GRAND RAPIDS. WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 1904 Number 1065 R. G. DUN & CO. Mich. Trust Building, Grand Rapids Collection delinquent accounts; cheap, efficient, ps. pana direct demand system. Collections wade everywhere—for every trader. 0. KR. MonRONE Manager | IF YOU HAVE MONEY and would like to have it EARN MORE MONEY, write me for an investment that will be guaranteed to earn a certain dividend. Will pay your money back at end of year i you de- sire it. Martin V. Barker Battle Creek, Michigan S8OO08 0200084444224 24 ) Pwwueuvrvvwvwvevvev<«evvyvvvvvevliv’ GODS GVUGVUVUVUU VOT UV VU 3 We Buy and Sell Total Issues of State, County, City, School District, Street Railway and Gas BONDS Correspondence Solicited. NOBLE, MOSS & COMPANY BANKERS Union Trust Building, Detroit, Mich. po a William Connor, Pres. Joseph 8. Hoffman, Ist Vice-Pres. William Alden Smith, zd Vice-Pres. M. C. Huggett, Secy-Treasurer The William Connor Co. WHOLESALE CLOTHING MANUFACTURERS 28-30 South lonia Street, Grand Rapids, Mich. Spring line of samples now showing— also nice line of Fall and Winter Goods for immediate delivery. @é my ~— Have Invested Over Three Million Dol- lars For Our Customers in Three Years Twenty-seven companies! We have a rtion of each company’s stock pooled in a trust for the protection of stockholders, and in case of failure in any company you are reimbursed from the trust fund of a successful quapens. The stocks are all withdrawn from sale with the exception of two and we have never lost a dollar for a customer. Our plans are worth investigating. Full information furnished upon application to CURRIE & FORSYTH Managers of Douglas, Lacey & Company 1023 Sr Trust Building, Grand Rapids, Mich. IMPORTANT FEATURES. 3. 2. Window Trimming. 4. Around the State. 5. Grand Rapids Gossip. 6. Wh-re There’s a Will There’s a Way. 8. Editorial. 9. Work of The Year. 16. Clothing. 17. Censor Wanted. 18. The Lock City. 19. The Kind o1 Advertising That Pulls. 20. Took Him At His Word. 23. The Tourist Trade. 24. Shoes. 26. Man With The Musket. 28. Woman’s World. 30. Original Methods. 32. Butter and Eggs. 34. Japanese in War. 36. National Optimism. 37%. Hardware Price Current. 38. Dry Goods. 40. Commercial 1ravelers. 42. Drugs--Chemicals. 43. Drug Price Current. 44. Grocery Price Current. 46. Special Price Current. 4% New York Market. POPULAR DELUSIONS. That the only men who really work are those who work with their hands. That all unmarried women above 30 years of age hail the coming of Leap Year joyously. That only those who began life by working for somebody at $25 a year win ultimate wealth. That because a man’s wants are few there is no reason why he should earn more than $1.50 a day. That a three-hundred dollar piano looks well in a room carpeted at a cost of 60 cents a yard. That only those are bigots who fail to see things in the same light that you utilize. That a crush hat and a cape-coat covering a spike-tail coat and a low cut vest are worn only by gentlemen. That all plumbers are thieves and that frozen water pipes and wrecked water backs are their sole delight. That the only really successful po- litical workers are those who occupy seats upon the speakers’ platform. That Leap Year frightens all bach- elors e’en-a-most to death, good luck to ’em. That all traveling salesmen who are successful would fail in any other oc- cupation. That any principle of law, justice or humanity authorizes one man to dictate as to another man’s work. That the influence of any one or GAS ELECTRIC LIGHT & TRACTION BONDS EDWARD M.DEANE &CO. BANKERS SECOND FLoor, MICHIGAN TRUST BUILDING GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN all members of any “Smart Set” on earth has any force except in the di- rection of vanity, selfishness and de- generacy. That there are any qualities more helpful to the general welfare than those of rectitude, kindness, gener- osity, industry and thrift. >> A DIVERSION MOST TIMELY. It will be well, in the light of East Indian history of the past century, to bear in mind that Corea, Seoul, the Yalu River, Port Arthur and so on are modern topics of _ interest, compared to “The Ride to Khiva” and the variously established bound- ary lines separating Russia from In- dia, Afghanistan and Persia. Sevasto- pol is not yet forgotten and the Bosphorus is still a closed channel, so far as Russia is concerned. Great Britain requires a concession of time to strengthen her position in Asia and, by the way, the recently acquired United States possessions in the Orient came so unexpectedly, so spontaneously like, that Uncle Sam will appreciate an opportunity to catch his breath. Accordingly the present little diversion at the head of the Yellow Sea is really opportune and thus far the Mikado’s men seem to enjoy themselves. The present trouble means much more than is comprehended by the frozen-in port of Vladivostock, much more than the “Bear’s” completion of the railroad across the Asiatic continent, much more than the in- tegrity of Corea and China, much more than the perpetuity of Japan as anation. It means that personal liberty, right living and the world’s welfare are at stake and that the Czar of all the Russias must be brought to a full appreciation of the situation. +6 _— Ships coming into New York har- bor during the past two weeks have resembled animated icebergs. So much ice formed about the super- structure that vessels were rendered top-heavy, while the hulls became so thickly encased that the draught of water was increased to the extent of several feet. Sailors have endured great suffering in the performance of their duties. Passengers coming from the South and emerging suddenly from the warmth of the Gulf Stream land in New York in a shivering con- dition. >> Tea is peculiar in this respect, namely, that the taste for it is an acquired one, and therefore it is dangerous to experiment with the sorts which time has proved to have suited the dealer’s patrons. The kind that one has become accustomed to is the kind that one likes best, and it is difficult to wean one away from that sort of tea unless it is done very gradually and secretly. New Prices on Rubber Shoes. The event of the past week was the announcement of prices for the coming year by the United States Rubber Co., which was made prompt- iy on February I as promised. The new discounts are 30, 5 and 3 per cent. for first grades, 30, 10, 5 and 3 for second grades. This is a change of 5 per cent. in the first discount, which was 35 per cent. last year, the other discounts being the same. The change makes an advance on the net prices of very nearly 13% per cent. over the figures for last year, and a little less than 7% per cent. over the prices ruling since June 1. The prices announced hold good until June 1, and from June I to November 30 the second 5 per cent. discount is dropped, making the rate 30 and 3 per cent. for first grades and 30, Io and 3 per cent. for sec- ond grades. This is practically the same arrangement that was in force last year and is the special induce- ment for early orders. The usual deferential discount of 5 per cent. extra is allowed on the Woonsocket and the Meyer Rubber Co. brands. The only change in the gross price lists refers to the goods packed in cartons, and on these there is an ad- vance of I cent a pair all through. There is also an extra charge for fleece lining in men’s Hurons, or buckled lumbermen’s lines, which is increased from § to Io cents per pair. The policy which was adopted last year of doing away with the restric- tions on jobbers’ selling prices is continued for the coming year. This, it will be remembered, caused con- siderable alarm last year, as it was predicted that there would be a campaign of disastrous price cutting if the jobbers were not held to a rigid account in their contracts with the companies. As it turned out, however, the complaints about price cutting were less during the past year than for the previous seasons, when the companies undertook to control the prices for the jobbers by con- tract stipulations. —__.-2.—___ All parts of the salmon are not equally valuable, and it is very prob- able that consumers would be willing to pay a higher price for select parts of salmon canned under special la- bels. The belly pieces of the fish are surely richer and more tender and better flavored than the scrawnier and drier parts near the tail, or even superior to the shoulder parts, and if the belly parts were put into cans by themselves the average consumer might be willing to pay a high enough price for the selections to warrant the canners in packing them. > | Recommend stewed canned toma- toes to consumers who are troubled with indigestion or sluggish liver. saa 2a ak PNR SERN ED MICHIGAN TRADESMAN Valentine Display Compassable by | Any Country Merchant. “Vanity, vanity, all is vanity!” Did the author of the above quo- tation live in this Year of our Lord, nineteen hundred and four, and were he to have taken a meander up and down the principal streets of the) Furniture City last Sunday, he would | certainly have paraphrased the aphorism in this wise: “Valentines, valentines, all is val- entines!” For, turn whichever way he might, the pedestrian was confronted with the very evident fact that the patron saint of the Fourteenth Day of Feb-| ruary was abroad in the land with his bow and quiver, his thousands of verses expressive of the most ardent passion, the sincerest, the undyingest of love—if there be a superlative de- gree of the last-used adjective! - * * There is a small maiden I know, | about the age of 4, a quaint, old-fash- | ioned little body, who, when asked to bestow upon a tinier member of the household the remnant of a tooth- | some morsel she was causing rapidly to disappear down her oesophagus with great apparent delight, replied, | as soon as the condition of her mouth | would permit: “There ain’t agoin’ ter be any left | —-there ain’t agoin’ ter be the shad- | ow of a spot left!” “© | And by analogy I am_ reminded) that no one believes all this extrav- | agantly-expressed devotion—the re-| cipient well understands that the | sentiment which the valentines | breathe is not true by the merest | “shadow of a spot’—and yet—and | yet—what heart is not touched, no) matter how old or unused to exhibi- | tions of tenderness, by the arrival, | from some mysterious unknown | source, of exaggerated verses deal-| ing with the spark divine! And so, each year, the store win- | dows are full to overflowing with | samples of the tender missives, in- | tended to tempt the beholder to| part with his money in amounts | varying from “tc up to $3,” as a/} large white placard announced in| one Monroe street window. | Time was when only legitimate | stationery stores displayed these | wiles of Cupid, but nowadays, as the | memorable Fourteenth of Feb. draws | nigh, all sorts and conditions of es- | | ruary window was visible way across | | was an immense heart—to be accu- | rate, a double heart. I took particu- | er the window trimmer had any sin- | | winnable for a mercenary considera- tablishments make use of these sym- | bols of love for advertising purposes. | Sut especially is this true of the dry | goods, candy and department stores. | |Hardly one ofthe three kinds named | but has a window devoted in whole} or in part to these machinations of | the jolly old saint. In place of the fine exhibit of | | books in one of the large windows | of the Boston Store, on which I com- | mented last week—one of the finest, | in some respects, that the writer has | | ever seen in Grand Rapids establish- | ments, either department or exclu-| sive book stores—was an elaborately- | arranged display of valentines; val- | entines big and little, expensive and otherwise. Here it was that the price card, “tc up to $3,” was ob- served. They were all very pretty, but the separate samples were not priced. The writer saw many for which he might be induced to drag up “rc,” but, as to giving up three “plunks” for a little bunch of embossed pink | roses encircling the wicked little God of Love—nay, nay! His heart is not particularly callous, but it is too in- durated by far for that. However, the assortment on the inside of the portals might have been of such a) nature that he could not have with- | stood temptation and he might, if he had entered, have succumbed and in- vested three of his hard-earned AlI- | mighty D’s in a bit of flummery to | send to “His Valentine.” One object in this Middle-of-Feb- | Campau Square, and, for that matter, | some distance up Canal street. It | lar pains to notice its construction. It looked complicated, at first glance, but in reality could hardly be sim- pler to make, and any dealer in the merest hamlet by the roadside would have no difficulty whatever in fash- ioning such a heart-hit—or, perhaps I should say hit-heart, for the cen- tral heart (the “heart within a heart,” as you will understand when I describe it in detail) was pierced by an enormous golden arrow. Wheth- ister motive in employing a golden | arrow for this sanguinary act is not | known to those who gazed at the| product of -his hand and brain, but, | inasmuch as “Money makes the mare | go,” he may have had the deplorable | fact in mind that many a heart is| tion. | But to the description: The “innermost heart,” about two and a half feet wide, appeared to have | pasteboard or thin wood for its foun- | dation, which was padded and cover- ed with cream-white cotton cloth studded with tiny gilt knobs (probably the heads of stickpins or diminutive ornaments from the trimming depart- ment). Here again the thought of gold obtruded itself on your inner consciousness, and was accentuated by the heavy gilt cord entirely en- circling the outer edge of the inner heart. As if to make amends for the gold They Save Time Trouble Cash . Get our Latest Prices USE BARLow S PAT MANIFOLD HIPPING BLANKS aa IROR G7 BROS AEA LATOTS Ol ae Moore & WUKS MERCHANDISE BROKERS Office and Warehouse, 3 N. lonia 8t. GRAND RAPIDS, M|CH. JAVRIL The charm of Coffee without the harm Full particulars on application JAVRIL CO., LTD., Battle Creek, Michigan Washington’s Flour Made in his mill at Alexandria, Va., was doubtless good, consider- ing the machinery used in his day, but of course it could not compare with the perfect product which we are milling today. Like Washington, our New Cen- tury Flour cannot tell a lie. It is true, pure, wholesome—not a grain of deception ,or imperfec- tion in a barrel of it. Write for prices. Caledonia’ Milling Co. Caledonia, Mich. Phone No. 9 Confidence Good paint begets confi- dence, both in the dealer and consumer, without which profitable results or permanent success is out of the question. Forest City Paint is good paint because it’s made right from the best adapted materials. It’s finely giound and thor- oughly mixed. Every gal- lon is guaranteed absolute- ly uniform in color, con- sistency and quality. Every package is warranted full measure. It’s paint you can rely upon and offer your trade with the fullest confidence of its being everything we claim. Assisted by the strong local advertising and nu- merous personal helps, which we furnish free to our agents, it’s a proposi- tion that’s sure to stir up any paint department and increase a merchant’s gen- eral business as well. Write to-day for our Paint Proposition. It tells all. A postal will bring it. The Forest City Paint & Varnish Co. Kirtland St. Cleveland, Ohio "a we can largely increase tlle Good as Gold: your flour trade. Write us arava aaTalaTalalatafalaaiatafa Flour is popular because of its unequaled qual- It is absolutely pure and retains all the nutritive and healthful properties of the finest selected wheat. Costs no more than the price asked for inferior products. We want one good dealer in every town to handle it. We have a novel advertising scheme for introducing it by which PORTLAND MILLING CO., Portland, Michigan tee ih: tet of ee "a ih: tet MICHIGAN TRADESMAN 3 decorations of the smaller heart, the outer one was composed entirely of violets, bringing to mind poor Ophe- lia, where she says, “And there is pansies, thoughts.” Radiating from the golden edge of the smaller heart to the rope of vio- lets composing the larger one were seventeen flat strips of white cloth or fine-meshed canvas about two inches wide, one running to the lowest point of the violets heart and eight on either side. These were stretched with mathematical precision as to the spaces. A heavy nickel upright rod a couple of inches in diameter supported the design at the back, and was unnotice- able unless one were looking for the that’s for ‘means utilized to cause the hearts to assume the perpendicular. The whole design was about eight feet in height. Of all the valentine decorations seen in the windows the past week this particular background stood out most prominent in the memory of the window-gazer. The lower part of the window space was entirely filled with valen- tines, with the exception of the cen- ter in front, where were a few neatly- arranged delicate-covered small gift books. One feature of this attractive ex- hibit I. have overlooked mentioning, and that was two naked, flaxen-hair- ed, pretty-faced little. pink dummies, resting on a high ebonized stand at each side of the window, and dress- ed (you might better say undressed) to represent cupids. All the clothes they had on wouldn’t keep them from freezing this zero weather, for, every stitch they could call their own was a wide sash of white satin rib- bon and a pair of good-sized white wings (real feathers) from the mil- linery department, poor dears! The sash was continued up over the shoulder and back, where a quiver filled with golden (again the thought of mammon) arrows was deftly at- tached. Each little rosy Edenite held a golden bow (more gold) daintily in one hand and in the other was a beautiful valentine. Barring the fact that one felt almost sorry for them— it was so bitterly cold outside—they were certainly a cute idea. ae ot Last week I said I would speak of the contents of the six small outside upright glass display cases of the Boston Store, and also of the unique exhibit of Edison phonographs and Columbia graphophones, but I shall have to give all these the go-by— and the good-bye—as it slipped my mind entirely that last Sunday was Saint Val.’s Day and it necessarily was entitled to some consideration. For “Nature is fine in love; and, where ’tis fine, It sends some precious instance of itself After the thing it loves.” a ea Programme for the State Conven- tion and Kalamazoo Banquet. Kalamazoo, Feb. 15—I send you the following programme for the State convention Feb. 23 and 24, and the local Association’s: fourth annual banquet. Tuesday, Feb. 23. 10 a. m.—Reception Committee will meet at the Association hall. 12:30 p. m.—All retail grocers and meat dealers will close for the day. 1:45 p. m.—First session of sixth annual convention. 1. Call to order. 2. Announcements of committees. 3. Address of welcome by Sam. Folz, Mayor. 4. Annaul address of President. 5. Annual report of Treasurer. 6. Annual report of Secretary. 3:15 p. m.—Reception Committee will meet Grand Rapids and other delegates at G. R. & I. depot. 5 p. m—Smoker under charge of Homer Klap. 6:45 p. m.—Fourth annual banquet of the Kalamazoo Retail Grocers’ and Meat Dealers’ Association, under the management of John E. Steketee, as toastmaster: Invocation—Rev. C. A. Hemine- way, Kalamazoo. Address of welcome—C. Meister- heim, Kalamazoo. Response—Chas. Huron. Kalamazoo—Hon. Sam. Folz, Kal- amazoo. Wellman, Port Michigan—E. A. Stowe, Grand Rapids. Selection—Grand Rapids grocers’ quartette. Address—J. S. Smart, Saginaw. Organization—F. W. Fuller, Grand Rapids. Poetry in Our Van Bochove. Xylophone ‘Kalamazoo. Address—E. Marks, Detroit. The Modern Grocer—J. Geo. Lehman, Grand Rapids. Business—H. R. Solo—E. Desenberg, Selection—E. P. Gros, Battle Creek. Selection—Grand Rapids grocers’ quartette. Mantfacturers vs. Grocers—Walter K. Plumb, Grand Rapids. Address—John Metzner, Detroit. Grocers’ Cultured Habits—H. J. Schaberg, Kalamazoo. Piano Solo—E. Desenberg, Kala-| mazoo. Selection—Ted. Daken, Kalamazoo. Address—A. W. Thatcher, Toledo. Local Legislation—E. A. Connelly, Grand Rapids. Address—Walter Baker, Kalama- ZOO. Selection—Grand Rapids grocers’ quartette. Remarks by M. Desenberg, Wm. Mershon, Steve Marsh, Walter C. Hipp, Sam. Hockstra, Clarence Mil- ler and Mark O. Dover, all of Kala- mazoo. America—Sung by all. Wednesday, Feb. 24. 9:30 a. m.—Second session of State convention. 1. Call to order. 2. Unfinished business. 3. New business. 4. Election of officers. 5. Selection of convention city for 1905. 6. Good to the Association. 7. Adjournment: I p. m.—All delegates and members of the Reception Committee will | BLLIOT O. GROSVENOR meet at the Association rooms to| Late State Pood Commissioner take trolley ride to the Michigan Advisory Counsel to manufacturers and State Asylum and other places of obbers whose interests are affected by interest. he Food Laws of any state. Corres- 5-6 p. m.—Farewell service under ee oe aa Detroit, rich charge of J. E. Van Bochove, Kala- 3 . : i cues STEETTTTTTTTT Convex and Flat Sleigh Shoe Steel, Bob Runners, Light Bobs, Cutters, etc., etc. H. J. Schaberg, Sec’y. 2. ____ Wm. H. Owen, Stanton: I have, taken the Tradesman ever since Mr. | Stowe was a boy, and guess I will | not drop it just yet. $ 5 O O Given Away To a certain number of consumers buying ALABASTINE and sending us before October 15, 1904, the closest estimates on the popular vote for the next President. Write us or ask any dealer in Alabastine for the easy con ditions imposed in this contest, which is open to all. ALABASTINE is the only sanitary wall coating. Nota dis- ease-breeding, out-of-date, hot-water, glue kalsomine. TYPHOID FEVER DIPHTHERIA SMALL POX The germs of these deadly diseases multiply in the decaying glue present in all kalsomines, and the decaying paste under wall paper. Alabastine is a disinfectant. It destro’s disease germs and vermin; is manufactured from a_ stone cement base, hardens on the walls and is as enduring as the wall itself. Alabastine is mixed with cold water, and any one can apply it. Ask for sample card of beautiful tints and If in need of any of these goods write to us for prices before plac- ing your order. $449949949444444494 beh hhohh >> Sherwood Hall Co., Ltd., Grand Rapids, Mich. SESEEEETETF $>944 Spring Trade is Near We Have a Complete Line of Light and information about decorating. Take no cheap | Heavy subst'tute | Buy only in 5 lb. pkgs. properly labeled. Harn ess, ALABASTINE CO. Grand Rapids, Mich. Saddlery New York Office, 105 Water St. Hardware ’ aa wae Collars FROM : ’ sRUGS “.....5 Whips, Ete, THE SANITARY KIND We have established a branch factory at Sault Ste Marie, Mich. All orders from the { Upper Peninsula and westward should be and can fill your orders promptly. We still have a good stock of Blankets, Robes and Fur Coats. Send in your orders. Brown & Sehler Co. West Bridge St., Grand Rapids No Goods at Retail sent to our address there. e have no ents s orders as we rely on rinters’ Ink. Unscrupulous persons take advantage of our reputation as makers of “Sanitary Rugs” to represent being in our employ (turn them down). Write Sirect to us at either Petoskey or the Soo. A book- let mailed on request. j Petoskey Rug M’f’g. & Carpet Co. Ltd. Petoskey, Mich. ee Wa wR wR wR wh wR wR PREPARED MUSTARD WITH HORSERADISH Just What the People Want. Good Profit; Quick Sales, THOS. S. BEAUDOIN, Manufacturer Write for prices 518-24 18th St,, Detroit, Mich. Always in The Lead When reduced to the question of quality at the price Voigt’s Crescent Flour “BEST BY TEST.” Never fails to cross the line a winner. For thirty years it has thus led in the race of competition and is more popular today than ever before. You Should Never Be Without It. VOIGT MILLING CO. Grand Rapids, Michigan MICHIGAN TRADESMAN AROUND | THE_STATE Rei: Perera eye iene A MRSA a Movements of Merchants. Vicksburg—R. Baker has sold his drug stock to C. Guy Foster. Grand Blanc—A. O. McNeil & Son are putting in a line of shelf hard- ware. Ovid—Miss Jennie Rumsey has sold her millinery stock to Mrs. Lena High. Detroit—Fred A. sold his hardware stock to Cotey. Pontiac—George Nusbaumer, gro- cer, has sold out to Thos. H. Mc- Connell. Gladwin—Frank Leonard & Son have engaged in the grocery and pro- vision business. Crump—Orren Carter has_ pur- chased the general merchandise stock of Jesse R. Rhodes. Hastings—P. G. Bennett succeeds Geo. W. Hyde in the dry goods, gro- cery and bakery business. Muskegon—The department store of J. O. Jeannot & Co. has been clos- ed under a chattel mortgage. Rochester—H. L. Wood and son Henry, of Ithaca, have engaged in the hardware business at this place. Manchester—Yocum, Marx & Co., dealers in dry goods and shoes, have put in lines of clothing and furnishing goods. Richmond—Chas. Davidson has purchased the clothing, grocery and boot and shoe stock of Forrester & Razek. Mason—Frank J. Brown has pur- chased the interest of his partner in the boot and shoe business of Brown & Loomis. Rockford—W. W. Forrest has sold his drug stock and store building to Claude G. Becker, who will continue the business. Big Prairie—J..C. Springer has en- gaged in the grocery business at this place, having purchased the stock of Henry Allers. Owosso—H. D. Miller has purchas- ed the grocery stock of his father, D. E. Miller, and will continue the busi- ness in his own name. Eaton Rapids—Fowler & Smalley, implement dealers, have dissolved partnership. The business is contin- ued by Fowler & Freer. Zeeland—Timon VandenBrink and Jacob Boes have formed a copartner- ship under the firm name of the Enterprise and engaged in the meat business. Pontiac—Isaac Walters, who has been connected with W. A. Linabury & Co., butchers, for several years, has purchased the meat market of John M. King. Mason—Brown & Loomis, dealers in boots and shoes, have dissolved partnership, F. J. Brown having pur- chased the interest of his partner, C. J. Loomis. Port Huron—James Fulwood, who recently purchased the grocery stock formerly owned by J. C. Price, has sold the stock to Robert Taylor. Mr. Taylor will retain Mr. Price as mana- ger of the business. Schneider has Ulick purchased the stock of the Buck Gro- ‘leave for Washington, where he has | Wheeler—Adam Johnstone has cery Co. Mr. Buck expects to soon secured a position. Mason—Brown & Loomis, boot and shoe dealers, have dissolved part- nership, F. J. Brown succeeding. Mr. Brown has been engaged in business at this place for the past eighteen years. Detroit—Voluntary assignment has been made by the Pinar Del Rio Cigar Co., 224 Jefferson avenue, to Matthew H. Bishop. The assets are placed at $3,796.73 and the liabilities at $3,- 194.95. Stanton—H. D. Johnson, who has conducted the New York store at this place for the past three years, has sold the stock to J. C. Shepard, of Middleville, who has adready taken possession. Zeeland—Wm. D. VanLoo has sev- ered his connection as salesman and book-keeper with the Zeeland Milling Co., and purchased an interest in the general merchandise stock of Jacob Vanden Bosch. Northville—C. M. Joslin, of the coal firm of Joslin & McKahan, has bought a half interest in the shoe business conducted here for the past ten years by C. A. Sessions, and the firm will now be Sessions & Joslin. Sault Ste. Marie—M. W. Shafer has purchased the interest of his partners in the agricultural imple- ment and vehicle business of Shafer, Ogden & Kiefer and will continue | the business in his own name. Traverse City—The C. E. Taylor Coal Co. has been organized with a capital stock of $10,000, held in equal amounts by C. B. Taylor and P. R. L. Carl, with the exception of two shares, held by F. M. Taylor and N. G. Carl. Tekonsha—Morse & Toland have leased the Henry store building and will open a clothing and men’s furn- ishing goods stock about March I. Both gentlemen have been connect- ed with the clothing business in Bat- tle Creek and Marshall. Albion—B. Julius, the merchant who disappeared last week, is still among the missing, in spite of the efforts of the local and Chicago police to find him. The missing man’s financial affairs are all right and his absence is giving his friends much concern. Adrian—S. A. Slack, for a number of years purchasing agent for the re- tail grocery firm of Slack & Co., of Chicago, has purchased a half interest in the meat business of W. Spielman. A line of groceries will be added and the business conducted under the style of Spielman & Slack. Battle Creek—The Schroeder-Cur- tis Co. has been organized to embark in the general merchandise business at this place. The authorized capital stock is $40,000, held as follows: L. M. Schroeder, 160 shares; S. Schroe- der, 110 shares; E. G. Curtis, 70 shares, and C. G. Curtis, 60 shares. Grand Haven—W. J. Baker, Louis J. Baker, H. Meyer and E. W. F. Moll have formed a company to en- gage in the general merchandise busi- ness under the style of the People’s Stock is $8,000, and is held in equal amounts by the members of the com- pany. Battle Creek—W. A. Wattles, of this city, and Frank E. Strong, of Homer, have formed a copartnership and engaged in the hardware business under the style of Wattles & Strong. The business will be conducted at the location of Mr. Wattles, who was formerly engaged in the implement and vehicle business. Muskegon—John Hilt, who was formerly in charge of the wall paper department of J. O. Jeannot & Co, has purchased an interest in the wall paper and paint business of George V. Panyard, at 18 and 20 South First street, and will hereafter conduct the sales department. The new style is Geo. V. Panyard & Co. Belding—J. H. Henderson, who has conducted a general merchandise business on South Bridge street for the past four months, has consoli- dated his stock with the grocery stock of his former partner, L. D. Pierce, of Pierce Bros., and purchas- ed the interest of H. E. Pierce. The business is continued under the old style of Pierce & Henderson. Lawton—B. Rice, who closed his dry goods and clothing store here a few weeks ago and left town sudden- ly, left a number of unpaid bills, it is claimed, and his creditors are look- ing for something tangible with which to satisfy their claims. The stock left behind inventories about $80 and | claims against Mr. Rice aggregate | more than $1,200, due principally | Chicago and Grand Rapids creditors. West Bay City—The Michigan &} Ohio Coal Co. has been organized to engage in the coal business, oper- ations to be carried on at ‘Jackson in addition to this place. The new concern has an authorized capital stock of $35,000, held as_ follows: Alex. Zagelmeyer, 950 shares; Jos. Bierd, 200 shares; L. Eckhorn, 100 shares, and J. A. Bird, 50 shares. Alpena—W. H. Wilson, of Ha- gensville, and W. A. VanLoon, of Metz, have purchased the general merchandise and implement stock of Robert McHarg, at the corner of Third street and Washington avenue. The store will undergo extensive re- pairs and, as soon as completed, will be stocked with farm implements, vehicles, harnesses, sewing machines, hardware and groceries. Mr. Wilson has been engaged in the general mer- chandise and farm implement busi- ness at Hagensville since 1897, which business will be continued for the present. Mr. VanLoon owns a large farm in Presque Isle county. The new store will probably be opened about March 15. Commercial Credit Co., ‘4 Widdicomb Building, Grand Rapids Detroit Opera House Block, Detroit but slow debtors oreo receipt of our direct nd letters Send eae ‘counts to our offices for colicé non ee to handle it. Mercantile Co., Limited. The capital Vege-Meato Sel People Buy It The selling qualities of a food preparation is what interests the dealer. Like It Want It If a food sells it pays You can order a supply of Vege-Meato and rest assured that it will be sold promptly at a good profit, Send for samples and introductory prices. American Vegetable Meat Co., Ltd. Grand Rapids, Mich. I csnnenaeeiananaaiiilie at seems ee =) MICHIGAN TRADESMAN 0 The Grocery Market. Sugar—(Wm. H. Edgar & Son)— The raw situation remains substan- tially unchanged, with refiners inter- ested only as their needs suggest un- til an opportunity offers to secure a fair amount of sugar at a concession. This condition will doubtless continue until all selling pressure ceases. Eu- rope varies slightly from day to day, averaging to hold around a parity of about 5-16c per pound above our market. Refined has developed no new feature, the advance of 5c on bulk bags granulated being the only event of the week. A fair run of new orders were entered simultane- ously with the advance in the price of bags. Daily withdrawals on old contracts are very satisfactory for the season. A slight improvement is noted in the amount of freight, but it will be some time before normal conditions obtain. A heavy storm would bring about worse delays than any yet experienced. We therefore advise liberal shipping orders well in advance of requirements. Tea—So far, there has been no di- rect movement traceable to the war, but unquestionably if the fighting con- tinues any length of time it will re- sult in higher primary markets. Ja- pan will undoubtedly be compelled to levy an export duty and the general demoralization of the war will make the tea more expensive. Compared with the low point of the season, prices in primary markets are already two cents advanced and further rises are likely at any time, especially when the fact is remembered that there are no surplus stocks of teas in sight any- way. Locally there is nothing new in theh situation and as far as known prices have not been advanced. Coffee—The present price of Rio No. 7 shows a decline from the very highest point of about 1¥%c. Rio is still nearly 3c above the price ruling in September. Low grades are very scarce and bring a considerable prem- ium. Medium and high grade Santos are firm at present prices and show about 134c decline from the highest point. The Santos market is now about 234c above the September basis. The general feeling is that while prices may not go as high as the highest point reached, still the de- crease in the visible supply may cause further advances to some extent. There is less of uneasy speculation about the market now than for some time. Canned Goods—Tomatoes on spot are unchanged and quiet, but firm. Holders are strong in their ideas and seem to be expecting higher prices when spring demand sets in. No fu- tures are selling. Spot corn is steady, but with no special demand. There would be an active business if prices could be shaded 2%4@5c, but they cannot be. Future corn is quiet also, and unchanged. There is a good in- quiry for low-priced peas, but not so much for higher grades. Low grades are scarce. Nothing is doing in fu- ture peas except in some old-estab- lished brands. The Baltimore fire has not affected the markets for Balti- more canned goods to any extent, as it did not touch the canned goods dis- trict. The general line of Baltimore varieties is unchanged. California canned goods are quiet, except for odd lots moving every day. Dried Fruits—Prunes are selling well on spot at prices lower than on the coast. Spot stocks are getting reduced, there being none coming forward. The coast market is firm on a 2%c basis. Peaches are quiet. Spot prices are below the coast parity. Currants are dull and unchanged. Seeded raisins have declined 4c, so far as the association’s price is con- cerned, but as the recent advance of 4c did not affect the Eastern market the decline will likewise have no ef- fect. Provisions—There have been some advances in provisions during the past week. Compound lard has advanced 14c and pure %c. The very good de- mand is the cause. Barrel pork has advanced $1 per barrel, both butt and family, by reason of the war compli- cations. Hams of all grades are un- changed and the demand is good. Dried beef is unchanged and_ dull. Canned meats are also unchanged. Syrups and Molasses—New Orleans advices report a strong market for grocery grades of molasses, with prac- tically no supplies coming to market and the small stocks that the dealers are carrying held at firm prices. Sugar syrup has held firm. There is con- siderable strength to the corn syrup situation on account indirectly of the war, which has had a strengthening effect on cereals. Fish—Mackerel is in light demand and the market is still easy. Lent is expected to do something for the demand. Cod, hake and haddock are quiet and strong. No further change in price has occurred in cod or had- dock by reason of the extreme scarci- ty. Hake is unchanged and dull. Sardines are unchanged and quiet, there having as yet been no general offering of futures. Salmon is dull and unchanged. ee New Lime Company. The Superior Lime Co. has been organized, with a capital stock of $30,000, of which $15,000 is paid in, which amount is held in $2,500 shares by Geo. T. Zipp, A. J. Zipp, A. E. Copping and H. L. Zipp, Thomas J. Scroggie and Fred W. Zipp. The of- ficers of the corporation are as fol- lows: President—Geo. T. Zipp. Vice-President—A. J. Zipp. Secretary—A. E. Copping. Treasurer—H. L. Zipp. The corporation has acquired a tract of land at Bay Shore, adjoining the properties of the Bay Shore Lime Co., on which it will erect kilns and an office building, with a view to be- ing in the market with a line of lime by May 1. The business will be under the direct management of A. E. Cop- ping, of Edmore, who was on the road for the Deering Harvester Co. for eight years and who has been district manager for the Internation- al Harvester Co. of America for the past two years. The Produce Market. | Apples—Local dealers hold their | stocks at $2.50@3 per bbl. | Bananas—$1.25 for small bunches | and $2 for extra jumbos. | Butter—Factory creamery has ad- | vanced 2c, owing to scarcity, being | ncw held at 26c for choice and 27c for fancy. Receipts of dairy grades are not so heavy. Local dealers hold the price at 12c for packing stock, 1sc for choice and 18c for fancy. Renovated is steady at 18@r19c. Cabbage—Scarce and high, com- manding 2%c per tb. Beets—soc per bu. Celery—Steady at 25c per bunch. Cocoanuts—$3.50@3.75 per sack. Cranberries—Cape Cods and _ Jer- seys are steady at $7 per bbl. and $2.50 per bu. Dressed Calves—8@oc per fb.’ Dressed Hogs—$6@6.25 per cwt. Eggs—The market continues high and strong, due to the continuance of cold weather. Dealers hold fresh at 29@3oc for case count and 31@32c for candled. Cold storage stock is completely cleaned out. Game—Live pigeons, 75c@$1 per doz. Drawn rabbits, $1@1.50 per doz. Grapes—Malagas are steady at) $6.50 per keg. Honey—Dealers hold dark at Om toc and white clover at 12@I3c. Lemons—Messinas and Californias | are steady at $3.25@3.50 per box. Lettuce—Hot house leaf stock fetches 12c per tb. The price will be higher this season, owing to the large amount of stock lost by local grow- ers as the result of the cold weather. Frank M. Strong had the misfortune to lose about $1,000 by the explosion of a boiler. Maple Syrup—$1.05 for fancy, 9oc for pure and 8oc for imitation. New Potatoes—Bermuda, $2.75 per bu. Onions—The market is strong and firm. Local transactions are on the basis of $1 per bu. Oranges—California Navels, $2.50 for extra choice and $2.75 for extra fancy; California Seedlings, $2@2.25; Floridas, $2.75. Parsley—35c per doz. bunches for hot house. Poultry—Receipts are small, in consequence of which prices are fiim. Chickens, 14@15c; fowls, 12@ 13c; No. 1 turkeys, 1&8@19c; No. 2 tur- keys, 15@16c; ducks, 14@I5c; geese, 12@13c; nester squabs, $2@2.50 per doz. Pineapples—$5.50 per crate. Pop Corn—goc for old and s0@6oc for new. Potatoes—The market continues strong, with an advancing tendency. Store lots, goc@$r1; car lots, on track, 85(@88c per bu. in bulk. Radishes—35c per doz. for hot house. Squash—14c per tb. for Hubbard. Strawberries—Florida, 40@45c per quart. Sweet Potatoes—Jerseys are steady at $4.25 per bu. | —__»>2>_—_ All Aboard For Kalamazoo. Grand Rapids, Feb. 1s—The Grand Rapids Retail Grocers’ Association, through the Committee on Arrange- ments, begs to announce that the in- Retail Grocers’ Association to the State convention and banquet has been formally accepted and that ar- rangements have been made for all who desire to go. i The train leaves the union station at 1:50 p. m., returning after the ban- quet. Round trip, $1.45. Tickets can be purchased from the Committee or at the depot the day of departure. Great preparations are in progress by our fraters in the Celery City, such as reception at depot with brass band upon our arrival, parade, a visit to. the Asylum, and at 8 o'clock a ban- quet free of any charge. A first-class programme will be provided to keep us busy while there. Kalamazoo expects 400 visitors from Grand Rapids. Let us not dis- appoint them, but turn out and show our loyalty to the best friends we have in the State. For further particulars you may ad- dress any of the Committee. But whatever you do, turn out and have a good time, thereby making the State convention the success it merits. Yours respectfully, F. W. Fuller, F. L. Merrill, Homer Klap, Committee on Arrangements. 2s Will Make Loose Leaf Ledgers. Among the new enterprises born in the month of February is the Ed- wards-Hine Co., which has purchased the bindery plant of the Grand Rapids Lithographing Co. and will not only carry on the line of business of the old company, but will also make an up-to-date line of loose leaf goods and fancy bank pass books. The new company now has more than thirty hands at work in the factory. W. H. Edwards, Secretary and Manager, has been Superintendent of the old shop for about ten years. He came here from Saginaw to take charge of this shop and has proved his efficiency by building the business up from a fac- tory employing three people to its present proportions. Will M. Hine, President of the company, has been in the commercial stationery business for the past nine years and needs no introduction to Grand Rapids people. John H. Clay, Vice-President, is President of the Grand Rapids Litho- graphing Co. and has a wide ac- quaintance. Frank S. Coleman, Treasurer, is Assistant Cashier of the Old National Bank and his acquaint- ance extends all over Western Michi- gan. 0s Potter & Moon, formerly engaged in the grocery business at Otisco, have opened a_ grocery store at Belding. The Musselman Grocer Co. furnished the stock. —-
2<————
Ingleright & Kercher have opened
4 new drug store at Rose City. The
Hazeltine & Perkins Drug Co. furn-
vitation extended by the Kalamazoo | ished the stock.
unio Sapien ti aL
Fa pag AN MRIS SR Rea
keep the readers of that influential
a MICHIGAN TRADESMAN
“Where There’s a Will There’s a
Way.”
Written for the Tradesman.
Happy Hi Wain with his almost
Chinese cognomen had settled down
into some very comfortable quarters
on Grant avenue, and with the spirit
and genius which had won his place
for him on the reportorial corps of
“The Eastern Star” proceeded to
periodical posted upon the vital ques-
tions of the day in that important
mining center. Busy with the ex-
acting duties of his profession he
had little to do with the other lodg-
ers of the house, but as time went
by he became more or less familiar
with them and as he caromed against
them: in the halls and on the stair-
way he finally “cut out” the two
young fellows who had_= quarters
next door as young men whose ac-
quaintance he was willing to ac-
knowledge if not to cultivate.
The unconventional social code of
the Middle West finally took in
hand that last idea and it was not
long before the look of recognition
became a nod, soon accompanied by
a hearty “Hello!” and then, one
long quiet Sunday afternoon when
the luxurious Hi Wain was luxuri-
ously enjoying his cigar and an un-
usually fine number of the “Maga-
zine,” a gentle tap at the door, fol-
lowed immediately with a doubtful
“Come in” was succeeded by the
entrance of Don Dale.
A single glance at the tall and
slenderly built frame suggested the
reason of his coming to the metropo-
lis of the Rockies and this sugges-
tion was confirmed by the promi-
nent cheek bones and the too thin
face which mark without question
the Colorado “lunger.” His coming
had not been without hope and the
wonderful climate, seeming to take
|
i
an interest in the case, had settled
down to business at once and)
amendment was faintly perceptible. |
Not only had waste been stayed, but |
the well-fitting and comely garb he
wore showed signs of regaining its
old-time fulness and so an early dis-
carding of the old-time hopelessness
which three months ago had beena
leading feature.
“Ah, Dale, is it you? You could-
n’t have come in a more opportune
time. You find me every inch at
home and more than glad to see you.
Choose thou betwixt the easy chair
and the lounge, only let me urge up- |
on you one of these ‘Cuban testimo-
nials of kind regard’ as the good-
hearted gift-maker puts it in the let-
ter that came with the box. They
are not strong and I think you’ll like
them. I have something hot here
in the way of lemonade. It’s the
only sign of weakness you see about
me, if you call it that. It’s a home
relic. There are something over a
half-dozen of us when we are all at
home—mostly boys—and on a Sun-
day like this when it’s keen and cold
mother always-has for us a treat of
hot lemonade. A fellow doesn’t like
to give up such things all. at once—
I don’t, anyway—and so I try to
keep up the home life and the home
feeling as often at least as once a
week. Is your cigar drawing easi-
ly? It’s the cosy chair, is it? Good;
' now I’ll put this stand between your
chair and mine so the pitcher will
be handy and if you’re amenable to
a piece of sound advice you'll make
a footrest of the lounge. There,
now, here we are! I don’t believe
that for a quiet time this can be
beaten. Everybody out here comes
from somewhere. You’re from the
East, aren’t you?”
“From the Keystone State. Cli-
mate too much for me. You see, I
did my growing between fourteen
and fifteen—I’m twenty now—and by
the time I was sixteen I was as tall
as the nineteen-year-olds and began
to go with them. I got to being out
too much nights and before I knew
it I took cold and I wound up by
coming out here. I had then the
idea of getting over it and then go-
ing back to school; but it took a
good while to get started in the
getting’ well business—for three
years I didn’t know how it was go-
ing to turn with me—and then fath-
er was swamped in business and I
was flat on my back like a turtle. I
have managed to flop over; but here
I am without a cent besides what I
am getting from my not much of a
salary and, what is more, I had to
cut school—no, I didn’t have to, but
I did—so my chances of going up
are mighty slim on the ground of
ignorance. I don’t know what I’m
going to do. The outlook isn’t en-
couraging.”
One of those silences followed
which cigars alone can improve.
Dale made use of it in looking over
the comfortable quarters around
him. Wain had been brought upin
the atmosphere of books, considered
them as companions and loved them
as such and consequently depended
upon them for companionship. He
had, as a matter of course, brought
them with him and there they were,
a goodly array, confirming in the
young man’s daily life what Bacon
has so tersely and attractively said
of them. Their silent influence was
at once brought to bear upon Don
Dale, and the good cigar and the
comfortable chair and the old-time
home quiet, unknown now for some
years, soon made their presence felt
and at last he spake with his tongue:
“T wish I had such a room as this.
Tt makes me think of home. Mother
used to get us down by the fire even-
ings and Sunday afternoons and read
to us. She has a strain of Scotch in
‘her and so Walter Scott was what
we had first to feed on. Ivanhoe and
Kenilworth and the whole lot she
read to us and long before the Wav-
erly novels were done the habit was
fixed on every one of us and she
confirmed it by reading the best of
later writers. So we had Dickens
and Thackeray and the rest, and
then I had to make a fool of myself
—-and get sick and—-and—the whole
blamed lot—and here I am cut adrift
and—” The rest of the sentence
floated skyward in curls of fragrant
blue, gazed at by a pair of tender
eyes that saw there the dear old
home, crowded with boys and girls
in the firelight and the lamplight
and the mother reading to them.
Hi Wain took advantage of the
quiet that followed by studying un-
noticed the face and the life-glimpse
that chance and circumstance had
just presented and he couldn’t help
wondering what he had to do with
it. This boy was nothing to him.
He, Hi Wain, had his own affairs to
look after and he found in doing
that all he had time to do. He was
realizing all that the paper expected
of him, more than one flattering
comment had reached him, and,
what was much more to the purpose,
a much more substantial sign of
approval of his work had come from
the office signed by the Treasurer
of the company. Why should he
care for this—well, outcast was the
word gleaned from the fellow’s own
story, and the Wains had never had
anything to do with that sort of
person, you know—and under the
circumstances—er—and yet, and
yet, he, too, saw in the fragrant blue
the home and the reading mother
and the listening boys and girls; and
the absent one was here in his room
pleading silently with his pale death-
threatened face for help which he, a
Wain, could render and _ selfishly
wouldn’t!
The cigars were half gone and
Wain with his kept simply alive
breathed forth an occasional puff
and studied the young fellow before
him and pondered the question that
puzzled him.
“Tf you could do exactly what you
want to do, what would that be?”
asked, finally, the Eastern blue-blood,
for that is exactly what he was.
The spirit that was away off under
the old home-tree suddenly came
back and splashed the pale cheeks
first with crimson and then with
white in quick succession.
“Oh, it can make no_ difference
now. What has been has been. I
have thrown away’ my _ birthright
without even a mess_- of _ pot-
tage to console me and I haven’t
a bit of the baby-act stuff in me. I
can’t go back and I don’t want to
go back. I’ve lived it for years now
and I’m going on living it and I shall
get used to it in time and sha’n’t
mind it. This is a mighty good ci-
gar. Did you say it came from
Cuba?”
“We'll have that a little later. If
you—-What do you want to do?”
“Go to school.”
“Then take in Dick’s night school.”
“T’ve no place to study and I can’t
afford to room alone. Danford is
always in the room and_ always
noisy. Oh, it’s no use—”
“Study in here and I’ll give you a
lift when I can. Now see here, Dale,
T haven’t a bit of the saint in me and
I’m not going to open a school of
philanthropy: but I think I know a
bit of good stuff when I see it. I
see it now in you. If you are in
dead earnest I’m your man until you
catch up. You won’t get any money
and you won’t get anything but a
good chance. I won’t even hold you
up; but if you want to stagger to
your feet I will help you do that.
Then if you have brains enough and
will enough to do the rest for your-
self I’ll see to it that circumstances
don’t keep you from putting up the
best fight you know how. It’s going
to be an illustration of the old prov-
erb: ‘Where there’s a will there’s a
way. You furnish the will and I'll
see that you have the way. Is it a
go?”
Don Dale’s lips went through the
movements necessary to express
“It’s a go,” but no voice was heard.
Even the lips were too much a-quiver
to make a good job of it; but Hi
Wain didn’t care for that. He had
caught enough of the spirit of the
Wyoming plains which he had lately
visited to meet all present demands
and leaning forward with extended
hand and in a voice that the prince
of cowboys might have envied he
said, “Put it there, pard!” and the
thing was done.
And Don Dale? He’s all right!
Richard Malcolm Strong.
20>
When Nature Nods.
Nature nods undoubtedly at times,
as in the case of the child born with-
out a brain, whose case has been
made public this week. Not long
ago an infant was born and lived for
three weeks with a hole through its
heart. Thousands of us are color
blind, others have no musical sense.
And there are many Laura Bridg-
mans, many Helen Kellers. The
Queen of Roumania has, or had, at
her court in personal attendance up-
on herself the daughter of a blind no-
bleman. She could neither hear nor
speak, and had to be taught to com-
municate by holding the throat ofa
speaker, and imitating the vibration
produced by the effort. But what a
grudge against nature must such a
one as Lyon Playfair discovered ever
feel!
Here was a girl who was blind,
deaf, dumb and could neither taste
nor smell. One might be pardoned
for asking if such a life was worth
living. Yet there was a beautiful les-
son in such an existence, as the great
warm heart of Playfair discovered.
He sent her a pretty finger ring, and
the poor mite replied in this pitifully
pretty letter: “Dear Sir Lyon Play-
fair—Sir Lyon Playfair sent Edith
ring in box. Edith thank Sir Lyon
Playfair for ring. Sir Lyon Playfair
come to see Edith. Goodby.—Edith.”
During his first visit the child had
closely examined his hands, wrists,
arms and face, her touch being mar-
velously accurate. A year later he
went again to see her. At first she
did not recognize him, and no one
betrayed his identity. At length she
turned back the cuff of his shirt and
touched his wrist. Her face lighted
up with intense joy. “It is the Eng-
lishman who gave me the ring,” she
rapidly spelled out on her _ fingers.
And in a second she had flung her
little arms around his neck and was
weeping with delight at the recogni-
tion.—St. James Gazette.
——_>2.—___
Tea has a ripening period or proc-
ess like fruit, and when their prime
is past the teas decay. Therefore
it is wrong to buy tea too heavily,
trusting to distant requirements to
take the invoice off one’s hands.
——_> 22 —_____
Salad dressing is a compound of
salad oil, vinegar, sugar, mustard,
eggs and salt.
a
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MICHIGAN TRADESMAN
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THIS IS OUR MONSTER ASSORTMENT OF 5c BARCAIN TABLE COODS
BRO HERS ie includes snap items in Notions, Stationery, Hardware, Tinware, Woodenware, Brushes, Grocery Sundries, etc.
of guaranteed standard quality merchandise that is just what you
variety is the largest and most successful ever offered in an assortment of this kind.
BARGAIN BASEMENT 0
0O0Oo
R YOUR
K COUNTE
FE
K
5 Positively a gilt-edged list
need to sweeten up your bargain basement or bargain counter stock. The
We recommend the purchase of this entire lot, but to introduce
these great bargains to the trade, we will, until further notice, accep
orders for such individual items as you may select from the lists below
MONSTER LIST
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SPECIAL INTRODUCTORY OFFE
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1,604
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NOTIONS AND STATIONERY > HARDWARE AND TINWARE a
Cost Cost > 1dozen No. 26 L. P. Hammers.... y
1 dozen M. C. Peacock Ping...... ..sseses5 seees $0.34 | 1 dozen American Hair Pins...scscecesceeesce++ QO.25 > 1 dozen No. 8 Glass Cutters ae 2000.85 7 aes pk Sent ss S000 0088s iw ee a P
ldozen papers, No. 3 Manchester Safety Pins.... .33 | 1dozen No 306 Purses.....scccorevscccccesscers .30 ldozen Tracing Wheels.. ; 80 | Ldosen i rt Di pi ai heck Ban ee “98 <
1 dozen No. 2073 Key Chains .......s..ceesssvees .87 | 1 dozen No. 660 Pencils...........+. Seedecsseteces 25 > dozen No. 2241 Locks... *S (86 |= dosen iin h pie pint oe eee ‘98 @
1 dozen Invisibie Drawer Supports. .........0.006 35 | 1 dozen No. 113 Pencils........... qlee Tr .80 >. 1 dozen No. 78-3 Barrel Bolts a 10-4 4 HQ Plates... .eseeeeeneeeeeearers as
1 dozen No. 277 Hair Pins ..... ..sseceseeee « . .40 | ldozen No. 295 Penholders ........seeesees iste 580 1 dozen No. 6 Door Pulls..........ccsccccccccccce ap | Laneed 1iics deep Cake Pans. .....sseseeeeeees 38 <
1 dozen Embroidery Hoops, size 6..........+00006 «35 | 1 dozen No. 74 Colored Crayons.,.....cssesesenees 35 > 1 dozen No.3 Arm Coat Hooks = BR dozen Il-inch Pot Covers. .......++++++s
Ldozen % Loom Web. ..... oo... cscsse sees eeees .35 | 1 dozen Kirk’s Assorted Inks ........+60+ escvetees 3BB > Jdozen 4x5 Brackets............00 0° ** 9g | 1 dozen No. 250 Mixing Spoons..........++. set eees 80 ¢
1 dozen No, 1503-7 Dressing Combs...........+++ sMO |] GO2GH LAOH GING sc es css sisscscsscsasssss 00 ; 1 dozen No. 161 Harness Hooks...............006 > 149 | } dozen I-quart\Pails. .... piteeesees sags eeeyes ety -
1 dozen No. 1106-14 Fine Combs .... ......e.e05 .36 | L dozen No. 23501 School Bags .......+. testes +. = 85 > 1dozen 4-inch Light Strap Hinges "tt gg | 1 dozen 2-inch Gravy Strainers.......ssseseseass . +80
1 dozen No. 2067 Aluminum Pocket Combs....... -35 | 1 dozen No. 180 Pencil Boxes........ 7 oe 1 dozen Perfect Hasp and Hinges, “*% tgq | 1 dozen Yacht Cups.............0eeeee oe Sseccedes 30
1 dozen No: 1318 Round Combs.......++seeeesees . .88 | Ldozen No 23641 Papeteries..........cee-ceeseee «35 > 1 dozen No. 8 Rivets and Burrs Be ee * Igo | L dozen Fruit Jar Fillers.........ceseesseeseeeees 8 2
1dozen No. 81 Crochet Hooks......sscese0 sence °23 | 1 dozen No. 23668 Tablets..........s01 sesceceses 038 > 1 dozen No. 80 Fire Shovels... Sesesecececee «29 '| 1 dozen No. 13 Comb Cases ......00+5 seeeeee . 40
1 dozen No. 60 Tape Measures...... eeecceces sseee 80] 1 dozen No, 23688 Tablets....... ...00. seeccccere 30 1 dozen 4-inch Slim Taper Files....... ........ * "gg | 1 dozen pint Stamped Cups..........+65 fares BO 8
1 dozen No. 20281 Men's Armbands.......++se+006 -30 | 1 dozen No. 23539 Memorandum Books........... .40 > dozen No. 1234 Screw Drivers............2. 0... * {a6 | 1 dozen 4 Sheet Graters...... seeeeeeeeseeeeesece .29
1 dozen No. 36 Ladies’ Garters..........seeee eeee -30 | 1 dozen No. 23619 Counter Books.... ..... esestes -25 > 1 dozen 3-hole Mouse Traps..........s.0.. +0000 5 UE PGE, RO iis cicc csssrre ius .42 4
1 dozen No. 20261 Men’s Garters ......s.seseees +» «36 | 1 dozen No. 23597 Composition Books.........66.. .33 S dozen No. 120 Can Openers... ....ccccccccccece ; 185 | 1 dozen Combination Biscuit Cutters:.......- -38 ¢
1 dozen Alex. King, 40 black ...... 6... sseveees -20 | 1 dozen No 23616 Receipt Books............ cesses 140 > 1 dozen No. 40 Cake T + teeeeeese s Su ,
1 dozen Alex. Ki 40 whi 20 | 1 dozen Cash Sales Boo 25 UPNETB. osc ccceecoes déetendieos -40 | dozen Flour Dredges..... ..scccccessececess o¢ 82 2
ren Alex. King, ite... seeeees ree |e CORED eed Seren erreees tear rt tt eeeees tt eeeeres . : 1dozen Meat Pounders ........cccecssscssseeeces .88 | 1 dozen Twin Match Safes.......... 615 ceeees 23 ¢
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LT dozen No. 17 Spoons......ssecevssssccceccscsece
ldozen Butter Spades .....c..ceeuseee+- > oe
l dozen Dish Mops........ sesccesseee:
2dozen Toothpicks, 373 dozen.........+
ldozen JutcLines, 30 feet....ccocesecverere
1 dozen Cotton Lines..... Beeeicess. 606
l dozen Mouse Traps, Rex.......ss.cesessssesees
‘1 dozen No. 20321 Scrub Brushes.....co.csescsere
l dozen No. 64 Scrub Brushes.......scocscesssece
1 dozen No. 76 Vegetable BrusheS........cescece
1 dozen No. 1086 Nail Brushes.......cccsscccceses
1 dozen No. 20241 Tooth Brushes......ccseos we
1 dozen No. 20152 Shaving Brushes......cesessses
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1 dozen No, 2020914 Flat Varnich Brushes.......80.42 $ 1 dozen No. 196 Soap.ss......seessevececssceecees9O.85 | 1d :
1 dozen No. 20211-1 Flat Varnish Brushes........ .45 3 A dozen No. 311 Soap............s.essessevescsces «85 — Skip Hasy Tops....cccceccescssesessese $0.85
:80 | 1 dozen No. 20136-1-6 Sash Brushes.............. 46 % 1 dozen Williams’ Mug Shaving Soap BO rr ae nttatO Balla «25+ os ses ven eo ene 87
+37 | 1dozen No. 2401 Toasters....ccccssscsesseccesess 228 © ; Ee 1 dozen No. 25 Solid Rubber Balls......... sees a
3 1dozen No. 5 Stove Blacking.........scscssesees «35
.24 | 1 dozen No. os ere TOOGBARS, «65650 0sscsasscs > Thoesn Me 66 Pertums.«...<+66:.<,sac,. 40 1 dozen New Return Balls........0....00: vieeeees .80
-40 | 1 dozen No. 2407 Skimmers.......00++.0.+++ soe. 88 la Tal Powd oe eee 1 dozen No. 652 Mirrors.....: 35 ¢
-75 | 1 dozen No, 2410 Soap Dishes..........0.00+ .27 ¢ OHEN LAIOUD FOWGER. 5.0. .ssassesvess cooesse 0BB | 8 fn TUB ses redeencee eenecssesees ee
85 | 1 dozen No. 2416 Pot Cleaners.........cc...s0.... 185 3 [dozen Pink Face Powder..........ss0.ce.eeeeee «80 | } dozen Diamond Base Balls ......66..sssseseee, 40
-40 | 1 dozen No. 2419 Masher.........seseeereseeee + 40 9 1 dozen Oris Tooth Powder............s0s0+ sesee 40 | 1 dozen No. 626 Sea Island Cotton........ ..... 5: .80
= A eel he ped + ide hil pe - g 1 dozen Petroleum Jelly........ssscesse0e ses-ecee .80 | } dozen Yards Shelf Oilcloth.....c....ccceeeeees -46
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-35 | 1 dozen No. 374 Pants Hangers....... scesesecees ‘40 2 1 dozen No, 23442 Pipes.......+ssesiseeserseeees .45 | 1 dozen No. 4 Shoo Blacking...... estes eeeee eens -23
.23 | 1 dozen No. 41 Plate Handles.......ssssesesesegs 24 8 1 dozen No. 23095 Match Safes....... ....seeee00 40 | 1 dozen No. 72Soap.....ecseee cecceeeeeneese eas 25
80 | 1 dozen No. 63-10 Hangers......csccccsseresesess .40 8 1dozen Dying Pig Balloons..........sceceeeeeeae «35 | 1 dozen No. 300 Soap.....secsse ceccssessecssseee ES |
+40 | L dozen Sink Cleaners ......0......000:. 40 3 1 dozen Lucky Pennies........ssesececcecseresses «40 | 1 dozen No. 308 Soap......sssscccsecsscesessscess 089 4
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8
MICHIGAN
TRADESMAN
BnanGoorsun
DEVOTED TO THE BEST INTERESTS
OF BUSINESS MEN.
Published Weekly by
TRADESMAN COMPANY
Grand Rapids
Subscription Price
One dollar per year, payable in advance.
No subscription accepted unless aecom-
panied by a signed order for the paper.
Without specific instructions to the con-
trary, all subscriptions are continued in-
definitely. Orders to discontinue must be
accompanied by payment to date.
Sample copies, 5 cents apiece.
Extra copies of current issues, 5 cents;
of issues a month or more old, 10c; of
issues a year or more old, $1
Entered at the Grand Rapids Postoffice.
E. A. STOWE, Editor.
WEDNESDAY - - FEBRUARY 17, 1904
A MERE MATTER OF BULK.
Look at it as we may the Musco-
vite is a hayseed and one of the
rankest type. There is no advance-
ment, there has been none and there
will be none because that is some-
thing he does not believe in and
something, therefore, that he does
not intend to have. The concrete
only has influence with him. He
can understand land because he can
see it and own it; and so with him
the bigger the farm and the larger
the number of acres the more impor-
tant, the more powerful and the more
absolute the man and the master
that owns these. Civilization as
such has no charm or attraction for
him. It means nothing. Tricked
out in gorgeous regalia it has some-
thing to please the barbaric eye, but,
unless there is something in the
glove that hints at the iron hand it
hides, to the Slav it is nothing. There
may be something in the plea that
mind is matter’s master but not
much. It is the big nation with the
big territory that alone can hope to
last, exactly as it is the big human
giant that holds the ordinary man
with his little fist in contempt. So,
with bulk as the standard of strength,
the empire of Russia has added
square mile to square mile until the
greater part of the territory of two
continents is hers.
The getting of these square miles
makes up her history. It hardly
needs repeating here. It is a story
from first to last of determined,
courageous struggle after absolute
power, the abuse of it and, in the
face of history, its continued abuse
until outraged humanity calls for a
halt, which the civilized world be-
gins to insist upon. It was the invinci-
ble Peter that gave life to Russia.
Then Archangel on the White Sea
was Russia’s only seaport, a condi-
tion that was improved upon by
wresting the Baltic shore from Swe-
den, the Euxine Sea from the hands
of the Turks and, later on, by the
seizing of Azof, the key to the Black
Sea and Russia’s first harbor on the
south. With this port in his posses-
sion came the hope of his life and
the longing for an empire worthy of
the name and the family that he had
already determined to leave behind
him. Across the waters of the Black
Sea from his newly-won Azof he
saw—or fancied he saw—the city that
Constantine the Great had made the
capital of the Roman empire, with
its luminous cross and its well-re-
membered legion, and, like other
royal heads that the world has call-
ed Great, he dreamed that one day
the throne of the Romanoffs would
be set up at Constantinople and
that his descendant would be seated
upon it and dictate as Caesar to his
kingdom, the obeisance-making
world. That is the vision of the
Bear to-day and, whatever may have
been the means of accomplishment
in the mind of Peter, it seems to be
the hope of the modern Caesar
(whose misspelled name gives us the
modern “Czar”’) by limitless terri-
tory and by mere masses of men to
crush and trample down all opposi-
tion and so seat the Muscovite upon
the old Roman throne. So territory
once Russian remains Russian. So
Siberia becomes Russia in Asia. So
Poland disappears in the eclipsing
shadow of the Great Bear and so
Manchuria is hidden to-day under
the tremendous foot that covers and
claims it.
The success which has so far at-
tended the ambitious land-grabber-
of the Eastern Hemisphere has set
afloat the question often asked,
whether history has ceased repeat-
ing herself or whether Russia is to
be the exception that confirms the
rules. Xerxes depended upon numbers
and Thermopylae was made immor-
tal. Marathon is reckoned as one of
the decisive battles of the world, but
it was won by the invincible few;
and was it at Leuctra that the The-
ban six thousand taught bulky Spar-
ta that the battle is not always
to the strong? The work of the Ro-
man legion in Gaul carries with it a
lesson with a moral to those who
care to study it and, since the strug-
gle for liberty began, time and place
and circumstance have shown again
and again that bulk alone is bulk
only, with power to crush exactly as
inanimate nature crushes; and mere
bulk is Russia’s greatest defense.
The man behind the hoe is_ her
truthful representative. He is steep-
ed in ignorance that belongs to the
Dark Ages. Free thought and free
speech are utter strangers to him
and the American idea of education
is unknown to him. Serfdom was
abolished some forty years ago, but
the advance of the people, as such,
has been so slight that it can hardly
be said to exist. Love of country is
there unknown and the assertions of
the official press of St. Petersburg
that 130,000,000 Russian hearts are
beating with indignation at the
course Japan is pursuing is as ridicu-
lous as it is untrue. More than half
the entire population of Russia can
be counted on as opposed to the gov-
ernment and are held in subjection
by force. It is simply bulk without
brains and leads safely to the con-
clusion that the old order of things
has not been reversed—that history
does repeat itself, that mind still rules
matter and still asserts itself and
that Russia will find, as the ignorant
and the overbearing and the abuser
of power always finds, that there is
an end to these things and that that
end is disaster and ruin and nothing-
ness,
THE GENERAL WELFARE.
Among the comparatively new
developments of trade and com-
merce, as it is practiced to-day, is
the mutual association of men rep-
resenting all departments of busi-
ness for the general good of the
community in which they live. They
are called, variously, Boards of Com-
merce, Boards of Trade, Business
Men’s_ Associations and _ Citizens’
Associations, and there are very few
cities of 1,000 or more inhabitants
in America that are without suchan
association. And these bodies, when
correctly organized and wisely con-
ducted, are invariably beneficial to
the cities they represent.
There are obstacles in the way of
each one of them, however, to be
removed only through education.
One obstacle—the confounding of
their character with that of a Stock
Exchange—is because of the names
selected. Another, and an aggravat-
ing hindrance, is the offspring of
jealousy—one set of men arraying
themselves in opposition because of
a belief that another set of men con-
stitute a “ring” and are working sole-
ly for their own personal interests.
Yet another barrier to the progress
of these institutions is born of bigo-
try and the narrowest sort of judg-
ment which protests because such
organizations fail to entangle them-
selves in local politics, governmen-
tal (municipal chiefly) affairs and
doetrinal propositions.
Your temperance advocate loses
his temper because “the board” does
not take up his hobby; your base-
ball enthusiast gets out of all pa-
tience because “ the board” does not
invest in a league team; another cit-
izen waxes wroth because the Board
of Public Works is not “ripped up
the back’ by the association organ-
ized with an eye single to the gener-
al welfare.
And thus we reach the key note:
What constitutes the general wel-
fare?
No one man nor no half dozen
men, however honest, however loyal,
however successful they may be, are
licensed to fairly answer that ques-
tion except they be developed toa
splendidly broad sense of right and
fairness. The general welfare em-
braces all creeds, all avenues of hu-
man intercourse, and invariably re-
sents any interference by individuals
or organizations who fail to obliter-
ate selfishness, who do not recognize
the value of harmony in their policy
and practice.
No association of citizens volun-
tarily organizing for the purpose of
promoting the general welfare is re-
quired to dictate formally and asan
entity to any legally elected or ap-
pointed Government official; no such
organization is required, as a body,
to meddle in any fashion in the af-
fairs of any religious organization; it
is out of place for any Board of
Commerce or other voluntary organ-
ization of citizens to espouse any
proposition that is purely personal
or purely individual. It is impossi-
ble for the general welfare ever to
dwindle to the puny proportions of
the purely personal. There is no
patriotism worthy the name that is
| not founded upon lines much broad-
er than the purely individual.
Until these lessons are learned,
until such an education has been ac-
quired by an association for the good
of the general welfare, that associa-
tion will be unable to accomplish the
benefits so fondly hoped for. And
this preachment is offered in the
firm belief that the Grand Rapids
3oard of Trade has learned its les-
son and that, after about sixteen
years of steady and honest effort, it
has reached a condition of broad
public spirit, perfect harmony and
true patriotism, by virtue of which
it is to-day a most potent factor in
the city’s progress and prosperity.
And what has been and is being
accomplished in Grand Rapids can
be equally well attained in other
cities, if, like Grand Rapids, the truth
be recognized and practiced that the
organization be made on a broad ba-
sis; that whatever comes to your
neighboring city—through failure to
secure it yourself—helps your city
and all adjacent cities; that the small
city may help the larger one just as
the larger one helps the _ lesser.
Jealousy and suspicion can have no
place in the membership of the
successful organization of Business
Men’s Associations, and good, old-
fashioned patriotism and loyalty to
your home town first and to the ad-
jacent territory afterward must be
basic factors. Above all, be fair,
persistent, patient
Bear in mind that your membership
in such an organization counts for
just as much in the success of the
body as does membership and the
holding of an office in the associa-
tion; so that no one member canbe
more valuable than another, no one
member can be more energetic, more
broad in his public spirit and gener-
osity and more earnest in his loyalty,
than are the other members—that is,
if your association of business men
is formed along correct lines and is
conducted. wisely.
Comparatively few proportionately
and a very large number in the aggre-
gate are left-handed. It is regarded
as something of an oddity, and pa-
rents who see signs of it in their
little children try to break them of
it and make them right-handed, if
possible, or at least ambidextrous.
They will try to do so all the more
if they pay attention to Prof. Lom-
broso, a celebrated Italian alienist,
who says in an article published in
the North American Review _ that
most left-handed persons are con-
genital criminals and that the per-
centage of left-handed criminals is
greater among women than among
men. That is a pretty severe ar-
raignment. Not all left-handed peo-
ple are criminals, either men or wom-
en, although some of them are, and
for that matter the same may be
said about right-handed people.
Granting that it is a misfortune to
be left-handed and that it is an evi-
dence of some queer quirk, it: does
not follow that state prison yawns
for all those so afflicted. There are
some very nice people who are left-
handed and some yery good base
ball pitchers.
and generous. _
sige oe:
Leese
ecm
Sa
9
-WORK OF THE YEAR.
Annual Reports of the Grand Rapids
Board of Trade.
At the annual banquet of the
Grand Rapids Board of Trade, held
at the Lakeside Club last evening,
the following annual reports were
presented by the officers and com-
mittees:
Executive Committee
As Chairman of the Executive
Committee, it gives me great pleasure
to report that the members of my
committee have, during the past year,
shown an abiding interest in the wel-
fare and efforts of the Board of
Trade both by generous attendance
at the committee meetings and by
sincere and careful consideration of
all matters brought to their attention.
And by virtue of such loyalty, I deem
it my privilege to congratulate the
Board of Trade on the fact that in
spite of various new _ undertakings
put on foot; in spite of extraordinary
demands upon the hospitality of the
city of Grand Rapids and in spite of
the unforseen and unavoidable con-
ditions in relation to the annual ex-
cursion of the Board of Trade, the
expenditures recommended by _ the
various standing committees and ap-
proved by the Executive Committee—
the total expenditures by the Board
of Trade during the past year have
been kept within the annual income
of the organization.
Permit me, in this connection, to
refresh your memory as to a few of
the details in the matter of expendi-
tures. First among the unexpected
demands was the visit of the delega- |
tion of German agriculturists, an in- |
cident very well worth all that it
cost. Next came the enlargement |
and re-arrangements of this assembly |
room and the putting in of additional |
furniture; an improvement impera-
tively demanded by the needs of our
organization. Then came the effort |
to add to the achievement of securing
the passage of the Normal School act,
by obtaining for this city the presence |
of that proposed institution. While |
this effort was sincere and the outlay |
considerable, there are no sore spots |
remaining over the triumph of our |
our extravagantly generous neighbor, |
Kalamazoo. Coincident with the fore-
going came the preliminary expenses
attending the organization of the
Parks and Boulevard Association—
an enterprise well established that
means much to the material and
spiritual advancement of our city; the |
necessary expense attending the!
Board’s long continued campaign for |
the improvement of Grand River, a/|
campaign which has resulted in se-|
curing, beyond peradventure, a chan-|
nel between this city and Lake Michi- |
gan, having a minimum depth all the
year around of six feet. That our)
successors, during the twenty-five
years next following, will obtain the |
ultimate back-water-inlet channel of
at least ten feet depth, seems to me |
to be a foregone conclusion. |
Other special appropriations recom- |
mended and authorized were fifty dol-
lars toward the expenses of the con-
vention of the Woodmen of the!
World; of a maximum amount of.
$180 toward the rent of the Auditor- |
ium for the joint exhibition under the |
| procuring of quarters
MICHIGAN TRADESMAN
auspices of the Grand Rapids Poultry
Association and the Michigan State
Poultry and Pet Stock Association;
of the cost of entertaining with a
street car tour of the city for the dele-
gates to the international convention
of the Gregg Short Hand Association
and of $75 for the hire of carriages
for delegates to the annual convention
of the Michigan Federation of Wo-
men’s Clubs. The single application
to the Convention Committee that
was referred to the Executive Com- |
mittee without recommendation, was
for aid in behalf of the Trades and
Labor Council Exposition; and the
rejection thereof by our committee
received ample approval by the char-
acter and results of the event in
question.
In behalf of my associates and my-
self, permit me to express our sin- |
and |
members of all the standing com-|
mittees and to the President of the.
cere thanks to the Chairmen
Board of Trade and the members of
the Board of Directors for their cour-
tesy to our committee and for the
thorough and comprehensive presen-
tation of every matter submitted by
them for our consideration.
The only matter referred to this
committee that has remained in statu
quo, came to us from the Board of
Directors in the form of a motion
made by Mr. Gilbert and supported
by Mr. Shelby, looking to the erec-
tion of a Board of Trade building.
Our committee appointed a special
committee consisting of Messrs. Stev-
ens, Hollister, Musselman, Idema and
Perkins to investigate and consider as
| to character of building desired and
sites for same, and to report back to
| our committee.
For various good reasons the mat-
ter has been permitted to remain as
it was, but in this connection it
is well to bear in mind that the lease
of the quarters at present occupied
i by our organization, expires a year
from next April. Also that our in-
creased membership and the increas-
ed number of auxiliary organizations,
together with the very large demands
upon the rooms by outside organiza-
tions, renders imperative the early
more nearly
adequate to present and future needs.
Wm. H. Anderson,
Chairman of Executive Committee.
Grand River Improvement Committee
The work of the Committee on
River Improvement was very promi-
nent the past year owing to the ap-
proaching crisis in its history. The
agitation and discussion of the sub-
ject and the dissemination of com-
plete reports of the work of the Com-
mittee and the hearing before the
United States Engineers have familiar-
ized the business men with the situa-
tion better than ever before. We
feel this must surely add to the
strength of our position.
We are justified in the belief that
we never were so. strong as at
present in our hopes for final
success. All previous efforts have
been only skirmishes and_ prep-
aration for the real battle, which
came when we had to appear before
the representatives of the Govern-
ment, not to prove the feasibility of
| the improvement, but its value in a
| commercial way and for the future.
| We have not only reached the in-
|trenchments, but have secured an
| impregnable fortress by the decision
'of the Engineers in our favor; we
| have for the first time received the
| endorsement of the Government of-
\ficially. There is no longer doubt
| about the completion of the work,
| for nothing approaches an absolute
| certainty more nearly than the Gov-
| taking.
|in the mind of any citizen, let it be
| dismissed at once, for it is settled
| that we will have a channel six feet
| deep to the Lake. Successful river
| navigation is near at hand. The new
| dredge is nearly complete; there is
| still $40,000.00 of the last appropria-
tion available for continuing the
work, and the engineer in charge
has no doubt as to the rapid advance-
ment in sufficiently deepening the
channel the coming season, for any
boats that may be put on the river.
Illustrating the importance of wa-
ter transportation, I would like to
quote from an address recently de-
livered in the Chamber of Commerce,
Pittsburg, before the National River
and Harbor Congress:
“There should be no rivalry _ be-
One is simply a powerful auxiliary
to the other. In Europe, where im-
portation is carried to an extent not
dreamed of in this country, it has
been found that where navigable wa-
ter-ways have been established new
railways have heen found necessary,
and older and unprofitable ones par-
alleling these streams have been
made prosperous.
“The London Chamber of Com-
merce, the best authority on indus-
trial ethics, says in its Journal of
March, editorially, that the enormous
Sums expended in France, Germany,
and other water-way improvements
is, from the enlightened commercial
policy, giving the easiest and most
economical transportation of their
products to market, and unless Great
Britain adopts similar measures, she
will lose her pre-eminence as a pro-
ducing nation.
“Words coming from such a source
are of deepest importance, and this
country should not be slow in giving
them the most profound considera-
tion.
“In our own country the first of
a proposed line of steamships from
the Great Lakes to Europe direct
have left Chicago for Hamburg via
the Welland Canal and St. Lawrence
River; other steamers are scheduled
to follow.
“The effect of carrying American
products from the heart of our coun-
try to Central Europe by continuous
water transportation can only be sur-
mised. It may result in a revolution
in the carrying trade to markets in
the Old World.
“It is only through improved water-
way systems that the great, cheap
and heavy products of mine, forest
and field are brought to tide water,
and thence to the world’s markets,
ernment commitment to an_ under- |
If there is a lingering doubt |
tween rail and water transportation. |
| the Government that we are worthy
provement of water-ways for trans-
| of the Board of Trade, who have fol-
Austria and other countries on the)
Continent in construction of canals |
and with this knowledge an imperative
demand is upon Congress to go for-
ward with a system that has brought
wealth and prosperity to our borders.
“The older countries were over a
thousand years in adapting to their
industrial and commercial wants the
cheapest and best transportation to
markets at home and abroad, and all
their dearly-bought experiences are
but so many studies from which we
may take example and even improve
upon.”
Such are the words spoken in an
inland city where they are striving
to secure the deepening of a six-foot
channel to eight feet, to provide for
increase of traffic beyond expectation.
The great State of New York has
decided to expend $100,000,000 to im-
prove and enlarge its system of ca-
nals.
Is it not possible that a water-way
across the State of Michigan will be
found a commercial necessity, and
may not our little channel, but just
begun, form a part of that water-way?
Now is our time to act. We have
endorsed the project and said it was
feasible; we have backed up the “Old
Guard” who always had faith in it;
we have committed ourselves to the
practicability of operating a steam-
boat line. Now let us prove our faith
by actual demonstration, and show to
of the attention paid to our appeals,
and prove to the great membership
lowed and endorsed us largely be-
cause of faith in the judgment of
those closer to the work, that our
hopes were not unfounded.
Under the guidance of the gentle-
man who succeeds to the Chairman-
ship of the Committee, we have no
| doubts as to the continuation of the
work toward the completion of the
project that will so greatly benefit the
City of Grand Rapids and Western
Michigan.
Gaius W. Perkins,
Chairman River Improvement Com-
mittee.
Public Improvement Committee
Your Committee on Public Im-
provements has had three matters re-
ferred to it of sufficient importance,
it is believed, to recall for considera-
tion at the present time.
The first in importance was the
new Normal School authorized by the
last Legislature.
We believe it can be truthfully said
that the influence exerted by a com-
mittee sent to attend a joint session
of the Legislature, March 20th, was
largely instrumental in bringing about
this legislation. It is not necessary
to go into the details of the splendid
work that was performed by a sub-
committee, consisting of Messrs Chas.
W. Garfield, Harvey J. Hollister, E.
D. Conger, W. H. Elson, John W.
Blodgett, C. W. Burch, Truman Kel-
logg, H. B. Vander Cook, W. R.
Shelby, Maurice Shanahan, Daniel
McCoy, W. M. Palmer, W. B. Wes-
ton, S. M. Lemon, Mark Norris,
Lewis D. Hall and L. E. Knappen.
The Committee secured several
sites which it believed were splendid
propositions as to location for such
a school, and when the State Board
10
MICHIGAN
TRADESMAN
of Education visited our city this
splendid Committee did everything |
possible to impress upon this Board |
the desirability of locating the new |
school within our midst.
It was well |
known to the Committee that other |
towns were offering cash bonuses
and other inducements for the loca-
tion of the school at their respective
|
{
points, but our Committee took the |
position that the advantages of our
beautiful city were of such a nature
that its duty was performed when
these many advantages were properly
presented to the Board.
feel that the great State of Michigan
should ask any community to furnish |
money to put into the buildings, or
pay any part of the operating ex-
penses for a term of years for this
school. The community at large has
very little comprehension of the
amount of detail work that was per-
formed by this Committee in the in-
to secure the location of the new
school was not due to any lack of
energy or ability on the part of the
Committee or the Board of Trade.
because the membership at large gave
its hearty and enthusiastic support in
every way possible to the efforts of
the Committee especially appointed
for this work. ;
Another matter of very great im-
portance which was referred to this
Committee, and which terminated
most successfully, was the proposal
to establish and maintain a Riverside
Boulevard between Grand Rapids and
Grandville. It would be difficult to
find a more forcible illustration of
the loyalty, public spirit and generos-
ity of our business men than the re-
sults of the efforts along this line
present. We have to-day a well or-
ganized Boulevard Association and
about fifteen thousand dollars sub-
scribed for the development of this
worthy undertaking. The results of
this movement abundantly prove what
can be accomplished when there is
a “long pull, a strong pull, and a pull
altogether” to.accomplish a given ob-
ject.
Another matter that was referred
to this Committee, which we believe
is not generally known, was a com-
munication received from Prof. A.
J. Rooks, in relation to the proposed
change in the literary department of
the Christian Reformed Church Semi-
nary into a college.
Prof. Rooks appeared before the
Committee and gave facts and sta-
tistics which were a complete sur-
prise to every member present, as to
the development and present pros-
pects of the educational work carried
on by that institution. No one had
any idea that more than one hundred
pupils were in attendance upon the
instructions of this seminary from
outside the city. After an exhaustive
discussion of the matter, a report was
made to the Board of Directors, com- |
mending this project as_ entirely
worthy the consideration of the pub-
lic spirited and philanthropic citizens
of our city.
It did not |
of any of the more important com-
mittees of the Board, but we believe
that those who have served on im-
portant committees realize as never
before how necessary and how valu-
able to the city at large is the work,
faithfully performed and unselfishly
given by the great number of our
members who have never failed to
bestow in behalf of our city.
Respectfully submitted,
Amos S. Musselman,
Chairman.
Transportation Committee
At the meeting of the Committee
on Transportation, held March 3,
1903, sixteen of twenty-four members
of the Committee were present. An
unofficial report was received that the
freight rate on soft coal to Grand
Rapids would be made the same as
the rate to Chicago. This problem
: ..,} was bef h i h evi-
terests of the city, and that we failed | SS ——- —o
| ous year, and the handicap of paying
a higher fuel cost as compared with
Chicago was removed April 1st last,
when our contention was recognized
by the railroads making the same rate’
to both cities.
A sub-committee on Car Service
Rules, consisting of Messrs Geo. A.
Davis, C. F. Perkins and W. N. Rowe,
reported having secured concessions
to lumber and coal dealers and to
furniture manufacturers.
Messrs E. O. Brown, Geo. G. Whit-
worth and A. Himes were appointed
as a_ sub-committee to investigate
the provision of a Car Service bill be-
fore the Legislature.
The Committee at this meeting
voted to recommend to the Board of
Directors the payment of $50 toward
the expenses of the Executive Com-
mittee of the Inter-State Commerce
Law Convention in trying to secure
the amendment of the Inter-State
Commerce Law. This recommenda-
tion was reported to and adopted by
the Board of Directors at its meeting
March toth.
At the meeting of the Board of
Directors September 8th, a_ report
was made that the General Passenger
Agents of the Pere Marquette and
G. R. & I. Railroads had agreed to
make a ten-day excursion rate to
Grand Rapids from points north and
west of here at the time of their an-
nual October excursion to Detroit
and Chicago. The low rate secured
brought to this city many people who
would not otherwise have come to
Grand Rapids, to the great advantage
of the retail trade of this city.
At the meeting of the Committee
held November 17th, it was voted to
recommend to the Board of Directors
the adoption of resolutions memoral-
izing Congress for an extention of
the powers of the Interstate Com-
merce Commission and for the en-
actment of suitable legislation to re-
habilitate the American Merchant
Marine. These resolutions were re-
ported to the Board of Directors at
the meeting of December 8th and
adopted.
Representing the West Michigan
This comprises the more important | State Fair Association, your Chair-
work of this Committee during the man with the officers of the Associa-
year past. It is unnecessary,
and | tion and the officers of the Board of
would be impossible to present at| Trade, appeared before the Michigan
such a time, the details of the work | Passenger Association and obtained
the concession of a one-fare round-
trip rate from all points in Michigan
to Grand Rapids during the holding
of our fair, thus placing the West
Michigan State Fair on an equal basis
with the State Agricultural Society’s
event at Pontiac—as far as the rail-
ways are concerned.
Another important result success-
fully accomplished by the Transpor-
tation Committee was the abolition
of intolerable delay in handling the
early morning mails from Chicago
and the bringing about of additional
train service between this city and
St. Joseph.
It is gratifying to be able to refer
to the close and very friendly rela-
tions existing between our organiza-
tion and the officials of the various
railways centering here. In every
instance have the representations
made, the counter presentations and
the discussions following, been tem-
perate but earnest and thorough. In
no case has there been shown, on
either side, any disposition to work
for any result that was not mutually
fair and for the general good. In
this spirit have we succeeded, with
the aid of the railway officials, in in-
augurating trade excursions, in se-
curing additional train service, in ad-
justing the mail, freight and pas-
senger service between this city and
St. Joseph, in securing a drawbridge
where the Pere Marquette road
crosses our river and in obtaining a
one-fare-round-trip rate for the West
Michigan State Fair, thus placing our
annual exhibition on an equal railway
basis with that of the Michigan Agri-
cultural Society in Eastern Michigan.
Very respectfully submitted,
Eugene D. Conger,
Chairman.
Industrial Committee
In common with the interests that
are assigned to your Committee, the
members of the Industrial Committee
have, during the past year, been re-
auired to strive against the problems
of capital, labor, fuel and location in
relation to the question of freight
rates; and while the tangible good
results obtained are meager, we feel
that it is through no lack of sincere
and painstaking effort on the part of
the members of the Committee.
Eight formally assembled sessions
of the General Committee were held
during the year and a score of hastily
summoned and semi-informal meet-
ings of various sub-committees were
held during that time. In addition,
several thousand circular letters with
a statistical folder showing the value
of Grand Rapids as an_ industrial
center, were mailed to Chicago firms,
while a voluminous correspondence
has been carried on through the year.
Mr. J . D. Case generously donated
his efforts and influence while in
Chicago on repeated occasions, to-
ward securing the removal here of
various industries in that city, and
our Secretary, Mr. Van Asmus, spent
five days in Chicago on a special mis-
sion of the same character.
As an illustration of what we have
had to contend against, a Chicago
manufacturer stated to Mr. Van As-
mus when in that city: “Our plant
here represents an investment of
$120,000. We will abandon this plant
and move our business to Grand Rap-
ids, we won’t ask for a bonus or for
any subscription to our stock, we
won’t ask for a thing, if your Board
will give us a guarantee over the
signatures of your President and Sec-
retary that for five years we will be
protected against labor troubles.”
Other members of our Committee,
both as individuals and as sub-com-
mitteemen, have given freely of their
time and energy in the effort to ad-
vance our city’s industrial interests.
As an evidence that we have not
been wholly idle, permit us to state
that individuals and organizations
have solicited the attention of your
Commitee and have been, either by
correspondence or otherwise, investi-
gated and reported upon as numeri-
cally indicated below:
Chicago negotiations.............. 24
Michigan negotiations............ 10
Wisconsin negotiations........... 4
Negotiations elsewhere........... 14
Total negotiations............ 52
Had the number been double it
is extremely doubtful if, under the
conditions prevailing last year and
still prevailing, that any better re-
sults would have been obtained.
Net Tangible Results
Climax Boiler Co.—Valuable as-
sistance rendered and for which the
Manager of the Company was _ es-
pecially grateful. The Company’s
present condition is reported as satis-
factory and its future very bright.
The Gillett Roller Bearing Co,
from Benton Harbor, have moved
here and have purchased property
and are now located on Grandville
avenue. Some assistance was ren-
dered in investigations for suitable
site.
American Paper Box Co.—Succes-
sor to a Cleveland company’s busi-
ness which was purchased and re-
moved here nearly a year ago. No
direct assistance was asked of the
Industrial Committee but members
of the Board of Trade were mainly
instrumental in securing this business
for our city and are the present
main owners. The business is in full
operation, claims to have the best
folding box made in the country and
anticipates a successful career.
The Board of Trade Monthly Bul-
letin was proposed by your Com-
mittee and we offer our thanks to
the Board of Directors for adopting
the recommendation and deciding to
-publisn such a bulletin.
The Grand Rapids Board of Trade
very wisely disapproves of the bonus
idea, though to our neighboring
towns many industries have been at-
tracted, we believe, largely through
the inducement of a bonus. Neither
does the Board as a rule, advocate
the purchase of industrial stocks.
Occasionally, as in the case of the
Climax Boiler Co. it lends its influ-
ence toward securing capital for as-
suredly profitable enterprises. But
it is neither one or both together of
these that has so effectively erected
the barrier that is before us. The
chief factors opposing us are the
labor problem and the fact that
Grand Rapids does not have water
transportation to Chicago, Milwaukee
and elsewhere on the Great Lakes.
- arty ney & mee
ESS
MICHIGAN TRADESMAN
11
= athens asic > + eRe
In conclusion, your Committee
wishes to express its appreciation
and gratitude to the esteemed Presi-
dent of the Board of Trade for his
faithful and regular attendance at
the meetings of the Industrial Com-
mittee and for his hearty and always
helpful participation in the delibera-
tions and problems of the Committee
and to Secretary Van Asmus, for his
efficient, patient and intelligent at-
tention to the large amount of detail
work and correspondence incident to
the work of the Committee, and to
the individual members of the Com-
mittee who have so earnestly co-op-
erated in the work of the year.
Respectfully submitted,
Lewis T. Wilmarth,
Chairman, Industrial Committee.
Municipal Affairs Committee
The Committee on Municipal Af-
fairs held several meetings during
the past year for discussion of and
action upon questions of public in-
terest referred to it, chief among
which were the Charter Commission
for Grand Rapids, Good Roads and
Grade Crossings. At an early meet-
ing a sub-committee was appointed
to work on the bill before the Legis-
lature to create a Charter Commis-
sion for Grand Rapids. During the
latter part of the year a program was
arranged and carried out for the dis-
cussion of the subject of Good Roads
in Kent county before the Board of
Directors, the principal speaker upon
the program being the Hon. Horatio
S. Earl of Detroit. Subsequently an
effort was made to induce the Board
cf Supervisors of Kent county to
take definite action upon the subject
of Good Roads. Thus far, however,
no definite action has been taken.
Respectfully submitted,
Geo. Clapperton,
Chairman.
Committee on Legislation
The Committee on Legislation re-
spectfully presents the following re-
port for the year now expiring.
The details of the work done by
this Committee have been from time
to time presented in the monthly re-
port, and do not call for repetition
now.
The first object undertaken by the
Committee after its appointment, was
to make the personal acquaintance of
the representatives in the Legislature
from this city and county, in order
that whatever measures the Commit-
tee desired to approve might have the
benefit resulting from such acquaint-
ance.
In carrying, out this purpose, the
Committee arranged an informal din-
ner at the Peninsular Club, which
was held on the evening of March
7th, and at which there were present
nearly all of the members of the
Legislature from the city and county,
as well as most of the members of
this Committee and the chairmen of
several other committees. So far as
could be judged from appearances
and from expressiéns of opinion by
the members of the Legislature, the
object of the meeting was successfully
accomplished.
The State Legislature was in ses-
sion from the beginning of the year
|
until some time in June, and this | companies for the kind way in which |
Committee took a more or less active | they have treated us in regard to)|
part with reference to all pending | penalties.
measures affecting the city.
A delegation was sent to Lansing
and appeared jointly with the others |
in favor of the North Park Bridge |
Bonding Bill, which was finally pass-
ed and later carried into effect by
the election.
The Committee also, either alone
or in conjunction with other com-
mittees, appeared before the Legis-
lature in support of the boulevard |
bill and the bill for improving the
water supply by installing the septic
tank system at the Soldiers’ Home.
Both of these bills became laws dur-
ing the session. The Committee also
took part in urging the passage of
the bill for the new State Normal
School.
Different members of the Commit-
tee, in their individual capacities and
without formal action by the Com-
mittee, also took part in discussing
ith fire, sscmubers Of the. hceeietnre many of the retail dealers of Grand
and in urging the passage of the bills
relating to the Library Commission,
the Sinking Fund Commission, and
the St. Louis Exposition Appropria-
tion.
As a summary of the
think it may be said without exag-
geration, that through the action of
this and other committees, the Board
made itself felt as a factor in legisla-
tion in a more effective way than has
ever before been done. °
Respectfully submitted,
A. C. Denison,
Chairman.
Wholesale Dealers’ Committee
On February 19th we had a meet-
ing and concluded to have a Trade
Excursion to Grand Rapids starting
March Ist and running to the 15th,
and appointed a Committee on Rail-
roads and printing. Our committee
called on the railroad people and they
informed us that the Western Passen-
ger Association would not grant us
the rate required, so we appointed a
committee to wait on the General
Passenger Agents who reside here,
asking. them to reconsider it. We
|} succeeded in having them grant us
the rate, and on July 15th we met
again and arranged for an excursion
running from August 24th to the 29th,
which was well attended, over 100
merchants taking advantage of the
rate. Later we were informed by
the Western Passenger Association
that on account of so many of the
smaller. places asking for the same
privilege, and Detroit not caring for
it, they concluded to discontinue the
one and a third rate, so we had to
look for other methods of bringing
people to Grand Rapids.
On December Ist we held a meeting
to discuss the plan that Buffalo and
Knoxville were using in place of what
we had. We had a very representa-
tive meeting, most every member of
th committee being present and we
entered into the discussion from the
information we had on hand, and
appointed a committee to still further
investigate and report later.
I want to thank the committee for
the hearty support they have given
the chairman and also the Railroad
| Board.
a sub-committee of five should be;
matter, I} |
| Truman Kellogg to the
| tail interests by having as
We expect to hear from |
our committee very soon, and then |
we will have another meeting and |
we hope we will be able to form |
some plan that will be satisfactory |
and profitable to the wholesalers. |
Respectfully submitted,
Wm. Logie,
Chairman Wholesale Dealers’ Com- |
mittee.
Retail Dealers’ Committee.
Your Committee, appointed and
known as the Retail Dealers’ Com-
mittee, held its first meeting on the
afternoon of March 17th, with
members of the Committee present,
also President Stevens and Secretary
Van Asmus.. The Committee entered
into a general discussion as to what
they could do that would promote
the interests of the retail dealers in
Grand Rapids and so prove a benefit
to the Board of Trade.
First, was the question
of how
Rapids belonged to the Board of
Trade and what method to take to
get those who were not alredy mem-
bers, to become members of the
It was finally decided that
appointed to compile a list of all the
retail dealers in the city who were
not members of the Board, and the
| ever stand ready to give
'time and knowledge in the further-
lance of this end.
12}
same to be given to the Membership
more good could be done for the re-
near a
complete membership of the retail
dealers as possible. This Committee
consisted of W. S. Winegar, R. A.
McWilliams, Will Hine, and E. J.
Herrick and T. E. Dryden. As a re-
sult of the efforts, they compiled
a list of 250 retail dealers who were
not members of the Board. The same
was forwarded to the
Committee for their use.
The next matter of interest was
the ten days excursion, which was
given by the P. M. and G. R. & I.
Railroads from points north to Chi-
cago, Detroit and Toledo—our ob-
ject being to have Grand Rapids in-
cluded in the itinerary. A sub-com-
mittee consisting of Mr. A. May, C.
L. Harvey and E. H. Smith was ap-
pointed to aid the Transportation
Committee in the matter of this ten
day excursion, believing that this
would be a benefit to the retail in-
terests of the city.
The-next question discussed was
the matter of the fair. The points
taken up were the question of ex-
hibits by the retailers of the city.
Also, the matter of the attendance
of the employes during the fair. It
will be the effort of this Committee
to have the retailers take a more gen-
eral interest, and more concerted ac-
tion in the exhibits at the coming
fair than in years previous.
All of which we respectfully submit.
Eugene W. Jones,
Chairman.
Real Estate Committee
The Real Estate Committee, realiz-
ing as they do that their business wel-
‘ : : | time and labor
Committee, to be used in trying to)
prevail upon them to become mem- |
bers, your Committee believing that |
fare is more closely connected with
the success of the main object in
which the Board of Trade is engaged,
viz.; the securing of new and varied
manufacturing interests for our city,
as well as extending aid, when de-
sired, to those now with us—than al-
most any other body of business men,
of their
While the members of the Commit-
| tee, individually, have been active in
the promoting and locating of several
| very desirable additions to our local
industries during the year just passed,
the Committee collectively has had
but one subject brought before it,
viz. “The location of the West Michi-
gan Normal School,’ and while the
efforts of the Board of Trade and
our citizens in general, did not meet
with success, we feel that the Real
Estate Committee did everything in
its power in its endeavor to gain the
desired end. The members of the
Committee took the matter up with
a great deal of interest, and the re-
sult shown in the many different sites
which we were able to present to
the State Board of Education, was
an evidence that their work was well
done.
I think the offer by Mr.
Board of
Trade, of a site of twenty acres of
land, free from expense, as One re-
sult of that work, was worth all the
expended by the
Committee, as it shows that Grand
Rapids has public spirited citizens
who will come to the front when
needed, with a liberality beyond what
we had dared hope.
The real estate members of the
Board of Trade will always be ready
at your call, or that of your succes-
sors, to lend their efforts in behalf
of any object which you may present
to them, and looking forward as they
do to the most successful year, in
made
1€| many, in their private business, they
Membership |
\
also anticipate and present their best
wishes for the same to the Board of
Trade.
Respectfully,
W. H. Gilbert,
Chairman Real Estate Committee.
Entertainment Committee
The most important matter con-
sidered by this Committee was the
annual excursion down the river.
Here, we felt, was an opportunity to
display the abilities which our Presi-
dent believed we possessed when he
gave us a place on this Committee.
But we were doomed to disappoint-
ment. The first meeting of the Com-
mittee was held on August 17th, at
which time special committees were
appointed on boats, on catering, on
music and on athletics. Thereafter,
several meetings were held and the
date of the excursion was finally fixed
at October 7th, 1903.
The committees immediately pro-
ceeded to work upon their respective
appointments, and at a meeting held
on October 2nd, reports were made
showing that every man had done
his duty and it seemed that the ex-
cursion would prove to be the best
that the Board of Trade had ever en-
joyed.
For several days previous to the
BRANSON Gd
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&
MICHIGAN TRADESMAN
|
day set, the weather had been very |
threatening and dismal, and it was
generally understood by the members |
of the Board that in case it rained on
the morning of the chosen day, the
excursion would be declared _ off.
October 7th was ushered in by a rain- |
storm which showed no signs of ces-
sation during the day. Everything |
being in’ readiness, advertisements |
were placed in the various newspapers
announcing that owing to the. un-|
certainty of the weather, the excur-
sion was declared off, and that in lieu
thereof, a smoker would be tendered |
the members of the Board at the Ar-
mory on the evening of October 8.
This affair was well attended and in|
a measure atoned for the loss of the |
trip down the river. The disappoint-
ment in not being able to take the
annual boat ride down the river was |
very general, but by none was it felt |
so keenly as by your Committee, who |
saw the results of many days’ labor |
come practically to naught.
Your Committee sincerely hopes |
that the coming year will have no|
such hard knocks in store for the,
Entertainment Committee as the past |
year has yielded and that when the
time is ripe for the annual excursion |
the occasion will be one of sunshine |
only, with no rainstorms to mar our |
pleasure.
Respectfully submitted,
Cornelius L. Harvey,
Chairman Entertainment Committee.
Membership Committee
In making my report of the opera-
tions and achievements of the Mem- |
bership Committee covering the past
year, I have to say that I very much
appreciate the compliment extend-
ed me by the President in granting
permission to assist in selecting the
members of my Committee which
enabled me to procure men_ with
whom I was acquainted and in touch.
I consequently kept in mind the
first paragraph on page 6 of the print-
ed address of President Stevens, given
at the annual banquet one year ago,
in which a hope was expressed that |
he might finish the ensuing year with |
1,000 members in good standing; I
was, at all times, determined that this |
result should be brought about and |
assure you it was no difficult mat- |
ter to induce the members of my |
Committee to join with me in that)
numerical anticipation.
After the appointments were made, |
a meeting of the Membership Com- |
mittee was immediately called and |
each man responded and with a happy |
determination, agreed to unite his |
efforts with those of the other mem- |
bers and develop a record for our |
Committee that we could at the end)
of our year, point to with pride.
We were all the time moving under |
the wise guidance of President Stev- |
ens and Secretary Van Asmus and |
the first important action was to di- |
vide mv men into eight sub-commit-
tees, each having a sub-chairman; the
privilege was granted each sub-chair- |
man to select from the Committee |
membership his proportion of the|
members, said selection having been |
made by circuitous choice.
By this arrangement, the general |
chairman was at all times in touch
ship; the evidence obtained
/to great advantage throughout the
with the entire Committee through
the sub-chairman and each sub-com-
mittee was constantly endeavoring
to keep pace with the others, which
maintained an active competition in
| procuring new members.
At the first meeting of the gen-
| eral Committee a sub-committee was
appointed to abstract from the Sec-
retary’s annual report “A few reasons
why you should belong to the Board
of Trade,” the substance compiled
to be printed in the little Board of
Trade Directory which was distribut-
ed among the entire Board member-
served
year as the members of my commit-
tee employed the arguments so care-
fully reasoned out by the Committee,
and it was the means of many men
joining who could not have been in-
fluenced to do so had not the wise
reasoning been properly placed be-
fore the gentlemen sought for mem-
bership.
Another move of importance was
the appointment of five members of
the Retail. Dealers’ Committee to
compile a list of retail dealers who
were not members of the Board, the
result being that 250 names of men
who were very desirable material for
membership were put into a list; at
the next general meeting of my Com-
mittee, these names were read and
were selected proportionately by each
sub-committee with the understanding
that the prospective members were
to be seen and from that effort 119
new members were voted into the
organization at the following meet-
| ing of the Board of Directors; I be-
lieve the records of the Secretary will
show this to be the largest class of
members ever voted upon at a di-
rector’s meeting.
When the work that was before
my Committee seemed to be receiv-
ing insufficient attention, I procured
permission from the Board of Direc-
tors to treat my Committee to an
evening dinner for the purpose of get-
ting them all together and spicing the
enthusiasm of each man to the proper
pitch for future activity; at such a
feast, the experiences of different
committeemen in their efforts to
procure membership was related and
what interest was lacking in any in-
dividual was brought to a higher ten-
sion by the enthusiasm which was
| rubbed off the more active workers
by this close, common contact.
I have been Chairman of the Mem-
bership Committee for the past two
years, during the incumbency of the
out-going President, and was a mem-
ber of the Committee previous to
that time; in order to make the report
show as favorable to my committee
| as it should, it is necessary for me to
look back and tell you the member-
ship of the Board increased by 327
members during the five years pre-
ceding the election of President Stev-
ens, making a total membership of
510 at the time of his first inaugural.
The first year of his incumbency
increased the membership 323, to a
total of 833 members which was the
standing one year ago; it seemed at
| that time to many interested Direc-
tors that the growth could not pos-
sibly increase materially,
but the.
1,000 mark set by the President was
constantly in our view and by the in-
troduction of more than 300 new
members through the efforts of my
Committee’s work during the past
year, we take great pleasure in hold-
ing before you a membership list in
good standing at this time, of 1,036.
I will not endeavor to tell you of
the comfort and satisfaction jointly
enjoyed by President Stevens and
the Membership Committee Chair-
man through the existing conditions
which show the membership of the
Board of Trade has more than
doubled during the past two years,
and gives to Grand Rapids a Board
of Trade membership greater, numeri-
cally, and more important in quality,
than that of any similar organization
maintained in any city of equal size
and importance in the United States.
Respectfully submitted,
Alvah Brown,
Chairman, Membership Committee.
Secretary’s Report
The rules of the Grand _ Rapids
Board of Trade impose upon the of-
ficers and directors the duty of pre-
senting to the Association, at its an-
nual meeting, a report of the work
for the preceding calender year. The
present is the sixteenth annual and,
besides the reports of the several
committees, contains a summary by
the Secretary, together with his ob-
servations and suggestions.
The year just passed has been the
most prosperous in Grand Rapids’
commercial history. The statistical
report appended, gives in detail, facts
and figures ascertained from official
sources, and is worth examination.
As will be noted, the three barometers
of trade—bank clearing house, post-
office, freight tonnage—show a de-
cided gain. And the year 1904 aug-
urs well for an equally successful
period of business activity.
The charter of the Grand Rapids
Board of Trade recites that it is or-
ganized to foster, protect and ad-
vance the commercial, manufacturing
and business interests of the. city and
surrounding territory and we have not
shirked our duty to extend our in-
fluence throughout that part of Michi-
gan which has Grand Rapids as its
commercial center. This work it has
been doing for many years. We have
taken up a work which is given
neither to politics nor religion to do.
There runs through the arteries of
our business world a great stream,
the pulsations of which can only be
felt and diagnosed at a few points or
stations in the country, and Grand
Rapids is one of the principal watch
tower stations, and through her Board
of Trade, she keeps herself in touch
with all the other stations. In no
way is it possible to inject into the
national tide of commerce any stimu-
lus when the “patient” is weak or dur-
ing a depression in kite times of infla-
tion, so well as through organizations
which reflect not only the state of fin-
ances, but the commercial, the manu-
facturing and the transportation in-
terests as well. These four great
fields of activity, while generally at
peace with each other, sometimes
get at loggerheads, which, if not soon
abated, result in hard times all
around. On the floor of our Board
these interests have equal opportunity
to be heard and to urge their claims
for the general approval of the body.
Resolutions are being constantly
received by the Board from other
similar bodies, some of which are of
vital interest and far reaching in
their object. In general they call for
our opinions in regard to new nation-
al legislation, or to the modifications
of the laws affecting agriculture,
commerce, mining, finances, transpor-
tation, river improvements, etc. Oc-
casionally something originates in our
own meetings of intense vital local
interest, such as the pollution of our
river water, the improvement of our
waterway to the Lake, the increase
or betterment of railway service; or
industrial enterprises with their vari-
able and mose perplexing situations
are submitted for our action. Often
have I sat in my chair listening to
the speakers at our Board or Com-
mittee meetings, and have thought—
What? Are these ten, twenty or thirty
business men assembled here to pass
upon the merits of matters which
concern the entire population of
Grand Rapids, and the surrounding
country? Is there no other voice to
be heard on this question, and is the
action to be heralded in Lansing, in
Washington, throughout the country,
as the voice of Grand Rapids?
Whether for good, or for ill, such is
the case. The voices of the commit-
tees, of the directors, speaking for
the thousand members, are taken
abroad as representative of the in-
terest of this commonwealth. The
great mass of our citizens hear little
of the agency which does so much
of their thinking and works so con-
scientiously for their interest, and
hence the ignorance on the part of
many excellent men, of the good
work which the Board has done and
is doing.
It stands to reason, however, that
we can not have mass meetings of our
people every month to pass upon
the merits of measures brought be-
fore us. We have tried it and it has
not proven a success.
I have watched the active directors
and committee men for many years,
and I do not know of any of them
who would not gladly give his place
to any new comer with good inten-
tions and desirous of working pro
bono publico.
In view of these reflections, it is
most gratifying to record the*attend-
ance at our meetings, the unity of ef-
fort and the earnestness of desire on
the part of these committee men, to
lend a hand to the upbuilding of our
city and place it on a solid founda-
tion commercially and _ industrially,
the good feeling and harmony with
which they are working together to
make our Board a broad-guage, pro-
gressive institution; and the effective
work that has brought our member-
ship to over 1,000, has given us a
moral and financial support whereby
we are enabled to make good use
of our opportunities to do a great
good for all.
Important Business Transactions
It is with much pride that reference
is here made to two organizations
created, fostered and launched upon
their careers under our direction,
al
es
MICHIGAN TRADESMAN
13
While they have organized independ-
ently, they remain under our direc-
tion and guidance, being officered by
men most prominent in the Board
of Trade and conducted along our
usual systematic lines which puts
the cost of maintenance at a mini-
mum. If our plans do not fail—and
they will not—a third enterprise will
be added to our constellation of af-
filiated organizations this year.
The West Michigan State Fair, our
elder offspring, is a lusty one, which,
under adverse circumstances and in
spite of battling with the elements
for two seasons, is now recognized
by exhibitors, stock breeders, farm-
ers, manufacturers and citizens gen-
erally, as a permanent institution
admirably adapted and conducted as
a place for the exhibition of products;
as a powerful educational factor and
s a mighty force in the promotion
of trade. Superior in its variety, it
is clean and wholesome and as an
annual rallying point for the people
of Western Michigan it is without
a rival.
Next in order is the Grand Rapids
Park and Boulevard Association
which, at six months of age, has to
her credit in the bank, about $15,000
and enough more cash in sight 'to as-
sure to our city and surrounding ter-
ritory one of the most picturesque
system of parks and boulevards in
the United States. For its officers
this Association has men who love
the work, who worship God in nature
and who, without pecuniary recom-
pense, willingly bestow their time
and best efforts in order to make
Grand Rapids a good place in which
to live. And these are the same men
who stand at the head of the Board
of Trade, whose hands are at the
2
helm at Comstock Park and who, at |
present, are busy with the plans for
bringing into existence the third im-
portant organization already prom-
ised and referred to above.
Had the Board of Trade accom-
plished nothing else during the past
year, beyond the creation of the Park
and Boulevard Association, would it
not be well entitled to your cheerful
support morally as well as finan-
cially?
But other things have been attend-
ed to. The law appropriating funds
cnfficient to cover the cost of an ade-
quate representation of the resuorces
and interests of Michigan at the
T ouisiana Purchase Exposition in
St. Louis, originated with the Board
of Trade and it was largely through
the efforts of our organization that
it was given a place among the Stat-
utes of our State.
No influence more potent in secur-
ing the enactment of the law provid-
ing for a State Normal School for
Western Michigan, was exercised
than was put forth by our Board of
Trade.
And another achievement to our
credit was the enactment of a law
prohibiting the Soldiers’ Home au-
thorities or any other person, from
permitting pollution of the waters of
Grand River by the discharge of sew-
age into the river within a distance
of ten miles north of the city, thus
securing at a very small cost, a sup-
ply of pure water for our city.
Our Board of Trade has been the
means of establishing several new
industries in our city; has secured
an appropriation from the general
government sufficient to thoroughly
repair and put in first-class condition,
the dipper dredge, scows and other
equipment for the improvement of
Grand River and to build a new up-
to-date hydraulic suction dredge—
which is nearly ready for business—
thus perfecting our river improvement
plant.
Through the efforts of the Board
of Trade, the necessary. legislation
was obtained for the building of the
| will be another record breaker.
new free bridge at North Park, which |
will be ready for business by the,
first of May. We have entertained
a group of distinguished farmers and
scientists representing the German
Government and through those gen-
tlemen have sent back to the official
records of that country, a vast amount
of information pertaining to this city
and her interests, that was obtained
at first hands and so, accurately and
thoroughly. And such advertising,
distributed personally and being con-
tinually repeated among individuals
and in localities where it will do the
most good, is worth double the cost
of entertaining.
While the Board of Trade may
not, directly, claim any of the credit
for the organization of our new Com-
mercial Savings Bank, still it is a
pleasure to refer to an institution so
well founded and so_ remarkably
prosperous, because Mr. C. B. Kelsey
who organized the bank, Mr. H. N.
Morrill, the cashier and all of the
members of the Board of Directors,
are earnest, liberal and valuable mem-
bers of our organization.
New Government Building
To any person who is at all inti-
mately acquainted with the volume
cf business taken care of daily in our
present United States Government
building, it is patent that that struc-
ture and its equipment are entirely
inadequate for the service they are
called upon to perform. This fact
was so well appreciated by the Board
of Trade that our organized influence
was called into play nearly two years
ago with a view to bettering condi-
tions. So successful was this action
that favorable consideration was. be-
stowed upon the matter by Congress
and at the close of the last session,
a report favorable to the appropria-
tion of $750,000 for a new Govern-
ment building at Grand Rapids, was
made by the Committee on Public
Buildings. Such matters move slowly
at Washington but a begining has
been made and it is the purpose of
the Board of Trade to see the propo-
sition through to a finish.
May Music Festival
As will be well remembered, the
Board of Trade, by formal action last
spring, endorsed the May Music Fes-
tival given under the auspices of the
Schubert Club and followed this up
by issuing a printed appeal to the
people of Grand Rapids and adjacent
neighborhoods. In this way was
practical assistance bestowed upon a
most worthy object with the result
that the Grand Rapids May Music
Festival for 1903, was the most suc-
cessful event of the kind—as to the
character of music presented, ability of |
musicians who took part and, best |
of all, attendance by our citizens and |
neighbors—ever given in the State|
of Michigan. In this action, too, en- |
couragement was given to an art and|
a well developed public taste, which, |
steadily advancing, cannot fail to be|
of inestimable value to the whole of |
Western Michigan as an entity and
to the city of Grand Rapids in par-|
ticular. Moreover, it is entirely safe
to announce that similar action will
be taken by the Board this spring and
that the coming May Music Festival
Miscellaneous Matters
Material assistance has also been
given by our organization the past
year to the annual convention of the
Michigan Federation of Women’s
Clubs, the Gregg Short Hand Inter-
national Association, the Michigan
State Poultry Association and the}
Grand Rapids Poultry Association
and the National Benefit Association.
And, as another illustration of the
immediate local value of our organi-
zation may be given the fact that
our association rooms are available,
gratis, for meeting purposes and are
occupied in this way nearly every
evening each month. During the past
year 26 separate organizations have
held their regular meetings—weekly,
monthly, semi-annually or specially.
as the occasion required.
Another achievement, in the reflect-
ed brilliancy of which our Board is |
licensed to take pleasure, is the re-
cent revolution made by the Citizens
Telephone Co. when over 5,000 tele- |
phones were changed from the out- |
of-date “hello” system, to the wonder-
ful automatic call system, within a
space of a very few minutes. Con-
gratulations and all hail to the most
extensive and best conducted inde-
pendent telephone system in_ the
country.
There is, in this city, one of the
largest best equipped museums of
natural history and the sciences in
the land. We also have, nearly com-
pleted and to be opened soon, the
finest public library building in Michi-
gan. Both of these institutions are
under the direction of able citizens |
. - . |
who are prominent in the affairs of |
|
the Board of Trade.
Any citizen who enjoys pleasurable
revelations may bestow such a treat
upon himself by visiting the West
Michigan State Fair grounds. Under
the efficient direction of President
Wm. H. Andrews and the officers of
the Fair Association the grounds have
been thoroughly drained, the road-
ways entirely rebuilt and buildings
improved and before the time for our
next fair there will be no danger of
a repetition of the conditions precipi-
tated during the past two years—and
I use the word “precipitated” ad-
visedly.
As a Fruit Center
While Grand Rapids has a long
time lead as the chief market in this
country for peaches and still retains
| arrangement
the lead, there was, for various
causes, a considerable falling off in
the crop for 1903. On the other hand,
we had a tremendous crop of apples
with other fruits coming in in fair
quantities. The aggregate income
shows a gratifying increase, that to-
tal being $2,052,350, an increase of
over half a million dollars above the
revenue from this source in 1902.
Following is a report in detail as to
our fruit market last year:
Fruit Quantity Av Price
Peaches, 700,000 bu. $ 1.50
Pears, 6,800 bbl. 2.00
Plums, 44,000 bu. 1.00
Apples, 552,000 bu. 1.10
Crabapples, 2,200 bu. 1.00
Quinces, 1,600 bu. 1.00
Cherries, 44,000 bu. 2.50
Pie plant, 9,200 bu. 1.25
Grapes, 128 tons 20.00
| Strawberries, 196,000 crt. 2.00
Raspberries, 93,500 crt. 2.00
Blackberries, 94,000 crt. 2.00
Gooseberries, 1,800 crt. 2.00
Currants, 4,200 crt. 2.00
As A Produce Center
It is not alone as a fruit market
that Grand Rapids is famous, for it
ranks as one of the important produce
markets of the land. It is a headquar-
ters for potatoes, celery, cabbage,
cucumbers, lettuce, radishes, aspara-
gus, tomatoes and onions. With
more than a score of produce and
commission houses here doing busi-
ness with the chief business centers
north, northwest, south, and
southwest, and east and having ware-
houces and storage depots all over
Michigan, the total amount of pro-
west,
| duce bought and sold and shipped
j at this point is enormous, telling in
terms unmistakable, of the great
value of Grand Rapids and its ad-
jecent territory as a market garden-
ing section.
As An Excursion Center
Situated as she is, with Lake Michi-
gan but a very short distance away »
on the west and with dozens of beau-
tiful inland lake resorts within from
three to twenty-five miles distant,
Grand Rapids is especially well equip-
ped as to the variety of its midsum-
mer attractions. In itself a parklike
city with riverside drives and pic-
turesque hills and valleys, she com-
the excellences of rural life
with the conveniences and luxuries
of city life so that as a summer home
city, she is attracting wide-spread at-
tention. During the past year the
Grand Rapids Railway Company, by
with the church or-
ganizations and Sunday schools and
through co-operation by the Board
of Trade, attracted nearly 20,000 ex-
cursionists to the city while the
steam railways, by similar effort,
brought 30,000 additional excursion-
ists here. And, in this connection
must not be forgotten the semi-annual
furniture fairs which are regularly
attended by ten or twelve hundred
people from other cities. Thus it will
be seen, there are not many days
when we lack “the stranger within
our gates” being represented numer-
ously.
Suburban Railway Development
While Grand Rapids is naturally
recognized and has long been in the
minds of men interested in the build-
ing and operation of suburban elec-
tric railways as a_ central objective
point, the influence of the Grand
Rapids Board of Trade has_ been
given and has been of much value
in aiding the development of the
bines
ry
14
MICHIGAN TRADESMAN
Grand Rapids and Ionia Railway and
the line from this city to Kalamazoo
by way of Gunn Lake, Gull Lake and
the dozen other delightful inland
lakes to the south of us. And there
is another project well under way—
the Grand Rapids, Lowell, Belding
and Greenville route—which will give
our people an opportunity to become
acquainted with a tract of hills, val-
leys and lakes, right here in Kent
county, that is the peer of any simi-
lar area in Michigan.
In this connection I cannot re-
frain from calling attention to the
fact that during the past year the
Grand Rapids Street Railway Co. has
installed a 1,500 horse power gen-
erator and two 350 horse power water
boilers with automatic stokers, have
laid many miles of new track and
have increased by 25 per cent. the
rolling stock capacity.
Good Roads
There are upward of 35,000 voters
in Kent county who, in the estimation
of a majority of the forty-eight gen-
tlemen comprising the County Board
of Supervisors, are not competent to
consider and vote upon the propo-
sition to adopt the county system of
building and maintaining roads
throughout the county.
For the second time the Supervisors
have refused to submit the question
to the voters of Kent county and it
is interesting, possibly suggestive, to
know that but two city members of
the Board voted against the propo-
sition.
With our county enjoying the de-
velopment that has been made dur-
ing the past sixty-eight years, with
beautiful individual pleasure resorts
and busy, thriving business centers
scattered all over the county, with
the territory traversed by steam and
electric railways, with free mail de--
livery routes touching every neigh-
borhood and with her half million
acres blossoming with the fruits of
industry, energy and good jugment,
still her people are not to be trusted
(in the opinion of the Supervisors) |
with passing upon a matter vital to
the general welfare.
No other construction can be put
upon the action of this Board, ex-
cept it be that the people of Kent
county are so bedded and rooted in
the ruts of shiftlessness and penury,
that they are indifferent to their own
interests. It is one conclusion or the
other that has influenced the action
of the Board of Supervisors and, de-
clining to accept either theory as at
all approaching the correct situation,
the Board of Trade would like to
know as to the authority bestowed
upon the members of the Board of
Supervisors to decide, arbitrarily, up-
on the right to vote that belongs to
their respective constituents.
Great Reforms Supported
Our Association has been called
upon to throw its weight in the great
national movements such as the ir-
rigation of the arid lands of the
West, the Isthmain Canal project, the
reform in the consular service, the
extension of the powers of the Inter-
State Commerce Commission, the
national movement to improve our
waterways, the general measure for
the protection of the American Mer-
chant Marine. Nearer home we
have offered our influence and ser-
vices in assisting the city of Holland
to obtain from the general govern-
ment adequate appropriations for the
improvement of their harbor, and in
expressing to the Board of Supervis-
ors the sentiment of our Board that
it should adopt for Kent county what
is known as the County System of
road making.
Acknowledgements
A most valuable source of assist-
ance to the Secretary and to the work
of our organization is in the experi-
ence and wisdom of the men who
have been our Presidents and who,
with the directors who have served
in that capacity ten years, now con-
stitute the Executive Committee, a
body of men to whom we are in-
debted for a conservative policy in
the direction of our affairs. It was a
| happy thought to institute this token
of reward in appreciation of the ser-
vices of men, who frequently at per-
sonal sacrifice, have done so much
for the good of the organization with
which they have for so many years
been so prominently affiliated.
The reports of the various com-
mittees, together with the observa-
tions of your Secretary, tell the story
of the Board’s activity during the
past year. It shows that close at-
tention has been given to subjects of
public interest and importance, giving
expression to their best judgment,
after investigation and mature
thought, of what was deemed for the
greatest good of this community.
While we have not accomplished
all we have wished for and have met
with some disappointments, still we
show great results. In one object
which we have aimed at, we have
made marked progress and that is in
the uniting of forces which has had
such a marked influence on_ the
growth and prosperity of the city.
We have in our Board worked to-
gether in perfect harmony and good
will and it is gratifying to know and
feel that we merit and have received
the approbation of all well thinking
citizens and have received their moral
and financial support. Recognizing
the fact that the benefit which our
Board of Trade is to our city, is the
sum total of what the combined ef-
forts of its members have made it,
and that the larger the membership,
the more force there will be behind
our committees in any project they
may take up, we are greatly encour-
aged as to the future.
Grand Rapids is to be congratulated
that it has a Board of Trade, consti-
tuted of public spirited citizens who
seek no other reward than the con-
sciousness of duty well done, and who
are willing and do give of their valu-
able time and their talents to the
public service.
The best results in human inter-
course come through generous, har-
monious and sincere co-operation and
all good work is for the future rather
than the past. And so, with Grand
Rapids as our pride and purpose and
with the coming year as our oppor-
tunity, let us tighten the grip of fel-
lowship we have so long maintained
and go on in unity and strength, that
our new year may prove better than
the old one; that our beautiful and
prosperous city may become more
beautiful and more prosperous and
that our State of Michigan and the
entire country may rejoice that there
is a Grand Rapids in Michigan and
that there is a Board of Trade in
Grand Rapids.
The Municipality
Area of city in miles.........--- 173%
Streets paved and improved,
mee oo 287
Sewers, miles.......-----+++ee 143
Water mains, miles..........--- 149
Fifty-seven miles of stone and tar
sidewalk were laid during 1903 at an
estimated cost of $170,000.
Valuation of Real Estate Exempt
From Taxation
City 8 kee $3,866,650 00
Kent county .........-. 350,000 00
United States .........- 325,000 00
Chieehes 2.) 52. oe 1,477,600 00
Benevolent homes and
hospitals: 2 ..550.....2- 320,000 00
Benevolent societies 145,200 00
Rasireags 2225.00.20... * 1,765,000 00
Private cemeteries ..... 4,000 00
Dudividual .i.0050 0.2055. 44,050 00
otal 2 i ae $8,297,500 00
Bonded indebtedness of
the cite oo 60 200. eo $2,212,000 00
Amount in sinking fund
to apply on above.... 228,934 00
Assessed valuation of
real estate ..........- 72,376,811 00
Average rate of taxation. 14 92
Volumes in Public Li-
Braty 222) 022 62,234
Volumes in Law Library 7,227
Real Estate
Deeds recorded ........ 5,065
Total consideration ....$3,169,483 00
Miscellaneous
Population of city for
1900 according to U. S.
GEHSHS) 6600 oe le 87,565
Population of city for
1903 (estimated) ..... 98,522
Number of residences re-
ported for 1902 ....... 19,464
New dwellings erected
during 1903 .......... 409
Total number of resi-
Gences oo. 19,873
Bire losses)... 00 0. 8 $ 146,294 30
Business failures ....... II
Eiabinties: 20052. .....4- $ 179,100 00
Number of telephones in
eee ee 8,150
Street Railway passen-
gers carried .......... 15,141,898
Street Railway passen-
gers transferred ..... 4,196,567
Number of trains in and out the
Union station, 20,017; 320 more than
in 1902.
Tickets sold at the station, 301,620;
19,904 more than were sold the year
previous.
A conservative estimate based on
these figures places the number of
travelers arriving at and departing
from the Union station during 1903
at 1,005,400 persons.
The grain receipts show 2,863 cars
of wheat, 696 cars of corn, 389 cars
of oats, 76 cars of rye, 294 cars of
flour, 48 cars of beans, 59 cars of
malt, 82 cars of hay, 34 cars of straw
and 714 cars of potatoes.
The jobbing and wholesale busi-
ness is represented by 124 firms and
is credited with over $21,000,000 sales.
The bank clearings show a total of
$97,704,458.01 for 1903, against $83,-
004,537-34 for 1902, an increase of 17.7
per cent. ;
The savings deposits are $7,180,-
316.07, against $6,162,817 for 1902, an
increase of $1,017,499.07. during the
year.
The school savings for 1903 are
$20,439.18, against $26,805 the . year
before, an increase of $3,634.18 dur- .
ing the year.
The postal receipts for 1903. were
$314,200.44, against $281,826.46 the
year before, an increase of $32,373.98
during the year. :
The internal revenue receipts were
$668,462.17 in 1903, against $889,141.96
in 1902, a decrease of $220,679.79 diir-
ing the year.
The custom house receipts in 1903
were $93,022.95, against $61,786.81 in
1902, an increase of $31,236.14 during
the year.
The three barometers of a prosper-
ous community—bank statements,
postal receipts, railroad freight ton-
nage.
1901 1902 1903
Bank Clearings: ...269,768,292 $83,004,537 $97,704,458
Saving Accounts.. 23,359 28,559 38 951
saving Deposits .. $4,368,133 $6,162,817 $7,180,316
School Savings... 21,513 26,805 30,439
Postoffice Receipts $256,531 $281,826 $314,200
Postoffice net earn’gs 122,738 138,210 159,035
Frgt forward’d, tons 457,162 635,073 989,941
Fret received, tons 1,008,889 1,815,054 1,973,481
Total tonnage, ———— —
1,466,051 1,950,127 2,963,422
out and in....
There can be no question as to the
rapid development of Grand Rapids
as a center of business in the light of
the fact, shown in our exhibit of
statistics, that during the past year
there was an increase of 1,013,295 tons
in the total tonnage of freight in and
out of our city, over the total for
1902.
There are 532 factories in the city,
employing 20,474 persons, the total
of daily wages being $43,957—an aver-
age of $2.34 per day per each indi-
vidual.
New Enterprises
Kent Medical Institute. .$ 500,000 00
Burnett & Oeveren Co. 10,000 00
Beers Mfg. Co......... 20,000 .00
Valley City Brick Co.... 90,000 00
Granger Lock & Hinge
CO eee 110,000 00
James LaMore & Co,,
Bt ee ee 15,000 00
Van Mannen-Buys Co.,
iia gol eels 10,000 00
Differential Ore Crush-
Co. Ltd. 32.3.2... 23.5 500,000 90
Germol Chemical Co.... 600,000 00
West Mich. Machine &
Teol Co. Vid. oot: 10,000 00
Federal Auditing Co.... 10,000 00
Medical College Equip-
ment Co., Lid: .......- 1,500 00
Household Furniture Co. 100,000 00
Holson Motor Patents
Coo Cee 500,000 00
Reliable Tea Co., Ltd.. 6,000 00
Grand Rapids Paving
Co oe a eee 125,000 00
Shingley & Paxton Mul-
ti-Phonograph Co. .. 50,000 00
Grand Rapids Metallic
Egg Crate Co........ 50,000 @0
Grand Rapids Specialty
Cone oe 1,000 00
Grand Rapids Machinery
CO eee Ue ae 5,000 00
Lindgren Chemical Co.. 10,000 00
peso:
MICHIGAN TRADESMAN : 15
The Buyers’ Book Co... 10,000 00
Battjes Fuel & Building
Material Co... ..- J... - 20,000 00
Balke Mfg. Co.......... 100,000 00
Longfellow & Shellman
umber Co: >. .......- 10,000 00
Grand Rapids Garbage
Corte eta tes 10,000 00
Mich. Ginseng Farm Co. 1,000 00
Edward M. Deane & Co. 100,000 00
Cummings Gear Co..... 5,000 00
Natn’l. Electric Supply &
Mig. @o.. 202.6. es 10,000 00
Heath-Morley Co....... 25,000 00
Reorganized—Capital Increased.
Matheson Motor Car Co.$ 600,000 00
Wagemaker Furniture
Cae es 40,000 00
Mich. Elm Hoop & Lum-
bee ©o). 2.8 10,000 00
W. Millard Palmer Co.. 80,000 00
Gillette Roller Bearing
eee 100,000 00
Grand Rapids. Show Case
Co: 2 120,000 00
Wolverine Brass Co.... 75,000 00
Corl, Knott & Co....... 197,000 00
Valley City Pharmacal Co. 50,000 00
Grand Rapids Piano
Case (orc... 0.2... 95,000 00
Miles Hardware Co..... 35,000 00
Stickley Bros........... 225,000 00
Globe Knitting Works.. 60,000 00
Voigt Cereal Food Co... 200,000 00
Tanners’ Supply Co..... 50,000 00
Grand Rapids Cabinet
Co 100,000 00
Aldine Grate & Mantel
Coo ee. 20,000 00
Furniture City Vise Co. 25,000 00
Grand Rapids Electrical
Railway. Go... +... 2,000,000 00
Durfee Embalming Fluid
CO a 200,000 00
Butler & Wray......... 50,000 00
Grand Rapids Froebel
Institute Co........... 10,000 00
Building Operations
During the past year building per-
mits were issued as follows:
new adds. & alterations
Factories .. II 46
Stores ..... 35 86
Dwellings ..409 423
Other bdgs.112 31
567 586
Total permits......... 1,153
Total investment rep-
resented 2.023.055 $1,308,813 00
Following is a showing as to the
more important of the building oper-
ations: i
New Factory Buildings
Grand Rapids Piano Case
CO ee $ 30,000 Oo
Globe Knitting Works.. 10,000 00
Work .@ Sons..2...-.... 10,000 00
Grand Rapids Stone &
Gravel Cel o2. 2.05... 5,000 00
Pere Marquette Round
EIOHSE oe se sa 40,000 00
Petersen Brewing Co... 6,000 00
G. R. Engraving Co.... 25,000 00
Wormnest Bros........- 10,009 00
Retting & Sweet........ 7,500 00
G. R. Wood Carving Co. 2,000 00
Additions to Factory Buildings
National Candy Co..... $ 5,000 00
Gunn Furniture Co..... 3,000 OO
W. J. Perkins Foundry.. 2,500 00
G. R. Gas Light Co...... 4,500 00
Stow & Davis Furn. Co. 1,200 00
Sligh Furn. Co......... 4,000 00
Breén & Halliday....... 2,500 00)
American School Furn. |
es asec eess ee 5,000 00 |
John Widdicomb Furn.
Cosi. She ee 4,000 del
Other Buildings - |
Majestic Theater........ $ 100,000 00 |
Judson Grocer Co...... 50,000 00 |
C. B. Judd Bldg........ 40,000 00)
Herpolsheimer Bldg.... 100,000 00
Citizens Telephone Co.. 30,000 00
Pere Marquette Ry. Co. 10,000 00
U. B. A. Nurses’ Lodge. 25,000 00
Beth Israel Synagogue.. 8,000 00
Lithuanian Society Chr. 10,000 00
Alpine Ave. Christian
Reformed Church..... 16,000 00
Holland American Aid
Society -2 2.550. 8,000 00
First Church of Christ,
Setentist (20s 2 2. 40,000 00
Lakeside Club House.. 30,000 00
Brown & Sehler Co..... 6,000 00
A Wo Albee... oy 2 i... 6,000 00
N. Fred Avery.........- 8,000 00
Additions to Other Buildings
State Bank, West Side
Brave «occ wees 3,000 00
D. H. Waters & Son.... 22,000 00
Clarendon Hotel........ 5,000 00
Foster, Stevens & Co.. 6,000 00
Commer’l. Savings Bank 2,000 00
Department of Statistics
Membership
Number of members last re-
HORE ie 833
Loss by death.............-- 4
By resignation........- 29
By removal............ 23
By non-payment dues. .30 |
6
747
Gain new members...........--- 276
Total Feb. 1, 1904........... 1,023
Necrology |
John E. Boylon, Jan. 15, 1903.
Edwin N. Carrier, Feb. 21, 1903.
Wm. Sears, May II, 1903.
G. Stewart Johnson, Jan. 30, 1904.
H. D. C. Van Asmus,
Secretary
ne
A Country Barter.
From one of the smaller cottages
at the end of the street came a bare-
footed child in colorless calico dress
and slat sunbonnet. With the impor-
tant air of a heavy buyer, she enter-
ed the village store and handed across
the counter a blue teacup. The pro-
prietor took the teacup and said in
brisk tones:
“Well, Emmy, what does your ma
want to-day?”
“Please, sir, ma wants an egg’s
worth of molasses,” and she carefully
placed a large white egg on the coun-
ter.
The storekeeper poured out a lit-
tle molasses into the cup from a
stone jug and set the cup before his
customer.
“Mr. Smith,” she said, as she took
the purchase, “I’ll be back in a little
while for some ginger. Ma said to
tell you the black hen was on.”
2. ___
If a clerk thinks that the store
would have to close its doors if he
leaves, he should remember that it
got along after a fashion before he
came,
Are You Interested
ONE OF MANY-—ALL GOOD ONES
In High-Grade Show Cases?
If so, better write us, or shall we
have our salesman call ?
Complete catalogue on application
Grand Rapids Fixtures Co.
Bartlett and South Lonia Streets
Grand Rapids, Mich.
Foster, Stevens & Co.
Grand Rapids, Michigan
Buckeye Paint & Varnish Co.
Paint, Color and Varnish Makers
Mixed Paint, White Lead, Shingle Stains, Wood Fillers
Sole Manufacturers CRYSTAL-ROCK FINISH for Interior and Exterior Us
Corner 15th and Lucas Streets, Toledo Ohio
CLARK-RUTKA-WEAVER CO., Wholesale Agents for Western Michigan
saad RAAT AERA dass
pS sade
> dies cap leg
Rees.
Sa a Se ERR MN RR Ree ATA
Status of the Underwear and Hosiery
Market.
Southern buyers represent the ad-
vance guard of market arrivals and
have been accompanied by a scatter-
ing of the far-away trade. They are
few in number as yet, but are ex-
pected to show greater increase with
the closing week of the month. Re-
ports made by road representatives
are to the effect that most of the re-
tailers are yet busy in their own
stocks, effecting as thorough a clean-
up as they possibly can before leav-
ing for the wholesale centers.
Those who are in market are shop-
ping and inspecting new lines very
critically. All kinds of knit goods this
season possess greater interest for
buyers in view of advancing prices.
Grades of underwear to retail at a|
dollar and above, and hosiery to sell |
from half a dollar upward, have im-
proved in quality and style, so that
even if a little more money is asked
the merchandise shows better value.
Buyers have commented on_ these
changes and say that there is so
much difference in stocks that it
pays them to visit around before fin-
ally placing orders.
finds that each succeeding season
calls for the exercise of more and
more taste on his part in making up
The styles, colors and |
assortments.
grades must possess individuality. It
is essential that the stock should be
totally different from the character
of the underwear and hosiery shown
by the best department stores. Strict-
ly speaking, the furnishers would
suffer if it smacked of dry goods. By
having a stock unlike the dry goods
store the furnisher imparts to his
merchandise a tone of exclusiveness
appreciated by his customers, who
come to him because they expect
te get that which is unquestionably
different. Hence the requisite for
good taste in making purchases and
ferreting out that class of merchan-
dise sure to distinguish the furnisher’s
stock from that of the dry goods
store. It is on this account that the
shrewd and intelligent buyer values
his knowledge of where and what to
buy and knows the importance of
shopping when in market.
Underwear and hosiery for spring
are faring much better than other
lines of furnishings, for the reason
that retail stocks of lightweights are
light, and retailers have had a very
good heavyweight season. Yet, not-
withstanding that retailers to-day
own their merchandise at lower prices
than they are likely to get it for
for some time to come, January re-
duced-price sales are significant ofa
desire to turn all the merchandise |
possible into cash rather than carry
it over.
Retailers are in need of spring
merchandise, and in half-hose espe-
cially the styles have undergone as
much change as the qualities, and the
desire to lay in new goods, together
MICHIGAN TRADESMAN
|
with the hopeful feeling of merchants
regarding spring, explains why this
department of knit goods is so much
better off than others.
In underwear the styles and de-
scription of the goods selling for
spring differ little from that of last
year, except that orders for lisles and
balbriggans are heavier.
Plaited half-hose is modish for the
season, and the variety includes solid
colors and fancies in the choicest
new shades. Good taste, however,
dictates that the darker ones will
be preferred by careful dressers. Of
these there is dark Toledo, a very
deep steel or Damascus, tobacco
browns, very rich in color and in
much better taste than the browns
of former seasons, steel grays, with
a predominance of black—entirely
new grays designed in an admirable
mixture of black and white to meet
the approbation of the most conserv-
ative dressers. Next to the plain
plaited are the Richelieu ribs. Both
the plain and ribbed insteps are also
fancied with vertical jacquards in
brilliant colors, clockings and self
and colored embroideries. Some de-
signs of vertical jacquarding alter-
nate with self stripes and look natty.
Gauzes in plain dark colors, with
double-stitch heel and toe, have dis-
placed laces. Gauze insteps with
double-stitch boots are liked. The
gauze socks are a decided improve-
| ment, in a practical sense, over the
The buyer for the fashionable shop |
laces of last year, and will be worn
by men who thought laces too effem-
inate for masculine wear.
Shooting hose in solid colors, fancy
effects and plaids have had a re-
markable run this season, and were
worn for their warmth and comfort
as much by the devotees of golf,
skating and tobogganing as by the
skillful huntsman in pursuit of his
quarry.—Apparel Gazette.
——__> >
The clerk who wishes for promo-
tion will find that promoting. the busi-
ness in which he is employed is the
best way to obtain the desired re-
sult.
Use_our ‘WRAPPING
PAPER and TWINE.
on your bundles are untidy,
p-looking and insecure your
es particularly
Our wrapping is much
bene than an eer at the same
‘The colote are bri t and at-
tractive—Mottled Pink,
Blue and Fawn
Ir’ incall fold easil
t's to iv
and quickly and makes the neat-
asda
a package.
tands
a Se dias ome
ao ony send you samples
Grand WHITTIER
— BROOM @®
u.s.a. SUPPLY CO.
MANUFACTURER OF
MEN'S AND BOYS’ CLOTHING
143 JEFFERSON AVE,
DETROIT, MICHIGAN
Is offering to the trade a line of spring suits for sea-
son of 1904. Perfect fitting garments—beautiful
Look at
the line when our representative calls on you.
effects—all the novelties of the season.
M. l. SCHLOSS ¢
Those New Brown Overalls and
Coats are Sun and Perspiration
Proof:
They are new and the ‘‘boss’’ for
spring and summer wear. Every
Garment Guaranteed— They Fit.
Clapp Clothing Company
"Grand Rapids, Mich.
Are You in Trouble 9
WE CAN HELP YOU e
Any question of LAW on any subject answered for $2.00 by the high-
est legal talent.
The RATING of any FIRM or PERSON in the U. S, for $2.00,
showing condition of affairs and methods of doing business.
The value of any pieceof REAL ESTATE in the U. S. for $2.00.
Any question of BOOK-KEEPING answered and explained for
$2.0c by experts in the work.
WRITE TO US ANYWAY--DO IT NOW! CONFIDENTIAL
NATIONAL LAW ANO RECORD ASS’N
211-212 TOWER BLOCK, GRAND RAPIDS, MICH.
THE WILLIAM CONNOR CO.
WHOLESALE READY-MADE CLOTHING
MANUFACTURERS
28 and 30 South Ionia Street, Grand Rapids, Michigan
For Spring and Summer 1904 our line is complete,
including one of the finest lines ‘‘Union Made’’ in
Men’s, Youths’, Boys’ and Children’s. Our Men’s
“Union Made” all wool $6.00 Suit recommends
itself. Our Pants line is immense. We still have
for immediate delivery nice line Winter Overcoats —
and Suits. Remember we manufacture from very
finest to very lowest priced clothing that’s made.
; Mail Orders Shipped Quick.
Phones, Bell, 1282; Citz. 1957
aOR .
MICHIGAN TRADESMAN
17
CENSOR WANTED.
Need of Checking Flood of New
Books.
We are a writing people. The
American child in the cradle clutches
at the lead pencil. It is a monomania,
a disease. that has its roots deep in
history. The ancients gave it a re-
sounding title, cacoethes scribendi,
which, being literally translated,
means an itch for writing, a diseased
propensity for authorship. It is be-
cause we have not yet had courage
to diagnose and proclaim the ailment
correctly that we still persist in say-
ing very pretty and complimentary
things to those who have the malady
in its most malignant form.
The most serious menace to educa-
tion, in that broad and popular sense
which comprehends the learning and
mental discipline derived from print-
ed matter other han text books is
the enormous influx of publications
flooding all the book stores and li-
braries, burying works of solid value,
and sometimes even smothering
them out of existence. Does a man
dip superficially into some branch of
science, at once he begins to evolve
theories of his own, and the chances
are that he will proceed to put them
into print for the benefit of his fel-
low-men. If he have a knack for
plausible explanation and argument,
these views, however erroneous, may
gain credence, retarding a _ knowl-
edge of the truth. False philosophy,
false religions, jumbles of the occult,
transcendentalism rehashed and not
improved by the process, inaccurate
history, drawn from unreliable
sources, unskillfully and recklessly
compiled and tossed overboard as
ballast to float all manner of absurd
conclusions, are but a few of the
forms assumed by this swelling mass
of literature. Unmeaning rhyme
that catches the ear by virtue of its
jingle alone, and verse that does not
condescend to jingle but depends
solely upon imperfect measure and
a vague mysticism of sentiment for
its claims to a place in poetry, cap-
tivate the vulgar and puzzle the cul-
tured until the poets of all ages slum-
ber on the book shelves and the dust
accumulates upon them. Freak liter-
ature is triumphantly coming to the
front, panoplied in brazen slang, its
helmet bright and polished and
tightly locked, to conceal the absence
of brains beneath. Worst of all is
the division of fiction, good, bad, in-
different, inane, vicious, each and
every volume flaunting the favorable
notice of some critic or critics, luring
readers by dint of attractive titles
and illustrations or artistic bindings,
romance without end, dealing with
the past, the present, the future, the
world that is not, and the world that
is to come, much of it entertaining,
some of the most worthless even fas-
cinating to the average reader.
When this monomania first seized
upon the English-speaking and Eng-
lish-writing nations, it was possible,
by diligent effort, to pick most of the
grain from the chaff, although even
then genuine work was often over-
looked. In these days even the pro-
fessional critic, single-handed, finds
the bulk of new books beyond his
capacity to handle, much less to read
and criticise. In order to halfway
discharge his task he must depend
first of all upon the reputable pub-
lisher to send him only such books
as there seems a_ reasonable hope
may be worth looking through, and
afterwards he must look to the as-
sistance of reading friends. Yet the
day for this process of selection and
valuation is swiftly passing, for if
the production of books shall increase
during the next quarter century at
the rate of geometrical progression
that has marked its increase during
the past twenty-five years the critic
will go down under the avalanche
and the public be at the mercy of the
modern presses, compelled to snatch
at random for chance volumes turned
out by the million each year.
Some thirteen centuries ago van-
dal Arabs completed the destruction
by fire of the famous Alexandrian
library. This great collection, ac-
cording to Eusebius, at one time con-
tained no less than 700,000 volumes.
It was the repository of the world’s
history up to that epoch. Priceless
volumes were these, laboriously
wrought out by hand upon vellum
and papyrus, records unique and
never to be replaced, never to be du-
plicated. Scholars of all times have
regarded this loss as one of the
world’s greatest tragedies. Regarded
in the light of the publishing influx
which is overwhelming us to-day, as
well as that of some sorry fragments
which have been preserved from an-
cient days, the holocaust may not
have been without its blessings. Who
knows from what inanity, vulgarity
and false philosophy it may have pre-
served us?
A hundred and fifty years ago a
witty Frenchman, taking a long look
ahead, predicted that in the year 2,000
the world would have grown so en-
lightened and so discriminating that
a commission would be appointed to
separate the good literature from the
worthless, and that with appropriate
rites and ceremonies the latter, in
vast bulk, would be burned in the
public squares of great cities, leav-
ing for public benefit only about a
hundred or so books which were real-
ly worth keeping. As true common
sense always counsels swallowing the
ounce of prevention rather than gulp-
ing down the pound of cure, in this
progressive age it would seem as
if we might be doing better than is-
suing from our presses an enormous
tonnage of expensive printed mat-
ter that can serve no better purpose
than to kindle a beacon as a warning
to future ages. We are a generation
of economists, and there is something
painful in the thought of permitting
uncounted thousands to toil with
hand and brain to futile purpose, that
a wise administration may some day
put to the flames their vaporings.
Better far a bureau of literary cen-
sorship, sitting in state at the Copy-
right Office and condemning all books
which can show no reasonable excuse
for their existence.
—-—~> 2. ____
Recent Business Changes Among
Indiana Merchants.
Warsaw—The Warsaw Glove Co.
has merged its business into a cor-
poration.
Elkhart—The Consolidated Paper
& Bag Co. has filed a _ petition in
bankruptcy.
Huntington—Jacob Bailer, dealer
in clothing and furniture, has taken
advantage of the bankruptcy law.
Indianapolis—The B. D. Miner
Drug Co. has made an assignment.
Indianapolis—M. Horowitz has
purchased the boot and shoe stock of
J. C. Karle.
Indianapolis—The Silver Drug Co.
has sold its stock to Carl J. Sennette.
Logansport—Schmitt,
solved partnership. The business is
continued under the style of the|
Schmitt-Heinly-Leachman Co.
Noblesville—Meisse & Given, gro- |
cers and meat dealers, have sold out |
to J. K. Smith.
North Manchester—D. Ginther has
retired from the implement business
of A. J. Lautzenhiser & Co.
Columbia City—Wm. Shriner has
taken a partner in his grocery busi- |
ness under the style of Shriner &
Feaster.
Elkhart—The Crowl Clothing Co.
has been closed by its creditors.
Fremont—A. A. Brown has retired
from the mercantile firm of E. C.
Duguid & Co.
Greensburg—W. S. Woodfill’s Sons,
dry goods dealers, have dissolved
partnership. The business is con-
tinued by W. W. Woodfill.
Indianapolis—The Indiana Woolen
Manufacturing Co. has incorporated
its business under the same style.
Heinly &)
Barr, dry goods dealers, have dis-|
Made to Fit
and
Fit to Wear
Buy Direct from the Maker
|
|
We want one dealer as an
agent in every town in Michi-
gan to sell the Great Western
‘Fur and Fur Lined Cloth
‘Coats. Catalogue and full
particulars on application.
Elisworth & Thayer Mnfg. Co.
MILWAUKEE, WIS.
| B. B. DOWNARD, Generali Salesman
1904 === Spring
Season ===1904
Our Garments Are Made
To
Our trade-mark is
Sell
a guarantee that our
garments fit, wear, and please the pur-
chaser and the seller.
A postal will bring samples prepaid by
express, or any
desired.
other information
A Complete Spring Line Ready For Inspection
If desired, we advertise direct to consumer and
create a demand for our clothing which will need
the duplication of your order to supply.
Wile Bros. § Weill
Makers of Pan American Guaranteed Clothing
Buffalo, . Y.
Bain
Ea AAR Ae ia aera Re
18
MICHIGAN TRADESMAN
THE LOCK CITY.
Its Future as a Location for Jobbing |
Houses.
Some weeks ago, in an article in
the Tradesman, I said that I be-}
lieved the wholesalers of Michigan |
were not cultivating the Upper Pen- |
insula field to such an extent as was |
justified by the existing conditions. |
The argument set forth in the article |
seems to have been sound from the |
fact that after several months’ trial |
the Musselman Grocer Company)
has decided to remain in Sault Ste.
Marie permanently with their branch |
establishment. -It is announced in|
the Soo that the company has pur- |
chased property at the corner of
Portage avenue and Brady terrace |
and will erect thereon in the spring |
a handsome __ three-story wholesale |
house with a floor space of 38,000 |
square feet, together with a _ cold
storage plant of the most modern |
kind. This is one of the choice lo-
cations in the. Lock City, fronting |
Brady Field, the ground on which
old Fort Brady stood before it was
moved to the present location, on
the hill back of town, and overlook-
ing the eastern section of the Gov-
ernment Park and the St. Mary’s
River. From the windows of the
building, when completed, it will be
possible to look out across the Ca-
nadian Soo manufacturing district
and over the rolling hills that stretch
away in the direction of James Bay
as far as the eye can reach. Andin
years to come when Uncle Sam
erects on Brady Field a _ postoffice
and customs building this wholesale
house will face one of the most
handsome squares in the Northwest.
It seems as if the company has been
especially fortunate in securing such
a location, as it will, in years to
come, be near the freight center of
town, as it is a question of but a
few months when the commercial
docks will be moved farther down
the river.
The real significance of this propo-
sition lies in the fact that the terri-
tory in this part of the State must
be full of promise for the wholesal-
er or the Musselman people would
not plan to build on such an exten-
sive scale. They have conducted a
branch establishment here long
enough to know where they are at,
and were the future not bright they
would scarcely care to make any
further investments in this part of
the country.
In considering the Upper Penin-
sula as a market for the wholesaler
one instantly realizes that the future
will bring into play no keener com-
petition from the wholesalers of the
big cities of the Northwest than is
in evidence at the present’ time.
They can not get any nearer the
Upper Peninsula than they are now,
unless they come here and _ open
branch establishments. The man
who has a wholesale establishment
in the Upper Peninsula is on the
ground floor, as it were. He is in
close touch with the merchants of
the various cities, while Chicago,
Milwaukee, Buffalo and other places
are so far away that wholesalers in
those cities can not possibly hope to
retain the hold on Lake Superior
merchants that is enjoyed by a firm
close by. St. Paul and Minneapolis
| are the towns that will put up the
| hottest fight for this territory, from
| the fact that they are nearer to the
scene of action.
It is possible that the question of
reciprocity will have something to
do with shaping the future of Sault
Ste. Marie as a wholesale center. At
this point international traffic is very
heavy. Persons not conversant with
the situation would be surprised to
| see the number of cars of freight
that cross the international bridge.
Goods from across the ocean des-
| tined for the Middle Western States
come in here in great volume. The
Canadian Pacific, running as it does
| from ocean to ocean, controls a vast
traffic, and importations handled by
the company are carried from here
|iar into the interior over the lines
| controlled by the organization. Thus
| it will be seen that a merchant deal-
2g in imported goods is nearer the
|supply here than he would be in
towns farther south. There would
be a good market on the Canadian
side if reciprocity between the two
countries were established along
such lines as a great many people de-
sire. With reciprocity the Upper
Peninsula wholesaler, and particular-
ly he who is located at the Soo, will
be able to go into the Dominion and
market a lot of goods at a handsome
profit. The building of railroads. and
the development of the mining dis-
tricts are causing prosperous towns
to spring up in Northern Ontario,
and a good many of the people mov-
ing from this side of the border are
inclined to favor goods that come
“from home.”
Reciprocity with Canada, however,
is some distance away, and it may
be some years yet before it is
brought into being. But the people
of the Northwest are clamoring for
it. Newspapers are demanding it in
all the leading cities. The business
element of the states close to the
border wants a chance to get over
the line with its sample trunk, as_
Canada and the Northwest are a¥§
most promising field. Business men
of the Northwest are shrewd. They
know that if they can bring about
such relations between the two coun-
tries as will permit them to market
their goods over the line they will
have a cinch. They will be hundreds
of miles nearer the market than the
men who now dominate the whole-
sale world. They will be on the
ground floor and thus able to scoop
their rivals. It is believed by many
that the coming of reciprocity will
mean the rapid upbuilding of numer-
ous of the now small cities of the
Northwest. It is easily seen, then,
why newspapers in this part of the
country are clamoring for it.
Looking at the future in this light
the Soo seems to be a good point
for wholesale houses. By no means
can it be said to be centrally located,
as far as Michigan is concerned, but
it has good railroad connections with
all Upper Peninsula towns, and in
case of trade relations of a nature
that will make it possible for the|.
American dealer to go after Cana-
dian business the Soo will prove a
point of great vantage. With a coun-
try rich in minerals and industry at
its very feet, a city of goodly size
just across the river, it will be possi-
ble for the Michigan Soo to become
a wholesale center of no small pro-
portions. Even now the shipments
of perishable goods across the bor-
der at this point amount to consid-
erable and the future is, indeed,
promising. When one realizes that
the country is for the most part in
its infancy, although old in many lo-
calities, it is at once seen that there
is much to look forward to.
Raymond H. Merrill.
——_2>0>____
A salesman’s anxiety to sell should
never make him forget that custom-
ers have the best right to decide
what they want to buy.
The Banking
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of Merchants, Salesmen and
Individuals solicited.
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Paid on —_ Certificates
Deposit.
Kent County
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Grand Rapids, Mich.
Deposits Exceed 234 Million Dollars
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“ > sie
MICHIGAN TRADESMAN
19
The Kind of Advertising That Pulls.
Advertising returns may be divided
into two kinds—direct and indirect.
If you are looking for direct returns
you must anticipate the public wants
and say all you can a week or two
ahead of time. For example: Pre-
pare an advertisement of sweet pea
seed; tell why the kind you sell is
worth cultivating; mention the dif-
ferent names of the plant; say a
word about the size of the flowers,
their fragrance, color, etc., and final-
ly add @ word tto the effect that your
seed is stocked fresh once a pear
and give the price. The advertise-
ment should appear a week ahead
of planting time. It will sell the seed
and evidence of direct returns will
not be wanting.
The reason many druggists have
lost faith in advertising is because
the nature of their line will not per-
mit of direct returns. The grocer al-
ways gets quick returns because there
is a constant demand for goods in his
line. The druggist often has to cre-
ate the demand, but, on the other
hand, his profits are larger as com-
pared with the grocer’s.
This brings us to consider indirect
returns. The druggist frequently ad-
vertises his own remedies, and _ be-
cause he does not get immediate re-
turns gives up in disgust. If in-
stead, he would put on more steam,
increase his advertising, add other
mediums, the result might be dif-
ferent.
After many days some fellow may
drift in who remembered reading so
and so concerning a corn cure. Hav-
ing contracted a corn in the mean-
time he is now looking for the cure.
You actually may have to wait for
the corn to grow, but as sure as the
sun rises, if you are persistent enough
you will win if you keep at it. That
is indirect returns.
The writer remembers very well
his experience in selling a sarsaparil-
la. It was advertised in the local pa-
pers and by means of a booklet, coun-
ter slips and window display. So
much was said that it seemed impos-
sible for the public to get away from
buying it, sick or well. For a long
time there were no returns. A five-
gallon lot seemed to be all we would
need for a couple of decades. By
and by, after we were all discouraged
about getting results, we had a call.
Then came another, and gradually we
worked up a sale, not large but
steady, and before we knew it our
five gallons were gone and we began
to realize that we had another staple
added to our stock. It was slow in
coming, but was more profitable in
the end than quick returns. We sell
two bottles of our sarsaparilla to one
of any other make now, all due to
persistent advertising.
For direct returns use the medium
taken by most of your customers. For
indirect returns use the medium pe-
rused by all classes, your customers
and the other fellows’. Also use coun-
ter slips, booklets, store paper, win-
dow—anything and _ everything to
hammer it into the public that you
have something they ought to have.
There is an angle in a street. of
Pompeii where the people took a
short cut around the corner. The
att) ah
story is written in the solid granite,
where the hurrying multitude have
worn stones deep and smooth, and
after twenty centuries the workman’s
spade reveals a lesson for the adver-
tiser of to-day. One man walking
over the stones left about as much
impression as the first advertisement
does in an obscure weekly.
many footsteps to wear away the
granite of the ancient city, and it
takes a vast amount of advertising to |
wear away modern prejudice and fix |
a thought, but, once accomplished, |
the impression will be as indelible as
the granite walk. Find a man or
woman who has not heard of Men-
nen or Lydia Pinkham, or others that
might be mentioned.
The lesson to be learned by many
a retail druggist is that it does pay to
advertise and that it is more profitable
to advertise preparations of his own,
even if it takes time to bring returns.
The things that bring quick results
are often goods that yield small prof-
it, while the things that bring results
indirectly will in time show direct
returns, with larger profits. It would
be better to advertise a good liniment
and wait until some one had the
rheumatism before making a sale than
to sell Hires’ root beer at two for a
quarter and hire a clerk to take care
of the rush. In the former case you
would in time have a staple article
selling regularly at a good profit, and
in the latter you would be doing a
lot of business for a little money. The
slow horse often brings you safest
home, and the same may be said of
the slow trade-pulling advertisement,
providing it is boosting the right
thing. Lou D. McWethy.
———_> 2 _—_
It Isn’t Yours.
To-morrow does not belong to you.
Keep your hands off it. The only
time you have any business with is
to-day. If all the good things that
should have come with to-morrow
had been accomplished facts, this
world long ago would have become
once more a garden of Eden. It is
not a good thing to brood, but it is
well for a man to sit down and take
a good square look at the situation.
You haven’t to go outside your lit-
tle circle, nor back further than this
winter, to realize that you had better
not count too much on to-morrow.
People who had as good chances for
a long life as you, a few weeks ago,
are forever done with the things of
time. It is wise to look ahead a
bit, but it is more than foolish to
forget that your little plan may not
fit in with the general design of the
Master Architect. Put your brain
and muscle into to-day; to-morrow
will have its own problems and re-
sponsibilities. Get all you can into
the present; the future is in other
hands. What if with the next week
your opportunities should end?
“Boast not thyself of to-morrow: for
thou knowest not what a day may
bring forth.”
——— —— ——o-
The clerk who treats customers as
he would like to be treated if condi-
tions were reversed is not likely to
make many enemies and is in a fair
way to become a very efficient sales-
man.
It took |
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‘‘What They Say’’
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MICHIGAN
TRADESMAN
TOOK HIM AT HIS WORD.
How the Family Outwitted the Head
of the House.
Written for the Tradesman.
Mrs. Briggs and her daughter Jane
had “done up the dinner things” and
seating themselves in the shade of
the big maple that shielded the side
porch from the brightness and heat
of the afternoon sun, were busy stick-
ing cloves into great luscious peaches
destined for the pickle jar when
Philetus Briggs, the husband and
father, laid aside his pipe and paper
and observed: “Seems to me that
Dave is making an all day trip to
town.”
Neither Mrs. Briggs nor her daugh-
ter commented on the proposition
and so Mr. Briggs continued: “I’ve
been thinking this thing all over ’n’
have ’bout made up my mind that
this fall’s work’ll ’bout finish things
up for us.”
“T’m_ wiilin’,’ meekly responded
Jane and her mother answered the
kindly smile that lighted up her hus-
band’s face as he directed his gaze
toward her, with: “I thought you’d
come to it if I left you to make up
your own mind.” And _ then her
plump and healthy face, rich in its
matronly glory, sent such a volley
of genuine wifely affection from her
eyes to the eyes of the man, that he
stepped over to her and, kissing her
forehead, added: “An’ we'll just take
comfort here where for so many
years we have together worked for
the right to rest; the right which is
ours legitimately and completely.”
When Mrs. Briggs pulled her hus-
band’s bearded face down toward her
own and kissed him fairly on his
lips, the daughter exclaimed: “My!
I just hope you two’ll never get too
old to be spooney,” at which the fath-
er retaliated with: “You don’t want
us to live much longer, eh?”
The daughter quickly declared that
she wanted both father and mother
to live as long as she did and not
only that, but that her sister and
brother had repeatedly and most
emphatically declared the same de-
sire; and so, with the two old people
and their comfort and happiness as
her text, the girl pictured the beauty
of a calm and robust old age in the
very midst of the scenes of their early
struggles and later triumphs. In
terms that were homely, perhaps, but
forceful, she reminded her parents
of their high and honorable standing
throughout the countryside and then
told of the great pride and joy ex-
perienced by her brother and sister
as well as herself, in their contem-
plation of the pattern lives that had
been led by the parents. It was
plain that she had a purpose in view
and to no one was it more apparent
than to the father, who had, in his
discomfort and embarrassment over
the daughter’s sincere admiration and
perfect frankness, again filled and
lighted his pipe, upon which he was
puffing furiously.
Philetus Briggs was a good man
and a kindly husband and father, but
he was notoriously exacting and
dreadfully old fashioned. He was
very near in money matters and yet
he was a generous provider so long
as he was not called upon to in-
dulge in what he called new fangled
notions. His latest and most em-
phatic resentment was in regard to
prepared foods, which he designated
as mere devices invented to help
lazy women-folks. Thus it was that
Jane struck a most unhappy note
when she suggested:
“An’, of course, if you’re goin’ to
spend your old age in this house—
an’ goodness knows it is big enough
and fine enough—you ought to have
some things put in we haven’t got.”
Mrs. Briggs made a feeble attempt
to check the subject, but was too late
because, when the father asked as to
what was needed, and when the girl
suggested a bath room and closet,
the storm was on. Instantly Mr.
Briggs derided the weakness that
would permit the introduction of
such a feature in a dwelling house; he
spoke with emphasis and seeming
authority upon the danger of such
an innovation and finally, with no
little show of bitterness, declared:
“This house is the best one in. the
township and it has been’ good
enough for us to now and will have
to do to the end.”
And the girl, very like her father,
temperamentally, did not heed her
mother’s anxious look of warning,
but responded with equal vigor and
authority: “And I want to tell you,
Father, right here and now, that car-
rying water from far distant wells
to kitchens and stables and gardens;
lugging mops, slops and pails of water
up stairs and down stairs, an’ being
forced to go out of doors at all hours,
day or night, and in all kinds of
weather, have done more to drive
boys and girls from the farms to the
cities than all the noise and bustle
and gew-gaws of city life can ever
accomplish.”
“Jane, please stop!” pleaded the
mother as the father enquired con-
temptuously: “Have you had your
say?” and the daughter had _ re-
sponded, “No, I’m not half through,”
when the tempest was stilled by the
sudden appearance of Dave, who rode
around the corner of the house and
leaping from his horse handed his
father a letter of imposing appearance
and bearing the seal of the U. S. Dis-
trict Court. Clearly an unexpected
distinction had come upon the Briggs
household and in the glory of such a
crisis all merely domestic topics were
forgotten. And when, upon opening
the envelope and carefully reading
the contents of the enclosure, Mr.
Briggs, fairly gasping, announced:
“T’ve been drawn to serve on the
Grand Jury an’ must report at the
Court House to-morrow morning,”
there was a moment of absolute si-
lence born of the amazement that
was dominant.
Such a furore of domestic excite-
ment as followed. Mother undertook
the preparation of the proper white
and bosomed shirts, the collars and
neckties, Jane assigned herself to
the sponging and pressing of the
Sunday suit and the father and son
repaired to the stables to exchange
a few last words in relation to the
stock and crops. And there were
some steers to be sold and various
repairs to machines to be looked af-
ter, until at last, with everything ae
viewed and directions all given, Mr. |
Briggs resumed: |
“And—oh, yes, Dave. You just |
remember at all times, even if I
never come back, that everything |
about the whole place belongs as|
much to Mother as it does to me. |
She’s earned more’n her half of it)
and it’s hers, whole kit ’n’ boodle,
when I’m not here.”
Next morning parting injunctions
had been exchanged, farewells had
been said and Mr. Briggs, neat and
looking extremely well in his good-
fitting suit of black, waved an adieu
in answer to the fluttering handker-
chiefs at the front porch as Dave
turned the horse north on the Line
Road en route to the station. Mrs.
Briggs and Jane turned and looked
at each other in silence as the horse
and wagon disappeared, but almost
instantly Mrs. Briggs sighed and re-
marked: “He’ll be gone two weeks
at least and maybe longer. An’
Dave’s got his orders.”
“An’ we've got a heap to do in two
weeks,” continued Jane, as she fol-
lowed her mother into the house.
The stately Briggs Place was con-
fessedly the best establishment in
the township. The barns were large
and well built; the house, about 200
feet away, was also large and conve-
nient as to internal arrangement and
it was, after ten years of service,
in excellent condition. There were
warm, dry and well lighted stables,
a spacious building devoted to the
housing of machinery and vehicles,
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MICHIGAN TRADESMAN
21
|
oven accessory, poultry house and
park, cattle sheds and pig sty and a
shop and tool house combined which
was surmaunted by a windmill and
water tank.
The morning’s work, including the
finishing up of the peach pick-
ling job, was quickly attended to and
then Mrs. Briggs busied herself
measuring a clothes line with her
yard stick, marking each succeeding
ten feet by tying a bit of white cloth
at the spot. Meanwhile, out in the
shop, Jane had, by utilizing her fath-
er’s spirit level and two pieces of
two-by-four, constructed a T-square
level. And the two women very
soon, by means of their clothes line
“chain,” discovered that the water
tank was exactly 212 feet from the
house and 165 feet from the stables;
that from the house to the center of
the half acre lawn the distance was
45 feet and that it was 120 feet from
the water tank to the center of the
one acre farm and kitchen garden.
It was at this point that the two
women realized that they had
overlooked their leveling rod, but
one of the long strips from the quilt-
ing frame was measured off into
inches and feet and before’ dinner
time they had “taken the levels” with
“stations” ten feet apart and knew,
with reasonable exactness, the sur-
face lines or profiles of each survey—
to the house, the stables, the lawn
and the garden—and with much pride
and no little laughter were telling
Dave all about it as together they
were enjoying the dinner.
“It’s great!” said Dave at last
when he had an opportunity to speak,
“and as soon as I told Lill and Jim
(the sister and her husband) they
promised to come over to-morrow
and every day until we get through.
And I saw Ben Barker—who owes
me two days’ work—an’ he’ll be over
and Mr. Webster, the plumber, is
comin’ out to-morrow with pipes and
traps and bath tub and closet—the
whole outfit. He says he’ll charge
us only for what we use and will
rush the job.”
“But where will we put the bath
room?” suddenly enquired Mrs.
Briggs, having thought of that detail
for the first time.
“That’s just what Webster asked
me when I talked with him,” replied
Dave, “and when I hesitated, sort of
puzzled like, he went on just as
though we had talked it all over and
explained that he had often noticed
our place and wondered why we
didn’t have water works; that the
bottom of our water tank was at
least eight feet above our second
floor and that if he were in our place
he’d put the bath room in the little
store room over the pantry.”
It was a regular water works bee
that followed. Lill and Jim, Ben
Barker and Dave, Mrs. Briggs and
Jane, under the direction of the
plumber, who had entered heartily
into the scheme, dug the trenches be-
low the frost line for water pipes and
traps and sewer pipes, laid the pipes
and covered them, put in the bath
tub, bowls and flushing tank, and
within a week water from the wind-
mill and tank had been led to sta-|
/content an’ no one luggin’ a pailful
bles, house, lawn and garden.
“Pshaw!” said Mrs. Briggs as she)
was settling with the plumber, “I’ve
always heard you plumbers were rob-
bers, but I wouldn’t be without what
you have put in for ten times what
you charge.”
“That’s all right, Mrs. Briggs,” an-
swered Webster, “but I’m well paid
for what little I have done. You and
your family did all the work.”
“Well,
slobbering in water to their hearts’
to them?”
“What can he say?’ finally observ-
ed the proud housewife and mother.
“T'll tell you, now, what he did
say,” said Dave. “He told me to re-
member, at all times, that this whole
place is yours—the whole kit and
boodle; that you had earned more’n
‘your half of it and that when he’s
it’s fine we’re both satis- |
fied,” was Mrs. Briggs comment as/
she took the receipted bill.
need and what you ought to have,
now that you have the water in your |
house, is a new range with a water- |
back, and then you could have hot}
water on tap in your kitchen, your
bath room and your stables.”
“Put her in an’ I’ll pay for it!”
not here, it’s all yours.”
“Did your father say that?” asked
Mrs. Briggs, as a glistening, swim-
| ming flood filled her eyes .
“Ve-e-s.” mused Webster as tei 8 y
placed the money in his pocket, “but | _ ;
I'm not wholly satisfied. What you swere
“That’s what he said, Mother,” an-
Dave as he placed an arm
her shoulder and with the
other led her toward the sitting room
with his own eyes filled to brimming.
across
* * *
The labors df the Grand Jury were
_ended many weeks before Philetus
fairly shouted Dave as he gave his)
| great grief and irreparable loss into
mother a regular bear hug.
And so the second week saw the)
new range installed and as
Mrs. |
Briggs walked around it or tested |
the hot water at the sink she thought,
and once exclaimed, “my! what'll Leet
say when he finds out what it cost?” |
dent, put in an appearance at the hos-
“Say,” echoed Jane, as she wiped
her hands, “what’ll he say when he
finds we’ve no cess-pool just outside
the kitchen door?”
3riggs returned to his home because
of a railway disaster which brought
many households, but sent Mr. Briggs
to an Emergency Hospital in the
city with a broken arm and many
cuts and And when Mrs.
Briggs and Jane, answering a tele-
graphic announcement of the acci-
bruises.
pital, thrilled with anxiety and fear,
‘they found the old gentleman done
“Ves, an’ what'll he say when he}
| lighted by their presence.
sees our posies and our lawn blos-
soming right along through the sum- |
mer drouth?
What’ll he say when he |
sees the horses and cattle and things |
up in splints and plaster and band-
ages, but very much alive and de-
“The doctor says I’ll come out
as good as new,” said the patient
cheerily in answer to his wife’s en-
N.C. R.
CoMPANY,
Dayton, O. Ce.
Please have o
your agent call ey,
when next in my
vicinity. This puts me
under no obligation to
buy. I saw your ad in
MIcHIGAN TRADESMAN.
Name
Address
Our 1904 models are now
1. Cash Sales. 2.
We employ 1,400 salesmen.
tation.
all other cash register companies.
business last year than ever before.
well satisfied with their ‘‘ Nationals.”
Over two hundred concerns have failed in the cash register business because
they could not furnish a cash register without infringing some of our 895 patents.
Some merchants are led to purchase low-grade cash registers by misrepresen-
Later they find they will not give satisfaction.
ready. Prices, $25 to $650 a low-priced machine, don’t buy till you see our agent.
cheaper than anybody else.
FIVE. THINGS TO REMEMBER. A “National” takes care of
Credit Sales. 2.
5.
Our agent will then call.
| National Cash Register Company
Dayton, Ohio, U. S. A.
Money Received on Account.
Changing Money.
The Best Are the Cheapest
For twenty years the National Cash Register Company has made the announce-
ment that it could sell a Je¢ter cash register for /ess money than any other concern
in the world. We have never failed to do this in a single case.
We are the originators of cash registers and have naturally been the target of
In the face of this competition we did a larger
This was because our 365,000 users were
If you are interested in
If you would like further information, send in attached coupon.
This puts you under no obligation whatever to buy.
We guarantee to sell
4. Money Paid Out.
Re egies
8S
MICHIGAN TRADESMAN
quiry, “but I guess I’m laid up here |
for the winter all right.”
And to say truly, it must be con-—
fessed that the mother and daughter
experienced a sense of relief when |
they heard the news. Relief over the ,
promise that he would recover, of |
course; but relief, also, over the pos- |
sibility that they would be given a
few weeks’ leeway in which to pre-|
pare the old gentleman for the sur- |
prise in store for him at home.
“Of course it isn’t that we’re afraid
of his anger when he finds out what,
we've done,” suggested Jane, “but it.
would be dangerous to Pa to permit |
him to undergo the excitement in)
his present condition.” |
And Mrs. Briggs looked a world |
of admiration and thanks into the |
eyes of the daughter as she answer- |
ed: “Why, I wouldn’t think of it—
under the circumstances.” Thus it)
was, after a day of visiting with the |
hospital attaches and Mr. Briggs, |
and after reaching a detailed under- |
standing as to the mutual use of the |
telephones and the mails, that the
wife and daughter, buoyed by most
hopeful reports on the part of sur-
geon and nurses and by the seeming
comfort and contentment of the in-
jured man, started on their return
homeward. Daily reports followed
them for a week thereafter and while
everything was reported favorable,
there was no especial message from
the patient. True he sent messages
of love and remembrance, but there
wasn’t a hint about an early return
home.
“Well, there’s one thing about it,” |
said Dave one evening at the table,
| “he seems to be blame well satis-
| fied.”
And then Mrs. Briggs suggested
that there was a possibility that he
had already heard of the water works
improvement and was purposely de-
laying his return until he had his
temper well in hand.’ And so, for
two weeks more the uncertainty and
curiosity and doubt that oppressed
‘the household continued without a
single word from Mr. Briggs that
was calculated to relieve the strain.
Then it was, one morning just af-
ter breakfast, that Mrs. Briggs an-
nounced: “I’m going in to the city
to-day and when I come back your
father’ll be with me. I’m going to
put an end to this suspense.”
It was then, too, that there came
a call over the telephone, which was
answered by Dave. The young man’s
face beamed as he listened and the
next instant he reported: “It’s Pa
talking—and he says: ‘Tell Ma I’m
coming home to-day. Tell her I’ve
been taking baths in a bath tub, hot
and cold water, every day for a
week—all except my broken arm—
and that I’m feeling like a four-year-
old—all except my arm.’”
ee
And one afternoon in the June fol-
lowing, when the fields were rich
with promise and the air was warm
under the benediction of a glorious
sunlight and a clear sky, Philetus
Briggs and his wife were chatting
cosily together on the side porch
my eyes wider’n they'd ever been be-
fore; but it wasn’t nothing to the
heatin’ apparatus ’n’ if I live there'll
be a furnace in this house inside of
sixty days, if I have anything to say
about it.”
“Yes,” replied Mrs. Briggs, “that’s
what I’ve been thinking, too. An’ I
made a contract with Webster day
before yesterday for one—a hot wat-.
er heater. You know you told Dave
the place is mine and I can do what
I like with my own property, I con-
cluded.” Charles S. Hathaway.
— wes
Shoe Departments in General Stores.
The shoe departments in many gen-
eral stores are sadly neglected.
Many merchants will say this does
not fit them.
It probably does.
When a lady calls for a pair of
shoes, can everyone in the store,
from yourself to the newest clerk, go
to the stock which is most likely to
suit her and at once select all of the
different styles?
In other words, do they know the
stock thoroughly?
Not long ago you may have had
a new shipment of children’s shoes.
Have all of the clerks been instruct-
ed about them so they can pick them
out and talk them readily?
Or when they go from the dry
goods or grocery departments into
the shoe section will it be a case of
guess with them most of the time?
With one-half the clerks in one-half
the general stores selling a pair of
shoes of any kind is a clumsily done
and the husband was heard to say: | job.
“Yes, that hospital bath tub opened They do not know the stock.
They fail to size up the customer,
what will suit, what will fit, etc.
About the time they find a shoe
that suits they find they can not get
a fit.
Which fact they should have known
before they pulled the shoe down.
They know nothing of the values
or the strong points in the goods
they are selling.
The shoes are brought in from the
warehouse on a truck and given a
place in stock. Some of them may
be looked at and no more. The mer-
chant doés not take enough interest
in them to tell his clerks why they
will be good sellers.
This is one of the features of gen-
eral merchandising which shows that
the merchant has not worked his op-
portunities to within gunshot of the
limit.
It shows the necessity of wide-
awake merchants and wideawake
clerks —Commercial Bulletin.
eee erent
A wonderful clock has just been
completed by a Bavarian clockmaker
after 19 years of labor. It tells the
seconds, minutes, hours, days,
weeks, months, years and Christian
festivals. The course of the sun,
moon and-constellations is given and
eclipses shown. The clock has been
regulated to keep all these things
until 2899. The clock consists of
2,200 parts and has 142 wheels, while
it is worth $8,750.
The world’s verdict is easier to
over-rule than that of one’s own con-
science.
PROFIT-PRODUCING ADVERTISING
PROFIT-PRODUCING ADVERTISING
COST TO
OPERATE
14%
tamp Collectors’
TERMS:
WE ae FREE 5
Two per cent. for cash in ten days or 60 days net
satisfied that this is the greatest cash trade winner and profit producer you have ev=r heard of.
Your Own Private Trading Stamp System
With this plan we furnish you FREE plenty of Catalogues of Premiums and Stamp Collectors’
Books for every house in your locality. Each book contains 36 pages of illustrations of Housefur-
nishing Goods of every description, each article being fully described and priced according to the
number of stamps it is necessary for the customer to save in order to obtain it free. Each book also
has 20 pages of squares for the saving of the stamps, Your name and business are fully described and
advertised in four places on cover pages of each book just as you want it.
One 42 pc. Cottage Dinner Set of English Ware that retails for..........2::eecece cece eerste eeee $ 6 00
We Sell You One 147 pc. Open Stock Asst of a Flown Blue English Porcelain, retails for.......-....--+-+-++- 20 00
One 42 pe. set of Bavarian China, Rosebud design, that retails for..........-----+++eeeee seers: 12 00
| Total, 231 pieces for $24.73 | that will bring at retail. .....- . 22-2000 eeeeee ee eeeteeeeees $38 00
ooo Gummed Trading Stamps; 5 Elegant Display Cards; Plenty of Catalogues of Premiums and
Books; your advertisement in four places on each book.
and your money
back at the end of go days if you are not perfectly
¢
encourage them t: start
PROFIT-PRODUCING ADVERTISING
Under this system we send you one book of 5
stamps you use—nothing for the stamps that you don't use
Books, each book containing stamps represen
trade you desire to obtain.
goods that your customers can obtain for their stamps as we
stock of premiums, simply pay for the number of stamps you actually use at the rate of 3 per cent.
homes, all charges prepaid, the presents t
times—they will double your present business.
NEW YORK REBATE “THE RED TRADING STAMPS”
H. LEONARD & SONS, GRAND RAPIDS MICH.
ooo New York Rebate Stamps
We furnish you 500 Catalog
ting $1.00 worth of purchases.
saving the stamps, and books are to be delivered
hey desire for their stamps. Order one o
and you pay at the rate of 3 per cent. for the
ues of Premiums and Stamp Collectors’
These stamps are FREE to your customers so as to
, 0 by you to the different families in your locality whose
Each book contains 36 pages of illustrat'ons of presents in every conceivable line of housefurnishing
1l as stating the number of stamps required for each. You carry no
We deliver direct to customers’
f these systems to-day and liven up the dull
DNISILABAGVY DNiINNGOAd=LId0ad
PROFIT-PRODUCING ADVERTISING
AAAAARARARAAAARAARARAARA AR
PROFIT=-PRODUCING ADVERTISING
|
@
|
THE TOURIST TRADE.
Amusing Attempts of Shopkeepers
to Attract Attention. .
Holiday-makers on the continent
have from time to time sent home
amusing instances of foreign efforts
to address the tourist in his own bar-
barous tongue. Here are a few, cull-
ed in continental shops, hotels, and
other places of public resort.
Even cultivated Paris supplies a
few amusing blunders in her strug-
gles with our uncouth lingo. A res-
taurateur in the Gay City wished
to. impress on the hungry tourist
that at his establishment food could
be obtained at any hour. After much
labor he evolved the following:
“Meals at every o'clock!”
A hair dresser in the Rue St. Ho-
nore sought to attract visitors with
the weird announcement, “Hear to
cut off hare;” while a Palais Royal
baker appealed to those who liked
their macaroni fresh with “Macaroni
not baked sooner ready.”
Switzerland supplies a_ plentiful
crop of quaintly worded notices.
Concluding an enthusiastic account
of his hotel, a Swiss boniface gives
the candid information that “Wines
at this hotel give the visitor nothing
to hope for.” Another advertises
“Plain and artful baths.” Desirous of
vaunting the maturity of his cheese,
a Swiss tradesman says: “Thees
chees are not too childish.”
It is well known as the thing to do
when visiting the Rigl to watch the
sunrise; wherefore a hotel there gives
out that “When the sun him rise a
horn will be blowed.” This kind of
English seems considerably more
childish than the extolled cheese of
the worthy Switzer tradesman.
Having made the usual distinction
between casual visitors and those
who pay by the month, having re-
solved on a lengthened stay, a Swiss
hotel proprietor exhorts the latter
thus: “Monthly gentlemen will have
to pay fixed rate made with them
at the time, and should they absent
day in month they will not be al-
lowed anything out of it, because I
take from them less rate.”
After this one does not flinch from
such minor eccentricities as “Back-
ed apples” and “Strewed prunes,”
which fearful and wonderful dishes
have been known to figure on a Swiss
menu.
In Italy, near Pompeii, the follow-
ing curious announcement appears in
the circulars of a large hotel:
“People will find equally thither a
complete sortiment of stranger wines
and of the kingdom, hot and cold
baths, stables and coach houses, the
whole with very moderate price.
Now, all the endeavors of the host
will tend always to correspond with
the tastes of their customers, which
will acquire without doubt to him
in that town the reputation of
which he is desirous.”
In a French town a dentist con-
cludes an advertisement in the local
papers thus: “M. X. renders himself
to the inhabitants of these town
wich honour him with their confi-
dence, and executes with skill and
vivacity.”
One would imagine that a viva-
MICHIGAN TRADESMAN 23
cious dentist would be something of |
a nuisance, but doubtless he of the)
forceps only meant that he was |
prompt in his methods. |
It is impossible not to be awed by |
this Japanese official notice: “The |
trees-cutting, birds’ and beasts’ kill- |
ing, and cows and horses setting on |
free at the ground belonging to gov |
ernment are strictly prohibited.” |
Very often a mistake is made by |
misinterpreting a foreign word which |
has two English meanings. Thus, a |
British tourist in Holland was ee
zled to know what “Upright ginger |
beer” might mean, until he found out
that “opreght” in Dutch stands for
both “upright” and “genuine.”—
Stray Stories.
Si
The Prospects of the Young Men of |
To-day.
The young lads of to-day, between |
the ages of 10 to 17 years, are of a}
much brighter nature than those of a
century past—young boys say at oe
age of 15 years. You can depend |
upon them in many different ways.
They can do business transactions
and do business. They seem so in-
dependent because they can jingle |
the coin in their pockets,
makes them feel like big men.
Not jong agoa _young lad about 13 |
enquired, “Something, wane man?” |
“Yes,” replied the youthful customer,
“I want to look at a pair of pants for |
myself.” After a moment’s hesita- |
tion the youthful customer said, |
“Tong pants.” This was going to |
be his first pair of long pants and)
he felt awfully big. He kept his|
right hand in his pocket jingling the |
pants. He said to the clerk, “Don’t |
you think I will look much bigger |
with long pants on?” “Certainly,” |
replied the clerk; “you will look like |
a big man.” The little lad replied |
with a broad smile on his face, “ Gee! |
Y’ll look almost as big as my father, |
because he is a very short man.” The | |
clerk had the pants wrapped up for |
him and the little fellow took his
money out of his pocket with an
expression on his face as though he |
was glad to get rid of his money as
long as he got his long pants. After
he had paid for the pants he flew out
of the store in a hurry, tickled to
death over his long purchase. The
clerk was amazed at the manner in
which the youthful customer select-
ed his pants, being careful in his se-
lection and kicking about the price.
He tried to Jew him down. The
clerk thought he was dealing with a
man instead of a lad of 13. About |
an hour later the clerk was out on|
the street and saw the lad, whom he|
hardly recognized in his new pants. |
I think nobody will dispute me|
when I say that 75 per cent. of the |
boys at the ages mentioned oan |
bright and intelligent, and some fu-|
ture day some of them may be at}
the head of the nation. |
Meyer M. Cohen. |
Charlevoix, Mich. |
i ma
The unsuccessful advertiser com-
plains that advertising is expensive,
but the shrewd, systematic buyer of
publicity wonders that it can be sold
so Cheap.
THIS Is IT
An accurate record of your daily
transactions given by the
The
ACME
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Your Customers
call for this planter. It is widely
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Acme Potato Planters
add to the profit of potato
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They are known everywhere to
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They Are The Right Tool
rightly made and rightly sold. No
catalogue or mail order house ever
has or ever can sell them. Your
implement hardware jobber does.
Your customers have to get them
of you.
POTATO IMPLEMENT
COMPANY
Traverse Tity,
Standard Cash Register Co.
4 Factory St., Wabash, Ind.
I. xX. LL. THEM ALL
THIRTY YEARS EXPERIENCE
We Make tree Beor
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Our Assortment of
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Easter Eges in Every Varwety
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Putnam Factory National Candy Co,
Grand Rapids, Mich.
How About Your Gredit System ?
Is it perfect or do you have trouble with it ?
Wouldn’t you like to have a sys-
tem that gives you at all times an
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Send for our catalogue No. 2, which explains fully.
THE JEPSON SYSTEMS 6O., LTD., Grand Rapids, Michigan
a ee = Ze Se ee ee ee
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2 MICHIGAN
TRADESMAN
Business During 1904.
The annual invoice having been
the problems of 1904. This, or pos-
sibly a little later in some localities,
is one of the dullest periods of the
year. With the fall and winter sea-
son just closing and the spring trade
not having commenced, the progres-
sive dealer should have a little time
to formulate and put into action
vancement and
and as compared with the year pre-
an age of advancement and I firmly
business than has marked the same
period of time in the past.
ideas and right now is the time to
commence. No business can stand
still at this day and age. We can
not depend upon any particular class
of trade staying with us regardless
of our attitude toward their interests.
If a progressive merchant opens up
in your town or locality and takes
some of your trade, who is to blame?
Have you not had possession of this
business—and you know possession
not get angry because some of your
the cause. You will no doubt find
that they have every respect for you
and have confidence in you as a deal-
aright. Fight your competition with
their own weapons and go them one
better if possible.
smaller dealers especially, and they
no doubt feel that with the means
and help available they are wholly
unable to=cope with the situation.
Our first advice would be: “Sub-
scribe for a live, progressive trade
be surprised at the many helpful sug-
gestions you will obtain that will be
adaptable to your own _ business.
With it as a guide strive to eclipse
all former efforts in going after busi-
ness. Commence at the bottom and
thoroughly study out your plan of
action.
As an example of the helpfulness
of a trade journal, in a recent issue
of this paper there appeared an arti-
How To Conduct a Successful Shoe |
completed in the majority of shoe)
stores and profit and loss having |
been credited and debited to the
business of 1903, the shoe retailer |
now prepares to face and cope with |
schemes and methods for the ad-|
development of |
business in his locality. I trust that |
with the large majority of dealers |
the year’s business just closed has |
been highly successful and profitable |
vious has shown considerable ad-/|
vancement. In all lines this is surely |
believe that the twelve months of
1904 will develop many new methods |
and more systematic arrangement of |
Therefore, it is “up” to the pro-|
gressive shoe man to keep in touch |
with these up-to-date methods and |
is considered nine points, etc.? Do/|
customers are leaving you. Examine |
er. It is not that they do not like)
you, it is prices and new ideas that |
“fetch ’em.” Start the new year)
There is no doubt that this is a/|
hard proposition to a number of)
journal and read it.” It will keep |
you abreast of the times and you will |
Lots on arrangement of stock which
| I believe would be of benefit to a
host of shoe men. That is one of
'the ‘first points to be considered. Is
| your arrangement of stock and fix-
'tures as it should be or does it re-
| semble a junk shop more than a met-
ropolitan shoe store? I have noticed
a number of shoe stocks and espe-
cially those handled in connection
with other lines of merchandise that,
to use a slang phrase, were “a holy
fright.” The main stock in trade
seems to be composed of soiled and
broken cartons placed promiscuously
here, there and everywhere on the
shelves without regard to location or
appearance. Not only that, but the
arrangement of fixtures, settees, etc.,
is generally bad. Just place yourself
in the customer’s position a few mo-
ments, Mr. Shoeman, and suppose
that you had entered the store for
the purpose of purchasing. Your
first impression is far from favorable
when you come in and notice a
group of clerks who are apparently
engrossed in everything except that
there is a customer to be waited
/upon. Finally, one of the clerks
ambles up to you and, in a tone more
calculated to discourage you than to
| persuade you to buy, asks after your
| wants. You seat yourself on the set-
| tee after it has been cleared of news-
papers, shoe cartons, etc., and pro-
_ceed to inspect the stock before you.
| Your attention is attracted by a
carton that has no lid and the front
is hanging down, covering the front
of carton beneath and exposing a
pair of dirty looking shoes. You
next note a large carton projecting
from a row of smaller ones, with
holes here and improper spaces there
and so on through the stock. What
would be your own conclusion, Mr.
Shoedealer? Would it not be natural
for you to feel that the goods were
not up to the standard, although they
may be?
You may consider this case over-
drawn, but I assure you I have seen
| instances as bad as above portrayed.
I trust, however, that these examples
are much in the minority. The point
is, have a house-cleaning. Get all
those cobwebs out of the corners.
Rearrange your stock with someeye
to system. Have all of one line of
shoes together, i. e., one section for
ladies and one each for men, boys,
misses and children, or at least, have
them separated so you will know
where they are at. Replace all those
broken cartons with new ones or
get them out of sight. Compact
your stock. Better to have a whole
vacant shelf at the top than to have
the stock full of holes. Next see
that your display cases and all glass
and metals are kept bright and shin-
ing. Arrange your store artistically
in the interior at least, for there is
where you do business. It will be
much pleasanter for you and for your
clerks and also for your customers.
| An annual or semi-annual sale for
clearance of dead or out of date stock
has become one of the necessary at-
tributes to every well conducted re-
tail business and the shoe business
is no exception. No matter how
carefully or conservatively the buyer
may place his order I have yet to see
the stock that did not accumulate
unsalable stuff which gradually gets
pushed out of the way for new
goods. This portion of the stock
should receive very careful attention
and when it is seen that any particu-
lar line bids fair to be “stickers,”
then is the time to dispose of them.
It would be impossible to outline a
method of riddance for these business
“breakers” that would be adaptable
to all localities, but get rid of them
you must, and that is one of the
problems that will confront you in
carrying out your system, but be
sure you are right, and where there
is a will there is always a way. With
some houses and in some cities and
towns the clearance sale has been
worked to death, and does not at-
tract the attention any more than
it should, therefore, there must be
other methods used. A good manner
to dispose of “stickers” in the course
of regular business is to have a space
in each department on the base shelf
devoted to the odds and ends you wish
The Old
National Bank
GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN
Our certificates of deposit
are payable on demand and
draw interest at
3%
Our financial responsibility is
almost two million dollars—
a solid institution to intrust
with your funds.
The Largest Bank in Western
Michigan
Assets, $6,646,322.40.
to dispose of. When you are serving
The Boston
Rubber Shoe Co.’s
Discounts for 1904
NDVI SEE
SHOE. /
iS
Are 30, 5 and 3 per cent. on Bostons and 30, 10, 5 and
3 per cent. on Bay States until June first.
After that date the discount on Bostons will be 30 and 3
per cent. and on Bay States 30, 10 and 3 per cent.
By placing your order now you save $3.40 on every
hundred dollars’ worth of Bostons and $3.06 on every hun-
dred dollars’ worth of Bay States that you buy.
When you consider the quantity of rubbers needed to
supply your trade this saving is an item you can’t afford to
overlook.
Rindge, Kalmbach, Logie & Co., Ltd.
Grand Rapids, Mich.
When Looking
over our spring line of samples which our men
are now Carrying
Don’t Forget
to ask about our KANGAROO KIP Line for men, and
what goes with them as advertising matter. Prices
from $1.20 to $2.50. Strictly solid. Best on earth at
the price. :
GEO. H. REEDER & CO., Grand Rapids, Mich.
@
©
%
MICHIGAN TRADESMAN 25
* . customer and have found the size
and style desired cast your eye over
this stock and see if there is not
something that will do and if so
show it. State exactly the truth of
the matter and cut the price accord-
ingly. Another good idea, providing
you have a sale record and list of
customers, giving sizes worn, is to
mail each one a personal letter, call-
ing attention to the fact that you have
so many pairs of such and such shoes
which will fit them and which you
will sell at a bargain, giving your
reason for so doing. This may be a
little trouble and expense, but not
more so than a full page advertise-
ment, which probably would not do
as much good.
Spring openings are no longer an
experiment, but with the successful
merchant, are one of the most impor-
tant. points to be considered in his
solicitation of business. We. are
nearing the time when these openings
will be seasonable and we have ample
time to prépare a line of action. To
those shoe dealers who have made
a practice of holding openings it is
unnecessary to make the above state-
ment, for they are undoubtedly now
formulating plans whereby they may
eclipse all former efforts. But to
those who have never held a spring
opening we say, “Get busy.” Not
only can we cite you to those of
your own profession, but also to the
dry goods and furnishings dealers,
and especially is it the chief -factor
in the business of our sister-in-
trade, the milliner. No matter how
small a business, nor how limited
her stock, she would no more think
of endeavoring to sell hats without
a seasonable opening than she would
of using her needle minus the thread.
Is there, then, any reason why a
stock of shoes should not be intro-
duced to the public at the beginning
of their season in the same manner?
The spring goods will undoubtedly
be all delivered and marked and in
stock by the last of this month, so
that they will be ready for display
as soon as signs of spring become
manifest. Why not use a_ little
“Printers? Ink” in announcing a
spring opening and inviting the pub-
lic to attend? This can be done in
various ways and with different de-
grees of expense, but, of course, the
elaborateness of the invitations and
other preparations must be regulated
by the size of the business and the
capital thereof. Whatever you do,
you can at least have the interior of
your place of business clean and at-
tractive even if not profusely deco-
rated, and it is within the power of
even the smallest merchant to deco-
rate the interior and exterior of his
store in some attractive manner.
Another valuable help to the suc-
cessful shoe man is his method of
window display. This is a very valu-
able means of advertising and one
that must be thoroughly and artisti-
cally done. Remember it is the
means by which the majority of
shoppers will “size up” your business
and it is unnecessary to state that a
large amount of transient trade, es-
pecially, comes your way because of
an attractive display. I do not con-
sider it necessary to put the greater
part of your stock in the window by
any means, but a well balanced dis-
play of a few attractive samples will
arrest more attention and appear
much neater than an indiscriminate
mass of merchandise. The window
display is not the “whole thing” by
any means, and I have always con-
sidered a neat, attractive interior to
be of equal importance. These dis-
plays, both interior and exterior, are
a great help to the dealer during his
opening days especially, although I
would not let a display lag at any
season of the year, but would keep
my business always before the public
by striving to be the first to recog-
nize any important event of local or
national interest by arranging a dis-
play in keeping. I believe that 1904
will show a great advancement in the
art of window dressing and interior
arrangements, and those who do not
keep abreast of this movement are
the ones who will lose out eventually.
This is the branch of your business
which is exchanged for dollars and
cents and should be one of your most
profitable expenditures. The year
before us promises to be one in
which many merchants who have not
before realized the importance of
I can give no better advice or plan! Ecstasy is happiness magnified in-
a better idea than that adopted by | to pain.
Marshall Field & Co., of Chicago, |
who express it in this wise: “The|
Marshall Field & Co. Idea—To do.
the right thing, at the right time, in
the right way; to do some things bet- |
ter than they were ever done before; |
to eliminate errors; to know both
sides of the question; to be courte- |
ous; to be an example; to work for |
love of the work; to anticipate re-
quirements; to develop resources; to |
recognize no impediments; to mas-
ter circumstances; to act from reason
rather than rule; to be satisfied with |
nothing short of perfection.”—A. B. |
Cowley in Shoe Trade Journal.
——_~>-22—__
Marine insurance is very old. The |
earlies} voyagers, the Phoenicians,
practiced a kind of insurance. The
master, before sending his small bark |
to the edge of the earth, mortgaged
her against her return. If she came
back he returned the loan with a/'
heavy premium.
a ee
The clerk who always waits to be
told what to do will probably have
to wait a long time before he is
Are Your Books in
Balance and kept by
Up-to-Date Methods?
Do they give you the infor-
mation necessary to run
your business successfully ?
Let us send an expert from
our accounting and auditing
department to install a new
system and instruct your
book-keeper in the lates”
time-saving, fact-giving
methods. Write for par-
ticulars.
The Michigan Trust Co.
Grand Rapids, Michigan
Established 1889
told to take a higher position.
this economical business expense will
awake to the situation and will be
compelled to either “Do or die” so
far as their business interests are
concerned. We have but to look to
the amount and quality of the adver-
tising that is used by those firms
who are taking business from our
territory to realize its potent force.
The question is, “Are you going to
sit at your desk and read these ad-
vertisements in your local papers and
magazines of general circulation and
say, ‘no use?’ or are you going to
strive to get in the ring and profit
by their example? There is no rea-
son why, with the many advertising
propositions available, you should be
content to live a hand-to-mouth ex-
istence, but put your shoulder to the
wheel and push. Convince your
trade by persistent, truthful advertis-
ing that you can sell shoes in com-
petition with those with whom they
are doing business. Here is where
your trade journals will be of bene-
fit, as well as in every other branch
of your business. You can obtain
points in every issue which will be
of incalculable benefit to you.
I do not mean by this that you |,
should turn peddler or make a house
to house canvass in order to get busi-
ness. Not by any means, but I have
reference to your treatment of cus-
tomers who trade with you. Do you
ever ask them to call again? Do you
allow your customers to stand unno-
ticed for any length of time, or do
you escort your customers to the
door, after dealing with them, and
opening same ask them to call again?
And do you make it a point with
yourself and among your. clerks to
see that every possible customer re- ||
ceives every possible attention from
the time he comes in until he
leaves? All these and. many other
personal attentions have a good ef-
fect and are methods of making a per-
sonal solicitation of business. As a
sum and substance of what this arti-
cle is intended to express I feel that
A RECORD
=» Since moving into our new and commodious quar- e
2 ters on August 1, 1903, all previous records as to ©€
our sales have been broken. We sold more goods
duving the last five months of the past year than in
a whole year less than five years ago.
: WALDRON, ALDERTON & MELZE :
= Wholesale Boots, Shoes and Rubbers :
c No. 131-133 N. Franklin St. -
5 SAGINAW, MICH. 5
Write for Prices
Where we make them.
Equipped with electricity, run by water power. Our
minimum cost of production gives our customers max-
imum values in Men’s, Boys’ and Youths’ Shoes.
Hirth, Krause & Co.,
Shoe Manufacturers Grand Rapids, Mich.
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26
MICHIGAN TRADESMAN
MAN WITH THE MUSKET.
His Relation to the Army of the
Cumberland.
(Continued next week) .
By this time the corn growing in
the valleys had become fit for roast-
ing. The blackberries on the moun-
tain sides were ripening in abundance
and, with the swine that roamed the
woods and were familiarly known to
the soldiers as “Alabama sunfish,”
the men in the ranks fared well, de-
pending on the trains for little else
than coffee, salt and sugar.
Just here came a time that brought
out the temper and patriotism of the
American soldier. The Army of the
Cumberland had arrived at the base
of the great mountain range that di-
vided the East from the West. In
front there was an army equally
strong in numbers, fully as well arm-
ed and better supplied with food
than they, but there were also be-
fore them formidable mountain
ranges; mountains whose sides were
traversed only by mere trails; moun-
tains that were densely wooded, af-
fording concealment to the foe; val-
leys that were but sparsely inhabit-
ed, and away from the single line
of railway that traversed the region
were impenetrable jungles of brush
and vines. Then there were moun-
tain streams through every valley,
and the grand Tennessee River, be-
hind which a regiment of men, right-
ly placed, could have held back an
army corps. In the face of all these
obstacles the soldiers, with confi-
dence in their commanders and in
themselves, moved forward to battle
with the enemy wherever he selected
to stand.
At night the pickets tramped their
silent beats along the mountain trail
and through the valley corn field.
The camp guards paced the inner
lines in the quiet hours until dawn.
All is quiet as the grass-grown
streets of a deserted village, when
far from down the valley comes the
first bugle call of reveille. As if by
magic, come countless echoes, count-
less other reveilles from regimental
camps along the mountain sides and
far down the valleys. The echoes
have but faintly died away in the
distance before myriads of little
camp-fires flash their light in the
mountain’s dawn. As if in pleading
mockery, comes the call from those
patient friends, the army mules. Then
follows a pandemonium of sounds
that puts life into the heels of the
most sluggish of mule whackers:
then filling the air come the aroma
of the coffee and the fragrance of
the bacon in the pan. Soldiers of
our grand old army, can you ever
forget it? Again, the bugle call, and
the lines of blue coats and gleaming
muskets file out of camping places
and disappear down the road. It may
be a march of ten miles, it may be
thirty; it may be only a skirmish, and
it may be a battle before another
camp is made; it may be that some
of these same men will be going
back over the same road before night,
their lifeless bodies jolting in an
army wagon, or with gun-shot
wounds seeking a hospital for treat-
ment. Yet there is not a thought of
this as they tramp along. “With | of the fact that he was the only
arms at will,” with rumors of war,! soldier in the army bearing the hon-
with song and story, the hours pass.| ored insignia of this great country
“shuck | upon his person.
themselves” of trousers, shoes and/ disposed, show to his descendants the
socks, and take to the water, holding | scars of war.
earthly possessions. |
| of the mountain sides, with the rains
Coming to a stream they
high all their
And what a sight they present! You
wonder how some of these crooked,
spavined and ring-boned legs were
passed by the mustering officers, and
are firmly convinced that a pair of
baggy army trousers cover a multi-
tude of defects.
Going back to the spring of the
year before, while the army was
camped along the banks of Stone
River, on warm days there would be
at times a thousand men in undress
uniform bathing. Upon the opposite
bank was the mule corral—an army
recruiting station and not immortal-
ized in history. These mules came
in from the country, unhonored and
unmarked. The Quartermaster De-
partment had fires burning in which
were red-hot iron brands U. S. An
expert would lasso a mule, rope his |
legs and throw him down upon the.
ground, then brand him with the hot |
iron. Of course the animal objected,
but that made no difference with the
Quartermaster Department. One
day a lot of men in swimming cross-
ed the stream and stood on the banks
watching the operations. In the
party was one man who was always
kicking, and he kicked now. He said
Uncle Sam thought more of a mule
than a man. No sooner said than
was the idea put into force. That
man was lassoed, cast upon. the
ground, and with two or three men
holding each leg and arm, another
man applied the brand to the “bulge”
of him. The smoke of broiling ham
filled the air, mingled with howls of
pain from the kicker. Then followed
a stampede for the water. And now,
four months later, in wading the riv-
ers of the mountain country, the fact
was disclosed that this man’s hide
had no market value. And although
he carried a musket to the end of
the war he was never known to
make a kick against the lot of soldier
in the ranks, but rather felt proud
He can now, if so
But again, to the rock-lined trails
and mud of the valleys. The men’s
shoes were soon worn out and many
of them were barefooted; pieces of
rawhide and coffee sacks were bound
about their feet; trousers were worn
and mud-soaked coats were button-
less and out at the elbows, but the
cartridge boxes were always full.
Coming to the wide and rapid Ten-
nessee River, there were no bridges
for hundreds of miles up or down
the stream. The Confederates plac-
ed themselves on the south side be-
hind the mountains, burning the only
bridge that was at Bridgeport, Ala-
bama. They thought the river an
impassable barrier, and they thought
the barren wilderness, the wooded
mountains of Northern Georgia, a
barrier to farther advance. But Gen-
Wales Goodyear Rubbers
For Season of 1904
The Best Fitters--The Best Wearers
Don’t place your order for fall until you see our line of
Leather Tops, Sock and Felt Boot Combinations.
largest ever shown
We can supply your wants for the spring trade
The
Send
us your order and get quick delivery.
Herold-Bertsch Shoe Go., Grand Rapids
Lead the WORLD
and WEAR.
Candee Rubbers
for STYLE, FIT
Send us your orders—Don’t wait until
the last minute.
Now he is laughing at them.
A Barber
Who had worked in a shop where the F. P. System of lighting was
used moved to a town in Michigan and started a little shop of his
own, and at once ordered a plant for himself.
He told the people
that he was going to have a light that would make their lights look
like ‘‘tallow dips.”
They laughed at him.
He installed his plant and since that time (three months ago) we
have sold six plants in that town, one of which was a 63 light plant in a large factory. e
If YOU want a better or cheaper light let us tell you more about the
(Fool Proof) FF, P, SYSTEM
Made at the rate of fifty complete plants a day by The Incandescent Light & Stove Co., Cincinnati, Ohio
(Fire Proof )
Address LANG & DIXON, Ft.. Wayne, ind., Agents for Michigan end Indiana
inca thnks
wir a
sitet caenmiite
ati then hte Ligh 6
MICHIGAN TRADESMAN
eral Bragg did not know the men of
the Northwest. Going into the forest
for a brief time, the guns were stack-
ed, the trees were felled, both mules
and men were harnessed to the logs,
and they were hauled by the hun-
dreds to the bank of the _ stream.
Canoes were shaped out of the sweet
gum, trestles were hewed out of the
oak and hickory, planks were split
out of the pine. For miles about the
buildings were torn down and boards
and joists brought in from which to
build pontoons and skiffs: In the-
mouths of creeks and out-of-the-way
places, out of sight and range of the;
enemy’s sharpshooters, rafts of rails
and other light material. were con-
structed, upon which the men were
to place their clothing and equip-
ments when the time came to ad-
vance. Upon the far side could be
seen the white tents of-the Confeder-
ates like chips on the shoulders of
great mountain sides, .daring the’ en-
tire‘army to knock them off. From
behind the trees that lined the, banks
came a constant spatter of ‘spiteful
minnie balls. Then, on an early
morning, when all was ready, the ar-
tillery of Sheridan’s division lined up
along the banks and began a target
practice. The sweet gum _ canoes
came out of their hiding places in
the woods and were launched in the
streams with three men in each, one
to sit in the stern and paddle, the
others to shoot if a mark offered.
The rafts were floated out of the
creeks, with men swimming and
pushing behind in the fast running
current. Landing upon the _ other
side these swimmers, without waiting
to clothe themselves, seized their
guns and rushed up the bank. Be-
fore the enemy realized it we had
effected a crossing and held it with
our lives. The canoes became ferry
boats, adding fresh men constantly.
every man going at once to the fir-
ing line. At this time there was not
an: untrained man in the army, all
being tried and true. The men from
Michigan, Illinois, Ohio and Wiscon-
sin, standing shoulder to shoulder
with Indiana, Kentucky and Missouri,
brushed the common enemy away,
and then the building of the trestle
bridge began.
The picture of that bridge recalls
pioneer days. There was no time to
select proper length material and,
consequently, the roadway followed
the ups and downs of the river bot-
tom. It had swells and depressions.
Coming to the deep water pontoons
were anchored; then again trestles,
then pontoons, and in this way the
main stream was bridged, and on
this structure the great trains of the
Army of the Cumberland advanced
to Chickamauga.
Then began the advance over the
mountains. The heavily-ladened
army wagons, in which were loaded
all of our supplies of food, clothing
and ammunition, each being drawn
by six mules, formed a train many
miles in length, and a tempting bait
to the enemy’s cavalry. To protect
the train required a small army of
flankers and a strong rear guard.
calling for constant vigilance on the
part of all, from commanders to
privates. ~
Many a day and night did the sold-
ier lift at the wheels and pull at the
ropes, helping up the mountain sides,
and, going down the other side, hold
back the wheels and steady the wag-
ons over cliffs and ledges. Covered
with dust, suffering untold agonies
from thirst and heat, chilled at night
by the mountain rains and fogs, liv-
ing on scant rations of the plainest
food, the army passed _ on -to the
valley of Chickamauga.
Here, in the foothills of the moun-
tains, in dense, ‘almost trailless for-
ests, the two armies came together
in a struggle that, for its intensity
and casualties, has no parallel in the
history of the great rebellion. His-
torians tell us of the plans; com-
manders tell us of the route of
march, the movements of corps, di-
vision and brigade, of the charges
over fields swept by shell, grape,
cannister and minnie balls; but it is
left for the reunion and camp-fire to
tell of the individuals who did the
marching, the charging and the dy-
ing. Time prevents more than a
brief mention. I see but one regi-
ment, less than three hundred strong.
They have been in several positions
before I see them, advancing in the
double-quick, guns loaded and cap-
ped. Out of the fields into the
woods they go led by a beloved com-
mander. Instantly the guns are join-
ing their din with hundreds of others
to the right and left. These men
know where they are going and what
they may expect, but there is not
a faltering step. The colonel goes
down grievously wounded; the lieu-
tenant-colonel is lying dead on the
left. Captains and lieutenants are
down with the sergeants and pri-
vates. There is no rank when once
you are hit. The color-bearer drops
to the ground, but not the flag. That
is grasped before it touches the
leaves. It floats but a moment be-
fore a third man grasps it, then the
fourth in quick succession. It is a
whirlwind of death, and half the men
of that regiment are out of the fight
and the lines are shortened as the
survivors guide to the center and
keep within comrade’s touch. The
old flag still waves defiance to all
foes. On the other side the enemy’s
dead and wounded are thick under
the trees, and there is a lull in the
strife. Chas. E. Belknap.
(Continued from last week)
Dr. D’Arsonval, lecturing in Paris
last week on the effects of electricity
upon human beings, expressed the
belief that the world is on the eve
of a therapeutical revolution, elec-
tricity being the medicine of the fu-
ture. He demonstrated the utility of
electrical treatment in skin diseases
and said that under anesthesia pro-
duced by electricity a patient could
be subjected to light surgical opera-
tions without narcotics.
2
“This,” smiled the fond young wife
as she passed a plate of dessert to
her husband, “is cottage pudding. I
made it myself.” The man tasted of
it. “I’d have known it was cottage
pudding,” he asserted. “Yes, I can
taste the plaster and the wall paper.
What did you do with the shingles
and the bricks of the chimney?”
Saving Pennies
This is one of the first things
a careful parent teaches a child
Why not give your clerks a
post graduate course in this
same lesson ?
Keep it Ever Before
Chem
They can make your business
blossom like a rose.
FAA Dayton
Moneyweight Scale
does this more effectually than
anything else.
Ask Dept. “K” for 1903 Catalogue.
Che Computing Scale Company
Makers
Dayton, Obio
The Moneyweight Scale Company
Distributors
Chicago, Til.
gheirachpentetts
Ma ee PN
MICHIGAN
TRADESMAN
|
Why Women Fail to Succeed in
Business.
Written for the Tradesman.
The other day a woman’s club, not |
a thousand miles from here, and/§
which, to quote the inspired words |
of the back-woods statesman, | :
“doesn’t know what it is here for,” |
had a gleam of sanity. It proposed |
to inaugurate a series of business |
women’s teas, to which the girls who | ;
clerk in stores and live in hall bed-
rooms were to be invited to enjoy a |
pleasant evening full of tea and sand- |
wiches, and music, and heart-to-heart |
talks with their sister women.
It was a lovely idea, instinct with
the philanthropy that is not patron-
age, and had it been carried out un-
doubtedly it would have proven an}
oasis in the life of many a hard work- |
ed little shop girl, but, unfortunately, |
it died a-borning. The project was}
bitterly opposed and killed by a work- |
ing woman who declared, in the first
place, that no self respecting girl
would go to a tea or anything else
that was labeled “business women’s,”
A Demonstrator of Culinary Science.
and, in the second place, that she re-
sented nothing so much as_ having
her occupation thrown in her face,
and then she sat down with a so-
there-now air that was fatal.
The incident, pitiful in its petty
vanity as it was, would be of little
moment except that it turns a whole
search light of reason on why women
so seldom succeed in business. A
thousand fallacious theories have
been advanced to account for the fact
that women rarely prosper in their
commercial undertakings. Lack of
business training, lack of intelligence,
lack of industry, the feminine tem-
perament, the feminine constitution
have all been offered as reasons for
their failures, but all of these excuses
are wide of the mark. Women do
not lack intelligence. They are quick-
er than men to pick up anything they
want to learn. They have _ health
enough to do anything they desire.
It is no more difficult to learn to
keep books than it is to play bridge,
and clerking in a store isn’t half as
wearing on the constitution as a so-
cial season.
The real reason that women fail in
business is because they are ashamed
of their work, and because nobody
has ever yet succeeded in anything
'in which they did not put pride and
heart and enthusiasm. Here and
there, of course, there is a woman
who glories in her occupation, and
| she is the woman we are writing up
in the newspapers as that rara avis,
a hen who has scratched up the nug-
| get of fame and fortune in the barn-
| yard instead of the poor worm that
|is all that the balance of the pullets
get. She succeeds as a man succeeds,
because her ambitions, her aspira-
tions and her hopes are all centered
in her labor, and this forms a resist-
less force and energy that carry her
inevitably to the goal of her desires.
These women are the exceptions.
| The majority of working women hate
| their work. They are ashamed of it.
| They do it as much as possible behind
their backs. They spend their time
trying to keep their right hand from
knowing that their left hand has to
toil for a living, and their one ab-
| sorbing ambition is not to win fortune
| by succeeding in their occupation, but
for some miracle to happen so that
they won’t have to have an occupation
at all. This isn’t because they are
lazy. The women who are not com-
pelled to support themselves are not
idle. They slave like coal heavers
| over clubs and society and fashion
and philanthropies. Woman’s ob-
jection to work lies solely in the fact
that she thinks that some stigma is
attached to honest labor for money,
and that it is a reflection upon her to
be profitably employed.
Here you have the fundamental
difference between the status of the
two sexes in the working world. A
man is proud of his occupation. A
woman is ashamed of hers. Meet a
well dressed man in the train who is
a tailor by calling and fadl into con-
versation with him and in ten minutes
he wiil have told you about his shop,
but you might travel from Maine to
California with a woman who was a
dressmaker without getting an ink-
ling of her profession. Wild horses
could not drag the fatal admission
from her that at home she makes
dresses for the rich society women
with whom she is so intimately ac-
quainted, and whose names she reels
off so glibly in her conversation. No
man resents being called a business
man, but upon the haughty brow of
the shop girl it is a brand of disgrace.
John Wanamaker and Marshall Field
have attended with pleasure innumer-
able business men’s banquets and
dinners, but you mustn’t insult the
proud $3 a week female who stands
behind their ribbon counters by in-
viting her to a business women’s tea-
She would scorn to demean herself
by thus tacitly admitting that she was
in trade. Feminine inconsistency
and idiocy can go no further. It is
the limit, and the pity of it is that
it is also the financial limit to wo-
man’s earning capacity.
This shame that women have of
work runs from the highest ‘to the:
lowest grade of society. It is con-
tended, in all seriousness, that one
of the chief reasons that girls will not
go into domestic service is because
they rebel at being known as servants,
and that the great problem of getting
some one to prepare our meals, sweep
our floors and mind our children will
never be solved until every cook is
called a Demonstrator of Culinary
[i
( | Was jel | | co.
5 fp 5
I take a few boarders for company.
Science; every housemaid, an As-
sistant Household Manager, and
every nurse girl rejoices in the eu-
phonious appellation of Kindergart-
ner. Some color of truth is given
to these theories from the advertise-
ments in the daily papers in which
those who desire the services of fe-
male clerks invariably throw a sop
to their pride by calling them “sales-
ladies.” Probably if they advertised
for shop girls not a mother’s daughter
would apply for work, yet no man
expects any such silly attempt to be
made to gloss over his real occupa-
40 HIGHEST AWARDS
In Europe and America
Walter Baker & Co, Lid.
K:
The Oldest and
Largest Manufacturers of
PURE, HIGH GRADE
COCOAS
Trad ‘k.
a absolutely pure, scm
nutritious, and costs less than one cent a cup.
Their Premium No. 1 Chocolate, put put
Blue W: and Yellow Labels, is the :
plain chocolate i i
Their
heal 13 a great favorite with
Buyers should ask for and make sure that they get
the genuine goods. The above trade-mark is on
every
Walter Baker & Co. Ltd.
Dorchester, Mass.
Established 1780.
BETTER THAN
THE BEST
There’s one thing better than the best,
and that’s the best for the purpose.
The wrong kind is as bad as poor qual-
ity—a chemical analysis is all right in its
way, but zesu/ts are what count.
Diamond Crystal Salt is used exclu-
sively in a majority of the largest cream-
erizs, not because it analyzes 99% pure
(though it does analyze that way), but
because repeated tests have demonstrated
that it works freer, goes farther and pro-
duces better butter than any other.
The progressive grocer who sells to the
small dairyman will do well to take a leaf
from the note-book of the creameries.
Give your trade a chance to try Zhe
Salt that’s ALL Salt, and then order
your next stock according to the reports
received.
Write for our book of letters from But-
termakers of National Reputation.
Or better—send in an order zow for a
stock of our 4 bushel (14 Ibs.) sacks,
which retail at 25c.
<> DIAMOND CRYSTAL SALT COMPANY,
St. Clair, Mich.
“sales
gen-
gentle-
tion. You never hear of a
gentleman,” or a “typewriter
tleman,” or a ‘“floorwalker
man.”
Plain clerk is a good enough title
for him. He is proud of his job and
proud of his work. He doesn’t have
to waste any time on the sales gen-
tleman assumption that he is a per-
son of elegant leisure who has taken
to the dry goods counter for amuse-
ment. He is a salesman first, last
and always, which accounts for the
fact that he so often ceases to be a
clerk and becomes a proprietor, while
a woman so seldom does. She has
to put in so much energy maintaining
the spurious elegance of the “lady”
part of her title she has none left to
devote to the “sales” end of it.
It is impossible to lay too much
stress upon the truth that it is be-
cause a woman is ashamed of her
sik? WAD A FRAN, >
Can’t criticise her spelling because
of her family.
work that she fails in it. Take the
keeping of boarding houses, for in-
stance, the one profession that is
virtually monopolized by women, and
which is, without a doubt, the most
generally shiftlessly, wastefully and
unintelligently carried on business on
earth. Almost without exception the
woman who is at the head of such an
establishment is as much ashamed of
her occupation as if she were a chick-
en thief or a sheep killing dog. When
you apply for board she sizes you up
and if you have an innocent and in-
credulous look she will fib to you
about taking boarders for company.
If you appear old and worldly wise,
she will content herself with a long
apology for engaging in the business,
the gist of which is that she wasn’t
born to it and never expected to come
to it and so on. Not once in a mil-
lion times does she have any pride
in her work, any desire to keep the
best boarding house in town, and she
would be simply mortified to death
if she thought that anybody pointed
her out as a boarding house keeper.
Yet consider the real facts of the
case. To make a home for her own
family is the noblest occupation in
which any woman can engage. To
make a home for strangers is cer-
tainly a work of supererogation that
would entitle a woman to a reserved
seat among the cherubim and seraph-
phim. Moreover it is a lucrative busi-
ness when carried on properly, and
the only reason that women come to
MICHIGAN TRADESMAN
disaster in it, and the
it. There isn’t a hotel proprietor in
the land who wouldn’t come to bank-
ruptcy in a year if he attempted to_
do business under cover of taking a
auctioneer’s |
flag floats so often in front of the!
boarding house is because the woman |
who tried to run it was ashamed of |
few paying guests for company or
who would rather be accused of mur- |
der and bigamy than of being a land-| ., long as man puts pride in his work
| and woman puts mortification in hers, |
lord.
Nor is there any reason to hold up |
the mortified boarding house keeper |
alone as an example of the woman
who is ashamed of her work. There |
are her sisters and her cousins and
her aunts. You may see an army of
them any morning on the cars going
down to work, carrying their poor
lunches in expensive music rolls or |
golf bags, in the vain hope that some-
body will mistake them for conserva-
tory pupils or athletic maids on the
way to the links instead of working
girls. You will encounter them in
offices doing miserable typewriting
because they had the misfortune to
have a great grandfather, and they
can’t bear to think of their illustri-
ous ancestor’s descendant having to
work. They bungle your clothes as
dressmakers, but you mustn’t mention
it, because they are so deadly asham-
ed of working anyway, poor things,
that it would simply be rubbing it in
to tell them how badly they do it.
They do all manner of work, but the
polite attitude toward the working
woman is precisely as that toward a
deformed person or a pardoned con-
vict. You must ignore their affliction
and pretend you don’t know it.
Isn’t that idiotic? Isn’t it funny?
Isn’t it sad? For the joy of life is
work and the glory of life is doing
good work. Few women have found
this out. The great mass of them,
instead of being glad that they have
skill and intelligence enough to do
something that the world is willing
to pay for, are ashamed of doing it
at all. Like an ostrich, they hide
their heads in the sand, hoping no
one will discover them, and over the
hump this makes man mounts to the
high places.
A great many things are said about
competition between the sexes, but
there can be no real competition. The |
man will have everything worth tak-
ing. Just as long as working women
are ashamed of their calling, just as
long as you can’t invite business wo-
men to a business women’s tea with- |
out offence, just so long will women |
have to go way back and sit down at |
the tail end of the salary list.
Dorothy Dix.
ogg
Doctors Know a Good Thing.
Congressman John Sharp Williams |
tells of a man in Mississippi. He is |
a hypochondriac of the first order.
This individual’s failing is a source of
never-ending amusement to his fel-|
low townsmen. It was of this man/§
that some one humorously remarked,
in answer to a question as to how the
sick man was getting on, that “he
complained that he was feeling some-
what better.”
Mr. Williams says that the hypo-
chondriac was one day telling a friend
of his efforts to regain his old-time
health. He ran over the list of doc-
tors whom he had consulted. Where-
upon the friend remarked:
“Well, old man, I must say that
you appear to have lots of faith in|
doctors.”
“Certainly I have,” replied the sick
man. “Don’t you think the doctors |
would be foolish to let a good cus- |
tomer like me die?”
New Crop Mother’s Rice
100 one- pound cotton pockets to bale
Pays you 60 per cent. profit
Little Gem
Peanut Roaster
A late invention, and the most durable, con-
venient and attractive spring power Roaster
made. Price within reach of all. Made of iron,
steel, German silver, glass, copper and brass.
Ingenious method of dumping and keeping
roasted Nuts hot. Full decctotan: sent on
application.
tatalogue mailed free describes steam,
spring and hand power Peanut and Coffee
oasters, power and hand rotary Corn Pop-
rs, Roasters and Poppers Combined from
75 to $200. Most complete line on the mar-
ket. Also Crystal Flake (the celebrated Ice
Cream Improver, \% lb. sample and reci
free), Flavoring Extracts, power and hand Ice
Cream Freezers; Ice Cream Cabinets, Ice
Breakers, Porcelain, Irgn and Steel Cans,
Tubs, Ice Cream Dishers, Ice Shavers, Milk
Shakers, etc., etc.
Kingery Manufacturing Co.,
131 E. Pearl Street,
Cincinnati, Ohio
ROGRESSIVE DEALERS foresee that
certain articles can be depended
Fads in many lines may
come and go, but SAPOLIO goes on
steadily. That is why you should stock
HAND SAPOLIO
HAND SAPOLIO is a special toilet soap—superior to any other in countless ways—celicate
enough for the baby’s skin, and capable of removing any stain.
Costs the dealer the same as regular SAPOLIO, but should be sold at 10 cents per cake.
on as sellers.
ees
30
MICHIGAN TRADESMAN
ORIGINAL METHODS
Of Practical Adaptability for Coun-
try Dealers.
Written for the Tradesman.
The man I wrote about last week—
the country storekeeper who sells a
little of almost everything under the
sun and finds catchy foreign phrases
in the back end of the dictionary and
trims his show windows to illustrate
the meaning of them—was telling me
some more about these original dis-
plays of his.
Of course, he sells clothing among
the rest, and he is up to date enough
to possess quite a presentable man
dummy and also a stylish little boy
dummy. They both have very good
joints, so that they may be placed
in any desired position. For one
window trim, he dressed up the man
in a good business suit, with all the
zero-weather accompaniments—long
overcoat, muffler, cap with adjustable
piece that came all down around the
throat and ears and left the face free
to taik through and be talked to,
warm gloves fur-trimmed, feet encas-
ed in comfort-giving overshoes.
The kid dummy looked as near like
his daddy as two peas in a pod. He
was his counterpart in miniature.
After the dealer had the twain all
in readiness for advertising purposes
he left them carefully reposing in
the little room he utilizes for arrang-
ing the details of his window decora-
tions. Here, in this sanctum, as you
might call it, for there is a “Please
keep out!” on the always-closed por-
tal, some of his schemes have flashed
in the pan, but generally satisfaction
beams in the dealer’s eye when he
emerges from the secret
dragging the separate parts of his
designs to the store front. He takes
genuine delight in this part of his
trade-bringing—“rackets,” he calls
them. At stated intervals in the week
he delegates, absolutely, all over-the-
counter transactions to his clerks,
Jim and Jehoshaphat (there’s the
long and the short of names for you),
and revels in his pet ideas to his
heart’s content. Nobody begrudges
him this enjoyment. Jim and Jehosh-
aphat may criticise the storekeeper’s
trims as much as they please—after
they are an accomplished fact—but
they must keep their fingers out of
the pie while it is in process of con-
struction.
But, revenons a nos moutons, as
they phrase it, and by the way one
display, if not actually “mouton,” was
the next thing to it. This whole win-
dow space was devoted to meats—
but let me finish the other trim
first—Dummy Senior and Dummy
Junior will get tired standing around
waiting their turn to be useful in
this valé of tears—or land of sun-
shine—it’s simply the way you look
at it! It’s just as the immortal Ella
avers:
“Laugh, and the world laughs with
you;
Weep, and you weep alone.”
For the dummies’ window the store-
keeper got little and big trees from
the woods back of the town and
set them in the window at about the
distances “the real thing” would grow
in the natural element. Alli over
recesses |
these was scattered white cotton bat-
ting, to imitate snow, and on this
was sprinkled some stuff from the
drug store around the corner, to imi-
tate the “sparkles.” The addition of
a mirror in one corner of the floor
lent an idea of water, and when these
accessories were in place the daddy
and his young hopeful were introduc-
ed into the wintry scene. The man
was placed as if he were walking and
the boy dummy was made to have
exactly the same attitude behind him.
When this was done, the item that
was to clinch matters—the piece de
resistance, so to speak—was brought
and glued at the corners neatly onto
the inside of the window pane. It was
merely a little bright red card—the
storekeeper’s favorite color, but that’s
neither here nor there in this review
of his work. It had been raggedly
notched all around in startling points
that stood out like fingers pointing
the way to the next station in a bi-
cycler’s path.
card, in clear white letters, was the
sentence:
“Sequiturque patrem, haud passibus
aequis.”
(“He follows his father, but not
with equal steps.”)
Jim and Jehoshaphat said that the
usual comment of the bucolic speci-
mens anent this red card’s inscrip-
tion was:
“What the Devil!”
But, as that will hardly do for the
polite ears of the Tradesman’s sub-
scribers, I omit it. The farming
trade should have ejaculated:
“What the Mephistopheles!”
(Possibly they are intimately ac-
quainted with the one gentleman
from the Nether: Regions and hadn’t
yet been presented to the other, so
could not speak his name!)
The farmer contingent haven’t got
through yet talking about that “haw-
ed passy-bus winder.” :
* ok *
The reader might wonder at the
use of the small red card glued onto
the window pane instead of the em-
ployment of a large white placard
in some other part of the enclostire.
This dealer has found, in conjunction
with many others in mercantile life,
that people will go out of their way
to read a tiny thing glued onto the
window, be it card or newspaper
clipping, when they will pass hur-
riedly by a big sign placed among
the goods on display. It is an
anomaly of human nature that it
values the thing most that is hardest
to get, and it is on this principle that
a person will stop—although he be
in a great rush—and read a small
card, circular or letter pasted ontoa
show window. And red, being one
of the bright colors, is more eye-at-
tracting than any other color’ or
white would be.
In this connection I am reminded
of a letter, yellow with age, whicha
few weeks ago was stuck onto the
window at the left of the Giant Cloth-
ing Co.’s Canal street entrance, in
this city. It was a letter sent to that
firm by a man who had gone West,
and he wrote that he was still wear-
ing a suit of guaranteed clothing pur-
chased of the firm in question fifteen
On this sanguinary}
years ago, and that it was yet in a
good state of preservation!
l’ll warrant that not one of the
hundreds who waited on that cold
corner for the Lyon street car that
day but what read that letter! And
the perusal was invariably accom-
panied by an emphatic “Well, I
never!” or something equally ° ex-
pressive, and each turned away with
an interested smile on the face to
make way for the several crowding
around to see who would be “next.”
The scheme worked like magic, and
was of a nature that made it impos-
sible to forget, and likely to be men-
tioned at the following table or other
family gathering. It was a wonder-
fully effective little piece of advertis-
ing—of more good as to results than
a bulletin board would have been be-
side the door.
x oe oe
To go back to my country dealer
and his eatables window:
The other window was as dissimi-
lar to clothing as black and white. It
was all meats—meats of the cheaper
sort, but all capable, with proper ma-
nipulation of the cook, of forming
tcothsome pieces to tickle the pal-
ate, be the partaker clad in corduroy
or broadcloth.
With these gastronomic articles—
articles boviney, chickeny, piggy—
was the Latin card—black lettering
on a white background—
But, come to think of it, a cloth-
ing exhibit and a meat exhibit in the
same breath seem too incongruous to
associate together, so as _ second
thoughts are best, I shall leave a de-
scription of the last named until next
week, and combine with it one or
two other displays more in keeping
with “What to eat.”
Jennie Alcott.
—__s2.__
Storekeepers Should Carry Out Ad-
vertising Promises.
Written for the Tradesman.
There is but one way to succeed |
in the commercial world, and that is
to have your backbone, your nerve
and your business energy with you,
in which case you are sure to succeed
every time.
I know a young man who is to-day
mingling with the business of the
commercial world. He _ put his
shoulder to the wheel and pushed
hard for success in the business when
he was only 13 years old. Of course,
he was rather young to have the!
worries and responsibilities of every-
day business life, but he was compell-
ed to do it, owing to the death of
his father, who left him in, entire
charge of the business. His mother
was with him in the store but he was
the main head. He pushed hard for
business and he got it. He was a
firm believer in advertising and ad-
vertised heavily, calling the attention
of the people to the great values he
was giving. He did business because
he sold his goods for the same prices
at which he advertised to sell them.
Every merchant can not vouch for
doing this. Hundreds and hundreds
of merchants advertise goods low in
order to get the people into their
stores; but when they come to pur-
chase they find the goods are mark-
ed at a higher value than advertised.
People very soon find this out, and
when they can prove it to be a fact
they couldn’t be induced to visit the
store again if the goods were given
away. “You can fool some of the
people some of the time, but you can
not fool all of the people all the
time.” The best way is to do business
in a straight, honest, businesslike
way. Sell goods to your customers
at the same price at which you ad-
vertise them. If you follow this
course you will find your business
growing better and your bank ac-
count increasing. If your competitor
_fools his customers that is no reason
you should do the same. Let him
do this. His customers will soon
leave him and if they find that you
sell your goods as advertised you will
probably get nine-tenths of them. If
so your brother merchant will be
forced to retire from the commercial
world—he lacked business principles.
I call. it a lack of business princi-
ples if a merchant tries to fool his
customers. No intelligent business
man would do it. A merchant. who
gives his customers the value of his
advertisements ought to get the busi-
ness, for he is worthy of it. If he
succeeds in so doing I call him a
smart business man. He gains the
confidence of his customers. When
they see a statement in the newspa-
pers about Mr. Blank’s bargains they
can rely on it because they know the
man to be truthful.
This article is based upon the boy
merchant I spoke of. I will now fin-
ish about him: To-day he is a young
man just at voting age. During all
these long intervening years since he
was I3 years of age this hustling
young merchant has pushed hard for
success, and he has won success be-
yond his wildest dreams. The only
reason I can account for his achiev-
ing such a degree of success is be-
cause he won the confidence of the
people and they knew that when
they were buying goods of him they
were not being fooled—that they
were securing the merchandise at the
right advertised prices. I am safe in
stating that he is the youngest busi-
ness man of his kind to-day in the
United States. Very few young men
have the worry and business cares
of this young merchant, but he has
had the backbone, the nerve, the self-
assurance and the business energy
which win for the young a success-
ful commercial career.
Meyer M. Cohen.
Charlevoix, Mich.
——>_ 2a.
A woman lost a suit for damages
against the City of New York because
the city attorney called attention to
the fact that the woman’s alleged in-
jury had not prevented her from ac-
quiring a desirable husband. While
going along the street she had fallen
into a hole which it was the duty
of the city to have guarded. .The
woman broke her arm and was badly
bruised, but inasmuch as the acci-
dent excited the sympathy and later
the love of the man who became her
husband, the jury decided that the
city owed her nothing. The case
seems to establish that a good hus-
band is worth more than a good claim
for damages.
MICHIGAN TRADESMAN
31
ARE YOUR CASH SALES
SATISFACTORY?
YOU, AS A RETAIL MERCHANT, have no doubt given serious thought to the problem of changing your
business from a credit to a cash basis. We have originated a plan which
renders it possible for the smallest retailer to develop a large volume of cash business, and place a lasting adver-
tisement in every home in his locality; one which will give him supremacy in his line of business, and bring him cash
trade—not temporarily, but permanently.
OUR PORCELAIN PREMIUM PLAN is not a theory, but a practical plan which has been thoroughly tested
and proven successful in every instance. It not only draws cash customers from your competitors and holds all of your
own, but it clearly demonstrates the liberality and adds to the popularity of your store. It costs less than any other man-
ner of successful advertising and can be used on a basis of less than $20 00 for each $1,000 cash it brings to your store.
Our plan brings cash for every sale you make, as well as certain satisfaction and pleasure to yourself and customers.
MAYBE YOU HAVE TRIED some
inferior trading stamp or premium scheme
F. A. SUNDERLIN,
OEALER IN and found it unsatisfactory owing to the cost,
GENERAL MERCHANDISE, : ; :
LACE CURTAINS, and in this way you have to a certain extent
Semccanr te. lost faith in the majority of premiums, but
CROCKERY, Etc. . . .
the mere fact that one dog has received a bad
name should not summarily dispose of
all dogs without reflecting that the canine
ee thief before met was a yellow cur, and
YZ fO- = the objectionable propensities which caused
his unpopularity may possibly be absent in
an Irish Setter or a Newfoundland.
CASNOVIA€, MICH.
OUR PLAN IS VERY SIMPLE
With each purchase you issue a coupon for
a corresponding amount. Coupons are re-
tained by the purchaser and redeemed in
chinaware at your store.
The ware is the very finest grade French
designs and is decorated in the most artistic
style in delicate apple blossoms, violets, etc.
It is gold traced and A No. 1 in every sense
of the word and is not to be compared with
the cheap and inferior qualities being given
away by tea, coffee and baking powder con-
cerns.
We furnish, free of charge, coupons of all
denominations trom 5 cents to $5.00, type-
written letters which are mailed to your own
and competitors’ customers, electrotype for
newspaper advertising and rubber stamp and
pad with your name and address.
If you want to thoroughly advertise you
business and place your sales on a strictly cash
basis at a cost of 20 cents on each $10.00 worth
of goods you sell, write us, mentioning the
‘fact that you read our advertisement in this
journal, and we will be pleased to send you
sample of the ware, together with full par-
ticulars.
ASK FOR SAMPLE NUMBER 8!
ROBERT JOHNS
200 MONROE STREET, CHICAGO
\
Samsnnibinaitnenaen ete
MICHIGAN TRADESMAN
Observations of a Gotham Egg Man.
Some surprise has been expressed
that our market could absorb so large
an increase of receipts as we experi-
enced last week without accumulation
in first hands. For the two previous
weeks we had been getting fresh
goods at the rate of only about 20,000
cases a week and there seemed to be
plenty most of the time; last week our
arrivals ran upto nearly 40,000 cases
and yet nearly all were absorbed from
the wholesale market. This anomaly
is, however, not difficult to under-
stand, although it is not to be sup-
posed that the actual consumption of
eggs in this immediate vicinity has
made any such radical gain. Under
a comparatively even rate of con-
sumption the demand in the whole-
sale market is liable to material va-
riation from time to time, partly ow-
ing to the varying extent of out-of
town orders, and partly because of
the varying disposition of jobbing and
retail disturbutors to buy freely or
sparingly as influenced by the gener-
al sentiment of strength or weakness.
There is always more or less “work-
ing stock” lying between wholesale
receivers and consumers, comprising
the eggs in the hands of jobbers and
retailers, and the quantity of eggs so
situated varies enormously according
to general market conditions. There
are more than twelve thousand stores
in Greater New York where eggs
are sold at retail, besides a large
number of jobbing houses. In the
flush of the spring egg season when
our consumptive demand is using up
75,000 or 80,000 cases of eggs a week,
the “working stock” lying in these
distributing channels may amount to
75,000 cases; in periods of great scar-
city during the winter it may be re-
duced to a few thousand cases, but
there is almost always enough stock
in the hands of retailers and jobbers
to permit a reduction of buying when
the general sentiment is weak. Prior
to last week the shadow of increasing
egg supplies made a very cautious
feeling on the part of all classes of
buyers and there was a general dis-
position to sell out very closely; the
“working stock” was reduced to al-
most the lowest possible point and
at the beginning of last week our
distributing channels were unusually
bare. The expected increase of sup-
ply came, but at the same time the
belief spread that it could not con-
tinue very long and the changed tem-
per of the market induced a general-
ly freer buying. There may have
been some improvement in the actual
consumption—probably was, on ac-
count of the finer quality of the eggs
going into consumptive channels—but
there is little doubt that the increas-
ed activity was more largely due to
a greater confidence in the buying
and to an enlargement of the “work-
ing stock” between receivers and con-
sumers. Moreover, we had _ larger
out-of-town demands than previously
and several thousand cases of our
last week’s receipts went to markets
North and East. It may be remem-
bered that our January consumption
was estimated as averaging something
less than 30,000 cases a week; it is
not likely that it is now much more
than that, possibly having gained
two or three thousand cases.
The chances of future supplies are
now being weighed and guessed at
with the greatest of interest. It will
be remembered that from about Janu-
ary 5th to 23d the weather in the
big Southwestern producing sections
was mild and favorable to produc-
tion; the effects of this were not much
felt in increased collections until near
the middle of January and it was
doubtless the result of this warm
spell that brought fairly liberal sup-
plies into the Southwestern markets
after the cold weather set in during
the last week of January; these are
doubtless the eggs that have lately
been swelling our receipts. Of late
collections at Southwestern primary
points have been falling to much
smaller figures because the bulk of
stock produced during the milder
weather of January has been mostly
cleaned up and shippers are feeling
the effects of the later cold. It is
therefore altogether probable that our
receipts from that section will run
much lighter after the middle of this
week. In the nearer-by Southern
sections—Kentucky, Tennessee and
the Atlantic Coast States—there ap-
pears to have been less interference
with production by bad _ weather.
From those sections we may expect
fairly constant supplies, but it is
doubtful that the total, can hold up
to the present scale after this week,
and there is a wide territory to be
supplied. Only small shipments can
be expected from Ohio, Indiana and
Illinois.
As all the Eastern markets are
now absolutely dependent upon cur-
rent production and as the demand at
present prices seems to be sufficient
to absorb the fairly liberal quanti-
ties lately arriving, it would seem like
a pretty strong outlook for the near
future, but the situation is so sensi-
tive that constant fluctuations in
prices must be expected according to
the whim of the moment.—N._ Y.
Produce Review.
—_ — o>
The Man Who Waits.
Everything comes to the man who
goes after the things some other fel-
low is waiting for.
Everything may be coming to the
man who waits, but it’s seldom that
anything arrives.
Everything comes to him who
waits the least.
Nothing that comes to the man
who waits is worth waiting for.
Something that should come to the
man who waits is a good strong push.
Some men seem to think that a
chance in life is a capital prize destiny
will award them for being patient
waiters.
The fellow who always waits for
something to happen happens. to
have to wait always.
Everything comes to him who lets
the other fellow do the waiting.
_- >_> — —
A New England old home week as-
sociation has been organized, embrac-
ing representatives from the old
home week associations in the sev-
eral New England States, in order
that they may make harmonious ar-
rangements and not conflict as _ to
dates, etc. It is predicted that the)
time will come when the old home
week idea will become a permanent
institution in each of the _ original
thirteen states of the union.
—_— ow Oo
The advertiser whose lines fall.
in pleasant places puts them in the/
right mediums. |
WE NEED YOUR
Fresh Eggs
L. 0. SNEDECOR & SON
36 Harrison Street, New York
Reference: N.Y. National Exchange Bank
Egg Recéivers
R. HIRT. JR.
WHOLESALE AND COMMISSION
Butter, Eggs, Fruits and Produce
34 AND 36 MARKET STREET, DETROIT, MICH.
If you ship goods to Detroit keep us in mind, as we are reliable and pay the
h'ghest market price.
Fresh Eggs Wanted
Will pay highest cash price F. O. B. your station.
C. D. CRITTENDEN, 3 N. Ionia St., Grand Rapids, Mich.
Wholesale Dealer in Butter, Eggs, Fruits and Produce
Both Phones 1300
Wire, write or telephone
Egg Cases and Egg Case Fillers ©
Constantly on hand, a large supply of Egg Cases and Fillers. Sawed whitewood
und veneer basswood cases. Carload lots, mixed car lots or quantities to suit pur-
chaser. We manufacture every kind ~ fillers known to the trade, and sell same in\
nixed cars or lesser quantities to suit purchas2r.
constantly in stock. Prompt shipment and courteous'treatment. Warehouses and
factory on Grand River, Eaton Rapids, Michigan.
Also Excelsior, Nails and Flats
Address 4
L. J. SMITH & CO., Eaton Rapids, Mich.
Write or telephone us if you can offer
BEANS
CLOVER SEED
We are in the market to buy.
MOSELEY BROS.
Office and Warehouse 2nd Avenue and Hilton Street,
POTATOES |
ONIONS
GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN
APPLES
Butter
I always
want it.
. F. Dudley
Owosso, Mich.
MICHIGAN TRADESMAN 33
German Tribute to American Meats. | organic salts necessary to proper nu- |
That the people of Germany have | | triment. |
a decided preference for American | If the medicinal uses of fruit were
food products, particularly bacon and | | understood and care taken to use the.
prepared meats, has been repeatedly | appropriate kinds, much less medical |
affirmed by our consular representa-| treatment would be needed.
tives and constantly attested by the) Among the laxatives are figs, |
German demand for these products. | prunes, dates, nectarines, oranges, |
We have made some allowances, | 2"4 mulberries.
of course, for the official zeal of our, The astringents are blackberries, |
consular representatives whose busi- | dewberries, raspberries, pomegran- |
ness it is to promote our commercial tes, auinces, pears, wild cherries,
interests abroad. But when it comes Ctanberries, and medlars.
to American meats we need not de- The kinds used for diuretics are)
pend upon consular testimony alone.| 8T@pes, black currants, peaches, whor- |
So high an authority as the Berlin tleberries and prickly pears.
Chamber of Commerce, in its annual | The refrigerants are red and white |
report, has just paid a high tribute | CUrrants, gooseberries, lemons, limes |
tc American bacon and to American | 27d apples.
canned meats. In commenting up-| Apples are useful as a stomach sed-
on the hardships that will be imposed | ative, and will relieve nausea, and
upon the German people by import | VEN Sea- -sickness.
tariff duties that exclude American) Grapes and raisins are nutritive and |
canned meats the report says: demulcent, making them excellent |
“Nothing can take the place of for the sick-room. :
American bacon as a cheap and nu- Tt is sometimes difficult to keep |
tritious article of food for the masses | T#/5ins, figs and dates away from the |
of our population. Therefore it inquisitive little ants and roaches, but |
would be a matter of deep regret if this = easily accomplished by put- |
the high import duties of the new | 'g them in paper bags that have)
pt da a ee mot redaced to q | been well brushed over with strong |
reasonable degree. The year 1903 borax water, and dried before the
will test the ability of German meat fruit is put in. The little pests do |
packers to supply the country with not like the borax, and will not gnaw |
caueed tect ahs forests eas through the sack when thus prepared. |
supplied by the United States and at a |
Australia, excellent in quality and
cheap in price.”
The report goes on to say that
German canned meats have _ never
come up to the American product,
To Fatten Cattle Without Corn.
The Agricultural College authori- |
ties are rejoicing over the certainty |
of getting an appropriation of $50,000 |
| from Congress in payments of $10,- |
’ : : /000 annually for five years, for the |
either in quality eee ae and | purpose of demonstrating that beeves
that much of the injury that iN Te! 8 4. Gasendd wathout corn. Pro-_
done by the new. meat ispection laws | fessor W. L. Carlyle and Eugene |
will be obviated if foreign canned’ Grubb, the noted Carbondale stock-|
meat is again allowed to come intO| men, are in Washington working fon |
Germany. The German Empire has the appropriation, and the bill has |
a population of 58,549,000. It is not heen brought through the Commit- |
possible for Germany, with her 208,- tee, the place where the Agricul- |
830 square miles of area, to produce tural College has heretofore lost its
from her own soil enough food prod- appropriations.
ucts to feed this population. She is | : a
largely. dependent, therefore, upon
outside sources of supply. Senator Teller, of Colorado, has |
The reason why our canned meats introduced a bill in the Senate appro- |
are vastly superior to anything in) priating $50,000 to enable the Secre-
this line that Germany can produce| tary of Agriculture to conduct ex-
and why our American, bacon is the | periments in the non-corn growing
ideal nutritious food for the masses | states and territories in the breeding
of the .German population will be | < and feeding of the various classes of
found in our unparalleled facilities live stock. for market and in growing
for feeding and raising. stock and in| crops and forage plants adapted to
the superior abilities of our great | these purposes.
packing establishments for preparing
and preserving meat products.
No country in the world can sup-
ply such nutritious food for cattle, |
hogs and other live stock and in}
|
|
j
|
Experiments in Live Stock.
HAY AND STRAW
WANTED
Highest cash prices paid
Sc AND OHIO HAY CO.
ia i‘ Hea — Allegan, Mich.
such quantities as can.'the United, ane <— a
: : Hl ay Exchange, un & Co.
States. And in no country in the |} gat. Y New York(w.Y.C.Ry.) Bradstreet’s.
world have the preparation, packing |
and preservation of wholesome meat |
products been brought to such scien- |
tific perfection. P Oo T A He ¥ O E Ss
|
Effect of Fruit on the Human aoe in carlots. Write or telephone us.
tem. H. ELMER MOSELEY & CO.
Fruit alone will not sustain life for | GRAND RAPIDS; MICH.
any great length of time, but helps” “JOHN G. DOAN COMPANY
to furnish a variety in the diet.
It stimulates and improves appe- | WHOLESALE OYSTERS
tite and-digestion, relieves thirst, and | IN CAN OR BULK
introduces water into the system, | All mail orders given prompt attention.
acts as a laxative or astringent, stim- | | Main office 127 Louis Street, GRAND RAPIDS
ulates the kidneys, and Supplies the) Citizens’ Phone 1881
tee aS
Buyers and Shippers of
That is made by the most
improved methods, by ex-
FLOUR. perienced millers, that
brings you a good profit and satisfies your customers is
the kind you should sell. Such isthe SELECT FLOUR
manufactured by the
ST. LOUIS MILLING CO., St. Louis, Mich.
BEANS
We want beans and will buy all grades.
mail good sized sample.
BROWN SEED CoO.
GRAND RAPIDS, MICH.
If any to offer
THE VINKEMULDER COMPANY
Car Lot Receivers and Distributors
Sweet Potatoes, Spanish Onions, Cranberries,
Nuts and Dates.
14°16 Ottawa Street, Grand Rapids, Michigan
Write or ‘phone us what you have to offer in Apples, Onions and Potatoes in car
lots or less.
Figs,
FOOTE & JENKS
MAKERS OF PURE VANILLA EXTRACTS
AND OF THE GENUINE, ORIGINAL, SOLUBLE,
TERPENELESS EXTRACT OF LEMON
Sold only in bottles bearing our address
J AXON Foote & Jenks
EL. STARKKS CO.
THE LARGEST EXCLUSIVE DEALERS
IN POTATOES IN AMERICA
Michigan Office, Houseman Bldg., Grand Rapids, Michigan
We will be in the market for
100 Calroads of
April and May Eggs
Send us your name if you have eggs to sell either in small or
large lots. We pay cash F. O. B. your track.
Lansing Cold Storage Co., Lansing, Mich.
S. S. Olds, Vice-President
B. F. Hall, Secretary
B. F. Davis, Treasurer
Smith Young, President
H. L. Williams, General Manager
Fresh Eggs Wanted
Will pay top ns a f. o. b. your station.
Wire, write or telephone.
S. ORWANT & SON, Granp hRapPiDs, MICH.
Wholesale dealers in Butter, Eggs, Fruits and Produce.
Reference, Fourth National Bank of Grand Rapids.
Citizens Phone 2654.
ee ee at en
Sie
ewes pain a th cna net ont ne a HR BE
sessile rE
34
MICHIGAN
TRADESMAN
JAPANESE IN WAR.
| triotism and zeal,
Will Give a Good Account of Them- |
selves.
| globe.
The common idea is that Japan is,
a small country with a considerable |
population, but that-the people are
small in stature and are beset by the |
ordinary characteristics of Orientals.
who in all matters of modern prog-
ress and enterprise are inferior
the white races of the
World. A little information on the
subject will not be out of place.
to!
Western |
‘the French or German forces.
The fact remains that Japan is not |
a small country and the Japanese are |
net. an -inferior or weak people in|
spirit, courage and intelligence.
Jae
pan is an island empire, and there |
are,
anese.
in the main islands that consti- |
tute the country, some 42,000,000 Jap- |
The empire of Japan contains |
about 150,000 square miles, or about |
one-quarter more area than
land, Scotland and Wales.
words,
In other
Eng- |
the Japanese empire is con- |
siderably larger than Great Britain |
and contains
people. -The empire is fortunate in
being an island realm, so that it can
not be attacked except from the sea.
This, in view of its powerful navy—
probably superior to that of Russia—
gives it a tremendous advantage in
a war with the Northern’ empire.
Again, it is so close to the Asiatic
continent that it could land its troops
in Corea or Siberia much more rap-
idly than Russia could march them
over land or transport them on
Siberian Railway. Again, the 42,000,-
000 Japanese are more closely knit
about 10,000,000 more |
the |
by national ties, by loyalty and pa- |
than any equal
number of people on the face of the
In this respect they resemble
ancient Sparta, the Dutch in Europe
and the magnificently heroic Boers.
The Japanese have never before
been engaged in a war with Euro-
peans, but it is well known that the
japanese army is not only of consid-
erable size, but that its discipline and
equipment are fully equal to those of
The
present standing army of Japan is
something like 650,000 troops, or ap-
proaching in size the army of either
France or Germany. In addition to
this, the available forces of Japan
would be many times this number, as
every male Japanese above fourteen
would eagerly rush to war either to
defend the empire or to attack its
assailants, for the people are extreme-
ly patriotic. The only time the Jap-
anese were ever in the field with
European troops was in the march
on Pekin during the Boxer war in
China, and* then they made a first-
class record. In modern’ warfare
great masses or solid columns. of
troops moving to attack are no long-
er the rule. The far-reaching fire-
arms have greatly changed the posi-
tions of troops in action.
The solid masses would be cut to
pieces with artillery miles away, and
if they showed themselves in column
or line in close order, by the time
they should get in range of the small
arms in the hands of men lying down
old-style column or line of battle
would be decimated.
Troops to-day fight in open or
skirmish order and under cover as
much as possible, and each man is
more dependent upon himself than
formerly. The Japanese are of me-
dium size, wiry and tough, agile, ener-
getic, alert, and full of initiative, and
they readily adapt themselves to
modern warfare where the individual
soldier is everything, and an army,
in mass, is nothing. The latest war
in which modern tactics were used
was that waged by the Boers against
the English in Africa, and it is be-
lieved that the Japanese will give as
good an account of themselves as
did the Boers.
The Russians have been known as
stubborn and steady fighters, but
they are slow and dull. It is claimed
that they were never the equals of
the Finns and the Poles, whom they
conquered only by force of numbers,
and they were never the equals of
the Turks in fighting prowess. They
were always defeated by the little
Frenchmen under Napoleon, and but
for their most efficient ally, a Rus-
sian winter, the history of France
and Bonaparte might have been writ-
ten differently from what it is. In
the Crimea the Russians were de-
feated by the English and French.
Nevertheless, the Russians have
proved themselves stubborn fighters
under good officers.
in the grass or behind any sort of ,
cover that might be available, the
The Japanese, like the Chinese, are
an ancient people. Their historical
records go back to 660 years before
the Christian era, and before that
CORN SYRUP
Co
tN ances
S te Tren)
every time.
bees can’t tell which is which.
cept that Karo is better than honey for less money. Try it.
Put up in air-tight, friction-top tins, and sold by all. grocers in three
Teaoe maak
sizes, 10c, 25c, 50c
When it comes to a question of purity the
bees know. Youcan’t deceivethem. They recognize
pure honey wherever they see it. They desert flowers for
_ hero
They know that Karo is corn honey, containing the same
properties as bees’ honey.
Karo and honey look alike, taste alike, are alike.
honey, or honey with Karo and experts can’t separate them. Even the
In fact, Karo and honey are identical, ex-
CORN
SYRUP
s Free on request—*Karo in the Kitchen,” Mrs. Helen Armstrong’s book of original receipts.
CORN PRODUCTS CO., New York and Chicago.
Mix Karo with
they have a legendary epoch that
goes back a thousand years. The
Japanese are of a kindred race with
the Chinese. At an early period they
adopted Chinese civilization and the
Buddhistic religion, and jealously of
and finally the exclusion of foreigners
from the country became the rule.
But Japan, being an island empire,
was more exposed to outside influ-
ences than was China, which is a
vist interior region, touching the
sea only on one side and being fenc-
ed in by mountain ranges or deserts
on every other, and the result was
that the Japanese broke away from
their ancient restraints in a revolu-
tion in 1866-68 and entered on a new
course of progress in accordance with
the demands of modern European
civilization. Japan is an empire with
an hereditary ruler and nobility, but
there is no slavery, and careers of
distinction are open to the poorest.
From 1868 to 1904 is a period of
less than forty years. In that time
Japan has made enormous advances
in material development and in the
adoption of modern progress in every
branch of science, statesmanship and
industrial and commercial activity.
The ambition of Japan is so to
operate upon the Chinese as to bring
them up to an equal degree of mod-
ern development and improvement
and progress and to establish _ be-
tween the two nations a firm union
to resist and withstand European ag-
gression in Asia. Could the vast
population of China be organized for
material, political and military work
like the Japanese to-day, the Rus-
sians would not only be driven sum-
marily out of Manchuria, but also
out of Asia.
If the Russians could be expelled
from China and Chinese Tartary, the
uprising against the Russians might
kindle a warlike flame throughout
Asia against the English, the French,
the Germans, the Dutch and_ the
Americans. It would not be the first
time Europe was pited in_ battle
against Asia, or that Asia was vic-
torious in the conflict. The Hunga-
rians and all the Slavic peoples now
in Europe, the Turks and the Rus-
sians themselves, are all the remains
of the Asiatic hordes that successful-
ly invaded Europe in earlier times,
but they were all of the white races.
There has never in the _ historic
period been any serious irruption of
the yellow, brown or black races in-
to Europe, and it has always been
dominated by the whites, and they
have always been able to exert a
controlling influence upon every dark
race among whom the whites have
gained any permanent foothold.
This has been attributed to an in-
nate superiority of the race, but pos-
sibly it was largely due to the pecu-
liar civilization of the whites. Arm
the dark races with European sci-
ence, and all the resources of mod-
ern progress and the result might be
different. There is little doubt that
the great weight of popular sympathy
in the present conflict is on the side
of Japan, because the fight is com-
monly caricatured as one betweena
giant and a pygmy, but it is worth
while to note that it is not merely a
conflict between two nations, but
between two races of the human fam-
ily in which the one that is common-
ly supposed to be superior in innate
and inspired qualities is being, at
least in the beginning, seriously
worsted.
—_—___226 > ———_
The Slings and Arrows of Fortune.
It is one of the commonest re-
marks of the day that great success
is not worth the penalties that at-
tend it. The timid citizen looks at
the front page cartoon picturing the
statesman as a monkey, or reads the
morning editorial calling the finan-
cier a wrecker, or solemnly peruses
the letter from Old Subscriber con-
demning the vigorous preacher as a
mountebank, and then concludes that
it is far better to shun the dangers
by never doing anything that calls
for criticism.
There are even faint-hearted wives
who prefer that their husbands and
sons keep out of the strenuous ac-
tivities of life for fear that they may
be ridiculed or caricatured. It is use-
less to quote to them old Doctor
Johnson’s remark that his book would
not be a success because it was not
being abused enough, or add the very
familiar metaphor of the kite and the
wind, for such truths have little ef-
fect upon the “go easies” who would
measure the span of years by crea-
ture comforts and mild mental satis-
factions.
It is a question as to whether or
not the timid people do not really
suffer more than those who get the
hard knocks. They have _ their
swarms of little worries—and some
MICHIGAN TRADESMAN S ane
strong men would rather be stung
occasionally by a hornet than —har-
assed continually by mosquitoes.
Indeed, to the big workers the
great difficulties are the best en-
couragements. All men come to the
point of choosing between the little
obstacles with the little life or the
big obstacles with the big possibili-
ties. After that those who make the
larger choice prefer mountains to
ant hills, good stout blows to insect
bites.
Disraeli called success the child of
audacity. The man who seeks the
prizes becomes by his boldness auda-
cious, and when he gets well into the
game the very perils he runs and the
rebuffs that hit him hammer into his
consciousness the necessity of striv-
ing further, doing better and reach-
ing a higher mark. He cannot climb
down without failure, or stand still
with credit, for audacity needs a new
and better climax to each act of the
play.
So the slings and arrows of for-
tune are in their way good and use-
ful. They may hurt, but they stimu-
late; they may goad, but they drive—
drive onward and upward. And each
new elevation has a joy that is worth
the pains—Saturday Evening Post.
——_>2>——_
A Limit to the Division.
During a recent session of the
House of Representatives Mr. Gros-
venor, of Ohio, arose in his place and
intimated that the gentleman who
had the floor was transgressing the
limit of debate.
“I thought it was understood,”
said the offending member, “that the
gentleman from Ohio divided his
time with me.”
“True,” responded Mr. Grosvenor,
grimly, “but I did not divide eternity
with you!”
Appropriate.
“He named his motor car after his
wife.”
“How funny!”
“Not at all funny. After he got it
he found he couldn’t control it.”
—_— sea
Ability to sell goods by no means
comprises the whole art of legiti-
mate salesmanship. It is undoubted-
ly the one essential to the dealer in
gold bricks or green goods, but is
of less importance where the object
is to secure friends and retain cus-
tomers, as well as to make sales. The
art of salesmanship includes the fac-
ulty of making patrons satisfied with
their purchases. To induce custom-
ers to buy goods against their judg-
ment and inclination is at best a
doubtful gain, and in some cases pro-
duces dissatisfaction, which results
in the withdrawal of patronage.
—_—___>0-
A Boston professor who is engaged
in rewriting history, declares’ that
Columbus was a highly respectable
and fairly wealthy gentleman, who
paid a large part of the cost of his
voyage; that he was tall and _ red-
haired, utterly unlike his portraits,
and that Isabella had no jewels to
pawn, having put them all “in hock”
several years before 1492.
——_.- ea
S. M. Smyth & Co., dealers in
produce .and grain, Scottville: The
Tradesman is all o. k.
Many New Features in our Gun Line For
Season 1904, one of which is our New
Number 100 Wolverine Hammerless
American Made Double Gun
Unquestionably the best on the market
for the money
Ask to See Sample
Our salesman will call upon you at an early date
with a complete line of Guns and Sportsmen’s
Supplies. It will pay you to consult us before
placing your orders.
Fletcher Hardware Co.
Detroit, Michigan
Largest Jobbers of General Line of Sporting Goods
In the Middle West
BELLS
for School, Church
and Fire Alarm
founded at
Northville, Mich.
by
American
Bell & Foundry Co.
are known as
‘‘Bowlden” Bells.
We also make Farm Bells in
large quantities. Write for
illustrated catalogue. Sweet
toned, far sounding, durable—
the three essentials of a perfect
bell. You get it in the “‘Bowl-
den.”
If you want the stillest running, easiest to operate, and safest Gasoline Lighting System on
the market, just drop us a line for full particulars.
ALLEN & SPARKS GAS LIGHT CO., Grand Ledge, Mich.
36
MICHIGAN TRADESMAN
NATIONAL OPTIMISM.
Americans Are Hopeful and Believe
in the People.
Foreigners say of us that we Am-
ericans are a decidedly optimistic
people; as a nation we show the buoy-
ancy and hopefulness of youth. In
spite of great evils which we have
learned by bitter experience even a
democracy is not altogether free from;
in spite of certain special evils which
seem to be the peculiar produce of
democracy; in spite of mighty prob-
lems looming up before us to be con-
fronted in the near future, still we are
as a people cheerful, hopeful, expect-
ant. We look forward to a great
future, in which the part we shall
play in the history of civilization
shall be second to that of no other
nation. Sometimes it is said of us
that we are foolishly, sentimentally
optimistic; that we do not take things
seriously enough; that we are care-
less of the teachings of history. We
are reminded that democracy has not
done for this country all that was
expected of it; that our legislators
are at least no better nor no wiser
than those of other lands; that our
cities are worse governed than any
in Europe; that corruption and fraud,
bribery and graft are apparently
more at home in our cities and high
places than anywhere else among
civilized people. And at all this we
are expected to look dismayed.
Strangers in our land cannot under-
stand why these things do not damp-
en our spirits, chill our ardor, cool
our enthusiasm and infect us with
the taint of pessimism.
But they don’t. We are still undis-
mayed, buoyant, hopeful, optimistic.
And if anyone cares to know the
reason, it is this: That, in the first
place, we can better afford to try new
experiments and risk making mistakes,
on account of our surplus energy and
unworked resources, than can other
nations; and, in the second place, be-
cause we understand what the foreign
critic almost always fails to take into
account, namely, that we are only in
process; we are in the making; we are
not already made; we have not yet
arrived. We are making an experi-
ment in government that has never
been made on any such scale, under
any such conditions before. In the
process we expect to make some mis-
takes, but we are sure the end will
more than justify the means. The
average observer from the outside
sees only what we are now; the aver-
age American sees always an ideal
America, toward which, little by lit-
tle. with some delays. we are. work-
ing. And he is just as sure, this na-
tive son, that we shall arrive there,
and that this ideal is the real America,
as he is that the sun will-rise to-mor-
row morning.
So this foreign critic almost al-
ways misses or fails to comprehend
the American point of view in these
matters. He points out our failings,
our shortcomings: tells us that Ber-
lin‘and Glasgow and Vienna and Lon-
don and St. Petersburg are better
governed than most of our cities; that
in this “land of the free” abuses are
tolerated that would not be permitted
in Europe; that large numbers of our
citizens are anything but free |
that demagogues flourish here as |
elsewhere, and, in short, that to judge |
by its fruits the democratic form of |
government has not been altogether |
a success.
And to all this we reply confidently
that even if we admit that certain of
these allegations have some basis in
fact, still that does not touch the
main point. Whether our govern-
ment, either of cities or of states, or
of the United States, is the best ex-
isting government; whether it gov-
erns best or not, of one thing, and
that the main thing, we are unshak-
ably certain, and that is that in the
process of governing we are making
men. By putting the reins of govern-
ment into the hands of the people we
may not at once or for a long time
have the best government, but what
is far more important, we shall teach
the people by the hard lessons of ex-
perience how to govern themselves,
and that is worth infinitely more in
the long run than to govern from the
outside, no matter how well the gov-
erning be done. It may very well be
true that the best government, so
far as governing is concerned, would
be that of an enlightened despotism,
but it is not less true that the highest
grade of citizenship and political ef-
ficiency will be reached finally by
that nation which trains its people
in the duties of citizenship and sets
them to work to govern themselves.
That is the best rule for the making
of nations no less than for the mak-
ing of men.
And there is plenty of time; let
us not forget that. These modern
days zre marked not only by a ner-
vous hurry of life, but also by a sort
of spiritual impatience of delay. The
most marked illustration of it is in
our dealings with the social move-
ments of the time. It is the impa-
tience of the reformer. He wants
to redeem the world all at once. As
Theodore Parker said of the anti-
slavery cause, “The trouble seems
to be that God is not in a hurry, and
Tam.” So we are beset by panaceas
which are to regenerate society in
some wholesale, external, mechanical
way. The humanitarians and_ re-
formers, looking at the facts of life,
find.enough that is sad and unpromis-
ing. They invent new theories of
property, distorting rights and per-
petuating injustice, as anyone is sure
to do who sets about the readjustment
of social relations, fixing his eyes on
one class and forgetting all others.
These would-be reformers would
bring about the ideal condition of af-
fairs by some great upheaval, over-
turning all established institutions
and rights, and they verilv believe
that thereafter peace -and_ plenty
would abound.
But the fact is the world is not to
be changed in a day; it is not likely
to be improved in any wholesale way.
We must begin where we are and
take one step at a time. The chances
and rules and conditions of life on
earth have been ordained once for
all, and the case cannot be reopened.
We cannot get a revision of the laws
cf human life. So we must plod
along, learning bv experience. inves-
tigating the laws, and deducing the
rules of right living in the world as
it is. This is not picturesque; it is
wearisome and commonplace, but it
appears to be the only way.
It is no disparagement of civiliza-
tion that we have even down to to-day
lynchings, murders, municipal cor-
ruption, rumors of war. It has taken
hundreds of thousands of years to
inmake a violet; it has taken millions of
years to make a man, and the man
is not finished yet. We‘need not
fear that there will not be time
enough to make a better man and a
higher civilization.
We live in an age marked above
all ages by the development of sym-
pathy, by the efforts made by man
to better the condition of his brother
man. We live at a time when the
men of right thought and feeling are
called to meet the problems of po-
litical, social and religious progress
with faith, hope and courage. No
creed but that of a rational optimism
carefully thought out and applied to
the necessities of mankind can furn-
ish permanent stimulus, the counsel
and strength which the worker needs.
We are of those who believe in
democracy, who believe in the people,
who believe that this nation is es-
sentially a nation of good people.
Like every other nation, it is very
full of sinners, and many of the sin-
ners are in high places, where they
can blow loud blasts and pull strong
ropes and make themselves greatly
seen and heard and feared. But
nothing shall shake us from the con-
viction that “the great majority of
men in this Republic desire to know
the truth and to do the right, and
that if they do not do the right thing
it is because they do not know the
truth or see clearly what is the most
important question.”
Frank Stowell.
—_ 2s
Bill Against Boycotting.
War against the union labor boy-
cott has been declared in the thir-
teenth Iowa General Assembly in a
bill introduced last week by Senator
Young. By this it is made unlawful
for two or more persons to conspire
to drive away trade from any place
of business. The stationing of one
or more pickets at or near the place
against which the boycott is directed,
to distribute cards or printed matter
requesting a withdrawal of patronage,
or orally soliciting such withdrawals,
is strictly prohibited. Such offense
is made a misdemeanor punishable
by a fine of from $50 to $500 or im-
Pprisonment up to sixty days, at the
discretion of the court.
ae Reece:
“Come, gentlemen,” said the police-
man to the crowd, “you can’t stand
here. Move on, please, gentlemen.
Will you kindly move on, sir?” “TI
have a right to stand here. I am a
United States Senator.” “Oh, excuse
me. Come, gentlemen, move _ on,
please.” He was an old policeman
and knew the difference between a
gentleman and a United States Sen-
ator.
2
“In the wardrobe of the smart
woman,” says a fashion writer, “hos-
iery occupies a prominent place.”
That depends something on the con-
dition of the sidewalks.
WHAT WE EAT.
Enormous Amount of Food Consum-
ed by a Man.
The most modest eater in the world,
even the man who complains that he
“never has an appetite,” would be
appalled if he could see passing in
imposing procession before him the
solids and liquids he will consume
in his lifetime.
Assume that he enjoys his meals,
and that he will live 7o years.
Such a man will make light of dis-
posing of 100 4-pound loaves every
twelve months, so that he must have
7.000 substantial loaves, a weight of
bread sufficient to raise a couple of
hundred men and women off their
feet. If he is not sufficiently impress-
ed by this spectacle, engage seventy-
seven herculean carmen and make
them file past him in procession, each
carrying a sack of flour 280 pounds
in weight, every one of which will
be required to supply him with bread
for life.
Of meat he will eat on an average
a pound a day; and if limited to
beef will require nearly forty bul-
locks; or if he prefers mutton he
will sacrifice about forty sheep on
the altar of his not immoderate ap-
petite every ten years. Of potatoes,
200 pounds should last him a year.
This means that his aggregate con-
sumption of tubers will weigh seven
tons, representing ninety-three sacks,
each weighing 168 pounds, or approx-
imately the entire product of several
acres of land. It would require half
a dozen strong horses to draw his
potato supply, and each year’s con-
sumption will weigh considerably
more than the subject himself.
Of fish he must he allowed fifty
pounds a year, so that his “aggregate
fish,” if not so large as a whale, will
yet. turn the scale at 3,500 pounds,
and will tax the strength of thirty
strong men to carry it to his larder.
The purchase of eggs will be ona
formidable scale, even limiting the
man to an average of fewer than two
eggs a week. Jn all he shall want
7,000 eggs, weighing at least 700
pounds, and representing a year’s
industry of about eighty hens.
Assuming that he needs only sev-
en-tenths of a glass of milk a day—
a very modest quantity for all pur-
poses—it will be necessary to monop-
olize the services of a cow for two
years and a quarter, and the result-
ant milk will measure 1,120 gallons,
and will weigh more than five tons.
To contain the milk one would be
obliged to provide a can five feet in
diameter at the base, three feet at the
top, and more than fourteen feet
high, or something like two and a
half times as high as the man.
Nothing less than eighteen pounds
of butter can be considered suffi-
cient for a year’s supply; and the
contents of more than a dozen bar-
rels, each containing 100 pounds of
butter, are needed for his life-
time, while, limiting him to one
pound of cheese a month, an aggre-
gate of 840 pounds is reached.
Of tea and coffee he will require
no more than a pint a day, and yet
he will drink during the life no few-
er than 3,220 gallons. A coffee pot
large enough to contain the two bev-
MICHIGAN TRADESMAN
37
erages would stand eighteen feet
high, with a base seven feet, and a
top five feet across. The pot, with
its contents, would outweigh three
companies of soldiers, and fifty peo-
ple could be stowed away inside it
if they did not object to a little
temporary discomfort.
Suppose that this man is content
with a pint of beer every day—two
glasses—and that he does not touch |
it until he has reached his 2oth birth-
day. Then, in spite of his modera-
tion, he will require for the balance
of his days more than 255 nine-gallon
casks, which would prove a sufficient
burden for eight powerful horses.—
New York World.
——_—_>-->____
Suits Following Overcoats.
There is an increasing demand for
the product of clothing factories be-
cause of the satisfaction which the
ready-made is giving even the most
fastidious wearers. You can hardly
find a man to-day who has his over-
coat made to order. In suits also
this tendency is fast being followed.
Hardly a day passes but what we
hear of someone who has previously
bought his clothing from a tailor
and who is now getting his suits
from some one of the best retailers
of ready-made clothing. This is go-
ing on throughout the entire country,
and must have a great effect on the
consumption of the product of the
clothing factories. There is really
not one phase of the situation which
points to a curtailment in consump-
tion of ready-made clothing. Every-
thing indicates a greater consumption
of clothing during this year, greater
than we have had in any year in the
past. The winter weather has been
perfection.
Whether retailers are justified or
not in their complaints about poor
business since December 1 remains
to be seen, yet no one will say that
it has not been splendid weather to
wear out winter clothes. If the re-
tailers have not done as large and
satisfactory a business since then, it
only proves that many men have not
this winter bought two suits or two
overcoats, and that next winter they
will have to buy new clothes.
If the retailers had done a remark-
able business it might be questionable
if wearers had not bought too many
garments and might possibly next
winter not need new clothing.
At present this does not appear to
be the fact. There are certainly no
surplus stocks of goods of the huge
proportions which a few years ago
used to be common in the clothing
trade.
Thus at neither end of the business
is there anything unhealthy. There
is no questioning, however, that com-
petition is keener, and yet that will
always be true because we learn so
much every year. The business men
in every line are each succeeding
year becoming better business men.
The trade is still full of abuses,
and yet the individual houses, our
leaders, so to speak, are developing
more backbone than ever before, and
backbone is about the only thing that
the clothing trade needs to remedy
most of its troubles—Apparel Ga-
zette.
Iron : and Glassware
Hardware Price Current ee WOO oe i cee 2 = ce pesensas Crockery
ae Se ee hee OR ice weld Caw ses < ce c rates
AMMUNITION — STONEWARE
C. Nobs—New List Butters
— Door, mineral, Jap. trimmings ...... TO ie gah per GOB esl ebe eee ees oe es 48
G. full count, per m.......-----+- 40 | Door, porcelain, jap. trimmings - 85| | to 6 gal. per doz. ................ 6
Hicks! Waterproof, per m..........-. se Levels eee, WAM oe a acy cu 62
Musket, per M.........c-ecevcccccvcoce 75 ; 116 gel (SOON Ue eee 66
Ely’s Waterproof, per m............+. Oe Ee at Bere ON «LD ek GR coco icigece ss ssccscces 78
Cartridges Metals—Zinc 15 gal. meat tube. gach cael 12
No. 22 short, per m......--+++20+00++ i oe is ot ao eee ae
No. 22 long, per M...........0..-0,-05 3 00 ee eee 56 aad. weeat tube. each ..........-.-- 2 7
Wo. 32 short, per M......... 6.06608. ccd 5 00 Miscellaneous | Chaleae
No. 32 long, per m...........2.esee ee TG Bird Cages... 2c ccccercsecesesceees OP 5 ca Geet. ek Wk so snc see cee ons 6%
— COO OE EE ——_ ee 75 | B recthe Dashers. HEY Gee oo... cee k as 84
No. 2U. MC, ae 1 60 Screws, _— por ge a : ci aeee | Milkpans
No: 2 Winchester, boxes 66"per m1 60| Gutnpcrs’Ansonoane sce so 4 gal flat or round bottom. per dos. 4
— Molasses Gates Fine Glazed Milkpans
Black edge, Nos. 11 & 12 U. M. C..... 60)|Stebbin’s Pattern .............-.64+ 60&10 1% gal. flat or round bottom, per doz. 60
Black edge, Nos. 9 & 10, per m...... 70 | Enterprise, self-measuring ........... 30) 1 gal. flat or round bottom, each ... 6
Black edge, No. 7, per m............-- 80 Bay Stewpans
| Loaded Shells Wik Mie cb es 60&10810, % gal. fireproof, bail, per doz. ....... 86
| New Rival—For Shotguns teen, pobicned Ne a 1 gal. fireproof, gp doz. ....-.. 1 10
Drs. of oz.of Size er Patent Planished Iron
| M gal. per Ow. ....ccceccevesseceees 60
No. Powder Shot Shot Gauge 4190 | cA", Wood's pat. plan’d, No. 24-27. -19 80 | i Oak Gee Gee, 5. o cs coos ec cs cee secs. 45
129 4 1 9 10 2 90 | “B’’ Wood's pat. plan’d, No. 25-27.. 1 to 5 gal., per gal ...........-00es ™
128 4 if 8 10 290| Broken packages %c per Ib. extra.. Sealing Wax >
126 4 - 3% 6 10 2 90 Planes ls Ibs. in package. per Ib. ..........
135 4% 1% 5 10 2 95| Ohio Tool Co.’s fancy ............-- 40 LAMP BURNERS
154 4% ~=«O«d 4 10 Ree ee rere easns
200 3 1 10 12 2 60 Sandusky Tool Co.’s fancy .......... ee cg 36
208 3 1 8 12 2 50} Bench, first quality ................6- Te a 48
236 3% 1% 6 12 2 65 We we 85
265 3% 1% 5 12 2 70 Nails Nee ars 50
264 3% 1% 4 12 2 70 | Advance over base, on both Steel & Wire | Nutmeg .............-2.-ceceeeeeeees 50
Discount 40 per cent. Steel nails, base ...............2200- 2 75 MASON FRUIT JARS
Paper Shells—Not Loaded Wine wale: HESe eo cae ce 2 30 With Porcelain Lined Caps
No. 10, pasteboard boxes 100, per 100.. 72) 20 to 60 advance ................-+. Base Per Gross.
No. 12, pasteboard boxes 100, per 100.. 64/10 to 16 advance .................05. a ee ee ea 4 25
Gunpowder a reir teen tener eet Te MR 6 cise cnci nese snaveysa tote sies 4 50
Kegs, 25 Ibs., per keg.............2.- OO) 4 Sardneer ee 30 | % se gf Oconee ae gp Nn ‘See
% Kegs 12% Ybs., per meg ...5.: OO 5 See 45 Dd
\ Kegs, 6% Ibs., per a OO) 2 aemiee ce. 70 LAMP re ee a
Wine 2 AgaNeS oc b0i5 oo 50 Per box of 6 doz
Shot Casing 10 advance ........-e.eeeeeeeee 15 | NO. 0 SUN... eee eee eee ee eee eee eee : <
In sacks containing 25 Ibs. Casing 8 advance ...........cseeeeeee Be ee 2B irene ss saa eh sda taevees ee
Drop, all sizes smaller than B...... 1 75 | Casing 6 advance ...........e.eeeeeee 85 | No. 2 Sum ......-. eee eee cece eee eeeee
Pinial 30 @avance «.. 2.5... ccc tes 25 Anchor Carton Chimneys
Augurs and Bits Finish 8 advance ........ ns Each chimney in corrugated carton
Ro ee ie ee 60| Finish 6 advance 43 | N 18
Jennings’ genuine ............ ost So OTOL Fh SOVUMEE 2.4... ccs 85
Jennings’ imitation .............. voor 66 Rivets
, First Quality
Axes rom ond Tinned ..o.is sc cae 50 N
No. 0 Sun, crimp top, wrapped & lab. 1 91
First Quality, S. B. Bronze ........ 6 60 | Copper Rivets and Bare -.- 2.22.0... 45 | No. 1 Sun. crimp top, wrapped & lab. 2 00
First Quality, D. B. Brense ........ 9 Roofing Plates No. 2 Sun, crimp top. wrapped & lab. 3 00
First Quality, 8S. B. S. Steel .......- 7 14x20 IC, Charcoal, Dean ............ 7 50 XXX Flint
First Quality, D. B. Steel ........... 10 60 | 14x20 IX, Charcoal, Dean ............ 9 00| No. 1 Sun, crimp top. wrapped & lab. 3 25
Barrows 20x28 IC, Charcoal, Dean ............ 15 00 | No. 2 Sun, crimp top. wrapped & lab. 4 10
_, | 14x20 IC, Charcoal, Allaway Grade .. 7 50| No. 2 Sun, hinge. wrapped & labeled. 4 25
PROMINGSG = 6 ok tccccescee Scivecccceccesae Oe | 145e0 ix, Charcoal. Allaway Grade .. 9 00 Pearl Top
Garon ivecccrsers cece e dues avewisiele's Site 22 09 | 20x28 IC, Charcoal, Allaway Grade L 00 No. 1 Sun, wrapped and labeled .... 4 60
' 20x28 IX, Charcoal, Allaway Grade ..18 00) No. 2 Sun. wrapped and labeled .... 5 30
Bolts a Ropes No. 2 hinge. wrap on one at ~~ z
ee No. 2 Sun, ‘small bulb.”’ glo amps.
jage, new list ...............66. 70 | Sisal, % inch and larger ........... 10 + deatie
PIG oc cece eeracisie ese csccecccoccce 50 Sand Paper No. 1 Sun, plain bulb, per doz ...... 1 00
Buckets Edt acct. 19, B6 2.0000. 0 0... dis 50 = - a on — per doz. .... =
Wel. plata 4 50 Sash Weights Rian ee |e
Butts, Cast Solid Eyes, per ton ...........+.-- 30 00 Rochester gal. Tilting OAT oi dep sures ous 7 00
Socket Corner ......... cece eceeecenee 65 4G prices of the many other qualities |5 gal. galv. iron Nacefas ..........-. 9 00
Socket Slicks ..... Geiocesececcoccccss 6 of solder in the market indicated by priv- LANTERNS
Elbows ate brands vary according to composition. | No. 0 Tubular, wee WE io cae 4 .
Com. 4 piece, 6 in., per doz. ..... net 72 Squares No. 1 B Tubular .........sesseeeeee-
Corrugated, per Me hs tops ose Steel and Iron ............22-2000 cctiueag foo Ye ge pon a oo
Adjustable ......... Reds sied cece dis. s0ai0 Tin—Melyn Grade ae 12 Tubular, osae ae 50
Expansive Bits 7 = — Seeley cee spain ct " . No. 3 Street lamp, each ............ 3 60
. p eres meme, S28 .......- 40 x MOOG ce cocinascccececss
timer. "** $5 |10x14 IX, Charcoal ..........2.22.- Ol ye al ee tee
Files—New List Each additional X on this grade, $1.25. |N°° 9 -rub.. cases 2 doz. each, bx. 15c. 50
New American 10&10 Tin—Allaway Grade No. 0 Tub., bbls. 5 doz. each, per bbl. 2 25
Wishoowe a 70 | 10x14 IC, Ghereees ...5.50..55500..- $ 9 00 - 0 Tub., Bull’s eye, cases i dz. e’ch 1 25
Heller's Horse Rasps .............20+ 70 | 14x20 IC, Charcoal .. : BEST WHITE COTTON WICKS
10x14 EX, Charcoal .. : Roll contains 32 yards in one piece.
Galvanized Iron 14x20 IX, Charcoal 0 50 No. 0. % in. wide, per gross or roll. | 24
Nos. 16 to 20; 22 and 24; 25 and 26; 21. 28 | Bach additional X on’ this grade, $1, 50. | No. 1. & in. wide. ae aaa. &
List 12 i3 14 15 17 Boiler Size Tin Plate No. y 1 in. wide, per gross or roll.. 46
Discount, 70. 14x56 IX, for No. 8 & 9 boilers, per tb. 13/| No. 3. 1% in. wide, per gross or roil. 73
Gauges Traps
Stanley Rule and Level Co.’s .... 60&10/ Steel, Game .............-0---eeeeeee 75
Gl Oneida Community, Newhouse’s | ..40&10 CONE: RCN a
inte Oneida Com'y, Hawley & Norton’s.. 65; 50 books, any denomination ......
Single Strength, by box .......... dis. 90 | wouse, choker. per doz. ............ 15 | 100 books, any denomination ...... 2 50
— ht by box ........ = = Mouse, delusion, per doz. ...........- 1 25 - booka, any cnn seceeee z =
y e@ NT wc ccc cece ccccee . Wire 1 ooks, any denomination ......
Ab uotations are for either Trades-
Hammers Bright Market ...........00000200e0+ 60| man. Superior. Economic or Universal
Maydole & Co.'s, a list ...... 38% | Annealed Market ............--0-+; 60 | 2rsdes. Where 1,000 books are ordered
Yerkes & Plumb’s ............ dis. 40&10|Coppered Market ..........-...++-- 50&10 | 5+ a time .customers receive specially
Mason’s Solid Cast Steel ae list 70 eee paras nots _— printed cover without extra charge.
Hinges opper prin CO] 2... ccc ceeeeeee 00 Coupon Pass Books
Gate, Clark’s 1, 2; 3.........2.. dis. 60&10 oe ~ ean Galvanized 22.0000.0 : 70 Can be made represent any denomi-
nation from $10 down.
Hollow Ware Wire Goods We IE fob dco dessndance . 160
a Pius eee dclbds cause Geiss a = Screw a ee ee — 100 books ee ae one
ERROR es Ss oc cro ete cece bon oad crew a ee ae PEt Fe Poe le eee
eg a ok a ae ceewea sie « ccs SEG TEIOGES oe es i eee 90-101 4000 books... oils. l ele coe
HorseNalls Gate ‘Hooks end FEyee q...-..cesccee 80-10 Credit Checks
Au Sable .............2.00.+--Gis, 40810 Wrenches 500, any one denomination ........ 3 00
House Furnishing Geods Baxter’s Adjustable, Nickeled ...... = 1000, any one denomination ....... 8a
Stamped Tinware, new Tot eUccees 7@|Coe’s Genuine ...:..........------:- 2000, any one denomination ........ 5 @
Japanned Tinware .................30&10 |Coe’s Patent Agricultural, Wreught. reaie steal punch .........-.2e0+: seeeecees %
pees eee
Se acl
MICHIGAN TRADESMAN
Weekly Market Review of the Prin- |
cipal Staples.
Wool Dress Goods—The_ dress
goods section of the market is now
fairly well open, although there are
still lines that buyers are waiting to
see, and which will be opened from
day to day, and perhaps it will be
another week or two before every-
thing is shown. Nevertheless, the
number of lines on the market are
enough to indicate pretty thorough-
ly what is advocated for the season, |
although this does not indicate by
any manner of means what is going
to be bought, and still less what is
going to be worn. As a matter of
fact, the exhibits of dress goods cover
practically everything conceivable,
and when talking with buyers it is
evident that this great variety is
causing them great uncertainty as to
their proper course. There is every-
thing to be seen from the plainest
fabric
fect with tinseled yarns in_ the
weave. Yet with all this, it is be-
lieved that the tendency will be to-
wards a plain season, not a strictly
plain season in the fullest sense of
the word, but a season in which plain’
will predominate. There is
a tendency towards certain fancy et-
fects, but not towards the pronounc-
ed lines of other seasons; those, for
instance, which obtained this past
winter and last summer. There are in-
stances where manufacturers have
goods
gone ahead and made up stocks of!
these goods, but unless the ideas of |
they |
the buyers change materially,
will have hard work in disposing of
them, unless, indeed, at a considerable
sacrifice. Among these that were
made up are Scotch tweeds, but it is
believed or said to be believed that
the Scotch effects have been over-
done, for a number of mills which
never planned to make such goods
have been tempted, by the past de-
mand and the comparative ease with
which they were made, to engge in
the manufacture of such lines. When.
however, the same patterns were
quickly and copiously imitated in
chaep stock mixtures containing but
little pure wool and much shoddy,
and even in simple coarse cotton fab-
rics, it hit the wool fabric business
pretty hard in this direction. From
conversations with the various buyers
now in the market, and there are
many of them, it seems that they are
becoming more and more convinced
that plain goods should form the
bulk of their purchaces, and they are |
sizing up the market with that end
in view. As stated above, however,
we do not think that fancies will be
altogether out of it.
for suhdued effects.
Dress Worsteds—Several promi-
nent men in the market have
pressed the opinion that worsteds of
medium and hard finish give much
ex-
to the most spectacular ef-|
~e
On the contrarv. |
mild, neat effects will assuredly find |
a good market, but the present indi- |
cations are that the demand will be,
' promise for the coming season, and
| goods on the line of men’s wear fab-
rics with pin check effects in dark
| tones, and soft or invisible over-
| plaid effects, are looked upon as
| good purchases. There has_ been
| considerable favoring comment also
on broken narrow stripes in white or
light shades on dark grounds. Both
the jobber and the cutting-up man
are taking considerable interest in
semi-fancy effects in woolen goods
| as low as 321%4c and 35¢, and the lat-
| ter has picked up a good many lines
| at around these prices.
last report but little change has tak-
/en place. In regard to broadcloths,
| buyers feel pretty sure of them, and
Venetians are looked upon with fav-
|or. These lines are to be found at
| very near last year’s prices, but on
| certain low-priced lines, such as
sackings, tricots, etc., there have been
| some reductions; the agents, how-
ever, state that the actual conditions
| in the market for raw material do not
warrant them in holding these prices,
and that buyers had better speak
| quickly. Present prices show: too
; small a margin for the manufactur-
|ers to guarantee their continuance
| after a fair number of orders’ have
| been booked, and it is suggested
| rather strongly that advances are
likely. There has been a considera-
| ble duplicate business from the cut-
| ting-up trade, and this end can be
said to be quite satisfactory. As a
| matter of fact, in some cases there
_has been a bigger demand from day
| to day than manufacturers could con-
veniently meet.
| Foreign Dress Goods—Agents rep-
resenting foreign houses’ express
themselves as well satisfied with the
duplicate business which they have
received, considerable of which has
developed during the last week. The
buyers for retail stores, they state,
have come to a clearer understand-
consequence, taking fairly liberal
quantities. Their requirements seem
to be steadily growing, and the job-
bers are also buying in quite a satis-
factory manner. The orders sent in
from men who have been on the
| road have been of fair size and house
business shows an improvement from
| day to day.