence, ES 1 80 HORSE NAILS i ese dis — Wit ee eee es ucs dis Mertaweet dis 10&10 WRENCHES Baxter’s Adjustable, nickeled ............. 30 ee ek ea a 50 Coe’s Patent —— —— ee cela 80 Coe’s Patent, malleab! : ae. 80 MISCELLANEOUS Bird Cages ...... a 50 Pumps, Cisterm............ -..2.-.2-.+-- 80 Screws, New List.. Seas 85 Casters, Bed and Plate. . --. 50&10&10 Dampers, American. 50 METALS—Zinc_ 600 pound casks. ... Sa, 614 Wer POU 6% SOLDER @\% 12% The prices of the many other qualities of solder in the market indicated by private brands vary according to composition. TIN—Melyn Grade Ore OY, Cerere................ oe eee Crereoe) cc 5 75 20x14 IX. Charcoal .............. —. Each additional X on this grade, 81.25. TIN—Allaway Grade ome te Crarecal .... 5 00 a a eT Ee CoMCOe ee 6 00 14x20 IX, Cee i 6 00 Each additional X on this grade, $1.50. ROOFING PLATES Mixes TC, Ciarooa!, Dean.................... Meer ys, Chaveoa), ean «....... . <6 0...... Sorte 1c, Chareoal, Dean. ...... .......... 14x20 IC, Charcoal, All»way Grade......... 14x20 IX, Charcoal, Allaway Grade......... 20x28 1C, Charcoal, Allaway Grade........ 2x28 IX, Charcoal, Allaway Grade......... BOILER SIZE TIN PLATE 14x56 IX, for No. 8 Boilers, 14x56 IX, for No. 9 Boilers, Soum Sau SSessssE _~ co t per pound WM. BRUMMELER & SONS, GRAND RAPIDS, Pay the highest price in cash for MIXED RAGS, RUBBER BOOTS AND SHOES, OLD IRON AND METALS. Prop them « postal “Any Qld Thing.” EVEN Dollar Invested in Tradesman Com- pany’s COUPON BOOKS will yield handsome returns in saving book-keeping, be- sides the assurance that no charge is _ forgotten. Write Tradesman Company, GRAND RAPIDS. MICHIGAN TRADESMAN Devoted to the Best Interests of Business Men Published at the New Blodgett Building, Grand Rapids, by the TRADESMAN COMPANY ONE DOLLAR A YEAR, Payable in Advance. ADVERTISING RATES ON APPLICATION. Communications invited from practical business men. Correspondents must give their full names and addresses, not necessarily for pub- lication, but as a guarantee of good faith. Subscribers may have the mailing address of their papers changed as often as desired. No paper discontinued, except at the option of the proprietor, until all arrearages are paid. Sample copies sent free to any address. Entered at the Grand Rapids Post Office as Second Class mail matter. WEDNESDAY, = - = MARCH 10, 1897. LOAN ASSOCIATIONS. One of the most manifest indications of a return to normal industrial condi- tions is the increased activity in the business of institutions providing for the investment of the funds of wage- earners. The effect of the long depres- sion upon these institutions, especially building and loan associations, was a great reduction in the amount of busi- ness ; yet notwithstanding the fact that all suffered more or less severely from the shrinkage of values affecting invest- ments, nearly all of the local associa- tions throughout the country came through in a solvent condition, and most showed fair ratios of profit. Of course, this result was largely owing to the fact that the necessities of borrowers tended to keep what funds there were weil employed. One of the lessons learned from the adversity of the panic years was the value of wage investment. The tendency to- ward saving, which seems to be unduly hindering trade activity, was prompted by the same lesson. When the earner be- gins to receive the stipend he has so long desired in vain, it assumes a_ spe- cial value. He reluctantly discharges his pressing obligations, keeps the sup- piy of his needs reduced to the mini- mum and then, as his little hoard begins to grow, if he has any idea of business thrift, he begins to cast about for the best use of it. The profit-showing re- ports of the building and loan associa- tions naturally early engage his atten- tion, and the solicitors of such institu tions have no trouble in securing his savings. This sufficiently accounts for the quick response in activity in these institutions to the general improvement. While the great volume of the work of such organizations has been carried on by the local concerns, there is yet a very considerable business transacted by those organized and carried on under what is termed the national plan, which differs from the local in that the busi- ness, both of obtaining subscribers and making loans, is extended throughout the country as opportunity may present. Naturally the great business centers are the homes of a majority of these con- cerns. Thus in New York State the as- sets of the national associations amount to about one-half those of the local— $18,000,000 to $36,500,0c00—while the loans are considerably less in propor- tion, or $13,800,000 to $31,700,000. In other states the proportion of business done by the nationa!, as compared with the local, is still less, but it is sufficient to indicate that there are concerns of this character which are doing a profit- able, legitimate and more or less safe business. The business of the local associations is always confined toa small radius, and the business is transacted generally by one or two persons, whose salary and rent of office constitute the principal expense. The general management is vested in a board of unsalaried direc- tors, comprising the best known and most reliable of the business men of the locality. Thus the investors are able to keep in close touch with the manage- ment and so know the condition of affairs beyond a question at any time. While the investor does not have so ac- curate a knowledge of the condition of his investment as in individual loans, these concerns come nearer to comply- ing with that desideratum than any other organized mode of investment. And they have the advantage over much of individual loaning in that they can better use the principle of compcund- ing interest by constant re-investment. Of course, the basis of security and profit is the general prosperity of the locality concerned. In the management of the national associations there are,of necessity, more of uncertainty and greater variation in both profits and reliability. While in the management of a local association one person may be able to transact a very considerable volume of business, the soliciting of the agents of the national concerns is necessarily limited for each individual. Thus the expense for management and the securing of business is a much larger proportion in all the latter than in the former. There must be an elaborate central organiza- tion in correspondence with a large corps of agents of varying enterprise and reliability, which makes the safety and profit of the concern largely de- pendent on the administrative ability of its management—an element intro- ducing a great degree of uncertainty. While some of these associations may be fairly reliable, there are many whose principal use seems to be the giving of profitable employment toagents. These, armed with the most seductive and plausible promises for a distant future, are working for returns which they re- ceive in the immediate present, Long before the fulfillment of their promises may be claimed, they have closed their temporary work in any given locality and hied themselves to pastures greener, or sought employment with other and newer schemes for the exercise of their special ability. Through the principles of compound investment and forfeitures these agents are able to figure a most plausible profit, often of double the ordi- nary returns of reliable investment. To the extent in which these concerns base their promises on the misfortunes of their subscribers they are dishonest, and to the extent they are based on the Sagacity and careful management of strangers, extending over a far distant future, they are absurdly unreliable tested by any of the ordinary rules of business. The national associations are assum- ing such activity that they are engaging wide attention. Here in Grand Rapids they are becoming a thorn in the sides of the local concerns, and so throughout the country their regulation and restric- tion are becoming an important matter. The New York Superintendent of Bank- ing makes an elaborate report recom- mending that in that State their opera- tions be brought under the supervision of the banking administration. UNREASONING PARTISANSHIP. It has come to be the fashion for class journals to champion any cause which seems to be for the interest of the class for which it is published, regardless of other considerations. The publishers of such journals appear to act on the as- sumption that they occupy a position corresponding to that of a retained at- torney and that it is their duty to blind- ly champion their clients’ interests, re- gardless of any questions of right or wrong, or of the interests of others con- cerned. In the treatment of economic questions which involve elements apparently in- imical to accepted conditions of trade, many trade journals assume a_ position of uncompromising hostility, thinking thus to best serve the interests of their patrons. For instance, assuming that all trusts and monopolies are injurious to trade interests, such journals spend their efforts—not in a candid treatment of the objectionable features of these organizations—but in an unreasoning denunciation of such combinations. Or if the subject be the department store, the cry of the champions is *‘ Down with the department store!’’ It matters little why or how—only that sufficient zea! be shown for the cause championed. It is not long before such champion- ship comes to be estimated at its true value. The unreasoning denunciations of economic movements which have un- questionably ‘‘come to stay,’’ because they are based on conditions which war- rant their existence, soon lose their force, through the apparent fact that the writer is actuated by the desire to earn his retainer. Indeed, the manifest fu- tility of the efforts to combat such in- stitutions makes them ridiculous. There is no question that in such movements there is much that may be the proper object of antagonism for such journals, and, indeed, for all which have the best interests of legitimate trade at heart. In the trusts and mo- nopolies there are the abuses of undue inflation of values and of the interfer ence with natural production, which are proper and possible subjects for regulation and correction, but it is fast being demonstrated that, through the ad- vantages of the co-operation in manage- ment and distribution, these institutions have a sufficient reason for their exist- ence, and so under present conditions are likely to be permanent. Partisan- ship may labor for the correction of abuses, but efforts for their destruction are worse than Quixotic. The same is true with the depart- ment store. Little as it is liked by the regular dealers, the fact must be rec- ognized that it is an institution that is likely to remain. Whatever may be the reason for its existence, it is here and it is invulnerable to partisan attacks. Like the monopolies, it is useless to try to meet it by unreasoning antagonism; and also like them there is enough to engage the energies of the champions of legitimate trade in the correction of abuses and the proper regulation of the unwelcome intruder. The legitimate competition of the de- partment store is not a matter of so se- rious Consequence as the unfair cutting of prices in the lines which most seri- ously reflect upon the general trade on account of obvious comparison. On account of the great variety of lines, this is a weapon always ready at the hand of the unscrupulous manager, and it is used too often where its blows have most telling effect. This is an abuse which should be combated to the ut- most, and not only when employed by the department store, but when used in any kind of trade. It is a deplorable fact that there are others who sell more pounds of sugar for a dollar than they can buy—a transaction which is dis- honest and injurious to trade by whom- soever it may be done. Often the line selected by the cut rate shark, which is especially available for the department store, is some proprietary article. This selection may be made, on account of its prominence, a gauge to indicate cheapness to the silly buyer alone, or it may be selected, also, as a means of retaliation for some grievance suffered at the hands of the manufacturer. It is of no avail that the latter refuses to sell to the cutting dealer—he can and does easily obtain it elsewhere—and when used for such purposes the price he must pay is of little consequence. Doubtless the department store, as well as the industrial corporations and monopolies, has come to stay. There is little use or sense in blindly fighting either as institutions, but there is suffi- cient in its unscrupulous management to engage the energies of its antagonists with reasonable hope for success. When these abuses are corrected the resulting enterprise will not be the bugbear to general trade that it is now. GENERAL TRADE SITUATION. The past week has been a notable one in that there has been a more general improvement in activity and values than for a long time before. Aside from a decline in sugar and cotton, there has been an advance nearly all along the line. The improvement in demand continues in most directions and manu- facturing activity is yet on the increase. The indications of the policy of the new administration shadowed forth by the inaugural speech are generally received as promising a conservative course which will best aid in the restoration of normal and prosperous trade conditions. During last week wheat scored an ad- vance of about three cents, which it seems to» be holding pretty steady this week. Corn has shared in the improve- ment but oats have declined. Steady, although slow, improvement continues to be the order in the iron sit- uation. While the great demand which came upon the break in steel raiis does not continue, there is still sufficient to strengthen, and even advance, prices. Demand is also improving for structural forms and the price of steel nails has advanced to $1. 4o. The cotton situation still continues unfavorable, the strengthening in prices being the result of restricted output. Woolen demand has improved decided- ly and sales of wool continue unusually large for the season, having been one- half larger for the past two weeks than for the corresponding time in many years. The improvement in hides and leather is taken as an indication of in- creasing demand for boots and shoes. The generally improving conditions are becoming manifest in a better feel- ing in securities and stocks. Prices have generally strengthened. Money continues plenty and at easy rates in the great centers. Failures increased four for the week, amounting to 262. Bank clearings increased to $1,0!0,- 426, 823. Medical service in the British army seems to be very unpopular. Ata re- cent examination for thirty-five vacan- cies only thirty-one candidates ap- peared, although the rule forbidding a man from trying after having failed twice was suspended. IN TRADE 30 YEARS. Valedictory of Julius Schuster, the : Kalamazoo Grocer. It is obvious that the subject, *‘ Thirty Years a Grocer,’’ implies having been actually and actively engaged in that branch of business for the stated length of time, and, as a natural consequence, having gone through all its phases as it is carried on in an inland town of some 20,000 inhabitants, with numerous fac- tories, merchants, capitalists, mechan- ics and common laboring men, and sur- rounded on all sides by a far-stretching and, for the greater part, splendid fer- tile farming territory. It will, further- more, be well undertsood that I must have come in contact with many hun- dreds—yea, thousands—of representa- tives of which this community whereof I am about to speak is composed—rich and poor, native and foreign, refined and ill mannered. And, while proceed- ing on this line, I would have it dis- tinctly understood that I shall give here my experiences in a most impartial manner. It is but naturai that a man carrying on a mercantile business comes in daily contact with a heterogeneous number of customers—kind and unkind, generous and penurious, with pleasant temper- aments and otherwise. Those ‘‘not in it’’ often think it the height of pleasure to ‘‘keep a store’’—have the patrons come in and the merchant take their money. Be that as it may, the sequel soon undeceives those who have a pen- chant to become a ‘‘merchant.’’ O the charm that this name carries with it! The business which I, with my as- sociate, carried on happened to be among the largest of its kind in this beautiful city, both cash and credit. The latter, we found in the long run, both aggravating and ruinous. Some of those who were able to pay often kept us waiting unreasonably long and, when politely approached, would feel in- sulted. ‘‘Did we doubt their ability to pay? Why, they could go to Mr. B., who had heen urging them for some time to trade with him, offering to seil them goods on any and all terms; and hence they prefer to settle their account -with us and transfer their patronage to Mr. B.”’ O, the grocer’s life is not entirely a bed of roses. And ‘‘there are others’’ —conscientious men and women patrons —of whom we can speak in this strain: Let us suppose it to be Saturday night, when stores are kept open late. The delivery man has just left with his last load. The clerk is breathing a sigh of relief, leaning against the ledge or rest- ing on the edge of the counter, casting sheep’s-eyes at the clock. The outdoor display has yet to be taken in. The prospective Sunday demands a trim- ming up at the barber’s; perhaps a collar and necktie are to be purchased yet, he having arranged with his best girl to take her to church. But here comes Mrs. Tarryman, who has been belated at the milliner’s or dressmaker’s, and ‘‘she really must have a pound of coffee yet, and an ounce of nutmegs and a quarter of a pound of pepper. She is so sorry to trouble you so late, but really she must have these articles this evening ; and she pities the poor horse and the tired driver, for the roads are so muddy, but really she can’t help it. If she were going right home she would carry the goods herself, etc., etc.’’ There is no help—they must be deliv- ered before morning and, what is worse, at the expense, perhaps, of half the cost of the few articles purchased. Such an MICHIGAN TRADESMAN occurrence does not stand alone, yet fortunately it is not the rule. The credit system forms one of the most aggravating—yes, I even must stamp it with the vulgar expression, ‘‘galling’’—features in the grocery business. Say, for instance, a mechanic comes in, calling for the proprietor, and in a plausible manner explains that ‘‘he has steady work, gets fair wages, draws his pay by the week and would like to trade with him on a week’s credit and settle account on being paid off.’’ The credit is granted, the wife does the buying, pay day comes, the first week’s bill is promptly paid, a new purchase made, and so on during the week as their wants seem to require. On the next pay day they come with an excuse for not settling in full, for the monthly rent is due, but the coming week it will be made up. Well, that time arrives but, with the accumulation of another week, added to the unpaid balance of the pre- vious week, the account has assumed unleoked-for proportions. ‘‘Why!’’ they exclaim, ‘‘this can’t be! We haven't traded that much. The week before our bill was only so much.’’ We call at- tention to the balance they left unpaid. ‘*Well, yes, they know, but it couldn't be that much,’’ and they reluctantly pay a portion of their bill, adding that ‘‘they must look into it; they will look it up at home and, if it’s all right, they’ll pay the balance next week.’’ In most cases this is the last seen of that customer. Another case: A well-appearing and quite respectably dressed man ‘‘ wishes to see the proprietor.’’ He presents his case in a plain, reasonable and con- vincing manner. He ‘‘has been out of work a number of weeks, but is going to work to-morrow—steady job. Will run in debt for only the merest neces- sities, so that in a short time he will be able to catch up, when he will buy for cash only.’’ The man makes a good impression and is granted the credit asked. The wife appears in the after- noon, rather elegantly attired for a me- chanic’s spouse, and does not seem to evince that disposition of careful buy- ing whereof the husband had spoken. \t the end of the month, rather to our surprise, the bill is paid. We rejoice that, to all appearances, we have made no mistake in giving credit this time. However, to cut a long story short, at the expiration of the third or fourth month he fails to come to the front; and, upon enquiry, we find he has trans- ferred his wages. When told that this is not fair dealing, he coolly replies that ‘‘he has found he can do better elsewhere, and will square up with us at some future time.’’ Needless to re- mark that the ‘‘squaring up’’ is never realized. A habit that seems to be characteris- tic of a certain class of wage-workers is to systematically and persistently fall short, as mentioned, in their weekly or monthly payments—to ‘‘lap over’’—and in this way, before the dealer is fully aware of it, a back account of unlooked- for dimensions has accumulated. Such a one we had on our books, who, when the state of things dawned upon us, had acquired a dwelling house on a con- tract, meeting his payments with a por- tion of the graceries we had furnished him. Upon our remonstrance with him as to the injustice of such doings, he took umbrage at it, having seemingly waited for a chance to break with us, stating, at the same time, that, it being a matter of a homestead, under our laws we could not collect of him. To mark another and similar case: A skilled mechanic, who steadily earned good wages-and yet kept persistently heaping up on his grocery account, had bought a high-grade bicycle; and, when reminded of his indifference toward us, took no less offense at it than the home- stead man, and in his closing argument gave way to his true nature by saying: ‘*‘Do you think I am going to rob my- self for your benefit !’’ Such cases I could recount by the score, instances where, cn urging pay- ment, reminding the delinquent of his representations and promises, we would be met with the insulting allegation that ‘‘we would rob him, take his last cent, etc., etc.’’ I have been subjected, in my long career, to so much of this sort of thing as to convince me that the ‘‘total de- pravity of man’’ is not so much of a chimera after all. I would have to pro- ceed far beyond the limits of my paper were I to continue further on this genus of customers. On _ the other hand, it is refreshing to be able to tell of com- mendable cases of another character. There were those among my patrons of whose integrity—more particularly as to keeping of faith—I cannot speak in too high terms. The one whom above all I have in mind at present—and whose name I fain would give to the public were it not that, since I cannot well be personal on tbe one side, J deem it un- wise to be so on the other—still in his best years, works hard for his living every day, has a family and is the own- er of a small residence. Every dollar he could spare went toward lessening his grocery account. When this long- continued depression set in and he shared the fate of the many, he began to deprive himself of everything in the way of luxuries; and when, in spite of all, his grocery bill continued to in- crease, he voluntarily came one day and actually insisted on giving us real es- tate security, ‘‘for,’’ said he, ‘‘one should provide for the unforeseen— things are looking so desperate. I might be taken away and, as you have been so kind to me, I am bound you shall be paid at all events.’’ Such instances of genuine uprightnéss are truly refreshing and tend to revive our faith in human- ity. A similar instance occurs to me, where a man, together with many others, was thrown out of employment, leaving an unpaid bill of some fifty dollars. He would not, of his own ac- cord, still further increase his indebted- ness, but stinted along as best he could for several months. When, at last, he again secured steady work, he at once renewed his connection with us, paying promptly at the end of every month, and at the same time paid what he could on the old account. Some customers are in the habit of proclaiming their honesty when, in- stead, they should let their actions speak for themselves. In contradis- tinction to this, a lady one day returned a large package of sugar which in some way had been delivered with her pur- chases, stating that she had neither bought nor paid for same. She did not consider that she had done any more than her duty, and the action was void of any ostentation whatsoever. But O the experiences on the other side! They'd fill a volume. Any mistake on our part of the opposite sort would, in many cases, be stigmatized ‘‘a cheat.’’ Woe to me if an error in the account occurred in my favor—that was ‘‘down- right swindling’’ and often the ‘‘vic- 9 tim’’ would pay up and leave the office in anger, as if to say, ‘‘I know you now! You are not going to cheat me again !’’ never stopping to consider that charity in reflection should reign su- preme in such cases, nor remembering that no mortal ever was infallible, and that in any active business errors will, in spite of the best of care, now and then creep in. And when the boot is on the other leg—when the mistake is in his favor? In many cases that class of people will chuckle over it, and no pro- test is then forthcoming from the cus- tomer. But there is also the fair, the generous customer, the perfect lady, the thorough gentleman, with many of whom I have transacted business. Of these I will only say, by their truly honorable meth- ods of dealing they have established a redeeming feature in the generally bur- densome grocery business. All those high-minded men and women who on reading this feel that they can take un- to themselves these earnestly-meant words of eulogy may consider them as intended for them. I must mention still another class who patronize the grocery and whese mode of dealing is especially aggrava- ting—they are the ones who formerly have themselves been in business, And this is all the more surprising, since they must, in their day, have been sub- jected to similar annoyances. I have in mind, at this moment, a lady in an adiacent town who, before marriage, was an excellent saleslady in a different line, bright, intelligent, quick and well liked by everybody and one who had the reputation of being abie to get along with stubborn as well as with easy cus- tomers. But O the transtormation! Hardly had she begun housekeeping when she became, with the merchants generally, one of the most. dis- agreeable customers to deal with. Goods that did not please her were ‘‘trash,’’ and those that did were ‘‘too dear and could be had cheaper and better else- where.’’ At the weekly settlements her account was often incorrect, ‘‘things charged she never got, etc., etc.’” The puzzle is, How could a person change so soon and forget the vexation she doubtless had so often undergone when standing behind the counter? I hope it may not be deemed im- proper if, at this juncture, I venture to say a few words regarding our laws gov- erring the duties of the debtor towards the creditor. It is right and just that the laboring man, who toils daily from morn until night, should be protected and made absolutely sure of his pay, and our ‘‘Mechanic’s Lean Law’’ is certainly most wisely and benevolently conceived ; the immunity from levying, to a reasonable extent, on household goods, is a humane idea. On the other hand, the law governing the garnishee- ing of wages is, undoubtedly, quite faulty, and in many cases has a tend- ency to make a rogue of the wage- worker who would otherwise be honest. Often, when a man promised that on pay day he would liquidate, I found the wages were drawn up to and beyond the limit of $25 or, even worse, he had as- signed them to a relative or a’ friend. Employes of municipal and state in- stitutions have it all their own way re- garding the debts they incur, for the law implies, ‘‘ Touch them not—not even to the amount of a farthing.’’ Stimulated by complaints from many directions, a resolution was passed in our City Coun- cil, a few years ago, that no person should be employed upon city work who iO MICHIGAN TRADESMAN was known to shirk the paying of just debts. Another great and important class of fellow beings with whom we have al- ways dealt quite extensively is that vast multitude, the source of every country’s wealth, the tillers of the soil, the farm- ers! Of what good would the millions be to the millionaire did not the farmer raise and sell him the products of the soil? And, because of his being con- scious of this fact, it looks like a para- dox that his nature, in the course ol time, has become more or less antago- nistic to the city interests, and notably so to the city merchant. As a class, l have always held them in the highest regard, yet no discerning mind could be blind to their shortcomings. Ster- ling, noble and great men—-yes, many such we count among them—yet, in many cases, the farmer cannot be dis- abused of the idea that the merchant is something of a parasite, who lives and thrives upon the sweat and blood of the husbandman. ‘‘Yes, you city folks,’’ he says, ‘‘sit in your office or stand be- hind the counter, rake in. our hard- earned money and take it easy. When bringing you our produce we have to take your price, and when we buy of you we again have to be governed by your price. You live inthe city, where you enjoy all advantages of education and information of what is going on in the world, and are thus able to take the advantage of us.’” And often, because of these ideas, he persuades himself into the belief that he is justified in retali- ating upon the ‘‘city folks,’’ who ‘‘live an easy life at the farmers’ expense.’’ As a customer having an account with us, I have ever found him to be among the slowest to pay. On being asked for payment, in many instances I was met with an answer something like this: ‘‘O, you have stacks of money. Ain't I good for what I owe? My word’s as good as my bond, etc., etc.’’ I have come in contact with many with whom this was no vain boast. But O for the many with whom it was otherwise! One characteristic trait of some of our farm- ers is their total disregard of an agree- ment in connection with contracting their farm products. A case in point: I had contracted with one of this class for a load of potatoes. I had been deal- ing with him for many years, during all of which time he had considered our place of business the home for himself and family whenever they visited the city. The price for the potatoes had been agreed upon at 52c per bushel. Upon coming to town on the appointed day with the potatoes, he said, ‘‘ Here are your potatues, but what are you go- ing to pay me?’’ ‘‘Why,’’ I answered, ““wasn't 52c the price agreed upon?’’ Ignoring the question, he simply re- torted, ‘But they are higher to-day.’’ (Potatoes had, in fact, risen several cents since he had sold them to us. ) ‘*T know it,’’ I answered, ‘‘but suppos- ing they had declined instead—what then?’’ He again evaded replying, simply reiterating that ‘‘they were higher.’’ All arguments tending to- wards equity rebounded against his unique conception of it; and, when I began to feel a trifle nettled over it, he drove off, exclaiming, ‘‘ You city fellers take the advantage of us poor farmers every time you getachance!’’ This annoying instance is but one of many similar ones in my experience. It is amusing when now and then there occurs a metamorphosis of the farmer—that is, when he takes it into his head to throw off the yoke of farm- ing to go and live in the city, per- chance to become a merchant. Imme- diately he will turn squarély around and denounce the ‘‘honest farmer’’ as being the ‘‘meanest class on earth.’’ This remark is not made thoughtlessly—I have heard it many a time and oft—and I would like to have someone explain to me this paradoxical feature. Here, as weli as in the earlier part of this paper, Iam eager to repeat that, in recounting the imperfections in the character of the customers, it 1s not my intention to belittle them in any way. Quite the contrary. Iam imbued with profound respect for the tiller of the soil, as well as for the laboring people gen- erally, fully appreciating the good qual- ities, which, I feel, far outnumber the lesser ones. We all have our faults, and we all are striving for better things. Having been engaged for so many years in the grocery business, I have found it a great school for acquiring knowledge of human nature, of traits of character; and the paying of honest debts forms a mighty criterion in arriv- ing at a correct judgment in this di- rection. To quote an affirmation of one of our oldest and most prominent phy- sicians, himself a native American, the following classification fully bears out our own experience, supported by our ledger: ‘‘The Germans and Hollanders take the lead. To account for this,, it is my opinion that the laws of their re spective native countries, in this re- spect, have always been very strict; and this condition seems to have incorpo- rated itself with their very nature these many centuries. My loss with them has been merely nominal. Next come the Scotch, then the English, followed by the Irish and French and, lastly, the na- tive Americans.’’ It may seem strange and unjust to place the latter at the bot- tom of the list. Yet I have a reasonable explanation for this: The native Amer- ican is a light and free-hearted person, is conscious of his sovereignty, feels he can never go so far down but what he will rise again, spends his money free- ly, lives more or less extravagantly and, in this easy-going way, his money is exhausted before he is fully aware of it. He will pay if be can, but, if he can’t, he does not often lie awake nights over it. I cannot close this paper without a passing word regarding our clerks. We have discharged but few during all these long years. Qur last head clerk, whose brother, by the way, is a_ partner in one of the largest wholesale grocery houses of Grand Rapids, has been with us sixteen years, and has never asked for a raise in wages—it was not neces- sary. Our last book-keeper, a graduate from the Berlin University, abided with us thirteen years, resigning his position on account of old age, having faithfully worked at the desk until he had reached his eighty-second year. At one time when his wages had been raised by us and the prevailing depression sat in, he promptly asked to have the advance taken off, and insisted upon it! I imagine that this is a case standing |° alone in history. And now one more point and I am done: We all know that often when we are busiest we are called upon by _trav- eling salesmen—the drummers—and quite often several within the same hour. We have never lost temper be- cause of it, but we have met everyone of them, at all times, with due respect and courtesy, always giving them as much of our time as consistent under the circumstances, and have invariably given them our orders in preference to sending them in to the house, everything else being equal. The agent is paid for doing his duty to his employer, and should be treated with the same courtesy we should desire were our places ex- changed. In closing this review, I will take oc- casion to say that it will probably be my last dissertation on the subject in hand, as the firm of which I have the pleasure of being the junior member is preparing to retire from the grocery business, the senior member to rest up for a time, while the writer intends to enter, within the next few weeks, upon a new line of business in the Northwest, the grocery business not having proved sufficiently remunerative in our case to justify the continuance of the same. The more or less disconnected strain of these lines is to be accounted for by the fact that I have been very busy the past two weeks winding up our business affairs here, and so I ask the indulgence of my brother grocers for any short- comings found herein. I must plead the same cause for my nonacceptance of the invitation to attend the convention in person. In view of the foregoing statement this paper may be looked upon in the light of a valedictory. May the Michigan Retail Grocers’ Association live long and prosper, is the ardent wish of JuLius SCHUSTER. Kalamazoo, March 3, 1897. fe ee It is expected that Japan will ship to the United States part of the silver which she is about withdrawing from circulation in consequence of the estab- lishment of a gold standard there. It 1s also expected that the price of silver will fall still lower. About High Heels. Women are more often too short than too tall and consequently try td gain height by putting on high-heeled shoes ; and these do undoubtedly give dignity as long as the wearer stands still, but in motion they are graceless, even ina room, and deform the feet. The better shape a foot is the smaller it will look, but in the disproportionately small foot there is always involved an awkward gait. The foot of a large woman should be larger than the foot of a small woman or a slenderly built woman. The foot, in length, should be the length of the ulna, a bone in the forearm, which ex- tends from a lump in the outer portion of the wrist to the elbow. Of course the ulna is longer in tall people, and to be graceful the foot should be also. Most people would be surprised that the foot should be as long as the fore- arm and would be inclined to dispute the fact unless proved by experience. SSNs Qing Wg NW W KAN SS BB QU SSS SS > Wi SILVER LEAF Re —— Are You Pushing in it? Ee eacesen! Are you selling RS 2G es 23 oe m3 eu Ns your flour trade for all there is Are you selling a flour that gives complete satisfaction ? can guarantee to give satisfaction or money refunded? selling a flour that you know is the best fur the money in the market? If not, “LILY WHITE” a flour that you Are you you should sell flour. above. Valley City is analesaosees Gata We have described GRAND RAPIDS, MICH. at 2G as L252 Milling Co., daaea telecon OR MICHIGAN TRADESMAN Attitude of the New Administration Relative to the Food Laws.* It affords me great pleasure to be present at this meeting of representa- tive business men of our State and to be allowed to Say a word upon a subject of such vital importance to our whole peo- ple as is the subject assigned me. I do not know what are the specific objects of your organization, but, gen- erally speaking, suppose you have as- sociated yourselves for the purpose of a better understanding between each other, as well as protection against un- scrupulous dealers and irresponsible buyers. Now, what is the proper relation be- tween the retail grocer and those having in charge the enforcement of the pure food laws of the State? It seems to me that a fair, just, and yet a successful administration of our food laws cannot be had without the aid and unselfish co- operation of those engaged in the call- ing you gentlemen represent. I under- take to say that, without the moral sup- port of dealers, collectively and indi- vidually, no results worthy of the name can be obtained. The greatest factor in the successful operation of any statute is the moral sentiment of a law-abiding people. A great disorganizer of a self- governed commonwealth is disregard for laws that have been hastily and ill ad- visedly enacted. A measure must have the approval of a large majority of our people, or it will lie on our statute books a dead letter. So with the en- forcement. Unless law is enforced with reason and equity, its very enforcement will compel its repeal. It is a source of great satisfaction to me to find that a very large majority of retail grocers of our fair State are will- ing and anxious to aid in the putting in execution of the so-called pure food laws now on our books. Would not any sensible man who had such an exec- utive duty to perform quickly avail himself of this tremendous’ moral force, freely tendered and thoroughly awakened? No man can _ consciously disregard so potent an influence for good as is the united strength of your Association. Possibly it is too great an assumption we make in supposing that the retail grocers of Michigan are cor- dially and earnestly in sympathy with the energetic enforcement of existing laws covering the sale of food. If so, we frankly say to you, we have misun- derstood you. Everywhere the depart- ment inspectors are most courteously treated and repeatedly assured of the dealer’s desire to co-operate, to the end that the consumer may he protected against inferior goods. We are even told that you gentlemen desire a strict enforcement of the food laws; but very naturally demand that that enforcement be a strictly impartial one and that each and every dealer be made to feel the law alike. This should be granted; and I freely assure you our aim shall be to treat all cases alike and as fairly and considerately as is consistent with our position. As is the case with infrac- tions of the criminal code, the willful trespasser must expect the harsher treat- ment. Without going into detail, J may say that cases of violation are every day occurring where letter-of-the- law enforcement would be in the nature of a hardship and of great personal in- justice to the dealer. We realize that retail dealers must depend very largely upon the integrity and business honesty of the wholesalers of whom they purchase goods. Having bought supplies in good faith and at fair prices, they are entitled to some protection, rather than being subjected to indiscriminate prosecution. But hav- ing been once warned, either of the un- reliability of certain goods or certain houses, a repetition must be expected to bring a penalty. : Right here we may be permitted a word in defense of our department's re- fusal to analyze and pass upon samples sent us by dealers who are honestly in doubt as to the purity of certain goods they are about to place upon the market and send them to us for analysis before *Paper read at convention of Michigan Retail Grocers’ Association, by E. 0. Grosvenor, State Food Commissioner. entering upon the sale of them. Our law plainly and distinctly refuses us the right to do this, even were our depart- ment possessed of a force sufficient for the purpose. As it is, we must refuse all such requests and, if the legal re- striction was removed, our laboratory force would have to devote their entire time to this sort of work, to the exclu- sion of their regular analyses of the samples sent in by our inspectors. You will all remember, in the last an- nual report of the department, a_ state- ment to the effect that in the future a more energetic conduct of affairs might be looked for. I wish to be understood as endorsing that sentiment. Upon the other side of the State, we hear much about the proper enforcement of our food laws and many think the time has arrived for a more vigorous administra- tion of the department. Sufficient time has elapsed since the passage of these laws for every well-minded dealer to have become perfectly familiar with their requirements, and I believe you will bear me out in my determination to bring about more ready and universal compliance with their provisions It seems to me a very delicate ques tion to decide when to prosecute. Our food laws aim at the suppression of ex- isting evils, rather than punishment of the evil doer, although experience teaches that a certain amount of the lat- ter is necessary to a full attainment of the forrher. To say just when to enforce the legal penalties and when a suspen- sion will best produce the desired re- sults seems to me a most difficult proh- lem. Certainly no fixed rule can be laid down and very much must be left to the discretion of the department, to he ex- ercised according to the requirements of each particular case. In case of an offense in the sale of goods by a retailer which were purchased from wholesale houses within the State and, therefore, accessible, the way is certainly clear. The jobber should be prosecuted, pro- viding the retailer is willing to add his testimony toward securing a conviction. In cases where goods have been pur- chased outside of the State and. there- fore, the wholesalers are not within the jurisdiction of our courts, the retailer is the only one amenable. But, under no circumstances, can the retailer expect immunity when a_ willful offense has been committed. Nor do I wish to be understood as willing to apply the law against the interests of outside jobbers ; but it is manifestly unjust to proceed against a retailer when the wholesale merchant with whom the wrong first lay is equally as accessible and doubly guilty. ; The law will certainly hold the retail- er primarily responsible for the purity and labeling of the goods on_ his shelves. It must, in the very nature of things, be his responsibility and he is the one answerable. Whether it is pos- sible for him to’shift the burden of this upon the jobber from whom he buys _ is not within the province of this paper. In conclusion, we trust in the future to have the cordial and loyal support of every fair-minded dealer, both in and out of your Association; and I shall en- deavor to act in all cases with due de- liberation and to the best interests of our people, requesting a mantle of charity for our mistakes which shall be sufficient to cover any and all things. —— a Write Plainly. An English gentleman, writing to a Lincolnshire friend, mentioned the lat- ter’s kindness to him, and said he should soon send him a suitable ‘‘ equiv- alent.’’ The friend read the word ‘‘ele- phant,’’ and immediately built a handsome barn for the reception of his elephantine majesty. Much to his sur- prise, a barrel of oysters was the ‘*equivalent.’’ —__—_2.__ The five wealthiest persons in Prus- sia are worth, respectively, fourteen, fifteen, twenty-one, thirty and fifty-four millions of dollars. ——__—_>9—.__ Bills licensing and _ taxing transient merchants have been adopted by the In- diana Legislature, MINCE PIE To grocers isa Business Tonic To consumers is a Delightful and Sought-for Confection THE NEW YORK BISCUIT CO., ARE YOU HANDLING IT? GRAND RAPIDS. (Jupretentions Attractiveness in printing does not always imply ornamentation; simplicity is sometimes much more effective—it depends, of course, on the subject to be treated. If your printer has not made a life study of art in good printing he will not succeed in getting the best results. If the work is important, and you want it as it should be, and without any annoyance, it will pay you to know us. Personal interview by appointment if desired. Cradesman Company, Grand Rapids. 12 How Should Our Food Laws Be En- forced? In giving my opinion upon this most important subject, I want, upon the Start, to disclaim any intention of find- ing fault with any officer or person in what may have been done in the past, or of trying to bias any in their judg- ment as to what should be done in the future. The act creating the office of Dairy and Food Commissioner was approved June 2, 1893, and Mr. Storrs was ap- pointed soon after and entered upon his duties, which are defined in section 6 of said act, as follows: ‘‘It shall be the duty of the Dairy and Food Commis- sioner to carefully enquire into the quality of the dairy, food and drirk products and the several articles which are the necessary constituents of foods which are offered for sale in this State, and when he has reason to believe that any such articles, foods or products are adulterated, impure or unwholesome, he shall procure samples of same and direct the State analyst to make due and careful examination of same and report his finding therein. If it shall appear from such report that the article, food, food and drink product, or dairy prod- uct, is impure or unwholesome in con- travention of the statutes relative there- to, it shall be the duty of the Commis- sioner to make complaint against the manufacturer or vendor thereof in the proper county, and furnish the public prosecutor with the evidence thereon, to obtain a conviction for the offense charged.’”’ The Wisconsin, Ohio, New York and other state laws read quite similar to this one of ours and the reader will at once observe that the law is mandatory and that the duty of the Commissioner is to proceed at once with the prosecu- tion; but the reader will, doubtless, also observe that the law gives the Commis- sioner the choice of proceeding against the manufacturer or vendor of the goods, and I fancy that it is along this line that we shall find the interest clustering most closely—whether the vendor or the manufacturer shall be the object of the Commissioner’s watchfulness, Perhaps in no state in the Union has this ground been fought over so stub- bornly as in the State of Ohio. The retail dealers complain most bitterly of the treatment they have received at the hands of Commissioner McNeal, claim- ing, first, that any law enacted in any state which makes the dealer in any article liable to be adulterated,and who does, unwittingly or through the mis- representation of the manufacturer, sel] an article which does not comply with the letter of the law, guilty of a crime and subjects him to arrest and fine or imprisonment, or both, when the facts of the violation are practically beyond his reach, is not in keeping with the constitutional rights which are guar- anteed to every American citizen. Notice that one of the leading posi- tions taken by this assertion is that ignorance of the condition of goods should be a sufficient ground upon which to release the vendor. Commenting upon this position, Commissioner McNeal says: ‘‘In every state of the Union cases where this question of knowledge of food adulteration has been brought before the Supreme Courts of the states, the decisions have been universally in the line of holding the dealer absolute- ly responsible for the goods he sells, without any regard as to whether he knows them to be adulterated or not.”’ Judge Hale, of the Eighth Circuit of MICHIGAN TRADESMAN Ohio, in giving his decision upon a case brought before him relative to the question of the dealers’ knowledge, or, rather lack of knowledge,as to the adul- teration of food products which he sold, says: ‘‘It must be conceded that the object and purpose of this statute, if not wholly subverted, would be weak- ened to that extent that it would in no wise accomplish the result intended by its enactment, if the accused is acquit- ted by showing that he did not know the nature of the article sold;’’ and concludes by saying: ‘‘We see no in- justice in holding the seller of food re- sponsible for what he sells, and in cast- ing upon him the burden of knowing whether the foods sold do or do not fall within the prohibition of the statute,’’ and claims that such a state of things is absolutely necessary to protect the pub- lic from fraud and imposition, In the American and English Ency- clopedia of Law, volume 4, page 681, we find: ‘‘Where the statute contains nothing requiring acts to be done know- ingly, and the acts done are not malum in se nor infamous, but are merely pro- hibitive, the offender is bound to know the law and a criminal] intent need not be proved.’’ 1 wish to cite one more case along this line of knowledge of adulteration or intent to defraud: A simple collector of milk, under the instruction of the Inspector of Milk, called at a hotel in Boston and ordered a breakfast in the dining hall of the hotel, which was a_ public house con- ducted by defendant and kis son, on the American plan. The Collector called for a glass of milk with his breakfast and the same was brought to him by the waiter. A part of this milk was taken away from the hotel in a bottle and subsequently analyzed by a chemist and found to be deficient in per cent. of milk solids. The defendant did not have the item milk on the bill of fare, nor did he know that the milk had been or- dered or received when complainant paid for his breakfast and he paid only the regular price. It was also contended by the defendant that he had ordered milk of better quality to be placed in a certain can, but that the waiter by mis- take had taken the milk of poorer qual ity; and by reason of these facts the de- fendant asked the court to instruct the jury to bring in a verdict of no liabil- ity. This the court refused to do, but, on the contrary, did instruct the jury |- that if the defendant’s servant, in the ordinary course of her employment, acting in good faith and intending to obey defendant's instructions, did de- liver to Kelly, upon his order, the milk in question as a part of Kelly’s break- fast, for which breakfast Kelly paid 35 cents, and the milk was not good stand- ard quality, the defendant was respon- sible under the statute. The court said: ‘‘No criminal intent on the part of the master or principal is necessary in order to render him liable for a sale in violation of the statute and he may, consequently, be held liable for an in advertent sale in the course of his em- ployment on the part of his servant or agent in violation of the statute. ”’ H. C. Adams, Dairy and Food Com- missioner of Wisconsin, referring to the law of 1879, prohibiting the false label- ing of foods with intent to deceive, says: ‘‘It is almost impossible to prove criminal or dishonest intention in actions brought under this law. The law, therefore, has little restraining force.”’ The retail dealer would much rather CHARLES MANZELIIANN MANUFACTURER OF BROOMS AND WHISKS DETROIT, MICH. =z~-z—a-—s asa AAA. =O j OUR LINE 1 ' of Gents’ Jewelry comprises all the latest novelties in Link 4 Sleeve Buttons and Set Studs. New things in Ladies’ Belts, wl ES 4 Side Combs, etc. See our display before purchasing. 4 WURZBURG JEWELRY CO., 4 GRAND RAPIDS t FUSES w y ’ Pe OOOQOQOOQOO DOODOOOGQOE GOODQODQODOOOQS.HODODOO©? ©OOQQOQOOOQOQOOQDQOOQOO @ © @ “ @ Standard 8 We are exclusive dis- Lion 3 Maracaibo 3 ivcraume § Maracaibo 3 ( DOOQOQQODOE QDOQQDOOOOS © HDOMODOQOOQDOOQOQOQOOOOE © ROASTED BY WOOLSON SPICE CO., QOMOOQOOOQOOPDOOOQOEES oe G : TOLEDO, OHIO. € Don't let others deceive you by telling you they have the same goods. ¢ We carry their entire line. QODHDOHOODOEHOOOOOO® » BOOS8O9OO2 eo @ ( @ @ © g No. 2 Roast GROCER CO., 8 : : : eo e PGOHHDODODE DG OOOOGQODO DOHO®GHHHDOD 011. HHGDGHEOOQOHOQOQOOCODOGQOOOGE © -~, Sa’ a DEALERS IN ‘0 ILLUMINATING AND LUBRICATING tj NAPHTHA AND GASOLINES re Ofiice and Works, BUTTERWORTH AVE., A GRAND RAPIDS, MICH. Bulk works at Grand;Rapids, Muskegon, Manistee, Cadillac, Big Rap- ae ids, Grand Haven, Traverse City, Ludington, Allegan, Howard City, Petoskey, Reed City, Fremont, Hart, W Whitehall, Holland and Fennville. *, Highest Price Paid for Empty Carbon and Gasoline Barrels. = ME ME LI LL LO. LL LL LM LL. MO LO. LO. LO LP» LI», yw | BOQ’ QQ’ a owe a a nero MICHIGAN TRADESMAN I3 all prosecutions would commence at the other end of the chain and make the only man in the chain suffer who is really at fault—the manufacturer—but it may be, as these several officials have said, that the only man who can be reached is the last man who hands the spurious goods to the customer or con- sumer. This is the course pursued in the case of a counterfeit bill or coin or a draft dishonored. Protest is served on each individual throughout the whole course which the dishonored paper has traveled until at last it comes to the man who drew it. One thing is certain: we must exer- cise more care and diligence in the purchase of goods and limit our trade to those houses who will make their word good to us every time, and we must insist upon having goods that are true to name. Quality must cut a much larger figure in the purchase of goods than hereto- fore. Not all that is called wheat will produce good No. 1 flour, and there is, without doubt, as much difference in the quality of pepper as there is of any cereal or commodity, so that an article might with truthfulness be said to be pure and yet not be as acceptable to the trade as a good quality slightly adulter- ated. ~ Food commissioners will, doubtless, prosecute those who are most easily caught and I am not ready to say that the policy which most of them have mapped out is not the right one; indeed, I feel quite certain that the methods of inspection which are so common in some of the older countries are but in their infancy here and that we may rea- sonably expect to see these lines drawn more and more closely here. For the really dishonest vendor, I have not one word of consolation or commendation, and would be in favor of a rigid en- forcement of the laws. For the careless, nothing will be better, even along the line of education, than to be brought before a magistrate and compelled to face an official analysis of his wares; ‘and, perhaps, the same method will be best all around. As for the cost and expense to the re- tailer, if our experience is similar to that of the Ohio dealers, it will not come entirely out of us. Commissioner McNeal says: ‘‘Articles have been found in the hands of retail dealers which, upon examination, proved to be adulterated. I have held the dealer re- sponsible, but exercised discretion, and the promise of immunity from prosecu- tion to the dealer provided he would divulge the source from which he _ pur- chased and the date of same, jobbers being prosecuted in such cases who had purchased from manufacturers upon guarantees not only to indemnify against all loss by reasons of fines, costs and fees, but also to indemnify against any damages to business, has led the producers of this class of goods to come here from nearly all the important cities of the United States, substitute their names upon the dockets of the magis- trates for the names of our local job- bers, pleading guilty, paying fines and costs, thus relieving local dealers even from the odium of going upon the records of magistrates as being respon- sible for selling adulterated goods. It is capable of demonstration that out of 450 cases prosecuted, the greater portion of them have been traced to the producers of the goods and more than three-quar- ters of the $12,000 paid as penalties for such violations has been paid by the manufacturers, and has been drawn from all the principal cities, from Boston to San Francisco, from Detroit to New Orleans. Such a state of facts can never be brought about by any law, either State or National, that undertakes to relieve from responsibility upon the grounds of ignorance of fact. Summing up, we may say: The food laws should be enforced along lines which will do away with adulteration and fraud, in the food products of our State, in the quickest time, seeking to place the responsibility exactly where it belongs, without fear or favor. The Commissioner must be a good ex- ecutive; his assistants must be compe- tent and fearless; and the dealers must be thoroughly in accord with the great work to be accomplished. E. N. BATES. Moline, Mich. > -¢ > Relation of Wholesale and _ Retail Grocers.* The relation between the wholesale and retail grocer should be friendly, cordial and confidential, as their inter- ests are practically identical. The success of the retailer is the success of the wholesaler, and no retailer can doa successful business without reflecting credit upon the wholesale house with whom he deals; and no retailer can make a failure of his business without reflecting, in a measure, discredit upon the wholesale house with whom he deals. The wholesaler must always deal fairly, promptly and honestly with the retailer. He must give the retailer good goods at the lowest market prices and, in doing so, he naturally promotes a cordial and friendly relation. The trav- eling salesman who represents the wholesaler should be, and is, a personal friend of, every retailer with whom he deals, and as the traveling salesman _ is an educated, honorable and reliable man, as he.is loyal to his employer, the wholesaler, and loyal to his friend, the retailer, he naturally promotes a friend- ly and cordial reiation between the wholesaler and the retailer. Our friend, Mr. Stowe, who has given us this much- appreciated entertainment this evening. who is the Secretary of your Associa- tion, and the editor of the valuable trade journal, the Michigan Tradesman, is constantly working, through his paper and otherwise, in the interests of a cor- dial, modern and businesslike relation between the wholesalers and retailers of Michigan. If the wholesaler is true to his profession, if he is alive to his own interests, he has ever in his mind the profitable and quick disposal of all the goods he purchases; and in the buying of those goods there must be running through his mind the idea of how they will please his customer, the retailer. There is a constant effort, on the part of the wholesaler and on the part of his representative, the traveling salesman, to be worthy of the good will of the re- tailer; and as the wholesaler grows in experience and in capital, the greater the degree of success he attains on ac- count of his wisdom in conducting his business in the interests of himself and the retailer, the more the retailer will show his appreciation, by extending to the wholesaler his support; thus the re- lation expands until it becomes iden- tical. Referring to your Association: I am sure your meetings are in the line of improvement and advancement. I am sure every individual who attends these meetings will be benefited and broad- ened. Your Association is made up of men who have spent years in indus- trious and successful merchandising, and it is commendable and proper for you to get together for the exchange of ideas, to learn from others and to give to others of your experience and wis- dom. It is always commendable for men in any profession, in any line of business or labor, to meet at times and places best-suited to their convenience and hear able men discuss current — and live questions pertaining to their *Response by Wm. Judson at sass Michigan Retail Grocers’ Association, held March 3. interests. Discussion of all such ques- tions will be valuable in helping all men to solve the problems which are important to all classes of society. Such questions as will naturally come before you are the proper handling of staple food articles; the proper handling of credits; correct business methods and kindred topics, all of vital importance! The discussion of these matters and the widest circulation of the best ideas re- lating to them that you can give will prove mutually beneficial to all the members of your Association. It is certainly worthy of the expenditure of a reasonable amount of time and money to attend Association meetings. It brings out a great many points which are lost sight of in the daily grind at home, and one of the points that we are most liable to lose sight of is that there is a pleasant side to life—that there is some fun in being prosperous. The op- portunity which success gives for use- fulness in organization; the opportunity which it gives every individual for in- creasing his ability to extend a helping hand to educational and charitable in- stitutions; the opportunity which it gives for the pursuit of happiness in our homes and with our tamilies is too often ignored. Association methods and as- sociation work teach still another lesson and that is that all men are brothers and that there is no impassable barrier between competitors, therefore no rea- sonable ground for envy and malice. In conclusion, I will say, if association methods are confined to proper lines, they are commendable, educational and elevating. There are many evils which can be corrected, but it is always well to weigh and consider the kinds of rem- edies which should be applied. This is an era of cheap things. Every con- sumer is demanding of the retailer goods at low prices, and every retailer is asking of the wholesaler that he shall meet that demand. This is a free coun- try and every buyer has a right to go to what he considers the best and most profitable market. Every wholesaler must recognzie that right on the part of the retailer. I wish to call the atten- tion of the retailers to the fact that the wholesaiers in Michigan are modern merchants. All things being equal, every retailer in Michigan can afford to give his patronage toward the upbuild- ing of his home market. In the name of all the wholesalers of this mar- ket, I bid you welcome to our city and extend you good will, assuring you that the pleasant relations between the wholesaler and the retailer will ever have our earnest sympathy and support. uy A Business School. From the Dry Goods Economist. The short-cut idea appears to have been reduced to absurdity in the ‘‘In- stitute of Practical Commercial Experi- ence, Limited,’’ which isa concern now bidding for support in London. This compary proposes, for the moderate sum of $1,500 per annum, to instruct in the mysteries of business, by carrying on mock mercantile concerns, in which the pupils, or ‘‘probationers,’’ as the pro- spectus more politely calls them, can, without loss of actual capital, clearly and practically demonstrate their apti- tude for any proposed branch of busi- ness. 2. New Collection Scheme. A grocery firm in Altanta, Ga., re- cently adopted a novel method to bring a local physician to.a sense of his moral obligations. Several negro women were hired to dun the doctor. They con- tinued unceasingly in season and out of season; and at length a friend of the physician paid the bill. Of course, the doctor was mad at what he was _ pleased to term such outrageous treatment of a gentleman. His fine sensibilities were insulted, and he threatened to sue the grocery firm for punitive damages. —__—>02—___—_ An Orting, Wash., merchant is said to have found a sulphur deposit in the Cascades in close proximity to the Northern Pacific Railroad. ea AK WHOLESALE QDDOD®) We are showing a fine line of SHIRT WAISTS VOIGT, HERPOLSHEIMER & CO. DRY GOODS, GRAND RAPIDS, MICH. We have in stock ready to show for Spring trade a good line of Men’s & Boys’ Straw Hats at 45c to $4,50 Men’s Stiff and Soft Hats from $3.50 to $15.00 per doz. Hammocks Hosiery, Underwear, Lawns, Dimity, Challi, Organdy in all widths and prices. P. Steketee & Sons. ook MICHIGAN TRADESMAN WAGE EXEMPTIONS. Pertinent Observations Based on Ac- tual Experience.* One of the first questions that pre- sents itself to every retail merchant upon entering business is how far he can safely give credit to his customers. The conditions of credit are mainly two: The ability of the customer to pay and the ability of the dealer to enforce payment. The last condition depends, to a considerable extent, upoa that species of legislation commonly known as the exemption laws. Exemption laws, therefore, in their relation to our business, are a part of the credit system and should be discussed with it. When the time comes—if it ever does come—that our business can be con- ducted upon a strictly cash basis, when we can demand and receive pay for our goods at the time of delivery, the amount and character ofthe purchasers’ exemptions from execution or other process for debt will no longer be of in- terest to us. But the time when the re- tail mercantile business, and particular- ly the grocery and produce business, can be conducted upon a strictly cash basis does not seem to be near at hand. It will not come during the era of monthly pay days by the large employ- ers of labor, and it is not probable that it could be strictly enforced under any system of wages payment. It therefore becomes—and is likely to continue with us—an important question as to what are our rights against those who have received our goods and refuse to pay for them. You would be able to form some idea of how great a burden bad debts, a large part of which have been due to bad exemption laws, have been to the retail trade of Michigan if you were to look over the books of the dealers in your town and take note of the uncol- lectible accounts. The dealer who has been doing a gen- eral credit business for five years wil] be fortunate if, at the end of that time, he has not due him bad accounts to nearly, if not quite, the entire value of his stock; that is, during the time that he has been engaged in business, nearly the entire stock that he started with ,has been given away. And, in nearly every instance which I have ever known of business failure among retail dealers. the difference between the book value of the outstanding accounts and their value as appraised by the assignee would not only have saved the dealer from failure, but would have placed him in excellent financia! condition. But if b>d debts are a burden upon the dealer, they are equally so upon the paving customer, for the risk of bad debts is one of the contingencies upon which every man must count when he engages in trade. To the invoice price of his goods he must first add the nec- essary expense of selling them, which includes such items as rent, clerk hire. taxes and insurance; then he must add a sufficient profit to compensate him for the time and lahor he devotes to the business, and, lastly, a still further levy. to cover the risk of bad debts. If he fail to add any one of these items to the selling price, he must expect that at an eatly period of his business career he will be closed up by the sheriff, that bis own creditors will go unpaid and that he and his family will very likely be reduced to want. If we are told that it is unjust that the paying customers be required to support the non-paying ones, I answer that, as business men, we are dealing with the conditions of business success as they are, and not as they might be under different conditions. And we are now appealing to the honest and thrifty to help us in our effort to make the dishonest and shiftless pay their own way. The items ahove mentioned as _ enter- ing into the selling price of goods are all necessary and unavoidable and legiti- mate except the last—bad debts—and they only become necessary by reason of the conditions, legal or otherwise, *Paper by Robert Johnson, (Cadiilac) read at convention Michigan Retail Grocers’ Asso- ciation. under which we—or most of us—are compelled to do business. Some means should be found of avoiding these, or at least of reducing them to a much less conspicuous place in our business cai- culations than they now occupy. I be- lieve this may be, in part, accomplished by a change in the exemption laws which shall give us greater rights against the property and earnings of our debtors. It is not alone for our own profit that we ask these changes: We ask them as an aid to more correct business methods; we ask them in be- half of cheaper goods for the great mul- titude of our patrons who can and do and will pay their bills. The general tendency of present-day business is to- ward the reduction of all profits toa minimum. The great demand is for a lower cost of taking goods from the hands of the producer and putting them into the hands of the consumer. What is the influence that has called into existence, in recent years, the great corporations, the great trusts, the great combinations of capital, which have become so great a bugbear to many per- sons, and which do, in fact, contain the possibility of much evil? It is simply the demand for cheaper means of producing goods and less wasteful meth- ods of distributing them. The main purpose of these great business enter- prises, in so far as they have a legiti- mate purpose, is to stop the leaks and to reduce the cost of doing a given amount of business. Also, it is one of the purposes of the Association to de- vise means of distributing the goods hetween the jobber and the consumer at the minimum of cost consistent with safety to ourselves, and thus _ benefit ourselves by benefiting our customers with better service and lower prices. We seek not only the gord of the trades- men, but the good of the trade; and it need not be feared that any advantages which may come to us through improved legislation or by any other means will he held and monopolized for our own exclusive benefit. No matter how selfish we may be, we could not do it if we would. Retail grocers are as much sub- ject to the laws of trade as are other classes of business men, and must al- ways respond to the demand for the best possible service at the lowest cost which is possible under existing condi- tions. Any benefits which may come directly to us will, in part at least be distributed by us through a thousand channe’s to the general public—possibly not because we are so benevolent, but hecause, as business men, we must either meet the conditions that prevail or sur- render our business to more progressive rivals, I have said that one of the demands of the present day is for cheaper meth- ods of distributing goods in trade. But it is a demand with which the retail grocery trade cannot further complv without an enlargement of their legal rights or a sweeping reformation of conditions outside of their own business ind beyond their control. As a single step in the direction in- dicated, I have suggested certain imendments to our exemption laws. The law has wisely and humanely sought to protect the poor man’s home by providing that certain property nec- essary to provide his family with shelter and subsistence for a reasonable time shall not be subject to levy and sell for lebts. These exemptions are so numer- ous, and the amount covered so consid- erable, that a man may be in fairly comfortable circumstances, and abun- dantly able to provide necessaries for the home, and yet not have a dollar sub- ject to execution. So far as these pro- visions are intended to protect the pocr debtor from the consequences of unfore- seen accidents or unfortunate business ventures, they are not only unobjection- able, but commendable. They are in- tended to guarantee to every family the security of a home, to prevent them in periods of temporary hardships from dependence on public or private char- ity; in short, they are designed to en- able every man to provide his family with the necessaries of life and pay for them. What I contend is that a discrimina- tion should be made between different classes of indebtedness as to their standing before the exemption laws. This plan has already been applied to certain classes of debts. In 1885, an amendment was made to the exemption laws of this State, designed to facilitate the collection of labor debts, in which the homestead exemption was abolished entirely, and the other extensive ex- emptions reduced to small proportions as against claims for labor, while the wage-earner himself is entitled, in gar- nishee proceedings, to an additional exemption of $25 of his own earnings. Now, I claim that there should bea further classification of indebtedness, and that we should be put in the favored class as to exemption. There are good reasons for this: We deal in a class of goods which are necessary articles of daily consumption in every family, and they must be had whether the purchaser is able to pay at the time or not. In times of necessity, the worn clothing of the family may be patched and made to do for aconsiderable time. They may get along without carpets until they earn cash to pay for them. They may postpone the purchase of an organ ora sewing machine or a new coat of paint for the dwelling until times improve. But the working man cannot wait for his dinner until the factory starts and wages are received; he must have his dinner before the work is done—while waiting for work—and the grocer and the butcher must furnish it. Now, the preference before referred to which the exemption laws allow to labor debts is for this very purpose—to enable the laborer to provide his family with nec- essaries of iife, and to insure him, as far as possible, the means of paying for them, a favor which he often ill re- quites, by first making use of his strin- gent remedies for collecting pay for his work, and then sheltering himself be- hind his own extensive exemptions to evade the claims of his grocer and butcher who have maintained him while performing the work. Why should the rights of the salary or wage-earner EVERY PAIR | WARRANTED. | SOLD ONLY BY US Herold-Berisch Soe 60., 3 and 7 Pearl street. State Agents for Wales-Goodyear and Connecticut Rubbers. Mail us your orders. HIRTH, KRAUSE & CO., GRAND RAPIDS. 0OSS0SSS00SS00OSOSOOSOSS OOOOOOCO If you want the best boot send your order for GAODYEAR GLOVES to : i MICHIGAN TRADESMAN 15 against his employer be measured by one standard, and his liability to his grocer who has furnished him the means of subsistence while earning his wages by a different one? I believe that in this class of cases no valid objection can be raised against making the remedy of the grocer and butcher against the working man as ex- tensive as the workingman's remedy against his employer. I would put debts contracted for necessaries of life purchased for actual consumption upon the same footing before the exemption laws as labor debts. It would be no injustice to the man who intends to pay, while it would relieve the trade from a large part of the burden of maintaining a compulsory free lunch department for the support of a numerous class of pro- fessional dead-beats who pay nothing except under compulsion. A bill is now pending before the Legislature of this State having this purpose in view, and I hope that every member of our Association will himself write, and ask all his neighbors to write, to his Senator and Representative urging prompt pas- sage of the bill. And some remarks may be timely upon the subject of the $25 exemption allowed labor claims in garnishee cases. I presume every member of this Asso- ciation has, within a few days, received a circular from the Detroit Retail Gro- cers’ Association containing the an- nouncement that an amendment has been proposed which would change the $25 exemption to an exemption of 75 per cent. of the labor debt. However this might work in the city of Detroit, 1 am satished it is not what we want in Northern Michigan, and that it would operate here to the detriment as often as to the advantage of the trade. This is a land of monthly pay days, and in the case of a man earning $100 per month, as many railroad employes do, $75 would be exempt at the end of the month and only $25 subject to gar- nishee ; whereas, now, only $25 is ex- empt and $75 accessible for payment. If he were earning $50 per month, his exemption would be tncreased from $25 to $37.50. I would favor a graduated exemption of the earning of labor in garnishee cases, being larger where earnings are small and growing less as earnings increase. I would suggest, as about the proper limit, that, where the amount to be garnisheed 1s $35 or un- der, 75 per cent. should be exempt from the process by garnishment; if the amount should be over $35 and not more than $75, 50 per cent. ; if more than $75, only 25 per cent. should be exempt. This is only a crude suggestion and might need to be modified in practice; but something along this line would, | think, be more beneficial to the trade generally than the amendment proposed by the Detroit Association. But what- ever differences of opinion exist should yield to the judgment of the majority; and, when the Association has once determined what is best to be done in the premises, let a push be made along that line to secure its adoption. —_— ~~ @ <> - - —— — Keep At It. If you expect to conquer In the battle of to-day You will have to blow your trumpet In a firm and steady way. : If you toot your little whistle, Then lay aside *he horn, There’s not a soul will ever know That such a man was born. The man that owns his acres Js the man tht plows all day; And the man that keeps a humping Is the man that’s here to stay. But the man who advertises With a sort of sudden jerk Is the man that blames the printer Because it didu’t work. But the man that gets the business Uses brainy printers’ ink, Not a clatter and a sputter, But an ad that makes you think; And he plans his advertisements As he plans his well-boight stock, And the future of his business Is as solid as a rock. —.. 2-2 First Shopper—I just wish one of these store detectives would accuse me of shoplifting ! Second Shopper—You do? First Shopper—Yes, I do—of course I mean when I haven't been taking anything. Value of Equality to the Retail Grocer.* This is the text assigned me by your worthy Secretary, E. A. Stowe. “I won- der how many of the retailers of Michi- gap have ever given this subject any thought? How many have a proper un- derstanding of the word ‘‘equality’’ as used in this-connection? One of the definitions given by Web- ster of the word equality is ‘‘the condi- tion or quality of being equal.’’ It must appeal to your judgment as business men that it is in every way better for the retailer to be on an absolute equality with his neighbors regarding the cost of the goods he has to purchase. _ But let us consider the peculiar condi- tions which obtain in the commercial world at this particular time. The tend- ency of the business men of this coun- try, for the last thirty years, has been to concentrate competitive interests. Hence we see railroads, both steam and electric, consolidating, out and out, or securing ninety-nine years leases, which 1S practically ownership, so as to reduce the cost of management and escape the competition of a rival line. The same holds true of manufactures. Conse- quently we have the various trusts that so many people denounce, and often without fully understanding the subject which they speak about so freely. The adage, ‘‘A little learning is a dangerous thing,’’ is as true to-day as ever; and it would be better for us all if those who talk and write so much about these matters would think and study, and really know a ‘‘little bit’’ about the important questions which they so glibly prate of. Many articles have lately appeared in the daily papers, about the effort of the wholesale grocers to create a tobacco trust. Officially it has been my _privi- lege to know as much about the alleged effort as any other one person. The idea of a ‘‘trust’’ was never considered by the gentlemen who are accused. The sole object was to have the manufacturer distribute his product through the jobber, at a regular price, which was to be fixed and determined by the manu- facturer, and which the jobber was to furnish the retailer at another fixed price, which was also to be made by the manufacturer. No thought of restrict- ing the output, or advarcing the price, to either the retailer or consumer, was ever entertained. But, according to the so-called anti-trust laws which prevail in many states, it is made to appear that a manufacturer who puts a value on his product, and says to his customers, such and such are the prices of my goods, is guilty of a conspiracy, isa bad man, and must be fined, or im- prisoned, or both, tor such an outrageous act as daring to put a price on his own product! In Georgia one man cannot make another man his agent, or factor, to sell his goods, without submitting himself to the penalties of fine or im- prisonment or both. If these so-called anti-trust laws ever get to the Supreme Court of the United States, there is no question about their being declared unconstitutional. The unit, i. e., the individual, is the basis of our form of Government. The con- stitution guarantees to every citizen the right to worship God as he sees ht, and to do as he elects with his cwn, so long as he does not wrong his neighbors. But some one says, what has all this got to do with the ‘* Value of Equality to the Retail Grocer?’’ Very much; for if a uniform fixed price on the goods he has to deal in is maintained, he knows what bis profits will be, and that his neighbor is not buying any cheaper than he is. He does not overload himself with any one article because the same is represented as a ‘‘snap,’’ or is offered at a ‘‘cut’’ from the regular price. Realizing an assured profit on his sales, he is in a condition to discount his bills and pay his paper promptly at matu- rity. As ‘‘the success of the individual is the prosperity of the state,’’ so will the business men of the country escape the convulsions which periodically sweep over the commercial world, and which bring so much distress and dis- *Paper read by H. P. Sanger, Sec’y Michigan Wholesale Grocers’ Assvciation, at the con- vention of the Michigan Retail Grocers’ Asso- ciation. aster in their train. How often do we read advertisements of so many pounds of sugar for a dollar, when every one knows that the retailer pays much more for it; and if you speak to him about it he will tell you, ‘‘That is just for a leader. I make it up by charging more for something else.’’ Is this honest? Is it to the credit of the seller’s business capacity? Is it ‘‘doing to others as you would be done by?’’ O, no! Lit- tle wonder that there are so many ‘‘ex- tensions,’’ and ‘‘chattel mortgages, ’’ and ‘‘trust deeds,’’ and failures, and suicides. _We are all in too great 2 hurry to get rich, to enlarge our business, to secure our neighbor’s patronage, no matter what becomes of him. It is ‘‘every one for himself’’—you know the rest. Not until men think, and study the re- quirements of their particular calling, can we look for a change, and not then unless they are governed by the ‘‘ Golden Rule.’’ Stability is one of the chief requisites among business men to-day, and that others are of this opinion, I quote the action taken by the Retail Grocers’ Association of Illinois, at their conven- tion held at Quincy, on theg, 10 and 11 of February. ‘“Whereas, We, the Retail Grocers’ and Merchants’ Association of Illinois in convention assembled, do recognize in the wholsale grocers our best means of support in the plans we have pre- pared ; and We believe the present method of jobbing both sugars and package coffees has béen a benefit alike to the legitimate retailers and consum- ers; therefore be it Resolved, That we heartily endorse the ‘‘equality plan’’ for the sale of both sugars and package coffees, and assure the jobbers of our co-operation in per- petuating the same.’’ In conclusion, you must admit that your best friends are the wholesale gro- cers, and any system of distributing the products of the manufacturers which is best for them must be the best for you. Who is it that has carried you along when collections have been slow and trade dull? The manufacturer? No, the wholesaler of whom you buy the most of your supplies. Is it unreason- able then to ask you to trust to his judgment? Notatall. Organization is the order of the day, and only by or- ganization can the vast business of sup- plying the daily wants of the consumers of the country be profitably carried on. There is nothing in the present equal- ity plan that bears unjustly on the re- tailer or the consumer. On the contrary, it is beneficial alike to the manufac- turer, the jobber, the retailer, and the consumer. The only thing that can im- pair its beneficent operation is a want of loyalty, honor, and fidelity on the part of those who are pledged to observe the rules that govern its administration. I do not claim that the system is per- fect. Nothing human is. But the plan is by far the best that has been sub- mitted to stop the foolish practice of increasing your sales at a loss to the proprietor. , *| This stamp appears Pingree pI? on the Rubber of S all our “Neverslip” Bicycle and Winter Shoes. DO YOUR FEET SLIP? The ‘*Neverslip’’ gives elasticity and ease to every step taken by the wearer. It breaks the shock or jarring of the body when walking, and is particularly adapted to all who are obliged to be on their feet. None but the best of material used in their makeup. Every walking man should have at least a pair. Cat BYU { PINGREE & SMITH, Manufacturers. rvvvvVvVvWwwvveVvwWvwwweGetT. FU VV UU Saurdondadead PV VEU UV VV GEO. H. REEDER & COMPANY MICHIGAN AGENTS FOR Lycoming and and Jobbers of specialties in Men's and Women’s Shoes, Felt Boots, Lum- bermen’s socks. Lycoming Rubbers Lead all other Brands in Fit, Style and Wearing Qualities. Try them. Lr Pan kn Lada dn hn Min Min Mn Mn Mn Mn MM a Mn Mn in dn Mn dn Mn POPP OF EPPO ISDE SD IIE PIII ID be Bn di te be bn bn hn bn he he he he he he he he he he ha hn ee he Mn hn i Ln hi Mn Ln den lr PPP VV EV EEE EEE EE EEE > > > > > , > , > > Keystone Rubbers , , > > ; Pad edna ta tn tn tn bn Mn bn bn tn Mn tn Mn tnt Mn Mn hr hr hn tn hn Mr hen hr hn be etn ne Ap aaa ‘\ The Leader of all Bond Papers Made from New Rag Stock, Free from Adulteration, Perfectly Sized, Long Fiber Magna Charta Bond A paper that will withstand he ravages of Time. \ Sad a rae aero Vy -Y all cata al ats ~ Carried in stock in all the standard sizes and weights by TRADESMAN COMPANY Manufacturer’s Agent, GRAND RAPIDS. } J —— _ : waa av ee a a ha ba hint nbn hn Mn Ma Mn bin Mn Mn Mn Mi nn Mi Mi i Me Mi in Mn Mn Ml Mi Mn tin Min in Mn Mn Min tin Mn Mi Mi Mi tt Rony dj Ne TMU 7; RGD ue before placing your order. fident that we can please you. ba banta tn tn bn tn br bn bn br bt be bn tn br hn A tr hn tn hn tp bp tp bn tp tp bp th te FOV FFU OU V OEE EOE E CUETO OTOOTOOOCSCOOOS OO ON TO OF FT TOS GOO ESTEE TESS OSTEO SES IS SIS SG AINDGE, KALMBACH & CO. Id, 14, 16 PEARL STREET MANUFACTURERS AND JOBBERS OF BOOTS, SHOES AND RUBBERS We are now receiving our new spring styles in all the new colors and toes—the nobbiest line we ever had. Our prices are right and we feel con- Agents for the BOSTON RUBBER SHOE CO. i hi hn hn hn hi Mn Mi a Mei Mn Mi Mn Ma Mi Mi Li Ma i Ma Ma Mi in Mi A Mi Mi i Mi hi Mn i i Me Mi tM i i i i i You should see them eee VE VEE bn ba bata tnt bunt br hn hr hn Ln tn hr hn Me di de Mn hr Mn he te hn Me hn Me he tn de he OO OO TT TF DF FFF EVE EUV EET ECU UCU TOOC CCC I6 MICHIGAN TRADESMAN Success as a Grocer. A great many things may be suggested as regards the success of a grocer. Many men have made a success and at- tribute it to various causes. Like all other businesses, capital is one of the essentials which make the grocery busi- ness a success, although I have seen the man with money make a failure, while some poor boy who has had no help in life, except what he has gained by hard work and strict observance to busi- ness, has at last achieved success, climbed to the top, and to-day is con- sidered an authority in the grocery business. His advice is sought for and his assistance is wanted in all the avo- cations of life; and a young man who may have the opportunity of engaging under such instruction will find ita school worthy his attendance. I would advise some old grocerymen to place themselves under such instructions at the present.time, as I think it is needed among the old as well as the young. The grocery business, as well as other lines of trade, demands system. No man can make a success unless he has a system, and the better the system, the better the success. By all means adopt and live up to a system, that at all times you can adapt yourself to the best wants of your business. Notice the vast amount of business some men will ac- complish over others. If you will in- vestigate the business habits of those men you will find they have a system which they work to, and success. is as- sured. One great success in business depends on location. Be sure and _ locate your business near the center of the busiest part of your city or town; in fact, try and get in the way of the people so they will not have to put themselves to the trouble of finding you. Make your business the object of conversation and present new ideas, that the public may know that you are not one of the back numbers. As we have capital and location, now we are ready to purchase our first stock of goods. I would suggest, if young in the business, to obtain the services of some man who has made a success of business, and knows the wants of the people, and is posted on the price of goods, to assist in buying, so that no un- salable articles may be placed in stock ; in fact, he will be a moneymaker at the start. Buy for cash and allow no invoice to pass without taking the dis- counts, as they will amount to a good profit at the end of each year. It en- ables you to buy your goods cheaper, as you are in a position to dictate the price as well as the quality, and good houses will seek your patronage. Should they havea bargain in certain lines of goods, which at times all do, you will be offered the first chance to obtain the bargain, which you can sell at a re- duced price and then obtain a good profit. I do not favor what we call a ‘‘Cutter and Slasher.’’ While he demoralizes trade and creates disturbance, he has nothing to show for his work in the end, unless it is failure. See that you have fixtures up-to-date and keep them in_ good condition. Make them attractive and see that they are of exact measure and weight. Keep your scales in good condition, as they turn money in and out of your pocket. Do not sell seventeen ounces when you only agree to give a pound, and like- wise do not give fifteen ounces and call it a pound, as it will be found out and in time will work ruin in your business. Also use measures. Do not allow your clerks to measure a peck or half bushel in a bushel basket and say that it is near enough. Turn the cheese. Do not cut from one side and have a dried remnant of two or three pounds to throw away. It may be your whoie profit on the cheese. Stop all leaks in the vinegar, molasses, etc., also the money drawer, which is the most essential. Always do as you agree with your customers and be exact in your weights and measures and success will follow. At present, I would advise carrying light stocks and buying as trade de- mands, and you will have nothing to lose. Always be courteous to the traveling man. Remember that he may have a wife and children whom he has left at home while he travels day and night to sustain a living and meet the demands of an unsatisfied merchant. He brings you new ideas, shows you the latest styles of goods and brings prices at times that no mail order would get from the house. He makes your place of business from once to twice a month to convey to you the latest reports in re- gard to the markets. The hotel being his only home, try and make your store pleasant for him and yourself courteous to him, so that when he leaves you he will have a thoroughly sincere brotherly feeling for you. * Always welcome him. You are never too busy to pass the time of day, as it is a great deal better than to turn a cold shoulder to him. He may convey to you news which is worth money to you, and as you are in_ busi- ness for the money there is in it, so I say always hail the traveling man _ cor- dially. Next to the traveling man, welcome another friend—the trade journal. The subject matter is brought from various cities, that you may know the situation of the markets. Always read the trade papers, as you will find news which is worthy of your time, as no man can be too well posted in regard to his busi- ness. Do not lay them away or throw them into the waste-basket, but take time in reading them and, when done, I assure you that your time has been well spent. These journals and trade papers give the ideas on different sub- jects from some of the best merchants in the country, conveying to you what may have cost years of experience and a volume of money on their part, that you may gain by their knowledge. By no means destroy a trade paper or jour- nal until you know its contents, for, if you do, you are wasting money. I would advise either old or young to subscribe for a good trade paper ; read it, pay for it, follow its advice, and success is yours, One more matter I wish to lay before you, and that is in regard to credit. Should you extend the same, be sure that the person is all right and worthy of credit. Should a stranger ask you for credit, you should ask him for reference in regard to his qualifications to pay. You are not asking any more than such should be willing to do and a per- son who will not furnish references is not worthy of credit. Never extend credit to one who owes you one dollar and cannot pay but makes all kinds of promises; in fact, keep as near cash as possible. Give undivided attention to your business, live within your income, buy for cash and sell as nearly for cash as possible, treat the traveling man, trade journal, wholesale merchant, and, es- pecially, your customers—in fact, each and everyone who may enter your store —with courtesy and respect, and success as a grocer will be with you. O. P. DeWirTT. St. Johns, Mich. Address from President Hart—Social Club Now Open. Detroit, Feb. 22—I take great pleas- ure in offering you my congratulations upon the financial success which has attended the Michigan Commercial Travelers’ Association for the year 1896, as shown by the Secretary-Treasurer’s report. In fact, as a business organiza- tion, our past twenty-two years’ history presents a record of which you, asa member, may well be proud. Into many homes left desolate by the loss of husband or father has it gone, carrying blessings we may well be glad to have had a hand in bestowing, but the extent of which is known only to the recipients, and at no time have we had occasion to doubt that the provisions made for our loved ones through this Association would reach them in full should we be called to relinquish our sample case and make final report to the Great Head of the Universe. Since the organization of the Michi- gan Commercial Travelers’ Associa- tion, other similar organziations have been started and have for a time ap- peared to outstrip us in the race, yet, while many such have dropped out of existence, the annual report will show you that we are in better financial shape than at almost any other period of our existence. While our business condition is such as to be a subject of congratulation, our growth in membership the past two or three years has not been what we de- sired, and many of us have thought that there was a lack in the social element— an element we believe to be a potent factor for good in an association like ours; consequently, at our last annual convention an amendment to the con- stitution was adopted, permitting .the organization of a social club feature in connection with the Association. We have already made progress in that di- rection, the Board of Trustees having secured three commodious rooms in the Merrill block, which are now being fit- ted up for our use and will, when fur- nished, secure to us pleasant headquar- ters that shall possess all the elements of a first-class club, where those who desire may indulge in billiards, cards, or other games, read the daily news, write their letters, etc.—in short, a nice home to which we shall feel at liberty to invite our customers, our friends and fellow travelers whom we wish to inter- est in our Association. This movement is being sustained without using any of the tunits of the Association, the expense of furnishing the rooms being borne by many mem- bers contributing $5 each for the pur- pose. You are privileged to add yours if you feel so disposed and have not al- ready done so. As commercial travelers we are each interested in the welfare of the other— whether he belongs to our Association, the U. C. T., the Knights of the Grip, or any other kindred order—and while I am sure we have the most kindly wish for the success of other organizations, to you and to me the success of the M. C. IT. A. means most and we cannot be blamed for giving it our first allegiance. When we contribute to its success we are laying away capital for the future use of those we love. Will you join me in bringing at least one member into the Association during the year 1897? S. H. Hart, Pres. > 2-2 Florida’s Large Cigar Production. In the fiscal year ended June 30, 1896, there were over 130,000,000 Cigars man- ufactured in Florida, of which 120,000, - ooo were manufactured from clear Cuban tobacco. In the entire country there were 161,000,000 of the Havana cigars manufactured, but there were only, according to the customs records, 25,000 pounds of Cuban tobacco im- ported, and of that only one-quarter was wrapper tobacco. It takes three or four pounds of Cuban tobacco to wrap 1,000 Cigars. —» —_<=g> —» —<> —» —g> —» in —» —gp —» —_ | —» —_ —» —_ NS GENERAL STAMPEDE FROM THE CURSE OF CREDIT AATITESETETENERENETE TENE NETH TE Hundreds of merchants are now aban- doning the old-time credit system and discarding the pass book for the cash and coupon book system, which en- ables the dealer to avoid all the losses and annoyances nected with the credit business. If you are a victim of the credit business and desire to place your business on : a cash basis, send to us for a cata- logue and samples of our several kinds of coupon books, which will be forwarded free on application. TRADESMAN COMPANY, GRAND RAPIDS. Wbbdbabdbdbdbaddds inseparably con- Mdbdbdbabasddds | Aad A ‘, i ay a] 3 Mee a Es Fa b a Commercial Travelers Michigan Knights of the Grip. President, Jas. F HAMMELL, Lansing; Secretary, D. C. Sitaeut, Flint; Treasurer, Cuas. McNo try, Jackson. Michigan Commercial Travelers’ Association. President, S. H. Hart, Detroit; Secretary and Treasurer, D. Morris, Detroit. United Commercial Travelers of Michigan. Chancellor,H. U. Marks, Detroit; Secretary, EpwIn Hupson, Flint; Treasurer, Gro. A. Rey- NOLDs, Saginaw. Michigan Commercial Travelers’ Mutual Acci- dent Association. President, A. F. PEAKE, Jackson; Secretary and Treasurer, GEo. F. OWEN, Grand Rapids. Board of Directors—F. M. Tyuer, H. B. Farr- CHILD,Jas. N. BRADFORD, J. HENRY DAWLEY,GEO. J. HEINZELMAN, CHas. S. ROBINSON. Lake Superior Commercial Travelers’ Club. President, W. C. Brown, Marquette; Secretary and Treasurer, A. F. Wrxson, Marquette. Gripsack Brigade. A dealer’s capital in cash and credit must equal his stock and outstanding accounts. It is not the business that elevates the man. A noble, high-minded, honorable man can elevate the business, however humble it may be. Absolute losses in business are gen- erally the result of ignorance. The bet- ter a man is acquainted with the details of his work, the greater his chance of success. Wm. B. Collins, formerly on the road for H. Leonard & Sons, leaves Monday for Sacramento, Cal., where he will take the management of the crockery store of John Bruner. He has been in New York for several weeks for the pur- pose of making purchases of goods for the summer and fall trade. Mr. Collins is a faithful worker and pleasant gen- tleman and his friends will rejoice with him over his success in securing so ex- cellent a position. His family will re- main in Grand Rapids until next fall. To a traveler who has covered the ter- ritory between Detroit and the ‘‘cop- per country’’ it seems strange to find the business interests vary as they do. Beginning north of Port Huron, the con- versations in stores are all relative to farm produce, fat hogs, etc. ; north of Saginaw Bay, it is sawlogs and shingles; in Marquette county, it is all iron ore; in Houghton county, copper stocks and sandstone. In no place ex- cept Wail Street do people generally gamble in stocks as they do in Houghton county. Quotations on stocks come every evening by wire and the telegraph office reminds one of a village postoffice at mail time. Everybody is anxious to see if he has made or lost money dur- ing the day. A year ago fortunes were lost in the decline; now everything is on the advance. A year ago Tamarack stock was $165 and fell to $62.50 per share last fall; now it is $121. Calumet & Hecla was $275 last fall; now it is $390—the highest point ever reached. All business is secondary now to copper stocks. —_> 2 >_____ Hard Times Advertising. John C. Graham in Printers’ Ink. There cannot be any doubt of the fact that we are just now experiencing pretty hard times. It is observable in every line of business, and therefore it is conspicuously evident in advertising, which really represents all businesses. Wages have necessarily been cut down in all directions, because, in many in- stances, it is only such reduction that makes it possible tor employers to keep their men at work atall. Half a loaf is better than no bread, and the people just now are realizing the fact in a philosophical spirit. But the general MICHIGAN TRADESMAN depression educates us to the knowledge of what things can be done without ro what are essential to mankind every ay. The great spenders of the country are the masses of the people—when they have a little money to spare times are always good, whether the millionaires tie their purse-strings or not. It is frcm the masses that advertisers expect to get their returns. Hard times tend to draw the line sharply between lux- uries and necessities. The things that cannct be done without we must not stop advertising, for the competition will be keener than ever. Foods, fuel and clothing are always essentials. Peo- ple must have them, but they can al- ways dispense with luxuries when they have not the spare money with which to buy. Diamonds and jewelry are luxuries— not necessities. 1 question very much whether it pays to advertise them in hard times, and the same may be said of pianos, except, perhaps, when they are offered for sale on the installment plan of payment. Pictures, statuary, bric-a-brac, etc., are all luxuries, and are usually only bought with surplus cash. In fact, it is extremely doubtful whether it pays to advertise—especially in papers of popular circulation- any- thing that is not really and urgently wanted, during hard times. It is a well-known fact that the thea- ters and other places of amusement are the greatest sufferers during financial depression. Although Americans area play-going people, they still regard the theater as a luxury that they must dis- pense with in hard times; so the grocer or the butcher or the landlord must get the dollar that would otherwise swell the box-office receipts. And it may be re- marked that theatrical people do not advertise so lavishly at the present time. It is certain that prosperity must come from the good wages of the multi- tude rather than from the wealth of a few. When work is plenty in every line of trade, there is always an abundance of money, not for necessities alone, but for those little luxuries in which the in- telligent public delights to indulge. In such cases it pays well to advertise al- most anything good that will tempt the spare cash of the people, but it is wast- ing time, labor and cash to advertise articles that are really luxuries ata period when financial stringency makes necessities hard to buy. ee Movements of Lake Superior Travelers. Alex Stevenson (Buhl, Sons & Co.), who has been managing the defunct stock of Dunning Bros. & Co., at Menominee, has resumed his territory. He will travel five days each week, re- turning to Menominee to attend to the business there, at the end of each week. ‘*‘Sweet’’ Wm. Monroe (Wm. H. Edgar & Co.) is doing the Upper Peninsula. Will C. Brown has returned to his territory. He will devote his entire attention to selling on the road the product of his knitting works, which he lately removed to Appleton, Wis. Bert Russell (Geo. H. Bowman's Sons) has returned to his territory. Mr. Russell expects to make Marquette his home and cover the Lake Superior ter- ritory oftener. He lives in Jackson. F. G. Truscott (Burnham, Stoepel & Co.), besides selling dry goods, is rais- ing a moustache the color of which is a little off. Fred has better luck selling goods and raising Ned. J. D. Brown (Mendel, Smith & Co.) will move from Green Bay to Mar- quette, which is centrally located for the territory he covers. SR a True manna has been found on a blue grass in Queensland. It appears on the nodes of the stems in masses as large as marbles. It is sweet, and nearly three parts of it consists of marnite, which, although sweet, is not a sugar. It also contains a ferment which has the power to decompose cane sugar without evolving carbonic acid or any kind of gas. The grass is not only indigenous in Australia, but it 1s found also in tropical Asia and Africa. SUCCESSFUL SALESMEN. Wm. H. Jennings, the Veteran Extract Salesman. Wm. H. Jennings was born at Lock- port, N. Y., Aug. 8, 1838. His father was English and followed the occupa- tion of millwright and carpenter. His mother was a Khode Island woman whose antecedents were Puritan. Mr. Jennings attended school until he was 16 years of age, when he served an ap- prenticeship in the carpenter’s trade, which he followed for several years. In 1860 he assumed the position of land- lord of the Olean House, at Olean, N. Y., which he conducted successfully for five years, when he went to Buffalo and entered the employ of Stewart, Bentley & Cheney, who at that time conducted an extract and patent medicine factory. After several years’ experience in the house, Mr. Jennings was promoted to the position of traveling salesman, cov- ering Western New York and Pennsyl- vania for several years. In 1872 he came to Grand Rapids and embarked in the manufacture of extracts under the style of C. W. Jennings & Co., his partners being his brothers, Chas. W. and R. B. Jennings. The latter soon after retired to embark in general trade at New Troy, and about fifteen years ago he sold his interest to Walter A, Smith, when the firm name was changed to Jennings & Smith. Mr. Jennings has traveled on the road continuously for the house for the past twenty-seven years, and those who know him are willing to coincide in his belief that he will con- tinue to travel for twenty-five years to come. Mr. Jennings was married in 1859 to Miss Barlow, of Lockport, who bore him a daughter, who has been married many years and resides in Missouri. His wife died soon after marriage and about twenty-years ago he married Miss Rillie Hulbert, of Hicksville, Ohio, and his present family consists of five children, from to to Ig years of age. Mr. Jennings is a Mason, having been a member of *‘Old 34’’ for the past five years. He is also a member of the Michigan Knights of the Grip and the Michigan Commercial Travelers’ As- sociation. He resides at 31 Clinton street, besides which he is possessed of three houses and lots, numerous mort- gages on farm and city property and other evidences of a prosperous career. Mr. Jennings attributes his success to the fact that he has saved regularly the larger portion of his salary and has taken good care of what he has saved. He believes that he is the only travel- ing man in existence who has sold one class of goods continuously for thirty years with less than a year’s illness. Since he has been identified with the jobbing trade of this market, he has sold grandfather, father and son suc- cessively, holding them all in line by fair dealing and honest methods. He has never been to a summer resort, never visited a camp meeting, and has never taken a vacation except on the occasion of the World’s Fair; and no small de- gree of his success is undoubtedly due to his loyalty to. business during every moment of his waking hours. Mr. Jennings is best known to the trade by the nickname, ‘‘By Gee Crip,’’ which is his favorite expression at all times and under all circumstances. He is possessed of a happy disposition, being always jovial under the most discoura- ging circumstances and maintains his equilibrium in the midst of the most trying experiences. No inconsiderable 17 portion of his territory is covered by team, and it goes without saying that he possesses the acquaintance of a larger number of people along the line of his travels than any other traveling man in the State. Referred to the $10 Clerk. From the Macon News. Does the young woman who rides to the theater in a $5 carriage, sits in a $3 seat, and looks at the stage from behind a $4 bouquet, while sitting beside a $1o- a-week clerk, never ask herself if she is doing right? 0 Card Price on Ivory Soap. The Cleveland Retail Grocers’ Asso- ciation has established a uniform price on Ivory soap—8 cents per cake., or two cakes for 15 cents. ~~» 0. Walnuts and butternuts are being successfully cultivated in Whatcom county, Wash. They are not native to the region. Cutler House at Grand Haven. Steam Heat. Excellent Table. Com fortable Rooms. H. D. and F. H. IRISH, Props. NEW REPUBLIC Reopened Nov. 25. FINEST HOTEL IN BAY CITY. Steam heat, Electric Bells and Lighting throughout. Rates, $150 to $2.00. Cor. Saginaw and Fourth Sts. GEO. H. SCHINDHETT, Prop THE WIERENGO E. T. PENNOYER, Manager, MUSKEGON, MICHIGAN. Steam Heat, Electric light and bath rooms. Rates, $1.50 and $2.00 per day. Commercial House Iron Mountain, Mich. Lighted by Electricity, Heated by Steam. All modern conveniences. IRA A. BEAN, Prop. GOLUMBIAN TRANSFER COMPANY CARRIAGES, BAGGAGE AND FREIGHT WAGONS 15 and 17 North Waterloo St., Telephone 381-1 Grand Rapids. BUSINESS Af jy vorslyf \ DETROIT, N11CH. Leading Business Training Institution of America. Is composed of five superior schools, viz, Business, Shorthand, English, Penmanship and Mechanical Drawing. 11-19 Wilcox St. W. F.Jewell, P R. Spencer. $2 per day. Any Man or woman can sell more goods after getting Tonsorial Work at FRED MARSH’S, 23 Monroe Street, Grand Rapids. pert © . @ SELL THESE and give customers good 8 satisfaction. 8 POOOOODOOOQOOOOQOOODOOOOOOGDS PDOMDOOQDOODOOQBDOQDODODOOO® @) Is MICHIGAN TRADESMAN Drugs--Chemicals MICHIGAN STATE BOARD OF PHARMACY. Term expires C. A. Bueser, Traverse City : Dee. 31, 1896 S. E ParkiL_, Owosso - - Dee. 31, 1897 F. W. R. Perry. Detroit - : Dec. 31, 1898 A. C. ScHUMACHER, Ann Arbor - Dee. 31, 1899 Gro. GunpRumM, lIunia - - - Dee. 31, 1900 President, S. E. PARKILL, Owosso. Secretary, F. W. R. Perry, Detroit. Treasurer, Geo. GuNDRUM, Ionia. Coming Examination Sessions—Grand Rapids, March 2 and 3; Star Island (Detroit), June 28 and 29; Sault Ste. Marie, Aug. ——; Lans- ing, Nov. 2 and 3. MICHIGAN STATE PHARMACEUTICAL ASSOCIATION. President, G. C. PHr~irps, Armada. Secretary, B. ScoroupDER, Grand Rapids. Treasurer, CHas. MANN, Detroit. Executive Committee—A. H. WEBBER, Cadillac; H. G. Cotman, Kalamazoo; Gro. J. Warp, St. Crarr; A. B. Stevens, Detroit; F. W. R Perry, Detroit. The Drug Market. Alcohol—Only an average business has been going forward, and the general condition of the market has remained unchanged. Arsenic——Market somewhat quiet, but leading brands are being steadily held. Balsams—The outlook for copaiba ap- pears to be favorable to a speedy recov- ery from the late unsettled condition, as additional export orders for large par- cels have been received which, it is anticipated, will absorb the bulk of re- cent arrivals. Tolu, stronger and higher, stocks being light and ccncentrated. Improved demand has hardened Peru. Fir, also, is in better request, but prices remain unchanged. Barks—Sassafras is a trifle firmer. Scap has advanced, on account of higher import cost. Beans—An active consuming request is noted for all varieties of vanilla, values of Mexican being firmly sus- tained. Cassia Buds—Mail advices from China report the incoming crop as the smallest ever known and it is predicted that prices of the Now will be doubled. The spot market is very strong; prime quality is offered sparingly at the late advance. Flowers—There is an active demand for all varieties of chamomile, with values ruling steady. Gums—Camphor, steadily held. Menthol—Business is limited to small jobbing sales, with quotations barely maintained. Mercurial Preparations—Values firm; transactions of the average volume. Morphine—There is no improvement to be noted as to the uneasy feeling mentioned in last week’s issue, and buying is of the hand-to-mouth variety. Opium—Tame market for the current week ; prices show no change. Quicksilver—Market is firmer in tone, under the influence of a continued mod- erately active demand, and values are higher. Quinine—The market is less animated than at any time since the first recent drop in prices at the hands of manufac- turers, the active consuming demand having evidently decreased. Manufac- turers and agents of makers on the other side are not yet making fresh contracts, deliveries being still limited to regular customers on old orders. Rochelle Salts—Consuming demand fair, and manufacturers’. prices are maintained. Roots—Ipecac, demand good. Mex- ican sarsaparilla, steady. Golden seal, demand has been better and values are firmer. Alkanet, firmer. Rhubarb has advanced abroad and inside spot quota- tions are higher. Salicin—Business is limited to small jobbing parcels to meet present wants, but values are ruling steady. Seeds—Canary, fairly firm. Russian hemp, firm at the late advance. Foenu- greek is again higher. Sponges—The Key West market is said to be bare of Rock Island sheeps’- wool. All cables from foreign primary markets report firmness, and the local market for best grades is steady; but, notwithstanding, there is nothing in- teresting in the way of business. 24 - The Metric System in England. The English chambers of commerce are now again seriously agitating the use of the metric system in England, and have petitioned their government for its introduction and immediate adoption. From the activity that is be- ing shown, it would seem that the date of the actual use in Great Britain of the metric system is not far distant. Mir. Balfour, in a recent interview with a deputation sent to consult him on the subject, expressed as the only difficulty in his mind the fact that retail dealers and most of their customers would not be prepared for the complete change from the present old system of measures. In the meantime, the same question has been discussed and likewise urgently seconded at a great many meetings held by parties interested. Mr. Ritchie, President of the Commercial Court, has also brought in his bill regarding the introduction of the metric system in England, and the authorities of the British commercial community have been unanimously urging its use, but all appeals and endeavors thus far have failed, in consequence of the extreme conservatism of the English. Mr. Ritchie has acted most cautiously in the matter, arguing that ‘‘there exists no reason for abolishing weights and measures in use for ages,’’ but says: ‘‘At the same time, it is an urgent mat- ter of necessity for the English people to become acquainted with a system of measures adopted by the whole conti- nent,’’ excepting Russia, and by nearly all other leading nations, the United States excepted. The British and Amer- ican merchants: are losing much valu- able business because their price lists are issued in the old and inconvenient forms of weights and values. Secretary Balfour, in England, motions to make the metric system legal, and in his bill the exact equivalents between English and metric units are given. At Brad- ford the subject has been agitated and discussed from every standpoint, the holding of an international congress being in debate, for the purpose of reg- ulating the numbering of yarns. The object of this movement has an army of sympathizers in Germany among the weavers and spinners, A great change has come among manufacturers and machinists, and that change is due to two reasons—they have come to know something of it and to see the great ad- vantages which would be secured in the important matter of convenience and facility, and they also realize that the great European markets are being closed, to a large degree, to all ma- chines and manufactures that are not based on the metric unit. ‘‘Great Brit- ain maintained fora long time a leading position among the nations of the world by virtue of the excellence and accuracy of its workmanship, the result of individual energy; but the progress of mechanical science has made ac- curacy of workmanship the common property of the world.’’ These words, spoken by the President of the British association in a recent address, are worthy to be rememberd by the manu- facturers in England and the United States. The adoption of the metric sys- tem by the latter would leave England and Russia the only non-metric coun- tries in the world. Very evident is the fact that English manufacturers are be- ing out-stripped in a field that was once regarded as peculiarly their own, and this is due to overcaution, want of ready appreciation of new inventions, and slowness to grasp new ideas. The splendid system of technical education with which Germany has provided her- self is, of course, another great factor in her advance. Germany, for exam- ple, is becoming a formidable rival of England in connection with the South American trade. British exports to South America have been gradually de- creasing, while those of Germany have been as persistently rising. The cause for this failing off has been, in part at least, England’s delay in adopting the metric system, the English pounds, shillings and pence, and yards, feet and inches being absolutely unintelligible to people of the Latin race. This fact and example are fast gaining ground in the United States, where the metric system campaign has been going steadily on. The National Meteorological Society, of world-famous experts, aided by the most influential circles, so interested are all, signify their desire to further the cause. Naturally the almost cosmopolitan use of a system of weights and measures totally different from that employed in the United States places its merchants interested in foreign trade ata great disadvantage. Not only are American price lists confusing to the foreign mer- chants, owing to the different denomi- nations used, but the fact that foreign lists are made in terms equally unfamil- iar to American merchants is said to result in unfair discriminations and often in fraud. GEORGE SAWTER. | 8 It might just as well be told now asat any other time that department stores cannot be suppressed ty law and that any lawyer who so states the case to merchants is evidently working them for fees. The fact of the matter is that the constitution of the United States grants to every man the right to carry and sell as many kinds of merchandise as he desires and any decision opposed to this will be set aside by the Supreme Court. Department stores can be taxed legitimately but they cannot be sup- pressed by law. This is the legal side of the question. Department stores and trusts and combinations must be looked upon from different standpoints in their relations to the people at large and must not be confounded. > ¢ 2 Receivers of the Walter A. Wood Harvester Works Co. applied ina St. Paul court to be allowed to distribute among the creditors $240,000 now in their hands, making a 4o per cent. divi- dend on the balance due. The court, after a brief hearing, granted the appli- cation, This payment will reduce the total liabilities from about $1, 100,000 to $275,000 at the present time. The bal- ance of the amount, above the dividend just declared, has been paid from moneys realized from collateral held by various creditors. —___—_o 2-2 Manchester, England, may be ahead in some things, but in the matter of the electric light that city is far behind the times. The corporation seems to have just awakened to the fact that the old gas lamps are a relic of the beginning of the century and have decided to make-an experiment in lighting the streets by means of electricity. PATENT MEDICINES Order your patent medicines from PECK BROS., Grand Rapids. But if you want other Let us GRAND RAPIDS, MICH. SECHOROCHOROROHOHOROROHOROHOROROHOROROHOHOHOROHOROHOS e = RUDE = NUDGPOM NEAdY NOON a e e a Will last longer than any other roofing now on the market. > We have full faith in its merits. e kinds we always have them at reasonable prices. . quote you prices, if you need roofing of any sort. a s H. M. REYNOLDS & SON, 2 Detroit Office, foot of 3d Street. a -MORRISSON,PLUMMER6 COCHICACO. The best 5-cent cigar on the market. See Quotations. WINS MAS STEER” The best 5 cent cigars ever made. Sold by BEST & RUSSELL CoO.. Cuicaco. Represented in Michigan by J. A. GONZALEZ, Grand Rapids. R b MICHIGAN TRADESMAN WHOLESALE PRICE CURRENT. Advanced—Linseed Oil, Turpentine, Gum Camphor. Morphin’ + ne i Coe 1 6@ 1 = Myristica, ag fo te Declined— Acidum = ae... 35@ 65 — -— e 50 a, 8 8s@s 10 opaiba...... ...... i 2W@ 1 30 olutan ...... a 50 raises German %@ 80 Cubebee - We 1 Oi Prunus virg.. ...... @ 50 Boracic.............. @ 15 Exechthiios . seeeeees 1 20@ 1 30 Tinctures Carbolicum ......... 2@ 39| Erigeron ............ 1 20@ 1 30| aconitum NapellisR 60 ... 4@ 46|Gaultheria..... ..., 150@ 1 60) Aconitum Napellis F 50 3@ 5 Geranium, ounce.. @_ 75! Aloes 60 8@ 10 | Gossippil, Sem. gal. 50@ 60] Aloes and Myrrh... 60 ieu: 10@ 12 Hedeoma..... ...... Of@ 110) Arnica .....2........ 50 Phosphoriui, dil.. @ 1 —— 1 50@ 2 00} Assafcetida ..... 2.2. 50 Salicylicum. ........ 45@ 50 | Lavendula . #@ 200! Atrope Belladonna. 60 Sulphuricum . 1%@ 5 Limonis...... 1 20@ 1 40) Auranti Cortex 50 Tannicum -...1... 140@ 1 60| Mentha Piper 1 60@ 2 20) Benzoin............. 60 Tartaricum...... 31@ 36| Mentha Verid....... 2 6@ 2 75| Benzoin Go... 50 ee, Morrhue, gal... --- 150@ 1 60} Barosma........... 50 Ammonia a EEE 4 00@ 450] Cantharides. |" © Aqua, 16 deg.. 4Q Gi Oive..... T@ 3 00 Capsicum a. 50 Aqua, 20 deg. 6@ 8| Picis Liquida....... 10@ 12 Cardamon......._ "5 Carbonas..... 12@ = 14| Picis Liquida, gal.. @ 35|Cardamon Co...... 5 Chloridum .......... oe | es 9 104) Castor 00 Aniline Rosmarini. 20.110. @ 100) Cateehis.. 222. 7 30 2 95 Rose, ounce........ 6 50@ 8 50! Cinchona.... 50 Black... ... ---.+++ —_ 00@, eee 40@ 451 Ginchona Go...’ 60 Brown ... Sapna... 9@ 100! Golumba......_. 50 Red ........ me 3 00 | Santal........-..... 2 50@ 7 00| Gubeba...... if 50 Vellow. -. 2.2.0... 508 Sassdfras............ 55@ 60! Cassia Acutifol 50 Bacce. Sinapis, ess., ounce. @ 65| Cassia Acutifol Co . 50 Gahees po.18 13@ 15 ip 1 40@ 1 50 Digitalis ............ 50 Juniperus........... 6@ 8 PewO 40@ 50 . _ 50 Xanthoxylum.. .... 2@ 30] Thyme, opt......... @ 1 60| Ferri Chloridum 35 Bal i Theobromas ........ 15@ 20| Gentian....... 50 — Potassium Gentian Co.... 60 Copaiba. ..........-. 5@ | 70 Guinea 00... 50 @ 2 60 | Bi-Barb............ . SS. wie Terabin, Ganada.... 40@ 45 | Bichromate 13@ 15 | Gulacaammon... 60 Scheie’ IL @@ 7% | Bromide......000.0.. 48@ 51 Todine. eso = See ac uce — s 1 Nee ee Cortex Chlorate..po Gise ms . lodine, colorless. . 6 _— Canadian. . 18 | Cyanide.... 50@ _ 55] 7 = aes rer 50 gale fe: 12 | Iodide.. 2 90@ 3 00 Lo ary thet te eee eee. 50 Seambenn Pies ea 18 Potassa, Bitart, pure 27@ 30 Nee v sie re 50 Euonymus atropurp 30 | Potassa, Bitart, com @ 15 her omica........ 50 Myrica Cerifera, po. 20 | Potass Nitras, opt... 8@ 10\ 6 Dee an esata: 6 Prunus Virgini...... 12} Potass Nitras........ 7 9 Obit’ pay orated. 50 Quillaia, gr’d....... 10] Prussiate....... .. :. 25@ 28) oP eodorized.. 50 Sassafras...... po. 18 12| Sulphate po... ..... 156@ 18 Quassia rite stee eee, = Ulmus...po. 15, gr’d 6 Radix Bianco 50 Extractum Aconitvm...... .... 20@ 25] Sanguinaria....... 50 Glycyrrhiza mene. 2U@ 2% Be 22@ 25 | Serpentaria......... 0 Glycyrrhiza, po..... 28@, 30] Anchusa............ 2@ 15|Stromonium....... 60 Hematox, 15 Sau. 1i@ 12) Arum po............. @ 2%| Tolutan.............. 60 Hematox, 1s........ 13@ 14] Calamus ............ 20@ 40| Valerian............ 50 Hematox,%s......- 14@ 15| Gentiana...... po 15 12@ 15] Veratrum Veride... 50 Heematox, 148....... 16@ 17| Glychrrhiza...pv.15 16@ 18] Zingiber............. 20 Ferru ana —— @ = Tliscellaneous ydrastis Can y 30@ Carbonate Precip. . 15| Hellebore,Alba, po.. 15@ 20| ther Spis, NIGP BQ 38 Citrate and Quinia.. 225| Inula, po............ 15@ 20] Alumen 24Q@ 3 Citrate Soluble...... 80| Ipecac, po... 21.” 1 65@ I 75) Alumen, gro’a.. po. 7 3@ 4 Ferrocyanidum Sol. 50 | Tris plox....p035@38 35@ 40| Annatto _ 410@ 50 Solut. Chloride..... 15 | Jalapa, pr........... 40@ 45 oad a 4@ 5 Sulphate, com’l..... 2] Maranta, \s........ @ 35| AntimonietPotassT 55@ 60 Sulphate, com’l, by Podophyllum, po.. 22@ 25/ Antipyrin.......... @ 1 40 bbl, per cwt....... Rhee 7@ 1 00} Antifebrin @ Sulphate, pure ..... % Rhei, cut... my Gis) kent hans 2 Flora Rhei, pv ae -- %@ 135] Arsenicum........._ 10@ 12 edica 12@ 14| Spigelia. .... -. 35@ 38| Balm Gilead Bud .. 38@ 40 Anthemis........... 18@ 25] Sanguinaria...po.30 @ 28| Bismuth S.N. ..._. 1 40@ 1 50 Matricaria .......... 25@ 30) Serpentaria - 30@ 35| CaleiumChlor., is. @ 9 Folia H "e 40 | Caleium oer. as. @ Le es a ee 20 a @ 2%/| Cantharides, Rus.po @ Cassia PAcutifol, Tin- Sere... 0.35 10@ 12] Capsici Fructus, af. @ OH 18s@ 25 sisi Fasti. Capsici Fructus, po. @ Cassia Acutifol,Alx. 2%@ 30] _ dus, po............ @ 2%5| Capsici FructusB spo @ Salvia officinalis, 8 Valeriana »Eng.po.30 @ 2%] Caryophyllus. 15 10@ and Xs. 12@ 20| Valeriana, German. 15@ 20| Carmine, No. o. @ Urs Urel...-. 5... 8@ 10| Zingibera... 12@ 16|CeraAlba,S.&F.. 50@ Gusena Zingiber j. 2@ 27| Cera Flava........_. 40@ Acacia, ist picked. @ 65 — na a nee desl g Acacia, 2d picked.. @ 45} Anisum....... po. oS Sage g Acacia, 3d picked.. @ 8 Apium (graveleons) B@ 15 Cotaceum, eeeccee wee @ 5 Acacia, sifted sorts. @ _ 28| Bird, ts... 4@. .6| Ghioroformm. 60@ 63 Ac 5 POe cae. 60@ 80 Carui aie cle we ‘po. 18 10@_ 12 Chloroform, squibbs @135 Aloe, Barb. po.200@28 14@ 18|Cardamon........... 1 2@ 1 7%} Chloral Hyd Crs 1 15@ 1 30 Al Cape .... 1 @ _ 12)| Coriandrum......... 8@ 10} Chondrus. 20@ 2 Aloe, Socotri.-po.40 _@ 30 Gaunabis Sativa.... 34@ 4 Cinchonidine eee 0@ oniac.......... 55@ 60} Cydonium........... %@ 1 00| Cinchonidine, Ge b@ 2 Assafostida....po.30 2@ 2% enopodium ...... 10@ __ 12! Cocaine CS 55@ 3 75 Benzoinum ......... 50@ 55 | Dipterix Odorate... 2 9@ 3 00| Corks, list, dis. pr.ct. 65 Catechu, is.......... @ 13 Foniculum...-..... 10 | Creosot . @ % Catechu, %8......... @ 14 ee Oe. @ 9 —— wae @ 2 Catechu, %48......... @ jim... 41 Creta, prep... @ 5 Camphore .. 48@ 55 Link, grd....bbl.2% 3%@ 41 Greta; precip... %@ 11 Eu horbium. ‘po. "35 @ 10) bobelia’...... |. 40 | Greta? Rubra...” @ 8 Galbanum......-.-.. @ 1 00| Pharlaris Canarian. 3%@ 4| Groeus 7. ot Gamboge po... 65@ 70| Rapa --.......... ... 14@ 5) Cudbear 0.0L) 6 @ aestaneen ree po. 35 @ 35} Sinapis Albu........ 7@ 8 Cupri Sulph 5@ C6 Kino........ po. 84.00 @ 4 00| Sinapis Nigra....... N@ 12) Dextrine....00700250. -0@ 12 att ae > . Spiritus a Sut ee * : ; Frumenti, W. D. Co. 2 250] Hmery, all numbers 1 Opi. ps 6.300850 2 20g 2 2| Prumenti; DFR. 3 UMD 2 oe aoe ee Ae. Shellac, bleache 40@ 45 Frument! ott att 1 25@ 1 50} iiske White... 2@ 15 Tragacanth 50@ 80 Juuiperis Co. 0. T.. 1 65@ 2 00 Wa SAC AEE o's . Juniperis Co........ 1 %@ 3 50 | GA a @ B Herba Saacharum N. E.... 1 90@ 2 10 Gambier. cS WACO a 8@ 9 Absinthium..oz. pkg 25 | Spt. Vini Galli... 1 %@ 6 50| Gelatin, Cooper.... _@ 60 2 Gelatin, French..... 33@ 60 Eupatorium .oz. pkg 20 | Vini Oporto......... 1 25@ 2 00 1 0 Lobelia...... oz. pkg i Vie Alb. 1 2@ 2 00 G lost 5 pk i: 60, To Majorum ....oz. pkg 28 Sponges Cine & cara x. @ 12 Mentha Pip..oz. pkg 23 | poridash 1 Glac wl ‘ ttteeeee 1 5 Mentha Vir..oz. pkg 25 orida sheeps’ woo + White 1... 3@ Rue oz. pk 99 | _Carriage........... 2 00@ 2% Glycerina .. 19@ 26 TanacetumV oz. Le 92 | Nassau sheeps wool Grana Paradisi _ @ 15 Thymus, V..oz. ate 5 Cartage... 200} Humulus..2: o.oo: 2@ 55 y sae Velvet extra sheeps’ Hydraag Chlor Mite @ 7 Pagnesia. wool, carriage..... @ 1 10| Hydraag Chlor Cor. @ & Calcined, Pat..... .. 55@ 60] Extra yellows eeps’ Hydraag Ox Rub’m @ & Carbonate, Pat...... 20@ 22] wool. carriage.. 85 | Hydraag Ammoniati o Carbonate, K.&M.. 20@ 25/| Grass sheeps’ wool, HydraagU So 45@ 55 Carbonate,Jennings 35@ 36] carriage........... @ _ 65/| Hydr :gyrum.. @ 60 Hard, for slate use. @ a” Am... 1 25@ 1 50 Oleum Yellow Reef, for Indigo. oo: 7>@ 1 00 Absinthium......... 3 $50} slate use.......... @ 1 40 todine Resubi...... 3 80@ 3 90 Amygdale, Dulc.. 30@ 50 Todoform............ @ 470 say dale, Amare - saa 3* oced oer oe Lseopodiui ee ot Ree 9 cacia . uae yi Mc! 50@ Auranti Cortex..... 2 wo 2 20| Auranti Cortes... .. @: 30] Mace... 6@ Bergamii............ 2.25@ 2 30} Zingiber....... ..... @ 50 eon Arsen et Hy- BIPM... cc. 7@ 801 Ipecac.............. @ 60|_ drargIod.......... @ 2 Cc yo PE ccc. Get Perri fod..:... |... @ 50| LiquorPotassArsinit 10@ 12 ~ y ctit ccs Ge . eT mene! Arom.... |... .- @ 50} Magnesia, Sulph.. 2@ «3 Chenopadit. Becta ous @ 4 00} Smilax Officinalis... 50@ 60} Magnesia, Sulph, bbl @ 1% Cinnamonii. ........ 2 2@ 2 50 | Senega.............. @ 50; Mannia,S. F........ 50O@ 60 Citronella. --- SQ 40] Scillew...... ... ac @ 50| Menthol.. ‘ @3 00 Picis Liq., pints. . Rida Pil Hydrarg. . -po. 80 Piper — _ 22 aBnSRS Plumbi Meee... Pulvis Ipecac et Opi oo os © SS8eeeeese ® Sh Pyrethrum, pv Goatees ABE es oo. oi Sis 8258 nr © a3 SaccharumLactis pv SAC... ol. 3 Sanguis Draconis. . ” 8 88 Sinapie. ....:....... Sina if 3 ee. ae, ao en De snout Scoteh, DeVo’s a Boras.......... Soda Boras, po...... Soda et = Tart. 3 e mn @OHHOOHO OO g a P > nn e w eS - BRGMRU Eco ceolt Sa Soda, Sulphas....... Spts. ‘Cologne bts cue Spts. Ether Co...... Spt’ Myrcia Dom... @ Spts. Vini Reet. bbl. @ Spts. Vini Rect.%bbl @ @ @ a3. Sed no Spts. Vini Rect.10gal Spts. Vini Rect. 5gal Less 5c gal. cash 10 d wnnne o Strychnia, oo gage -t 40@ 14 Sulphur, Subl....... 2%4@ 3 Sulphur, Roll.... . 2@ 2% Wamarinds.......... 7 | Terebenth Venice.. = Theobrome....... Veni. ............. ‘@ 0016 ip Zinei Sulph......... 7@ Oils BBL. GAL. Whale, winter....... 70 70 Lard, extra......... 40 45 tend, We. t.......... 35 40 Linseed, pure raw.. Linseed, boiled..... Neatsfoot, winterstr Spirits Turpentine.. Paints BBL. Red Venetian... ... Ochre, yellow Mars. Ochre, yellow Ber.. Putty, commercial. . Putty, ion, P pure. Vermilion rime Ameri¢an.......... Vermilion. "english. Green, Paris ........ 13 Green, Peninsular. . meee, Wee. |... Whiting, white _— Whiting, gilders’.. White, Paris Amer.. Whiting, Paris Eng. Varnishes No. 1 Turp Coach... Etre Terp......... Coach Body......... No. 1 Turp Furn.. Extra Turk Damar.. Jap. Dryer,No. 1Turp Gives a bright luster. four to six weeks without Shine, Sir? A new discovery in liquid shoe polish. make a Patent Leather or Enamel Leather Out of any old shoe. renewal. $1.75 per dozen. azeltine & Perkins a 9, i It will } t Warranted to preserve, not destroy, the leather. Will last from Drug Co., Proprietors, Grand aati Mich. © sas eoee | & gage _ Aan 20 MICHIGAN TRADESMAN GROCERY PRICE CURRENT. The prices quoted in this list are for the trade onl They are prepare possible to give quotations suitable for all con ge conditions of purchase. Subscribers are earnes dealers. erage prices for aver2 l those who have poor credit. d just before going to press an our aim to make this feature of the greatest possible use to dealers. y, in such quantities as are usually purchased by retail d are an accurate index of the local market. ditions of purchase, and those below are given as representing av- Cash buyers or those of strong credit usually buy closer than tly requested to point out any errors or omissions, as it is It is im- AXLE GREASE. doz. a TOSS en. Caer... ee iene... 2. 50 5 50 ee. 75 9 00 IX L Golden, tin boxes 75 9 00 ee _. 8 00 Pies os 6 00 BAKING POWDER. Absolute. 44 Ib Cans Goz.........-... 45 ae Came Oe. 85 . eae. 15 Acme. “¢i) canes Goe...-.....- -- 45 Se ve) . Means tdos.......... 2 ee. 10 El Purity. 34 Ib cans per doz........- v6) % lb cans per doz ....... 1 20 1 1b cans per doz..... oe ae Home. 1q 1b cans 4 doz case...... 35 % Ib cans 4 doz Case...... 5d Tb cans 2 doz case ..... 90 44 ib cams, 4 doz case..... 45 46 1b cans, 4 doz case...... & 1 Te cank, 2 Gon cace...... 1 60 Our Leader. ee 45 ee vb) aoe... ee Peerless. Li. One 85 BASKETS. Per doz Standard Bushel.......... 13 ee ee ee 30 % bushel, bamboo del’ry. 3 50 3% bushel, bamboo del'ry. 4 00 1 bushel, bamboo dei’ry. 5 00 Iron strapped, 40c extra. Diamond Clothes, 30x16... 2 50 Braided Splint, 30x16..... 4 00 BATH BRICK. ee 70 pee 80 BLUING. 1 doz. pasteboard Boxes... 40 3 Gon. wooden boxes....... 1 2 BROOFIS. ee 1 90 No. 2 Carpet.. oe Mast arnes............ .. bsp PA i co ee ccicc ss 1 15 POE iiss esc eys 2 00 Commnon Whitk .......... 7 meee Wee. 80 eee. ............... oe CAKE FROSTING. Nacretoin, per doz......... 2 40 Two doz. in case assorted flay- lemon, vanilla and rose. CANDLES. ais Paraffine.. CANNED GOODS. Manitowecc Peas. Lakeside Murrowfat....... Lakeside E. J oe oe oe Lakeside. Cham of Eng.... Lakeside Gem, Ex -ifted. CHOCOLATE. Walter Baker & Co.'s. tt Fe pa pt CHEESE. Bee. @ Amboy ............. OA Gold Medal......... @ @ @ @ oe @ ie @ ee @ oe @ Sree. fee @ 15 Pineapple...... 4 @ 8 Sap Sago .. oe @ 18 Chicory. Bulg 5 Red 7 CATSUP. a ee 425 Columbia, % pints.......... 2 50 CLOTHES PINS. 5 gross boxes.... ... - COCOA SHELLS. mh hee. 2% Less queitity........-- .- 3 Pound packages......... 4 CREAM TARTAR. Strictly Pure, wooden boxes. 35 Strictly Pure, tin boxes... .. 37 COFFEE. Green. Rio. ee TF 17 Geod... oe 18 Pree 0. 19 Cement 20 Peace .2:.2). 2.5........... 22 Santos. ee ee 19 Geen 20 pees SS 22 Pesterm 2... 23 Mexican and Guatamala. Palr.-)).. 3c ee Geae oo. 22 Pee 24 Maracaibo. Pee a 23 Mites 24 Java. Neubert 0 cs Private Growth............... 27 Mandeniiag............- nc ee Mocha. tienen 5 ee 28 Roasted. Clark-Jewell-Wells Co.’s Brands Fifth Avenue..... <.) on Jewell’s Arabian Mocha... .30 Wells’ Mocha and Java..... 26 Wells’ Perfection Java.....26 Sancaibo .. 23% | Valley City Maracaibo. ....20% ‘Siem Bien... 17 Loecer Siew. ...-.. -. _.. 15 | Worden Grocer Co.’s Brands Quaker Arabian Mocha..... 31 . Quaker Mandehling Java. .31 uaker Mocha and Java....29 oko Mocha and Java...... 26 Quaker Golden Santos.... 23 State House Blend.......... 22 Quaker Golden Rio......... 20 Package. Below are given New York prices on package coffees, to which the wholesale dealer adds the local freight from New York to your shipping point, giving you credit on the invoice for the amount of freight buyer ~— from the market in which he purchases to his shipping point, including weight of package. In 60 Ib. cases the list is 10¢ per 100 lbs. above the price in full cases. See 13 50 corey... 13 50 MicLaughlin’s XXXX......13 50 Extract. Valley City % gross .... 7 elix ress... ... oe 1 15 Hummel’sfoil \% gross . 5 Hummel’s tin % gross... 1 4 Kneipp Malt Coffee. 1 lb. packages, 50lb. cases 9 ee owe = 1 1b. packages, 1001b. cases 9 Breakfast Cocoa a j CONDENSED MILK. CLOTHES LINES. 4 doz in case. £otton, 40 ft, per doz...... 1 00; Gai’ Borden Eagle....... 6 7% Cotton, 50 ft, per doz...... 1 20 OOP soos a en oe de ce 6 25 Cotton, +0 ft, per doz...... 1 40 | Daisy So cecessbeculs. a ae Cotton, 70 ft, per doz....... 1 60 | Champion ........--+..-+6.- 4 50 Cotton. 80 ft, per doz....... Set Mines 2 5 a. ee Jute, O ft, per doz......... OO Challenge... ..c0scscs..... 3 50 wate, oe, er Gon... ..... B Dime .-..-.:..--- cpeeteccer ee 3 35 COUPON BOOKS. Tradesman Grade. 50 books, any denom.... 1 50 100 books. any denom.... 2 50 500 books, any denom....11 50 1,000 books, any Genom....20 00 Economic Grade. 50 books, any denom.... 1 50 100 books, any denom.... 2 50 500 books. any denom....11 50 1,000:books, any denom....20 00 Universal Grade. =0 books, any denom.... 1 50 100 books, any denom.... 2 50 500 books, any denom....11 50 1,000 books, any denom....20 00 Superior Grade. 50 books, any denom.... 1 50 109 books, any denom.... 2 50 500 books, any denom....11 50 1,000 books, any denom....20 00 Coupon Pass Books, Can be made to represent any denomination from $10 down. 1000 books. Credit Checks. 500, any one denom’n..... 3 00 1000, any one denom’n..... 5 00 2000, any one denom’n..... 8 00 Steel punch. .............. DB DRIED FRUITS—DONESTIC Apples. ere os Evaporated 50 lb boxes. California Fruits. orien... 11%@ Blackberries........... Nectarines ............ 6 @ Pestnes. ..........- ..- THO BD oe. ae Pitted Cherries........ Pranmneves... ........-. Raspberries............ California Prunes. 100-120 25 lb boxes....... ‘ @ 3 @i AID D UD & ARR PN e DAPHSded \q cent less in bags Raisins. 1 60 2 50 8 59 54 644 London Layers 3 Crown. London Layers 5 Crown. Dehesias ...:...:....... Loose Muscatels 2 Crown Loose Muscatels 3 Crowu Loose Muscatels 4 Crown FOREIGN. Currants. Pain eee... @ 4% Vostizzas 50 lb cases......@ % Cleaned, bulk AM% Cleaned, packages.....--. @ 6 Peel. Citron American 101b bx @/4 Lemon American 101b bx @i2 Orange American 10ib bx @12 Raisins. Ondura 28 ib boxes...... @ 7% Sultana 1 Crown........ @ B* Sultana 2Crown ...... 9 Sultana « Crown........ @ 9% Sultana 4 Crown.......- @ 9% Sultana 5 Crown......-- G10 FARINACEOUS GOODS. Farina. Re oe 3 Grits. Walsh-DeRoo Co.’s....... 2 00 Hominy. Memes 2 223 Flake, 50 lb. drums.......1 00 Lima Beans. Weted 50 3% Maccaroni and Vermicelli. Domestic, 10 lb. box. 60 Imported, 25 Ib. box.. ...2 50 Pearl Barley. Come is 1% Cpesser 2. 2 Seagire 2% Peas. een, Oe. 80 Sort, per Ma... 244 Rolled Oats. Rolled Avena, bbl..... .3 40 Monarch, bbl. ........... .3 00 Monarch. % bbl.......... 1 65 Private brands, bbl.....2 80 Private brands, 4bbl..... 1 55 Quaker, cases. ........... 3 20 Sago. Geman 4 Mest India... .....-.. 3% Wheat. (Cracked, bulk............. 3 242 1b packages........... 2 40 e Fish. Cod. Georges cured.. os @ 4- Georges genuine...... @ 4% Georges selected...... @5 Strips or bricks.......5 @8 Halibut. Phenke. 2202 os 10 Strips..... copes cea: 9 Herring. Holland white hoops keg. 65 Holland white hoops bb]. 8 00 Worwowan... <......--... Bound 100 Ibe....:..-....-. 259 Hoene ie... ae EMMIS: ee 13 Mackerel. 1 ee......-.. ..., 11 00 a. oe... .... 4 70 No.2 (6 ihe... 1 25 No.2 We te... cs 8 06 mes Bite... 3 50 oS We fee 95 Warmity 00 tbe... ........... Pemity 10 The... 8. Sardines. Russian kegs. . 55 Stockfish. No. 1, 1901b. bales.... .... 10% No. 2, 100 1b. bales......... &% Trout fa. 1 100 lbs 4% io 2 ee So 22 (a8 Meee 63 61 Sie: 2. ..35..22.... 53 D.C. Vanilla D. C. Lemon 20n...¢..1 20 ca. 2. = 3 0z. 1 50 3 OZ. -1 00 4 oz. 2 00 he 1 40 Coz... 3.00 6 oz...... 2 0 No. 8...4 00 No. 8...2 40 No. 10. .6 00 No. 10...4 00 No. 27.1 25 No. 2T. 80 No. 3T.2 00 No. 37.1 35 No. 4T.2 40 No. 4T.1 59 Souders’. Oval bottle, with corkscrew. Best in the world for the money. R lar Grade Lemon doz Pos... ‘ OS. ...5: 1 50 Regular Vanilla. doz Zos....:.1 Son. ..... 2 40 XX Grade Lemon. Son... : 1 50 40z. .-3 00 XX Grade Vanilla. o2os.. 2! 1% 402. 2 50 per doz. Jackson Liquid, 1 07....... 65 Jackson Liquid, 2 0z....... 98 Jackson Liquid, 3 0z.. ._ is GUNPOWDER. Rifle—Dupont’s. Bee 4 00 Half Rees os 2235 Quarter Kegs...... seas ke 21m Come. ow... ot 30 — oe ooe...... 2... 18 Choke Bore—Dupont’s. Meee 4 00 ait Been... 2 25 Cuaiter Keen... ...... 6. 1 25 Pi GAes. se Eagle Duck—Dupont’s. ees 8 00 Half Kegs... 43 Quarter Kegs .-2 2 1lbeans.... - - HERBS. ee ae 15 Poe 15 INDIGO. Madras, 5 Ib boxes......... 55 S. F., 2.3 and 5 1b boxes.... 50 JELLY. 1b 0D Mees... 5 ee 71 patie. 2.2. oc 34 it pas... 60 LYE. Condensed, 2 doz .......... 1 20 Condensed, 4 doz........... 2 25 LICORICE. Oe ce oa 3u Calabria . 25 Sicily... 14 WOON oie eh seat 10 MINCE MEAT. Ideal, 3 doz. in case.........2 25 MATCHES. Diamond Match Co.’s brands. No, 3 salma. oe... . | 1 65 Anchor Parlor.............. 1 70 ee Export Parlor...:......--.. 4 00 MOLASSES. New Orleans. Black 11 Es one eee 14 ene 20 Fancy ATA pee er “4 Open Kettle............... 25@35 Half-barrels 2e extra. PIPES. Clay, No. 216... 058k. Clay, T. D. fullcount...... 65 We, i, es eh sw oe 1 POTASH. 48 cans in case. TIOEIG A ose oo occa ees se 4 06 Penna Salt Co.’s........... 3 00 28 Ib. linen sacks. 56 lb. linen sacks. PICKLES. Medium. Barrels, 1,200 count........ 3 40 Half bbls, 600 count........ 2 20 Small. Barrels, 2,400 count........ 4 40 Half bbls, 1,200 count...... 2 70 RICE. Domestic. Carolina head.............. 634 Carolina No.1............. 5 Carolina No. 2............. 44 BEORGM. 2... eo 3 Imported. agupem: NOt: 5% Japan. No. 2 oe Java, No. 1.. i es eee MOO es ee 5% SALERATUS. Packed 60 lbs. in box. Chen ss 3 3C DIMER oo 3 15 DWaRGES i 3 30 Waviers. 3.2 SAL SODA. Granulated, bbis........ .110 Granulated, 100 lb cases. .1 50 Lump, bbls...... ......... 1 Lump, 145]b kegs.......... 110 SALT. Diamond Crystal. Cases, 24 3-lb boxes......... 1 50 Barrels, 190 31bbags......2 7% Barrels. 40 7 lbbags...... 2 40 Butter. 28 Ib. bags........... 30 Butter, 56 lb bags........... 60 Butter, 20 14 1b bags......., 3 00 Butter, 280 1b bbls.......... 2 50 Common Grades. 1003S ID SACKS... oo: 2 60 COS-IDSAGKS. 22. Cte, 1 85 28 11-1b sacks... ce 1 70 Worcester. 50 4 Ib. cartons --3 25 115 2%1b. sacks 4 00 60 5 Ib. sacks 3% 2214 lb. sacks 3 50 3010 1b. sacks ..3 50 ae 60 50 Buik-in barrels... .... 5. 2 Warsaw. 56-lb dairy in drill bags..... 30 28-lb dairy in drill bags..... 15 Ashton. 56-lb dairy in iinen sacks... 60 Higgins. 56-lb dairy in linen sacks 60 Solar Rock. S61b sacks... .:.. 4, 2.5. ot Common Fine. Semin 20 oes. 65 Mannie . 2. oo oss oe SEEDS. PAMBG oe ee es 18 Canary, Smyrna........... 4 a 10 Cardamon, Malabar ..... 80 Hemp, Russian.......... 4 Mixed Hird... io. icc. 4% Mustard, white....... ... 6% POOF oon ce ce ce 8 Mei so ee 5 Cuttie Bone:...... ... 605. 2) SNUFF. Scotch, in bladders......... 37 Maccaboy, in jars........... 35 French Rappee. in jars.. 43 PI " Whole Sifted. Ae. Cassia, China in mats..... id Cassia, Batavia in bund 20 Cassia, Saigon in rolls...... 74 Cloves, Amboyna.......... If Cloves, Zanzibar.......... 9 Mace, Batavia ... ... 12.5; 6u Nutmegs, fancy..:........ .@ Nutncen, WO. to... ee te ee 45 Pepper, Singapore, black... 9 Pepper, Singapore, white. . .i2 POMMOE, SOG. gc, 10 Pure Ground in Balk. ONO no i ee i2 Cassia, Batavia ............ 8 Cassia, Saigon... ...........35 Cloves, Amboyna....... ...20 Cloves, Zanzibar............ 15 Ginger, African............ 15 Ginger; Cochin... 0.5 23.3; 20 Ginger, Jamaica..... - 6a Mace, Batavia.... .... ...70 Mustard, Eng. and Trieste. .20 Mustard, Trieste............ 25 Nmimeps,........ ccs 40@° 0 Pepper, Sing., black ....10@14 Pepper, Sing., white....15@18 Pepper, Cayenne........ 17@20 AGO ee ee cs ds ee 18 MICHIGAN TRADESMAN 21 SOAP. Laundry. Armour’s Brands. Armours family..... 2... 270 Armou:’s Laundry........ 3 2 Armours Comfort ... .... 2 9 Armour’s White, 100s...... 6 2 Armour’s Whit, 50s....... 3 20 Armour’s Woodechnuek .... 2 55 Armour’s Kitchen Brown. 2 00 Armour’s Mottled German 2 40 Gack ben . : ae . eee ue 2 85 5 box lots, delivered........ 2 80 10 box lots, delivered....... 2% JAS. 8. KIRK & C0.’S BRANDS. American Family, wrp'd....3 33 American Family, unwrp’d.3 27 OMG ee oS 3 é ADIOS. coe. cee... 2 25 SAVGNE oe oe ess de 2 50 Dusky Diamond. 56 oz...... 210 Dusky Diamond, 58 oz...... 3 00 Bine india... .. 2... occ 3 00 a 3 75 OR ee 3 65 oa Bros. & Co.’s Brands. poabicier ene siths Os eget gic = Cotton Oe ee 7 Marseiies 4 OD WERSGE 3 70 Henry Passolt’s Brand. SGC MOE 650d... 2 8 5 box lots, delivered . ..2 80 10 box lots, delivered....... mae hex Inte delivered 2 65 Thompson & Chnte’s Brand. Single box. oe ae 2 80 5 box lot, delivered........ at 10 box lot. delivered. ae ae 25 box lot. delivered. .......2 65 Wolverine Soap Co ‘s Brands. Dine bOE | cuss, 58. y 2 65 5 box lots, delivered........ 2 60 10 box lots, delivered........2 50 Allen B. Wrisley’s Brands. Old Country, 80 1-lb bars ..2 20 Good Cheer, 60 1-lb. bars....3 75 Uno, 100 %-lb. bars.......... 2 50 Doll, 100 10-02. Hars...-.....- 2 25 Scouring. Sapolio, kitchen, 3 doz ..... 2 40 Sapolio, hand, 3 doz....... 2 40 SODA. Boxes.. J i IRCCS SL} Kegs. English 4% STARCH. Kingsford’s Corn. 40 1-Ib packages............. 6 20 1 lb packages............. 6 Kingsford’s Silver Gloss. 40 1-lb packages............. 6% Ef Gib bexes <<... z Diamond. G4 106 packages ........... 5 128 5e packages...:..... .. 5 82 10c and 64 5c packages...5 Sab DOTON.... oe. eee... 5 ae bees... .. 4% co Common Gloss. i “lb packages............... 3-lb packages. . Very best stock of near-by eggs is quotable at about 14c. Western, 13¢c. Arrivals are becoming larger, with warmer weather, and the streets are bar- ricaded with egg crates and barrels. Provisions are higher all along the line. Pork, ‘mess, $8.75; family beef, $io. Now that the windows are fitted with the most flamboyant patterns for men’s linen that have ever been seen here, it will be interesting to observe, when the summer comes, who will be courageous enough to wear them. Tints and shades have given place to elementary colors and these are contrasted with a crudity which shows that there is no desire to diminish their striking effect. Checks are overhelmingly in the majority, and if these patterns ever become really popular New York’s shirt fronts will glow next winter with*the coloring of an autumnal forest; but it is not very likely that the gaudiest of these colors will ever get very far from the windows in which they are now displayed. A man got a package of samples from a haberdasher the other day and when he had once opened and looked at them he could not be persuaded that the dealer was not trying to play a joke on him. Enquiry showed, however, that they were some samples that had been sent around to all the customers and were the newest summer wear. Most of these are American goods or made for the American market. Others are French. There is very little demand in England for patterns of this character. There the styles change rarely, and the conserv- atism of different-colored stripes is very rarely exceeded. There are more ways than one of stealing a man’s good name, and con- spicuous illustrations of a new way that is becoming popular may be found on half a dozen signs in this town. For instance, one victim is a man whose name is known all over this country in connection with an article that he sells. Every box of his goods is stamped with a reproduction of his signature that ends with a long flourish. A competitor has started in business on the same street, and according to his sign his name differs from the original dealer only in the first letter. His method of adver- tising is the same, and he is probably reaping some of the benefit of the first man’s fame. Another victim of this kind ot imitation is a company that spends hundreds of thousands of dollars annually in advertising. Blank, John- son & Co., that is not the firm name of course, have a rival in the business un- der the name of Blank, John & Co. The latter firm has copied the former’s trade-mark as closely as the law allows, and spends no money on advertising. The similarity in the firm names is its best stock in trade. There are other il- lustrations of similar thefts of firm names that just escape being liable to prosecution under the law by a change of a letter or a syllable. —_—_> 0 >_____ Domestic Revolution in Oklahoma. From the Kansas City Times. A bill has been introduced into the Oklahoma Legislature to forbid a man marrying his mother-in-law. This, should it become a law, will revolu- tionize the Oklahoma home. Hitherto it has been universally accepted that, when a man married, his wife’s mother was to be the head of his household. Now, the radical thinkers are insinu- ating that he does not necessarily marry his wife’s mother, too, and cannot be compelled, or even allowed, to marry her at law. It cannot be expected that hereafter the dignified mothers-in-law will consent to waste their time a ing the affairs of their daughter’s worth- less husbands. a2 OYSTERS Ween ee Oysters.. Now coming in better than at any time before. Drop us postal for special quotations. —wae ALLERTON & HAGGSTROM, 12221 st, Jobbers of FRUIT, VEGETABLES, CAULIFLOWER, TOMATOES, LETTUCE, ETC. Everything seasonable in our line... WHOLESALE FRUITS and PRODUCE. FANCY NAVEL ORANGES, BANANAS, SWEET POTATOES, EARLY VEGETABLES, Etc ..... J. M. DRYSDALE & CO., SAGINAW, EAST SIDE, [ICH. ONIONS Nuts Figs Honey Lemons Oranges Cranberries Sweet Potatoes STILES & PHILLIPS, Both Telephones 10. 9 NORTH IONIA ST., GRAND RAPIDS. APPLES Any kind $1.50 per barrel. SWEET POTATOES, CAPE COD CRANBERRIES, SPANISH ONIONS, ORANGES, LEMONS, FANCY WHITE CLOVER HONEY. BUNTING & CO., 20 & 22 OTTAWA STREET, GRAND RAPIDS, MICH. Are still advancing. Buy now. Our Michigan Selects, red or yel- low, are fine, so are our.... When You See Anything Green Think of Vinkemulder. When You Need Anything Green Send Your Order to Vinkemulder. We sell Fruits and Produce, seli them at mail order prices. Try us for a year or two. We are now making up list of customers who want our price list. ‘Send us your name, and keep posted on our market prices. HENRY J. VINKEMULDER, Grand Rapids, Mich. CRSASASCASCASCASCASACASASASASACASASAECACASEA SEEDS | f The season for FIELD SEEDS such as CLOVER and TIMOTHY is now at hand. We are prepared to meet market prices. When ready to buy write us for prices orsend orders. Will bill at market value, ¢ ek @, MOSELEY BROS., § Wholesale Seeds, Beans, Potatoes, 26-28-30-32 Ottawa St., Grand Rapids. DAA i hh 6 bd bd bd bd bd bd hb bb bbb bbb tin bb thrbrthbthabt bbb hb bbe HOGG Oo ee ee bp fp bp bn bn bp bp bn bon bp hp bn bo hn ho ha ha hi hi bi hi ha a ha i hi hihi hi hi hi hi hihi hin hn hin hin hi hi hi hi hi hin ANCHOR BRAND OYSTERS Prompt attention given telegraph and mail orders. See quotations in price current, F. J. DETTENTHALER, Grand Rapids, Mich. SAGAS 4 6 bbb bb bb bbb bb bh bh bhbn hs oH GGG HGS OOGOOOOO OO oe tb ff bb fb fp fb & & bbb thy bb bb bn bh bh hh hh ho hi ha hi ha ha hi hn hi hn hn hn Michigan Merchants Know that we satisfy all in Quality, Fit and Price... Wiesinger Awning Go., jilirs., 2 West Bridge St. Grand Rapids, Mich. hob hbbhbbhbbi bb bobo dao tnt FUVVUVVUVYVVUVVUVUVY yvyyvyvvvvvvVvVY*Y*s FU VF VUUVVUVUVUVUVUVUVY Retail Grocers’ Associations——Their Objects and Benefits. * The first object of association is to help ourselves. Every human being is, to some extent, selfish. If it were were not for the benefit we hope to de- rive individually, churches, societies and associations would have a very limited membership. People join churches for the moral, spiritual and some, | am told, for the financial ben- efits they may derive therefrom. They join societies for the honor of office, the benefits derived from the fellowship and the financial aid they expect to re- ceive therefrom.- | Associations are formed by those who expect some re- turn for their time and money. In pol- itics it is the same way, very few aspir- ing to political office who do not look to the financial gain, the personal honor or the glory there is in it for them. There are different degrees of selfish- ness. Some persons are so selfish they would not join anything for fear they would have to divide the profits. Others join different organizations only for the financial gain they hope to receive. After a brief time they find that the gain is less than they expected and they drop out. There are many divisions of people whom we will not try to enu- merate or classify, but will take up the more liberal class, such as compose the retail grocers’ associations, I venture to say that there is not pres- ent a member of this Association who would have joined it had he thought it would not benefit him. The class which form these associations do not expect everything for themselves without giv- ing something in return. The grocers in the cities and throughout the State of Michigan and all over the United States—I might say all over the world— are formed, or are being formed, into associations. Grocers’ associations are not new in New England nor on the con- tinent of Europe, as they kave been in existence for centuries under different names which imply associated effort. The necessity for them has caused their existence, as grocers have learned that, in order to secure individual benefit, they must act in unison. They, there- fore, form these organizations to in- crease acquaintanceship, to foster and promote the highest commercial integ- rity, to obliterate distrust and jealousy, to abate trade abuses and injurious practices, to protect themselves from manufacturers and others who infringe upon their honorable rights, to influence legislation in favor of better laws for the benefit of the grocer and the public and to establish such rules as are essen- tial to the welfare of the trade, which can only be done through organized effort. There are still broader and bet- ter reasons for the formation of such as- sociations, founded on the Fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man. The coming’ together and meeting as brothers is an honorable and a rignteous cause and is only extending the great principle that ‘*Man should not live for himself alone.’’ The barbarous ways of the past, when each tradesman looked upon every other tradesman in his line as a rascal, should be brought to an end in this age of a Christian world. In this city we find several hundred gro- cers meeting together as brothers, which is a positive benefit to each of them morally, physically and financially. Let us consider the fact that nearly every large line of manufacturers are as- sociated ; every trust, every combina- tion to control prices, every monopoly of whatsoever kind is an association; the wholesale grocers are combined in Strong associations; in fact, all from whom we must purchase our goods are combined. It is easy for us to see the power they have, should they be dis- posed to use it, as has already been done in some cases. We cannot prosper as individual tradesmen even under such conditions as exist at the present time. Every year and every month the lines are drawn closer and it is a question of but a lim- ited time what the outcome will be to many who are now in trade. * Paper read by W. H. Porter, Secretary Jackson Retail Grocers’ Association, at recent conven- tion of Michigan Retail Grocers’ Association. MICHIGAN TRADESMAN By associated effort we can break down some of the barriers that obstruct our pathway, and by the strength and power we ought to bring into our organ- ization we can do more for the benefit of ourselves than all the laws made, or legislation that may be enacted, can ever do for us and our customers—the pub- lic. The grocer is a power in every community, if he exerts his mind and strength, and can substitute justice and right in the place of oppression and wrong. it would be useless for me to attempt to mention the many objects for which our Association was called into existence, for the reason that there is no limit to them, the affairs of to-day being over- shadowed by those of to-morrow. In order to make our work successful, we must work together with a will, and by so doing, we can accomplish many things for our benefit which are now working detrimentally to us. I candidly believe that in a few years, without as- sociations to protect us, we would be bound in shackles which would prevent us from exercising even the power‘to think for ourselves—and, possibly, there would be a royalty for the privilege of breathing. There are a few articles left which we can buy and sell in open mar- ket for what we can get, potatoes and garden truck not yet being in the com- bination in our part of the State. The limited price system may be all right, but we do not al! look at it in the same way. I know some grocers who seem to think that it is better for the trade to have an open market, with competition in every line, than it is to have the manufacturer make the price for all and thereby make the price for both buying and selling. We have to meet established prices in our locality and, if the buying price is fixed for us, we have nothing to say as to the per- centage we think we ought to have on which to do business. Let us consider the benefits of retail grocers’ associations. I have taken the liberty of copying the substance of an address made by a gentleman at a retail grocers’ convention, who is well posted : ‘‘In almost every town where asso- ciations have been formed, good work in behalf of the retailer has been ac- complished, for by meeting and com- paring notes and relating weir experi- ences, members have greatly helped each other. They have taught each other improved methods of doing busi- ness and have shown each other how to avoid losses. a retailer iu these times is a good thing, and few members of an_associa- tion can be found who have regularly attended the meetings of the organiza- tion who will acknowledge that they have not been helped and encouraged in some way by what they have heard there. Singly, the retail grocers can ac- complish little or nothing, in introduc- ing new and economic methods of trans- acting business; they cannot correct or suppress abuses or nuisances in trade, or promote, for their benefit, much- needed legislation. United, they can accomplish almost anything that is just and reasonable, if they go about it in the right spirit and keep everlastingly at it. They may fail in some things; they may fail in many things, but if they accomplish even a few things that are desirable and important they are a benefit and a blessing, both to the mem- bers and to the community. ‘‘Improved methods of transportation, close competition and other causes have brought the regular retailers’ profits down to a very narrow margin. Hun- dreds of store-keepers in our Western towns are doing business ata loss. They are cutting prices and, by every trick known to trade, are striving to ruin each other. There is but one remedy for this growing evil, and that is organization. ‘*Socially, an association is a splendid feature. The members meet and _ be- come acquainted with each other, they relate their experiences, exchange new ideas and show each other how losses may be avoided and bad bills collected. The social and educational advantages that may be derived from an active and progressive retail grocers’ association are incalculable. ’’ Anything that will help’ When I met with this Association for the first time in August, 1896, I was, to Say the, least, very much surprised by the many subjects of interest brought before the convention at that meeting. Some of the matters were of particular interest to some particular locality ; some, to other localities, and some were general. Coming from a local organi- zation where we have little beside local interests to consider, 1 had no idea of the many perplexing questions and difficulties which arise in different parts of the State to harass and distract my brother tradesmen. There are none of us, I think, who do not conscientiously believe that the only hope and the only prospect we have to make the future of the retail grocery trade in any degree successful will come through associated effort. I have re- cently become acquainted with many grocers in the southern part of the State and, in talking trade matters with them, I find that, while they are not members of associations, they are firm in the be- lief that there is nothing but the or- ganized and associated effort of the re- tail tradesmen that will keep them from going to destruction, so far as profits are concerned, In conclusion, I would suggest a motto for this Association. Nearly all soci- eties and organizations have a motto, composed of words to signify the pur poses of the membership. I would sug- gest the words, ‘' Fraternity, Freedom and Fidelity.’’ Our fraternity should be a brotherhood in the fullest sense that the word implies, bound together by the indissoluble chains of right and justice. We should have freedom from all who oppress us, with liberty to control our own business so long as we do it honorably. We should be on familiar terms with our brother tradesmen, loyal to our neighbors and to ourselves, hon- est in everything, so that our integrity will be unassailable. ——__+2.___ Now is the time to begin pushing bi- cycle shoes vigorously. By the time the trade opens you will thus be able to make the desired impression on the minds of possible customers. All the indications are that there will be a tre- mendous sale in goods of this kind the coming season. a a It is said that one English counsel netted $300,000 last year out of impor- tant cycle cases with which he had to deal. BUTTE of all grades wanted. Daily quotations to you at your request. Our offerings for butter and eegs will com- mand your shipment. R. HIRT, Jr.,. MARKET ST., DETROIT. BOROROROHOROCTOROROHOHORO 23 Elkhart Egg Case 60. ELKHART, IND. Manufacturers of Egg Gases and Fillers are placing on the market a GROCERS’ DELIVERY CASE This case being shipped folded flat goes at low frei. ht rate, and occupies little room on count- er. Containing a complete filler, carries eggs safely. Will be printed with your “ad” free when ordered in thousand lots. Price $10.(0 per thousaud. Can be returned and used many times We are largest manufacturers Egg Case Fillers in U. S., and our cold storage filler is not equaled. Our farmers 12 doz. case is made to set in back of a buggy and is just the thing to bring eggs to market in. COMMISSION M. R. ALDEN ll EG EXCLUSIVELY 98 S. DIVISION ST., GRAND RAPIDS. Nos. 122 and 124 Louis St., Abobhbbbbat bind PUVVUVVVuVy UY Four Kinds of POD HOODOO OOO 9099000 00000060000001000000000000000000 PERKINS & ESS, vs Hides, Furs, Wool and Tallow We carry a stock of cake tallow for mill use. - Grand Rapids. a SOOOOOOS 09060060 60000006 66066606 6606666660666666 Coupon Books Are manufactured by us and all sold on the same basis, irrespective of size, shape or denomination. Free samples on application. TRADESMAN COMPANY, Grand Rapids. 24 MICHIGAN TRADESMAN RANDOM REFLECTIONS. I was talking with a friend the other day on a subject which we have dis- cussed for hours at a time, without, ap- parently, reaching any conclusion—that of the department store—when my col- league remarked: ‘‘After all, the prin- cipal objection to the department store is that it encourages immorality by holding its employes down to starvation wages.’’ I am tolerably familiar with the range of wages paid by department stores, but in order to draw him out, I asked my friend to specify, which he appeared to be willing todo. ‘‘I met George Morse a day or two ago,’’ he said, ‘‘and asked him how things were going on in his grocery department. He was in excellent spirits over the manner in which things were ‘coming his way,’ as he expressed it, and vol- unteered the information that a little girl in his employ who works for $1 per week did up $156 worth of groceries the previous Saturday. I frankly told him I thought he ought to be ashamed of himself to pay such wages for such serv- ice, but the sardonic grin which greeted my remark plainly showed that my criticism had fallen on barren ground.’’ © + > I recently had my attention called to an exhibition of depravity on the part of a department store owner who does not live a thousand miles from Grand Rapids which forcibly illustrates the policy of the department store in deal- ing with its female help. A young woman from a remote part of the State found employment in the dry goods de- partment at $3 per week, all of which went to her landlady for board and washing. A couple of worthy ladies were made acquainted with the girl’s circumstances and contributed between them $1 per week to keep the girl sup- plied with handkerchiefs and car fare and such other little items as every woman must have to render life livable. Believing the girl’s services should be more amply rewarded, they one day ap- proached the department store man and stated the case frankly. He bluntly toid them that there were a thousand girls ready and anxious to take the place of the girl in question—girls who lived at home and did not have to pay for board or washing. ‘‘What can this poor girl do, then?’’ asked one of the ladies. ‘*Do?’’ sneered the department store man ; “‘let her do as my other girls do —have a fellow!’’ The reply was brutal, to be sure, but it is the keynote of the department store, which has come to be regarded as the breeding place of in- famy. + * The Tradesman recently noted that Chas. E. Sherwin had opened a grocery store at Wayland. The Tradesman is usually accurate in its statements, but I am in possession of inside informa- tion which enables me to state that Mr. Sherwin has not a penny’s interest in the store in question. The stock was paid for by Benjamin VanAnrooy, $254 being the amount of the initial purchase from the Clark-Jewell-Wells Co. Sherwin was employed in the ca- pacity of clerk and proceeded to ‘‘make Rome howl,’’ as he expressed it, by coming out in the local newspaper and in handbills with a conglomerate mass of meaningless adjectives and ungram- matical phrases, denouncing the other merchants of the town as ‘‘old fossils’’ and ‘‘monopolists’’ and lauding him- self as a second Moses. He advertised 22% pounds of granulated sugar for $1, and other things in proportion, thus se demonstrating his inexperience as a merchant and his utter lack of knowl- edge as a business man. Mr. Van An- rooy assures me that he is not exactly pleased over the antics of his clerk and that he will replace Mr. Sherwin with a more conservative representative in the course of a day or two—not that he did not dictate the policy of his clerk, but that he finds himself treading on dangerous ground, inasmuch as he has suddenly discovered that it is hardly consistent for a man to denounce rep- utable merchants as ‘‘dead men’’ and ‘‘old fossils’’— even by proxy—and at the same time expect them to handle the baking powder he is manufacturing in a small way in a woodshed on West Bridge street. —_—_>2>__—. THE GREAT PEACEMAKERS. The nations of the Old World, or rather the six prominent powers, are engaged just now in what they are pleased to term an attempt to keep the peace; and the United States is, ina way, following a somewhat similar course. The question arises, from the situation noted, whether there is any honor or any benefit to humanity in the kind of peace that is being maintained. In Europe the proposition has re- solved itself into the maintenance of the integrity of the Ottoman empire. In order to do this tens of thousands of butcheries have been virtually excused by these peaceful powers; the flag of Mohammedanism has been kept above the emblems of Christianity; the igno- rance and superstition and barbarity of a past age have been kept standing in the pathway of progress and Christian civilization, and rank tyranny has been protected in its impositions upon those who have been struggling for freedom. Is peace worth such sacrifices? Wholesale murder and cruelties which have horrified the civilized world have been left unpunished. Is peace worth this price? Powers in whom has rested the world’s hope of advancement have disappointed the hopeful. Where we looked naturally for aid in the cause of humanity and Christianity we have discovered selfish- ness and a cold-blooded, even barbarous, disregard of the claims of the oppressed. And not only have the so-called Christian nations of Europe exhibited this indifference to the higher demands of civilization, but the great American Republic has been content to sit idiy by and witness the barbarities practiced by another Christian people upon a handful of struggling patriots who have been trying to throw off the burdensome and cruel yoke of centuries. Th question naturally arises, whether the world has progressed so far beyond the darkness and selfishness of the Mid- dle Ages after all. Is it still true that might makes right? Do the higher aims of life—liberty and progress and Chris- tian beneficence—have no stronger claim upon nations in this day and time than they exercised two or three hundred years ago? Must the ‘‘balance of power’’ and the jealousies of the powers be maintained, under the guise of ** pre- serving the peace,’’ by the sacrifice of all that modern development has taught us ought to be the first concern. of the civilized peoples? Is it possible that aspirations for liberty and attempts to throw off the yoke of oppression are to be regarded in this enlightened age with the same cold indifference, not to Say opposition, with which they were met several centuries ago? The spectacle which the leading pow- ers of Europe, and to a large extent also the great republic of the New World, is now. presenting is a melancholy one, indeed, and one calculated to arouse both disappointment and indignation in the breasts of the good people of the world, who have been hoping for better things. There is war that is progress and there is peace that 1s humiliating and degrading. a Although a considerable portion of this week’s paper is given up to the re- port of the convention of retail grocers held here last week, including the pub- lication of the many excellent papers read on that occasion, the Tradesman hardly feels disposed to apologize to its readers for devoting so much of its space to a single line of trade. Gener- ally speaking, a discussion of the needs of one line of trade applies with equal force to all lines, because all branches of business are now closely allied, be- ing subject to the same or similar abuses and profiting from the same gen- eral advantages. The Tradesman nat urally feels highly complimented over being able to present the first and only complete report of the convention and commends the papers read, the work undertaken and the resolutions adopted to the perusal and consideration of mer- chants everywhere. a An attempt to acclimatize ostriches in South Russia has proved successful. The ostriches born in Russia are much less sensitive to cold than the imported ones,and their plumes are equally good. WANTS COLUMN. Advertisements will be inserted under this head for two cents a word the first insertion and one cent a word for each OR SALE—THE WHITNEY DRUG STOCK and fixtures at Plainwell. Stock will inven- tory $1,000 to $1,200; fixtures are first-class; rent low; terms, small cash eee long time on balance. Address F. E. Bushman, south Bend, Ind., or apply tu E. J. Anderson, at Plainwell, who is agent and has the keys to store. 229 NOR SALE OR RENT—FINEST AND BEST located store in town for general stock; no opposition; brick, two-story and basement, 25x80. Address Henry A. Lewis, Sheridan, Mich. 225 ee STOCK OF HARDWARE IN GRAND Rapids for sale or exchange. Address No. 205, care Michigan Tradesman. 205 ANTED—DRUG STOCK AT ONCE. [ have a small real estate mortgage to ex- change, balance in 90 days, with good security. Address No. 227, care Michigan Tradesman. 227 JOR SALE—A SMALL BUT FIRST-CLASS stock of groceries. Excellent location, with an opportunity for adding drugs or boots and shoes; cash store. Address Box 136, Albion, Mich. 228 NOR RENT OR EXCHANGE—BRICK STORE, living rooms above, all heated by furnace, in the thriving village of Evart, Mich. Address R. P. Holihan, Sears, Mich. 226 YODA FOUNTAIN FOR SALE VEKY CHEAP. Large snd elegant. Complete outfit. Crozier Bros. Double Shoe store, Grand Rapids. 221 Fe SALE—A GOOD ESTABLISHED BAK- ery and grocery business at Traverse City. Owing to other business interests I will sell my entire stock of groceries, bakery business, etc., in exchange for good residence property in Traverse City, Mich. Geo. Gane, Traverse City, Mich. 215 PRACTICAL MAN WITH CAPITAL WILL find good investment in a well-established wholesale grocery business by addressing P. P. Misner, Agent, Muskegon, Mich. 203 R’ RE OPPORTUNITY FOR SAWYER AND eabinet maker. Mill and other machinery set Home market for product. Timber cheaper than ever known. H. G. Cady, Pine Bluff, Ark. 210 | rpc to FOR LIVERY STOCK--60 ACRES of excellent land near LaFontaine, Ind. Can lease it any time for oil and gas. Large wells near by. Price, $6.000. Address N. H. Winans, 3 and 4 Tower Block. 200 VOR SALE OR EXCHANGE— FOUR MODERN cottages in good repair—three nearly new, all rented—for sale, or will exchange for clean stock of dry goods. Address Lester & Co. North Ionia street, Grand Rapids. NOR SALE OR EXCHANGE FOR STOCK OF merchandise—Forty acre farm near Hart, good buildings, 900 bearing fruit trees. Address No. 179, care Michigan Tradesman. 179 OK SALE FOR CASH—STOCK GROCERIES and crockery invoicing between $3,000 and $3,500; good location; good choice stock. Will sell cheap. Good chance for someone. Ad- dress D, Carrier No. 4, Battle Creek, Mich. 177 , 211 194 q t in- sertion. No advertisements taken for less than 25 cents. Advance payment. BUSINESS CHANCES. a ee IN GOOD FARMING community for stock of hardware. State if a building can be rented; rent, size of build- ing and location in tow; population of town. Address No, 232, care Michigan Tradesman. 232 esr S\:ALE—BUILDING AND siOCK DRY goods, shoes and groceries. Center small town; splendid farming section; strictly cash business; nearest town ten miles; finely finished living rooms above; stock run two years. Ad- dress No. 285, care Michigan Tradesman 235 UBBER STAMPS AND KUBBER TYPE. Will J. Weller, Muskegon, Mich. 160 VOR SALE—AT A BARGAIN THE WAT- rous’ drug stock and fixtures, located at Newaygo. Best location and stock in the town. Enquire of Hazeltine & Perkins Drug Co., Grand Rapids, Mich. 136 OR SALE—IMPROVED 8) ACRE FARM IN Oceana county; or would exchange for merchandise. Address 380 Jefferson Avenue, Muskegon. 110 NOR EXCHANGE—TWO FINE IMPROVED farms for stock of merchandise; splendid location. ‘Address No. 73, care Michigan Trades- man. 73 v= SALE—ABOUT 41,000 STOCK, A-1 DRY goods and shoes for a little cash down: bal- anee, good security. Address No. 236, care Mich- igan Tradesman. 236 wane TO PURKCHASE FOR CAsH— Stock of merchandise. Must be cheap. Address Box 386, Cadiilac, Mich. 237 POR SALE——OLD ESTABLISHED DRUG business; good trade; splendid location; prive, $!,600. Address H. M. Matthews & Co., 74 Sixth St., Grand Rapids. 234 POR SALE CHEAP—STOCK OF SECOND- hand groce y fixtnres. Address Jos. D. Powers, Eaton Rapids, Mich. 233 Fee SALE——STOCK OF GROCERIES, IN- voicing about $1,200, in a live Vichigan city; good trade; nearly alleash, Good reasons forseiling. Address Box 165, Big Rap'ds. 238 MISCELLANEOUS. ANTED—SITUATION AS BOOK-KEEPER by a young man of 25. Thoroughly com- petent and can make himself generally useful in an office. Best of references. Ten years’ business experience. Address W., care Michi- gan Tradesman. 231 ANTED— POSITION AS TRAVELING Salesman, groceries. Fourteen years’ ex- perience in retail trade, five years for myself; 30 years old, married. Address Grocer, Battle Creek, Mich. 224 ANTED—POSITION AS BOOK-KEEPER by young man of excellent habits, fine recommendations and thorough experience. Address Wm. E. Vogelsang, 157 Livingston street, Grand Rapids. 222 Sese MICHIGAN BARK LUMBER CO, 527 and 528 Widdicomb Bid. Grand Rapids, Mich. N. B. CLARK, Pres. W. D. WADE, Vice- Pres. C. U. Clark, Sec’y and Treas. We are now ready to make contracts for bark for the season of 1897. Correspondence Solicited. y = eon erm ye ena RE eee