: 4 - 4 —_ . Mr 12546 =. SEPT OOS POT wR LES OVS ye yi Sy ; S17) 5 (ais rN SS A se fry. £ x “2h c SCBA G MAG Box Vad > ty CE A GAA ARC Ee ES Zs i Zain (OV aa] GS NA MENS oR aE) Ms AZ SD nn see (OPENS NO SOON op @SPUBLISHED WEEKLY (Gane fis = B TRADESMAN COMPANY, PUBLISHERS See SOG EES SEES SUSE Forty-second Year GRAND RAPIDS, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 1925 Number 2162 oul be If Love Were Always Laughter If love were always laughter And grief were always tears, With nothing to come after To mark the waiting years, I’d pray a life of love to you, Sent down from heaven above to you, And never grief come near to you, To spread its shadow, dear, to you, If love were always laughter, And grief were always tears. Public Reference Library, Library St But grief brings often laughter, And love, ah love, brings tears! And both leave ever after Their blessings on the years; So I, dear heart, would sue for you, A mingling of the two for you, That grief may lend its calm to you, And love may send its balm to you— For grief brings often laughter, And love brings often tears. se STANOLAX CONQUERS CONSTIPATION ~ BRINGS HEALTH AND HAPPINESS The most prevalent of all human ills is constipation, according to the statement of hundreds of physicians and all regard it as a serious trouble maker. It is bad in itself and is doubly boon, for by its purely mechanical action it conquers constipation by relieving the cause. Stanolax (Heavy) is colorless, odor- less and tasteless. It is a pure mineral oil which does not 2 NET CONTENTS 5 z a z ie 5 C P) bad because it renders the person suffering with it susceptible to the attack of other ailments. Const At this particu- lay time of the year STANOLAX (Heav remedy for the relief q tion. Its action is purd ical. STANOLAX (H pure, tasteless, odor f ] k mineral oi and has ai ew people take heavy body. Having a heavier ba h - i dinary mine ss = Ss enoug exercise in (Heavy) ope nates t leakage. In its preparation, c: taken to make it confo S., Br. and other phay standards for purity. the open air and most (HEAVY) Rah Sw fj ty reali: Sy \ HC b [| ri a | EAS a LI LiL of them eat an excess of highly concentrated foods. These two facts frequently lead directly to constipation. Obviously it is better to take mesures to prevent constipa- tion than to wait and then have to cure it. The surest preventive is found in Stanolax (Heavy) which keeps waste food masses soft and lubri- cates the intestines so that the waste matter is easily passed from the body. The greater number of people however fail to take action until constipation is well develop- ed and for them Stanolax (Heavy) is indeed a 16 FLUID OUNCES REG.U.S-PAT.OFF.__ { | excite the bowels to vio- lent action and then leave them exhaust- ed, as an after ef- fect. Instead, it soothes the linings San SiANOUAL (H EAVY) for Constipation URE MEDICINAL WHITE, "MINERAL © Olt ott of the intestines, lightens the work they must do and (38 Twa enact TASTELESS SOORLESS nue iL REMEDY IN CASES OF D NT CATION CONSTIPATION, HEMORRHOIDS ims , SICK HEADACHES, ETC. ALUABLE AS A MILD, EFFICIENT Usa le a FOR INVALIDS, sau Re) ING OES MoT WEAKEN THE USER BY EXTRACTING ESSEN TIAL BODY FLUIDS. HIGHEST Mevicat AUTHORE' HES RECOMM™, ENO MINERAL OFL II THE TREATMENT OF CONST raion gives them an oppor- tunity to recuperate. As a result of this treat- co Apuuts - . oe, ahceerns ree rTTYrrirrgeriritTrirriryttrTtittTriyYtTt+ttyy;yYy ment, the bowels soon start STANDARD. OIL COMPANY CHICAGO U.S-A- functioning normally and ina short time the dosage may be greatly reduced and eventu- ally discontinued, as Stanolax (Heavy) is in no sense habit forming. Stanolax (Heavy) which is produced only by the Standard Oil Company (Indiana) is bringing relief to thousands who suffer with _constipation and in many instances it is effect- ing permanent cures. Druggists, everywhere, are following the lead of the most reputable medical authorities and are recommending STANOLAX (HEAVY) jor constip ation Forty-second Year MICHIGAN TRADESMAN (Unlike any other paper.) Frank, Free and Fearless for the Good That We Can Do. Each Issue Complete in Itself. DEVOTED TO THE BEST INTERESTS OF BUSINESS MEN. Published Weekly By TRADESMAN COMPANY Grand Rapids BE, A. STOWE, Editor. Subscription Price. Three dollars per year, if paid strictly in advance. Four dollars per year, if not paid in advance. Canadian subscription, $4.04 per year, payable invariably in advance. Sample copies 10 cents each. Extra copies of current issues, 10 cents; issues a month or more old, 15 cents; issues a year or more old, 25 cents; issues five years or more old 50 cents. ee Entered Sept. 23, 1883, at the Postoffice of Grand Rapids as second class matter under Act of March 3, 1879. <<< POOL ROOM RATS. The murder of the aged grocer at North Park Saturday evening is at- tributed by police officers to pool room rats—men who have no trade except loafing and no occupation except crim- inal exploits. A round of the down-town pool rooms furnishes ample proof of the correctness of this sweeping state- ment. Both afternoon and evening these places are crowded almost to the point of suffocation with ill looking men from 16 to 25 years of age, breath- ing an atmosphere surcharged with cigarette smoke and the fumes of smoking cigar stubs and so-called near beer. It is in such places as these that crimes are hatched and the details gone over in detail by the persons se- lected to put the plans into execution. The instinct to steal is not confined to any one country or place and the human passions are universal in their prevalence. The greatest difference between cities and countries is with reference to crimes of violence, and the increase or decrease of these is no doubt largely influenced by the laws, the police, the local atmosphere, tra- ditions, and customs of certain places. Human life is held much cheaper in some countries than in others. Car- rying firearms is universally prevalent in all of America. In England it requires, to use the local phrase, “a dispensation” to carry a pistol. In all American cities and towns pistols are as common as lead pencils, for in addidtion to those man- ufactured here. there have lately been imported 350,000 pistols and revolvers, sold to the law abiding and the outlaw alike. The crimes and vices of humanity in this city are, of course, the same as in all communities, large or small. GRAND RAPIDS, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 1925 The dangerous elements here are the young man and woman. The gunman, burglar, highwayman, pickpocket, nar- cotic drug peddler, blackmailer, as- saulter and exploiter of women, thief and labor union thug are almost with- out exception young men in the early twenties (ranging from eighteen to twenty-five), and their confederates young women of about the same age. Street women over the age of 30 are very rare. We are therefore deal- ing with a menacing army of the crim- inal and vicious classes, all young. This was not so in former times. Profes- sional criminals were “Big Charles” and “Big Jakes’ and “Big Mikes,” great, burly, matured men. Tracing such criminals was less difficult than now. They were members of notor- ious gangs, holding out in well known liquor saloons of the lowest character. In former days the highway robber generally used a blackjack, brass, knuckles, or some bruising implement. Now it is practically always a gun. If you were held up by a big rough- neck, he would hit you over the head. Now a little runt with a revolver ready to shoot to kill is the highwayman or ‘indoor robber, fur and jewelry thief. Once in a while a professional crim- inal of mature age turns up, and then almost always is engaged in some forgery, counterfeiting, stock swind- ling, bucket-shop keeping, commercial fraud, thieving as a bank employe, cheating fire and life insurance com- panies, and the like. The den keeper, for his own safety, was always ready to give the police a hint concerning who in the neigh- horhood committed the last crime. These criminals were as well known as if they wore a uniform. It is not so now. Some of these young fellows operate alone or in pairs or threes, and the captured criminal, in looks, dress, manner, differs in nowise from the multitude of his class you see every- where. Let us look at some samples. Over there in the corner of the poolroom are three young fellows in the early twenties, dressed in the latest pattern of flashy clothes, well nourished, hard faced and sophisticated about every evil thing under the sun. Some of them are the first generation born in, this country of foreign parents. They are bi-lingual, which gives them an ad- vantage in contesting with the police. Those of that class are the children of hard-working, decent law-abiding parents, who came to this country for economic betterment. Their environment since birth has been bad. Instead of their parents controlling them, they control their parents. They have had a common school education and it has begotten contempt for their illiterate and ignor- ant peasant father and mother. These poor good people (their par- ents) think the vices that they exhibit are habits common They have drifted away entirely from the religion of their parents. have neither reverence for God nor respect for man and they are at war with the law and its officers. are deficient in that emotionalism that is the seat of pity, sympathy, love, friendship, gratitude and all the social They are essentially selfish, cruel, and cowardly. They are types of prim- itive man at his worst and are not far removed from predatory animals. They are determined that they will never do any honest work, but will thieving, sponging on women, robbery and blackmail. The loot of their crimes they spend in gambling and on women, loud of dress and appearance, and in dolling up their persons. You can see them in moving picture theaters, lower kind of dance halls, and their permanent headquarters since the sa- loons went out of commission are the billiard and pool rooms. either carries a pistol or knows where to get one as occasion requires. They are practically all gun carriers. drugs, and this begets a mental and physical condition which makes them very dangerous holdups, because they have no compunction under these circumstances They have the cruelty of cowardice. A human life that stands between them and loot and liberty has no value in Their animal passions and instincts govern, and their mental de- among the women of their class. and convicted and sent for long terms to state prisons and the penitentiaries a tribute to the police They glory in their criminal That so many if them are at is owing to social and physical characterizes our laws. Our law cov- ering vagrancy, for instance, iS a of large meshes through which these fellows can easily crawl. you will see some of the young wom- en with whom these fellows consort. dancing at all. It is the ancient cus- tom of “bundling” and it has been practised among civilized and uncivil- Eastern Pennsylvania among the first in other parts country and among savage and bar- barous tribes in Asia and Africa and Number 2162 parts of South America, this promis- cuous bundling of the sexes in closest physical contact. And the music is admitedly of sav- age origin. Note the hard faces of both of these young people, the lack of shame, the entire absence of mod- esty, the constant use of the name of the Deity. Note that couple going out into the hall. The young fellow has either a flask of booze in his hip pocket or he and his girl are going to take a hypodermic injection of heroin, which will keep them lively and awake all night. Between the al cohol and the drug there is apt to be a shooting affray before the morn- ing. Back of all this loft robbing is the most systematic and complete system of receivers of stolen goods. And here, too, as well as in connection with the continuous stealing of automobiles, the defendants, when brought into court, are young fellows, or least not much over 30 years of age, and social- ly, biologically and morally consider- ed, are all of the same type and ad- dicted to the same vices. What are we going to do with this army of loafing, drug addicted, gun carrying, godless, unrestrained, im- moral, cruel, cowardly, lazy, desper- ate army of young men and women? Is the community at fault? Is the church neglecting its mission? Are the parents in all cases to blame? Are these people the victims of heredity and environment? [Answer next week.] CANNED FOODS MARKET. Canned foods are going over the counter more freely than usual for this season of the year. Fish is. being featured for the Lenten diet, while vegetables and fruits are being offered at prices which look attractive to the housewife. Some of the leading gro- cery stores are advertising canned foods as extensively as they did in November during Canned Foods Week. Such publicity is bound to keep staples moving. Business in the wholesale market is good; some whole- sale grocers say that their January and February distribution has been heavier than in the same months in 1924. They are reducing their own holdings and are buying more exten- sively for replacement, and in doing so they are not exceeding their ordi- nary turnovers, as they evidently do not care to create a surplus. As the call is for good standard merchandise at a favorable price, buyers are shop- ping around to pick up the best lines for their money. Spot stocks in sight are moderate to light and are in such strong hands that there is no weak- ness throughout the list. MEN OF MARK. John F. Berner, Cadillac Manager National Grocer Co. It is possible to build a house with- out drawing plans on paper in advance of the work; but it is impossible to do so without having in mind some definite ideas as to size, form and ma- terials. In order to get such ideas, other houses must be known and studied. It is, to say the least, ex- tremely doubtful that a man who never house could design and build one. In other words, when we come to analyze our ideas and our knowledge we find that they are made up of im- pressions and experiences outside of ourselves. The alphabet which we use in reading and writing comes to us through centuries of evolution. The hammer which we sell across the coun- ter of our stores is the product of the thought and skill and experience of countless numbers of Whatever originality you may be able therefore, is not Saw a our fellowmen. to bring into play, new in the sense of being entirely dif- from anything that has It is new only in rearrange- ferent gone before. ment or combination of existing things or ideas or experiences. It stands to reason, therefore, that in order to benefit most from the vast mass of experiences and ideas render- ed available to us by social and indus- trial intercourse we should have some model or some standard as a guide. To all of us in theory at least there is the same avenue to success. For all of us, there is available practically the same amount of experience, of knowledge The difference in our differences so much and of ideas. SUCCESSES ate not of mental capacity as of method and The importance, therefore, for business career and guidance. of examples those just entering for those headway upon a who are not making much after vears of labor is quite apparent. From many points of view it may be truthfully that the which a trade journal can render to said best service men of business is to put at their d’s- posal the successful plans and experi- ences of others. Theories are well enough in their way; but we can not learn much from them as theories They become valuable only when we can present them in the living person- alities. With these motives in mind, it is a distinct advantage to set forth the main facts and characteristics of the career of John F. Berner, of Cadillac. He has made a success in the grocery field through precisely the same means of closely studying the ideas and ex- periences of others as described in the In other words, build a without foregoing sentences. he did not attempt to without plans or to enlarge it house study. John F. Berner was born in Luther, Aue. 8, 1888. His were German on both sides, his father hav- antecedents ing been a leading merchant of Luther for a great many years. Mr. Berner lived in Luther until he was 17 years of age, working in his father’s store at intervals and attended the high school from which he graduated on the pre- paratory course, supplementing it with an attendance at the Cadillac high On completing his education, school. his first employment was as clerk in the grocery store of W. L. Walters, Fife Lake. One year later he trans- ferred himself to the grocery store of John Blessed, of Detroit, where he also worked one year. On his nine- teenth birthday he entered the employ of the Cadillac branch of the National Grocer Co. The first six months he was in the packing room; the next six months he was receiving clerk; Jan. 1, 1908, he entered the office as a book-keeper; in February, 1911, he was made credit man; and in October, 1919, became manager. At the annual meeting of the National Grocer Co., held a few days ago, he was elected a director of the parent organization. Mr. Berner was married July 20, 1913, to Miss Maude Lewis, of Trav- erse City. They have two children— he John F. ‘a girl of 9 and another girl of 5. They reside in their own home at 217 Howard street. Mr. Berner stands well in his home town, as is indicated by the positions of responsibility he has held in the past and is holding at the present time. He is President of the Board of Education and a director of the Y. M. C. A. He is a member of the Presbyterian church and a trustee. He is a Mason up to and including the 32d degree, but is not a Shriner. He is a member of Elks Lodge, No. 618, and is Past Exalted Ruler. He is a member of the Knights of Pythias and of Traverse City Council, U. C. T. Mr. Berner attributes his success to hard work and to the fact that he was able to work two and one-half years under the tutelage of Mr. Ed. Kruis- MICHIGAN TRADESMAN enga, who is now President of the parent organization. Mr. Kruisenga was manager of the Cadillac branch from January, 1911, until July, 1913, and during this time Mr. Berner was an apt pupil and learned many things which he has been able to utilize to advantage in his present position. >> Items From the Cloverland of Michi- gan. Sault Ste. Marie, Feb. 24—Condon Bartlett, of the Bartlett Lumber Co., at Shelldrake, sailed last week from Boston for a Mediterranean trip, go- ing to Maderia, Algiers and Naples and later to Rome. He is accompanied by his mother, Mrs. H. J. Bartlett. They expect to return about the last of March. It is announced this week by our Commercial Club that the Milwaukee Chamber of Commerce will pay us a visit on June 9, numbering about 175 Berner. members. The Goodrich steamer, Carolina, has been chartered for the oc- casion. Preparations will be made to give the visitors a good time while here. The greatest human achievement is to be useful. Until you attempt more you will not accomplish more. Ralph Gooch, the well-known gro- cer of Manistique, was severely kicked on the leg by his delivery horse. The fact that he was kicked on the same leg that has given him so much trouble following an accident some time ago made things worse. Sunday blood poisoning set in the injured mem- ber and for some time it looked rather serious for Mr. Gooch, but Wednesday the physician stated that he had the infection checked. It will be several weeks before he will be on the job again. Our St. Ignace neighbors are feeling well pleased to know that the Detroit & Cleveland Navigation Co. fast’ ex- press steamboat service will be oper- February 25, 1925 ated next summer, beginning June 25, between Detroit, Mackinac Island and St. Ignace. How on earth do you expect to get along on one leg while you continue to use the other leg for kicking? James Tracey, 72 years old, prom- inent citizen and veteran groceryman of Manistique, dropped dead at his place of business Feb. 16 without suf- fering any previous illness. He had been a member of the grocery firm of Frank Clark & Co. for the past forty years, starting on a small scale in a store on Pearl street, then the main business street of Manistique. Mr. Tracey was born in Delaware. He is survived by two daughters. That it is never too late to learn was demonstrated last week by Dr. C. J. Ennis, one of our well-known physi- cians. He has been driving his trusty horse here for many years before the automobile made its appearance, and after everybody else changed to autos he was willing to let well enough alone and continued all through these years to keep in business without the auto, but as all good things come to an end in time, so did Doc’s old faithful horse. Doc is 75 years old and outlived the horse, but has decided to start in at this late date by replacing his equip- ment with a Dodge auto and is taking his first lesson in safety first drivine. From present indications his riva!'s will have to step on the gas to get there ahead of Doc. Reputation is the world’s measure cf a man. Character is what he really is. H. J. Morris, salesman for Swift & Company, and C. W. Tapert of the Tapert Specialty Co., made the first trip to Pickford by auto last week, breaking all previous records. They vot through without any mishap, but coming back they encountered a bliz- zard filling the road with snow and drifis, bringing them into the Soo at midnight, atfer leaving Pickford at 5 np. m. From what we can learn thev had to carry the flivver out of severa! snow banks, so that with their load c° heavy orders and excess baggage thev cancelled all engagements for the next evening. It will be several days he- fore thev will be feeling jake ava‘n. Their advice to brother travelers is lav away for a more favorable condi- tion. William G. Tapert. ieee — Corporations Wound Up. The following Michigan corpora- tions have recently filed notices of dis- solution with the Secretary of State: S. Plotkin & Co., Detroit. Technola Piano Co., New York and Crand Rapids. Raymond lurniture Co., Sault S‘e. Marie. B. Armstrong Co., Detroit. Wavne County Realty Investors, Detroit. Leather Parts Manufacturing Co., Detroit. Columbia Realty Co., Detroit. Towson Body Co., Detroit. Wolfman Millinery Co., Pontiac. K. & S. Restaurant, Inc., Wayne. Factory Realty Co., Grand Rapids. Foot Bros., Inc., Hillsdale. Mt. Pleasant Ice Cream & Confec- tionery Co., Mt. Pleasant. Traverse Point Association, Grand Rapids. Seward Cigar Co., Detroit. Calumet Truck Body Corporation, Calumet. Scottwood Realty Co., Ann Arbor. Detwiler-Reed Co., Oxford. MacArthur Concrete Pile & Foun- dation Co., Inc., New York and De- troit. Detroit—Jhung & Co., 12511-13 Oakman boulevard, has been incorpor- ated to deal in American and Chinese food and food supplies, with an author- ized capital stock of $35,000, of which amount $18,090 has been subscribed, $5,659.69 paid in in cash and $12,430.31 in property. « 4 ect eg > A » { Fon Apacer (Renare._;-_ A. , « ‘ } > f A #., * Liaise... «ig...» ~ ‘ i , § j | A ate. a ECT — 2 o_O , , cy rf ‘ < ’ i February 25, 1925 Proceedings of the Grand Bankruptcy Court. Grand Rapids, Feb. 18—In the matter of Jacob L. Brilliant, doing business as Brilliant’s, Bankrupt No. 2635, the funds for the first meeting have been received and such meeting has been called for March 2. The meeting will be held at the office of the referee, at Grand Rapids. In the matter of Louis V. Wilkowski, Bankrupt No. 2634, the funds for the first meeting have been received and the first meeting of creditors has been called for March 4. Feb. 19. On this day was held the first meeting of creditors in the matter of Ray Goss, Bankrupt No. 2632. The bank- rupt was present in person and by. at- torney P. A. Hartesvelt. No creditors were present or represented. Claims were proved, but not passed upon. The bank- rupt was sworn and examined without a reporter. It appeared that an attachment was fixed upon certain of the assets and the case was adjourned to March 4, to allow investigation of the property so attached. No trustee was appointed for the present. In the matter of George R. Slawson, Bankrupt No. 2582, the trustee has rec- ommended that the property encumbered by two mortgages be abandoned because the mortgages are for more than the value of the property. The property was abandond and the case closed and re- turned to the District Court as a no asest case. Rapids On. this held the first meeting of creditors in the matter of Bernard Willmeng, Bankrupt No. 2628. The bankrupt was present in person and by attorney. No creditors were present or represented. Claims were proved and allowed. The bankrupt was sworn and examined without a reporter. No trustee was appointed. There being no assets over exemptions, the case Was adjourned without date and the case closed and returned to the district court. Feb. 20. On this day were received the schedules, order of reference and adjudi- cation in bankruptey in the matter of day also was Oscar J. Bou'ter, Bankrupt No. 26387. The matter has been referred to Charles B. Blair. as referee in bankruptcy. The bankrupt is a resident of Orangeville township, Barry county, and is a farmer by occupation. The schedules filed list asests of $2,730.58, of which $2,218 is claimed as exempt to the bankrupt, with liabilities of $3,154.31. Several of the claims are secured and the court has written for funds for the first meeting, and upon receipt of the same the first meeting will be called and note of the same made here. A list if the creditors of the bankrupt is as follows: John De Forest, Cloverdale ..$120.45 Goefferty Kellar, Cloverdale ~~ 23.48 Denny Wellar, Gloverdale .9... -.. P7665 Carl Morehouse, Cloverdale - i 9.60 State Savings Bank, Plainwell ---- 450.00 Universal Garage, Hastings -- --- 149.00 KE. H. Ingram Estate, Plainwell -- 65.00 Martin xchange Bank, Martin -- 800.00 7B 6Wdeett. Shelbyville 118.18 Sallwin & Hirchcock, Plainwell - 107.60 Clyde Patterwon, Martin, «102.15 L. P. Gunson & Co., Rochester, NAY. 2 Heber Pike, Doster -------------- Geo. Beattie, Doster pee i ane Dr. Louis Ladd, Martin -- A. C. Monteith. Martin ae 1%. H. Ingram Estate, Plainwell -- D. D. Harris, Shelbyville as Mark Boison, Plainwell Marshall Beattie, Battle Creek _- Don Phillips, Battle Creek -----~-- Martin Farm Bureau Co-operative Association —~-------------------- 87.09 Clair E. Hoffman, Allegan ----—- 29.41 Gale Edgett, Shelbvvine 22) 20s 2.10 Miller Drug Store, Plainwell __---- 7.00 Henry Gregory. Hastings __- | 20.00 Mlis E. Faulkner, De!ton -------- 2.95 Victor Oil Co., Chicago ~----------- 20.75 F. B. Todd, Hastings os te 7.00 Michigan State Farm Bureau, Lan- sine 30.00 Goodyear Bros. Hardware Co., Hastings --- ee oso On this day were received the schedules, order of reference and adjudi- cation in the matter of John J. Haan, Bankrupt No. 2638. The matter has been referred to Charles B. Blair, as referee in bankruptcy. The bankrupt is a resi- dent of Muskegon Heights, and is a gro- cer at such city. The schedules filed list assets of $1,687, of which $75 is claimed »s exempt to the bankrupt. The liabili- ties are placed at $19,577.27. The first meeting of creditors has been called for March 8. A list of the ereditors of the bankrupt is as follows: First State Savings Bank, Mus- kegon Hts. —--------- ______ $5,000.00 James J. Haan. Muskegon Hts. __ 6,000.00 Feb. 20. Hume Grocer Co., Muskegon ___~ 2,170.10 Mou'ton Grocer Co., Muskegon ~~ 1.557.938 Rindge-Krekel Co., Grand Rapids 47.50 Hower & Seaman, Muskegon ~~ 40.00 Lewellyn & Co., Grand Ranpids 97.08 Hazeltine & Perkins Co., Grand fapids —------------_-_-- 22.80 Marion Basket Co., Pittsburgh -- 27.30 Fred ll. Kemp, Green Bay, Wis. 40.00 f. J. Beunema, Muskegon —--_-- 278.50 Voight Milling Co., Grand Rapids 84.52 Albert F. Bridges & Co., Chicafo 40.00 Allen B. Wrisley @o.. Chicago — 28.08 Rich & France Co., Ghieago —._— 43.00 PD. M. Ferry Co., Detroit -------- 12.63 Real Egg Noodle Co., Chicago _. 6.50 Peoples Milling Co., Muskegon -- 105.30 Standard Oil Co., Grand Rapids... 66.96 MICHIGAN TRADESMAN F. Jiroch, Muskegon ---------- = 22.10 Witt & Van Andel, Muskegon ---- 125.00 Hasper Biscuit Co., Muskegon _~ 274.90 Muskegon Baking Co., Muskegon 50.00 Michigan Bread Co., Muskegon -- 263.50 Swift & Co., Muskegon ---------- 80.00 Muskegon Hts. Dairy Co.. Mus- kécon Hts. _-______-___________ Muskegon Auto Sales Co., Muske- SON jo ee ie 13.50 Hekman Biscuit Co., Grand Rap. 130.038 Walker Candy Co., Muskegon 306.42 T. Schillaci,, Muskegon ------~-- 58.56 306.83 I. Van Westenbrugge, Grand Rap. 93.50 Henry Meyer, Grand Rapids ___-_ 20.00 Arbuckle Bros., Chicago -------- 32.68 Blatz Brewing Co., Milwaukee —~ 10.00 Christian Coffee Co., Grand Rap. 10.00 Jonathan Hale & Sons, Ionia ~~ 83.75 Charles Poland, Muskegon Hts.-- 25.00 On this day also was held the sale of assets in the matter of Sam Konings- burg, Bankrupt No. 2612. The bankrupt was present In person and by attorney. Several creditors and bidders were pres- ent in person. The wiring and light fix- tures at Sturgis were sold to W. F. Adams for $35. The stock in trade and other fixtures, except exemptions, at Sturgis, were sold to P. H. Pollicoff, for $1,380. The fixtures at Three Rivers were sold to George Lints for $150. The sale was confirmed. An order was made for the payment of expenses of administra- tion and for a first dividend to creditors if possible. The special meeting and sale was then adjourned without date. Feb. 21. On this day were received the schedules, order of reference and adjudi- cation in bankruptey in the matter of Preston E&. Crandall, Bankrupt No. 2640. The matter has been referred to Charles B. Blair, as referee in bankruptcy. The bankrupt is a resident of Grand Rapids and is a workman on the railroad by oc- cupation. The schedules filed list assets in no amount whatever, with liabilities of $940. The court has written for funds for the first meeting, and upon receipt of the same the first meeting will be called, and note of the same made here. A list of the creditors of the bankrupt is as follows: Corduroy Tire Co., Grand Rapids $940.00 There are no other creditors. Feb. 23. On this day was held the final meeting of creditors in the matter of Cc. Arthur Carlson, Bankrupt No. 2508. The bankrupt was not present or repre- sented. The trustee was present in_per- son. The trustee’s final report and ac- count was approved and allowed. The balance of the accounts and stock was sold at the final meeting. An order was made for the payment of a supplemental first dividend of 5 per cent. on new claims proved and for a final dividend of 13.2 per cent. to all creditors. Adminis- tration expenses were also ordered paid. There was no objection to the discharge of the bankrupt. The meeting was then adjourned without date and the matter closed and returned to the district court. >> Germany’s Lack of Good Faith. To every American there must be a fund of sober thought and reflection in the day’s news. The Allied Military Control Mission have just completed their final report, based on monthly in- spection of disarmament conditions in Germany. The report clearly shows that Germany has neither morally nor materially disarmed in accordance with conditions placed upon her by the Al- lies at the close of the war. Men and boys are being trained in the art of war and many old army organizations are kept alive under other names. This is only what might be expected from a people to whom solemn and sacred treaties meant but worthless scraps of paper. The German Hymn of Hate only slumbers and will be fanned into new life when the time seems ripe to be- gin another devastating war. Here is a country with all its indus- tries intact and every year adding to its man power, a nation with men of mature age with the highest trained scientific minds, who can devise and produce the most modern engines of war. Refinanced by the Allies and America, the time will come when this defeated nation will try the force of arms once more. A coalition with the vast hordes of Soviet Russia (strong in man power) will make a combina- tion to be seriously considered not on- ly by Europe but by the United States also. Charles Harrington, Jr. Meeting Changed Conditions T IS with a feeling of deep satisfaction that we learn through reports from all over our territory of the honest efforts being made by a great number of dealers to keep step with the march of progress and meet changed conditions with better methods. In the last eighteen months some marked changes have taken place in the territory served by us—changes for the better—changes which place the merchant in better position to meet competition and render the kind of service which the public is demanding. Hundreds of stores show improvement along the lines suggested in the columns of the Michigan Trades- man, and it has been gratifying to us to receive the numbers of letters which we have from dealers who have reaped, more or less, the benefit from these friendly talks in the Michigan Tradesman. There are more stores better kept in our territory today than ever before. There are more stores rendering improved service to a larger list of satisfied customers than ever before. There are more stores showing a new coat of paint than ever before. Likewise, there are more store windows being util- ized to better advantage; more attractive counter, shelf and show-case displays of goods; more realiza- tion of the necessity of handling only QUALITY goods; a better realization of the importance of keep- ing an eye on extension of credit, and of insisting upon payment of accounts once a month; of the value of a vacation and entire change of surroundings for at least a few days; a tendency toward moving goods by im- proved methods and speeding up turnover; of not loading up with goods for which there is no sale; of making SERVICE the watchword every hour of the day, and of increasing the figures on the right side of the ledger. The dealer who is not making an honest effort to meet changed conditions is slowly but surely slipping because he is groping about in the dust from the wheels of progress. \WoRDEN (GROCER COMPANY Wholesalers for Fifty-six Years The Prompt Shippers alee Accent neentiinaencncyronenadens nie ttememremanenteeomeneioeantataaiperste eee eee MICHIGAN TRADESMAN A (Att AN ua AN 9 i VERN R Movement of Merchants. Battle Creek has raged in the lumber business. Sears—Arthur E. Elmore succeeds Arndt in the grocery busi- cn- reorge H. 1eSs. Detroit—Max M. Goldberg succeeds qT. Lerner, confectioner at 5100 St. Antoine street. Detroit—Bernard succeeds Atkins Simon L. Kavanau, baker at 12715 Qakman boulevard. Detroit—Albert Meier has sold his lrug stock at 8156 Grand River avenue -o George R. Meier. Lacota—J. E. Hatton W. Eitel in the grocery business. succeeds R. and general merchandise Ishpeming — John Williams has ypened a restaurant and pastry shop in the Voelker block, Cleveland avenue. Detroit—The Edward Furniture Co., 331 Michigan avenue, has increased its capital stock from $60,000 to $115,000. Detroit—Carl W. Johnson has sold nis confectionery stock at 14500 Char- enue to Mrs. E. Steenhaut. Detroit — James I. Madden has bought the stock and fixtures of the Jewelry Co., Hoffman build- 'evoix av Conners ing. . Kalamazoo—The Dearborn Grocery, street, succeeds M. the grocery meat 39 Fennimore Deichmann -in and business. Detroit—The Emil Gies Co., dry moved from Woodward the Seven-Mile Road, to goods, has avenue, above Springwells. Lansing—The Motor Wheel Cor- poration has decreased its capital stock trom $11,000,000 to $5,000,000 and 600,- 000 shares no par value. Grand Rapids—H. W., J. W. and W. J. Rottschafer have engaged in the lumber and builders’ supplies business at 1467 Kalamazoo avenue. Cedar Springs— Howard Morley, who has been ill for a couple of weeks with a pulmonary attack, has recovered sufficiently to be able to sit up. St. Louis—Fred Rockwell has leased the Deline building and is occupying it with a complete stock of ‘women’s ready-to-wear garments, millinery, etc. Iron Mountain—M. J. Fox has suc- ceeded the late G. von Platen as presi- dent of the von Platen-Fox Lumber Co., one of the largest lumber operators in the Upper Peninsula. Marshall—Edgar G. Brewer, dealer in dry goods, is celebrating the 89th anniversary of the business which was established in 1836 by his father, the late Chauncey M. Brewer. Manistique—The Robbins Flooring Co., Rhinelander, Wis., has purchased the Goodwillie factory here, a box manufacturing plant. It will be used for the manufacture of flooring. Alma—The Alma Ladies Wear Shop, 126 Superior street, has been incor- porated with an authorized capital stock of $5,000, all of which has been subscribed and paid in in cash. Detroit—The Ebling Creamery Co., 6315 Trumbull avenue, has been in- corporated with an authorized capital stock of $150,000, $5,000 of which has been subscribed and paid in in cash. Detroit—Anthony Persy, grocer at 1637 Twelfth street, was shot and seri- ously wounded by thugs who held him up on the evening of Feb. 19. They escaped with $50 from the cash regis- ter. Highland Park—The Cross Music & Record Co., 400 Geneva street, has been incorporated with an authorized capital stock of $5,000, all of which has been subscribed and $2,000 paid in in cash. Grand Rapids—The Fitzgerald Piano Co., 81% Monroe avenue, N. E., has been incorporated with an authorized capital $20,000, $10,000 of which has been subscribed and paid in stock of in cash. Detroit—The Morley Block & Stone Co., 402 Detroit Life building, has been incorporated with an authorized cap- ital stock of $10,000, of which amount $5,000 has been subscribed and $2,500 paid in in cash. Ishpeming—Howard prietor of the Chocolate Shop, Negau- nee,.has entered into a contract to take Quayle building, Groom, pro- confectionery in the from Richard over the Anderson Quayle, of Gwinn. Detroit— The Belle Isle-Hacker Boat Sales Co., 6304 East Jefferson avenue, has been incorporated with an authorized capital stock of $10,000, $2,- 000 of which has been subscribed and paid in in cash. Kingsford—The Big Jo Baking Co., with business offices at Balsam street, Iron Mountain, has been incorporated with an authorized capital stock of $10,000, $4,500 of which has been sub- scribed and paid in in cash. Iron Mountain—The Union Oil Co. conduct a wholesale jobbing business in gasoline, greases, oils, etc., with an authorized capital stock of $40,000, all of which has been subscribed and paid has been incorporated to kerosene, in in Lansing—The Mt. Hope Coal Co., 300 East South street, been in- corporated to conduct a wholesale and fuel, oil and gasoline business, with an authorized capital stock 6f $10,000, of which amount $1,800 has been subscribed and paid in in prop- erty. Detroit—The P. S. Vincent Cigar Corporation, 1358 Napoleon street, has been incorporated with an authorized capital stock of $1,000 common and 15,000 shares at $1 per share, of which amount $1,000 and 2,000 shares has property. has retail been subscribed and $3,000 paid in in cash. Jasper-—the office of the Jasper Grain Co. and the hardware store of Harry Van Marter were broken into Feb. 19. The safe in the hardware store was blown, but it contained nothing of value. Tires and hardware valued at about $100 were taken. About $25 was secured from the safe of the grain company. Lum—Ronald Rhead, receiver for the Lum Exchange Bank, sold the Lum elevator at public auction to D. C. Merrill, cashier of the Commercial State at Marlette, for $1,188.23, the only bidder. The elevator was owned by the Port Huron Grain Co. and had to be sold to realize on a chattel mortgage held by the bank. Bank Manufacturing Matters. Detroit—The Davis Detroit Pant Manufacturing Co., Inc., 1036 Beau- bien street, has increased its capital stock from $50,000 to $50,000 and 1,000 shares no par value. Detroit—The Carle Machinery Co., 546 East Woodbridge street, has been incorporated with an authorized cap- ital stock of $5,000, all of which has been subscribed and paid in, $922.67 in cash and $4,077.33 in property. Detroit—The Gotfredson Body Cor- 311 Meldrum avenue, has de- creased its capitalization from $1,000 and $500,000 shares no par value, to $1,000 and 200,000 shares no par value and changed its name to the Gotfred- Corporation. Traverse City—The Grand Traverse Metal Casket Co., Lake avenue and 9th street, has been incorporated with an authorized capital stock of $25,000, of which amount $10,000 been subscribed, $248.52 paid in in cash and $8,851.48 in property. Detroit—The Michigan Brush Manu- facturing Co., 3701-7 Michigan avenue, has merged its business into a stock poration, son has company under the same style, with an authorized capital stock of $50,000, all of which has been oo and paid in, $6,500 in cash and $43,500 in property. Detroit—The Scotten Kratz Show Case Co., 301 West Woodbridge street, has been incorporated with an author- ized capital stock of $2,000 common and 7,800 shares at $1 per share, of which amount $1,000 and 7,800 shares has been subscribed and $1,000 paid in in cash. Grand Haven—The Sterling Devices Manufacturing Co., of Chicago, has made arrangements to move to Grand Haven. Under transfer of the organ- ization to this State it will known as the Sterling Manufacturing Co. of Michigan: phonograph parts. Battle Creek—The Brigham & UI- dricks Co., capitalized at $125,000, has been organized to engage in wood manufacturing activities. The plant of the Gillis Construction Co. has been secured, a three-story factory with 21,- 000 square feet of floor space, and dry kilns, which add 2,300 square feet. Detroit—Aunt Phoebe Candies, Inc., 2431 Woodward avenue, has been in- corporated to manufacture and sell at wholesale and retail, candies, baked goods, ice cream, etc., with an author- ized capital stock of $50,000, all of become manufacturer of February 25, 1925 which has been subscribed and paid n, $15,000 in cash and $35,000 in prop- erty. Ludington—A_ semi-Deisel oil burn- ing engine is being built at the Stearns Motor Manufacturing Co. plant by John L. Taylor, inventor, for exhibi- tion and experimental purposes. The Taylor Oil engine, which will sell at $5,000, claims a great saving in fuel by using a low grade of oil for power at a cost of six cents a gallon. Detroit—The Morris Systems Game Visualizer Corporation, 1720 Brush street, has been incorporated to manu facture and sell at wholesale and tail mechanical and electrical games, visualizers, devices, etc., with an au thorized capital stock of $2,500, of which amount $1,000 has been sub scribed and paid in in property. Ann Arbor—The American Broach & Machine Co., one of the three con- cerns in existence which manufactures tools and broaching equipment for metal cutting, has developed a foreign market. Early in January a machine weighing two tons, which will be used to manufacture firearms, was shipped to Spain and one weighing two and one-half tons to France. Detroit—The Queen Laboratories, Inc., 159 East Elizabeth street, has been incorporated to manufacture and sell at wholesale and retail, drugs, cos- metics, toilet articles, etc., with an au- thorized capital stock of $10,000 com- mon and 100 shares at $1 per share, of which amount $9,700 and 100 shares has been subscribed, $1,000 paid in in cash and $5,100 in property. Holland—The buildings for the Van- denberg Chemical Co. have been com- pleted and the manufacture of the com- pany’s specialty, which is fertilizer, has begun. The plant is located one mile East and North of Holland. About 20 men are employed and enough orders have been received to keep the plant going full time for 90 days. Milo Fairbanks is manager. The company is capitalized at $50,000. Saginaw—Looking toward resump- tion of operations of the American Cash Register Co. plant by a re-organ- ized company, John B. Martin, of Pittsburg, one of the receivers, and Guy D. Henry of Humphrey, Grant & Henry, has asked members of the city council to cancel approximately $10,000 in back taxes owed by the company. Under the reorganization plans the company is to start with $100,000 in working capital. All mort- bonds have been refunded and seven of the eleven directors are to be new men. Saginaw—Two changes in the ex- ecutive personnel of the Jacox plant of Saginaw Products Company are an- nounced by John H. Dwight, general manager. T. R. Johnson, plant man- ager, been appointed as_ sales manager and Harry M. Denyes, chief engineer, will succeed Mr. Johnson as plant manager and will remain in charge of the engineering department. Conditions in the local plants are im- proving, Mr. Dwight said, and pointed out that the Central Foundry during January had increased 40 per cent. above its best month. Other units al- So are increasing production, he said, and with one exception are operating near 100 per cent, cash as gage lias awk - 2 Fi A Fi a ae ~~ ' ? ‘ | les < \ mate tiie aitien . es ¢ 2 ‘ | February 25, 1925 MICHIGAN TRADESMAN Essential Features of the Grocery Staples. Sugar—Local pobbers hold cane granulated at 6.70c and beet granu- lated at 6.60c. Tea—The market has had a little slump recently and there has been a softer feeling in Ceylons, Indias and Javas, speaking of the primary mar- kets. However, this has not amounted to a great deal and judging from news received from those markets during the week it is about over. As a mat- ter of fact, some grades of Indias and Ceylon teas advanced in primary mar- kets during the week. The undertone in tea is still steady to firm, with no indication of any materially lower prices. Coffee—The market has developed considerable weakness during the week, speaking particularly of future Rio and Santos, Almost every day the quota- tions on futures have gone off a shade and the week closes with the future market considerably under what it was a short time ago. Holders, however, still insist that the situation is firm and sound and that there will be no very heavy decline. As to actual Rio and Santos coffee it is feeling the effect of the future market and as a result has probably declined about half a cent during the week. This applies to all grades of Rio and Santos and also to most grades of milds. The jobbing market on roasted coffee shows no par- ticular change. Canned Fruits—No radical develop- ments in current pack California fruits occurred last week. The market is controlled by a marked scarcity of all varieties, which tends to maintain quo- tations at their present levels, but at the same time curtails business, since there is little to be had in the desired lines on the open market. Futures are being booked freely s. a. p. and con- firmations promise to be large when opening prices are named. Pineapple is steady as to spot sentiment. Later wants are not being extensively met at the moment. Spot apple holdings are being redured, so that the market is falling more in line with what it is at primary points. Canned Fish—Lenten outlets have made fish more active. Chain stores are selling pink salmon at two cans for 25c, which makes it one of the cheapest meats on the market. Red Alaska and chinooks are selling at their cus- tomary retail levels. The spot whole- sale market is steady, while in the West it is firm, due to the difference in ideas of buyers and packers. Amer- ican sardines are in routine demand and rule steady. Tuna fish is more active in jobbing circles, which makes it more apparent that there are light stocks scattered throughout the local trade and at the source. Canned Vegetables—Spot tomatoes were steady all week. Buying is con- tinuous and in blocks depending in size according to the distributor. Buyers’ and packers’ labels for No. 2s and No. 3s are well maintained at the factory, and while not as extensively wanted at the moment, there is no surplus of No. 10s. Later wants keeps them in line with the smaller sizes. There is future trading going on of a spotty character both for Southern and Cali- fornia tomatoes. California tomatoes are getting difficult to obtain from the leading packers because many of them have withdrawn on standards. The usual business in fancy future Maine corn has been done in this market with the normal irregular range. Some of the favored brands were completely sold out at opening; others were taken at 5c under and still others are still available at 10c under. Considerable Minnesota corn has been bought, as well as other Middle Western. Spot corn is firm in tone and is not offered freely except at full quotations. Peas are irregularly quoted according to the seller. There are some big blocks of spot stocks changing hands, but most business is in smaller blocks. Dried Fruits—The chief event in the prune situation this week is the open- ing of the late winter and spring ad- vertising campaign of the California Association, supplemented by specialty work among retail grocers. News- paper and pillboard advertising is util- ized. Association packs are being giv- en main consideration, but indirectly other brands are influenced. California and Oregon prunes on the spot are not in excessive supply. The trade has bought ahead conservatively and it is freely predicted that there will be a materially higher Oregon market in the near future. Apricots are quoted from the Coast in broken assortment. There are no cheap offerings and no packer will shade his list. Peach sell- ers are withdrawing as they run out of goods or refuse to sell at to-day’s basis. This tendency is toward a higher New York range. Cheap pears are firm and are in better demand but the better grades are affected by the high quotations and by the lack of sizable working stocks. Raisins were advanced early last week. Buying be- fore the list price was changed took care of many trade wants but since the advance there has been steady booking for the favored pack. Chain stores are featuring package seedless and seeded and are moving large quan- tities of Sun-Maid. Jeans and Peas—The dried beans is very poor and as to price the market is no more than steady. Marrows show considerable range in price, owing to variation in quality. Pea beans are very quiet. California limas, however, are still firm and high. Dried peas unchanged, but fairly firm. Syrup and Molasses—The demand for molasses is rather poor, owing largely to the high range of prices for anything good. The situation, how- ever, is still fairly steady. Sugar syrup is quiet and shows an easy Un- dertone, particularly in anything under the finest grades. Compound syrup is in fair demand and rather surprisingly steady considering the unsettled condi- tion of the corn market. Salt Fish—As Lent approaches mackerel has strengthened consider- ably, being helped in this by the scar- city of desirable sizes. No material change in price has occurred during the week. Cod is scarce and firm. demand for Cheese—The cheese market has main- tained a steady basis for a long time, but there has been almost no change in price for several weeks. The demand is fair. Provisions—The general market for provisions has been steady during the past week and the demand is com- paratively light, but the market is well controlled both as to pork and beef products and the result is a steady market. —_++>—_——_ Review of the Produce Market. Apples—Baldwins command $2 per bu.; Spys command $2.50. Bagas—Canadian, $1.80 per 100 Ibs. Bananas—8%@9c per Ib. Beans—Michigan jobbers are quot- ing as follows: Ct P Beans ....- $ 6.35 Light Red Kidney ~------------ 10.50 Dark Red Kidney —_---___..--_ 12.00 Brown Swede 6.25 Beets—New from Texas, $4 per bu.. Jutter—The market has shown a rather strong tendency during the past week. Fine creamery butter is prob- ably lc higher than a week ago, al- though about the middle of the week there was a small decline. There has been no particular change in medium and undergrades, which have been dull. Local jobbers hold fresh cream- ery at 40c. June packed, 36c, prints, 41c. They pay 22c for packing stock. Cabbage—$2 per 100 Ibs. for home grown; $3.75 per crate for new from Texas. ‘ Carrots—$1.35 per bu. for home grown; $2.25 per bu. for new from Texas. Cauliflower—$2.75 per doz. heads. Celery—Florida, 75c for Jumbo and 90c for Extra Jumbo. $4.25. Cucumbers—lLllinois hot house com- mand $5 for fancy and $4.75 for choice. crate stock, Eggs—Fresh eggs have been scarce during the week and cleaned up rapid- ly whenever they arrived, although there have been further price losses during the week. Receipts are be- coming increasingly more liberal than they were, although still not anything like large enough and the result is that the market has probably declined about 6c during the week. This is about the net result of a series of fluctuations both ways, of which the most were declines. The demand has rather fall- en off as receipts have increased. As the season is approaching April, the time of the greatest production and price, considerable weakness will develop from day to day. Under- grades of eggs are rather neglected and show no change. Local jobbers pay 28c for fresh and resell candled at 33c and current receipts at 30c. lowest Egg Plant—$3 per doz. Garlic—35c per string for Italian. Grapes— Emperor, packed in saw- dust, $8 per keg. Grape Fruit—$3.50@3.75, according to quality. Green Onions—Charlots, 90c per doz. bunches. Honey—25c for strained. Lemons—Quotations are now as fol- comb, 25c_ for lows: 300 Sunkist ..------------------ $7.00 300 Red Ball ------------------ 6.50 360 Red Ball ------------------ 6.50 Lettuce—In good demand on the following basis: California Iceberg, 4s ---------- $4.50 California Iceberg, 5s ---------- 4.00 5 California Iceberg, 6s ---------- 3.75 California Iceberg, 7s ---------- 3.40 Hot house leaf, 18c per Ib. Onions—Spanish, $4 for 72s anc 50s: Michigan, $2.75 per 100 Ibs. Oranges—Fancy Sunkist Navels a: now on the following: basis: - 6 __.. ists oo $6.7 - Ce ee ee 6.7 6 2 6.7 > 206 6.23 PNG a a §.75 22 §.25 8 3 5.00 ae 4.25 Red Ball, 50c lower. Parsnips—$1.35 per bu. Peppers—Green, 70c per doz. Potatoes—Country buyers pay 50 60c all over Michigan. Poultry—Wilson & Company pay ¢' follows this week: Live Dress« Heavy fowls ---------- 25¢ 30c Light fowls ------------ 18¢ 23c Heavy springs -------- 25c 30c Cox 2. 14c 19¢ Radishes—75c per doz. bunches fi hot house. Spinach—$2 per bu. for Texas. Squash—Hubbard, 3c per Ib. Sweet Potatoes—Delaware Swee‘ $3.50 per hamper. Tomatoes—-$1.50 per 6 Ib. basket f Florida. Veal—Local jobbers pay as follow Fancy White Meated ---------- 151 Good _._....--------.-------+---=- 131 60.970 Mai |... 103 —_—_+++>—__—_- Grand Haven—The E-Z Way Spra: er Co. has increased its capital stoc from $25,000 and 1,180 shares no pi * value to $93,820 and 6,180 shares 1 par value. Detroit—The Motor Parts Co., 40 Marquette building, has been inco porated with an authorized capit”’ stock of $50,000, of which amount $17 100 has been subscribed and $5,0° paid in in cash. Detroit—The Perfection Spring Co 2359 Fort street, West, has been i corporated with an authorized capit stock of $20,000, all of which has be subscribed and paid in in cash. Detroit—The Ever Ready Gas He: er Valve Co., 231 East Grand Riv avenue, has been incorporated with < authorized capital stock of $25,000, <° of which has been subscribed and pa. in, $2,000 in cash and $23,000 in prop erty. Detroit—The Traders Finance Co.. 1502 First National Bank building, hes been incorporated with an authoriz: capital stock of $5,000, all of which h- been subscribed and paid in in cas”. The company will deal in merchandis dry goods, etc. Detroit—Frank L. Worden lv changed the name of his men’s furnis’ 3513 Woodwa- avenue from the Worden Neckwe: - Co. to the Worden Neckwear Shop. Detroit—Sol Ressler has bought « his partner, Samuel Sedon, in the fur ture firm of Sedon & Ressler, 47 Warren avenue, West. ings business at Detroit—Jacob Barish has sold half interest in the Barish Shoe Sto at 5428 Michigan Rubin. The firm will do business t der the style of Barish & Rubin. avenue, to Isr: 6 COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT. Fundamental Principles Necessary To Be Featured.* I considered it an honor when I was asked to take part in our program on this occasion, because: 1. In appearing before an assembly of hardware merchants, I am brought in contact with a class of men, who in the school of their particular experi- ence by supplying merchandise for a universal demand they have acquired an unusual and practical knowledge of every branch of business. 2. If I can present to such a body of men any thoughts or ideas that appeals to their intelligence enough to be put into practical use I have then enjoyed another honor. 3. This is the third time I have en- joyed this privilege. I consider that another honor. In considering the subject of com- munity development we are brought into contact with a problem that has been on the program of the Creator since He made man. In fact the ob- ject of placing man on this earth was for no other purpose than for com- munity development, to be based on His fundamental principles to estab- lish and promote the growth of the hu- man race to that elevation of divine ethics, that would bring peace an good will to mankind. This cannot be realized without mankind first having a thorough knowledge of these great principles, ac- companied with an appreciation of the promises of a reward for good, and heed with fear the warnings of punish- ment as the result of evil. Second by conforming with an un- selfish zeal, to the call of public wel- fare, for the moral and _ intellectually strong to lend their influence in the education and uplift of the needy in their community to a higher concep- tion of true life. A community consists of individuals within certain boundary lines, who collectively aspire to sectional civic pride. People of a similar but sep- arate elements which unite to form a common body and give it the function necessary to the Common life, to achieve and establish unity and political sovereignty and independence, drawing their sentiment of unity from. their many sources among which the Spirit- ual, Patriotic and Commercial, are factors most necessary. History reveals to the student. 1. That all of the present races or nations are the result of nothing more than the struggle of clans or com- munities for their own independence or supremacy, and the highly organized society of to-day with its people en- gaged in giving various kinds of ser- vice, is but the outcome of the de- mands which community growth has brought. 2. That it required leadership to prompt, agitate and guide a campaign to a final victory. 3. That upon the character of the leader depends the success or failure of community enterprise. Hence a community will go to sleep in its own bed of civic indolence unless some one “Steps out of the crowd” prompted enough by a vision of the future possibilities and raising his voice in a call to follow, takes the lead, and by his own clean life and energy sets the example for commun- ity development. Such a leader every community needs, is waiting for and anxious to support, not the “once upon a time man” who tells of nothing but the things of yesterday, but the up- to-date, to-morrow man, the Booster for the future. Emerson said, “Every great institu- tion is the lengthened shadow of some one man.” Let us ask our selves whether the shadow of our influence is perceptible *Paper read at annual convention Mich- igan Hardware Association by Charles M. Alden, of Grand Rapids. MICHIGAN TRADESMAN in the activities for developing our communities. Let us now consider the spiritual factor. The character of a community is es- tablished by the quality and ability of its people, the development however very much if not wholly depends upon the spirit in which the people enter into its activities, and it is certain that with the proper quality, the ready ability, and the right spirit, of the peo- ple, a community will develop in the acquirement of many needed improve- ments. It is therefore essential, that every community must have its “spiritual factor” indicating the state of mind and interest of its people; which I choose to define as the “presence of the divine influence within the soul of man,” sustained and expressed in the religious, educational and social func- tions of its people. In what organization can a commun- itv give better expression in practical demonstration, than in connection with the religious-educational and social ac- tivities of the church? Therefore the church life of a com- munity must be sustained, for without the church influence there can be no substantial development. In this assertion, I do not wish to make it appear that I would force a particular creed upon anyone, but as the beast and idiot are the only crea- tures who have no creed or code of principles upon which to base a life’s activities, I assume that we are all in the creed class, and have some kind of a creed and not only-believe in it, but try to live it, and if you do not quite understand the particulars of some of the ecclesiastical questions, you can at least get a vision of the spirit of the servant as revealed in the life and works of Jesus among men, and be a Booster in the activities of some particular church in your com- munity. We must acknowledge that a large proportion of the coming generation is not in close contact with the best spiritual influence in homes where par- ents seldom or never attend church, resulting in an increasing tendency toward crime among the youth from 16 to. 21 years of age, which according to the report of prison commissioners of New York State have increased 50 per cent. during 1922, 1923 and 1924. This is a startling statement and it should prompt the people to be more concerned in the welfare of the youth, that through the spiritual atmosphere of their community, they may develop a high closs of citizens for the genera- tions that follow. The spirit of democracy is manifest in the world to-day as never before in history, let us believe it to be the presence of the “Divine influence in the Soul of man” endeavoring to elevate mankind to the higher plain of the brotherhood of man, in love and nobil- ity to be our brothers keeper. God forbid that the time shall come when the words of the Savior of man- kind in’ His lamentation over Jeru- salem in His day, can be applied to the people of to-day; “Behold your church is left unto you desolate,” be- cause you and I as “busy men” of the community denied her our support. Now gentlemen I am confident that a large majority, if not all of you are interested in church life, let us all pause at intervals in our business pur- suits, and study the real purpose of life, grasp a consecrated vision of the needs of to-day; for to-day is the only time of our opportunity. Patriotism is another factor. As a nation consists of several dis- tricts or communities and these com- munities represent the sentiment of its people, it is very necessary that na- tional pride and love of country should prevail in the minds of these people, in order to establish a true foundation up- on which this or any nation may stand in the ages to come, important Patriotism, therefore, must be one of the factors for community develop- ments to emphasize. 1. Individual political standards, ex- pressed at the polls on the day of elec- tion by not only voting yourself, but endeavor to interest other people to vote for the man most suitable for. the office, regardless of the party, conscious of the fact, that the quality of legisla- tion, depends upon the choice of the voter. Statistics, that at the 1920 elec- tion 44 per cent. and 1924, 53 per cent. of the voters registered at the polls, that in the fall of 1924 South Caro- lina cast 8 per cent.; Georgia and Mississippi, 10 per cent.; Virginia, 17 per cent.; New Hampshire, 70 per cent.; Minensota, 73 per cent.; Wash- ington, 76 per cent.; Kansas, 80 per cent.; Indiana, 83 per cent. We have been aroused in the past few years by the unfriendly and sus- picious attitude of the nations of Eu- rope, which compelled our Nation to enter a world war that cost money, energy and the precious lives of our boys to check a possible invasion of the enemy, but the man who claims to be an American citizen who is not in- terested enough in the selection and election of the proper legislators to conduct the affairs of our Nation, by casting his vote at the polls, is in my estimation a menace to his country and as dangerous as any foreign foe. 2. Patriotism demands reverence for our National Emblem, the celebra- tion of the days that mark events of National characters, the study of the lives of men connected with our Na- tional history and keep apace as much as possible with her progress. The foreign element has increased to an alarming number in the last few years, and to a large extent, they have no conception of the relation that ex- ists between individual liberty and na- tional government; a paradox that no- body but a native born American can thoroughly and truly understand hence if this American stock which is increasing in less proportion, are not inspired to preserve and observe with enthusiasm our National standards as sacred to the memory of our fore- fathers, then the hallow of our achieve- ments will become as only a record on our statutes, but lost to memory, Our public school system, the Ameri- canization society and other organiza- tions whose purpose it is to maintain and protect our National standards, are doing a wonderful work among our foreign brothers, and should have the moral and financial support of every true American citizen. Your community should therefore encourage the display of “Old Glory” On every patriotic occasion, celebrate with fitting dignity all National holi- days and honor with sublime reverence ‘tthe memory of any patriot soldier or statesman who “dared to do or die” for his country. 3. Patriotism demands our response to the call for National defense. To meet the invasion of a foreign power from without. Let us hope that our Nation will never again be obliged to resort to the horrors of war, but until there is a peace declared, and so thoroughly established, that will satis- fy the entire world, our Nation must maintain a substantial military pro- gram and depend upon every human force, individually as well as collective- ly to “carry on.” _This naturally suggests, National Guards, Boy Scouts, Camp Fire Girls, and any organizations of a military character in your community. National defense to check the prop- aganda of political heresy against our Government from within. There is a tendency among quite a few of our foreign population, who do not understand our National life, to resort to the “soap box” oratory, and advocate political theories of a poison- ous and seditious character no less than treason” and though a citizen has the right of free speech, any such propaganda should be a challenge to February 25, 1925 every “red blooded” American, to con- stitute himself an active member of a vigilance committee on the alert to pre- vent its occurrence in his community. Last but not least, National defense requires a watchful guard against th: destructive forces of nature. How often we read of the ravages of fire, flood and disease occasioned in many instances by the careless indif- ference to protective and sanitary co: ditions. The development of a community can in no way be better effected than by a campaign to teach the people how io care for refuse, rubbish, garbage, light- ed stubs of cigarettes, cigar or match, the proper flood walls to bank the water flow or any condition that may prove to be a menace to the health or wealth of a community. After considering the development o{ a community by the various features of the spiritual and patriotic factors, we may ask the question what relation has commerce to community develop- ment? And how can each benefit the other? The answer will naturally in- terest us as merchants. A community, while it may be great- ly benefited by a local commercia! center, can exist without it, needing but a church or school house for x nucleus; but commerce depends upon a community and cannot exist without its patronage, and we must acknowl- edge that while commerce may be to a certain extent helpful and possibly essential in a community, its presence there is not beneficial to either unless the earnings are large enough to leaye a proht ‘to; both. We must admit he fact that every man owes to himself and his dependents a living and if possible some material wealth for future use. Nevertheless « business man owes his best to his community in turn for which his com- munity will contribute its best with interest. Pant said “The love of money is the root of all evil,” a state ment of penetrating significance to human nature. Some love money so intensely that they will take a life for it, some will gamble for it, others will steal it, the miser will hoard it, and not a few will go into business for nothing more than the money they expect to result from it as the only profit and no thought of a responsibii- ity they owe to the development of the community. There is no person better equipped than a hardware merchant, to provide and employ the many methods by which a business man can give “his best.” How can commerce be made a fac- tor in the development of a commun- ity? I am confident that it would be pre- suming on my part, to answer this question, if I could to your satisfac- tion, and I will only venture a few suggestions. Advertisement. Competition com- pels us to seek as much publicity as possible, and make a strong honest ap- peal for the good will of the people. This can be affected in no better way than by a thoroughly prepared plan of advertising, and as advertising is on the job continually whether we are conscious of it or not, it makes use of €very opportunity, to present the best or worst side of a man and his busi- ness to his community. Of the many features in advertising three may be considered to apply to any business. 1. That of the outside or exterior. 2. That of the inside or interior of a store, and 3. the popu- larity of the proprietor in his commun- ity. These I would head as externally, internally and fraternally. To consider our advertisement ex- ternally. Station yourself on the op- posite side of the street, study the ap- pearance of your store, and its im- mediate surroundings, do you discover any feature that would act as an as- set to the community, and attract the attention of the people enough to in- duce them to “stop, look and come wr ~ 4 i ~~. | ¢ an L 48 eee re as - )p- Lp- m- yer as- the in- me <~ s f ‘ i os February 25, 1925 MICHIGAN TRADESMAN across.” Take particular notice, if your store needs repainting, apply the brand that you sell and tell the public about it, probably the signs are old and need retoning. Invest in an attractive electric sign that stands out and talks about you after you have closed the store. Show windows should be ar- tistically trimmed, and changed often, substantial and clean walks, a well kept delivery equipment, and many other features that would not only be a credit to the proprietor but an ad- yertisement in the line of civic pride for the community. The exterior appearance of a busi- ness house may be of a very high standard and advertise par excellent,” while the proprietor and clerks may rate below par in their character out- side of the store, and after business hours, a contra-condition that cannot exist to the profit of either merchant or community. Let us take a look at advertising in- ternally. When a person crosses your throshold for. the first time, they come as a visitor to make a purchase, and all depends on the conditions that meet their approval, before they will consent to become your customer, therefore conditions inside of your store, as well as outside must be at- tractive and thus contribute as a de- cided feature, to the development of the community. The stock that is kept in a well bal- anced order presents a pleasing expres- sion to the eye at first sight, and in this you are unconsciously advertised. A merchant may say, “He never ad- vertises” in this he is mistaken, he is advertised everyday for or against his own growth, in the manner with which he demonstrates an interest in the progress of his community. The influence of the friendly manner with which a person is greeted at first visit and ever after, the courtesy and promptness in service rendered, will not stop in your store, but will have its effect as a community commercial asset and a profitable advertisement. You and your clerks should get away from the idea that the store is a prison house, and realize more the fact that it is a play house; I have been im- pressed with this truth for many years, that, a chosen vocation is nothing more than the shifting from the playthings of childhood and youth to those of manhood, from the wooden animals and tin soldiers, the ball, bat and mar- bles to the more difficult game of hardware, that we are associated and in this game of life, with the same boys and girls that have grown up with us, and thus having this concep- tion of business we can easily elimin- ate the imaginary drudgery and “play hardware.” Fraternally, man is naturally sociable. He courts companionship and if he has the right spirit and inclination can become popular, in his neighborhood; however, if he would expect to profit by his personal contact with the social activities, his influence must be of an uplifting tendency in community de- velopment. It is very easy for one to suggest to another what course to pursue in com- munity work, when not familiar with conditions existing, and many may live in localities where this work is handled by the municipal agencies, nevertheless, whatever the circum- stances, there is no exctse for negli- gence, we are individually responsible and owe our support, to the develop- ment of the community in which we live or engage in business. Here is an opportunity for some one to “come out from the crowd” and or- ganize the neighborhood, such a “com- munity council,” could handle local affairs more directly and in a manner that would be suggestive and often helpful to the municipal government, such as fire hazards which amounted to $800,000,000 in 1924, bad streets and walks, bill boards, unsanitary locali- ties, immoral influences, and many other irregular conditions that are a menace to the public. Here I am prompted by the splendid success of our Grand Rapids organiza- tion to suggest a “Hardware Dealers Club” where questions could be dis- cussed and campaigns conducted that pertain to the commercial uplift of the community. It proves an educa- Hom fo. its members, - binds . them fraternally and establishes for them a confidence of the people and prevents the disgusting wrangle of price cutting, slander and jealousy that affords food for gossip throughout the neighbor- hood. Very often when allowed, people will drift into irresponsible habits, one is to indulge in the use of credit, simply because it is tolerated and occasionally encouraged by the eager desire of the dealer to “make a sale,” resulting in unpleasant and long drawn out settle- ments. A campaign could be put on by this club, teaching the advantage to both buyer and seller of the service, and though unconscious of the fact. this would reflect as honorable adver- tisement for the merchant and crea‘e a higher state of mind and moral pride in the fraternal spirit of the commun- ity. 3uying of mail order houses is an- other practice that is a menace to the merchant, of which in many cases the public is unconscious. It is but a state of mind that is allowed to drift into a habit, and as the gardener cultivates and trains the plant against its own inclination, so the fraternal ties of a community can be appealed to throuch the proper education bearing upon this feature. Tt needs no argument to convince the citizens of Grand Rapids, that the convention of the Michigan Retail Hardware Association is a benefit not only commercially, but is an educa- tion to those interested and also fraternally advertises the city. The came result can be obtained by utiliz- ing the splendid group meetings con- ducted by our field secretary Charles F. Nelson. A display in some locality of high grade hardware accompanied by a lec- ture and slides portraying the history and use of hardware also the economy in buving the best, would be educa- tional to the people and create a spirit of fraternity in the community. Fraternity offers many avenues through which a hardware dealer can honorably reach the public, and re- ceive in return a profitable recompense. I would suggest the following: Organize clubs that use hardware and take an active part in as many as practicable. A “winter out door” club would nec- essarilv need skis, sleighs, skates, etc. A “Summer Sportsman” Club re- quires fishing tackle, hunting equip- ment, motors, balls, bats, tennis goods, etc. A “Lawn and Garden” Club would use seed, sprinklers, tools for cultivat- ing and trimmings, etc. A “Clean up” Club would buy paint, builders hardware, etc. A prize for the highest individual record in any of these activities, would prompt a contest for supremacy and result in community development. In preparing this address, I soon discovered that the subject with its unlimited features would fill volumes, and could not be treated with justice in the space of time that is allowed on an occasion of this kind, and in a some- what disconnected manner I_ have grouped together some of the principle features that in my opinion are essen- tial to the development of a commun- ity and trust that I have succeeded in establishing as the most important, the factors, spirituality, patriotism, and commerce as personified in the honest energy of the individual. You and I are the individuals. Your rise depends partly on how you take a fall. Look for the McCray Name Plate You'll find it on the refrigerator equip- ment in the better stores, markets, ho- tels, hospitals, res- taurants, florist shops and in homes. This name plate gives positive assurt- ance of foods kept pure, fresh and wholesome. No. 411 This Favorite McCray model meet’ the needs of thousands of food dealers exactly. Ample storage space, convenient to serve Customers, at- tractive display, economical operation, handsome appeat- ance, and enduring satisfaction. Send for catalog illustrating McCray models for every purpose — sizes and styles for every need. McCRAY REFRIGERATOR CO. 2544 Lake St. Kendallville, Ind. Salesrooms in All Principal Cities Detroit Salesroom — 36 E. E lizabeth St. Grand Rapids Salesroom — 20 W. Fulton St. Chocolate Fruit The delicious goodness of Chocolate Fruit is win- ning favor wherever sold. This cake is going to make a lot of money for thousands of grocers during 1925. How about you? Ask your wholesale grocer for samples and prices. Zion Institutions & Industries ZION, ILLINOIS FEDERAL ARBITRATION. Americans have often been describ- ed as the most litigious people on earth, and this is apparently borne out by the swollen and unwieldy calendars of most of the civil courts of the coun- The law’s delays have been pro- and virtual denial of justice. try. resulted in a It has not been unusual for a case to remain un- verbial have often disposed of for a year or longer, and it looks at times as though Dickens’’s Jarndyce litigation may have a dupli- In late years, owing to the extension of busi- cate on this side of the ocean. ness and the intricacies added to it, many suits have been brought having to do with trade transactions. These have helped to clog up the courts still further. While this been more especially true of the state courts, it has recently been very marked in the Federal ones as well. To combat the difficulty in the state courts, a number of years ago there was established in New York City a Court of Arbitration presided over by Enoch L. Fancher, a former Supreme Court Justice, be- fore which cases could be submitted by agreement. has 3ut the scope was toe limited to afford the relief demanded. Subsequently, a new movement was started by Charles L. Bernheimer, of New York, who secured the aid of the Chamber of Commerce in the matter and who pushed through legislation in this and other states providing for validating agreements for arbitration put into contracts. This resulted in relieving the courts of a large amount of work and ensured speedy as well as equitable decisions. A step further has just been taken, due to Mr. Bern- heimer’s efforts in great part, by hav- ing a Federal law passed like the one in operation in New York State. It was signed by President Coolidge only a few days ago. When in full operation, it is said, it will reduce by more than one-half the number of cases in the Federal courts. There is still a drawback in the law in that it does not apply to cases involving less than $3,000. CLIPPING THE WINGS. Ten years ago last October the act was signed creating the Federal Trade Commission. The avowed purpose was to prevent persons, corporations and partnerships “from using unfair methods of competition in commerce.” To accomplish this end the Commis- sion was given large powers. It can act on its own initiative or at the com- plaint of an interested party. During its existence it has made many enquir- ies and has had numerous hearings. Its rulings have been rather often set aside by the courts to which appeal was taken. This was more the case a few years ago than it has been more The Commission has come in for a large amount of adverse crit- icism, not all of which was disinter- ested, it being claimed that its rulings unsettled well-established trade prac- tices were not in themselves against the public interest. There was, however, one thing to its credit. That was and is that the mere existence of the Commission has prevented mon- combinations from choking This is what recently. which opolistic off weaker competitors. MICHIGAN TRADESMAN has stopped efforts for the abolition of the Commission. It is insisted, however, that the practice of the Com- mission may be changed to advantage. This can only be done by an amend- ment of the law. Such an amendment has been prepared by the counsel of the American Grocery Specialties As- sociation and will be pushed actively at the next session of Congress. The general purpose of this is declared to be to have the Commission confine itself to fact finding and to be cor- rective rather than punitive in its rul- Before it can get enacted it will run the guantlet of a lot of discussion. ings. SAVIORS OF THE FARMER. Several of our best writers and stud- ents of the present economic and political questions have raised a warn- ing finger to business to discourage Government expenditure of taxpayers’ money in investigations, Government bureaucracy meddling and ownership of private enterprise. In this age of political spoils and corruption there is little wonder that indviduals or classes have resorted to bringing every political force to bear in obtainng Government sancton of their plans and Government legisla- tion and money in their support. Ap- propriations mean political jobs and so we find the game being played for all it is worth. The agricultural problem to-day is the subject of large state and Nation- al appropriations. Political farm or- ganizations are continually lobbying for state aid and Government aid; in- vestigations are made, legislation is passed and more jobs created. With the upward swing of the economic pendulum, agriculture is on the way back to normalcy to-day. Huge ap- propriations have had little or nothing to do with its recovery. Thrown into National and_ state politics the farm question has attract- ed a lot of peculiar and interesting per- sonages; floaters in business and fail- ures at other vocations, professional! promoters, inexperienced “experts,” organizers, and political job seekers now make up a large assortment of parasites. Men who. have fore figured in the industry are in the limelight to-day as benevolent saviors of the farmer. As agriculture swings back from post war depression to re- covery—and it is recovering—farm benefactors will fade into obscurity. never be- One writer has publicly suggested that we investigate Government in- vestigation. He goes on to state that Government investigations are insti- tuted by individuals or groups of in- dividuals to further their own ends at the expense of all of us. Investigation of agricultural expenditures might well be made at this time. An intelligent curtailment of political agricultural jobs and expenditures would prove a genuine benefit to the farmer to-day. The result might be a reduction in farmers’ taxes and it is certain that his danger of exploitation would be greatly diminished. ——EE—EEEEEEEeeeeeee 30iling down communications in- tensifies cold facts. sa Perceive, conceive, achieve. PROSPECTS MUCH BETTER. Reports are coming in of business done in the last calendar year by man- ufacturers, distributors and_ retailers. They are varied in character, some showing losses, others gains and still others about holding their own. On only one point can there be said to be an agreement and that is that it re- quired great effort and shrewd mer- chandising to prevent a balance writ- ten in red ink. There is no secret about this matter, as the conditions were such as to affect the largest as well as the smallest of producers and traders, and the long bankruptcy rec- ords bear out the evidence of personal experience. This state of things shows the situation to be far from normal as yet. Since the beginning of the new year, however, the promise has been much better and the actual re- sults thus far have been more satis- factory than they were at the same date a year tago. It cannot be said that the productive capacity of the country has been in any wise taxed to meet the demands upon it, nor does anything of the kind appear likely to occur in the immediate future. But this is because the combined domestic and foreign trade has not caught up with the expansion of facilities made during the war and the boom period that came in subsequently. Mean- while a great deal of capital is tied up in the overequipment and, where this was constructed on borrowed capital, the interest charges are added to the overhead, thus increasing productios costs. For the time being, now that the spring buying of retailers is fully un- der way, there is considerable activity in mercantile circles. There is a very wide range to this buying in anticipa- tion of fairly good business which the prospects seem to warrant. Outstand- ing, of course, is the purchasing of the different items of women’s attire. Bor- rowing a leaf from recent experience, the manufacturers have been a little chary in producing large quantities of any particular articles before finding out that there was a market for them. Even the stock houses have been in- clined to go slower than usual in order to avoid the risk of having too much goods on hand to be afterward dis- posed of as jobs. The interests of buy- ers are rather opposed to those of sellers in this matter. In making their purchases the buyers for retail stores begin with small orders. The goods so obtained are used to test out the customers. Further orders are then placed for such goods as “take,” but even such orders are on a rather limit- ed scale. The aim is to have the man- ufacturer carry the stocks and take what risks there are. Under this sys- tem the latter’s opportunity only comes when hurry orders have to be put in for popular numbers which must be had almost regardless of price. This happens at times and is not so unsat- isfactory to the retailer who does not order until he has virtually resold the goods. The psychology of this was well expresed by Robert Amory before the Cotton Manufacturers’ Assocation a year or two ago in these words: “You can sell a woman what you want to make at her own price, but, if you February 25, 1925 make what she wants, you can name your own price.” WOOL COMING DOWN. Wool prices are more of a problem than ever. The drop in them seems to have scared traders everywhere and to have made buyers more shy. Lower levels marked the course of the last sale at Melbourne, Australia. In Lon- don, where a new series of auction sales is scheduled to begin on March 10, the traders have been scheming to keep up prices, or at least to pre- vent them from receding further, There is too much wool on hand, and especially too much of it in the hands of speculators who are trying to carry their stocks until they can get their own prices. At the last auction 40,000 bales were withdrawn because the bids were not satisfactory. It was propos- ed to do what the Australians have re- solved upon—to withhold wool from sale so as to reduce the quantity of the offerings, especially those belong- ing to speculators. But, as any action of this kind will not reduce the avail- able stocks of wool, the proposition was of questionable value and it was abandoned. Those who are financing the speculators will not continue to do so indefinitely, and this circumstance is further apt to deter buyers from any larger purchase than need be. The British makers of woolens are not coming in for any buying of the raw material because, as they say, they cannot obtain commensurate prices for fabrics. American wool buyers have been chary in their purchases for the same reason. Domestic wools have been sagging in sympathy with foreign ones. In the goods market the most notable happening of the past week was the opening of men’s fancy worsteds for fall by the American Woolen Company. It was declared that the average price increase over last year was 6% per cent. This does not, however, tell the whole story, the advances on some fabrics being much larger than on others. Some of the independents have also opened their fall lines of men’s wear at advances about equal to those of the principal factor. a Scientists of Argentina are aroused over the question of the ownership of mcteorites. When the brilliant specks of star dust fall to earth, escaping to- tal combustion in the impact upon our atmosphere, there is no use advertis- ing for the original owners. The mass ef tin, nickel and iron is chiefly of value for museum display. But that is sufficient to make it worth while for the Attorney General to decide whether the Nation or the land-owner on whose property the meteorite falls is entitled to possession. Not long ago the Supreme Court of the United States wrestled with the question of the domesticity of our fresh-water mussels. Owners of adjoining farms liad laid claim to the same patch of these producers of fresh-water pearls. it is a far cry from a mussel to a rcteorite, but the question of private right in vagabonds of the mineral and the animal kingdoms is a fruitful source of discussion among lawyers and lay- men alike, < 4 : + & a § | +E 9 a - B.A q a ° eee ee eee ee ee ee Oo Re Oo Bw wh C k : ' ste a a February 25, 1925 MICHIGAN TRADESMAN 9 Some Men I Have Known in the Past. With a well-rounded forehead rising above calm eyes, with a quiet manner which would be almost shy had it not been for the evident self-reliance back of it, with a face that showed patient strength, with the very evident com- bination of a sound mind in a sound body—such was Thomas Hefferan, a man who carved out—I might say he hewed out—of the forests of Michigan his fortune. It was not a selfish career, except as all effort which has as one of its results the accumulation of wealth is to some extent self centered. He was a man among men. He had his in- timate friends, his business associates, those who aided him and those whom he aided: so that the story of Thomas Hefferan is story of other business men with whom he worked hand in hand, apparently in fullest ac- cord. Indeed, we may believe from the character of the man, his patience and fairness, that what seemed to be is the fact. The outline history of his life, in which it will be seen that friends or acquaintances of his youth linked their fortunes to his and that steadily widened, losing hardly a member ex- cept by death, goes to show such was the case. Thomas Hefferan was born July 28, 1831, in Washington county, New York. In 1840 he moved with his par- ents from New York State to county, Michigan. Traveling in those days was primitive as compared w.ih modern The party with their goods and chattels went by canal boat to Detroit, from there took the newly constructed Michigan Central Railway to the terminal at Ypsilanti, and from there they traveled by teams and wagons to their destination. In 1846 the family removed to the Grand River Valley, where they set- tled on a farm. The boy received a brief education in the common district also. the the circle of his associates 3arry methods. schools. He left home in 1848 and en- tered the employ of Dr. Timothy Eastman, who resided at a point in Ottawa county, on Grand River, since known as Eastmanville. The doctor was a farmer and lumberman, as wel as a physician, and Mr. Hefferan re- mained in his employ for three years assisting in these occupations. In 1851 he attracted the attention of Galen Eastman, a son of the doctor and a lumber merchant in Chicago, who of- fered him, and he accepted, a position in his lumber yard in that city. He re- mained there in the capacity of yard foreman, salesman and general man- ager until 1858. The panic of 1857 so depressed business that he decided to Michigan, where he took general business of return to charge of the Galen Eastman. In January, 1865, Mr. Hefferan en- gaged in the lumber business for him- self, purchasing a sawmill at Eastman- ville from his former employer in 1869 and continuing an active and success- ful manufacturer and dealer in lumber for many years. In 1889 when it be- came manifest that the forests of Southern Michigan would no longer respond to the demand for logs, Mr. Hefferan closed out his lumber busi- ness and removed with his family to Grand Rapids, where he resided unti] his death, which occurred Feb. 28, 1915. In 1890 Mr. Hefferan was one of the organizers of the Peoples’ Savings Bank of Grand Rapids. He was elect- ed director and chosen to fill the re- sponsible position of President, an honor which he held as long as he lived. He was for a great many years a stockholder of the Old Na- tional Bank of Grand Rapids and stockholder and director of the Michi- gan Trust Company. In politics Mr. Hefferan was a Dem- ocrat, but he never personally aspired to political honors. In the campaign of 1896, when the National convention at Chicago gave to the country a platform recommending the free coin- age of silver at the rate of 16 to 1, Mr. Hefferan decided not to support that to the neat and comfortable cottage, the village supplanted by the town, the wilderness transformed into popt- lous cities, peopled by wealthy and in- telligent citizens. He saw the benches of the old log schoolhouses built by the pioneers for the welfare of their children supplanted by the desks in the great brick structures of polished our present elaborate school while houses, railroads and all the appliances of modern system, churches, academies, business civilization crowded the territory where in his boyhood were only the forest, the deer and the Indian. With no prestige of wealth or tam- ily influence, with no gifts from fav- oring fortune, with nothing but a stout heart and indomitable — will, ready brain and strong hands, Mr. —————— ee Thomas measure and was one of the first to propose and assist in the organization of the Sound Money Democratic party, which accomplished much effective work in that campaign. Throughout his long and active business life, Mr. Hefferan never lost sight of the lumber interests of Michi- gan, and, practically speaking, may be said to have seen the rise and decay of that industry in the State. The forests through which he trudged as a boy and worked in in young manhood and which were supposedly almost in- exhaustible in extent and have long ago fallen and given place to the prosperous farms and fruit lands for which Western Michigan is now noted. During the years in which the farmer’s boy, by straightforward en- ergy and upright principles, became the successful lumber manufacturer and honored banker, he saw the log cabin of the earliest settler give way resource Hefferan. Hefferan made himself a place among the notable men of the city and State, always aided by his innate love of right, which impelled him to deal fair- ly with all men; and so, not rising on the shoulders of or at the expense of others, he made his position sure and maintained it difficulty until he was called to pass Over the Bar. E. A. Stowe. a Oh! For a “Line” Like This. The judge—‘This lady without says you tried to speak to her at the station.” Salesman— ‘It was a mistake. I friend’s_ sister, I have never seen: before, but who had been described to me as a was looking for my whom handsome blonde with classic features, fine complexion, perfect figure, beau- tifully dressed and The witness—‘“I don’t care to prose- cute the gentleman. Any one might have made the same mistake,” Economical Settlement of Lowell In- solvent. Rodney N. Speese, who conducts a shoe and clothing store at Lowell, has effected a settlement with his creditors on the following basis: Claim Settlement Hirth-Krause $1,895.68 $ 502.76 Martin Stores Co. 123.36 Hoekstra Shoe Co. 149.91 G. H. Dry Goods Co. 27.38 Zaldwin Shoe Co. 58.21 D>. TFT. Patton Co. 42.59 Hoosier Shoe Co. ‘ 43.24 Ainsworth Shoe Co. 52.12 Owosso Garment Co. 86.45 Ww. E. Hall 697.76 Lowell Municipal 12.82 Lowell Ledger et Hannah Reed 20.00 $4,190.48 $1,933.77 At the time of the failure the as- sets comprised $30.45 cash and mer- chandise inventoried at $4232.16. In addition to above payments, Mr. furnished $67.75 as attorney fees $137.44 to Grand Rapids Credit Men’s Associa tion for its services in bringing about the settlement on terms for the creditors. WE. the impression that his claim was se- Speese and reimburse the such advantageous Hall, of Owosso, was under cured, but he overlooked an essential failed to mortgage on record. preliminary—he place his a Not Afraid To Speak the Truth. A leading produce dealer in Central Michigan writes as follows on the cam paign the Tradesman is conducting on co-operative distribution by farmers: We want to say to you that it is a pleasure to know there is one publica tion in the State of Michigan that 1s not afraid to come out and speak the truth, especially at a time when all the newspapers, magazines and even our Federal and s‘ate governments are advocating something that they know absolutely nothing about and turn a deaf ear to arguments put up by those who really know something about the issue. The farmers of our section a few vears ago put in $880,000 in cash in a deal which failed in three years for ¢1.200.000, still they stand ready to come hack on any new proposition and lose no one knows how much, The ‘rouble is that instead of receiving help, thev are being manipulated by slickers and the slickers have the aid of Feder al and state employes who are paid as much by us in taxation as they are by anv other citizen. We would certainly welcome com- petition from these marketing experts if they will just put their money in the game and pay the farmer the cash for his products. Beware of Breeding Rats. men are by nature Yet all belong to The people who came Some beavers, and some are rats. the human race. to this country in the early days were of the America because 1t was in their nature to build. coming here to house under the roof that And they try to undermine destroy it beaver type. They built up Then the rat-people began others had built. and because it is in their nature to destroy. A civilization rises when the beaver- men When the rat-men get the upper hand, the civilization falls. and eat one another, and that is the rats in Davis. outnumber the rat-men. Then the rats turn end. Beware of America! breeding James J. —_». 2s Pride leads people to be extravagant and wasteful in public who are nig- gardly in home necessities. 10 STORE ATMOSPHERE. Win the Confidence of the Buying Public.* [ have been asked to speak to you to-day on “Store Atmosphere” and with your permission I will add “As observed by a commercial traveler from counter.” This could be changed to “Store Tempera- the outside of the ture,’ as I have noticed many times to my discomfort that the temperature of some stores is just as frigid as the at- mosphere, ranging from freezing to below zero. I presume that every merchant here to-day has been taking during the past few weeks an honest inventory of his stock and done so and has studied the results, I won- assets, and if he has der if he is satisfied. It is a true inventory and statement that brings us to a realization sometimes a sad realization, and too late, that we are losing and not pro- gressing. When we see these cold facts that the debit of the statement overbalances the credit, we condition some- and ot our financial times and realize side sometimes commence to kid ourselves by trying to inflate the real value of our stock, real estate, good will and trade, etc., to make the credit side balance or exceed the debit. Now I wonder how many of you merchants take an honest inventory of yourselves and your organization and how often. It takes more real nerve to take an honest nventory of yourself than of the other fellow, because it hurts worse when we realize that we have so many shortcomings, and that there is such a great possibility for improvement. take time to visit some of the larger trade How many of you merchants centers and some of the successful hardware and department stores to ob- serve their methods of merchandising and to note the store atmosphere? Some of you do not even take a vacation or devote any time to recrea- trying to be tion, because economical and do not feel that you can you are spare the time, and there is just where you are wrong. Learn to mix a little play with your business. It is a good tonic for both your business and your- If some of you would only take during the dull self. a few days off, not times of the year, but when every mer- chant should be busy and make a trip, hard- visiting some of the successful ware and department stores, where sunshine and cheerful, jovial, you-are- welcome atmosphere prevails, even on rainy days, and observe some of the and merchandising store atmosphere methods of the successful stores then put formation and experience gathered in- store, visited and some of the in- to practice in your own you would realize that the time and money spent on such a trip was the best in- vestment you ever made in your life. One reason why some of you fel- lows never get very far and never grow is because you are not real sports. You would not you got a Government guarantee that invest a dollar unless you will get two dollars back for the one and that is the why so many of you treat a traveling invested, reason *Paper read at annual convention Michigan Retail Hardware Association by D. D. Walker, of Detroit. MICHIGAN TRADESMAN salesman as though he was an an- archist with bombs concealed about his person. You are afraid he will sell you something you can make a profit on that you never had before. The aver- age commercial salesman will prove himself a true friend to the retailer if given an honest opportunity. It is very noticeable to me that Store Atmosphere is a sadly neglected subject by too many of you hardware dealers, to watch some of you pro- prietors and your clerks, I say clerks, because not as many real salesmen behind the counters of hard- ware stores to-day as there should be, there are and why? To watch some of you approach and wait on a customer—and there is more waiting on customers in the average hardware to-day than there is selling and the apparent attitude some of you take, that you are conferirng a favor on the cus- and that the customer is a blooming fool, and does not know wants and is about as wel- come in your store as a person with the smallpox, and from a salesman’s point of view, some of your efforts at selling merchandise are amusing, dis- gusting and pathetic, and we wonder how some of you ever get by. You seem to lack that touch of naturalness and human kindness and personal in- that should enter into every transaction in a retail store. I feel sorry for the person who cah- not be pliable; who has not a pleasant word and a smile, and who cannot create a jolly, jovial, happy atmosphere wherever he is. It is a wonderful Just think how little it costs vou, and the returns are im- measurable. You hear a certain man referred to as a “prince of a good fellow.” I never had the honor or pleasure of meeting a real prince; I did not even meet the Prince of Wales when he visited here last Summer, but I do know a lot of men in the hard- ware business in Michigan and they are not all proprietors, some of them are salesmen behind the counter, some are commercial salesmen, and I classify a lot of them as princes. store customers tomer what he terest asset in business. Don’t you like to meet them, just to bask in the sunshine of their jovial, wholesome atmosphere? I do. I feel refreshed and try to absorb some of it. courage. It just tops of faith and confidence in my fellowmen It gives me new raises me to the mountain and creates in me a greater ambition to be more considerate of others and to take a keener interest in the problems of my fellow men and lend a helping hand, and an encouraging friendly word to the other fellow, and especially the fellow in trouble. You do not always realize how much it means and from observations some of you do not seem to give it much thought; if you did, I am sure you would pass out more of it. You would practice it more in your everyday life, and it would become an important part of your asset in trade and that which money cannot buy. It was my on a “prince of a good fellow” in the hard- ware business in this State for several years and his sudden death was a great shock to me; I wrote his widow ‘a letter as an expression of my sympathy pleasure to call and stated that on account of his jovial, wholesome manner and wonderful per- sonality, a turn-down from him was more pleasant to remember than a large order from a more unfortunate person ality. Just take an inventory of yourself. Do you create an atmosphere in your store by your pleasant smile, kindly word and sincere interest, which will permit and encourage the traveling men to make a similar statement about you, and which will command the re- spect and good will of the people who live in your community; that will draw the trade from blocks and miles to your store, just because they like the atmosphere of your store, your service, the dependable quality of your mer- chandise, your fairness and honesty in all business transactions? Some of you will say, “Well, a lot of that is put Suppose it is. I feel sorry for the fellow who hasn’t enough pride in his appearance to put on a clean shirt, a clean collar, keep his clothes pressed, look tidy, and wear a smile. Isn't he more pleasing to look at than the fellow with a dirty shirt and collar, pants baggy, coat all wrinkles and a grouchy look on_ his face. You know he is. Don’t put your light under a bushel. Let it shine that others may be bene- fitted. If you are a good fellow, happy and want to make the other fellow happy, let the world know it. Do not conceal it in your hidden assets to be revealed only after you have passed Try and be human every day. on.” away. I am dissappointed to see how little confidence some of you merchants have in the lines of paints and varnishes sell. TI am sure it must be a lack of confidence or you would set the example for your community in the use of them by using more of them in your store and on your homes. I like to see a retail store neat, clean, bright and cheerful, stock of depend- able quality of merchandise, well ar- you ranged and attractively displayed. You will say that makes the ideal ‘store quite complete. No, not yet. If the proprietor or sales force of a store of that description is cold, indifferent and mechanical, that store becomes nothing more than a porcelain lined ice box, but if the proprietor and sales force are blest with personalities which radiate sunshine, cheerfulness, a kind and happy disposition, a jovial, glad-to-see- and-serve- you attitude, that makes the ideal store quite complete. Friends, I assure you that a combina- tion of that kind is sure to win. How do you check against a store of that description? Now I realize that for various rea- sons, it is not always convenient for every retail hardware dealer to main- tain a so-called ideal store, but from my viewpoint, the things most essen- tial and necessary to pave the road to Success in retailing merchandise is to create a sincere atmosphere of cordial welcome and appreciation of patronage, earnest desire to serve and to please, with honesty and integrity as the foundation. This, combined with de- pendable merchandise at reasonable prices will make your store the hard- ware center in your community, where trading is a pleasure. Creating an atmosphere of interest February 25, 1925 in your customer’s problems and help- ing them to solve them creates con dfience, and once you have won tlh: confidence of the buying public, you have won their business. I believe the merchant who devotes a large part of his time hidden away i: his office, absorbed in office detail an not meeting his customers is making big mistake. You can hire 100 people, educated and trained to do that detail work, where you cannot find one who will build and maintain a store atmos phere equal to that personal touch «: the proprietor himself in meeting ani greeting his trade and especially if is blest with an attractive personali: and a pleasant jovial manner that we all appreciate wherever it is displayc Take time to know your customers an: to see that they are given proper ser vice, cultivate the acquaintance of th: boy and girl customer, give them es pecial attention, make trading at you: store easy and pleasant for them, build for the future, take time to sow the seed for a greater, larger and more prosperous business and be patient in the cultivation and the golden har- vest will follow. Too large a_ percentage of the younger generation of to-day seem to think that a high school or colles: diploma qualifies them for reapers, not realizing that its real purpose is to make them more proficient sowers, cultivators and later reapers. You get no more out of life than you put into it. You will get no mor out of your business or your com- munity than you put into it, so let us all give our best, for as it has been well said, “You build your fortune on this earth by what you give away, and a fortune is not always measured by dollars and cents.” ———>-»___ Offers New Darning Aids. New items in low-priced goods are being offered by a manu- facturer. One of them is a “cube” of darning silk for making repairs to hosiery and lingerie. This 3313 yards and is priced to retail at 10 cents. It is produced in a range of 25 colors. Mercerized mending cot- ton “cubes” for lisle socks to retail at 5, 10 and 20 cents are offered in forty different colors. For woolen socks cashmere yarns are shown either in ball or card containers to retail at from 5 to 15 cents. For hosiery or sleeve garters there are new effects in two-tone frill elastics in eight different colors to retail at 35 cents for 34 yard lengths. notion contains —~»>+.___ Short Skirts Bring Roses. While June, in this part of the coun- try at least, used to have a monopoly in bringing forth roses, the “rare days” will be in for competition this season from short skirts. In other words, be- cause of the shorter skirts and dresses that are decreed by Paris for Spring, there has been quite a run lately on novelty hose with a rose embroidered just below the knee. Embroidered flowers, birds, butterflies, etc., are also seen, but the roses seem to have the call. There is a good demand, how- ever, for a combination of an em- broidered rose and butterfly. In the more extreme novelties, even embroid- ered snakes are not overlooked. f pagent o i ten. Can't see ahead beyond their the business world have displayed Be sure to get the case from your jobber today. ¥ acquisitive noses, hence so many dis- friendliness which. saved a customer oncnnat with the comfited merchants who fall by the from the bankruptcy court and set him Windmill Trademark | way elie going roe to defeat and per- on his feet financially, and mind you | + ° haps wondering why. the customer thus served was honest i is no a eae it. but unfortunate; had he been otherwise Holland Rusk Company, Inc. | ie screw that was loose was that he could never have secured the aid ; little indiscretion which did not look he so badly needed, and at an oppor- HOLLAND MICHIGAN > f out for the little honesties which count tune time. EE ! many times full more than the big Friendship in business? ones. Be honest in little things and Yes, there is abundance of it as every : the big ones will take care of them- honest business man knows, and that _- selves. jeer at the callous indifference of big : A country woman came into one of business men isn’t justified. our big city stores, laid a pair of soiled Being in business places one in a A shoes on the counter with a statement position to render aid in many dis- that she bought the shoes believing — tressing instances which overtake the them what she wanted. They were ordinary citizen in almost every walk not, and she now demanded her money in life. At back. The merchant advertised to The man in business who has adopt- . ; 1 ce : make every customer satisfied, as he ed as his motto the desire to ae nee pec Delicious cookie-cakes ont up did in this instance, the lady customer every customer has made a long step HEKMAN’S appetizing crackers — There is a deciding on cash rather than another in the right direction, and will under Crackers and | ‘ cg i pair of shoes. ordinary conditions find himself mak- Hekman food-confection for every ‘ A new clerk noted the transaction jing good with most of his business : with a stare of surprise. ventures. To deserve success is one meal and for every taste. “Good thunder, Mr. Jones, do you thing, and by deserving it, far more do business in that way?” | men reach the pinnacle of their hopes © 9 3 “What do you mean, Sam?” than by an other route. Old Timer. : “Why, paying cash for used shoes a lo e oe when any old woman fetches them in Now Tailored Fancy Dresses. ec man Tscuit O | i. and says they don’t suit her. You can Ons of the unteresting fabwie d vel eo | s see she has worn pee oT . a a al a ; beehitis me tae ae A a day. That sort of dea will bankrupt ments of the spring scason, according G d IQ id M h t any dealer. i : _ fea style authority, is the rise to favor ran -aDl Ss. ICN. nn, | “l think you are mistaken, Sam” of so-called “tailored transparencies” ae said the merchant with a smile. I and also tailored laces for afternoon have been in business twenty years and an IT am not yet bankrupt; am, in fact, Weat- This vogue has broadened so doing pretty well, thank you.” that the style houses are now featur- “Say, do you know, I wouldn't be ing “tailored fancy dresses.” These afraid to bet the woman never got new models are shown in circular LITTLE ASKED— : those shoes at this store. You've been } es Gea aut a fe peice at a frocks of tailored chiffons, georgettes, MUCH GIVEN IN RETURN nets and the small-pattern laces. New hl? oeage : <= « pair of shoes, Mr. Jones.” . ‘ 1 i “Nevertheless it has been my policy embroidered chiffons are also being Fleischmann’s Yeast asks but little of the grocer, but gives much in 0 74 : to satisfy every customer who deals handled in this manner by some of the returns for those who push its ees : at this store. I think the woule? got leading stylists. The vogue is said to > a pea A ee ae aves car week 0) : the shoes here; even if she did not, be meeting with marked approval. keep it fresh. : what's the price of a pair of shoes when ——_.—> a And customers who call to buy Fleischmann’s Yeast buy other gro- ceries as well, which sales more than repay you for having stocked one remembers that this woman has Fleischmann’s Yeast. : : Lustrous Worsteds in Demand. rake! a tongue as well as neighbors. It a a ‘ : : i at a. doesn’t pay to have the women get With some of the leading mills, it . n down on the store. The customer is is understood, the demand for worsted FLEISCHMANN S YEAST . always right; that is the only sate way dress fabrics has been very good, de- “ 4 to do business.” spite the reports in the market about The Fleischmann Company is ssible that Mr. es held te , It is possible that Mr. Jone a 0 the inroads made by the vogue for at optimistic views, yet he was a success- i Ra : ER ICE or -| ful merchant, while many of his neigh- silks. wills of the lustrous variety, S V in a . bors in the same line of trade had long particularly one of the leading and " since gone to the wall. most well-known branded fabrics, have There was CUte @ — . at been in strong request. Some of the came anxious ake quick dol- : became too anxious to) et rep weaves have likewise sold well. lars. He began packing his output with the finest fruit on top of the con- is tainers. People who saw his loads is that the Spring season from a buy- passing marveled at the wonderful per- ing standpoint is now approaching its 9 a fection of his apples, pears ane end ty peaches. a ' oo tae —_2+>—___—_- . F Mr. Blank did not always cheat, bu : on . when he thought the fruit would be A Hard Day’s Work shipped out of the country, he fell to Is never made shorter by adding a mixing small, immature specimens be- complaints. - aa tween the top and bottom of his bas- Peesnt com fon if we keep 4 The feeling in mill circles, however, 1g, ‘ ! kets. | fac handsome topping oy the a on output for a time. Accidents will hap- Is ' a ae i ‘ed pen, however, as it did finally with Mr. s never regretted when we begin to aa Blank. Chickens come home to roost, get results. a and the small dishonesties ot the fruit Runs smoother if started with a Iso grower finally proved his undoing. cnet: , the He went out of business at the end . Replenish your stock with the kind that sells the year round 8 Lane dic lited in his own Is always a hardship for the man Ww - a « of a few years, etsete@ ed in his a ee y m- community, a sadder and wiser man. WwW a akes no meeerest in it. NATIONAL CANDY on. we: 3 Another man went into, the same Will work miracles that luck can eb get an nl gee "Fats eer ath PUTNAM FACTORY nid- square in his every deal. With him a ies ' ’ one : : s always mé > es RAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN satisfied customer was better than big s always made lighter by a good G ; ‘ money in hand which by dishonest woman’s appreciation. 12 -_ ~ = FINA OEE CLC —_ — MICHIGAN TRADESMAN CIAL CUUe rae acopoenne SUCCESSFUL SALESMANSHIP. It Depends on Formation of Favorable Impression.* A few weeks ago I received a letter from Mr. Scott in which he said it was the wish of the program committee that I have a place on the program at our convention and in this letter he named several subjects, any one of which I might select as a topic for my remarks. I hesitated to consent to appear on the program at all, but when I remem- bered that I had accepted from this Association all the honors it was pos- sible for it to confer upon me I thought the least I could do would be to help out with the program. I have always had the best interest of the Association at heart, and have now, therefore I will not speak over ten minutes. The subjects from which I was to select a topic, as suggested by Mr. Scott, were as follows: Store and Stock arrangements, Stock turnover, Stock records, Community develop- ment, Training of Salesmen, Sales- manship and a few others. Now in order to decide upon which subject to select I put all of these sub- jects into my mental boiling pot, fig- uratively speaking, and watched the simmering process. One by one all of these subjects seemed to vanish in vapor except the one of salesmanship. As I watched I seemed to see the vapor rising from that ever-unconsumable question these words: The Forming of a Favorable Impression. And that is my subject, for salesmanship never was, is not now and never will be anything else but the forming of a favorable impression. We hire Mr. Nelson to go up and down and back and forth across the -State of Michigan instructing hard- ware men regarding community de- velopment, better stock records, store and stock arrangements, stock turn- over, etc., and to the extent that these principles are put into practice to that extent the dealers make a more favor- able impression in their community and the selling of merchandise be- comes an easier problem. The selling of merchandise was a fascinating exercise long before the children of Israel went into Babylon- lan captivity for it was from _ the Babylonians that the Jews learned the art of salesmanship. People come to your store to-day and they may not buy, but if they are courteously received and your store is neat and clean, the stock attractively displayed, properly marked and _ rea- *Paper read at annual convention Michigan Retail Hardware Association by J. H. Lee, Muskegon. sonably priced, you probably have made a favorable impression and they will return to-morrow and make their purchase. We have heard the old adage that goods well bought are half sold and too often we trust to luck for the other half. There used to be a few men who thought that buying was the most im- portant problem in business, and I do not belittle the importance of buying for it is the framework of the business to-day, but selling is the meat, blood and sinew without which that body would stand as a gaunt spectre of despair. Do we not usually train the greatest number of men for the thing which is of the greatest importance? There- fore salesmen are trained and whether you realize it or not you are daily training the men who sell your mer- chandise. Is that training the kind that makes a favorable impression? Salesmanship is not a lot of talk, for sometimes an unfavorable impression is made by too much talking. Talking is necessary and suggestions are fine and perfectly proper if diplomatically done at the right time by the right person to the right person. Nothing makes me madder than to have a bald headed barber try to sell me hair restorer. You can occasion- ally make two sales grow where only one grew before, but you can’t make two hairs grow where only one grew before. You as head of your place of busi- ness cannot meet all of your customers and do all of the selling, so then this matter of forming a favorable impres- sion must be left to a great extent to your sales force, therefore consider- able attention must be given to the selection and training of salesmen. In training men we sometimes have a pretty hard and discouraging job. I have seen men whom we have tried to train into salesmen and in so doing we have failed to make the favorable im- pression. They reminded me of a certain piece of land purchased at one time by my father. It proved to be very poor by nature and was utterly ruined by cultivation. Mr. Hubbard of Flint, that dean of hardwaremen, once said in my _ pres- ence, “Teach salesmen music, but let that music be the music of the front door latch.” Every time that latch is raised there is a possible sale and salesmen should be alert, for alertness impresses prospective customers fav- orably. But salesmen must not get the impression that they are placed in your store as traps for the express purpose of catching something from each per- son who enters. They should rather be taught that service is the real thing February 25, 1925 Taking Chances HE person failing to make a will takes the chance that his wishes con- cerning the disposal of his estate will be disregarded. The person drawing a will without the aid of an attorney takes the chance that the document may be faulty and involve costly litigation. The person failing to name a_ trust company takes the chance that his estate may be handled in an inefficient manner that may cause serious loss to the heirs. Take no chances, have your lawyer draw your will and name this institution as your executor and trustee. [;RAND RAPIDS [RUST [OMPANY GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN OFFICERS WILLIAM ALDEN SMITH, CHARLES W. GARFIELD Chairman of the Board Chairman of Ex. Com. GILBERT L. DAANE, President — ae ee ene Ort ssistant Cashier EARLE D. ALBERTSON, HARRY J. PROCTOR Vice President and Cashler Assistant Cashier EARL C. JOHNSON H. FRED OLTMAN Vice President Assistant Cashier BRANCH OFFICERS Grandville Avenue and B Street East Fulton St. and Diamond Ave. ve oS Westrate, Manager Willls Vandenberg, Manager * est Leonard and Alpine Avenue Wealthy Street and Lake Drive - Fred Oltman, District Manager John W. Smits, Manager Leonard and Turner Bridge, Lexington and Stocking Chris Ricker, Manager Bert Q. Hazlewood, Manager Grandville Ave. and Cordelia St. Bridge and Mt. Vernon s Peter Leestma, Manager Frank C. Wegenka, Manager pape Avenue, Near Michigan Division and Franklin « acob Heeringa, Manager C. Fred Schneider, Manager —— Square and Hall Street Eastern and Franklin dward L. Sikkema, Manager Tony Noordewier, Manager The Grand Rapids Savings Bank 60,000 Satisfied Customers Resources Over $19,000,000 February 25, 1925 MICHIGAN T RADESMAN 13 they are selling and in selling service they may fail occasionally to sell a cer- tain piece of merchandise. Sometimes it is good salesmanship not to make a sale. You can sometimes render a greater service by’ discouraging ithe purchase of certain merchandise and by so doing make a more favorable im- pression which will lead to greater sales and more profit. We are all familiar with the schools of instruction or store meetings which Mr. Nelson has held, or tried to hold, for our salesmen and ourselves, and how we have tried to get together in order that we might inform or be in- formed regarding the salient points of some particular article or articles. These are splendid arrangements, more or less successful, and should not be neglected, for we know that in order to form a favorable impression sales- men must know what they are talking about and must talk intelligently, es- pecially if the article to be sold is not familiar to the prospective buyer. Salesmen must not only possess a knowledge of the merchandise they sell, but they must also be able to speak in such a way that the informa- tion which they possess is delivered to the customer in such an understand- ablae form that the customer may sce and understand as the salesman sees and understands. Three things are essential here—a strong sending station with batteries fully charged and no loose connections ; a sympathetic receiving station prop- erly tuned to receive the message (you may have to do some adjusting here); and the elimination of local interfer- ence. You may have to be very diplo- matic at this point for the local inter- ference may be a country cousin who came along or the good neighbor who happened along just in time to “butt in.” There are some conditions which cannot be adjusted; there may be foggy, distorted reception, but there is no excuse for distorted, foggy sending. We have all known men who seem- ed to be well equipped with natural gifts, knowledge of business and ap- parently everything that seemed neces- sary to make a salesman, but they lacked that something which seemed essential to close the sale. They were splendid hitters, but they did not seore. They failed for some reason to make that favorable impression and the customer slipped right through their fingers. We have all known men who with enthusiasm, eagerness, cheerfulness, tact, human appeal and candor of statement cause the customer to see as he sees and think as he thinks and your cash register rings the praises of the man who has in his possession that unexplainable thing called character which is the greatest essential in the subject now being discussed. What is character? It is that great indefinable something which marks a man. It isa mark of distinction which we are constantly engraving upon our lives and the example of our lives is reflected in our salesmen who are our daily associates and they are the ones who meet most of our customers who see us through them. The problem of salesmanship is as old as the hills and has been worn well nigh threadbare by discussion, speeches and argument, but still it is the most important problem with which you have to deal. You do not have much trouble getting goods. The great problem is how to get rid of them at a profit. That takes salesmanship and salesmanship is the forming of a favorable impression. Meet customers on the level, treat them on the square and let your place of business be known as a place where honor dwelleth. —_—__o2o—_ Washington And Corruption. If only by the force of painful con- trast, the thoughts of Americans on this Washington’s Birthday will turn to the purity of his public character. He was violently accused of many things in his lifetime, but never of selfishness or sordidness in his ser- vice of the country, whether as Com- mander of our armies or First Presi- dent of the Republic. Yet he was forced in his time to deal with cor- ruption in others. His wrath blazed against the lax moral standards which too often manifested themselves in the Revolution, as they have done in the wars before and since. Writing to James Warren on March 31, 1779, Washington said: Speculation, peculation, engrossing, forestalling, with all their concomi- tants, afford too many melancholy proofs of the decay of public virtue. * * * Ts the paltry consideration of a little dirty pelf to individuals to be placed in competition with the essen- tial rights and liberties of the present generation, and of millions yet unborn? Shall a few designing men, for their own aggrandizement and to gratify their own avarice, overset the goodly fabric we have been rearing at the ex- pense of so much time, blood and treasure? And shall we at last become the victims of our own abominable lust of gain? George Washington did not despair, even when troubled and hampered by knavish men who attached themselves to his cause. His first thought was of “vigorous measures” to be pursued in “punishing those miscreants.” He be- lieved in the essential soundness of his fellow-countrymen, and in their re- serve of strength and energy sufficient to enact and enforce “efficacious laws for checking the growth of these mon- strous evils.” His indignation did not cause him to lose his sense of per- spective. He fell into no panic fear lest all public life in this country should be disclosed as rotten. His plan of action was to retain the con- fidence of the people by driving every exposed scoundrel out of public life with whips of scorn, and then to call upon his countrymen by precept and example to illustrate the austere virtue which should clothe men in official positions. This aspect of Washing- ton’s spirit and public service might well be meditated upon to-day by those who are now in power in the city that bears his name. a Fortune does not favor the quitter, but neither does it favor the man who insists in hanging on long after he has been proved wrong and advised to change. + - os With present high price of wheat and flour, it is time to stop wasting bread. ear There would be much more justice in court if there was less precedent. —————— Preferred Lists of Safe Investments FOR the guidance of clients this organizatien maintains constantly rev ised lists of bonds of all types that offer unquestionable security plus attractive yield. Lists Supplied Upon Application Telephones: Bell Main 4678. Citizens 4678. HOPKINS, GHYSELS & CO. Investment Bankers and Brokers Michigan Trust Bldg., Ground Floor, Grand Rapids “By their works ye shall know them:” NACHTEGALL MANUFACTURING COMPANY GRAND RAPIDS, MICH. BANK, STORE & OFFICE FIXTURES Gentl2men: The writer was in Niagara Falls last Friday and wishes to compliment your Company very highly on the quality of the work. The Cabinet Work is equal in appearance to any, that has ever been done by any one for us, and the Mahogany finish is without question finer than anything we have seen on our jobs or on anyone else’s work. It is a pleasure to inspect such an installation. Very truly yours, MORGAN, FRENCH & Co.. Architects and Bank Engineers. Per Louis L. Baxter. GRAND RAPIDS’ MICHIGAN Fourth National Bank United States Depositary Established 1868 The accumulated experience of over 56 years, which has brought stability and soundness to this bank, is at your service. DIRECTORS. L. Z. Caukin, Vice Pres. J. C. Bishop, Cash. Christian Bertsch, Sidney F. Stevens, David H. Brown, Robert D. Graham, Marshall M. Uhl, Samuel G. Braudy, Samuel D. Young, James L. Hamilton. Wm. H. Anderson, Pres. Grand Rapids National Bank The convenient bank for out of town people. Located at the very center of the city. Handy to the street cars—the interurbans—the . hotels—the shopping district. On account of our location—our large transit facilities—our safe deposit vaults and our complete service covering the entire field of bank- ing, our institution must be the ultimate choice of out of town bankers and individuals. Combined Capital, Surplus and Undivided Profits over $1,450,000 GRAND RAPIDS NATIONAL BANK GRAND RAPIDS, MICH. Michigan Shoe Dealers Mutual Fire Insurance Company LANSING, MICHIGAN PROMPT ADJUSTMENTS Write L. H. BAKER, Secy-Treas. P. O. Box 549 = LANSING, MICH. 14 Relation of the Salesman to the Dealer.* Just what and why is a. salesman anyhow? Did you ever stop to think what this army of grip toters eternally coming and going on all the highways and byways of the country means in our business and industrial life? Is this salesman a joy rider who must be sup- ported by the trade and thus increase your costs? Is he a luxury—sort of an animated lead pencil who writes down your orders just to save you the trouble? Or has he a legitimate place in the business of distribution? Our country was first agricultural. The pioneer produced his necessities or called upon his neighbor to supply But the day of the little black- emith maker, the shoemaker and the small unit of pro- duction has practically vanished. With the development of steam, electricity and the engine this country has changed from agricul- ture to the greatest manufacturing na- them. shop, the wagon internal combustion ion in the world. To show you how far we have come from the day of the pioneer just think for a moment how many of the things you use every day you do or could make for yourself and how many of them are produced out- This great change in production has necessitated side your own community. a corresponding change in the market- ing of the products of industry. For no matter in what volume goods are produced in specialized industry we should all suffer privation if we lacked a satisfactory system of distributing them over the country. The life of industry depends upon a proper bal- ance between the production and the consumption of manufactured goods. To maintain that balance has been built up a complicated machinery of distribution of which your business and mine are a part. The distribution of manufactured goods runs along three main lines: the mail order house, the chain store and the regular route from manufacturer wholesaler and _ retailer to It is in this regular route through whole- saler and retailer that the salesman through consumer, from manufacturer finds his place. The dealer cannot pos- sibly visit all the factories where the goods he sells are made, neither can he go to his wholesaler whenever he needs hence the salesman. We salesmen, then, are direct repre- sentatives from the manufacturer or the goods: wholesaler to you—the dealer. As such we are envoys who must adjust differences, collect backward accounts and carry information to you and to the house. We are the organ by which the house sees, hears and feels. In other words, we are the direct link connecting you with your source of supply; the wire, live or otherwise, which carries to you news of the larger markets and trade conditions and car- ries to the house news of you as a business man and a citizen of your community. Now the salesman’s business and your own are very closely allied. He, like you, has chosen the selling of merchandise as his means of support. He travels from town to town selling the dealer—the same to his customer . *Paper read by Wm. J. Spencer at an- nual convention Michigan Retail Hard- ware Association. MICHIGAN TRADESMAN merchandise which you sell to your customer, the consumer. Going about from store to store throughout each working day he collects much useful knowledge in methods of retail mer- chandising. He sees in some store a method of goods display which would revolutionize yours. He may have a pretty shrewd guess as to why your turnover fails to turn. Are your re- lations with him the friendly sort that will permit him to pass on these tips and hints which he collects in his travels? There are many ways in which you can use a salesman. There is information regarding the goods you have on your want book and on your shelves. The chances are that he can tell you many things about their manufacture and use that will make them more interesting to you and your customers. In a line as diversified as now car- ried by general hardware stores new merchandise is continually appearing. A good deal of this becomes staple but some can be classed as freak merchan- dise. It looks attractive but becomes one of those stickers which hold up, the turnover percentage. Your regular salesman is not apt to load you with this class of merchandise as it becomes a boomerang which reacts against him. Next is reminding you of seasonable items; that is, taking care that you have the right merchandise at the proper season of the year and that it is ordered far enough in advance to insure delivery in time for your needs. Protecting you on price raises as much as possible and bringing directly to your mind changes in price, thus keeping you up to the minute on price fluctuations. Probably every man present has many times used salesmen to good advantage in this particular. Giving you ideas of general business conditions in the locality. This en- ables you to determine whether your particular store or town is falling be- hind or whether the condition is gen- eral. Helpful suggestions in marketing goods; that is, passing ideas that have worked in one place along to another. Endeavoring to keep you in good credit standing and helping you to ex- plain mistakes or errors, either your own or the other fellows’, thus smooth- ing over the rough spots in your deal- ings with manufacturer or wholesaler that will crop up and which can be handled better by personal contact than by a cold blooded business letter. Very frequently a dealer can save considerable time by having the regular salesman from whom he purchases cer- tain lines take full responsibility for sorting up and keeping the proper stock on hand. For example, some of my customers have definitely turned over to me different lines such as drills, planes, rules, bolts and paint. It is my responsibility to see that these stocks are replenished without a definite order being given. You may rest assured that your stock on such items will be as efficiently cared for under this plan as though you gave it your personal attention and no sales- man worthy of the name would abuse the confidence you place in him by overloading you as the real measure of February 25, 1925 The Mill Mutuals Agency LANSING - MICHIGAN STRENGTH ECONOMY WA? REPRESENTING THE MICHIGAN MILLERS MUTUAL FIRE INSURANCE:CO.* AND ASSOCIATED COMPANIESs Combined Assets of Group $30,215,678.02 20% TO 40% SAVINGS MADE IN 1923 Fire Insurance —All Branches TORNADO - AUTOMOBILE - PLATE GLASS FINNISH MUTUAL FIRE INSURANCE CoO. CALUMET, MICHIGAN ORGANIZED IN 1889. This Company has returned A DIVIDEND OF 50% For 29 consecutive years. HOW? By careful selection of risks. By extremely low Expense Ratio. Assets 44.11 per 1000 of risk. Surplus 30.89 per 1000 of risk. Agents wanted in the Larger Cities. FOR FURTHER PARTICULARS WRITE F. M. Romberg, Manager, Class Mutual Insurance Agency Finnish Mutual Fire Insurance Co. General Agents | Calumet, Michigan. Fremont, Michigan. THE CITY NATIONAL BANK of Lansing,” Mich. - Our Collection and Bill of Lading Service is satisfactory Capital, Surplus and Undivided Profits over $750,000 “OLDEST BANK IN LANSING” Fenton Davis & Bovle BONDS EXCLUSIVELY Grand Rapids National Bank Building Chicago GRAND RAPIDS First National Bank Bldg. Telephones Abe A aa Detroit Congress Building February 25, 1925 a salesman’s success is the confidence he inspires in his customers. The experience and knowledge of a general hardware salesman in sorting up a new stock is of inestimable value. Very few men, even though of long experience in retail stores could proper- ly make up a stock order. Many other ways will occur to you where the salesman could help you with your problems. In fact, if you make use of him, he can be. one of your most valuable employes and unique in the fact that he does not appear on your payroll. There is one other point which I would like to touch on and which you possibly have never thought of and that is the matter of the salesman’s time. Any number of perfectly legiti- mate things may turn up to keep you from giving him prompt attention and he understands and expects these de- lays. But though he may sail in like a “lily of the field that toils not and neither does it spin” his house expects an average of about eight orders every working day from him and it takes tall hustling to get them in. If you keep him waiting needlessly you make it im- possible for him to complete his sched- ule without cutting someone else short. So if you agree that the sales- man is worth while in the business world give him place and make some arrangement for spending the neces- sary time with him. So we come back to end as we be- gan: what is a salesman and what does he mean in your business? All of these helps which I have outlined and many more you have a right to expect from the salesman who calls upon you. Are you getting them? If not, is it his fault or yours? ——_o.2eas—— Seliing a Business Conducted Under Trade Name. The question of the liability of the seller of a business, that has been con- ducted under a trade name, for goods thereafter sold his buyer, by persons who have no notice of the change in ownership, is one of importance to business men in general. While the question has been the cause of many lawsuits, it cannot be covered by the statement of a rigid rule because each case of this kind has necessarily been decided in the light of the facts in- volved. However, generally speaking, a mer- chant in such a situation, should for his own protection, give substantial notice of the change in ownership, in order that those dealing with the new firm would not do so under the belief that the seller was still the owner. This is true because if wholesalers, jobbers and dealers sell the new owner, under the belief that the old owner is still operating the business, the latter may, under certain circumstances, be held liable for goods so sold if the new owner fails to pay for them. In other words, the seller of a busi- ness, that has been operated under a trade name, cannot stand silently by and see those who have been furnish- ing him goods continue to furnish the new owner goods, under the old trade name, in the belief that the goods are being sold to him, and not run risk of liability if the goods are not paid for. The application of this rule of liability MICHIGAN TRADESMAN 15 may be illustrated by a brief review of the following case. In this instance a merchant had for a number of years conducted his busi- ness under a trade name. Thereafter he leased the premises and business, retired from the enterprise, and his purchasers continued to carry on the business under the old trade name. No general notice of this transfer of the business was made, and a whole- sale firm that had been supplying the merchant continued to supply the buy- ers without notice of the change of ownership. This continued until goods in the sum of $2,342.59 had been fur- nished. The wholesaler then, it seems, ascertained that the merchant to whom he thought he was furnishing the goods had disposed of his interests in the business many months before. A dispute followed which culminated in the wholesale firm bringing suit against the seller of the business for the value of the goods furnished his buyers. This action was based on the fact that the wholesale firm claimed it had no notice of the change in owner- ship of the business; that it supposed it was dealing with the same man it had dealt with before. The contention being that for his failure to give notice of the sale of the business the mer- chant should be held liable for goods furnished his buyers. Upon the trial of the case a judg- ment was rendered against the mer- chant in favor of the wholesale firm. From this an appeal was taken and the higher court in affirming the judgment, in part, said: “No public notice of the transfer of the business* * * was given, and * * * no notice was given to the plaintiff (wholesale firm) or his sales agent. The defendant (merchant who sold his business) was liable to all persons knowing his former ownership of the business who extended credit to the firm after the transfer of the business without public or personal notice of his withdrawal therefrom, although they had not transacted business with the firm.” From the foregoing it is obvious, that a merchant who sells a business which has been operated under a trade name, and fails to let the public know of this change in ownership, may incur serious liability if his buyer fails thereafter to pay for goods purchased under the old trade name. Certainly, in view of the holdings on this point, one selling a business in a situation of this kind should use some care, in the matter of giving notice of the transfer of the business, and make certain that per- sons deaiing thereafter with the new firm will do so with knowledge that he, the seller, is no longer interested in the business. Leslie Childs. —_—___.).—__<_ Kalamazoo—The Kalamazoo Dis- count -Co., 508 Kalamazoo National Bank building, investment banker, has been incorporated with an authorized capital stock of $100,000 common and $200,000 preferred, of which amount $10,000 has been subscribed and $1,000 paid in in cash. oeentseenennat ee Detroit—The Arctic Fruit Ale Co., 1558 Holbrook avenue, has been in- corporated with an authorized capital stock of $10,000, $8,000 of which has been subscribed and paid in in cash. SAFETY SAVING SERVICE CLASS MUTUAL INSURANCE AGENCY “The Agency of Personal Service” Cc. N. BRISTOL, A. T. MONSON, H. G. BUNDY. FREMONT, MICHIGAN REPRESENTING Central Manufacturers’ Mutual Ohio Underwriters Mutual Retail Hardware Mutual Hardware Dealers Mutual Minnesota Implement Mutual Ohio Hardware Mutual National Implement Mutual The Finnish Mutual Hardware Mutual Casualty Co. We classify our risks and pay dividends according to the Loss Ratio of each class written: Hardware and Implement Stores, 40% to 50%; Garages, Furniture and Drug Stores 40%; General Stores and other Mercantile Risks 30%. WRITE FOR FURTHER PARTICULARS. Merchants Life Insurance Company RANSOM E. OLDS WILLIAM A. WATTS © Chairman of Board President Offices: 3rd floor Michigan Trust Bldg.—Grand Rapids, Mich. GREEN & MORRISON—Michigan State Agents PROTECTION OF THE MERCHANT By the Merchant For the Merchant PROVIDED BY THE Grand Rapids Merchant Mutual Fire Insurance Company Affiliated with the Michigan Retail Dry Goods Association 320 Houseman Bldg.. Grand Rapids, Michigan OUR FIRE INSURANCE POLICIES ARE CONCURRENT with any standard stock policies that you are buying tenet Cots @O70 LESS Michigan Bankers and Merchants Mutual Fire Insurance Co. of Fremont, Michigan WILLIAM N. SENF, SECRETARY-TREASURER eel 16 THE SPIRIT OF SERVICE. in Trade Servant.* In coming before you as your Presi- dent in this the thirty-first annual con- vention of our Association, I wish, first of all, to serve as a voice of the entire membership to express their apprecia- Greatest Man is Greatest tion as well as my own for the faith- ful and efficient work which has been done by the various committees and by our Secretary in making possible this gathering and providing a program and an exhibit from which we all ex- pect to receive so much pleasure and benefit. It is hard to realize the vast amount of detail must be covered to put over a series of meetings such as we know are in store for us and, while I thank you for the honor of being chosen to preside at this convention, the real upon and to them must go the praise and which work has fallen others our appreciation. I shall leave, also, the detailed re- during the past year to those who have been port of Association activities more closely connected with these ac- tivities than your President has had opportunity to be. Mr. Scott, the Secretary, and Mr. Nelson, the Field Secretary, will give during the sum- mary of some of the things accomp- lished. As you all know from reports sent out from time to time, our As- member- you, convention, a sociation has increased in ship during the year, even though the State pretty thoroughly combed before. Group meetings have been held within the reach of nearly all the members and I am sure I ex- press the sentiment of every one who aitended one of these meetings when I say that these little conventions are among the most important and helpful of Association activities. The past year has been one of rapid- Our personal had been ly changing conditions. retrospect of the year will depend al- most entirely on the conditions under which we are doing business, for be- ing retailers the income of our own individual trade territory is the thing that counts. We read with interest a trade report telling of the remarkable rise in the price of grain, especially wheat, but those increased values may or may not mean increased income in our own trade territory. Michigan is a very cosmopolitan State. Some of you find your trade territory income produced from manu- facturing in its various branches, many of which are specialized in certain lo- cations, some from agriculture, some from horticulture, a few in part from lumbering and a few from mining, so that no general statements are safe as to the trend of the year which is gone, nor of the new one we are entering. No one can say, and have it apply to each of us, “times are good” or “times are bad,” “collections are good” or “collections are slow,’ or how pros- pects are for the future. Those are things which are localized to a great extent and are different sometimes in towns closely adjacent because of dif- ferences in community income and, more often, differences in the spending *Annual address of President A. J. Rankin at convention of Michigan Retail Hardware Association, MICHIGAN TRADESMAN and paying habits of the different com- munities. Many of the local conditions which we work under are beyond our power We must adjust ourselves A prime essential, however, understanding of our to change. to them. is a thorough locality, its income, its source of in- come, its commercial habits, and be- yond that, the trend of thought of its people. >—__—_- The campfire girls will begin the celebration of their thirteenth anni- versary on March 15 with a national housework week. The idea is so novel and salutary that it deserves public attention. The plan is to have mother turn over the housework and take a vacation for a week, while daughter dons cap and apron, assembles broom and duster and sweeper, takes over the kitchen domain, including the circum- jacent regions of the pantry, ice chest and cellar bins for vegetables and in general operates the domestic menage. The girls propose on their own be- half to use the week to acquire experi- ence, to accumulate a stock of fun along fresh lines and to promote all the dexterities, competences and man- ual arts which are required for the performance of mother’s duties as well as mother has performed them. House- work week is entitled to stand well up in the list of the special weeks. —_—_—_.2>—__ The psychological test for taxi driv- ers is nothing to joke about. The taxi is a sort of savage among the vehicular throng that crowds the streets. It is dowered with an extra propulsive force in the shape of an oc- cupant or occupants who are the con- stant victims of the urge to get there. The man who guides this screaming demon has to be bold and daring above the average, and his mental state and competency are far more important from the standpoint of the general traffic than for the one or few “fares” who have intrusted the individual urges to him. By all means let the ‘psychological or any other test be ap- plied forthwith, so that the multitude ‘who walk and ride and cross streets may feel sure that the taximan is all there in all his efficiencies and direc- tive controls. How to get the” yes” that means more sales That moment when the custo- mer hesitates and her order seems completed,five times in ten,many grocers say, this gets more busi- ness: Suggest to your customer, “And a package of these fresh Sun-Maid raisins?” Because she is using raisins more than ever now — because she snows Sun-Maids—she is al- most sure to say “yes.” And then she is an immediate prospect for the other things that make raisin foods: Flour, shortening, eggs, milk, cereals,cornstarch,baking powd- er, yeast, seasonings, and so on. “Plus selling,” this is called. It makes extra sales, extra profits. Instruct your salespeople to try it—and watch what happens. Sun-Maid Raisin Growers of California FRESNO,CALIFORNIA SALES AGENT Sunland Sales Association 610 Hearst Bldg., Chicago, Illinois 18 MICHIGAN TRADESMAN == ' “USN CLT Vvyyy (QU OT@ 6 | AS Ww)? » > DRY GOODS, ANCY GOODS“ N OTIONS. | ay ’ ny) (EA ‘tty, mister (CCC ee Michigan Retail lVresident—J. B. Sperry, Port Huron. First Vice-President —Geo. TT. Bullen, Albion. Second Vice-President—H. G. Wesener, Saginaw. Secretary-Treasurer—H. J. Mulrine, Battle Creek. : Manager—Jason EX. Hammond, Lansing. Ribbons Put to New Uses. Sport hats made entirely of ribbon a large ribbon display are being featured by manufacturer in his special room devoted to showing what can be done with ribbons. The hats are fashioned of roman striped ribbons and have the ad- vantages of being crushable and also adjustable to bobbed heads through a unique snap fastening arrangement. Varied kinds of made up ornamentation of rbbon time ac- who aside from their novelty, large share consumption at the this manufacturer, progress in account for a present cording to sees great merchandising the goods through such means. The demand, he said, were striped ribbons in roman goods, ombres, grains and some of the highly lustrous plain numbers and moires. The nar- row ribbons. still although there is some interest in wide merchan- manufacturer is putting into work ribbons in pastel colors to be worn with white ITOS-=- gros dominate, dise. This dresses this Sum- mer. —_++2>____ Advance in Linoleum Prices. Owing to the increased cost of raw materials entering into the manufacture of linoleum and felt base goods, the George W. announces an advance in price on linoleum everaging from 8 to 10 per cent. and of 4 per cent. on feltex rugs and yard goods. The increase on linoleum is already effective, while that on feltex rugs and yard goods goes into effect on March 1 The company says that it is prepared to accept business on the basis of the April 30. There is no change in terms or dis- counts. Orders already on the books will be filled at old prices and jobbers who have accepted orders from retail- ers for specified quantities are author- ized to fill such orders at the old list. “As there is no tendency at this time,” the company adds, “toward any soften- ing of raw material prices, there is in consequence every indication that prices for linoleum this Spring will be exceedingly strong, if not even higher for certain grades.” 3abson Co. new price list only until ———_>--+>___ Knit Outerwear Prices Firmer. A more or price ad- vance is expected to be made soon on Spring knitted outerwear lines. Manu- facturers say that the yarns is the basis for the rise. At the moment there is a fair amount of busi- ness being done for immediate delivery. In women’s goods the golf and tuxedo less general Dry Goods Association. higher cost of numbers are described as among the best moving items. At the same time there is considerable buying interest in the so-called “lJumberman’s” jacket, which simulates leather in appearance. Considerable stress is being placed by buyers on staple goods on which they do not have to fear any sudden fashion change, according to one manufacturer. In men’s knit wear some of the fancy novelty merchandise is selling with a distinct trend toward brighter colors. ——_+-2-2____ Fancy Pajama Suits Wanted. The women’s underwear manufac- turers are preparing to meet a demand, already in evidence, for fancy pajama suits for boudoir wear. Models are shown in a variety of styles made up of printed crepe in large floral designs on light or white backgrounds. The styles range, according to a bulletin from the United Underwear League of America from the simple slip-over type jacket to those with revers and lapels. They are trimmed with tucks or bands of plain material, and to differentiate them further from sleeping suits a belt is usually placed at the waistline. The prints are of sufficiently good texture and fast colors to stand the amount of laundering given Summer so that the pajama suits are recommended on both decorative and practical grounds. ———_- 2.2 >—_____ Belt Styles Called For. The call for colored suede belts for women continues unabated. It is es- timated that about eight out of every ten tailored dresses are fitted with leather belts, and for this reason busi- ness has started off in even greater volume this season than last. While the belt of moderate width is most fre- asked for, there is a hint in dispatches that the wider belt will be revived. Patent leather is coming to the fore once more, not only as the staple it always is, but as a style article. Plain patent leather, or a combination of it with leather of other especially good. Novelty belts are particularly popular at present, and manufacturers can hardly meet the demand for them. -—__-2s2sa___ Lighter Cashmeres Coming In. The feeling is quite generally held in the women’s wear fabric market that the lighter weight cashmeres will be in stronger request during the com- ing weeks for simple, mannish suits. These weaves are of the closely shorn and woven variety and are said to be replacing in vogue the looser .woven fabrics which have had a considerable run of popularity. The colors wanted are henna brown, amber, Venetian and sapphire blue, aquamarine green and moonstone gray. The call for black is described as quite strong. dresses, quently the Paris colors, is Hair-Brush Outlook Improved. While the bobbed hair vogue has somewhat checked the sale of women’s hair brushes, manufacturers say this is not being felt as much as was the case recently. Orders are coming in now in a fair way and the expectation is that next Fall’s business will shape up well. In women’s. goods the nar- row oval type is a leader, while the de- mand for the round brush with short handle is about equally divided between leading woods turtle ebony, The popular men and women. The now in favor are ebony, redwood and satinwood. retail selling prices for good brushes are said to be from $3.50 to $5. Many of the brushes are made so as to match up with manicure and other toilet articles. —_+- 2+ Black Hose Still Lead. Despite the active movement of col- ored and novelty hose in this and other cities, an analysis of sales by one of the leading hosiery concerns in the country shows that black is still the best selling shade. This is as true of the metropolitan district as it is of other parts of the United States, where the proportion of sales of black hose to colors is practically the same. Another somewhat surprising feature of the analysis in question is that it shows sales of white hose to be larger supposed for this season of the year, both here and else- where. One of the fastest “comers” in the colored hose is “blonde satin,” which promises to be one of the most favored Spring hues. ———— 72 >____ Interest in Two-Piece Suits. Notwithstanding the dominating po- sition of the ensemble, there is a cer- tain amount of interest in two-piece suits for Spring. The orders being placed for them do not total large by comparison, but they still occupy a definite placing in the buying of quite a few retailers. The stores they repre- sent have found that the tailored two- piece suit still finds favor with many customers, particularly for early Spring wear. One manufacturer, in discuss- ing the demand, added that he thought the rather high price at which a good ensemble must retail will tend to re- act favorably on two-piece suits, which command a substantially lower retail level. mirror, than is generally —_2++___ Denim Demand More Active. One of the features of the colored goods end of the cottons market lately has been the steady business done in denims. Cutters and jobbers both are buying them, but the great bulk of the business is being placed by the former. At the present prices for standard goods, which are based on 19 cents for 2.20 yard white backs and 1734 cents for 2.40 yard double and twists, den- ims are regarded as the best bargains in the market gauged on the basis of cotton cost. The general feeling is that the next change in the price of the goods must be upward, and this is re- sponsible in large measure for the in- creased’ activity that has been lately. seen ——_»-.___ Spring Suits and Light Weights. There has been a light pick-up in the buying of men’s Spring suits by re- tailers, but the necessity of further February 25, 1925 liquidation of present stocks and the tight situation as regards collections are hampering factors. Because of the small difference in weights many retailers are apparently going to limit further purchases to suits that will sweeten their present stocks. The manufacturers are going ahead cau- Spring production, but small tiously with dut to their goods they have some additional purchasing. > +. __— Novel Dance Sets Taking Welli. Dance sets, consisting of step-ins, brassieres and garters to match, are among the best-selling novelties now being put out by the women’s lingerie manufacturers. The sets are shown in very elaborate styles, with the step-ins made of crepe de chine or radium. The brassieres and garters carry out the design spirit of the set, although usually made of satin. Lace is used plentifully as trimming, with ruffles much favored by buyers. Considering the quality and novelty of the goods, the prices asked for them are generally regarded as moderate. —_>+>—____ Trespassers on_ railroad risk not only injury or death, of indemnity. —~+>___ Lost jobs and lost friends often are the result of lost tempers. supplies of piece been forced to do property but loss Leather Goods Ladies Purses — The latest fashions for spring —in patent leather, with a flat strap, and red hand- kerchief container on the outside. Another one has handpainted designs on the flap, also made of pat- ent leather. These num- bers at $24.00 and $21.00 a doz. respectively. Men’s Pocketbooks — Bill folds at $4.00, $4.25, $4.50 and up to $16.50 a doz. Snap tops at $2.15, $2.25, $4.00 and $4.25. We are featuring a CIGARETTE CASE, very special, in black, brown, and tan with a match car- rier at $2.50. Sells easily at 35c. Send for samples today or ask the salesmen to show you the complete line. RN Paul Steketee & Sons Wholesale Dry Goods Grand Rapids, Michigan ks a February 25, 1925 Adaptability in Shoe Salesmanship. Written for the Tradesman. The good salesman speedily learns to adapt himself to the moods and peculiarities of his customers. Adap- tability is essential to success, in shoe selling as in salesmanship of any other class. The salesman must be able to sub-consciously size up a customer, and to instinctively sense which way the wind is blowing. quires that he This i tum 1eé- concentrate all his thoughts and energies upon the sale in hand. No salesman can afford to let his wits go wool-gathering. It is his busi- ness to find the particular pair of shoes which will satisfy the customer. And much of his success depends upon his ability to persuade the customer that a certain pair of shoes are just the shoes he is after. The salesman’s aim, naturally, will be to center the cus- tomer’s attention upon the shoes. It pays to meet a customer half way and to inspire him the moment he enters the store with the feeling that he is welcome, and that the whole store is at his service. A retailer of my acquaintance who has justified his methods by a thorough-going success makes it a rule in his store to speak first to the customer. If Mr. Retailer is there, he greets each newcomer per- sonally; if not, the head clerk does so. He may be engaged at the moment, but he makes an excuse, greets the new customer with, “Good morning, madam. Please take a seat,” and re- turns to finish his immediate task. The cordial welcome has grown to be an outstanding feature of that particular store. It may be easier to wait until the customer comes to you, but it creates a far more favorable impression to meet him half way, and, as this re- tailer does, to speak first. And to speak pleasantly. Comparatively few customers know exactly what they want, when they are buying shoes. The proportion of people who do not remember what size they are wearing is astonishing. The customer who knows exactly what he wants is easy to handle, provided you have that precise thing. It is in the handling of customers who aren’t quite so decided as to what like that salesmanship The salesman’s aim will they would proves itself. be, as rapidly as possible, to learn what are the customer's particular likes and dislikes. The shoes he is wearing at the time may furnish an initial clue as to his preference; usually he will express a vague preference for a patent or an oxford, or a broad toe. Follow that line in your subsequent fitting. Try on the style he prefers; and this will speedily elicit further hints as to and preferences that in assisting your cus- the prejudices will guide you tomer to make a selection. For, bear in mind always, it is the customer, not the clerk, who is to wear the shoes, and it is the customer, not the clerk, who must be thoroughly satisfied. Your business is to give him what he wants. The skillful salesman does not need, as a rule, to try many shoes. He will have some initially expressed fragment of preference to guide him at the out- set; and his aim should be, by mental- MICHIGAN TRADESMAN ly noting the customer’s expressions of opinions, to quickly work down to the exact style that will suit. When try- ing on a shoe, take care to emphasize its strong selling points—the excellent quality, the good fit, the attractive, stylish appearance. Watching your customer, you will be able to tell if he is favorably impressed. If he is, urge trying on the mate. And, if he con- sents, that is the shoe to push and to sell. A different sary to secure a satisfying fit: but it is far easier to sell the customer a shoe of that particular style than to start size may be neces- all over again with something totally different. And don’t show impatience. You are there to try on shoes—to serve people who want to buy satisfying shoes. They have their mirth-provok- ing or exasperating prejudices, but The store whose “service” their watch- word, who show at every turn a thor- ough willingness to do their utmost to satisfy the customer, is the store their money is good. salesmen make which will send them away with pleasant memories, and which will have them back when the next season comes along, and their sons and hus- bands and cousins and aunts with them. A personal speaking acquaintance with individual customers is a good thing. To be able to greet a customer by name, to have a line upon his in- dividual preferences or prejudices, to be able to refer casually to the hobby which interests him most, is very help- Not that it is usually necessary to discuss dogs or fishing or municipal affairs when you are selling shoes; a little, passing refer- ence to the matter of imferest is enough. It reminds the customer that you know something about him, and what he is doing, and what he is fond of. Keep the major part of your con- versation for the shoes. The feeling that you are interested in him, that he knows you, will draw him back again and again. Instinctively people like to deal where they are known—that is, the class of people who pay their way. There are occasional failures who like to deal where they are not known; it will pay you to be adept in spotting them, too. The good salesman learns to un- consciously adapt himself to each pur- chaser. He senses after a few words whether it will be better to indulge in jollying, or to let the customer do the talking. There are no set rules as to the best method of approach; the wise salesman knows quite well that no two individuals are alike, and changes his methods to suit each customer. Victor Lauriston. —_——_»—— Money Should Not Be Supreme Goal. Grandville, Feb. 24—The old saying that it is money that makes the mare go is as applicable to-day as it was at the time it was first uttered. Money, money, nothing but money. The old story is remembered of the money mad man who found his mil- lions, but being wrecked on a desert island died hugging his moneybags, there not being enough gold in all those bags to buy a crust of bread. Money isn’t everything, although one would think it might be judging from the wild scramble made by the multi- tude after the lucre. A. cartoon represents ful in any line of selling. Secretary Hughes at his desk, working over his cares of state while hecklers and fault- finding people whose servant he is, are continually nagging. Just below is another situation representing the Sec- retary freed from his official duties at work for himself in a private way. The trusts and multimillionaires are rush- ing in a mad crowd anxious to secure this man of acknowledged princely ability as a lawyer to take care of their legal business. Well, of course, had Secretary Hughes cared more for his personal advancement, along lines strewn with gold, he would never have entered up- on any public duty whatsoever. Had this been the case the name of Hughes would not now stand at the head of the greatest statesmen of the world. Instead, he would be known by a select few as a corporation lawyer of recognized ability and his bank ac- count up into the millions. It is well for the country that all men of intellect are not tied to the god of gold. Love of country has an influence on real manhood, and so we find men of acknowledged superior ability willing to serve the country in high places at a moderate salary, pre- fering eternal fame to mediocracy in palaces built with the gold of private earnings. Back a number of years ago we had what was called the salary grab, when Congress voted itself a raise in salary commensurate with their needs. That was an unfortunate move, since it rele- gated many of the grabbers to private life at the next election. So alarmed did many of them become they turned the extra salary back into the U. so Treasury. The worst aspect of the bill was its retroactive nature. People denominated it a steal, and the salary grab Congress went down in history as a bird of ill omen. In looking back over the history of the Nation one naturally wonders what effect a money mad policy would have had with our National destiny had the principal aim of the forefathers been to fill their private coffers regardless of the National good. Where would the name of Daniel Webster—the God-like Daniel—stand to-day had he sought only riches and left National affairs in the hands of common dubs of the present day sort. Schoolboys would not be reciting the speeches of that great New Englander —his reply to Hayne, and other elo- quent remarks of the one and only Webster. Had the amassing of a large fortune alone actuated Webster his name would hardly be known among the great men of America. Fame even as gold is worthy of attainment. The pay of U. S. Senators in Web- ster’s day was $3,000 per year, scarcely more than the pay of a foreman on a railroad job. It is plain that Daniel Webster did not go into politics for the money there was in it. The scholarly and eloquent Charles Sumner gave his undivided services to his country for the paltry salary that would to-day be indignantly spurned by men in the lowest walks in life. The Websters, Sumners and Hughes did not have the Almighty Dollar in their vision when they stepped into the breach and served the country as no other men could have done in their day. They believed that the dollar was not everything. Should that ever be- come a fact in this country the Nation will be well started on its downward shoot into oblivion. x Mere money has no influence on men who have brains and a desire to exercise those brains for the good of humanity. Money is quite necessary to effectively carry on, yet it should not be made the supreme goal for hu- man attainment. Old Timer. oes ———_ Detroit—The Miller-Schorn Corpor- ation, 338 West Lafayette boulevard, has been incorporated to manufacture and deal in building materials, erect buildings, etc., with an authorized cap- 19 ital stock of $50,000, of which amount $15,000 has been subscribed and paid in, $600 in cash and $14,400 in -prop- erty. —_2.2.>——— Every efficient head needs a body of efficient workers. THE MERCHANTS’ CRED- ITORS ASSOCIATION, 208- 210 McCamly' Bldg., Battle Creek, Mich., turns slow and bad accounts into cash and the Client gets every dollar collected. No magic about it—Ask us how! References: Chamber of Com- merce and Old National Bank, Battle Creek, Mich. Henry Smith Floral Co., Inc. 52 Monroe Ave. GRAND RAPIDS. MICHIGAN PHONES: Citizens 65173, Bell Main 173 ESTABLISHED 1853 Through our Bond De- partment we offer only such bonds as are suitable for the funds of this bank. Buy Safe Bonds from The Old National CHOCOLATES My But They’re Good STRAUB CANDY COMPANY Traverse City, Mich. Saginaw, W. 8., Mich. MICHIGAN TRADESMAN February 25, 1925 i — = = = Stock Turn Ratio and How To Figure It? In a letter just received this occurs: “What do you consider a fair net profit on $80,000 yearly sales? Is there any way you could estimate about how many times stock should be turned to do this amount of business without a given figure for the stock carried?” The average net profit in the grocery business during the last few years has run close to 1% per cent. on sales, but the man who does a business of $80,000 does four times the average business, so he should earn far more than the average figure. He should make any- where from 3 to 6 per cent. on sales. Three would be good; six would be excellent. The net earnings on that size business, therefore, may range from $2,400 to $4,800. But let us get one thought straight: That is that such a net, properly ar- rived at, is the residue after every proper deduction is made. It means what is left after every legitimate ex- pense is deducted, whether the expen- diture is actually made or not. Every direct expense must be taken out; all elements of shrinkage, actual or con- tingent, every depreciation or other burden must be deducted. The expens- es must include a proper salary for the owner and interest on capital used, whether. owned in total or partly bor- rowed. Rent must be deducted, whether paid to another or retained by the boss who also owns the buildings used. I mention these things again because they are constantly overlooked and omitted. Every one of them belongs in expenses before any net profit can be declared. It is such methods of close, exact figuring that cause depart- ment stores to show earnings so very moderate—half to one and a half per cent. on sales. But when the depart- ment store states that it has made a given net, that net is net—it is sure— it is true—there is no question about its reality. And if you look at 3 to 6 per cent. that way, you will see that such ratios are very satisfactory. I do not know where this grocer is located, nor does it matter much—and the amount of stock carried also mat- ters nothing, because there are correct ratios for both these factors. Such ratios will be approached as closely and as rapidly as possible by live mer- chants. Such men will then seek to improve on the ratios. The object of asking questions is to learn of better ways and methods. Any grocer located almost anywhere to-day can readily turn his stock twelve times annually, once every thirty days. Hence, he should do at least that well, and he can accomplish this by reducing stock to fit. Let us assume an average margin of 20 per cent. Twenty percent. of $80,- 000 is $16,000. Deduct $16,000 from $80,000 and we have what? The cost of the goods sold during the year. The figure is $64,000. Then if it requires $64,000 worth of merchandise to pro- vide for twelve months of sales and our stock must be turned once each month, one-twelfth of $64,000 is the maximum stock we can carry on the average. Therefore, divide $64,000 by twelve and get your answer. Then we find our limit is $5,333.33. Such is the limit of stock to be car- ried for such a business—and no more. Further, if this business is located near primary markets, a stock turn of six- teen, seventeen, or more, is quite feasible. On the basis of sixteen, stock of $4,000 is the limit. What will you bet that this man’s stock is not actually from 50 per cent. more than it should be to twice as much or over? You would be apt to lose if you figured it anywhere below $8,000, yet I do not know him nor his location. You might readily find it $12,000. It often runs two, three or four .times the proper amount, and healthy reduction would in such a case release from $3,000 to $8,000 from utter idleness. So you can see, perhaps, why depart- ment managers insist more strenuously on short stocks and rapid stock-turn than on any other one factor of skill in merchandising. Charlie Beeching, of London, has written another book for grocers. It is called “Salesmanship for the Grocer and Provision Dealer.” It sells for three shillings, English, which means that you can buy it for around 75c delivered—and believe me, it is cheap at the price! I like many things about this book. For one thing, I like the quite evident fact that Beeching believes grocers can understand good English, also that they are interested in the background of their calling and have the necessary intelligence to understand a descrip- tion of such background. Maybe you have noticed that I have always gone on the same theory. I have never consciously been guilty of “writing down” to my audience—a thing I know many writers think necessary because of the supposed low order of intelli- gence among average grocers. Such stuff gives me a distinct and lasting pain. I always have thought that any man who looks on his fellows from such an angle must be the nar- rowest kind of provincial; and it is famously known that provincials are not only strictly limited in their own intelligence, but that they are puffed up with inordinate conceit. Charlie Beeching has run into his RED STAR The choice of the finest turkey wheat grown in Kansas, plus “our way of doing it” in the world’s finest flour mill, make it possible for RED STAR Flour to rank as the outstanding brand. The success in the merchandising of RED STAR flour reflects the consistently increasing demand for the finest flour. CWT oO JUDSON GROCER COMPANY GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN M. J. DARK & SONS GRAND RAPIDS, MICH. Receivers and Shippers of All Seasonable Fruits and Vegetables MOZART Brand Fancy Canned Goods SWEET CORN Special Small Grain Corn SUCCOTASH Special Small Grain Succotash EARLY JUNE PEAS EARLY JUNE SIFT- ED PEAS LIMA BEANS LITTLE GEM PEAS Pw) we 4 FRESH GARDEN SWEET MIDGET A A ATEN IN ig BEETS VaR Baek ND FRESH GARDEN nate Sout SPINACH mr TOMATOES PEAS WILD Blackberries BLACK Raspberries PUMPKIN SAUER KRAUT HOMINY CUT WAX BEANS CUT REFUGEE Beans B EXTRA REFUGEE BEANS SMALL GREEN LIMA BEANS TELEPHONE PEAS MELTING SUGAR PEAS EXTRA SWEET WRINKLED PEAS 2 LITTLE GEM PEAS ‘4 ABOVE ITEMS IN EXTRA STANDARD “GOODWILL BRAND” ABOVE ITEMS IN STANDARD “WERTHMORE BRAND” KENT STORAGE COMPANY GRAND RAPIDS ~ LANSING ~ BATTLE CREEK holesale Grocers General Warehousing and Distributin 2 a February 25, 1925 little book of only 134 pages of large, readable ‘type a lot of illustrations drawn freely from history, psychology, philosophy and mathematics. He does not seem to be worried lest it be above the comprehension of the average grocer, and neither am JT. You better send three shillings to C. L. T. Beech- ing, Secretary, Institute of Certified Grocers, 4 Cullum street, Fenchruch street, London, E C 3, England, and get the book. Put on all that address, too, for London is some village, if you ask me. Just a word on a subject I should like to avoid, but feel best to talk on. Grocers who like to sell bulk goods because of the wider margin that can be earned thereon than on package goods should be watchful of the toilet facilities in their stores. Many such facilities are not merely a joke, but a disgrace so glaring as to justify any health officer in shutting up the store permanently, as they might close any other kind of social nuisance. You all know what [ am talking about. to you to put right and keep right by the most unceasing, daily vigilance. Paul Findlay. You also know that this is up — . +e. Relief For Independent Retailers. Chain store advertising in the news- papers of Nationally advertised brands at cut prices is considered unfair com- petition by the independent retail gro- cer. But is it? Let us recall the facts. When the chain stores were in the embryonic stage the National adver- tisers as well as other large manufac- turers absolutely refused to sell them. The wholesale grocers bought goods in their name from these manufactur- ers for the chain system, thereby build- ing up for a small immediate gain a colossal enterprise that now has these same wholesalers by the throat. And Way of the wholesalers who worked the hard- est for their own and their customers — the independent retailers—destruction are now making the loudest outcry against the manufacturers for selling the chains. These wholesalers know in their own hearts that they, and they alone, are responsible for the tremendous growth of the chain systems, and that the manufacturer 1s absolutely guiltless. The manufacturer has spent hun- dreds of thousands of dollars fo en- deavor to maintain the legal right to establish and fix his resale prices for the direct benefit of the wholesaler and retailer in spite of the lack of ¢o- operation from these parties. The results of this hind-sight of the wholesalers is the stupendous growth of the chain systems, who use the prod- ucts of the national advertiser to pro- mote their sales and to establish their own private brands. The advertising of the manufacturer as well as the ad- vertising of the chain systems creates a demand for these products from the independent retailer on which he is unable to obtain a fair and legitimate profit. The result is that the inde- pendent retailer's largest sales are the products of the National advertiser on which his profits are the smallest. His business built on such a demand for the products of the National ad- vertiser iS a business biilt on sand MICHIGAN TRADESMAN without even a sea wall for protection, and cannot prevent a competitor in the form of another independent retailer or the chain systems from washing away his life’s work by destroying his trade in cutting prices. Yet there is a way out. We have found that way. We are selling our own brands of high-grade products and are going to advertise ex- tensively these brands. We have the same right to use the brands of the National advertiser as a leader to build our own brands as the chain systems. Holstein Harvey. —_—_».2ss——_- Mark Twain’s Sermon To Salesmen. The famous humorist went to church one Sunday and heard a missionary talk. In his report of the address he lays convincing emphasis on the im- portance of knowing when to stop. “He was the most eloquent orator I ever listened to,” writes Mark Twain. “He painted the benighted condition of the heathen so clearly that my deepest passion was aroused. I resolved to break a lifelong habit and contribute a dollar to teach the gospel to my be- nighted brethren. As the speaker pro- ceeded I decided to make it five dol- lars, and then ten. Finally I knew it to be my duty to give to the cause all the cash I had with me—twenty dol- lars. The pleading of the orator wrought upon me still further and I decided not only to give all the cash I had with me but to borrow twenty dol- lars from my friend who sat at my side. That was the time to take up the col- lection. However, the speaker pro- ceeded, and I finally dropped to sleep. When the usher awoke me with the collection plate, I not only refused to contribute, but am ashamed to state that I actually stole fifteen cents.” This is an old story but it is worth repeating because it brings out an im- portant point in sales psychology— choose the right time to close. +... New Food Standards on Various Products The Joint Committee on Definitions and Standards for Foods will hold a meeting in Washington from February 24 to March 3 inclusive, when revisions of the definitions and standards for salt, alimentary paste and sauer kraut will be considered. Consideration will also be given to tentative standards for al- mond pase and it 1s expected that ac- tion will be taken on the tentative stan- dard proposed for sweet cream butter. Other definitions and standards which will be under considerationat this meet- ing are those for ice cream, jams and , jellies, syrups, buttermilk, flour and sausage. The standard and definitions recommended by this committee are used by Federal, State and City food control officials in the enforcement of pure food laws. —_—__» 22> —_- Mail Order Fish Open Retail Store. The Frank E. Davis Fish Co., of Gloucester, Mass., the largest mail or- der direct-to-consumer fish company, has opened a retail store with a line of canned fish and salt mackerel in the Crystal Market, Cleveland. This is re- ported to be the first of others that may be located in principal cities to cater direct to the consumer and used as a distributing place for nearby cities. You Make Satisfied Customers when you sell ‘““SUNSHINE”’ FLOUR Blended For Family Use The Quality is Standard and the Price Reasonable —_—ee==: Genuine Buckwheat Flour Graham and Corn Meal —— J. F. Eesley Milling Co. The Sunshine Mills PLAINWELL, MICHIGAN Wm. D. Batt FURS Hides Wool - Tallow Agents for the Grand Rapids By-Products Co.’s Fertilizers and Poultry Foods. 28-30 Louis Street Grand Rapids, Michigan Watson-Higgins Milling Co. GRAND RAPIDS, MICH. NEW PERFECTION The best all purpose flour. RED ARROW The best bread flour. Look for the Perfection label on Pancake flour, Graham flour, Gran- ulated meal, Buckwheat flour and Poultry feeds. Western Michigan’s Largest Feed Distributors. Moseley Brothers GRAND RAPIDS, MICH. Jobbers of Farm Produce Chocolates ——e Package Goods of Paramount Quality and Artistic Design FOR RENT Cold Storage Space or Warehouse Space on -- RAILROAD SIDING ~ Just the Space for Small Wholesaler CW? I. Van Westenbrugge 210 Ellsworth Avenue Grand Rapids, Mich. Green Vegetables are the Health Foods New Texas Spinach, Carrots, Beets, Cabbage and Iceberg Lettuce now arriving fresh aily. VINKEMULDER COMPANY Excellent Qualities Reasonable Prices 22 MICHIGAN TRADESMAN Michigan Retail Hardware Association. President—A. J. Rankin, Shelby. Vice-President—Scott Kendrick, Flint. Secretary—A. J. Scott, Marine City. Treasurer—William Moore, Detroit. Suggestions on Getting After the Factory Trade. Written for the Tradesman. A certain small city hardware dealer, in a community of approximately 20,- 000, has made a considerable success of the factory trade. I asked him the other day to give me his ideas as to the way this sort of business should be handled. His plans are simple enough. They merely embody the basic principles of business-getting. They have, how- ever, got him a good deal of business that most hardware dealers neglect. He writes: “The question of ‘How can I in- is ever before the ’ crease my business? real, the live, the energetic hardware dealer. With this end in view the question of opening up a new field by way of the factory trade may properly be discussed. The avenues of ap- proach are many, and one need not depend upon one’s own ideas. Seek helpful suggestions from those about you, be they competitors or trade journals. “The scarcity of factories or the limited number of employes in any particular town need be no bar to a lively campaign for their trade. The factories will grow, so will the mum- ber of workingmen, and _ incidentallv they offer a sure and dependable out- let for a large variety of hardware, usually of a variety that is always in stock in any hardware store. “A very popular and telling method of business-getting is to make the rounds weekly, and above all, regular- ly, in order that your trade may learn to look for you on a certain day of every week; so that they may depend upon it that you will be there, to take orders or to give information as the case may be. “The salesman should, of course, carry a line of samples with him. Belt hooks, hack saw blades, files, emery wheel dressers, babbit metal and sample cards will suffice for an aver- age line, and may be changed as local demands require. In a furniture fac- tory, for instance, the natural lines to go after would be screws, nails, varnish etc. Study the requirements of that particular factory and make your stock correspond to their wants. Brass and steel butts suggest themselves in con- nection with firms that manufacture tables, desks, etc. Buffets and cab- inets require a large amount of glass, thus enabling the hardware dealer to compete for this trade. “Each furniture factory has an upholstering department. Here shears and tacks are used. “In the finishing department, lin- seed oil, turpentine, varnish, dry colors, etc., are used. Employes frequently require an addition to their private tool sets. Or they may make enquiry about household articles or the paint- ing of a house. This is where the sample card of paints plays a prom- inent role. “The same methods that have been mentioned as applicable to furniture factories may be applied to mills, foun- dries, electric supply houses, shoe and button factories, etc. “By a careful cultivation of the men met in these rounds, an enviable posi- tion may be built up.. One can make himself the middleman between con- sumer and jobbing house to a surpris- ing degree. Make your customers feel that you are their adviser and will gladly furnish all the information they require. When at a loss yourself, you can always fall back upon your jobber, who will gladly help you in every- thing of this nature. Your customers w.ll soon learn to depend upon you, and finding you careful about small orders will eventually give you larger ones. “The keynote to a successful factory trade is the promptness with which or- ders are filled and also the regularity of the weekly calls. Splendid rela- tions and substantial business may thus be established between the sales- man and the factory staff. The result will justify the trouble.” A point to remember is that, par- ticularly in the manufacturing plants in small communities where the office is quite apt to be understaffed, the manufacturer is pretty busy. So many _big things occupy his attention that he does not bother himself very much with the details of purchasing. He likes to have this work taken off his hands. As necessity arises, he sends out to the nearest store for what he needs. The hardware dealer who caters to this class of trade, who keeps in touch with the special needs of each factory, will be pretty sure to get the trade for that factory. He is the de- pendable man whom the manufacturer can trust to look after the details of an order. The telephone can be used to help this trade also. One small town hard- ware firm had an experience recently which illustrates the method. A large consignment of files was received at the hardware store. The proprietor at once telephoned the manager of a large local factory. “We have just got in a new line of files,” he announced. “I believe they will suit you. I am sending a. boy up with a few samples.” er ee February 25, 1925 Michigan Hardware Co. 100-108 Ellsworth Ave.,Corner Oakes GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN e Wholesalers of Shelf Hardware, Sporting Goods and Fishing Tackle Decorations losing freshness KEEP THE COLD, SOOT AND DUST OUT Install “AMERICAN WINDUSTITB” all-metal Weather Strips and save on your coal bills, make your house-cleaning easier, get more comfort from your heating plant and protect your furnishings and draperies from the outside dirt, soot and dust. Storm-proof, Dirt-proof, Leak-proof, Rattle-proof Made and Installed Only by AMERICAN METAL WEATHER STRIP CO. 144 Division Ave., North | : Citz. Telephone 51-916 Grand Rapids, Mich. WE INVITE your orders for DEPENDABLE high grade oak tanned or waterproof cemented LEATHER BELTING. As belting manufacturers of twenty-four years experience, we are in a position to render any kind of prompt belting service, either from our LARGE STOCK on hand, SPECIAL MADE BELTS to fit a particular requirement, or REPAIRING leather belts that you need quick service upon. Call us on either phone. GRAND RAPIDS BELTING COMPANY Leather Belting Manufacturers 1—3 IONIA AVE. GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN THE TOLEDO PLATE & WINDOW GLASS COMPANY Mirrors—Art Glass—Dresser Tops—Automobile and Show Case Glass All kinds of Glass for Building Purposes 601-511 1ONIA AVE., S. W. GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN A VISIT to the G. R. Store Fixture Co. will put you next to saving money on Store, Office or Restaurant equipment. Cash or easy terms, Foster, Stevens & Co. WHOLESALE HARDWARE en 157-159 Monroe Ave. - 151-161 Louis Ave., N. W. GRAND - RAPIDS - MICHIGAN February 25, 1925 The boy at once took the files to the factory. They were used during the next few days and found quite satis- factory. An order for forty-five more was sent to the store. The same plan is used by this hard- ware firm in pushing the sale of simi- lar lines. With the manufacturer, re- sults count; and if it is demonstrated to him that a certain article is all that is claimed for it, he will readily buy and pay the price asked. This hardware firm makes a_prac- tice of canvassing for glass sales, and have secured a number of good orders that would probably not have been placed at all had they not canvassed. That is the main advantage of outside It does not take business competitors, but business on its own account. canvassing. from rather makes Glass is always more or less in de- mand around factories. Windows get broken regularly, and the constant al- terations and additions being made to large plants necessitate changes in the lighting arrangements as well. In a great many cases, however, the matter is not given very much attention. When a window is workman remedies the matter by stuffing in a bundle of rags or nailing a board over the aperture. It may be left like this for months, or even years. The opportunity thus presented for a good sale of glass occurred to a hardware dealer one day when passing a local factory. Being a believer in prompt action, he went to the office and saw the manager. “Coming past the works just now,” he said, “I noticed quite a number of panes of glass that had been boken and not replaced. Let me go through the factory and I will find out what is needed to replace all broken panes and smashed, a give you a figure on it.” “Very well,” said the manager. “It’s a matter that should have been looked after long ago.” The hardware dealer carried out his inspection, and got a_ sizeable order out of it. In addition, he made ar- rangements with the manager to sup- ply the factory with all glass in future. At this season of the year there is painting to be done This gives the considerable around most factories. ageressive hardware dealer an oppor- tunity to extend his paint trade. The factory trade in this department is well worth going after. Factory business has the double ad- vantage of bringing the name of the hardware firm continually before the employes in the They know where the tools they handle come from. It frequently happens that the ordering of supplies is left with certain men They, therefore, shop. in each department. get to know the one firm well, and are likely to deal there themselves, par- ticularly if the goods supplied to the factory give full satisfaction. : Victor Lauriston. —_2+22___ Centering on the Sale. Written for the Tradesman. The men who do a great many things and many great things are the men who have learned to do one thing at a time, and do that thing with all their heart and soul and might. This is as true of selling as it is of any other art or science of trade or MICHIGAN TRADESMAN profession—or task. In selling, as in any other line of endeavor, concentra- tion lessens the task- aspect of your work, and raises it to the scale of science or art. Are you satisfied with your sales? Does selling represent to your mind a pleasant occupation or an irksome task? Do you find it easy to sell, or difficult? Do you sell more now than you used to sell—more this week than you sold the same week a year ago? Do you feel in your heart that you are a more capable salesman than you were—or have you doubts? Try the centering your attention on each sale as it comes. Mental which anyone sufficiently determined can in course of time build up and de- With this habit fully develop- ed, a man can take up a task and de- vote his whole mind to the fulfillment of that task, to the entire exclusion of experiment of concentration is a habit velop. And, centering his entire attention upon the one task at a time, he finds that he can perform that task in half or one-third the time it used to take when he allowed his work to be interrupted by distracting and confusing thoughts of other things. This isn’t mere theory; and you, who have sold things, or tried to sell them, know quite well that it isn’t theory. Have you ever tried to sell combs and at the same time to think about what a jolly time you’re going to have at the dance this evening, or how funny So-and-So looked when he came in out of the rain the other night with his umbrella turned inside out. Let your mind wander off like that along devious paths—how soon you all other things. lose track of what the customer is say- ing to you, or even of what you're trying to say to the customer. Or even let your eyes stray to the front street, or turn aside to say something to another clerk—instantly you lose your grip on the sale. Next time you're selling try, instead, the experiment of centering your every thought upon the sale. If you’ve fallen into the habit of letting your thoughts stray deviously you will find it difficult at first to concentrate—if so, you must keep on trying. Take personal charge of the customer the moment he enters, speak to him first, get a grip upon his wants, show the goods instantly, an- ticipate his questions by discussing the selling points when you hand out the goods for inspection—there’s lots in that to keep you busy without think- ing of other things. Watch the cus- tomer, study to adapt yourself to his ideas and to answer his objections. Tell him, tersely and tactfully, why you think the goods will suit him. Set yourself to find out just what he wants, and to satisfy his wants exactly. Fill your mind full with the thought of satisfying the customer; thereby you will effectively shut out for the time being thoughts of other things which would elsewise disturb you, and hinder the selling process. Try this experiment, and keep on trying. You'll find that you sell more quickly, effectively, and put You'll take no- tice, learn to suggest things, become an enthusiast for bigger sales. And all this you'll do in less time, and with less strain and effort—simply because more across more goods. thoughts are centered on one thing at a time, and you're putting your efforts where they’ll accomplish most at the precise theyll accomplish most. your moment when Victor Lauriston. _——___-_2s?.>___—_- New Things in Novelty Lines. Three items in popular-priced novelty merchandise are being featured by a wholesaler. One is a set of shoulder straps for evening wear, to take the place of the conventional silk band of bead undergarments. These are made of glass or lustrous agate beads or pearls in an assortment of colors. The straps attach both to the under- garment and the bodice of the dress, giving adequate support. They whole- sale from $8 to $15 per dozen pairs. A new type of “necklace” is designed to be worn over the right shoulder, on a bias running to the left side. The necklace is twenty-three inches long. The beads composing it are of antique type, including galalith, Venetian and metal effects. This item wholesales from $15 to $36 per dozen. Five styles of a pendant necklet are being shown in a range of six different colored stones, the pendants ranging from seven to thirteen in number. The necklets are priced at $15 per dozen. —_—__+-> Hosiery Outlook Is Good. Although there is no apparent change in the current hosiery situation from that of a week ago, and little real buy- ing is looked for during the rest of this month, the general feeling among first hands is that March will be pro- ductive of some very good business. A fair mail business is being done from day to day, and men yet on the road are turning in ‘some business. The big mail order houses in the Middle West are reported still to be in the market for the greater part of their requirements, which means consider- able business yet to come to the manu- facturers who are in a_ position to meet the particular demands of these According to the current news letter of the National Association of Hosiery and Underwear Manufactur- ers, very few price have been noted during the ‘off’ season that is now in effect. —__»+-+___ Interest in Men’s Fancy Hose. The vogue for men’s fancy golf hose buyers. recessions is described as stronger than ever this season. Retailers’ orders have been good and prospects indicate consider- able business yet to come. The pat- terns in both domestic and foreign merchandise run all the way from plain blocks to the most unique Fair Isle patterns. Good interest has also been shown in the better grades of fancy lisle half hose made of domestic mer- cerized yarns. Jacquard patterns rule in block and stripe effects. Colors run mostly to grays and blues or combina- tions of these hues. >.> No one need experiment along lines where thousands have proven what can or cannot be done. 2-2. The most precious rewards come, not from. self-seeking, but from un- seinsh effort. ———_——_.-.>—____ Few men travel over the road of success without an occasional puncture. 23 20,000 PARTNERS PROFIT FROM CONSUMERS POWER PREFERRED SHARES INQUIRE AT ANY OF " OUR OFFICES FOR ALL THE FACTS Sand Lime Brick Nothing as Durable Nothing as Fireproof Makes Structures Beautiful No Painting No Cost for Repairs Fire Proof Weather Proof Warm in Winter Cool in Summer Brick is Everlasting Grande Brick Co. Grand Rapids Saginaw Brick Co. Saginaw Jackson-Lansing Brick Co., Rives Junction. IN BARLOW BROS. Grand Rapids, Mich. Ask about our way TYPEWRITERS Used and Rebuilt machines all makes, all makes repaired and overhauled, all work guaranteed, our ribbons and car- bon paper, the best money will buy. Thompson Typewriter xchange 85 N. ltonia Ave., Grand Rapids, Mich. MR. MERCHANT:— Discouraged; in the Rut, can’t get out, awake nights? Listen, we will turn those sleepless nights into quiet repose. Write us today. Big 4 Merchandise Wreckers Room 11 Twamley Bldg. GRAND RAPIDS MICHIGAN SIDNEY ELEVATORS Will reduce handling expense and speed up work—will make money for you. Easily installed. Plans and instructions sent with each elevator. Write stating require- ments, giving kind of machine and size of platform wanted, as well as height. We will quote a money saving price. Sidney Elevator Mnfg. Co., Sidney, Ohlo ORIGINAL—GENUINE cM RELIABLE SECRET SERVICE Private Investigations car- ried on by skillful operators. This is the only local con- cern with membership in the International Secret Servcie Association. Day, Citz. 68224 or Bell M800 Nights, Citz. 63081 National Detective Bureau Headquarters 333-4-5 Houseman Bldg. 24 MICHIGAN TRADESMAN February 25, 1925 = = = = ff wt ! < —— =— nee OMMERCIAL TRAVELEB: VV uneasy BN ANAVE NS =— ~ = 2 ANA News and Gossip About Michigan Hotels. Jackson, Feb. 24—Just recently the authorities of Jackson issued an order prohibiting the all-night parking of cars in any of the streets of that city. Simultaneously with the issuance of this order came the announcement from the different garages of that city to the effect that the rate for over- night storage had been advanced from 50 to 75 cents. A peculiar coincidence, at least. Jackson people may not real- ize it, but they will very soon discover that they are going to drive a lot of transient trade away from the hotels of that city. Already I have heard numerous traveling men say they are arranging to give Jackson the go-by as an over-night stop, and they un- doubtedly mean what they say. This same thing happened in Bay City last fall. After the hotel men discovered they were losing trade by the ruling, strong pressure was brought to bear on the police authorities and the order was rescinded. The Jackson treatment of the situation looks like collusion and might be punished by criminal pro- ceedings. Other cities, realizing that the over- night auto trade is the mainstay of the hotels and other institutions, attach tags to all transient cars advising the operators that while they may be technically violating some of the muni- cipal regulations, there is no intention of being disagreeable, and they are pardoned in advance of committing the misdemeanor; and these autoists go on their way and tell everyone they meet what courteous treatment they received in such and such cities. Most traveling men are willing to abide by any reasonable traffic regulations, but when they become nonsensical, they nurse a peeve which does not bode well for future visits to the places where they have been manhandled. Down at Bronson, Harry Cheadle, a former Ohio hotel operator, has ac- quired by purchase, the old Farr House and re-named it the Bronson Inn. He has also remodeled it to the extent that it is hardly recognizable. A grocery store formerly occupying the corner of the building has been transformed into an attractive lobby with large plate glass windows, French doors and tasty decorations. In addition to all the other improvements, convenient lavatories and toilets have been in- stalled. All rooms have been redecorat- ed and convenient running water ar- rangements have been added to the upper floors. A tasty dining and loung- ing room are in evidence and the kitchen equipment is of the very best. Mr. Cheadle, who was active in the affairs of the Ohio Hotel Association, is already a full fledged member of the Michigan body and is a desirable ac- quisition. He has already established a fine trade and deserves it. Grant Eaton has gone back and taken possession of his first love, the Hotel Grant, at Coldwater, and is quite naturally regaining his old trade as well. He is a good hotel man and commercial travelers like him. The Grant is now in good physical condi- tion and is deserving of patronage. At Coldwater, the Arlington is op- erated by Kohn Bros., and has been for the past eighteen months. They were formerly engaged in the business in Indiana, where they were successful and are making the Arlington do its paces as well. A 50 cent luncheon served the other day when I was there is certainly a strong drawing card: Chicken Broth Sweet Relish Olives toast Prime Rib of Beef au jus Roast Pork with Jelly 3aked Meat Pie Creamed Onions Mashed and Steam Potatoes Kidney Bean Salad Wheat, Rye and Brown Bread Banana Cream Pie Cherry Pie Peach Cobbler Beverages Here also is a regular evening din- ner at 75 cents: Cream of Tomato Soup Sweet Relish * Olives toast Prime Beef, Brown Gravy Veal Steak Breaded “T’’ bone Steak, Plain or with Tomato _ Sauce : Head Lettuce with 1000 Island Dressing Wheat, Rye and Ginger Bread sanana Cream Pie Apple Pie Loganberry Sauce and Home Made Cake 3everages The Hotel Charlotte, at Charlotte, is continually undergoing improvement and one would hardly believe it pos- stble to make the changes shown and operate the hotel at the same time. B. J. Cairns, its owner and operator, set out to renovate the establishment and has fully carried out his ideas, which are excellent. One now occupies a room there which has been newly decorated and furnished, provided with running water, which together with excellent meals and fair prices are worthy of consideration. At the Otsego Hotel, Jackson, they are serving an evening dinner for one dollar which deserves special notice: Queen Olives Hearts of Celery Consomme, Clear Puree of Split Peas Broiled Michigan Whitefish, Lemon Butter Breaded Calf’s Brains, Tomato Sauce Roast Leg of Lamb, Currant Jely Mashed and Browned Potatoes Golden Wax Beans Sugar Corn Nut and Banana Salad Gooseberry Pie Pumkin Pie Vanilla Ice Cream, with Wafers Pimento and American Cheese Coffee, Tea, Milk and Cocoa Many changes are being made in the Otsego, all to the good. If this es- tablishment could have an addition of forty or fifty modern rooms, there would be no necessity for building an- other hotel in Jackson, and even with the present equipment there another hotel would prove superfluous. Since the death of her husband, Glenn Fillmore, a year or so ago, Mrs. Fillmore has been operating the Fill- more House, at Quincy, very success- fully. Her rooms are clean and com- fortable, meals excellently prepared and, in addition to the transient trade, she is building up an _ extraordinary local business. Her Sunday dinners especially are a strong drawing card. Mr. and Mrs. Fillmore were active members of the Michigan Hotel As- sociation and enjoyed a large acquaint- ance among the fraternity. : The Hotel Elliott, Sturgis, D. J. Gerow, proprietor, never has any dull periods. It is well conducted. Before coming to Sturgis Mr. Gerow was one of the popular hotel men of Wisconsin, knew his lines thoroughly, and is giving Sturgis everything she could ask for in hotel accommodations. Of course, there is periodical agitation of hotel building there, but the business men of that city fully realize the situation. and so far have escaped the wiles of the hotel promoter. Frank Ehrman, at his Columbia Ho- tel, Kalamazoo, has adopted another HOTEL BROWNING Corner Sheldon and Oakes; Facing Union Depot; Three Blocks Away. GRAND RAPIDS None Higher. 150 Fireproof Rooms Rooms with bath, single $2 to $2.50 Rooms with bath, double $3 to $3.50 |]} MORTON HOTEL GRAND RAPIDS’ 400 Rooms—400 Baths NEWEST HOTEL Rates $2.00 and Up The Center of Social and Business Activities THE PANTLIND HOTEL Everything that a Modern Hotel should be. Rooms $2.00 and up. With Bath $2.50 and up. HOTEL CHIPPEWA European Plan New Hotel with all Modern Conveniences—Elevator, Etc. 150 Outside Rooms Hot and Cold Running Water and Telephone in every Room 60 Rooms with Bath $2.50 and $3.00 $1.50 and up - HENRY M. NELSON Manager MANISTEE, MICH. Dining Room Service Rie meee §=Onehalf block fosf 5 of the Union Station Excellent Cuisine Turkish Baths GRAND RAPIDS NICH The Durant Hotel Flint’s New Million and Half Dollar Hotel. 300 Rooms 300 Baths Under the direction of the United Hotels Company HARRY R. PRICE, Manager OCCIDENTAL HOTEL FIRE PROOF CENTRALLY LOCATED Rates $1.50 and up EDWART R. SWETT, Mgr. Muskegon cee Michigan Columbia Hotel KALAMAZOO Good Place To Tie To Bell Phone 596 Citz. Phone 61366 JOHN L. LYNCH SALES Co. SPECIAL SALE EXPERTS Expert Advertising Expert Merchandising 209-210-211 Murray Bldg. GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN WHEN IN KALAMAZOO Stop at the ork-Americatt By otel Headquarters for all Civic Clubs Luxurious Rooms ERNEST McLEAN, Mgr. CODY HOTEL GRAND RAPIDS $1.50 up without bath RATES { $520 up with bath CAFETERIA IN CONNECTION Hotel Whitcomb ==" J Mineral Baths THE LEADING COMMERCIAL AND RESORT HOTEL OF SOUTHWEST MICHIGAN Open the Year Around Natural Saline-Sulphur Waters. Best for Rheumatism, Nervousness. Skin Diseases and Run Down Condition. J. T. Townsend, Mgr. ST. JOSEPH MICHIGAN WESTERN HOTEL BIG RAPIDS, MICH. Hot and cold running water in all rooms. Several rooms with bath. All rooms well heated and well ventilated A good place to stop. American plan. Rates reasonable. WILL F. JENKINS, Manager. HOTEL KERNS Largest Hotel in Lansing 300 Rooms With or Without Bath Popular Priced Cafteria in Connection Rates $1.50 up E. S. RICHARDSON, Proprietor HOTEL DOHERTY CLARE, MICHIGAN Absolutely Fire Proof Sixty Rooms All Modern Conveniences RATES from $1.50, Excellent Coffee Shop “ASK THE BOYS WHO STOP HERE” CUSHMAN HOTEL PETOSKEY, MICHIGAN The best is none too good for a tired Commercial Traveler. Try the CUSHMAN on your next trip and you will feel right at home. FOR SALE—The Trumble Hotel, one of the best Commercial and Tourist Hotels in Michigan. No competition and doing good business. Can _ use some property. Part cash and easy contract, 10% discount if sold in 30 days. Write or come and see. J. A. HARPER, Evart, Mich. eee ore ee « February 25, 1925 drawing card in his meal service, which became instantaneously popular. He was serving regular dinners for 75 and 90 cents, and a lot of them, but now he has adopted a new style of menu, giving a much larger variety, with also a varied scale of charges. This plan has been in vogue in New York hotels several months and has been much commented on. Here you are: Tomato Puree with Rice Stuffed Olives Pickles Baked Potatoes French Fried Potatoes Wax Beans Pineapple and Banana Salad Hot Rolls Assorted Breads Apple Pie American Cheese Ice Cream with Cake : Beverages i Above dinner served with Roast Pork, with Apple Sauce 75c Roast Young Chicken 90c Imported Sardines 75c Columbia River Salmon 75c Whole White Meat Roast Chicken $1 Single T-Bone Steak $1.10 Double T-Bone Steak $2.15 Single Sirloin Steak 90c : Single Tenderloin Steak 90c Boiledd or Broiled Mackerel, : Butter Sauce 90c Spanish Omelet 75c, Mushroom Omlet $1 Peach Omlet $1, Jelly Omelet 75e Fried Spring Chicken 90c Chicken Pot Pie 75c Broiled Pork Chops 90c Chicken Liver Saute 90c Country Sausage with Corn Fritters Chicken a la King 90c Grilled Ham with Candied Sweet Potatoes 90c Eggs to Order 90c A great many hotels which are serv- ing on both table d’hote and a la carte plans will find by adopting this com- bination menu a great saving over the two. Most patrons object to a la carte service for the reason that in the selection -of a complete meal the charges are usually higher than one cares to pay. By the plan adopted by the Columbia, the portions are ample and the selection quite satisfactory. Service is also greatly facilitated. Much credit is due the legislative committee of the Michigan Hotel As- sociation in defeating the child labor amendment to the Federal constitution at Lansing, last week. The adoption of this amendment nationally would have been one of the greatest hard- ships ever endured by employers of mixed labor. Country hotels particu- larly, in order to exist, must, of neces- sity, employ minor labor. The work is not hard or the hours long, but is of such a character that to submit to union rules would simply mean going out of business. In many instances the smaller hotels utilize the services of the younger members of their fam- ily in table waiting and the prepara- tion of raw foods for the kitchen. This in no wise interferes with their school studies and is not at all strenuous. The summer resorts draw upon this class of labor very largely during the vaca- tion period and it furnishes a source of livelihood for the younger genera- tion whereby they are enabled to pro- vide themselves with necessities which their parents could illy afford to give them. Many young people have paid their way through college with the money earned by such methods, the lack of which would sadly interfere with their education. Once in a while some hotel man makes the statement that business as- sociations are of little or no benefit, but it is noticeable that every stable industry is represented by an associa- tion of some character, and the hotel man is just as susceptible to its ad- vantages as the other lines. The de- feat of the child labor amendment demonstrates just what can be accom- plished by team work. The bad check law, which has been the means of bringing to justice many passers of spurious checks, was the result of this team work among the hotel men. It is far reaching in its benefits to the gen- eral public as well, but a Godsend to hotel men who are most frequently called upon to cash this class of paper. About 90 per cent. of the hotels in this State are on the roster of the Michigan Hotel Association, but we should have them all. ae Any hotel operator enjoying the MICHIGAN TRADESMAN benefits of the activities of this As- sociation, who does not actually belong must have something to consider with his own conscience. He is simply al- lowing the other fellow to supply the sinews of war while he garners his share of the benefits. The member- ship list is always open and converts are always welcome. The other day, in Detroit, Charlie Norton, of the Hotel Norton, took me out to Grosse Point, to call upon “Jim” Hayes, so well known as the operator of the Wayne Hotel for many years. Mr. Hayes is a victim of rheumatism, but it is a pleasure to be able to inform his legion of friends among the fratern- ity that he is slowly recovering. Among his present enterprises are the Park Hotel, at Sault Ste. Marie, and the Wayne Baths, at Detroit, but in years gone by “Jim” Hayes has been a prom- inent operator of resort hotels and a forceful member of the Michigan Ho- tel Association. May he get back into the harness soon is what we all say. And speaking of Charlie Norton— who does not know him?—he is one of the banner member getters in the As- sociation, rivaling his son Preston, who virtually “eats ’em alive.” Nortons, father and son, were most valuable aides to the writer during a recent campaign for new members in the big town. They know everybody—every- one likes them, and that is one of the reasons why a lean period is never known at the Hotel Norton. The friendship of these regular fellows is an asset I am proud of possessing. Every few days I see an announce- ment in the daily press to the effect that Mr. So and So, representing this, that or the other hotel financing com- ticular city to ascertain their hotel needs. The “survey” usually amounts to an investigation to ascertain if the crop of suckers in the locality is of sufficient thrift to warrant a stock sale. Hotels are not public institutions. A hotel is a business enterprise operated by its owner or owners for profit. It is no more subject to Government control or supervision than a mercan- tile or manufacturing concern. The hotel supplies an urgent need, but seeks no franchise, has no right of eminent domain in seeking a location and is subject to no other laws than those made for the protection of other lines of business. In Arkansas and in the District of Columbia, bills have been introduced that are unfair to the hotels as busi- ness propositions. The Arkansas bill is now before the legislature of that state and would place all hotels under the control of the railroad commission. The District of Columbia bill is now before Congress, which has supervision of the affairs of Washington and the territory adjacent. There is no demand for either of these bills on the part of the public. Politics is doubtless behind the motive prompting the bills. Inspection and control mean jobs for the politicians. Hotel inspectors are appointed to pay political debts. There may be hotel inspectors who know something about hotel business, but for the most part few of them have on knowledge of its worries, its financial importance or the executive ability demanded for success. If either of these measures should pass, it would mean that other states would in a few years demand the same - sort of control. They would demand it not because of any need, but because the supervision furnished jobs for hungry politicians. There is already too much Govern- ment control. The Government al- ready has too much to do without at- tempting to manage the hotels. Frank S. Verbeck. ——_+-.__ W. H. Wood, druggist at Sheridan and a subscriber to the Michigan Tradesman since its ninth issue, re- news his subscription as follows: “I do not want to miss a single issue. We surely need it in our business.” Gabby Gleanings From Grand Rapids. Grand Rapids, Feb. 24—Seventy- three members and their guests were at Saturday’s meeting of the Sales- man’s Club in the Pantlind Hotel. Rev. Charles O. Grieshaber, of South Congregational church, gave an excel- lent address on the five mental process- es necessary for a successful salesman. In addition to the usual musical num- bers, a violin solo was rendered by an artist from the Majestic theater. Team Three will have charge of the program on Saturday, the 28th. L. L. Losier is manager; Wendell B. Lusk, captain; assisted by W. H. Jennings, Jr., Edward Vinkemulder, Clarence C. Myers, A. F. Rockwell, I. C. Mc- Donald and W. N. Burgess. March 7 is officers day and a com- plete program has already been ar- ranged. An invitation is extended to any salesman who desires to attend the club meetings. William H. Vanderbilt uttered the prophetic remark, ‘The public be damned,” in connection with railroad service. The local freight agents of Grand Rapids evidently proceed on the same theory. Notwithstanding the half holiday on Saturday and the full holiday on Sunday, they made Monday a full holiday also, thus paralyzing shipping for two and one-half days on a stretch. The blow was particularly severe on the exhibitors at the hard- ware convention, many of whom were unable to get their exhibits out of the freight houses until Tuesday—the day the exhibit opened. The _ railroads evidently assume the public has no rights the railroads are bound to re- spect. Allan F. Rockwell (Brown & Sehler Co.) was called to Detroit Monday by the death of his mother, who had been in poor health for several years. The funeral was held in Detroit to-day; interment in Chelsea, the former home of the family. Frank L. Day, the veteran implement and vehicle salesman, of Jackson, came to Grand Rapids this week to attend the hardware convention. He is 73 years old to-day and his friends are helping him celebrate the event. >>> Buy Both Wheat and Flour Conserva- tively. Written for the Tradesman. May wheat has advanced a couple of cents and cash wheat about 4 cents during the past week, but prices are very uncertain. The statistical tion of wheat has not changed, al- though the visible supply has decreas- ed somewhat in the United States, but the growing crop of wheat appears to be in excellent condition. Reports from practically every section of the country indicate there has been no ma- terial damage done thus far through winter-killing. In fact, reports are coming from some sections that wheat is looking better than it has for years. Favorable crop reports are bound to have a depressing effect on prices, for the market value of all cereals is anticipated. Another fact to be remembered is that statistics do not make prices. De- mand creates advancing markets and a lack of it at once causes declines. It is too early and conditions are too uncertain to even hazard a guess as to what price new wheat will sell at in July and August and even prices of old crop wheat are bound to be af- fected materially by crop reports during the next sixty days. To epitomize the situation: World stocks are materially lower than they were a year ago, but to offset this, prices are much higher than last year. Growing crops prospects thus far are posi- 25 very favorable, although there is an increased consumptive demand de- veloping in the Far East. The world is consuming more wheat yearly. The United States surplus will be com- paratively small according to the best informed grain statisticians. Conditions are so conflicting that it is advisable, we believe, for the trade to buy both flour and wheat conserva- tively, for while the market may ad- vance 15@25c per bushel, it may also decline that much. Prices are rather unsettled, particularly for wheat, and both longs and shorts are rather hesi- tant at this stage of the game There is comparatively very little activity. Everybody seems to be waiting for developments. Lloyd E. Smith. -_—-o--o_______ Too Late To Classify. Wayland—N. W. Hooker has pur- chased a half interest in the hardware and crockery stock of W. B. Hooker. The new firm will be known as W. B. Hooker & Son. Tekonsha—J. W. Randall, proprie- tor of the J. W. Randall clothing store, purchased the stock of the W. T. Si- mon Co.’s department store and will take immediate possession. Since the death of W. T. Simon, in 1922, Mrs. Simon has conducted the store. Quincy—E. K. Pierce, dealer in dry goods, carpets, etc., for the past 27 years, died at his home Feb. 22, fol- lowing a sudden attack of heart dis- ease. He was born in England, June 1, 1861. Detroit—The Great Central Ware- house Co., 1321 Twelfth street, has been incorporated with an authorized capital stock of $50,000 preferred and 1,000 shares at $10 per share, all of which has been subscribed, $70 paid in in cash and $49,930 in property. St. Clair—The Lee Manufacturing Sales Co. has been incorporated to manufacture and deal in specialties, novelties, musical instruments, etc., with an authorized capital stock of $15,000, of which amount $9,810 has been subscribed, $650 paid in in cash and $2,750 in property. Buchanan—The Cayo Toy Co. has changed its name to the Michigan Toy & Manufacturing Co., Ine. Battle Creek—The United States Lumber & Fuel Co. has been incorpor- ated with an authorized capital stock of $50,000, $1,000 of which has been subscribed and paid in in cash. Detroit—The Chemical Products Corporation, 3200 Woodbridge street, has been incorporated with an author- ized capital stock of $10,000, all of which has been subscribed and paid in in cash. Detroit—The Norris Manufacturing Co., 338 John R street, has been in- corporated to manufacture and deal in fountain pens, automatic pencils, etc., with an authorized capital stock of $5,000, of which amount $2,600 has been subscribed, $500 paid in in cash and $500 in property. Detroit—The H. Gratiot avenue and A. Schmid Glenfield Co., street, has been incorporated to deal in autos, accessories, parts and supplies and to conduct an auto service garage, with an authorized capital stock of $10,000, $4,000 of which has been subscribed and paid in in cash, MICHIGAN TRADESMAN ~~, ""ieaehs s 23 S D> wry — YN 7. wie S“>DRUGGISTS SUNDR e e wd) aan) ol wa) . 44, ~ S| ==: & - =e a od x] oo ___ A Hen and a Druggist. A druggist doing a nice business which showed a steady increase sud- denly found himself so tied up for time that his hours were longer, his meals more irregular, and he felt so tired and worn out that he had a continual grouch. A salesman friend noticed this con- dition and began to study this particu- lar druggist’s business. He usually had to wait some time until there was a lull in trade before this druggist could talk to him, and this gave him an opportunity to watch operations. One thing he noticed in particular was that this druggist was so con- scientious in his work that he took cus- tomers away from his clerks, answered the telephone, and in his ambitious way tried to do everything himself, regard- less of his clerks who were being paid to do some of this work. This mismanagement reminded the salesman of the fable of the industri- ous hen that laid eggs for the king and queen. “The king and queen began to complain that she was not laying enough eggs to supply the guests who were visiting them. The hen worked harder, but could do no better and she went to the rooster who was chief of her pen for advice. This is what he told her: ‘You chase about each day in haste and in your haste you never rest, and do no more than if you stood around and took things easy, like my- self. This is what I would do—I would set on some of those eggs and rest and by your resting and stored energy you will soon have many children who can help you supply the king and queen with eggs.’ The busy little hen filled a nest with eggs and waited and watch- ed, and sure enough, as the rooster had said, she soon had many little chicks hatched, and in a few months her work began to be little or nothing and the egg supply increased, all of which made the king and queen very happy.” When the druggist found time to talk to the salesman, he told him this fable, and that his clerks represented his eggs and if he took a little time to properly train, encourage and hold confidence in them, he would also find that his eggs would hatch out some good ma- terial which would take responsibility, worry, work and care from his shoul- ders and give him more time to watch the accounts of his credit customers, plan his sales, etc. The advice sounded good to the druggist and he began dividing his work among his clerks, and in a short while he found that he was still doing more business. That apparently his customers were satisfied and he had more time to sit and hatch ideas to better carry on his business. Moral—Don’t try to do the things you are paying your clerks to do. Have confidence that they are able to do some of the things as well as you, and perhaps, in some cases, better. February 25, 1925 . 4 G . | od - a Fo i untains f WHOLESAL s for l E DRUG P 27 If Pric CE CU you are : h es quoted are nominal RRENT 4 in t > based a * on ma i SCO e market for ae Acids vhint the dag ot oe Write DA FOUNT oy | BESS TE Se BAS , : “ us and we ‘ AIN Citric " : Per a ORSE R a2 20 : 02. = a Pry 16 °F 2 Salt TRA 0Z., 5 ADISH 9 OZ. “sen Stu doz. - 2 30 ellies Meats DE JELLY Ome a a stuffe doz. 4 25 Pure Lard 18 00 Ss M A 5 : Pure - a ea 7) — ty stuffed, az. :o . Ib in tierees @20 00 Lago “ N . fe, E 9 Zz. os > ¥ : s a o alt - Imitation, 0°tb. an naa 350 19 oe avaice Baker oe oa: ti oeatt mae EEE eae me : , 22 oz, doz 90 BU 16 2 . pail amps Meo ; & Ib able bbl. es i. JE oz., d z. 110 : : TTER Cc Ib. p: ae vane % 30, 10 Ib a 4 bn Spattaas More (t LL oz. 2 . “om ails __advan e Y 28 Ib . Ta DS 6 07 20 ess Cle e, 18 7? 8 0z., pe Y GLAS 20 Conon ~—~-aavanes 1 Coloni bags ble ee 5 57 Sani v1 sea SHEET, if 4 00 er doz. SES a a ont - Ags, Table - 5 30 eg gl --=--- . TA 29 (OLEOMARGARINE 36 Pacem oo id : * ; ei oe 885 Lea & BLE SA : / G ent S RGAR jg ee ges 4% Ge 2 40 Snowbo} 100, eo o_o ae — & a UCES : y ood L tora INE Ver oananannn Ve i ad Snowb yy, 10 * os. 3 15 epper errin, large « * G u ge } kf - L Ss oO 0 R r n ood ck, Br ork pana nnennnnnnn 12 i. Kes © Spee by, 2 i - 64 OV: L , sms é6 t Gilt fog lb ands Vez a fort ---------25- 128 . Oh manor sy seen 3 a Larg oz. 4 z Tob il Mint coe ull 3 be Gi dze, a ' oo = Wry srite | doz a r POnMASO, a cm 35 Gilt Edge, eam r Wenge ooo i8@20 junbrite. 72 dos. ——.- 480 ho. Yow, 9.0 ein Dele. 1 Ib. 1 26 oO MUG aaanaaann na . 4 arge oz., doz. 4 25 _. v cia, 2 0h ae 2 oe | J pia a aa ene il a SPI en a 70 . eG - 21 5 2 Ib. pails n cas iams Cert. Meats _ 14 mee Ww CEs. 5 20 Pitan st so a ot gy ae A Ham “Gents Lier “tb Z a hole Spi “ana : 30 e vpalia 6 “in at - sets Fg oe — yay T ee ce --- 23 eo 25 Ib pails in crate pereais beef oe 2 Gasatn ae 4 Medi of tor 50 Ib. pails ____ ate Hieni. ee ean ' Cc roe oe a ---— ( abe org PE pails ---------- H ic Bo fama @ OCT ( assia, § scat i @15 oS --- TROLEUM eee Banee ee ---- or Me A) aus r, Af pke., doz. , yA ae eee 71a Perf PRODUC Min ‘di ave : Cores M: Hou e higes , ay @% : | 4 WG ace fe 27@ 90 ecti oD y ced ms a ae cers ace . och ae @AC lk Nibbs Sa 37@46 f = ee oon eacce edad Bacon —e atl cea teas oy aoe d Penang" ——* 2 15 : pk. 8 einer 5462 * { oe Wa pee -- i Bonel cane gir to case Mixed, ae t : (@ y 25 Choice Scie a. 56 Nuc \ as Machine ¢ oie senate aa 8 @ 30 lodiz 2" sul gs, pkes., doz. ie fauey wder 14 Nu oa, 1 if Capito & > Gasoline 18.7 new Dp 18 0 ized, 2: OtS — 3 Pe megs, (0@80 aoz, a 22 @ i ce site cionne coa, 2 hos oe : ateaee eh Napntha 39.2 Conden Mince | 18 aa 00 {19 tbe. : 40 ea p= 110 re Pekoe Ce lees 32 on nd 5 Ib. ----- 25 rive Red er __ ha 99'6 od ate @ 22 00 Pe 3 30 ae slack wan: 10 . cutee ae f i ertifie & C oa 5% | r Bi Engi ane 39. Mois sed B 2 Worc 40 Allspie Gro bance Gl 65 Ce Engli um ti ’ ao ut a = o.’s Bra 25 OQ ack ne__ ae t in Pod ei 2 00 ester a. — in @19 Congou i ‘euaaiea is e2 ka a =~ @olarine . Pp ss ric C4 chaatia, a maic: 8 congo . Medi f ~— | ecial ponennannn~ oer 254% olari 12.2 % cooked i a eas Poesia Zanzibar a Gongou, Choice . “— Swan oe ne i Phe shades oe she Go : 0 @42 Medi ancy — 35@36 Diamond, 3 Iron B - ppbls. 5 Ibs. —___— 1 55 Nutr Per Litied : O22 a Goteng _— Searchlig a ia arre IS. nanan nanan 2 Pe meg ‘ane @3 Far ee S laee Red me oaagg Bg Heo 5 75 oe Eines 1 e Kit ee oe 75 | Pr pper, ~ - ea ie 2 icy ee — Red a oan box 8 00 Spec am -aa--aa--n a 59.2 % 2S Ibs ripe Ee = P ae r “Bilitek a ‘15 meee = PORE le x 8 0 E PY nanan . q s. Ce i‘ 4 — per. Shits - @73 Cot T me -- 46 1 e Dx 0 xt wenn ane nnnnn 61. %»bD nin bs { Paprike Cay L Gps fotton, 3 WwW iw Qui e He ati 5 50 ea foci ee ie hog 80 ig is 90 je senewtoaa”, prika, vayenne oe @22 “ott “% 3 pie 50 r, 5 atc x 6 00 Fin smissi en 6 Be per Sa 5 | ce panish ___- o- vont 6 ply cone M gro hes Fi ol, 4 an 6.2 B ef, ro Ib. Le 60 Bbls Ct L D32 6 ne ball 5 pas el a M case 4 Syiee oon — —_ a Sot otal Men 7 42 Bbis. “ne - Papp FM sseyge _ 66 ae s - 47 uc 75 arow Zz. , doz. : e es - s. ‘elery S ide ing ‘tider Vv ce 8 re ae aa 15 Parowax, ie = wi =? pi set__ 10926 aes 50-5 | sks. -—--—— 5 Sage. Salt, 3 Se . we INEGAR ---~ 18 y, Kece. oo 4 85 entire 40, ‘1 Ib. - 2.00 Fanc pa 1 ar th Ib. 2% oo 5 . Onion 2 02. - pile a 1 35 White < Grae Mo , wet, a 60 20 f i. ce C7 Bones Blue ge 2 00 ge i 1b, oo 6 08 se - halo 95 Wine, i. erai 22 UASSES. P= 6 ag eee An a sae a $5 xo. 0 ine 40 Brain 1 i i ar ene 5 ee La en Re ow 1 aa No. , per gr IN Steel puted Scie aceasta os 8@9 Da 1 a blic. ue 4 20 i. dale | = 35 No L, nar aes ” a a 100 aie 3% egumseh 10 bbI. a7 42 vue a ' es _ _— 4 a0 Ne. 2, per so ~--=- Ts uaker ake ». 8 ' . 70 [| @ a iv i a 50 Peerle pe roa 1 Quaker, - Si ‘Fam: 2 ns Ivor sod farm 2 7h Panart 1 ac ee be a SS er ross 1 a Mothers 2s F: lar __ 5 s2 y, 24-2 car ric, 2% ne c Roel ester ee galego 2 0 sig Oe ; a. = Bags 7S cae —_ a oS hice s r, No. 2, a a er F 2s y 0 E 5 oO r Zz a i; 2 ; oe Hiaks TW’ N 2 Bags 5 Ib. Clo 1 t 2 35 - 90 yo, N . a 90 ao cn a 3 25 oak 2. med. 26 STAR ---- 90 ‘a ae doz. 50 Sacks, $ Ib. Ju Re 60 ee ae eae 4 o. CH w . 20 — Gott = = ; 80 W00-1b. dairy - 1 ingsford Corn thes 80 Ty 8 65 sac 76 ow d, Bus A : R on oS 65 cks ay vdere 40 ushe Bz RE eeu - 3 75 oe Fa SOAP 70 Gree. pos bags oa wir Is, hata 36 2us =x ami “€é , o* = \, susl e han¢ w b: 18 roll ps Help Co. Bie Fo a 100 b Guake, 48-1 Ib. pkg 4 BO 7 hels, lles band, a rs roll ackag Fi: Four W be ox 6 a ae ss. 4 Ga boii oo . No .| os - Gack ee io r ake La “ee ue : 3 af 05 Market, randki ha hand 1 75 No. 0, 6 ca Rabbit : 5 pans te ag 4 50 phi Na lite, tan 100s « 90 Ar ee ener 4 80 M: drop " ae No. 5 ns . on eres 2 ard pth: 00 1 4 ( Arg Gl 7 r sing! har 18 No ae 12 ca toc Semd pack ges 4 30 R ma W ia OX 10 A zo, 48 oss ngle idle 0 No. tie Dip esp ——: 95 ede, 12 pt Arm "SALERATU: oe oe ae -. yo a aes sib. svt oo ane. q , 36 a ns Paes 6 2 e 12 . ea d Ha US 60 s Napth More Wr 100s ne £0, aoe 3 czs. < lint, : 90 G a Cane es. 6 45 at. ns 2 Gra SA mmer Swift a, 10: Vhite 4 1 Silver ( 5k ». pkgs. 4 05 Splin medit a 1 50 No reen aN AG 45 PI can 70 G nula L so eo 20 Clas 100 ite | on r «i b kes. 2 5 t, 1 ium as . 10 Bre es. 5 8 > M CKL s 4 3ran ted DA 3 75 Mu assic .OX Masti loss 2 96 nall L 8 50 No , 6 ca r Rabbi D ou Barre ediu ES 39 G ulated, bbs 75 Wo le Bo e, 100 40 Ti ea 4 96 y : es No. 5, 12 ns to ¢cé bit ee 1,206 m So ranula -d, 100 — Fe 01, 100 rax, 1 box 4 0 wicer 48 I 35 farrel, 5 Chu eginae ‘oe No. 2%: aa ee to yoca 4 60 0 one y count 5 i sei 36 ae es q _ 7 100 he " bx 7 . iger, 50 a Ze 9 irrel, F at 6 50 1%, 36 ‘ans to neil 485 % n kegs count 24 50 Middle can Fie Ib. Palm tose, 1( of 6 50 is. ‘ oo ta © 6a gal. “ach... 2 Au cans gf 30 Sw gs t 13 idles OD at ae 1 O1 00 +t fog ) E 50 al eae 2 4 ie ne eiask to cs. 4 10 5 bite $00 Small | 10 a Tablets 7a FISH 295 O va, 100 a mae 75 CORN 8S —. 05% £ un Cee ant En ©.: 0; can Bra 30 allon, er 0 ehicta, ib. Pure ctago box box 85 YRL oe I gg ee a pe N 12 s to nd. ao a ; | pune |. 1 Pun eC 11 06 JP. No 3. Star Case 16 No. 2%, oe case 3 00 600 Sizes It nay a Wood CEs Pas 13 Pro, 00 be 430 No. 1, Star Carri . 14%, 36 cans gst 3 95 ize. 15 'ickles. - 10 00 hi io. e ae 98 padi tinged see a 6 75 No J. Star Carrier. 5 of cans oe cs. 3 ay Cob Pp gal. jle Co gag nana 1 Gran pa a 4 - fo. 2, Star Keg - se ) Fancy pias Or! e cs. 3 an » 3 doz hls ria sina co bo yon ty Tar ae 5 70 a , eee Peas ca Chote ream ae 1 00@1 Queen oe ee e ae Tar, 50 ise. 34 rojan spre cs Tenge 28 oo pitle __ fe attle Ax — oe | halt bbls airbanl 72s yater 45 iclipse _ TENS " ene oY lue Axe CA 1een bk a Tri ank Tai t No. ; pe an eer (4 Bi iS Paes RDS Milker haa - 11 i a. 00x. Sealy atent spril ae 62 sicyel Libben sr doz Y cers See 1 0 1 3 So ar, 10 2 2 76 deal ; pat. | spr 2 Of Mol te ke eat 4 yet te Z. 2 oh | hess 8 0 25 wil Ls 1 0 bx 4 iC 12 oz. Ne brust ring % . Dov asses Be ex ee 65 yy ne Ke a Log 65 illi akes fr 00. 19% 4 Of 2 0%. 0. 7 sh hol Z vw e, in Cc tra B a 45 r M. 2 oe 0 Wi jams ree , Lue, ) : 16 oz Cot i. Id 2 Dove, 36, 2 lb. W ans. abbitt’s POTAS oe 4 50 YM. Kegs, —-------- 125 illiams | bese era meee on emg ; 00 Dove 24, 246 Ib Wh. I 2 doz ” 2 Bbls. | 1 05 Mug Bar < 06 Pp aYSTALW! Mop eee 2 56 Dove, 26, 2 1 » Wh L 5 60 FRESH KKK oT —~ 10 00 » per ag 50 6 enick HITE- tdins 10 at Pai leads 3 56 Dove 24, 2% b. Black 599 «LOPS MEA ss Bo K, oe -- 19 00 CL z. 48 12 10 Ib Golden i2 at. gance 60 j ‘ a 10 ae Black 4 20 Top Steers ff TS Hate a rway __ 2 EANSER a Bh. cans Syrup \4 at. (auvantzed : od o, 24, ote it L : : ae Steers & Heit. et 3oned, ac A ---------~} 0 o S 34° i — : i @ 45 a qt. alvanized --— 2 35 N Bib 5 15 om. eers f --@17 L Ten 3 : ib. “ans 3 45 i¢ qt. Mlaring sed s 60 ‘ Almond cs 515 mp Steers - eS Geet % bbl. ane oe - se dis ooo : 65 Le Oo. a" Peanuts, Vir roasted ra me Asus 0% Fy Z 1 NLACKEN 13 00 6, cas Maple a 3 88 oe oes 65 Pecai Ss, Ju 90, ra 13 Dop a-2n-nnaaannnn i Dri-} omb e, do ING 12. 5 b. ec -Like § ‘ _ spring ___ = 2 OF i Pec: ns, 3 mbo, ay 13 a Wann nnnnn naan 15 B -Foot inati . 24! 3 Ib. le e Syru ng sa . Walnut earl a 15 rode manne a aa ng sas ds. i ° 24, ‘2 i ------- 4 af Large Gat Tubs - a6 i Le es OF rare : eee i Le z hy ans aoe edit talvani > Fan its, California. 50 ot gaiel ce : B ST cine -——--- i 2 Cr ie Ib. cans —— ; ies all G Senn a J cy, Ni Pean on 31 : M wanannnnnnnaa 2 lac ee Gea das. 5 Al ONLY Sort: . U ———— s Yo salvanis lized. 8 50 i — aie nna Cae onan anne 25 Black’ si ea. 90 RUNS. A a 10 Ib ~~ Ned soe - Appia r say a 50 , i diene a 7 14 Medium Lo gh -- 20 LS ort ps fiauia. eee “ta, -poListe®, p4. 9 Ib. pe ce : Brass, Globe 50 td _ Peanuts sc on ee pees 15 pameline Paste, do + Bre.“ {2 pang te Sacet cine 8B , 1 panish, _ ; [a 0 ne e, - 72 1D. Ca oo 406 3. aa Rye +e t rilberts i.” 68 oe 2 Oe tee ee 1 a 80 ns ces 4 10 Narih Pee less xp a 8 be Eero een Sea 13 ne hogs” Loon aae i ee geet ona. doz. : 35 80 can cases, $ Blue K Corn — re rs: n Queen sine - 50 oe i Butts sae ee ae 13 654 Stove I per — 1 . _ WASHING $4.80 per ee oa Nc . eben ah rh ae noe — og 8 is Vuleano, paper as los. 1 38 Bon Ami Pd earl oe Karo No. . 1% 2 $8 ya gallus sSNA 725 . Spareri ee a. ovoil, | No. 10. doz 80 sli Ami d, 34 . R n. op SED er d OZ. 30 ~ oe n Bulk, 2 gal “ee > 2.8 5 25 ‘ VIS IONS Farm er S Spec 26 Ib Quee n An n ’ 60 o Z. 30 IN THE REALM OF RASCALITY. Cheats and Swindles Which Merchants Should Avoid. Chickens sometimes come home to roost alter all. In the fail of 19260 Frank D. Travis, of Plainwell, em- ployed an unscrupulous stock salesman and proceeded to sell stock in the F. D. Travis Co. to the amount of ap- proximately $150,000. Neither Travis nor the crook he employed secured permission to sell the stock from the Michigan Securities Commission. The Tradesman did its level best to get action in this matter by the Commis- sion, without result. Now sixty odd Hamilton and_ vicinity Hoffman, an residents in have retained Clare E. attorney of Allegan, to proceed against Travis on the ground of fraud. The suit is brought in the name of Andrew G. Lohman, who alleges that Travis himself and by his agents, servants and employes and conspiring with them to cheat and defraud this plaintiff and each of plaintiff's assignors and to sell to plaintiff and to each of his as- signors at a sum greatly in excess of its value stock of the F. D. Travis Co., a corporation, and to obtain by fraud from plaintiff and each of his assignors, without any consideration therefor, a large sum of money, did falsely repre- sent, pretend and state to plaintiff and to each of plaintiff's assignors that the F. D. Travis Co. was a company or- ganized under, by virtue of and in com- pliance with the laws of the State of Michigan; that it was and had been a prosperous corporation, paying divi- dends amounting to upwards of 8 per cent. per year, doing a profitable busi- ness at all of its branches, some of which were located at Wayland, Plain- well and Allegan, and that it had ac- cumulated profits on hand sufficient so that, if it did not make a dollar during the coming year, it could still pay the next year’s dividend of 8 per cent.; that it had no debts; that it had agreed to purchase of Harry J. Lampen his buildings and his stock at Hamilton and that a binding contract to that ef- fect had been entered into by it; that the business of the said company was so profitable and so large in volume that from the stores already establish- ed the dividend of 8 per cent. had been paid and would be paid thereafter every four months and that all the money obtained by the sale of stock in the vicinity of Hamilton would be used to establish and to pay for a store build- ing and a stock at Hamilton, and that the business of said company had been and was being conducted in such a manner and was so organized and safe guarded that any person could tell by an examination of the books of the business just how the corporation stood financially at the end of every day; that he, the said Frank D. Travis, was thoroughly familiar with the methods of conducting said business, with the volume thereof and with the profits made, and that there was no question but that those purchasing stock would receive a dividend of 12 per cent. per annum; that he had been operating and managing said business for years and that it had at that time upwards of $20,000 in surplus and reserve which was idle; that he had made large sums therefrom and that the only ob- MICHIGAN TRADESMAN ject in selling stock was to form a co- operative company so as to secure a larger number of customers. Plaintiff further avers that the said F. D. Travis Co. was not a prosperous, going concern, doing a profitable busi- ness; that it did not have accumulated profits on hand and that it did not have a reserve and surplus of $20,000; that it had debts; that it had not en- tered into a binding contract with Harry J. Lampen for his stock and building; that its volume of business was not so large that a dividend of 8 per cent. could be paid thereafter; and that the statements hereinbefore re- ferred to as having been made by the said defendant, his agents, servants and employes were false in every particu- lar and were known by the said defend- pencils which we imprinted with your name, and was sent to you without an order. i As explained to you in our circular letter, we are now making a campaign with this high grade pencil which was formerly sold through jobbers under a branded name and are now selling same direct to the consumers with their own names for less money. As you have no doubt realized, the selling of this first gross of pencils is not a money making proposition for us, as we had a special die made up with your name, as well as prepaying par- cel post. We would ask you to please try these pencils as we know that you will be pleased with them. Our advice would be to write the United States Pencil Co. that it can come and get the pencils or send $1 to pay for the bother of packing, mail- ing and postage. That appears to be 1 Love the Land Where Mother Lives : 1 ? ee a land because mother’s there, With all her faith and her tender care; , Ponce e. Sealed | oy ane 6 he } I'd travel far just awhile to be In the davs of old at mother’s knee. There are triends who come and friends who go, But there’s none whose love I treasure so. Mother clasped me to her loving breast, And prayed God each day her boy to bless. You may have your silver and your gold; Yea all the wealth that the old earth holds; But I'll choose mother my life to share, For she’ll watch o’er me with loving care. When I was ill how the pain she soothed; My fevered brow she caressed and cooled. I can see her now the vigil keep Till my eyes were closed in slumber sweet. Oh, how she toiled ever more and more, For this lad of hers, in days of yore. I’ve not forgotten, and never will, Till the hand of death my heart doth still. I'll] love Heaven more when mother’s there. With all her faith and her tender care We'll live fore’er in that land of joy, As mother prayed when I was a boy. Lloyd E. Smith. ant, his agents, servants and employes, at the time they made the same, to be false. It is to be regretted that summary action has not been taken long ago in this matter. The sale of the stock, under the conditions then in existence, was a deliberate swindle. Travis and his crooked associate should be made to pay the penalty of their crimes by life long imprisonment in Jackson. Pentwater, Feb. 25—Here’s another of those cases. On your advice, as I understand it, I am disregarding this. Would you let them come get them? Elizabeth S. Verbeck. The writer sends the Tradesman a letter from the United States Pencil Co., reading as follows: New York, Feb. 20—We have your enquiry in reference to the gross of the only way to stop this abuse. Bonni & Liveright, Ine., a book publisher of New York City, is cited by the Federal Trade Commission in a complaint charging the use of unfair methods of competition in the exploi- tation of a series of books published under the name of “Modedrn Library.” These books, the complaint alleges, are bound in a cloth binding simu- lating leather in texture and appear- ance, but in which no leather is used. In the advertisement and sale there- of, the complaint states, the respond- ent uses statements that “Modern Li- brary volumes are bound by hand in limp leather” and “All the books in the Modern Library are hand bound in flexible style.’ This method of February 25, 1925 designating the binding of its books, it is alleged, misleads and deceives the trade and consuming public, and caus- es purchasers to erroneously believe that such books are bound in leather. The Banner Silk Knitting Mills, Inc., a textile manufacturer of New York City, is named as respondent in a com- plaint issued by the Federal Trade Commission charging the use of unfair methods of competition. The textiles, the complaint states, manufactured by the respondent are not composed of silk in whole or in part. Nevertheless, it is alleged, that in the advertisement and sale of such products the re- spondent uses a number of misleading statements, such as “The Silk Sensa- tion of 1923,” “Queen of Knitted Silk Fabrics.” “The Textile of this Newest and Most Delightful of Knitted Silk,” and other statements having the ten- dency to create the impression that respondent’s products are made in whole or in part of silk. Further alle- gation is to the effect that the word “silk” in the respondent’s corporate name is misleading and deceives the purchasing public into the erroneous belief that respondednt’s products are composed of silk from the cocoon of the silk worm. The complaint states that respondent’s alleged methods of exploiting its products not only de- ceive the purchasers, but are unfair to competitors who do not misrepresent or misbrand their products. Alleging that the John B. Stetson Co., of Philadelphia, Pa., secures the support and co-operation of dealers in the maintenance of a standard resale price system, the Federal Traded Com- mission has issued a complaint charg- ing the concern with the use of unfair methods of competition in connection therewith. The company is a manu- facturer of hats which it sells to whole- sale and retail dealers throughout the United States. The complaint alleges that in order to carry out its resale price plan the respondent uses many methods to prevent retail dealers from reselling its products at prices less than those established by it. Among such methods are the following: the re- spondent receives and procures from dealers handling its hats reports of, information concerning, and proof of the failure of retailers to observe and maintain the set resale prices; respond- ent uses the information thus secured, and also receives through its salesmen and other agents, to induce and coerce offending dealers to observe its prices in the future by exacting promises that such dealers will in the future maintain the prices; respondent re- fuses to further supply dealers selling below its prices unless such dealers give satisfactory assurance that they will in the future observe and main- tain prices. The direct effect and re- sult of respondent’s alleged acts, the citation states, is to suppress compe- tition among retail dealers in the dis- tribution and sale of respondent’s hats. Six complaints of interest to the lace industry have been issued by the Federal Trade Commission charging the use of unfair methods of competi- tion by the following concerns: Alfred ‘ i) 4 < ce ‘ a” hh , aa A iw ‘ei be te , ’ ‘. { i j 4 a ? oar x At February 25, 1925 Kohlberg, Inc.; W. Riscallah & Com- pany; A. D. Sutton & Sons; Nanyang Brothers, Inc.; N. B. Bardwil & Com- pany; and Lian & Maraback. All of the respondents are located in New York City, and import lace from China which sthey sell to manufacturers of garments throughout the United States. The complaints allege that the lace imported from China by the re- spondents which closely resembles Trish Lace in pattern, design and gen- eral appearance, is inferior in quality and value, and has for many years been, and now is sold at prices much less than the prices received for gen- uine Irish Lace. Respondent’s Chi- nese Lace, it is further alleged, is designated in their. price lists, circu- lars, invoices and other trade literature, and offered for sale and sold under trade names which contain the word “Irish? Chis practice, the citation states, places in the hands of respond- ents’ vendees the means of commit- ting a fraud upon retail dealers and the consuming public, and, it is alleg- ed, causes a substantial number of tradesmen and consumers to purchase respondents’ lace products in the mis- taken belief that it is of Irish origin. The Federal Trade Commission has issued an order dismissing without prejudice its complaint against the Tremont & Suffolk Mills, of Boston, and Catlin & Company, of New York, who acts in the capacity of sales agent for the first named respondent. Arthur J. Cummock, Samuel S. Widger, Ar- thur R. Sharp, and John W. Blodgett are named as copartners in the Catlin Company. The Tremont & Suffolk Mills is a manufacturer of blankets, and the Catlin company acts as sales agent in the distribution thereof. The complaint charged the respondent with blankets which they marketed, but was dismissed for the reason that the practice complained of has been voluntarily discontinued and the defendants have agreed to make proper restitution for the frauds they committed. EY misbranding certain Vicious Estate Taxes. The President’s attack upon inheri- tance and estate taxes is so well reas- oned, so sound and statesmanlike, that it should sound the knell of this par- ticularly vicious form of taxation. He signed the Revenue Act of 1924, which increased these taxes from a 25 per cent. to a 40 per cent. maximum, with a pointed protest against them. He believed then that they mean confisca- tion in many cases. His present opin- ion is that levying such imposts after the passng of a war emergency is So- cialism. They are, in fact, defended by all those who believe in a redistribution and a limitation of wealth. Their chief apostles belong to the La _ Follette school of political economy. These taxes are devouring many estates. It was the intent of some of the legisla- tors that they should. To the Fecleral tax of 40 per cent. are added state taxes of varying amounts, all tending to go higher. The dead are robbed and their dependents are shoved aside by state and Federal tax collectors. As has been emphasized again and MICHIGAN TRADESMAN again, money taken for taxes vanishes from productive use. It represents just so much of the Nation’s capital wiped out of existence. The states have joined in the scramble, and the President cites instances where a sin- gle share of stock may be taxed as many as seven times; taxed, in fact, until its value is gone and until its holders have paid more than its worth in taxes. He wants the General Gov- ernment to withdraw from this field of taxation. His position is so sound that anywhere other than in Congress it would be accepted at once and in full—N. Y. Evening Post. —_+-.—— Store Provided Taxi Service. A specialty shop in Duluth, Minn., recently gave free taxi rides to cus- tomers from the store to their homes as an advertising “stunt.” Customers handed the starter their duplicate sales slip, told him their address and enter- ed the cab which rolled up to the store at the starter’s signal. Over 200 cus- tomers were taken home in this way. No limit was placed on distance and no minimum purchase was fixed, cus- home’ whether their purchases amounted to 10 cents or hundreds of dollars. The vice-presi- dent of the store said the plan was through the co-operation This company tomers being driven successful of a taxicab company. published an advertisement in connec- tion with the store’s publicity and each cab carried a sign in the rear The ad- vantages accruing to the taxi company were said to lie in the featuring of its telling of the store’s sales. service and the comfort of the cabs. ee Hides, Pelts and Furs. Green, No. 1 ° : | 09 Green, No. 2 Cured, No, 1 Gured, No: 2 _- i Calfskin, Green, No. 1 Calfskin, Green No. 2 Calfskin, Cured, No. 1 Calfskin, Cured, No. 2 Horse, No. Dee Forse, No, » Peits. Old Wool 1 00@2 50 bambs 22... - oe Oa 00 Sneariinges ___._ oe ' 50@1 00 allow. Prime Lee oo ie cee asia 07 NO, doo: HC ee 06 No. 2 Ce 0 Wool. Unwashed medium ...-. @d0 Unwashed, rejects . @30 Unwashed, fine eee Skunk, Black 22020 3 00 Skunk. Short 2.) _ 2 60 Skunk, Narrow: 2.0). -_ 100 Skunk, Broad -.-------------------- 50 Muskrats. Winter 2... 1 25 Muskrats, Wall 22.0 1 00 Mustrats Kitts 20 15 Raccoon. Baneze =o 5 00 Raccoon, Medium —-.-_- 3 50 Ieaccoon, Smal 2... 2 00 Mink. Pape 9 00 Mink, Medium 3 7 00 Mink, Small 2000 _. 5 00 ———__2.-> The second attack of love, like measles, is usually lighter than the first Two Leading Features at the Muske- gon Convention. Saginaw, Feb. 24—The question box will be a feature of the Muskegon con- vention of the Retail Grocers and Gen- eral Merchants Association. Secretary Gezon is desirous of having you sub- mit to him questions you want an- swered at that time. Mr. Gezon is willing to go the limit in the matter of service on questions which are sub mitted to him in plenty of time. Some correspondence may be necessary in getting certain information; therefore wet your questions in so that we may have an answer ready. An informal round table discussion will follow up the speeches so that everyone will have an opportunity to ask and answer questions in an im- promptu and intimate manner. We hope to make this a convention that will give substantial aid to the merchant who attends. The time for much success by individual efforts in matters of wider scope and general trade welfare is past. Organized ef fort, with the aid of the trade press, is the only thing that will win. Charles C. Christensen. —_—_2++. > Save time in work by being cer tain your plans are practicable. The Cudahy Packing Company Common Stock Average dividends the past 8 years 8.9%. Listed on Chicago and Boston Stock Exchanges, and application will be made to list on New York Stock Exchange. This is one of the most successful packing con- cerns. The packing busi- ness is anticipating a long period of prosperity. This Common Stock has paid approximately 100% in stock dividends during the past 9 years. Now paying 7% cash divi- dends. Howe, Snow t& BERTLES 1c. Investment Securities GRAND RAPIDS New York Chicago Detroit Series Number 172 Opens March 2nd. Join now and get the benefit of cooperative mutual savings. No membership fee charged for the privilege of joining and your savings earn you the highest rate consistent with safety and good building and loan practice. GRAND RAPIDS MUTUAL BUIKFBING AND LOAN ASSOCIATION CHARLES N. REMINGTON. President; THOMAS C. MASON, Secretary Ground Floor—Building and Loan Building, Monroe at Lyon Who wants to rent a desirable suite of offices in our building? 31 Business Wants Department Advertisements inserted under this heac¢ for five cents a word the first Insertion and four cents a word for each subse- quent continuous insertion, if set in capital letters, double price. No charge less than 50 cents. Small display adver- tisements in this department, $3 per inch. Payment with order is required, as amounts are too small to open accounts. For Sale—Cash and Carry Grocery. Did over $60,000 business ast year. Rent reasonable. Fine location, Iixcellent wholesale service. No. stiff competition. Best of reasons for selling. all I ask-—($6,000 $42, c/o Michigan Will inventory Address No. Tradesman. $42 casn). Good opportunity—For furnishings, dry opening men’s goods and shoe store at Hdmore, Write Box 276, Edmore, Mich. $43 READY TO WEAR STORE FOR SALE In Niles. Mich Population 10,000. Long lease. Best location. A money maker for the' right party. Fixtures all new. Stock is clean. Best of reasons for selling. Immediate possession. Deal can be closed with small payment down. Write to W. A. Fishel, Three Rivers, Mich., or phone 70 844 GENERAL STORE—With going busi- ness, stock general merchandise, store fixtures and store buildings, located in thriving village between Flint and De- troit. Will sell or exchange for Flint or Detroit properties Must be sold at once. Address Chas. Ll. Beckley, Hadley, Mich. S45 GROCERY STOCK — Three shares Grand Rapids Wholesale Grocery stock, cash or time. Particulars, address M. L. Pierson, Hastings, Mich. 846 $2300 Burroughs %-key modern adding machine, with stand, $125 Kine condi- tion Kutsche’s Hardware, Grand Rap- ids, Mich S47 For Sale—Counters, show cases, rolling ladder, garment carriers, electric light fixtures, coffee mill For particulars, write John Rummel & Co., Sebewaing, Mich. 848 For Sale—General merchandise stock and fixtures. Inventors about $7,000. Doing about $35,000 per year for the right man. About twenty-five miles from Grand Rapids Poor health reason for selling Address No. 849, c/o Michigan Tradesman. 849 Wanted To Rent—Space in a cash and earry grocery for meat market Big business guaranteed to first-class meat man who has good fixture Very liberal Good place contract. If interested, write to David Gibbs, Ludington, Mich. 850 SALES EXPERTS—WE ARE SPEC- IALISTS IN TURNING STOCKS INTO CASH, CONDUCTING SPECIAL SALES and COLLECTING DELINQUENT AC- COUNTS; write The For information, W. G. & H. Sales Co., 142 N. Mechanic St.. Jackson, Mich 841 For Sale—General store, cash business. Fine buildings. Post office connected. Good farming country. Box 35, Hobart, Mich. 851 Must sell well established imp'ement business on account of sickness. Stock will pay for half price asked. Address No. 835, c/o Michigan Tradesman. 835 will assist out stocks Merchandise merchants to sales specialist reduce or close entirely. Reasonable charge. Expert service. Greene Sales Co., 216 Michigan Ave., E., Jackson, Michigan 836 Position Wanted—By high grade sta- tionary engineer. Understands generators and motors. Can take full charge of maintenance Wm. H. Geale, KR. FF. D. Grand Rapids, Mich. 837 Wanted Registered pharmacist State experience, and names of past employers. Address No. 840, c/o Michigan Trades- man. 840 FOR SALE—Old established shoe store, only general line in town of 1000; resort and farming, Western Michigan. Own- ers have other interests. ‘ visit is wel- comed from bona-fide prospects. Address No. 821, c/o Michigan Tradesman. 821 For Rent—I want to rent store building and fixtures at 419 W. Main street, Ionia, No. 9, Box 3246, for any kind trade that is_ suitable. yest location in city. Store is all remod- eled, in good condition. G. Balice, Ionia, Mich. 823 WANTED—Man with sales experience to sell the EHRLICH line of refrigerators, cooling rooms and freezing counters to the butcher and grocery trade. Splendid opportunity for the right man. H. EHR- LICH & SONS MFG. CO., LAKE AND COLORADO AVES., ST. JOSEPH, MIS- SOURI. 813 For Sale—A clean stock of general ba- zaar goods and groceries in small town with city conveniences and surrounded by good farming country. This is a splendid opportunity for a retail mer- chant. Address No. 808, c/o Michigan Tradesman. 808 Pay spot cash for clothing and furnish- ing goods_ stocks. L. Silberman, 1250 Burlingame _ Ave.. Detroit. Mich 566 CASH For Your Merchandise! Will buv vour entire stock or part of stock of shoes, dry goods, clothing, fur- nishings, bazaar novelties, furniture, etc. LOUIS LEVINSOHN, Saginaw, Mich. LARGEST AND BEST. Michigan Hardware Dealers Out in Full Force. The thirty-first annual convention of the Michigan Retail Hardware As- sociation convened at the Pantlind Hotel, Grand Rapids, Tuesday after- noon. President Rankin called the meeting to order, when William Moore pro- nounced the invocation. After the singing of America, led by Charles F. Nelson, Mayor Swarthout delivered the address of welcome, which was responded to by Scott Ken- drick, of Flint. President Rankin then read his an- nual address, which is published ver- batim in this week’s paper. Addresses were then made on Gen- eral Business Conditions by H. A. Squibbs, Chicago; Hardware Pros- pects for 1925 by Paul H. Stokes, In- dianapolis, and Profession of Business by Grover C. Good, Grand Rapids. Tuesday evening all who wished to do so attended Empress theater. Wednesday forenoon W. J. Spencer, of Saginaw, read a paper on Relation of the Traveling Salesman to the Deal- er, which is published in full in another part of this week’s paper. Charles M. Alden read a paper on Community Development, which will be found on pages 6 and 7 of this week’s Tradesman. J. H. Lee, of Muskegon, read a paper on Forming a Favorable Im- pression, which appears verbatim else- where in this week’s paper. Herbert P. Sheets, National Secre- tary read a paper on Team Play in Business, which will be published in full in the Tradesman next week. The annual report of Secretary Arthur J. Scott was as follows: This is my twenty-third annual re- port as Secretary of your Association, and one cannot help but be impressed by the numerical growth of the or- ganization and by the sincerity of the members in their desire to co-operate in any movement inaugurated by the Association for the welfare of the hardware trade of the State. The Association has been placed upon such a strong foundation and has such an enviable record to look back upon that there are few, if any, con- nected with the hardware business in any capacity but what realize that a membership is worth many times the amount of the annual dues. I am pleased and gratified to report that the Michigan Association is still in the lead of all other single state as- sociations as to membership. We should all be proud of this creditable showing, for it constitutes the strong- est evidence that the dealers in Michi- gan are among the most progressive in the country and are doing their full share to assist in placing the business in which they are engaged upon the very highest plane. At the time of our last convention we reported 1685 members. We now have a member- ship of 1731 which shows a gain for the year of forty-six. While this in- crease is not as large as has been re- ported at some of our previous con- ventions, we should consider it as a good showing when we realize that some counties in the State are 100 per cent. organized and that the limit of our growth is about reached. However satisfactory membership growth may be, it means little unless it reflects a similar measure of progress in constructive association activities and service. After all, membership service is the real object of and reason MICHIGAN TRADESMAN for association existence, and enlarged membership is simply a means of better co-ordinating of the retail forces to work together in the solution of their common problems. The increased service rendered to members during the past year has been very marked and there has not been an idle moment in the Association office and its activities during the year. For your information I am going to give you some figures, which are taken from the report to your officers for the fiscal year ending December 31, 1924. Field Secretary Nelson and other officers made personal calls on 940 dealers. Thirty-two group meetings were held in different sections of the State. All of these meetings were attended by Field Secretary Nelson and, with one or two exceptions, by some officer of the Association. The total attend- ance was 1542, which is larger than that of any previous year and the mem- bers are very desirous of having the meetings continued. Twenty-four Secretarial messages (general letters) went from the As- sociation office during the year. Our postage account for the year was $1,198.61. Figuring on an aver- age postage of two cents a letter would make an estimated total of 59,930 pieces of mail sent out from the Association office. Through our Bargain and Informa- tion Bulletin, which is published and issued every three months, many mem- bers disposed of dead stock and others made considerable money through tak- ing advantage of the special offers which these bulletins contained. We gave special information, answer- ing questions of every character per- taining to the conduct of a hardware store, including such information as the source of supply for new or ob- solete merchandise, repairs, etc. This service was given to 296 members. We helped fifty-six members with the installation of Association Better Business Records. Made plans and offered suggestions to sixteen members on store and stock arrangement. Gave advertising help to seventeen members. Collected dead accounts amounting to $742.41 for forty-two members. This service was started July 1. Adjusted complaints for ten mem- bers. Gave legal advice to thirty members. Analyzed and checked paint stock, so as to get a better turnover in this line, for six members. Checked books for fifteen members. Made a business analysis for thirty- two members. Audited books for one member. Gave copies of charts on stockturn to forty-seven members. Made profit and loss statement for one member. Made income tax report for member. Gave personal help in stock reduc- tion to one member. This gives you an idea of the many and varied activities of the Association and our hope is that more of our mem- bers will avail themselves of the se~- vices that the Association has to offer and is willing to render. The matter of fire insurance is of vital importance to all of us and I am pleased to report that Michigan mem- bers can well be taken care of by our hardware companies. We now have seven which are licensed to do busi- ness in our State and any ordinary stock can be entirely covered. For several years they have returned to the assured, from 40 to 50 per cent. of the premium, which is certainly a very creditable showing. In the face of these large returns our mvtf™s! com- panies have built up their surpluses, so that their assets for every $1,000 in- surance in force are greater than that of the old line of stock companies. Personally, I cannot understand why every hardware dealers in the State one does not take full advantage of this great saving. Representatives from several retail mercantile associations of the State met in Lansing on Oct. 3 and perfected a new organization which is known as the Michigan Retailers Council. Mr. C. L. Glasgow, of Nashville, a member of our Association, was elected Presi- dent, and J. E. Hammond, of Lansing, Manager of the Dry Goods Associa- tion, Secretary. This organization is not made up of individual members, but is an amalgamation of the retail mercantile associations of the State. . Most of these organizations have com- mon interests in many directions, and especially in matters pertaining to legislation, that applies to retailers of all classes of merchandise. The Coun- cil is now busy and active in legisla- tive matters affecting the retailers of the State. At this time, I wish to make brief mention of the twenty-fifth annual Congress of the National Association, which was held in San Francisco, June 16-19, 1924. The convention theme was retail efficiency and the program concentrated on retail problems, with the hope of spot lighting the factors essential to retail efficiency. A very complete report of this meeting was published in the July issue of Hardware Retailer, which, no doubt, was read with interest by most of our members. It was a very constructive meeting, one of the best ever held by the National Association. Have you noticed the recent issues of Hardware Retailer, our official pub- lication? It has so developed that ii now stands at the head of all trade journals. This is your publication and you should read it thoroughly. Its policy is, to at all times promote and stand for the things which are for the best interest of the Retail hardware trade. The past vear, like all its predeces- sors since I assumed the office of Sec- retary, has found the officers and mem- bers of committees of the organiza- tion always on hand to administer to the best of their ability, the important work which has come before them from time to time. This example should be an inspiration to every mem- ber to co-operate whenever called up- on. I wish at this time to thank the officers and members of committees in- dividually for the personal considera- tion extended to me during the past year and also those members who have responded so promptly to requests made upon them. I hope that this convention will find us all closer together and that we will return to our respective homes inspired by a desire to maintain and increase the efficiency of this Association. The attendance is the largest ever recorded by the organization and the exhibits exceeed in number and _ va- riety anything before witnessed by the Association. — +7 >__ Renewed Industrial Development. Boyne City, Feb. 24—The Michigan Cooperage and Excelsior Co., after a shut down of about six months, dur- ing which time a complete lath making equipment has been added to the stave and heading mill, has started up with a crew of forty men. The company has secured a good stock of timber and the expectation is that it will continue to operate well into the summer, if not all the season. There are signs of a renewed indus- trial development that it is hoped will be permanent and replace with per- manent industries the places left by the passing of the lumber industries. Charles T. McCutcheon. —>++___ A. J. Palmer, dealer in general mer- chandise at Gagetown, renews his sub- scription to the Tradesman as_ fol- “We want you to be sure to keep it coming.” lows: February 25, 1925 Detroit—Edward J. McNulty has taken over the grocery and meat mar- ket at 8011 Lawton avenue. Jackson—An involuntary petition in bankruptcy has been filed against Elgin G. Ellsworth, druggist. The claims against him total $537.92. : Detroit—Thomas F. Murphy suc- ceeds Samuel George, confectioner at 8020 Mack avenue. Detroit—Leo K. Barber and R. P. Brooks have opened a grocery and meat market at 11342 Jefferson avenue, East, under the style Peninsula Mar- ket. Detroit—Lloyd C. Wehmes has bought the share of his partner, Chris Lynorup, in the W. & L. Pharmacy 14701 Kercheval avenue. The partners sold their other store at 14119 Kerche- val avenue to R. E. Bowers a short time ago. Detroit—The proprietor of the Fen- kell Avenue Clothing Store, on Fen- kell avenue, was held up and robbed of $1,000 which he had just borrowed recently. The thugs locked him in the rear room of the store, from which a customer released him an hour later. REMARKABLE GROWTH ASSETS NOW $565,225.96 The Citizens’ Mutual Automo- bile Insurance Company was or- ganized in 1915. The company wrote 12,000 policies within one year, and has had an increase in assets and busness each year. The company has settled over 25,000 claims, and has satisfied policy holders in every portion of the state. With 52,624 members it is the largest company in Michigan writing exclusively automobile insurance, and has a_ special and adjusting force, which brings its service home to its members. In the year 1924 it settled 9,001 claims and yet only thirty- seven of these cases were dis- posed of through the Circuit Court. Of these thirty-seven, sixteen were adjusted before trial; a verdict against the policy holder in seven cases; verdict in favor of the policy holder, seven; and dismissed and discontinued, seven, With an increase in assets for the year 1924 of $189,000.00 the company is prepared to give even better service. It will there- fore pay you to get in touch with the agent for agency Citizens’ Mutual Automobile Insurance Company HOWELL, MICHIGAN