, ? Oe 17'27F 8 PALA IN EA Sa NED PDO ISLAM az RT Aa i SELAWES aX WN NN hg re 7 pea RIE WITS bk or cree eT \ Hy 2 as TM EA) 3 NE (<1 He SS Aly PX 4 ae Dp n , IOS GE PT CAC Sy mI) AP ¥ aN C= nt 65) =A iim LS Ss MS Ye (iC Wn ( % \y i ae N », ¥ a r ! LV REND RENTAL EEA IS EL OVERALN on. SD Eas FONG ER Gos SNS ONO EDL LLL NOY py Fd Ne re xP PUBLISHED WEEKLY (Gatet EF LRADESMAN COMPANY, PUBLISHERSRK—2 (3) py) ie LEST. 1883 © 4 SDPISOS SO OW LE SG ELIS SSE SSIES SN ee \ Forty-fifth Year GRAND RAPIDS, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 12, 1927 Number 2299 | i $ fF om | cy ‘ he g Wray For My Soul b Nd meu z # m4 The old order changeth, yielding place to new, 3 And God fulfills Himself in many ways, Lest one good custom should corrupt the world. Comfort thyself; what comfort is in me? I have lived my life, and that which I have done May He within Himself make pure! but thou, If thou shouldst never see my face again, Pray for my soul. More things are wrought by prayer Than this world dreams of. Wherefore, let thy voice Rise like a fountain for me night and day. For what are men better than sheep or goats That nourish a blind life within the brain, If. knowing God, they lift not hands of prayer Both for themselves and thdge who call them friend? For so the whole round earth is every way Bound by gold chains about the feet of God. Alfred Tennyson. a ? ve = « MORE thana Fly Spray 7 HERE is a steady fall and winter demand for a safe, dependable insect spray. Warm, cozy interiors attract roaches, slickers, water- bugs and other disagreeable insects which annoy and also destroy valuable property. : An effective means of ridding the home of carriers of filth and contamination is to spray KIP regularly in cracks, crevices, around drain pipes and in damp places. So popular is KIP among thousands of housewives, that they continually return for more of this superior insect spray, that they may keep their homes always free from insect invasion. This popularity has caused an increasing large number of Michigan merchants to stock KIP and display it prominently on their shelves. They know that such a display serves as a reminder for their customers to buy now. If you are not handling KIP, at least investigate its merits. We should especially like to tell you of its profit possibilities. To receive this information does not obligate you. Just fill out the coupon. * » i Kills Insect Pests 7 Standard Oil Company (Indiana) 910 S. Michigan Avenue, Chicago, Illinois. Please quote prices and explain why KIP brings customers back asking for more — why the profits from KIP will especially appeal to me. Oe FS Pewh State STANDARD OIL COMPANY (INDIANA) 910 South Michigan Avenue—Chicago, Illinois ae era Forty-fifth Year GRAND RAPIDS, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 12, 1927 2299 Number MICHIGAN TRADESMAN E. A. Stowe, Editor PUBLISHED WEEKLY by Tradesman Company, from its office the Barnhart Building, Grand Rapids. UNLIKE ANY OTHER PAPER. Frank, free and fearless for the good that we can do. Each issue com- plete in itself. DEVOTED TO the best interests of business men, SUBSCRIPTION RATES areas follows: $3 per year, if paid strictly in advance. $4 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. Entered September 23, 1883, at the Postoffice of Grand Rapids as second class matter under Act of March 3, 1879. WEALTH AND PUBLIC LIFE. Writing in the September issue of Harper’s Oswald Garrison Villard of- fers a challenge to the millionaires of America which he aptly construes as both a duty and an adventure. It is a call for men of wealth to consider as a field in which they the greatest service to their country and also win rich divi- dends in content and happiness. Mr. Villard does not contemplate the establishment of an oligarchy of the financially and socially elect, but he holds that any well-rounded democracy demands representation of all groups and that to-day the public service lan- because it is almost totally disregarded as a career by men who, through tradition and financial inde- pendence, are admirably fitted for the public service can perform guishes cares of state. Exceptions to this gen- eralization he carefully notes, but there can be no quarreling with his state- ment that the list of such men in pub- lic life remains “discouragingly short.” The explanation of this state of af- fairs he ascribes to two main causes. The first is, of course, our political little opportunity a man to win public recognition system. There is tor in our State assemblies or in the House of Representatives at Washington. Political promotion is largely in the The Senate is the only legislative body in which a man may win a national reputation, and the road to the Senate is usually hard hands of bosses. and long. Far different is the situation in Eng- land, where a man may be elected to Parliament from any constituency and catl win immediate recognition, if he has the requisite talents, almost from the moment he takes office. The re- sult is that we find numerous families which generation after generation send their sons into public service and exer- cise a determining influence upon the course of British history. The second cause Mr. Villard cites for the paucity of men of outstanding ability in American politics is that our economic and industrial expansion has turned the “favored youth of the land” into business fields. The scions of families which in the earlier days of the republic devoted their energies to the state are now seeking other ca- reers. But there is one more reason why “men of wealth and family tradition” do not enter politics. That is our Na- tional apathy toward politics except on such major issues as appear in Presi- dential campaigns. We complain of conditions, but do little to remedy them. We do not demand men of genuine ability and, consequent- ly, get deserve. Not until the public recognizes politics as the most useful field in which a man may serve his country can we expect it to attract many men of the caliber we should like to see in public life. political the government we HISTORY TO ORDER. No American history textbook is fit to be put into the hands of American boys and girls. This is a sweeping condemnation, but it comes from no less an authority than that eminent American scholar and _— statesman, Mayor Thompson of Chicago. “Big Bill” has looked ’em all over and turn- They may suit those who have spent their lives in the history, but they fall short of the high standards of accuracy ed his thumbs down. study of American maintained so conspicuously by Chicago’s first citi- and taste Zen. Reluctantly, therefore, but resolute- that Chicago may have to print an Amer- ican history of its own, “a true history book.” ly Mayor Thompson suggests 3ut who has the knowledge, the judgment, the impartiality and the literary gift for writing such a volume? We know of only one such person, and Bill” not to allow any to stand in the way of afternoon off and dic- we beg “Big false modesty his taking an tating it. At first the may jealousy of other cities them from adopting Thompson's “American History As it Ought to Happened” in their own schools, but little by little the unique qualities of the book will win it universal recognition. The machina- III will have their place, but they are ancient history. The prevent “i Have tions of George great value of the Thompson tome will be its exposure of the schemes of George V. If history is past politics, who is bet- ter able to write it than a live poli- tician? CANNED FOODS CONDITIONS. The quiet canned food market is The falling off in buying interest is due to the fact that wholesalers are comfortably stocked readily explained. for the moment and as new packs are being delivered, their holdings are being increased in volume and in as- sortment. They are financing their earlier purchases and are not specula- tively inclined to take care of outlets which as yet are uncovered even though they admit that there is more likelihood of a later en than otherwise. There is no watt- stronger market ing for substantial declines and weak sellers with loads they are unable to The that he faces the prospect of paying finance. average buyer admits more than to-day’s prices for many, if not all, of the staples, with difficulty to obtain many grades and packs later on, but he is content to put off further operations along broad lines until there is more need of merchandise. The slowing up in buying demand has not caused the canner to be wor- the of the market as he has not resorted to the usual fali ried about course practice of offering goods at discounts to avoid warehouse and_ carrying charges. Tomatoes are about the only product where this is being done to any extent. As a class canners are firm and they are well enough financed to obviate the necessity of sacrifice sales of part of their surplus to carry the balance. Many carriers write their brokers that they have no surplus, but wish that they had. . SEES NEED FOR MORE FEAR. fn an effort to get away from the stern coldness of the religion of their fathers, many Christians have swung the religious pendulum too far in the opposite direction and are now exalt- God to the sion of righteousness and God’s just ing the mercy of exclu- retribution for man’s wrongs. We are living in a day of religious reaction and revolution. We must not, however, forget the old Bible text which tells us that the “fear of the Lord is wisdom and righteousness is true understanding.” Through the fear of God and the obedience of his moral law we shall come to a perfect peace and to a truly Christian life. ALN NNER At a time when motor accidents are increasing alarmingly any pracucal suggestion to minimize the possibility of collision should we welcomed by the A constant driver will notice that many motorists, make improper use of hand signals. Most city oper- ators use their hands correctly, but enough do not ((both in town and warrant an Bureau of Motor Vehices. particularly women, smaller communities) to examination when licenses are applied with a city for. An inspector riding candidate may or may not _ notice whether the latter uses accepted meth- ods; in less congested districts a man might take a test without occasion to use his hands at all. Every inspector should watch carefully, but, better still, the would-be operator should prove his knowledge on his written ques- tionnaire. A wrong signal confuses and irritates the driver of the car be- hind, and if he acts upon it promptly there is danger of a serious accident. The so simple that they should be learned bad The left hand extended, signals are before habits are acquired. palm down, means “I am slowing up; perhaps I'll stop’; if the hand flaps rapidly the maneuver may be abrupt; the palm at right angles to the ground, with the forefinger pointing up and down, “Tl am going to turn to the left’; a circle Says the whole hand describing means . 1 “T am turning to the right,’ and finally, # the hand, fingers extended, waves at right angles to the that the following It would be comparatively easy for the authorities suggests the ground, it Car pass to front. to bring these signals forcibly to the attention of drivers and thereby pre- a rear-end smash. vent many However democratic the world mav become, however much it may preterd to scorn dynasties and kingly houses, millions of hearts will always flutter at the first hint of romance in royal cir- the that Princess cles. There-is a fascination m rumors of such engagements as King of Bulgaria to Italy rivaled by reports of of the Giovanna of which cannot be the impending marriages of statesmen or even pugi- lists, no matter how much they may be in the public eye. ter if Nor does it mat- volitical observers try to strip such engagements of their romanticism and explain them away on the ground of expediency, arguing that Italy is seeking to further its peaceful pene- tration of the Balkans and that Bul- garia is endeavoring to win a Western ally. We do not propose to be deprived of the thrilling spectacle of a thirty- three-year-old king, in strict incognito, seeking the hand of a beautiful princess of twenty for her own charms. There is a romanticism which doth hedge kings, and the more power we take from them the more we admire them. The somber C world will be a sadder and more place if it is ever completely deprived of its kings and queens, prin- cess and princesses. a Ulysses Simpson Grant 3d decided that a policeman has the right to reg- ulate the length of women’s skirts in the Washington. If he is parks of | going to fi og Ss ht it out on that line, it summer. 1 will take al King “bobbed” regrow their hair. George is to compel the palace to Isn’t that like doing something or other to the stable door after the locks are stolen? any servants in 2 IN THE REALM OF RASCALITY. Questicnable Schemes Which Are Under Suspicion. Realm is in receipt of a letter from A. F. & Sons, of Kent City, reading as follows: “This is to bring Saur to your attention another case of un- wanted and unordered merchandise. We are enclosing our reply, together with the post card they sent us. Thank you for your efforts in helping rid us The house referred & Co., Cameron, of this nuisance.” ip is W. L. Grant Mo., sends out women’s gar- ments in quantities to mer- chants who never heard of the house before. Saur & Sons also send a copy of a letter they sent the house, as fol- lows: Kent City, Oct. 8—Your unwanted and unordered goods were delivered to us via parcel post. This practice has grown to be the biggest nuisance con- nected with our business. Heretofore we have patiently written for postage, endured a big pile of this unwanted merchandise laying around the office for days and davs, carted it away down to the other end of town to the post- office. waited in line to have it weigh- ed and properly stamped; taken the time to write a protest and request that the practice be discontinued. These instances, multiplied, consume a lot of valuable time and it seems the more patient we have been, the faster this stuff piled in on us. which liberal The Michigan Tradesman is the finest trade magazine we have ever read. Thanks to ts editor, E A; Stowe, Michigan is rapidly becoming unhealthy territory upon which to in- flict the above mentioned nuisance. The enclosed ruling which Mr. Stowe obtained from the Postoffice Depart- ment is self-explanatory. It clearly de- fines our rights. The time has come when we must take some steps to de- fend ourselves against this nuisance. Kindly send us fifty cents for our trouble in the matter, and we will re- turn your goods by express collect or via mail if vou send us the postage, plus a nickel extra if vou want them imsured. Otherwise the goods may lay here indefinitely and after a week or two they will be moved to less valu- able space and take their own chances on surviving. This action may appear. rather drastic, but we assure you we have been forced to take it in self defense. We order merchandise through the regular channels and we cannot multi- ply our accounts and have a helter- skelter lot of numberless amounts of merchandise to try to dispose of. A. H. Saur. & Son. On receipt of the above letter from Kent City the following friendly letter of warning was sent to Cameron, Mo.: Grand Rapids, Oct. 11—My readers send me letters and invoices you are sending out covering unsolicited, un- authorized and unacceptable shipments of women’s garments. This policy has been condemned by the Federal Trade Bureau and the Postoffice Department his furnished me with an opinion, pre- pared by the Solicitor General, to the effect that merchants are under no ob- ligation whatever to return goods sent out in this manner. Every concern which has been doing this sort of busi- ness has lost out, not only in the re- spect of the trade, but in serious loss- es from unreturned goods. A _ good many of the concerns which have pur- sued business unethically and illegally along these lines have gone into bank- ruptcy. Your rating with the mercan- tile agencies plainly shows that you cannot stand very much grief of this kind and I therefore suggest that you refrain from sending any further un- authorized and unwelcome shipments MICHIGAN TRADESMAN of garments into Michigan. All of the merchants who write me in regard to the matter I advise to either refuse the shipment at the express office or, if the goods get in the store, to pay no attention to them whatever and return them only on receipt of a dollar to pay for the expense and annoyance they have been put to in the matter. You will readily see that the only way the merchant who does a legitimate busi- ness in a legitimate manner and along ethical lines can break up a nefarious practice of this kind is to heavily penalize the people who indulge in it. As you are evidently new in the busi- ness, | go out of my way to warn vou in a friendly manner that this practice is not well regarded by Michigan mer- chants and that they will not give your goods the attention they might deserve if they came to them in the regular channels of business as the result of orders regularly and hongrably placed. E. A. Stowe. The architect of this department has no desire to inflict his own ideas, based on the experiences of a lifetime, on the readers of this feature of the Trades- man. He w-shes every reader to feel free to do as he pleases, but certainly no one has any cause for complaint if he rushes headlong into trouble by signing papers presented to him by utter strangers who demand payment in advance for services which may be performed later and may not. Michi- gan appears to be full to overflowing with chaps who offer to effect sales of mercantile stocks for a reasonable con- sideration, a portion of which is to be paid in advance. In ninety-nine cases out of 100 no sale is ever made and no response can be secured to letters writ- ten by the victims. Then the latter refer their grievances to this depart- ment, which sends a carefully worded letter to the concerns in distant cites. Immediately a reply comes ‘hack, stat- are interfering with their business and that we must keep our hands off or they will start suits against us. No attention is ever paid to such letters, because the person who threatens suit never resorts to the courts for relief. The writers of such letters evidently think they are deal- ing with men of no experience in pub- lishing or the law. They usually refer to the extreme youth of their corre- spondent, which would be very gratify- ing, if true. It is almost impossible to secure a refund from such concerns. Although the solicitor who secured’ the erder for a sale uses their stationery, contract blanks and bank references, they almost invar‘ably write that the solicitor was a crook and made no re- port of his activities and accomplish- ments to them. ing that we Washington, Oct. 10—In deciding that the public should be protected from traders who flood the mails with merchandise sent to “customers” who never ordered it, the Postoffice Depart- ment has satisfied complaints through- out the country, including retail inter- ests, by the ruling furnished the Mich- igan Tradesman. Protest has been made many times against those who mail unsolicited goods “on approval” and a bill was introduced in the House of Representatives at the last session of Congress to stop the practice. It was annoying, to say the least, and was unfair ‘both to the prospective buyers-and to competing retailers. Those to whom the goods were sent were expected either to buy them or to return them. One important factor which induced the Postoffice Depart- ment to reach its decision was the fact that many recipients of the merchan- dise had grown tired of being bothered with the unwanted goods and refused to even acknowledge their receipt and in consequence the department was burdened with demands of the senders that the packages be traced. This in- volved much work for the department and likewise put it in the position of being a sales agency. This has cost time and money. The department has finally balked at being put in a false light and at expense and labor which should not come within its realm. Henceforth the department will not perform as a collection agency but will continue to carry C. O. parcels at the regular rates. It will in no way deprive legitimate houses of sending solicited goods to legitimate customers on approval. But the concern which “shoots wildly” and sends goods that have not been ordered will be compell- ed to curb its activities. Lansing, Oct. 10—According to an interpretation of the 1927 statutes to- day by iW. W. Potter, attorney gen- eral, collecting agencies or merchants’ organizations are prohibited from send- ing “dunning statements” which sim- ulate court summons. A request for a ruling was received from B. C. Oosterbaan, of Muskegon. He enclosed a copy of a document be- ing sent out which corresponded close- ly with the verbiage of regular court summons. It ordered the creditor to appear and make arrangements to set- tle under penalty of court procedure. The 1927 law, according to Mr. Pot- ter's opinion, makes it a misdemeanor to use forms similar to court docu- ments in an effort to frighten persons into paying. ——_>-++—___ Corporations Wound- Up. The following Michigan corpora- tions have recently filed notices of dis- solution with the Secretary of State: Llewellyn Steel Co., Detroit. Cooper Steel Spring Co., Detroit. Manistee Sand Co., Manistee. Sam Blumental & Sons, Highland Park Miller-Schorn Corp., Detroit. Moderwell Coal Co., Detroit. Hamer Finance Co., Detroit. Red Sun Realty Co., Detroit. Kalamazoo Loose Leaf Binder Co., Kalamazoo. Pyramid Products Co., Deroit. Marshall Foundry Co., Marshall. Folding Paper Box Corp., Kalamazoo. Albee Co., Detroit. Campbell, Trump & Co., Detroit. William O. Goodrich Co., Detroit. Hammond-Wienecke Co., Saginaw. Louis Pfaelzer & Sons, Detroit. Auditorium Association, Inc., Creek, Holden Realty Co., Detro‘t. R-C Valve Co., Inc., Saginaw. Guelda-Hirt Co., Kalamazoo. Negaunee Mechanical Shovel Co., Ne- zaunee. ++. Has Brought Out Novel Glove. A novelty in gloves for young wo- Battle men is now being shown in a slip-on‘ with a new treatment of the strap. Instead of having 4d buckle the strap is drawn through a colorful flat metal case that is made in an oblong shape to represent a wrist watch. The top part lifts up, and un- derneath is a small metal tab for regulating the strap. The gloves have self-stitching on the back, with the same outside seaming repeated in the fingers. Since washability is guaran- teed, the color range is quite wide and includes the light tones of gray, beige, tan and the nude tints. Prices range from $39 a dozen up. style wrist —_+--—__ The successful man hustled freight on the dock while he was waiting for his ship to come in. October 12, 1927 Trouble in Buying Lamb Chops Retail On two occasions recently we have received complaints from consumer- buyers who claim they could not read- ily buy lamb chops in their regular meat shops. Both claimed that when they asked for lamb chops they were told that the lambs were too fresh to cut up and were left to order some- thing else or go away without buying. We are not in a position to say how often such conditions have arisen to the annoyance of buyers, but we see no reason why they should occur except in very unusual cases. It is seldom that lambs are sold too fresh to be im- mediately used, although in case of lo- cally dressed meat it may be advisable at times to allow the meat to age a little before selling. This should not interfere with supply for current needs, for the provident retailer of meats keeps his stock up so that he is seldom if ever short. If we were to hazard a guess it would be that the retailers in question found their chops selling more readily than other cuts from the car- cass and so did not care to cut up an- other lamb carcass while they had quite a quantity of cuts other than chops from previously cut carcasses to sell. Fortunately for consumers, all sections of any large consuming community do not demand the same cuts in the same measure. Since this is so it is equally fortunate for producers and wholesal- ers, as well as retailers, that there is a demand for all cuts in the community as a whole. Different sections of lamb carcasses are known as wholesale cuts, such as legs, loins, racks, breasts, chucks, wings, etc. There is probably not a wholesale dealer in lamb car- casses who does not meet the demand for special wholesale cuts to some ex- tent. It is quite possible for retailers located in sections where cheps are in greater demand than other cuts to buy extra loins or racks and in this way have all the chops their customers need without having an unnecessary amount of cuts that are not in great demand around the shop. Lamb chops, es- pecially loin chops, are considerably higher than most other lamb cuts, and it is our suggestion that a mess of shoulder chops from choice or good grade lamb be substituted, as well as a shoulder roast, or a lamb stew once in a while, but this should be left to the individual consumer to decide, and should not prevent consumer-buyers from getting chops if they really want them, ——_>+.>—___ Rhymes For Rural Trade. John D. Holman, of Rochester, Ind., made use of the following informal rhyme to attract rural and out-of-town trade: When you come to this man’s town To walk that broadway down, Looking for something for your feet Good to wear and yet so neat, I will tell you what you should do, Let me fit you out with a good shoe; I have shoes for all kinds of feet At such prices as cannot be beat. Come try me out, come one, come all. If you are fat or if you are tall I’ve got shoes for young and old As good a shoe as was ever sold. This rhyme is not just for fun, The purpose is to save you mon. Don’t read this and think no more But come to town and to my store, I'll sell you shoes at a good price, Up to date, good shoes and so nice: If style, quality and price will do the trick, You will come in and that real quick. < : fl “ *° —___ More Formal Millinery Wanted. While the current millinery demand centers principally on small hats, there have been quite a few calls lately for models with brims up to three inches wide. Active interest is reported in hats of the more formal type, featur- ing velvet and metal effects, to retath from $10 to $15. Felts and_ soleil models continue to do well. These hats are also wanted in the more for- mal styles, rather than tailored. Black remains the oustanding color in prac- tically all of the mater‘als employed. —_~>->—___ Playing the Game. Im just a common workman Drawing down a common wage, But I’m happier than lots of men Who occupy life’s stage. I give a day’s full measure And when that day is done, I'm happier because I know My pay was fairly won. Somehow T haven't time to moan My lot with all the mob, I guess I’m too darned busy Doing thoroughly my job. And something tells me in my heart I've found the magic spell Of happiness, success and peace By doing this job well. Richard S. Wallace. ——_»-->___ Letter Which Proved Effective. “Don’t bring your wallet unless you want to. Bring your wife or the girl who understands.” So reads a letter issued by Steefel Bros., Albany, N. Y. The letter continues: “We aim to sell to your mind before we sell to your pocket. We invite you to examine our shoes without pressure to purchase.” *6° PER SHARE In spring of this year estimates were made that earnings, net to Cities Service Common Stock for the year of 1927, would reach $6.00 per share. Study the table below. It shows the percentage earned on Cities Service Common stock outstanding during the twelve months’ periods ending on the last day of each of the last twenty-five months. Steadily increasing earnings indicate that estimates will be realized. Divide the percent shown by 0 and you find the amount net per share. Percentage Earned on Common Stock Twelve Months Ending Outstanding August 31, 1925 14.32% September 30, 1925 October 31, 1925 November 30, 1925 December 31, 1925 January 31, 1926 February 28, 1926 March 31, 1926 April 30, 1926 May Sl, 1926 _ June 30, 1926 July SI, 3926 - August of, 1926 _ September 30, 1926 — October SI, 1926 - November 30, 1926 - December 31, 1926 January 31, 1927 February 28, 1927 — March 3k, 1927 April a0, 1927 | May SE, 1927 — June 30, 1927 July 31, 1927 August of, 1927 A survey of the leading utility stocks shows an average ratio of market value to earnings of 15 to 1 The market on Cities Service Common today affords an excellent oppor- tunity to that type of investor who is seeking a combination of high yield and safety with a reasonable chance of appreciation and resultant increased yield on the original money invested. Henry L, Douerty & COMPANY 809-812 MICHIGAN TRUST BUILDING GRAND RAPIDS, MICH. Dial 54338 WoRDEN GROCER COMPANY The Prompt Shippers Stock this Quaker Leader QUAKER PORK anp BEANS Better than your Mother's, your Aunt's or your Grandmother's FOR SALE BY THE COMMUNITY GROCER IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD It Will Pay You WORDEN (;ROCER COMPANY Wholesalers for Fifty-seven Years OTTAWA at WESTON GRAND RAPIDS THE MICHIGAN TRUST COMPANY, Receiver 4 MOVEMENTS OF MERCHANTS. Charlotte—Floyd W. Clay succeeds Norman McLeod in the grocery busi- ness. Bangor—Roy Thomas has purchased the gracery stock of the Bangor De- partment Store. Flint—The Woodin & Barnes Co., 108 West Seconc its name to the avenue, has changed arnes Sales Co. Reed Citv—Lee Duddles has pur- chased the Reed City Bakery and will continue the business under the same | B style. Kalamazoo—J. E. Mc Morrow has re- signed his position with the Michigan Bread Co. and opened a bakery at Parchment. Lansing — The Baker-Woodmancy Hardware Co. is closing out its stock at the No. 2 store, 331 North Wash- ington avenue. Fennvile—Chellman & Son have sold their grocery and meat market stock to Reblyer & Van Hartesveldt, who have taken possession. Palo—Louis J. Fitzgerald has pur- chased the grocery stock of the late F. E. Gaylord. Mr. Fitzgerald was a son-in-law of the deceased. Lowell—Elhs E. Grand Rapids, has leased the store at 210 West Main street and will occupy silverware Sigler, recently of it with a stock of jewelry, and optical goods, Oct. 15. Detroit—The Atlantic Smoked Fish Co., 6039 has been incorporated with an authorized capital stock of $3,000, all of which has been 3Jeaubien street, subscribed and $1,600 paid in in cash. Grand Outfiting Co, tl W.., has changed its capitalization from $20,000 Rapids—Galewood Burton street, S. common and $30,000 preferred to $30,- OO preferred and 10,000 shares at $5 each. Gordon River Michigan Trust build- ing, has been incorporated with an authorized capital stock of $1,000, $400 of which has been subscribed and paid Grand Rapids—The Pimber Corp., in in cash. Sturgis—Mrs. Nora Jennings, owner of the John Tripp Clothing Co., has sold the store building, stock and fix- tures to the Racket Clofhing Co., for- merly of Rochester, Ind., and will re- tire from . Detroit — The Norge-Daniels Co., 2567 Grand boulevard, has been incor- business. porated to deal in refrigeration appara- tus, with an authorized capital ‘stock of $25,000, all.of which has been sub- scribed and $6,250 paid in in cash. Kalamazoo — Stanley Piotrowski, proprietor of Stanley’s General Store, 513 East North street, has purchased the stock and fixtures of Crowley’s East Side Department Store, 1206 Lin- coln avenue, taking immediate pos- session. Both stores will carry com- plete stocks of general merchandise, ready-to-wear clothing, hardware, etc. Jiroch, whole- sale and retail dealer in tobacco, con- Muskegon—Francis fectionery and soft drinks, has merged his business into a stock company un- der the style of the Francis Jiroch Co., 205 West Western avenue, with an au- thorized capital stock of $56,000, all of which has been subscribed and paid in, $5,340.75 in cash and $44,659.25 in property. MICHIGAN TRADESMAN Detroit—Stockings retailing for as much as $500 a pair are carried on the shelves of Detroit’s newest retail store, that of Peck & Peck, which opened at 1250 Washington boulevard last The company already maintains stores in New York, Boston, French Lick Springs, Palm Beach, Newport, Mackinac Island, Miami Beach, South- Detroit patrons of the firm on their sojourns to other parts of the country or who have purchased from traveling sales- men who have visited Detroit at stated intervals in behalf of the firm, joined in the request that Peck & Peck open a Detroit branch. From its beginning, more than forty vears ago, when the founder, George F. Peck, already in middle age and “broke,” started with a stock of hosiery he had to replenish daily, paying his rent by the day as well, the firm now maintains five stores in the shopping districts of New York as well as the others that week. ampton, Hyannis and Bellair. fashionable have been mentioned and nearly every prominent family in America is num- bered among its customers. Manufacturing Matters. Detroit—The Metal Mouldings Cor- 2935 Dunn Road, has in- creased its capital stock from $25,000 to $50,000. Detroit — The Peter Smith Heater Co., 6209 Hamilton boulevard, has changed its name to the Peter Smith Heater & Manufacturing Co. Hudson—The Hudson Pants Manu- facturing Co., has opened for business in the Kefuss building under the man- agement et- the Henry poration, owner, Schwartz. Pontiac—The Baldwin Rubber Co. has started construction of two new buidings, to cost $250,000. One will be an office building and the other will be a factory addition. Detroit—The General Waterproofing Co., 400 Penobscot building, has been incorporated to manufacture and deal in waterproof products, with an author- ized capital stock of $25,000, $5,000 of which has been subscribed and $1,000 paid in in cash. Detroit — The Morey-Hotton Co., TInc., 137° East Elizabeth street, has been ineorporated to manufacture and sell electrical equipment, with an au- thorized capital stock of $10,000, $2,- 580 of which has been subscribed and $1,200 paid in in property. Detroit—The American Auto Heater Co., 5930 Commonwealth avenue, has been incorporated to manufacture and deal in automobile heaters, machinery, etc., with an authorized capital stock of $50,000, $30,000 of which has been subscribed and paid in in property. Detroit — All in One Corporation, 6529 Russell street, has been incorpo- rated to manutacture and deal at whole- sale and retail in chemicals, oils, wash- ing compounds, with an authorized capital stock of 15.000 shares at $1 per share, of which amount $1,005 has been subscribed and paid in, $670 in cash and $335 in property. Flint—The Magnatile Manufacturing Co., 1553 Detroit street, has been in- corporated to manufacture magnatile products and deal in building materials, etc., with an authorized capital stock of $25,000, of which amount $10,500 has been subscribed and paid in, $2,000 in cash and $8,500 in property. Hermansville—The Lakeside Co. has been incorporated to manufacture and sell heating apparatus and parts, with an authorized capital stock of 250 shares of class A stock at $100 per share, 375 shares class B stock at $1 per share and 625 shares no par value, of which amount $20,000 has been sub- scribed and paid in, $14,000 in cash and $6,000 in property. —_+++>—__- Postoffice Department After the Sharks. Those concerns whose operating methods have been to send merchan- dise, particularly neckties and handker- chiefs, unsolicited to individuals and subsequently by means of postal tra- cers attempt to intimidate recipients into paying for this unwanted goods are going to find their sailing less easy in the future. The Postoffice Department recently made an important ruling against this practice, at the request of the Mich- igan Tradesman, and announces its intention to go as far as possible to put a quietus on this evil. Without aiming in any way to in- terfere with the legitimate use of post- al facilities by reputable concerns, the Department will proceed by regula- tions under existing legislation to stop the nuisance practices and will seek such additional legislation as may be necessary to effect relief from what the Department calls “undesirable mail patrons.” Fraud orders have already been used effectively to put an end to some of the objectionable mail businesses, but others have continued to run because they are technically within the law. A measure to coyer these will be pre- pared and submitted to the next Con- gress. Meanwhile, the Department has in- structed postmasters to guard against misuse of tracer form cards which mailers of unsolicited merchandise are in the habit of using in wholesae quantities to follow up their unordered wares in the effort to force collection. —Mail Order Gazette. —_——> 2 The National Society of Patriotic 3uilders of America has acquired the old home of Washington Irving at Seventeenth street and Irving Place New York, and will make the dwell- ing its headquarters. The aim of the Society is “to preserve historic places, support the Constitution and maintain old American ideals.” The career of Washington Irving fits in with all of these. The stories he wrote in his later ears set down the early ideals of the Nation as they have been set down by few other American writers of any period. Most of them have become classics. Some of them, such as Rip Van Winkle, rank with the best stories written in the English language. The use of the words “support the Con- stitution” recalls that in the days in which Irving flourished the Constitu- tion was in its formative stage. States- men and publicists were much given tc expressing their views concerning it While Washington Irving is now October 12, 1927 known only as a novelist and essayist, he had a good deal to say about seri- ous political matters when, as a youth- ful journalist, he was reporting the trial of Aaron Burr for a New York newspaper. Despite the fact that the lawyers on both sides of the case were in the habit of making speeches which took from fifteen to twenty hours to deliver, Irving managed to make his reports as interesting as—well, Rir Van Winkle’s experiences. Those whc aspire to become journalists can read nothing that will better fit them for the work. —_—2.—s—_——_ Louisiana, last and hardest hit of all the states flooded during the great in- undation of last spring and summer, is on its way back, displaying a cour- age that should inspire the rest of the country with renewed interest in the problems of rehabilitation and per- manent relief that remain to be solved. Melville is one of the prosperous little towns that were left wrecks—and a Mississippi flood spares nothing. When Secretary Hoover reached there he found every ablebodied inhabitant of the place hard at work. To his ques- tion of how much relief was needed the brave reply came: ‘None at all. We'll pay our bonded indebtedness, our schools will run for a full term and whatever else comes up will be taken care of.” An allotment of $120,000 of Red Cross funds was made, however, and a fitting reward it was for the answer to the Secretary. From the beginning the fortitude displayed by the residents of the flooced areas has been nothing short of magnificent. Their fight has been a long one, call- ing for other qualities than a merely momentary display of daring. They have done whatever might have been expected of them, the Red Cross and Secretary Hoover have done all that might have been expected of them and the result has been an almost incred- ible improvement in the situation. All this should contribute to the pressure that will be brought to bear upon Congress to provide for a continuance of rehabilitation work and, most of all, to do everything humanly possible to guarantee the country aganst a re- currence of this epochal disaster. —__—_> 2. >___ The kitchen and the dining table are centers of home life. Home cooking was once a joy of married life, and the private dining table a social focus. No wonder apartment house builders in- clude kitchenettes. Restaurant life is not what it seems in its beginning. There are no loving thoughts mixed in its food, as there is in home cooking. ~~ J. D. Riley, 113 So. Elm avenue, Jackson, renews his subscription and says: “Am out of business, but cannot get along without the Tradesman. I look for its arrival with as much inter- est as when in’ business.” ——--.>--———— Wyckoff & Smith, dealer in shoes at Greenville, renew their subscription to the Tradesman and write: ‘This is always a bill we pay with pleasure.” —_~+-.—___ The best thing about the great open spaces is that it is usually several miles between saxophones, F i 3 October 12, 1927 Essential Features of the Grocery Staples. Sugar—Jobbers hold cane granulated at 6.75 and beet granulated at 6.65. Tea—Tea is in a healthy condition, due to comparatively light stocks and only moderate imports. Much less tea has come into this country lately than is accustomed to come. Formosas have advanced a little during the week. Out- side of that there has been little or no change. Practically everything in good teas, including the fermented teas, Ceylons, Indias and Javas, is well maintained. The whole market on good teas is steady to firm. Congous are also looking up. Coffee—The market, meaning Rio and Santos, in a large way, has shown some strength during the week and the whole list is possibly half a cent higher than last week. The cause of this is news from Brazil again claiming that that country will be able to finance the coming crop. Later in the week, however, the Brazil market eased off somewhat, but it is still high- er than a week ago. Milds are in rather small supply and firm. The whole list shows a fractional advance as compared with last week. Canned Fruits—A number of short- ages have occurred in fruit packs, and it may be a problem later on how the lack of offerings from canners will be taken care of. The trade did not over-, buy and there was no speculative ele- ment which can be counted upon to release its goods when the market warrants liquidation. In other words, the question is raised where will the resale blocks come from? Pears are one of the outstanding features of shortages. The apple pack is yet to be made, and that promises to be cut short by the general failure of the crop throughout the country. Canned prune production in the Northwest has been, curtailed and canners who are offering have advanced their prices over open- ing. So it goes with many items. The lull in peach buying is not attributed to anything but a desire to see what the actual pack will be and how the market will behave when the pack statistics are announced. It is evident that production of the lower grades and of small sized peaches has been cut and with a clearance of that de- scription from last year, such fruit is more favorably regarded as a good buy than choice and fancy. Canned Vegetables—Among vege- tables, tomatoes have been the only item to run contrary to the balance of the list. Southern packs have not hardened in value and it is easier to buy tomatoes than other commodities. Probably the weather has had some- thing to do with it as the harvest has been prolonged by the warm weather and, judging by the receipts of toma- toes in the produce market, there is better quality stock and in larger vol- ume available to the canner than at the end of summer. Some of the smaller canners have been shading quotations and this has affected the larger inter- ests, but with it all there has been steady buying of all sizes. The range is wide in some instances, depending upon the brand and the packer. A firmer and slightly higher market is occurring in standard Alaska and sweet MICHIGAN TRADESMAN peas at Wisconsin points, but extra standards and fancy have not been affected. What buying occurs is most- ly in standards. The corn situation is t ght at primary points and there are only scattered offerings. Maine pack- ers are completing their pack and have not totaled their outputs to know what deliveries they will make on fancy grades. In the Middle West where the canning season is over canners are marking up their standards and pre- dict top prices ‘before spring. In the Southern belt an equally optimistic view is entertained. The strength has been mainly at the canning end since many wholesalers have accumulated carryover and while they have bought some new packs they have counted upon a larger production than present forecasts indicate. Throughout the minor vegetables there is a strong un- dercurrent which becomes more mark- ed as the season progresses. Dried Fruits—Dried fruit distribu- tion in the jobbing and retail field is better than the average for October, but it would be better yet with a little snappy weather. Prunes have price appeal and so have raisins and other commodities. All dried fruits are go- ing over the retail counter and further impetus is expected by the catch sales which the retail stores have begun to make. Wholesale grocers say that they are making a more rapid turnover of California prunes than they had ex- pected and there has been no accumu- lation. The spot market was closely sold out and: while shipments are com- ing in there has been no further change in the level of spot prices. Oregons are well sold out and it will be several weeks before there will be any volume of new pack. Not in years has there been such a shortage of seeded raisins as at present. Thompsons and Sul- tanas are in demand and shipments to arrive in the near future have been booked to be moved from the dock as fast as they are delivered. The short- age is not confined to box packs but exists in carton goods, of which little is left except the association packs. The clean-up of independent and private label goods will allow for a free movement of new pack when it arrives. With all of the satisfactory spot situation there is little present interest in any of the dried fruits on the Coast. New crops have been bought on contract and there is no de- sire to purchase now so that inven- tories at the turn of the year will be heavy. The distributing trade is op- timistic about the future and it is pre- dicted that there will be no year-end depression since operators have not overloaded. They believe that they will be able to get he tonnage crops as they need them and have not over- bought. Canned Fish—There is no pressure to sell and almost everything is scarce. This includes pink Alaska salmon and red Alaska. Pinks are relatively scarcer than reds. The pack of Maine sardines is still very much below what it ought to be, but no material advanc- es have occurred as yet. Shrimp and tuna are both scarce and wanted. Tuna especially is very firm, particularly for white meat, which is almost out of the market. Salt Fish—Warm weather has inter- fered with the demand from consumers, and retailers during the past week have not given the market normal sup- port. Mackerel remains at former quotations in the wholesale market since there are no oversupplies of for- eign or domestic. The catch along the American shore so far has been | ght and there are no sacrifice offerings at primary points. Other salt fish are without new developments. Beans and Peas—The demand for all varieties of dried beans is very dull. The market is mostly in buyers’ favor, but concessions do not stimulate the demand. This also applies to dried peas. Cheese—The market is still firm, on account of light offerings. Demand fair. Nuts—The big event of the week in nuts-is the announcement of opening prices on California walnuts at 0@/7c below he level of last year to a basis which has not been duplicated in many years. Walnuts are cheap because there is the largest crop on record, but they are of uniformly good quality and are priced so that they can be sold in larger units than usual at popular prices. The slogan of the Cal.fornia Walnut Growers’ Association in its consumer advertising will be that this is walnut year when the consumer can get nuts at attractive prices. Another thing in favor of liquidation is that walnuts have become an all-the-year- around seller. While they move in heaviest volume in the fall, there is a good demand for them during the other seasons. Syrup and Molasses—The demand for sugar syrup is still rather small, as there has been no really cool weather. Prices are steady. Compound syrup is selling to some extent at unchanged prices. Molasses unchanged. Some of the lower grades are easier, but the high grocery grades about steady and in fair demand. —_——_+ +. Review of the Produce Market. Apples — Wealthy, Shiawasse and Wolf River, $1.50@2 per bu. Bagas—Canadian, $1.75 per 100 Ib. sack, Bananas—7'4@8c per Ib. Beans—Butter, $3 per bu. Beets—$1.50 per bu. Butter—The market has had a firm week, especially on fine fresh creamery. Offerings are limited and demand ac- tive. There have been, however, no changes in prices. Undergrade butter is wanted at firm prices. Jobbers hold June packed ta 43c, fresh packed at 44c, prints at 46c. They pay 24c for No. 1 packing stock and 12c for No. 2. Cabbage—$2.50 per 100 Ibs. Carrots—$1.25 per bu. Casaba Melons—$2.50 per crate. Cauliflower—$2 per doz. Celery—25@60c per bunch accord- ing to size. Cocoanuts—$1.10 per doz. Cucumbers—Hot house, $2 per doz.; garden grown, $2.50 per bu. Dried Beans—Michigan jobbers are quoting as follows: © oH. Pea Beans ..2 =) $6.00 Eight Red Kidney _-2..--_- __ 7.00 Dack Red Kadney .- | 6.00 Eggs — Fine fresh eggs are still 5 scarce and firm. Demand takes them readily as they come in at top prices, which are about lc higher than a week ago. Undergrade eggs, however, in spite of this, are not wanted and are dull and sluggish. Local jobbers pay 43c for strictly fresh. Egg Plant—$2.25 per doz. Garlic—30c per string for Italian. Grapes—Calif. Tokays, $2 per crate; home grown Wordens and Concords, $2.25 per doz. for 4 Ib. baskets; Niag- aras, $2.50; Delawares, $3. Green Onions—Home grown silver skins, 20c¢ per bunch. Honey Dew Melons—$2.50 per crate. Lemons—Quotations are now as fol- lows: 300 Sunkist 1 $13.00 S60 Sunkist 13.00 S60. Red Ball 22 12.50 300 Red Ball 0 12.50 — a) oO Lettuce—In good demand on t following basis: California Iceberg, 4s, per bu. —-$3.70 Outdoor leal, per bu. 1.25 Onions—Spanish, $2.50 for 72s and 7 $2.75 for 50s; home grown command $2 for white and $1.75 for yellow—both 100 Ib. sack. Oranges—Fanecy Sunkist Caifornia Valencias are now on the following basis: FOG ee $9.00 126 9.50 P90 ee 9.75 70 ee 9.75 20) 10.00 216) 10.00 2 9.00 BSS ee 8.50 S44 ee 5.50 Red Ball, 75c cheaper. Peaches—All marketed except a few Smocks, which command $3 per bu. Pears—$2.50 per bu. for Bartletts. Peppers—Green, 40c per doz. Pieplant — $1.50 per bu. for home grown. Potatoes — The market is fairly strong on a basis of $1.25 per 100 Ibs. at most Northern Michigan buying points. Poultry—Wilson & Company pay as follows this week: Heavy fowls 62.2022 20c Bioht fowls 2 ne 7G Fleagy Broter 2.2052. Zic hioht W. Lb. Broters .....5...-. 18c Radishes—20c per doz. bunches for home grown. Spinach—$1.25 per bu. Squash—Hubbard, 4c per Ib. Sweet Potatoes—$3.25 per bbl. for Virginia. Tomatoes—75c per % bu. basket. Veal Calves—Wilson & Company pay as follows: Raney 220 19¢ Good 2 18¢ Median 17¢ Poor 6020 13¢c ———_++ > New Engines in Old Ships. The shipping board has av@arded con- tracts for eight Diesel engines with which to equip cargo carriers of the Shipping Board fleet. These contracts will proved a sharp stimulus to the heavy machinery trade throughout the United States and will do much to en- courage the building of Diesel engines which is in its infancy here. 6 MICHIGAN TRADESMAN October 12, 1927 HOW WIDE IS YOUR COUNTER? Invisible Barriers Between You and Your Customers. Never mind the yardstick. Perhaps you couldn’t find it; and, if you did, it would be of little assistance in answer- ing the question. The key does not lie in the distance between the edge that smudges your apron front, and that other edge with its little finger marks. where kiddies chin themselves to check your count of jelly ‘beans. Your counter is the part of your business which is most frequently between you and your customer; so, whatever it may be which constitutes the invisible barriers arising between you and your customer, that is the counter whose breadth concerns this column. There are three quantities in the business of retailing which every dealer should know, and know well: 1. His merchandise. 2. His customers. 3. Himself. They are enumerated in the exact order of their depth of mystery, from least to greatest. What is more, they will forever remain a triune puzzle to the merchant who cannot or will not remove himself from behind his coun- ter and analyze them from the vantage point of the customer’s subconscious- ness. “But,” you say, “I know my mer- chandise from A to Z; its cost, its sell- ing price, its rate of turnover, its superior features, and the houses from which I can buy it to the best advan- tage. I know my customers, too, Sixty per cent. of them are known to me by their first names; and I know how many ch_Idren there were in every family for ten miles around, up to a week ago. As for myself, I shave my- self and I have never been able to ap- prehend my mirror in a falsehood.” All of which is true, but remember you are behind the counter. Just take off that apron; hide that pencil in the desk and pull the rolltop down, if you can; forget the combination to the safe for the moment; don your hat and coat go out and walk around the block; then come back into the store, but forget that it is yours and don’t go be- hind the counter. Now look at your merchandise. What do you see? Just so many yards of gingham at steen cents a yard or a half dozen stovebolts at three-for-a- nickel? Not on your life! When you are outside the counter—really outside —you can see merchandise there you never knew was there, because it never showed on your inventory. Woven into every yard of goods is “personal ser- vice.” Included in every peck of po- tatoes is the unwritten code of your life—the code which has not only kept you out of jail, but has caused you to hold up your head among men with just pride. That is the merchandise which is yours; amd only you can sell it. It must be sold across your counter and nowhere else in the whole wide, wide world can people obtain it. No pic- tures of it can ever be printed in a catalogue. No syndicate chief in a plate glass office in New York can send it to his store manager in Willow Springs to deal out to the buying pub- lic. No peddler can carry samples of it under his arm from door to door. You are given the absolute exclusive on it by the dictator of final economics and you have the patent on it for all time. It could not be had until you went into business and it will never be available after the undertaker has looked you over and called it a good job. That peculiar merchandise is the peculiar you, the precise like. of which never was, and never will be. Perhaps you have never had any call for it? In- troduce it, first, so that people will want more—and they will come back. And, when they come back, it will be back to you. It is up to you to prove that yours is the original of its kind. —and all others are imitations. Then educate the people to insist upon the original. And look at your customers. Give them a close-up scrutiny. You will be astonished to find them _ utter strangers to you. No man was ever really known by a mere name. The letters on his mailbox cannot possibly be any more accurate index to h’s real self than the numerals over his door. You may know that he has a size fifty waistline, because it is your job, sometimes, behind the counter, to fit him out with a pair of trousers; but do you know the best half dozen ways to make him smile? When you slip him that peace treaty cigar in the Saturday order of groceries, do you choose the brand from an understand- ing of his preference in tobacco qual- ity or is your selection, regulated by your back counter knowledge of the wholesale cost in thousand lots? And when his wife wants some silk for a dress, could you tell, for the life of you, with your back turned, whether she has brown eyes or gray? Such things make a heap of difference, when suggesting colors, you know. And you just must know your customers, whether you know their first names, or not. You might have two customers by the same name; but you couldn’t possibly have two customers exactly alike. To the mail order competitor, all customers are alike. To the gentle- man in the plate glass office, they all look alike. And the peddler knows them from the very first as “lady” or “mister.” If you do the same, what right have you to a preference in their good will? Now look at yourself. Perhaps it is asking too much; but try it, just once, for the thrill it gives. What do you look like. Your red hair, Roman nose, oversize circumference—these are all beside the point. They don’t mean a thing. The things which really matter have to do with the direction in which the corners of your mouth point. Does your face need lifting? And those crow’s feet at the corners of the eyes, are they the marks of age, or the fore- cast of a laugh? Which have you, a good sense of humor or a meddling sense of rumor? Come on, now. Be fair. Take a true inventory of your- self as the customer sees you, take a full length portrait of yourself, with the public’s glasses as the lens of the camera. Now that you have done all this, get behind the counter again, if you can. When you try to do so, you w.ll be much surprised to find that your counter is much narrower, and your customer much nearer than ever you had thought possible. W. H. Caslow. oo ____ New Items in Scarfs and Shawls. Among the new offerings of fancy shawls in the market are numbers priced to retail at $7.50. They are of the fringed and embroidered type, 54 inches wide, and are made of crepe in a range of pastel colors and black. The fringes are double knotted to prevent unraveling. A novelty offered in scarfs features hand-painted raised flowers and leaves, the flowers being sewn to a crepe de chine ground. Their edges are iridescent and in appearance suggest an applique treatment. Four different floral designs are available. The scarfs are sixty-six inches long and feature pastel colored grounds. They can be retailed at about $5. a Has Novelties in Black Glass. A wide range of cigarette boxes, ash trays, atomizers and perfume bottles of black glass is offered by an import- er of novelties. They have a rich gloss and are supposed to imitate onyx. The cigarette boxes, which have a capacity of 100, have a cover of pale green glass surmounted by a Japanese figure to serve as a handle. The ash trays are “man size” and are set on gold- finished bases with attractive border The bottles come in a var-ety of shapes and sizes, but for the most part follow the flat lines of flasks. Wholesale prices range from $7 up. effects in colored stones. Buying Holiday Leather Goods. Holiday lines of leather goods are beginning to move more freely. Buy- ers for important retail stores are giv- ing salesmen more attention than for some time, and they are ordering a wide variety of merchandise. Fitted cases, both for men and women, are being taken in a variety of leathers, and good business is also being done in women’s overnight bags, handbags, and a range of imported novelties. For men, orders are coming in freely on gold-trimmed wallets and bill cases, and there is a good call for flexible leather cases in which soft collars mav be carried. oo ooo Hides, Pelts and Furs. (reen No. fc 14 Green, No. 2 0. 13 Pites: NO Po 15 CupeG: NG. ooo a 14 Calfskin, Calfskin, Calfskin, Calfskin, Horse, No. 1 i. forse, Wo. 2 J. G00 Pelts TAMbs 50@75 Sheartings (26 10@25 Tallow. Prime 07 No. 1 07 No. 2 06 Wool. Unwashed, medium __.-_-_-..--._.__ @30 Unwashed, rejects ~__-......--.... 25 (jwashed, Ane — 2. @26 —~+2>—___ The Future of Coal. The announcement of the Geological Survey that coal still remains the chief source of power for developing elec- tricity at public utility plants is a basic statement on which all connected with the public utility and the fuel field will build their future structures. Why Grocers are Stocking the full Borden line Because- The Borden line enables every retailer to have a com- plete milk department—a type of milk for every household need, and all under the same brand—Borden’s. 2 Borden quality is tradition- al—universally known and accepted by every housewife. The Borden Company is the oldest, largest, best- known company in the milk business. Its high prestige is national. The very name Bor- den’s suggests quality milk to every consumer. Every Borden product is an advertised product. The full Borden line is a profitable line. THE BORDEN COMPANY 350 Madison Avenue New York City a v October 12, 1927 MICHIGAN TRADESMAN 7 . Proceedings of the Grand Rapids hap bankrupt isa resident ms Realgeaeee, City Fuel Co., Grand Rapids ---. 26.00 sists of machinery, tools, fixtures and Me + and his occupation is that of a jeweler. Vv. C. Fuel Co., Grand Rapids ---. 20.00 furniture for the conéuct of a meat mar- Bankruptcy Court. The schedules show assets of $37,355.68 Bennett Fuel Co., Grand Rapids 6.50 ket, and is located at Grand Rapids. Grand Rapids, Oct. 3—On this day was of which $750 is claimed as exempt, with Dr. A. Vanderstolp, Grand Rapids 40.00 The sale will be held at the office of the : held the first meeting of creditors in the liabilities of $37,603.75. The first meeting Mich. Bell Tel. Co., Grand Rapids 8.00 referee Oct. 20. An inventory is at the 2 u . hac of Grand Rapids, and his occupation 1S a a a Ss ao : + oe aul B. Bellew, Bankrupt No. 3181. The ths f a laborer TY sohagules si : Douma & Sons, Grand Rapids —--.~ 38.12 note of the same made herein. The list bankrupt was not present or represented. ee oe or 1edules show piyte Plumbing Co., Grand Rapids 6.25 of creditors of said bankrupt are as fol- One claim was proved and allowed. The assets of $200.00 of which the full interest (GR. Tent & Awning Co., Grand lows i : i i : trustee was present in person Ay order is claimed as exempt, with liabilities of Rapids 7 4 2 €0 He ae Ki EI a v 2 @ i. . : : . ' $1,301.96. The court has written for funds oe a lL : rons Sey Flint -------------$ 12.00 was made for the payment of expenses Seog : oa Burton Heights Creamery Co., ©. K. Tate, Morley _. of administration, as far as the funds on | Prater 8 of les sage pe boa eh ee a 41.47 William Lass, Grand Rapids ___-_- hand would permit. There were no divi- Mecte OF Creetrole wilt pe cale® anc Aetna Window Cleaning Co., G. R. 15.00 Kemp & Lane, LeRoy -___-- : , ae yy i i i as ‘ i : note of the same made herein. The list eG) Bec to : 4 ; f e = dends for general creditors. No objec- of creditors of said bankrupt are as f 1 Ellis Bros., Grand Rapids a 9.50 Porter Pain King, Napoleor La tions were made to the discharge of the joys: rok said bankrupt are as fol- Otto Thumb, Grand Rapids ~--__-- 295.00 Toledo Battery, Toledo a bankrupt. The final meeting then ad- ON = In the matter fo Sam J. Friedman, G. R. Calendar Co., Grand Rapids journed without date and the case will Blectro-Pure Creamery Co., Grand Bankrupt No. 3226, the trustee has re- Mishawaka Rubber Co., Mishawaka be closed and returned to the district Rapids ~--~--------------- _-------- $ 23.95 ported the receipt of an offer from D. H. Ind. : ee es ae ‘ , court in due course. A. F. Helmer, Grand Rapids ---- 19.18 Hunter, of Rockford, in the sum of $100 S. S. Edgar, Lake View fe sae 00 On this day also was held the final Isabel Fubber, Grand Rapids .2-_ 18.37 for the stock in trade and fixtures of this Mrs. S. F. Kennedy, Lake View_. 100.60 meeting of creditors in the matter of St. Mary’s Hospital, Grand Rapids 149.50 — estate, over and above the exemptions Charles Meach, Lake View 192.60 Fred R. Morse, Bankrupt No. 3121. The Butterworth Hospital, Grand Rap. 114.00 of the bankrupt. The property, over and R. & C. Bollinger, Lake View ____ 185.00 fe bankrupt was not present or represented. Dr. Whalen, Grand Rapids -.---- 108.00 above such exemptions, is appraised at Lake View Lumber Co., Lake View 35.00 The trustee was present in person. One Dr. Hyland, Grand Rapids —_----~- 34.00 $1,223.38. The offer is merely a starting Dr. King, Bake View _..___ 6.00 claim was proved and allowed. The bills Dr. Robertson, Grand Rapids __-- 15.00 offer for the bidding. The property con- Peter Peterson, Lake View | 60.60 of the estate were considered and ap- National Clothing Co., Grand Rap. 28.00 sists of ladies and misses Wearing ap- Great Lakes Coca Cola Co., G@ 4.00 proved. An order was made for the pay- W urzburg Dry Goods Co., Grand R, 22.00 parel and kindred merchandise and the F. L. Stebbins, Lake View 50.00 & o ment of expenses of administration and Harry W ells, Grand Rapids __---~ 160.00 fixtures attendant to the conduct of such O' Donald State Bank, Howard City 125.00 for the declaration and payment of a Harl & Wells Motor Co., Grand a business. The sale will be held at the BE. L. Morman, Grand Rapids : “9.45 ' first and final dividend to creditors of _ Rapids wn een 30.00 office of the referee. All interested should Mrs. P. Izbart, Grand Rapids _. 11.50 11.6 per cent. No objections were made Fred Kautenberg, Grand Rapids .. 49.00 be present. An inventory is in the hands Peter Stehouwer, Grand Rapids 250.00 i Ge i to the discharge of the bankrupt. ‘The John Heishutter, Grand Rapids _. 119.84 of the referee and also the trustee, Geo. Seott & Motman Elec. Co., Grand i final meeting then adjourned without date Mrs. Freuh. Grand Rapids —. See D. Stribley, Muskegon. The property is Rapids : cee a : . 18.00 \ and the case will be closed 2nd returned John Van Oostenbrugge, Grand R. 40.00 located at Muskegon. Blatz Brewing Co., Grand Rapids 16.40 iw to the district court in due course. Carl Zeck, Grand Rapids -------- 67.00 In the matter of Walter Stellard, Bank- Mackinaw Trail Oil Co., Grand R. 125.00 Oct. 5. We have to-day received the M. Smolenski, Grand Rapids -_-- 35.00 rupt No. 3236, the trustee has filed in Ottawa Oil Co., Coopersville _ 98.28 a . schedules, reference and adjudication in Dr. Harry Luton, Grand Rapids -. 7.00 said court his report of the receipt of an James Nagle, Irving —____ : - 125.00 the matter of Roy M. Amos, Bankrupt Dr. Wm. E. Wilson, Grand Rapids 13.00 offer of $400 from ‘Charles W. Seott. of M. O. Wilson, Morley —__ __. 325.00 No. 3228. The matter is an involuntary T. Morgan, Grand Rapids _.-_____- 40.90 Grand Rapids, for all of the furniture, George Jackson, Morley _ ae case. The matter has been referred to Subway Tailors, Grand Rapids -_~- 25.00 fixtures and equipment of the estate, ap- William Turner, Morley | aoe Charles B. Blair as referee in bankruptcy. Dean & Face, Grand Rapids ------ 27.00 praised at $1,623.40. The property con- George Falkner, Grand Rapids _-__ 50.00 Don’t waste time on the slow ones--they don’t pay rent or clerks-- You get a quick turnover and daily profit from Tritt | SHREDDED WHEAT 8 MICHIGAN TRADESMAN October 12, 1927 THE BATTLE OF SARATOGA. last week celebrated the anniversary of the second bat- which the historian has rightly called the decisive Saratoga 150th tle of Creasy battle t Revolution. Whie actual hostilities continued four years longer, it was on October 7, 1777, that the final battle of the British cam- paign for cutting the colonies in half The defeat led to Burgoyne ten days about the alliance resulted in the capture of Cornwallis at Yorktown in October, 1781, and the ending of the war. The British their offensive campaign of 1777 in early August. It »aratoga, ot the American was lost to them. the surrender of later and brought which with France, began was well planned and full of promise. After a triple attack upon inland New York they intended to unite their three armies at Albany, thus preventing all between New England and the other colonies, besides further communication which Continental controlling the territory was then the granary of the Army. General Burgoyne’s army of British and Hessian veterans, with a vast train of artillery, was to move South from Canada while Colonel St. Leger storm- ed the Mohawk Valley from the West from New York Hudson. On his march Burgoyne learned that the Colo- nists had collected a large amount of He sent force of Ger- supplies. But Baum encountered Colonel Stark and and a British force City ascended the supplies at Bennington, Vt. Colonel mans to with a Baum seize these the Vermont militia on the way, and only 100 of the invaders escaped. The mortally wounded Baum reported that Stark’s men fought like “teufelhunde,” or “devil dogs,’ a terms which his country men many years later were to apply to the American marines. About the same time that Burgoyne learned of the destruction of Colonel 3aum’s force he received information that Colonel St. Leger and his Indian allies had been so decisively defeated at Oriskany by General Herkimer that he had been forced to raise the siege the city of stands, the fort being the Western gateway to the Mohawk Val- of Fort Stanwix, where Rome now ley. disasters, Bur- River on September 13 for the purpose of reach- Three days later the first It was decided to wait for the arrival of the army under Disregarding these goyne crossed the Hudson ing Albany. battle of Saratoga was fought. 3urgoyne indecisive, and Sir Henry Clinton, which he confi- dently believed was on its way. Meanwhile Sir William Howe, then city, thought it strategical stroke to seize “the rebel capital’? at Philadel- in command in this would be a fine He captured that city, or rather, Franklin “Philadelphia Howe,” for Wash- ington kept him busy defending what phia. as Ben said, captured General he had gained. When fresh troops ar- rived in New York City from England on October 3 Sir Henry Clinton be- Hudson with 2 large weeks too late. General Gates, who commanded the ascent of the gan his force, American army, was fully aware of Burgoyne’s need of delay. On Octo- ber 7 Gates forced the second battle of Saratoga, in which the British army was overwhelmingly defeated. It was not until the battle was over that Bur- goyne learned that the American had used the interval between the two bat- tles to make his retreat impossible. With his army shattered and needing food and ammunition, he was com- pelled to surrender on October 17. The colonies no longer doubted the success of their cause. Nor did France and England fail to read the signs of the future rightly. SADLY DISILLUSIONED. Whatever its effect may be upon the automobile industry, the stock market or business in general, there is great disappointment for the public in the announcement that the General Motors Corporation and Henry ford are’ not going to stage the automobile battle of the century. The people who buy Chevrolets and fords have been wait- ing with ill-concealed impatience for the opening round of what had prom- ised to be a spectacular bout between the two greatest heavyweights of the No one wanted his sympathies went to General Motors or to Henry, but there had been rosy expectations of a long-drawn-out battle, in which, for once, the spectators would be the round after round dragged on without decision these op- timists saw the prices of small cars slashed and lower in a_ bitter conflict for control of the market. Now changed. It appears that the barons of General Motors have decided that both their c@rs the steadily automobile industry. a knockout, whether only victors. As lower all is automobile room for and those of ford in expanding market and that they will not seek to invade their field. It looks like peace. A sensation-loving public which had thought that for once it was going to there is rival’s be given ringside seats for a tremen- dous profit from the struggle to boot has been sadly disil- spectacle and lusioned. THE POWER OF THE TONGUE. A person should strengthen himself by speaking strong and invigorating words to himself and in ordinary con- versation instead of debilitating his character and spirit with weak and dis- couraging terms. Many plays would not be attended and certain books and magazines would go unread were it not for the shibboleths of popularity repeated by the marvelous power of the tongue. At Verdun, the repeating week after week of the words, “They shall not pass,” broke down the coward in every soldier and built up the man. Skeptical words and expressions of “What's the use’, “What does life amount to after disillusionment, such as all?” and “What's the use of the uni- verse anyway?” do not indicate a philo- sophical state of mind, but a subnormal and emotional mood. A person can not expect to solve all of his problems merely-by speak- ing in terms of strength and confi- dence, but such a habit will help great- ly in overcoming difficulties. LONG, HARD PATH TO TREAD. At the opening session of the Zion- ist Convention at Basle Dr. Chaim Weizmann, who has long been the outstanding leader of the Zionist move- ment, gave the delegates a rather op- timistic picture of the progress of the Jewish people in rebuilding Palestine. He declared that the program of the movement must be a slow but steady march forward and found in the co- operation of the mandatory Power, Great Britain, evidence that no polit- ical hindrances would be placed in the way of the development of a national Jewish state. 3ut if there are no political hin- drances placed in the path of the Jews by any organized state, there are still complex political problems to be solv- ed in Palestine itself. The task of re- conciling the Arab population of the Holy Iand to Jewish control is still one of the greatest difficuties. Accord- ing to the most recent census figures, there are nearly 600,000 Moslems in Palestine, as compared with 80,000 Jews and 70,000 Christians. The in- flux of Jews from Eastern Europe is this’ dispropor- tion, but the official immigration fig- ures for 1925, which showed a total al- most equal to the combined totals ct the four preceding years, was only 33,801. At this rate it would seem that Palestine is destined to remain predominantly Arab. gradually modifying Economically also the movement is stage, for little progress has been made in combating the sterility of the land and its lack of natural resources. in an experimental There are possi- reclamation projects, a scheme is under way for the electrifi- cation of power derived from the River Jordan and recently it was reported that the mineral and chemical resources of the Dead Sea might be exploited. These projects, however, are in the air, and in the meanetime the Jewish farm- ers are hard put to it to wrest a living from the rocky soil of the Palestine hills. Zionism has still to prove by actual progress and development in Palestine bilities for that the idea of a Jewish homeland is not the “unfortunate and visionary” experiment it has been proclaimed by its critics. It has a long, hard path to tread. CARE OF FARM ANIMALS. In view of the wide educational op- portunities farmers are now enjoying, it is surprising to observe how com- monly farm animals are kept confined when there is no necessity for it. A milk dealer provides his cows with no yard and allows them to stand without exercise six or seven months of the Yet it is known that sunlight outdoors is in itself the cause of vita- mins in milk which are essential in preventing rickets in children. A hu- mane society reports the case of a bull compelled to stand in a stall until his feet were seriously diseased. A few persons still hold the old- time notion that any place and any food are good enough for swine. Science has pointed out, however, that hogs kept in filthy surroundings and on improper rations cannot compete year. with those developed in a sanitary en- vironment. Fowls are confined of necessity dur- ing the winter, but in some instances are not released when weather con- ditions warrant, although they are sub- ject to diseases when cooped up from which they are free when able to run about. A horse standing idle becomes highly nervous and have to be killed. The husbandman of to-day if well informed realizes that there is profit in sanitation for farm animals. Without fresh air, sunshine, exercise, proper food, shelter and rest a high degree of health cannot be attained. Clean sur- Tuber- may roundings also are essential. culosis thrives animals not properly cared for and parasites will attack filthy, poorly fed animals sooner than healthy ones. Generally it is among profitable to the farmer to show every consideration for his animal partners. mane considerations demand thought- In any case, hu- ful care. YOUTH ESSENTIALLY SOUND. That it is ridiculous to make youth the scapegoat for present-day social and moral delinquencies) seems not yet to have dawned upon tne aault generation. Our boys and girls do not write the philosophies they read, or the dissertations of pseudo scientists and the general literature of judges and _ novelists. certain They receive full in the face and straight through the soul what we, their elders, have written, and, more vital still, they see our actions. Booth Tarkington asks suggestively in an article which a popular weekly “How can expect a appeared in two you years ago. ) daughter to respect her mother after the younger has seen the elder doing the extreme dances?” The father who expects his son to be law observing in spite of the fact that his own social creed begins with “I believe in per- sonal liberty and have my _ private bootlegger” is too foolish to be called an optimist. A rather close acquaintance with young women, through a of intimate generation with theni, leads the writer to the conclusion that they are so intrinsically fine to-day as they have ever been, that we are get- ting out of our investment in them vastly more than we deserve, and that they are immeasurably more sinned against than sinning. Certainly they mature more rapidly now than they did twenty years ago. They live, as all of us must, under conditions that bring every detail of human life “front stage.’ They have an inevitable frankness, which is at times shocking. Many of them are making grave mistakes; but in no time during the past fifty years have they responded more readily to the call of the worthwhile, or accepted more eag- erly the challenge of the difficult and sacrificial. Youth to-day is essentially sound. association The Nordic may be superior, but you never saw one who could take a polishing cloth worth 10 cents. and make an apple *. ” ¢ - d * ° - <} > A 4 i i la \ ¢ - wo +o -

An October 12, 1927 MICHIGAN TRADESMAN 9 OUT AROUND. Things Seen and Heard on a Week End Trip. I have been so much interested in the development and construction of the Dunes highway between North Mus- kegon and Michilinda that I could not forego the temptation last Saturday to inspect that portion of it which is now open to the public. It is reached by the shore road from Whitehall or by taking the Michilinda improved road from US 31, a distance of seven miles. The new highway will be nearly eleven miles long. It is nearly completed and eight miles of the trail have been opened to the public. The open por- tion is at the North end, near which the highway winds around Duck Lake and presents a most attractive stretch of sandy shore on Lake Michigan, excel- lently adapted for ‘bathing purposes. The outlet of Duck Lake discharges into Lake Michigan at this point and, no matter how cold the water may be in Lake Michigan, the water from the little lake is always warm, making bathing at that point a delight. Unless a prolonged period of unfavorable weather precludes the completion of the highway by Nov. 1, it will be open- ed to the public Dec. 1. I believe this stretch of cement will be conceded to be one of the most attractive. eleven miles of scenic highway to be found anywhere in Michigan. This is saying a good deal, because Michigan prob- ably has more miles of beautiful scen- ery than any other state in the Central West. Whitehall has bid farewell to her summer visitors and settled down to eight months of social enjoyment and ordinary business activity. The mer- chants report that the resort trade was heavier this year than it has ever been. I think the class of people who make White Lake their summer home rank with that of any other Michigan re- sort, with the possible exception of Charlevoix and Mackinac. Whitehall is naturally very proud over the possession of a permanent citizen who has won world-wide dis- tinction ‘by his life-long labors in be- half of agricultural development and crop expansion. He is known to the Agricultural Department at Washing- ton as the man who doubled the corn crop of the United States. Of course, I refer to P. G. Holden, who has been on the payroll of the International Harvester Co. for twenty-five years or more, but has never been asked to men- tion the name of his employer at any meeting he has ever addressed or any communication he has sent to the farm- ers of the world—and the latter ag- gregates many millions. He has ad- dressed himself to all classes of people in nearly every civilized country where the English language is spoken or un- derstood. He maintains an office in Chicago, where seventeen employes are constantly engaged in sending out literature of an educational nature pre- pared by Mr. Holden and carefully supervised by him. Mr. Holden pre- fers to live outside of Chicago and his home in Whitehall is the constant mecca of scientists who seek his advice on agricultural topics. His hobby is white Wyandotte chickens, which he has developed to a high state of effi- ciency. While in Montague I called on James Coon, the North end grocer. On July 26 he received a call from a man who gave his name as G. H. Rutt, claiming to represent the National Business Brokers Corporation, of Columbus, Ohio, and Indianapolis, Ind. This man suggested that he had a customer for a grocery stock at Montague and would undertake to sell stock, fixtures and building for 10 per cent. of the first $2,000 involved and 5 per cent. of the balance. His importunities were so urgent and his statements were so positive that Mr. Coon was induced to sign up and hand the stranger a check for $25 to cover “preliminary expens- es.” Not hearing from the man or his alleged employer, Mr. Coon wrote the concern several letters of enquiry, none of which were acknowledged. He then wrote me in regard to the matter. The letter came in just as I was leaving for White Lake, so I put it in my pocket and called at the store of the writer, who showed me a copy of an alleged contract he signed when he made the cash payment. A half hour before I reached the store another alleged em- ploye of the alleged company called on Mr. Coon and asserted that the man Rutt was a crook and had filched $4,- 000 from the merchants of Michigan and never turned in a penny to his al- leged employer. The second caller offered to go ahead with the deal if Mr. Coon would advance another $25, which offer was politely declined. Mr. Coon has been a regular reader of the Tradesman five years and must have read a half hundred times my fervent advice that merchants should never pay any money to strangers; al- so that they should never pay in ad- vance for services to be rendered later; that any honest man is content to wait for his pay until his services are com- pleted and an equivalent rendered. How Mr. Coon could ignore this advice, which is based on a lifetime of experi- ence, ‘s more than I can understand. I have no idea that Mr. Coon will ever get a cent’s worth of satisfaction from his $25 and I presume by this time— over two months having elapsed since he gave his check to a total stranger— the man Rutt, or whatever his real name may be, will have victimized a hundred other merchants by the same tactics he employed in the Coon case. I want to be just as helpful to my readers as I possibly can be, but candor compels the statement that I am fre- quently disheartened when I see my readers take up with a total stranger and hand over to him money which might just as well be thrown in the stove and burned, for all the good it will ever do anybody. I make this statement advisably, because I believe there is a fatality in money dishonestly obtained; that it will never do any man any good or bring him any genuine pleasure or satisfaction. As I have frequently stated, I never start out on a week end trip without wondering whether I will b@ able to return home in my own car or be taken home in an ambulance or dead wagon. The percentage of careful drivers ap- pears to me to be on the increase, ex- criminal cept among truck and ford drivers, who appear to me to be increasing in care- lessness and recklessness. I wish to except two classes of truck drivers from this sweeping charge—the Stand- ard O:1 Co. and the Hekman Biscuit Co. Both of these corporations evi) dently realize the value of good will which accompanies proper handling of trucks and have sufficient control over their drivers to keep them strictly within the line of their duty. It is a genuine pleasure to me to make this public acknowledgment of the debt the traveling public owes bath of these corporations for the scrutiny they use and the authority they exercise in this matter. In talking with Lynn Gee, the Whitehall hardware dealer and under- taker, Saturday evening, I was remind- ed of a great menace which confronts every driver on Michigan roads where the telephone companies install and maintain guy wires strung across the road. In many cases the wires sag so as to hit a passing car. In some cases the poles to which these wires are at- tached rot off in the ground and pull the buy wires down across the path- way of the motorist. The wires can- not be seen at night until after a catastrophe has occurred. Only a few months ago two ladies were brought to Mr. Gee’s morgue whose scalps had been torn off by a wire pulled down by a rotting telephone pole. The wire came in contact with a rapidly moving car, tore off the top of the car and in- stantly killed one of the occupants of the back seat. The other occupant died while being taken to Whitehall. We raise many thousand dollars to in- duce summer visitors to come to Michi- gan every season, most of whom travel by automobile, and then permit this great menace to exist to maim them for life or perhaps end their lives alto- gether. The menace of the ford car driver appears to be on the increase, due to the lack of thoroughness on the part of officers of the law in permitting in- competent persons to secure drivers’ licenses; also to the criminal indiffer- ence of officers of the law to child drivers who by no possible means could secure licenses because of their age. Many of the accidents I witness or review after they occur are due to one of these two defects in the ad- ministration of our traffic laws. It is by no means unusual to see persons at the steering wheels of ford cars whose narrow foreheads and retreating chins indicate a degree of mentality which would be more in keeping with the propelling force of a wheelbarrow. It is a crime to permit such persons to handle so dangerous a weapon as a gasoline car. A serious situation in with the trucks is the absence of the mirrors required by law in about nine- tenths of the cases. Instead of the truck drivers keeping on the right side of the road, as specified in the law, they, insist on keeping the middle of the road and pay no attention to warning signs that a passenger car traveling at a higher rate of speed wishes to pass, greatly to the annoyance of people who are entitled to a proper share of the road. When, by a widened space in the connection highway, the automobile driver finally succeeds in getting by and stops the trucker for an explanation, he arro- gantly—and usually profanely—asserts that he “didn’t hear.” Assuming this statement is correct, which is a matter of very doubt, the trucker is defying the law in not having a mirror It all goes back to the absence of vigilance on the partj of officers paid to enforce the law who do not do their duty. E. A. Stowe. —_—_++>—__—_ All Day-and-Night Markets Opposed. Los Angeles, which has tried out the 24-hour retail market, is not in favor of the project. The Grocers Journal, published by the Southern California Retail Grocers’ Association, condemns the service, because: “The all-day-and-night concerns are destructive of that which is the coun- try’s American They never close. grave installed on his truck. proudest boast—the standard of living. In many cases the owners and mem- bers of their families run the markets. They live in the markets, taking turn sleeping behind the counter or in some back room, wherever they can flop for a short snatch of rest. “Men of self-respect cannot live that Yet dealers who have suffered the misfortune of having one of these about store way. concerns set up in their neighborhood find it hard to compete and not adopt their methods. “The individual marketman, the man who keeps his own store and whose store keeps him, through his own ear- nest work finds he must lengthen his hours and observe neither Sabbath nor any day of rest, when he is forced to compete with an_ all-day-and-night market. He must either change his mode of living, giving up the decent standards to which he has become ac- customed and toward which he natur- ally inclines, or quit his business, the means of his livelihood. “A great many have been slow to realize what these day and night mar- But the agi- tation for the sanitary inspection or- kets are doing to them. dinance and the way the night hawks are fighting it have opened their eyes.” —__+2 > Labor Needs. Labor organizations, employers, and municipalities will follow with intense interest the conference regarding the increased Mexican labor across the Southern boundary of this influx of country which has been called by the House Committee on Immigration. It that lack of labor in the Southwest free entry from Mexico while others hold that the quota should immigrants from is contended by some American necessitates be applied to the South of the Rio Grande. —_——_+-+—____ No New Legislation. Senator Fletcher, of Florida, mem- ber of the Senate Committee of Bank- ing and Currency, states that there is no likelihood of additional legislation affecting the Federal Farm Loan Board Congress. This statement will have a wide re- assuring value to bankers in all sec- at the coming session of tions of the country who are desirous of assurance of stability of present conditions, 10 SHOE MARKET Combatting the Large Mail Order House. A bitterly embattled shoe retailer in ~ small Kansas town wielded a terrific smash to the jaw recently when he -ad- vertised “Some Inside Facts on Buy- ing From Mail Order Houses.” The smash: “Peek into the back of your mail carrier's wagon occasionally. Innocent- ly take note of the packages addressed back to a Chicago or Kansas City or New York mail order house. Goods that didn’t fit. Goods that didn’t jus- tify on examination the glowing prom- ise of the catalog picture. Goods that arrived too late. “As you look over the catalog for something you need, how do you know the article will be as represented when How do you know that its quality will satisfy? How do you know that it will fit? How do you know that the mail order house won't substitute or report, ‘out of stock,’ it gets to you? after vour long wait?” ———> +> —__- Sales Method Which Turns Fourteen Times Annually. Fourteen stock turns a year is ob- tained by a St. Louis merchant as the result of what he calls an “Automatic Price Reduction Plan.” All slow- moving merchandise — merchandise, that is, that has been on the shelf for about two months or more—is trans- ferred to a large table at the rear of the store. This is the “Automatic Re- duction Table,” on which (a little sign affixed to the table informs customers) each item is dated plainly with the day. month and year that it is placed there. “If the item does not sell quickly,” he sign goes on to say, “the piice on it is automatically reduced as follows: 25 per cent after 18 selling days after 24 selling days after 30 selling days 30 per cent. 75 per cent. Merchandise donated to a local char- ity after 50 selling days. —_—_+ + >__ Xmas Certificate Plan That Sold Sport Shoes. With Christmas fairly on us, it might be well to list a Yuletide plan put into effect last year by an enter- prising shoe retailer. In line with the custom of issung gift orders, ex- changeable at the store for a pair of shoes, this merchant also sold these orders, representing—not solid winter shoes—but two-toned sport shoes suitable only for summer wear. Mind you, this was in the winter. But the orders did not have to be redeemed in the winter. They could be redeemed the following June or whenever the owners of them chose to call for their shoes. Asa result of this clever bit of merchandising, the merchant disgosed of almost three-quarters of his stock of sport shoes before it was even put on the shelves. —_»-.___ Produces Good Results on Uncollect- able Accounts. Rather than turn a so-called “un- collectible account” over to a collec- tion agency and be charged 50 per cent. for “services,” the Mohler Mercantile Co., Liberal, Mo., prefers to send the account a check for 10 per cent. of the MICHIGAN TRADESMAN debt. The check is unsigned. A letter accompanying notes that if the cus; tomer will pay in full by the fifteenth of she month, the check will be signed and forwarded to him. “The enclosed unsigned check of £2.20 represents 10 per cent. of your acecunt of $22. This is the amount you will save if your account is paid in full by the fifteenth. “E’ther bring in the check and we will sign it or mail us your check for the amiount of your account less the discount. —_ +++ Good Follow-up Letter For Your Sales Staff. Good copy, this, in a sales letter which is sent out by a salesman in a Detroit shop: “TI am the salesman who had the pleasure of waiting on you, and I want to thank you fer your patronage and express the hope that the goods are entirely satisfactory. “We want every purchase to make a customer so pleased that he will be glad to tell his friends about Bond Shoes. “When we make a sale, we buy something in return—we buy the cus- tomer’s good will and respect for this institution, which means one hundred cents’ worth of satisfaction for every dollar spent here.” ——_>-+ Free Shoes Follow the Stork in Macon, Georgia. Baby's first pair of shoes usually comes (when the infant lives in Macon, Ga.) from Burden, Smith & Co. They are delivered about two weeks after birth and are accompanied by a letter in which the concern expresses the general happiness at his safe arrival. “And here is a little present for you,” the letter goes on to say, “a present that will make life’s path easier for you and yet pleasant to walk upon. Wear them when you are about a year or so old and the shoes can fit you.” In a brief postscript to Baby's par- ents, the company requests a picture when he is old enough to wear the shoes. The touch here—a subtle one —invariably is flattering. ——_»+.+ + Moire Slippers To Come Back? Indications in the women’s custom- made shoe field point to the return to popularity this season of black moire slippers. The vogue for black velvet evening gowns is thought to have something to do with the trend in this direction. .Slippers of this type that are now being made up are elaborately trimmed, the embellishment usually consisting of huge rhinestone buckles or embroidery in small crystals on the narrow ankle straps. There is also a demand in custom-made footwear for slippers of rich brocades and pastel satins w.th beauvais embroidery on the heels and toes. ——_+ 2. ___. Windows Go On Strike. Strikes of one sort or another have been so frequent in Chicago of late that Bauer & Son have been compelled to foliow suit. For a solid week they opened up their window displays to the public only between the hours of 1 in the afternoon until 9 at night. During the remaining hours, a card atfixed to the drawn curtains made this explanation: “This window has gone on strike and refuses to work more than eight hours a day. That is ample time, it believes, in which to impress everyone with the merit of our merchandise.” —_>-+>—__ Novel Use of Mirror. Once there was a very wise mer- chant. He was so wise, in fact, that when he observed that people going by often stopped to peer into a mirror wh'ch was placed at the front of his store, he tacked a little card to it: “This is the person we want as a customer.” —_—>-> > No man is ready for liberty until he can patronize a cafeteria without pick- ing up more than he can eat. |) WE HAVE JUST RECEIV- ed a complete line of buck- les. We have Genuine Cut Steel and Rhinestons—these are all imported. Prices range from $4.50 to $26.00 per dozen. Let us make up an assortment for you. BEN KRAUSE CoO. 20 Ionia Avenue GRAND RAPIDS MICH. October 12, 1927 Two New Ones: Style 949—Men’s autumn brown Blucher Oxford, Monarch’s Calf- skin, Dundee Last (Medium bal- loon), Nickel Eyelets, New pat- tern with popular short ramp, in- side tap sole with fancy flange edge and hee: seat trim. C and D widths in stock __..----.--- $3.45 Style 950 -—- Same in Monarch’s bine cat: oe $3.45 “Over night Service” Herold-Bertsch Shoe Co Grand Rapids, Mich. Manufacturers of Quality Footwear since 1892. MiIcHIGAN SHOE DEALERS MUTUAL FIRE INSURANCE CO. Organized for SERVICE not for Profit Weare Saving our Policy Holders 30% of Their Tariff Rates on General Mercantile Business for Information write to L. H. BAKER, Secretary-Tresurer LANSING, MICHIGAN I < - October 12, 1927 MICHIGAN TRADESMAN 11 Right Thinking and Right Doing Only True Religion. Grandville, Oct. 11—Intolerance in America seems to be on the increase. Honesty of purpose seems to have flown to the four winds, while chican- ery, graft and gouging go hand in hand. The late strike of college stu- cents at Gary is a sample of the way cur youngsters are being educated in this country to-day. Mcre than 600 college boys going out on a strike simply because out of so large a number twenty-five have a dark skin. The accident of birth os- tracized these few colored boys, and their white neighbors refuse to co- operate with them in the gaining of an education under the same college roof. Could one imagine Abraham Lincoln doing anything of the kind, even had he been a member of a college, the in- side of which he never saw? Boys will be boys, it is said, but how a whole school could renounce decent manhood and go on such a strike is beyond understanding. However, there is one compensation. These boys by accident of birth, being legitimate citi- zens of the United States, being there- fore entitled to the benefits of our free school system, cannot lawfully be de- prived of a chance for an education, consequently Gary must furnish them with school facilities, as well as their white brothers. It will cost that community a pretty penny to build a schoolhouse espec:al- ly for the black students. Nevertheless this is a righteous judgment and no genuine good citizen outside of Gary will complain. To be honest is to be good. That a whole community should permit boy strikers to overrule the law of the land is a bit unique. We shall watch the trend of this event and note whether the school prospers over much after such a debacle. Strict honesty of purpose has won more spurs in the battle of life than all the unjust spasms such as this at Gary. It must be admitted that the faculty were too easily overcome on this occasion, but perhaps the parents of the recalcitrant students were to blame in the matter. The spirit which animated the strik- ing school boys was of a piece with the unrest and soft discipline of our age to-day. Any injustice tolerated by the authorities is bound to react on the community at some later day. Of what use are these churches whose spires point heavenward when, with all their teachings. men and boys, even under their culture, cut up such capers as did the Gary boys? No man is a free and loyal citizen of this Republic who is not willing to grant the same liberties to his neigh- bors that he claims for himself. To do good is the only religion worth any- thing in this world. Why the church- es have turned out such pagans is a puzzle hard to solve. There are honest merchants, there are honest farmers, but between these servants of strict righteousness there swarms a large and ever increasing number of men and women unfaithful to their trust, eager and anxious to put something over on their fellow men. Now in this latter class, which seems to be constantly growing in number, there are thousands, not to say mil- lions, who once a week at least sing songs of praises to the great I Am, seemingly forgetting that it is true re- lizion to be honest even beyond the berders of the church. Did the clergy of the Nation treat more of honesty and less of beyond the skv salvation there might be more good accomplished by said churches. Where honesty prevails there is the greatest good, and America will never be the Nation hoped for by Washing- ton and Lincoln until there is the strictest moral honesty preached from our pulpits. Hark from the tombs there comes a doleful sound. If people practiced what they preached these doleful sounds would not affect them. In fact it is astonishing the amount of moral turpitude existing in our modern world. Under the shadow of the churches are holdups and murders which shock the senses and lead to people wonder- ing where this is all to end. Prison doors yawn to receive the evil doers, yet the lax enforcement of the law, not mentioning the prohibition farce, is enough to discourage a saint. Fast driving in villages and cities has not been eliminated. Few are punish- ed for these law-breaking habits. Hu- mau nature seems to grin behind a mask when: the speed limit of the town is defied with no officer in sight to secure the offender. Because of laws defied thousands fill untimely graves. There have been more killed in America since the ad- vent of automob.les than were slain in battie during the whole civil war, and that may be said to be going some. Hope deferred maketh the heart sick. “Hope sees a star and hears the rustle of a wing.” Thus the late Robert Ingersoll when standing beside the grave of his brother, and Ingersoll was dubbed the leading infidel of the world by those who patronized churches Sunday and went forth to prey upon their fellow men during the other days of the week. In truth, Ingersoll was not an infidel. He has been more justly termed an agnostic. He did not know and was not afraid to acknowledge the fact. When people come to recognize the fact that honesty is the foundation stone of right living, there will be a marked change in the condition of things in this world. A change from present day intoler- ance and sneakery to right living, right thinking and an acknowledgment that doing good is the foundation of all true piety is the only thing that will make this world what it ought to be. Old Timer. ~~ ___ Hosiery Jobbers Marking Time. Hosiery buying still lags so far as wholesalers are concerned. Retailers are somewhat more active on lines that are sold direct, but even they would probably buy more freely were there less uncertainty as to prices. Recent concessions in full-fashioned goods, based on the lower market for raw silk, appear to have unsettled the en- tire trade. In some cases, it is said, ‘t is now possible to buy good full- fashioned all-silk numbers at prices comparable to those asked for the bet- ter grades of rayon hose. The call for seamless hosiery is irregular, but re- ports from one or two quarters say there is little fault to be found with it. Staple cotton hosiery is quiet. In keeping with other lines of cotton mer- chandise, buyers of these goods are awaiting the effects of to-morrow’s, crop report before placing any more orders. 2-2 Slks Offered For Two Seasons. Aside from the continued strong in- terest in velvets, the immediate delivery demand for silks largely centers in satin, canton and flat crepes. While many wholesalers look for the buying of Fall silks to continue for some time the openings of Spring lines are in- creasing in number. Cheney Brothers will open their lines to-day. It is in- dicated that prints will make up a very important portion of the new offerings throughout the trade.- Designs are expected to feature small effects in printed crepes and larger ones in voiles and chiffons. Determining the Grades. The reason the meetings called by the Department of Agriculture to es- tablish a classification schedule for use in compiling international statistics on wool is of supreme interest and value to the growers, dealers and manufac- turers of wool and woolens is because this country raises only about 60 per cent. of its wool requirements and ob- tains the remainder from other nations. HART BRAND CHOICE or THE LAND Look for the Red Heart on the Can LEE & CADY Distributor Sand Lime Brick Nothing as Durable Nothing as Fireproof Makes Structure 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 CoO. Saginaw. FAVORITE TEA in % Ib. lead packages is a strictly Ist May Picking and is one of the very highest grades sold in the U. S. If this Tea is not sold in your city, exclusive sale may be ar- ranged by addressing DELBERT F. HELMER 337-39 Summer Ave., N. W. GRAND RAPIDS, MIC#i. MR. nator MERCHANT Be sure to carry a stock of Smith's Flavoring. The flavoring that Z your customerslike. RL i The flavoring that Fonith’s ) is sold with a pos- rn itive Money Back Guarantee. A Grand Rapids Product. Smith Flavoring Extract Co. Phone 61343 Prompt Service |. VAN WESTENBRUGGE Grand Rapids - Muskegon Distributor Nucoa The Food of the Future CHEESE of All Kinds ALPHA BUTTER SAR-A-LEE BEST FOODS Mayonaise Shortning HONEY—Horse Radish OTHER SPECIALTIES (2 1ality-Service-Cooperation ASK FOR A variety for every taste COCOA DROSTE’S CHOCOLATE Imrorted Canned Vegetables Brussel Sprouts and French Peas HARRY MEYER, Distributor 816-820 Logan St., S. E GRAND RAPIDS, “MICHIGAN QUALITY RusKs and COOKIES Grand Rapids, Mich. Exvert Chemical Service Products Analyzed and Duplicated Process Developed and 'tmproved Consultation and Research The Industrial Laboratories, Inc. 127 Commerce Ave. Phone 65497 Grand Rapids, Mich. TER MOLEN & HART SPRINGS; Office Chair, Coil, Baby Jumper, General Assortment. Successors to Foster Stevens Tin Shop, 59 Commerce Ave. GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN Ship By Associated Truck GRAND RAPIDS, LANSING and DETROIT. Every Load Insured. Phone 55505 SELL Ge Bott’s Kream FrydKakKes DECIDEDLY BETTER Grand Rapids Cream Fried Cake Co. Grand Rapids, Mich. 12 FINANCIAL Conditions in Review of Business Michigan. Written for the Tradesman. Although showing a substantial vol- ume, business during September did not reach the proportions indicated a Retail trade was checked by prolonged warm weather and manu- month ago. facturing activity was retarded, in part, by further delay of the ford industries production. Cooler bring about a in getting into weather is needed to more businesslike tone and to put trade in its Autumn stride. Broadly viewed, the economic situation is reasonably good and promises to remain so until the end of the year at. least. Anchored by an abundance of credit terms and a much im- proved agricultural situation, business on attractive is in a position to withstand satisfac- torily such negative influences as exist at the present time. Favorable weath- er during the past month was of much help to late crops resulting in addition- al income for many farmers on whom Fall would Good progress, on the whole an early have worked a hardship. was made by the corn crop during the past six weeks. Although the cotton crop is nearly a third smaller than the record output of last season, the grow- ers will receive more for it in the ag- gregate. Canada, one of our best for- eign customers, has had exceptionally good crops this year. The soft coal strike has come to an end. Rapid re- covery is taking place in the area devastated by the Mississippi floods. Additional favorable elements are the relative steadiness in commodity prices, low inventories, high real wages, com- paratively few labor disputes, and much confidence in the general situation on the part of the public. Business during the current year has proved its resiliency and inherent soundness by the manner in which it has absorbed the shocks created by the cold backward Spring, the bituminous coal strike, the flood disaster in the lower Mississippi Valley, and the un- settled conditions existing abroad. Among other factors which come in for consideration in this connection at the present time are the reduction in the output of the steel industry, and in the volume of building construction; the approach of a Presidential year; dull- ness in the vast oil industry resulting from continued overproduction; fur- ther additions to the labor surplus in some cities: new high records in loans to stock brokers; and new advances in stock prices in the face of reports of smaller corporate earnings. Operating schedules of Michigan in- dustries, as a whole, during September were at or close to normal. Overtime is reported in only a few lines. Re- ports of subnormal operations were relatively few in number. Returns from the great majority of cities show manufacturing to be on an even keel and the general outlook encouraging. Southwestern Michigan reports indus- trial activity slightly better than a year ago. Detroit's non-automotive indus- tries have been making a good show- ing as have also a number of its motor plants. Lumbering and mining in the Upper Peninsula are improving, em- ployment is picking up, and a much MICHIGAN TRADESMAN better tone has followed in the wake of a record volume of tourist business. Employment is on the increase in Jackson, Port Huron, Atlanta, Char- lotte, Harrison, Ishpeming, Lapeer, Monroe, Muskegon and Wyandotte. A high plane of activity prevails at Flint. Pontiac reports future prospects very bright. Figures prepared by the Em- ployers’ Association of Detroit show a small decrease in industrial employ- ment compared with a month ago, It is said that the ford Motor Company will add close to 30,000 men to its pay- rolls during October. Automotive output in September, ac- cording to early estimates, was between 10 and 12 per cent. lower than the production for August which amounted to 303.040 cars and trucks. October production probably will fall below that for September. Motor output usually tapers off during the fourth quarter but this customary trend may be altered this year by the bringing out of the new ford car, which will put in its appearance, it is now said, the latter part of this month or early in November. Production scheduies will start off with a few hundred units a day and will be increased as rapidly as possible in order to supply dealers with sample cars during the month of November. Estimated freight car re- quirements for all other makes for the last quarter of 1927 exceed those for the corresponding period of a year ago by 18 per cent. Care is being taken against loading dealers with more cars than they can handle and produc- tion schedules are, accordingly, in keeping with the volume of sales. Used car stocks are growing larger and present an increasingly difficult problem for the dealer. The total an- nual capacity of the industry is now placed at 7,300,000 units. Weather conditions during Septem- ber were generally favorable to farm- ers in the lower part of the State. Ex- cessive rain in the upper part of the Lower Peninsula has been interfering with the gathering of crops. The corn crop, except in frosted sections, is about 50 per cent. of normal. Drought and frost have reduced the bean crop to little more than half of normal. The late Spring and severe drought made heavy inroads on the sugar beet and potato crops, both of which are below average. Beets are small this year but the sugar content is large. Hay and small grains were very good. Fruit crops are one-third to one-half of normal. Fall wheat is coming up nicely. September started off in good shape for the retail trade but summerlike weather checked the forward move- ment in almost all lines except wo- men’s wear. The current volume for both wholesalers and retailers is re- ported fair to good. Collections are improving. Merchants, by and large, are confident that demand will improve as the season progresses. Wayne W. Putnam, Director Public Relations, Union Trust Co., Detroit. +22 It isn’t of record that man ever got results by sitting in the shade and ask- ing Providenee to pull the weeds in his garden, October 12, 1927 ASK MR. STOWE He Knows What Our Collection Service Is Only one small service charge. No extra commissions, Attorney fees, List- ing fees or any other extras. References: Any Bank or Chambter of Commerce of Battle Creek, Mich., or this paper. Merchants’ Creditors Association of U. S. Suite 304 Ward Building, Battle Creek, Michigan For your protection we are bonded by the Fidelity & Casualty Company of New York City. Investment Securities E. H. Rollins & Sons Founded 1876 Dime Bank Building, Detroit Michigan Trust Building, Grand Rapids New York San Francisco Boston Denver Chicago Los Angeles ent State Bank “The Home for Savings” With Capital and Surplus of Two Million Dollars and resources exceeding Twenty-Three Million Dollars, invites your banking business in any of its departments, assuring you of Safety as well as courteous treatment. Banking by Mail Made Easy. Fenton Davis & Boyle Investment Bankers GRAND RAPIDS Grand Rapids National Bank Bullding Phone Chicago First National Bank Building Detroit 2056 Buhl Bullding GRAND RAPIDS NATIONAL BANK Established 1860—Incorporated 1865 NINE COMMUNITY BRANCHES GRAND RAPIDS NATIONAL COMPANY Investment Securities Affliated with Grand Rapids National Bank a “The Bank on the Square” ~ October 12, 1927 MICHIGAN TRADESMAN 13 Syndicate Managers Have Trouble Dividing Bond Issues. The opinion expressed at the Invest- ment Bankers Association convention that there are too many bond dealers all over the country, receives hearty endorsement from overworked syndi- cate managers who are daily swamped with applications for shares in each new deal. An idea of the number of men en- gaged in distributing bonds and stocks in this country can be gained from statistics recently compiled by the syn- dicate department of one of the fore- most investment houses in the Street. Checking up in all cities in the United States and Canada with fifty or more dealers the statistician arrived at a to- tal of 5,267. That total includes firms specializing in bonds and members of stock exchanges doing a bond and stock business. To the list could be added commercial banks and _ trust companies with retail bond depart- ments and the thousands of dealers in smaller cities and outlying territory. The total of 1,865 shown for New York City alone does not include deal- ers in what is termed the metropolitan area, which would increase the figures to approximately 2,000. These firms employ large staffs of salesmen. Sup- pose the salesmen employed average ten to a firm the answer would be at least 20,000 men in New York City soliciting business for bond and stock houses, not counting the banks which deal directly with their customers. The total for New York City in- cludes 1,200 members of the New York Stock Exchange who do a stock and bond business leaving 800 doing a bond business exclusively. An examination of ‘the best syndicate lists maintained by the large under- writing houses discloses that only 400 or 500 dealers are placed in the upper classification, or, in other words, only that select coterie can find admittance to the best security deals. The others have to obtain their bonds indirectly. The result is, according ‘to syndicate managers, that there has been bred in the Street a type of bond dealer who is something of a “franc tireur,” or ir- regular, who follows 'the regular forces picking up a livelihood legitimately but nevertheless precariously. The one great evil of the situation is that the “franc tireur’ type of dealer, to find enough bonds to enable his salesmen to make a living, quite often is tempted into dealing in securities in the realms of higher interest. This condition also encourages salesmen to advise the constant trading in and out of bonds which is not good for the in- vestor. A certain amount of trading is sometimes profitable to the investor if the original intention, investment, is kept in mind. Here is one reason why many large syndicate houses prefer to place bonds if possible with small dealers in out- lying sections where they will be com- paratively safe from inveterate “trad- ers.” It must be remembered that size alone does not gain admittance to the best syndicate lists. Many small deal- ers who have been in business for years and who are able to place regularly and safely a small number of bonds are welcomed. [Copyrighted, 1927.] —_—_~+-+2—__—_ Ethics of High Commissions Ques- tioned. The action of the Investment Bank- ers’ Association in urging the investor be told exactly what he is buying when purchasing an investment trust certi- ficate is to be commended. If the strong words used by the committee in its recommendations to the convention in Seattle are followed to the letter by members of the as- sociation as well as other investment bankers and security distributors, much trouble for the financial community and many tribulations of the small and in- experienced investor may be averted. The committee might have gone a step further, it seems, however, and condemned unreasonable profits for or- ganizers of investment trusts. Some of the organizations whose certificates have been offered for subscription re- cently are reminiscent of the groups which several years ago cleared for- tunes in selling so-called sub-shares of ford Motor of Canada at prices far above then current levels for the actual stock. Investors who have taken the trouble to examine market quotations of shares held in portfolios of some of the new trusts have discovered that the prices of certificates have been marked up 10, 12 or even 15 per cent. above current quotations for shares covered. In one instance trust certificates were marketed at retail at prices to give a profit of at least $2,000 on each block of 1,000 certificates above the cost of the shares in the portfolio, it was estimated. The profit may have been larger if the shares included had been purchased some time ago when quotations were lower. In another investment trust covering similar shares the profit on blocks of 1,000 certificates was estimated to have been almost $2,500 even at recent quo- tations on the shares included. Wheth- er it is more advantageous for an in- vestor to pay such a wide margin above current values to obtain diversi- fication is a doubtful question. So far as press reports revealed, this point was not covered in the committee’s recommendations to the association. The association’s opposition to in- vestment trusts “which are in effect ‘blind pools’” is well founded, for the inexperienced investor is rarely able to distinguish between good and _ bad management and he is not in a position, therefore, to risk his funds in trusts which fail to reveal their holdings. Co-operation on the part of the In- vestment Bankers’ Association with authorities empowered to take action against distributors of fraudulent se- curities should be helpful in checking sharp practices and in protecting pur- chasers of securities of this type. Indications that the situation is not beyond remedying are seen in the committee’s statement that it is “con- vinced the tendencies of the time are in this direction (that is, of greater publicity on holdings), and it is the best and surest method of encouraging the good ones and driving the bad ones out of existence.” William Russell White. Keep Your Will A Living Document Do Not Permit It To Stagnate With Out-of-date Provisions. It should change as the needs of your family develop. Provisions which were ideal at one time often prove utterly unsuitable at an- other. business; daughters marry. Sons grow up and go into The family circle grows and shrinks; your circumstances change, and so should your Will. GRAND RAPIDS TRUST CoO. Grand Rapids THE TOLEDO PLATE & WINDOW GLASS COMPANY MIRRORS—ART GLASS—DRESSER TOPS -~AUTOMOBILE—SHOW CASE GLASS All Kinds of Glass for Building Purposes 501-511 Ionia Avenue., S. W. Grand Rapids, Michigan The Expanding Needs of Grand Rapids Business govern the development of the facilities of the Grand Rapids Savings Bank. The particular needs of individuals and business houses throughout this great territory determine the character of this Bank's service. Whatever the nature of your transactions, you will fnd “THE BANK WHERE YOU FEEL AT HOME.” ABLE—and always READY—to handle them to suit your particular case, and to deserve your approval. GRAND RAPIDS SAVINGS BANK “The Bank Where You Feel At Home”’ 16 Convenient Offices 14 The Tale of a Coat. The girl wanted a fur coat. She was working in a business office, but she was engaged to be married and wished to look well when she went out with her fiance. She had no money saved up, but she wanted that coat; so she went to one of her brothers and asked him to finance the matter for her. He told her, kindly, but plainly, that he didn’t care to do it. “You are working and earning money,” he said, “and you live here at home free of any expense for board or lodging. All the rest of us contribute toward the family expenses. You must not ask us to buy your clothes too.” The girl's mother told her that under no consideration must she contract bills that she could not pay before she was married. She must carry no debt into her new home for her husband to shoulder. But the girl wanted the coat, and finally bought it on credit. Within a very short time an unexpected business opportunity that came to her young man made it desirable for the couple to be married at once. The girl had paid but little on the coat, and dared not, or at least preferred not to, tell her husband of the debt. She has made skimy and irregular payments from such money as she could divert from the household expense fund, so that the original bill of two hundred and fifty dollars is now down to one hundred; but meantime a child has been born to the couple, so that there have been extra expenses, and there is now a third mmber of the family to be provided for. The firm that sold the coat is getting impatient and begin- ning to send peremptory letters. And the coat is no longer new, but is a little worn and shabby, and not in the best style. The story, which is true in every de- tail, needs no moral. From the deal- er’s point of view it is so familiar that it is commonplace, but from the girl’s point of view it comes near to tragedy —in fact is tragedy. Sooner or later she must tell her husband, or the dealers will. What is he likely to think? How shall he regain the con- fidence in his wife that two years of silence and concealment will have shaken? God never made an animal whose fur is so beautiful that it is worth such a risk. Yet some persons seem to think He did. —_»--2—__ Wonderful Tribute To the Hammer. Have you lately read, any of you older men, what Elihu Burritt wrote upon the hammer? If you have read it, and I suppose perhaps most of you have, you know what a wonderful thing it was to have been a hardware man in his day. He made hammers himself and he sold the hammers him- self. One day he took up a hammer, and looking at it brought out the thought that he afterward wrote down. What he wrote was something beauti- ful indeed. He said (I will have to condense it some, but I am pretty sure I can follow his thought). He said: “In this hammer I see the beginning of God’s great goodness to man in his Start into human civilization. In this hammer I see ancient Babylon and an- MICHIGAN TRADESMAN cient Nineveh; I see the grand canals and palaces; I see the civilization of that day in which the hammer was so useful; I see ancient Egypt; I see the pillars of Karnac being constructed under the hammer, the tool that made those great cities which now adorn the banks of the Nile; I see ancient Pales- tine and the Temple of Solomon; I see ancient Greece and the Parthenon; I see their beauties and glories arising as they top the mountains with their wonderful constructions, and the ham- mer leads me all the way. Hammer! my friend, thou friend of the poor, the wise, the great, go with me over the earth and tell me the history of human civilization; then go into the modern nations of the world where hammer introduces us to the art gallery, to the factories, to the homes, into the theater, into the churches and cathe- drals.” If one hammer in a store can ‘bring out such wisdom, beauty and poetry, and unroll before us such a wonderful civilization, what would not all the articles in a hardware store do for man? Russell H. Conwell. —_+ +. __. Novelty Jewelry Moving Well. Orders for novelty jewelry are such that more than one manufacturer is be- ing hard pressed to make deliveries promptly. Wide “barbaric” bracelets have lately been in increasing favor in gold, silver and stone-set effects. Also in growing demand are choker neck- laces of serpentine and fancy outline combinations in green gold. Russian antique styles are being featured in a wide array of items, including neck- laces, bracelets, pendants and dress ornaments. Large stone rings are said to be taking well. Imitation amethysts are favored in these rings, which are made of sterling silver ornamented with small leaf designs. Pearl necklaces show no signs of failing popularity and are wanted in both 60-inch and choker styles. eee Antelope Favored For Handbags. The demand for handbags is strong- ly centered on antelope merchandise in pouch and underarm styles. These bags, which retail at $5 and $7.50, are wanted mainly in black and brown. A fair business is also being done in bags of alligator and suede leathers. In fabric styles attention is given to chif- fon velvet numbers, in which black and brown are also the preferred colors. Wholesalers here look for a marked increase in business during the next few weeks. Practically no orders have been booked for the holiday season, or- dinarily one of the most active periods of the year. —__»~—____ Leather Looking Up. Leather is the last commodity to re- cover from the post war depression. This great industry has been in the doldrums for years until excess stocks were worked off. Now it has been aided by the increase in shoe manu- facture announced by the Department of Commerce which amount to 7 per cent. over output of last year. This not only indicates the prosperous con- dition of business in general but af- fects shoe manufacturers, tanners, dealers and ultimate consumers in huge numbers. INFLUENCE Judge a man by his friends—a moth- er by her children— a bank by its cus- tomers! Old National cus- tomers include the most successful busi- ness concerns in Grand Rapids. ae OLD NATIONAL BANK MONROE at PEARL A Bank for Everybody- October 12, 1927 Hodenpyl Hardy Securities Corporation Getting the most out of your investments requires a broad know- ledge of securities and how to use them best for your own purposes. Our service, based on long experience, is yours for the asking. We handle only the best in investments. v 231 So. La Salle Street Chicago New York Jackson Grand Rapids MARTIN DOWD & COMPANY Audits-Systems- Tax Service Grand Rapids National Bank Bldg. Grand Rapids, Michigan BIXBY OFFICE SUPPLY COMPANY GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN PERSONAL SERVICE Gives you better results. Our mov- ing and storage rates are very reasonable. Every load insured. BOMERS and WOLTJER 1041 Sherman and 1019 Baxter Sts. GRAND RAPIDS, MICH. Henry Smith FLORALCo. Inc. 52 Monroe Avenue GRAND RAPIDS Phone 9-3281 Phone 61366 JOHN L. LYNCH SALES CO. SPECIAL SALE EXPERTS Expert Advertising Expert Mrechandising 209-210-211 Murra - GRAND RAPIDS, 7 ae in the We are interested financial welfare of every man, woman and child who desires to get ahead. Our management is always in close touch with the client's interest, giving personal at- tention. Michigan Bond & Investment Company Investment Securities 1020 Grand Rapids National Bank Bullding Grand Rapids | Link, Petter & Company Investment Bankers 6th FLOOR, MICHIGAN TRUST BLDG. GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN oe ww § Witerr-Cuutski & Co. ) INVESTMENT BANKERS Listed and Unlisted Securities. ¢ : 933-934 Michigan Trust Bldg. GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN SS —* October 12, 1927 Local Arson Squads Now Forming. Within the past few months a move- ment has been commenced which, as it gathers force, will act as both a pre- ventive and a cure. The successful operation of arson squads in some of the larger cities has led to a Nation- wide movement to organize local or municipal squads. These squads are small and wieldy, being composed of the fire chief and the police chief as nucleii, The psychological value of having a local group, possessed of all the need- ed prosecuting information and co- operating closely with neighboring communities in the suppression of ar- son, is hard to over-estimate. In time, when the entire country has been or- ganized on this basis, persons inclined towards incendiarism are going to think twice—at least—before applying the torch, since they will know that there is a powerful unit watching and waiting with authority to pounce upon them before the ashes have cooled. Indeed the deterrent effect of these local arson squads—fathered jointly by the Fire Marshals’ Association of North Amer- ica and the National Board of Fire Underwriters—is already being noted. Fire insurance agents, especially, are closely associated with the crime of arson from the very nature of their business. ‘Burning with intent to de- fraud” means burning to collect upon fire insurance policies, and such policies are, of course, secured through insur- ance agents. The difference in the attitude of local agents toward the possible abuse of the insurance which is obtained through their offices reflects a difference in tem- perament met with in almost every business, but there is a peculiar serious- ness to the consequences of insurance being resorted to for illegitimate pur- poses. A recent instance, which is ad- mittedly unusual, will serve to illus- trate: An incendiary fire destroyed certain buildings and damaged others on some farm property. One local agent had written insurance on the buildings in an amount which he considered their full value. Shortly before the fire, un- known to the first agent, additional in- surance was secured through another local agent, increasing the amount carried by about 100 per cent. Fire- men found evidences of incendiarism and Agent No. 1 co-operated with the local officials in the investigation of the fire, turning over to them all the facts in his possession that tended to throw an light upon origin, motive and the like. i At the criminal trial which followed, both agents were called as witnesses for the state to prove that the buildings were insured for certain amounts. Their bearing was in sharp contrast. Agent No. 1 made a full and explicit state- ment of all the circumstances of which he had knowledge, while Agent No. 2 testified in a manner indicating that he deemed it his business to write any in- surance that was offered him, and that it was the business of the company either to accept or reject it. The keynote of every insurance ac- tivity is public service, and the local agent, because he is nearer the public than any. other branch of the business, ’ clientele. MICHIGAN TRADESMAN can be a most important factor in re- ducing the fire waste. The real ser- vices which he can perform are: first, educational work among his clients; second, inspection, and suggestions for the improvement, of individual risks which will lead to betterment of the fire hazard and consequent reduction in the rate; third, and perhaps most vital, the scrutiny he can apply to his The banker, for example, does not permit an account to be open- ed by a new customer until his re- liability and integrity have been in- vestigated. In other words, the bank- er wants to know something of his’ client because of a possible ‘moral hazard.” In the millions of fire policies issued it is not at all strange that some should fall into 'the hands of unscrupulous or criminally inclined individuals. This always will be true, even with the ut- most care and discrimination on the part of the local agent, but by the ex- ercise of a reasonable amount of caution and investigation before in- surance is granted incendiary fire loss- es can be materially lessened. Instances have come to light where- in the local agent explains the writing of undesirable business with the ex- cuse that, had he not taken it, it would have been written by a competitor. This, in many instances, is all too true, but still it hardly constitutes a legiti- mate excuse for saddling the com- panies—and, ultimately, the public— with what amounts to prearranged losses. No reputable pharmacist would sell a suspected drug addict heroin on the flimsy pretext that had he not done so the “dope” might have been obtained from his competitor around ‘the corner. Another danger point in incendiarism is the matter of the adjustment. The insurance adjuster should not delay in adjusting and paying a loss when in his opinion, based on a thorough en- quiry, it is legitimate and fhonest. On the other hand, if he become satisfied that the loss is fraudulent, the final settlement should be delayed to enable the local authorities to investigate thoroughly. But all these difficulties time and the more enlightened understanding of these matters which it will bring are bound to sweep away. Best of all, the public at large is being taught to recognize arson in all its forms for the foul, inexcusable crime it is. Fewer people are regarding as “smart” the man who has “a successful fire.’ They are seeing at what a high price the arsonist’s “success” is purchased—at a cost, in short, of America’s well-being and the unhampered prosperity of all who live honest lives and do an honest day’s work. a Controlling Money Flow. The movement of money has an im- mediate and imperative effect on the movement of trade. No business man can afford to disregard the regulations to which this flow of cash and credit is subjected and all therefore must be involved to a greater or lesser degree in the decision of the Acting Attorney General that the Federal Reserve Board was within its right when fixing the rediscount rate of the Federal Re- serve Bank at Chicago. 15 Class Mutual Insurance Agency C.N. BRISTOL H. G. BUNDY A. T. MONSON “The Agency of Personal Service” INSPECTORS, AUDITORS, STATE AGENTS Representing The Hardware and Implement Mutuals— The Finnish Mutual —The Central Manufacturers’ Mutual and Associate Companies. Graded dividends ot 20 to 50% on all policies accord- ing to the class of business at risk. FIRE - AUTOMOBILE - PLATE GLASS 305-06 Murray Building Grand Rapids, Mich. OUR FIRE INSURANCE POLICIES ARE CONCURRENT with any standard stock policies that you are buying Te Net Cotis OO Less Michigan Bankers and Merchants Mutual Fire Insurance Co. of Fremont, Michigan WILLIAM N. SENF, SECRETARY-TREASURER Affiliated with The Michigan Retail Dry Goods Association An Association of Leading Merchants in the State THE GRAND RAPIDS MERCHANTS MUTUAL FIRE INSURANCE COMPANY 320 Houseman Bldg. Grand Rapids, Mich. Merchants Life Insurance Company WILLIAM A.WATTS President RANSOM E. OLDS Chairman of Board Offices: 3rd floor Michigan Trust Bldg.—Grand Rapids, Mich. GREEN & MORRISON—Michigan State Agents tin ne MICHIGAN TRADESMAN ol a : a _ % « e <7. a tin ¥ NS a i e * ” > a + a 13” ob cie 4d > * > } . * a 4% + Richard R. Bean, pee: . os -” a ~ October 12, 1927 MICHIGAN TRADESMAN 17 MEN OF MARK. Richard R. Bean, Manager of the National Candy Co. The science of accounts is a develop- ment of age and experience. The book- keeping of the trapper, the pioneer set- tler on the prairie or of the general storekeeper on the frontier is as primi- tive as their way of life; but when the number of transactions multiply and their scope enlarges, and as the won- derful credit system which may be either a master or a servant brings the business under its influence, account- ing becomes a science, in its applica- tion demonstrates the right of a busi- ness to live and tests the wisdom of business policies. In the United States, a new country, too little attention has been paid to ac- counts. In England, an old country, perhaps too much attention has been paid ‘to elaborate and in many cases useless records. But in the older countries, with their close and continu- ous competition and where _ little economies must be depended upon to save even narrow margins of profit, correct book-keeping is of serious mo- ment. If sometimes it would seem that more attention had becn paid ‘to finding out about a business than to doing business, it was a not unnatural development of the hard conditions under which business was done. In the United States, where, on the whole, profits have been large as compared with the older countries, where oppor- tunities have been more numerous and action freer, there has been a sort of impatience with the elaborate account- ing methods of the Old World, and from it has come much of the influ- ence which has led to the simplifica- tion of old methods, making book- keeping the servant rather than the master. Still to the older countries must we look for the most perfect methods of accounts. In the United States book- keeping is largely looked upon as a stepping stone to a higher class of work. In the older countries account- ing is a profession to be adopted as a lifelong pursuit. As fine accountants as there are in the world are to be found in ‘the States, but their average in accuracy, reliability and knowledge of the art does not begin to be so high as in Europe. Richard Robert Bean was born on a farm in tthe Yorkshire Woles, Eng- land, Aug. 26, 1862, being the third of a family of four children. His antece- dents on both sides are Scotch, the family name being originally MacBean. When he was 7 years of age, the fam- ily moved to Pocklington, where he attended public and private school un- til he was 17 years of age. He then entered the law office of J. T. Sargent, who, in addition to being a solicitor, was registrar of the county court. Mr. Sargent was a very capable man and taught his clerk habits of thrift and punctuality and exactness, which have had a marked influence on his life and for which he feels under great obliga- tions to his old employer. During the time he was with Mr. Sargent, he studied law, with a view to taking up the work of court practice, but aban- doned ‘this idea when he was 21 years of age, and moved to London, where he remained a year. In September, 1884, he came to this country with an older brother, locating immediately in Grand Rapids, which had been brought to his attention by friends of his boy- hood. He soon afterward entered the employ of the Old National Bank, where he remained four years, starting in as collector and ending as_ book- keeper, occupying several intermediate positions in the meantime. Six months fater the inauguration of the house of Olney, Shields & Co., he entered the establishment as book-keeper, remain- ing with that house and its successor eight years. Failing health impelled him to remove to California, where he located on a lemon ranch near San Diego. The change was so beneficial to his health and so detrimental to his pocketbook that he returned to Grand Rapids at the end of a year, and en- tered the employ of the Putnam Candy Co. in January, 1897, taking charge of the office. He gradually acquired a knowledge of the business until he un- derstood thoroughly every branch of it and, on the purchase of the plant by the National Candy Co., he was not only made manager of the lecal factory, but was also elected a director of the parent organization. As the local fac- tory is employing nearly 175 people, including ten traveling men, the posi- tion is one of large responsibility, but those who know Mr. Bean well fully realize that he was not only equal to the emergency, but that he has been able to make a showing which has been exceedingly gratifying to his associates and has given him a high place in the counsels of 'the National Candy Co. Mr. Bean has always been a strong advocate and supporter of organized effort among business men. He was one of the earliest members of the Na- tional Confectioners Association, which he served on the Executive Committee six years. He was Vice-President two years and President during 1921 and 1922. The record he made as presiding officer and director general is one of the most prized possessions of the or- ganization. Mr. Bean is a large stockholder of the Clinton Corn Syrup Co., of Clinton, Towa, and is a director of the corpora- tion. Mr. Bean is a member of the Rotary Club, the Peninsular Club and the Cas- cade Country Club. He served the lat- ter organization three years as director. Mr. Bean owns up to but two hobbies —golf and books. He never misses an opportunity to play golf when he can do it without interfering with his busi- ness. His private library is regarded as one of the finest of its kind in the city. I't is rich in biography and his- tory, both ancient and modern. Mr. Bean was married May 4, 1892, to Miss Alice L. McCoy of Grand Rap- ids. They reside in their own home, at 147 Benjamin avenue. Mr. Bean is not a “jiner” in any sense of the word, never having been a member of any secret organization. His home is his club and his greatest ambi- tion, aside from aiming to be a good citizen and a trustworthy business man, is, apparently, 'to be the first man at his desk in ‘the morning and the last man to leave it at night. He has an iron constitution, which enables him to give his business close application with- out apparent fatigue. He is a remark- ably systematic worker and has a faculty of inspiring his associates to work along common lines with him. He accomplishes this result without friction, in consequence of which every person in the establishment stands ready to hold up his hands and sustain his policies under all circumstances. His relations with his traveling force are so close and cordial that every man on the road for the house is ready and willing to fight for the house and de- fend its goods and reputation on the slightest provocation. As a credit man. Mr. Bean occupies an enviable position. He probably com- prehends a credit proposition as quick- ly as any man at this market and ap- pears to decide by intuition whom to trust and whom not to trust. He has made it a point to teach the merchant of small means the desirability of keep- ing out of debt and keeping his credit good, and many men who have taken his advice and acted on his suggestions frankly admit that much of their suc- cess is due to his kindly interest. Genuinely successful in many ways as Mr. Bean has been, he himself is much greater and more admirable than anything he has accomplished. He is a man who his intimate acquaintances state to be of singularly pure charac- ter, and casual acquaintances certainly know nothing to the contrary. With all his energy and firmness he is in many ways as gentle as a woman and as pure im life and speech. Perhaps no better tribute can be rendered to him than that of an intimate business acquaint- ance, who recently said, in reply to an enquiry as to the characteristics of Mr. Bean: “My acquaintance with him goes back for more than twenty-five years and I know him to be as true as steel. He is a man who ‘sweareth to his own hurt and changeth not;’ to know whom strengthens one’s faith in human kind. He is clear-headed, cautious and conservative, but when he once assumes a responsibility he never throws it off.” —_++>—____ Dark Clouds Dispelled From St. Paul To Seattle. The signs of returning prosperity for the great Northwest are written in big bold letters all along the way from St. Paul to Seattle. In the green blade of grass that lifts its head from abandoned fields, in the fresh use found for old and vacant buildings, in the vast irrigation pro- jects now in prospect, in the flocks of fattened animals that feed once more on the hillside and in the new spirit of Western enthusiasm which greets the traveler everywhere lie unmistakable promises for the future. From a tour just completed of the Canadian North- wst, Washington, Idaho, Montana, the Dakotas and Minnesota this com- mentator found that the dark skies which have overhung the Northwest since 1921 fast are becoming blue and cheerful. The abundant 1927 rains have swell- ed handsomely the production of wheat, fruit and livestock, all of which, for- tunately, command an unusually good market. This will be the first fat year for tillers of the great agricultural and horticultural regions after a Biblical run of nearly seven lean years. The rich moisture now in the ground gives hope of another good crop next year. Seattle with its population of 450,- 000 has so firmly intrenched itself as a financial as well as commercial cen- ter in the Pacific Northwest that its security business requires the services of sixty dealers. It recently created a stock exchange of its own. It has a forty-two story skyscraper and is still growing. A delegation of United States Sen- ators left Spokane last week for a trip through the. great River basin to ascertain the expenditure re- quired to dam that river and open to cultivation vast area not now irrigable. Even in far away Butte, Mont., one of the town’s largest buildings, vacant for fifteen years, is being converted into a manganese plant. In Montana, the Dakotas and Minnesota the output of six major grains will exceed by 221,- 000,000 bushels or 30 per cent. that of a year ago. Grain receipts at Duluth and Minneapolis last month were more than twice those of the same month last year. The deposits of country banks with their city banks jumped enormously in that district last month, and in turn the deposits of the city banks with Eastern banks rose. Diversification of rapidly is doing for the Northwest what it has done for the South so the failure of One crop would not again stimulate an exodus of farmers from the North to the South. The signs of the future are plainly enough written in the North- west (but they have not high enough over the land to draw back in great numbers those that pulled up their stakes in 1923 and 1924 to seek more equable climes. Columbia crops risen The efflux long ago ceased but the tide has not yet been reversed. If the coming year brings another crop like that of 1927 a substantial movement of settlers to the Northwest is a definite likelihood, and for that the railroads already are making elaborate preparations. What the future holds nobody knows, but judged on the basis of prospects in the autumn of 1927, it seems to promise to the great North- west the return of a prosperity more solid than any known before. Where in years gone by the country was “boomed” it now is reaching down to firm rock and there laying a founda- tion on which to build in the future. Paul Willard Garrett. [Copyrighted, 1927.] —__-2 + New Grapefruit Cannery To Open in Florida. A new grapefruit cannery is to be built and opened at Lake Alfred, Fla., before December 1, by the Florida Products Company, which already has one factory at Eagle Lake. The new factory is to have a capacity of 75,000 cases per year, and its principal prod- ucts will be canned grapefruit and can- ned grapefruit juice. It will be equip- ped with modern canning machinery. The cost will be $50,000. Residents of Lake Alfred have furnished the money to erect and equip the plant, the financ- ing being done largely by means of bonds. 18 DRY GOODS Michigan ReRtail Dry Goods Association President—A. K. Frandsen, Hastings. First Vice-President—J. H. Lourim, Jackson. Second Vice-President—F. H. Nissly, Ypsilanti. .Secietary-Treasurer—D. W. Robinson, Alma. Manager—Jason If. Hammond, Lansing. Manager Hammond Adopts the Out Around System. Lansing, Oct. 11—We are using the same heading for this paragraph that our friend, E. A. Stowe, of the Michi- gan Tradesman, uses when he travels among the Michigan merchants. On Monday, Sept. 26, we started for a trip through the thumb _ country. Durand was our first stop. During the ent.re week, contrary to the prediction of the Weather Bureau, which prophe- sied a cold wave, we traveled in the rain and comparatively warm weather. At Durand we found that our member, B. C. Lemunyon, had sold his dry goods stock to George W. Sharp, tor- merly of the Boston Store, of Pontiac. The name of the new concern 1S “Freeman’s,’ Mr. Freeman being the men’s furnishings merchant next door. The two stores are now connected, with Mr. Sharp in charge of the dry goods department. At Swartz Creek another new mem- ber was added, E. G. Smith, proprietor of a laree double store in the rich agri- cultural region between Durand and Flint. Calling at Flushing we found L. E. Travis hard at work in his store and in good spirits. At Flint three or four of the members on whom we intended to call were in Detroit and elsewhere celebrating the Jewish holidays. A call at the Smith-Bridgman store re- vealed the fact that Mr. Jackson is still dangerously ill, but his friends are still hoping that he will eventually recover. At Clio and Vassar we found some closing out sales in progress. Neither of these dry goods stores had been mem- be s in the Michigan Retail Dry Goods Association. : Visits were made on our members in Caro, Cass City, Bad Axe, Harbor Beach. Deckerville, Sandusky, Carson- ville. Croswell, Yale, St. Clair, Marine City, Capac, Imlay City, Lapeer and Fenton. Called at Glenn Jackson’s summer residence on Long Lake, near Fenton. Mrs. Jackson was optimistic regarding Mr. Jackson’s recovery. She is bearing the strain of anxiety with courage. We are glad to enroll another new member, P. L. Graham, at Croswell, and two prospective new members, J. H. Stecker, at Applegate, and A. E. Fox, at Peck. The two latter named gentlemen were interested in the or- ganization and promised if possible, to attend the group meeting at Port Huron. Calls were not made on any of the Port Huron stores, as we preferred to devote the time to the outlying towns advertising the group meeting and postpone our calling on the Port Huron merchants until Oct. 14. We hope that any of our members residing in the thumb country who are acquaint- ed with Mr. Stecker and Mr. Fox will encourage them to come to the meet- ing and join the Association. We have also extended an invitation to two other non-members, T. M. Udell, at Port Hope, and C. L. Vosburgh, of Lapeer. At Marine City we called on Arthur J. Scott, the efficient Secretary of the Michigan Retail Hardware Associa- tion. It is a pleasure to call upon a man who has such a firm hold upon the hardware merchants of the State as Mr. Scott, and who is held in such universal esteem. During our travels recently we dis- covered one of our members (whose name we withhold because of the em- barrassment and chagrin which he 1s suffering) had made a contract with a MICHIGAN TRADESMAN radio and phonograph manufacturing company whereby he obligated himself to act as agent for said company for three years. Under the terms of this contract certain things were acquired of him which on later reading seemed almost imposs.ble for him to fulfill and, acting according to > »romise made by the traveling solicitor that notes would not pass to the third party’s hands, he signed a series of notes which im- mediately were discounted at the bank and payment required. In this letter we will not discuss the mer.ts of the goods sold by the company, but warn our members to be very careful in making a contract of this kind. At Marine City we found that Mr. Scott had already had some experience among the hardware men with con- tracts of this kind and had in May warned the Hardware Association to steer clear of any complications of this k nd. J have in my possession the correspondence that was conducted be- tween our member and the Phono- graph Manufacturing Co., which deals in very arrogant and arbitrary lan- guage. We hope that this company and any other one similarly organized is not soliciting business in Michigan at the present time and would regard it as a favor if any member will report the same to this office if knowledge of such solicitation comes to him, We have the correspondence carried on by Mr. Scott in behalf of the hard- ware dealers who were involved. We stand ready to give further attention to matters of this kind in case efforts are being made to premote their busi- ness among the dry goods men of Michigan. Your co-operation is earn- estly solicited that we may protect our members who may be foolish enough to be flattered into such a scheme. Since we last reported an addition to our membership list the following list of stores have become members of our Association. We find that the good work done in the previous years makes it much easier to secure members than in the years when our record had not been made. We expect to increase the list of new members very material- ly bfore Dec. 31: A. B: Boyce, A. B. Boyce & Go. Tecumseh. Helen Clark, East Lansing Dry Goods Co., East Lansing. George Ferris, Ferris Brothers, Flint Joe Dyksterhouse, Dyksterhouse Dry Goods Co., Grand Rapids. J. L. Glenan, Dowagiac. F. H. Gordon, National Clothing Co., 3attle Creek. Leslie I. Graham, P. L. Graham Co., Croswell. C. A. Harper, Harper Dry Co., Marshall. Lourim-Yocum Company, Jackson. H. C. Pinkerton, Lapeer. George W. Sharp, Freeman’s, Du- rand. J.Roy Smith, Caledonia. E. G. Smith; ©. G. Smath & Co, Swartz Creek. Ben Seaman, A. Mountain. C. W. Spaulding, E. O. Spaulding & Son Caro. H. Vanderveen, Vanderveen Dry Goods Co., Grand Rapids. E. E. Wilhelm, Hannah-Lay Mer- cantile Co., Traverse City. Frank J. Zielinski, Lansing. We learn from a reliable authority that Detroit wholesalers and jobbers deliver goods to merchants in Toledo free of charge to their customers. It may be that if concerted action is taken on the part of our members that the Detroit jobbers and wholesalers will be glad to make the same concession to their Michigan patrons. J. E. Hammond, Mer. Mich. Retail Dry Goods Ass'n. ——_2>-~_____ Designs Special Undergarment. The popularity of black velvet dresses for both afternoon and evening wear has created a demand for a new Goods Sackim Co., Iron type of undergarment, and one that has been designed by a prominent lingerie concern is said to meet all re- quirements. It is made in one piece of black glove silk. The top of the gar- ment is a brassiere of black lace re- inforced with flesh-colored chiffon, and the cuffs of the bloomer section are made of the same materials. An un- usual yoke treatment is achieved by cutting this part of the garment so that it extends from the brassiere to well below the waistline. This serves the double purpose of eliminating fullness’ about the waist and assuring a straight, continuous line. Although it fits the figure snugly, the new garment is easily put on. One of its features is a line of snap fastenings that extends from the brassiere top, on the left side, all the way to the bloomer cuff. ee. Velvet Dresses Aid Neckwear. The vogue for. velvet afternoon dresses is largely responsible for the revival of interest in lace neckwear. The demand at present is for fancy October 12, 1927 sets, the tailored models being less popular than they were. Particularly wanted are good imitations of point de Venise, Duchesse, Princesse, Alen- con and other thread-run laces. Cuffs are strongly featured in the sets and collars are shown in the Bertha shape with pointed back and front lapels. Vestees and bibs are also good. As neckwear is a strong style item just now and is widely used on ready-to- wear dresses, it is anticipated by mem- bers of the United Neckwear League that replacements of the merchandise sold with frocks of this type will keep the demand active throughout the winter. ———_+- 2. __- A Textile Factor. Announcement that contracts for the purchase of 350,000 pairs of woolen socks and 700,000 cotton undershirts have been awarded by the Navy De- partment was of vital interest to the woolen and cotton textile industries, and to producers of the raw products involved. or quiet. With guests or members of the family near, it is often impossible to carry on a telephone conversation in privacy An EXTENSION TELEPHONE in another part of the house—in a bedroom or the kitchen, for example— would insure both privacy and quiet. In addition, it would save the long trips to and from your main telephone, to make and answer calls. An extension telephone costs only a few cents a day MICHIGAN BELL TELEPHONE CO. ea} October 12, 1927 MICHIGAN TRADESMAN 19 Making More Sales From the Same Customers. Rudyard Kipling in one of his poems tells about a great ship builder and iron master who succeeded be- cause he kept his light burning a little, in front of the rest. Keeping one’s light burning where other people can see it seems to be about the first principal of advertising. Not only is it the first principal of advertising, but it is the first kind of advertising we know anything about. Even the Bible talks about “letting your light so shine,” and early in the Bible the famous old character named Gideon advertised his presence to his enemies one night by placing “lights” in pitchers, surrounded the enemies’ camp, and suddenly breaking the pitchers he appeared before his foes with a suddenness that wrought de- feat. Advertising is possibly the first and foremost thing in making sales, but it is not the only element in the quick turn. You aim to get a certain profit, which can be secured by a few turns with a big profit, or by many turns with a small profit. Off-hand the big profit may look the more desirable to you, but there is one thing about the big profit—it is becoming harder to get every day for the simple reason that the increased high cost of living is making people clamor for lower prices, and if you insist on getting big- ger profits, you are going to find your goods hard to sell. You must have a certain profit. To please yourself and your customers at the same time, the quick turn is ab- solutely necessary because a quick turn will cut down the cost to your customers and build up the profit to you. You may think that you prefer one sale at a 10 per cent. profit rather than five sales at a 2 per cent. profit each, but the diffirence in the difficulty of selling may throw the balance in favor of the smaller profit. It is certain that a small profit makes every difference in the world in the ease of selling goods. A low profit makes all the difference in the strength of advertisements, because everybody knows that the strongest advertise- ment anybody can write is an adver- tisement filled with obviously low prices. Finally, low prices make the best ap- peal to trade, especially right now be- cause of the high cost of living. A quick turn is a benefit to a store in a great many ways, and it does not increase the difficulty of selling mer- chandise as one might believe from first glance. Some of the stated expenses of a store stand still, or practically so, as the speed of the turn increases. You do not have to pay any more rent if the goods in your stock turn fast. It does not cost any more to light and heat a quick turning stock than it does a slow turning stock. It does not cost any more to superintend a quick turning stock than a slow turn- ing stock. Your taxes remain station- ary; so does your insurance. Better still, the wages don’t move up in proportion to the speed of the turn. If your goods turn twice under the supervision of four salespeople, you will not have to have eight sales peo- ple to get four turns. Your clerks are not busy all the time. Many times during the week every one of your clerks is idle, and if you can simply transfer this idleness into activity, you will make more sales without the neces- sity of increasing your sales force in the slightest degree. Let us take an illustration from the real estate business: One salesman may content himself with one tremendous sale that gives him a 50 per cent. profit and then remain idle the remainder of the year. Another salesman may con- tent himself with a 12% per cent, profit and make four sales and still get just as much pay as salesman No. 1. You may say that the second man works twice as hard. This is not necessarily so, even in the real estate business. To get a tremendous profit in these times of strenuous competition you must literally work your head off. Real estate, like merchandise, is listed with a great many agents and these various agents do not list each parcel or piece of property at the same price, so that an individual in shopping around soon finds out who makes the best quotation. For a salesman, then, to get the maximum profit on the goods he sells, he must work harder than anybody else, while the man with the lowest profits literally has no work at all to do. Buy no more merchandise than you can sell within a reasonable time. Dis- play all you carry. Make every item in your store work as hard as it pos- sibly can to get attention from cus- tomers. Force your customers to look at more varieties of merchandise and so multiply your present trade, not by getting more customers, but my mak- ing each customer to buy more lines from you. Branch out. To illustrate this last statement, let us suppose that you are a store deal- ing exclusively in paints. Once or twice a year you are flooded with de- mands for your merchandise and the remainder of the time the demand is puny. Suppose to paints you add a number of allied lines. Then people coming to you will have a chance to buy something besides paint. They will come to you not only when they want paint, but when they want any of the other lines you carry, provid- ed you advertise sufficiently. The final results will be a sort of Luther Bur- bank miracle of making two or more customers grow where only one grew before. All this is just another way of say- ing “More sales from the same cus- tomers.” Anderson Pace. ———_+-->—————— Low Priced Rubber. The figures announced by the De- partment of Commerce for the imports of rubber during the last month, indi- cate that American manufacturers of tires and mechanical rubber goods not only are working at capacity but are taking advantage of the present low price of the commodity since the unit price for the month was only 35.77 cents per pound. This is lower than it has been for a long period. It Isn’t Easy To left behind are to be properly safeguarded. in the best and most economical way. A Trust company has continuous life; it quired; it is supervised by the state; it has cial responsibility. THE MICHIGAN [RUST COMPANY The first Trust Company in Michigan Talk About O MANY, AND NATUALLY, PERHAPS, IT is not an easy matter to discuss with husband or wife the matter of making a Will to protect the family in case of death, but it must be done if those Trust companies are organized to care for Estates is on duty and accessible when its services are re- capital to carry on its work and bring the experience and judgment of many capable people to the man- agement of properties committed to its care. And its charges are no greater than are allowed individuals, even those without experience or finan- always ample WHITE HOUSE COFFEE National Distribution for Over 40 Years When you sell White House Coffee, you profit from a reputation that has grown through nearly half a century. Yet the acid test is the serving of White House Coffee in your own home. ‘ry this test. Compare the aroma, the cich coffee taste, with any other brand of voffee. After drinking White House Coffee, yourself, you will push it all the harder among your trade. The Flavor Is Roasted In! Raa Dn ean ele hd ONE POUND NET DWINELL-WRIGHT COMPANY Michigan Distributors—LEE & CADY Boston - Chicago Portsmouth, Va. 20 RETAIL GROCER Retail Grocers and General Merchants Association. President—Orla Bailey, Lansing. Vice-Pres.—Hans Johnson, Muskegon. Secretary—Paul Gezon, Wyoming Park. Treasurer—F. H. Albrecht, Detroit. Correct Balance Between Cash and Credit Trade. Northern I have the ques- From. the Farmers Co- operative Co., Ltd., tion as to the safe apportionment of credit trade; what amount it is sa’e to have on the books in a business of the size indicated. The manager writes in substance: “We are and for several years have been subscribers to the Tradesman and find it of great value to us ‘n our busi- ness. We note that from time to time you deal with specific problems for your readers. and so want your opin- ion on one of ours. We commenced August 15, 1923. Naturally we then had no book accounts. Sales average $60,000 and will reach $65,000 Stock averages $7,000, and business this year. includes groceries. flour. feed and dry goods, such as is usually carried in a general store. To-day our book debts are over $8,000. Our manager holds that with our volume this is not too large or, rather, that we are in a bet- ter pos tion than the average merchant with similar sales volume. As Secre- tary-treasurer I hold that this is much too large an amount for the time we have been in business, and that it must stop, and if this is better than the aver- age I am sorry for said average.” There is some confusion in my mind about what this man refers to. Are what he owes or are “hook debts’ those customers’ accounts owing to him? Let us treat it both ways to be safe. Book accounts of $8,000 total in a business where sales run $5,000 per month equal 160 per cent. of a month’s sales. If then, collections average once in two months, 80 per cent. of the business is done on credit. If collec- tions run near to once every ninety days, the business is just about 50 per cent. credit and 50 per cent. cash. In a semi-rural community accounts can hardly be completely turned often- er than once in ninety days, if there are farm accounts included. It is hardly thinkable that farmers will not be sold on credit in a farmers’ co- operative concern; so undoubtedly here is at best a ninety-day turn of accounts. In such an organization, made up of farmers largely, in a semi-rural town, it is unlikely that better than 16 per cent. gross on sales can be realized; and on 16 per cent. a turn every three months of book accounts cannot be profitable. So it seems to me that this secretary-treasurer is absolutely sound in his contention that the book ac- counts are far and away too large. The correct proportion of cash to credit trade varies with circumstances, environment, possible margin and other factors. The proportion is less important than the promptitude of payment. It may be taken as a sound rule that retail book accounts cannot be based on any plan other than pay- ment completely and in full every thirty days. In practice that will work out to forty to forty-five days out- standing. In a business running $5,- MICHIGAN TRADESMAN 000 per month th’s would admit of not more than $7,500 if it were all credit. Hence $8,000 is too much. But, except in unusual circumstances, a credit business should not run to more than 60 per cent. of sales, and 50 per cent. is sounder as a rule. This means that a $5,000 monthly business can have $3,750 maximum outstanding eccounts on the best basis and not more than $4,500 maximum, be on the outer edge of conservatism. All these things, however, work themselves into line under the str.ct enforcement of the thirty day limit of payment, plus the usual apd proper safeguards as to the extreme limit of each account and other items which now enter conservative credit man- agement. This was formerly an im- possible feat with farmer trade because . farmers were unable to grasp the ele- ment of time. Farmers used to con- tend—and_ they express their v gor—that they'd pay, there was no question about that, and that was would views with as to when they’d pay, why, where they would manifest bewilder- ment and utter could not thirty day rule against the Lord in their business. They could not tell Dame Nature where she’d have to alight in the matter of rainfall or tem- perature. In their calling they knew they had to operate as seasonal condi- tions adm‘tted. As one horticulturist expressed it recently, “In a normal year this is what happens; but a nor- mal year is something we never have had.” Hence, farmer-psychology ad- mitted of no comprehension of a mer- chant’s time limit of credit. So as long ago as 1878, and always during my own business experience, our inflexible rule was never to trust a farmer. This, you understand, not because farmers are not as honest as Indeed, I suppose they stack up with any folks on earth in correct intentions and ultimate performance. It was just because, as I have tried to business rules could not incomprehension. Farmers enforce any anybody. make clear, be made to work with them, except in stores especially laid out and planned to finance farmers from year to year— as ours was not. 3ut to-day it is said in grocery stores, “We cannot tell a farmer from anybody else.” He drives the same kind of auto, except when it is finer. He has a radio, a telephone, as much read:ng matter as anybody, daily mail. He has access to credit as well regu- lated as that of any merchant. In his own organization it may be possible to trade with him on the same credit basis as other folks. If not, then those of him who cannot conform to correct practices should pay cash, invariably, in their own organization as well as elsewhere. In fact, special privileges for members has been one of the rocks on which such organizations have gone to pieces quite commonly on this con- tinent. If, now, my friend’s question has to do with bills owed by his firm, I should have to get complete figures to answer intelligently. If there are re- sources of special character, aside from merchandise, it may be admissible to owe more than the value of stock on (Continued on page 31) October 12, 1927 Meal A Ever. COOKIE CAKES AND CRACKERS ARE MOST DELICIOUS AND WHOLESOME. YOU WILL FIND A HEKMAN FOR EVERY OCCASION AND TO SUIT YOUR TASTE. ASTE RPIECES | of the Bakers Al an Dscuil (3 Grand Rapids,Mich. M.J.DARK & SONS INCORPORATED GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN Direct carload receivers of UNIFRUIT BANANAS SUNKIST - FANCY NAVEL ORANGES and all Seasonable Fruit and Vegetables HERE’S A NEW ASSISTANT! The advertising of Fleischmann’s Yeast for Health is creating a demand that is growing every day—you can profit by supplying your share of this demand. Recommend Fleischmann’s Yeast to your customers: it overcomes constipation, relieves indigestion, clears the skin and tones up the whole system. And you will find that healthy customers require more of all the groceries ycu have for sale. FLEISCHMANN’S YEAST Service Don’t Say Bread — Say HOLSUM eto October 12, 1927 MICHIGAN TRADESMAN 21 MEAT DEALER Small Meat Purchases and Prepared Meats. Cooked or prepared meats are usual- ly bought in small quantities and at first thought the prices charged seem high; sometimes very high. The popu- lar belief of the home provider is that waste of money is associated with such purchases. To some extent at least, this is true, for some meats cooked in the home cost a great deal less per pound in most cases. The quantity bought for home cooking is, however, considerably greater than the quantity bought in stores selling cooked meats. There are occasions when only a small quantity of meat is needed, as for sandwiches, for an evening meal, or for supplement to meat on hand, and on such an occasion surely the house- wife cannot be fairly criticized for buy- ing what she needs. The prices she is forced to pay do not please her any more than they do those who comment on her lack of economy. She must pay what is charged or not buy. She some- times pays for convenience and it is often worth the cost. The dispensers of such meat plead excessive waste trimming, and because of the small quantity bought, excessive cost for labor, packages and general over- head. Sales are frequently only a quar- ter of a pound and sometimes less. Buyers of prepared meats demand per- fect cuts and high quality. Anyone who has sold delicatessen stores or prepared meat counters in retail meat stores knows that only the best is in demand. Price is important, of course, but quality dominates everything else. It is not so far back in history when a delicatessen store was something of a novelty. It was a sort of badge of honor to properly pronounce the word, to say nothing of spelling it. With the advent of apartment houses with small rooms easily heated, kitchenette apart- ment, woman entering fields previously unexplored by her sex, and with time to prepare a meal an important factor, the delicatessen store has grown in size, number and _ variety of handled. This growth would not have been possible if there was no important demand for what was sold. Retail meat dealers, generally speaking, made only feeble attempts at best to keep pace with this changing demand for meat, and so the logical place to look for it is in delicatessen stores. Retail meat markets for ages have sold such things as bologna, frankfurters, pork sausage and similar things. Proper cases are necessary if cooked or pre- pared meats are to be handled and re- tailers are equipping their markets. These markets usually sell reasonably and, no doubt, will become more of a factor in cooked meat distribution as time goes on. —_——_~+-.___ Frozen Pork Loins Now Selling Rela- tively Low. This is a good time to buy frozen pork loin chops or part of the whole providing you like pork from this section. The reason we advise the use of frozen pork chops or pork roast at this time is that it is much lower in price wholesale in a frozen state than unfrozen. To go a from foods loin for roasting, step further we may say that the rea- son it is lower in price in a frozen state is that large quantities of excel- lent fresh pork was put away in freez- ers when plentiful and cheap. Prac- tically all of this pork was frozen while in perfect condition and will come out just as good as it was while fresh. lf anyone can tell the difference between roasted pork that was frozen in good condition and pork that was not they can qualify as experts of unusual abil- ity on that point at least. You may go to your retailer and ask for fresh pork chops or roast and he may tell you he does not carry frozen pork. If he does, ask him if he cannot get you a nice roast for the following day or the day after, and at the same time ask him if he will not be able to sell you the frozen pork at a lower price. It is pos- sible to buy pork loins at wholesale several cents a pound cheaper when frozen, and we know of no reason why retailers would not be perfectly willing to allow their customers to have the benefit of this difference if they want it. The reason many retailers do not have frozen pork is that their cus- tomers are prejudiced against it and so they are afraid they could not sell it. We are sure many housewives would gladly buy the frozen pork at a saving of seven to ten cents a pound if they could get it readily and know how similar it is to the unfrozen pork when cooked. As a matter of fact, it has been found that meat that has been frozen frequently is more tender than unfrozen meat. This is especially true of beef, according to experts who made ex- tensive experiments and set forth their findings in Bulletin No. 433, released by the United States Department of Agriculture ten years ago. It would seem that anyone who has even or- dinary respect for economy would take advantage of an opportunity to save money when it can be done without loss of palatability or nutrition of what they eat. It would seem, also, many would actually demand that their re- tailers give them the opportunity to save. Don’t be afraid to take the meat home in a frozen condition and thaw it out just before cooking. ——_>2—____ Cranberries in Odd Sized Containers. A quarter-barrel box for cranberries has been introduced by the American Cranberry Exchange, the Department of Agriculture stated October 3. The statement follows in full text: A new package is to be introduced to the trade this year by the American Cranberry Exchange, New York City, This is a quarter-barrel box, which the management believes is going to be popular, even though the Exchange has to make an extra charge for this size. For the first round of shipments the Exchange has decided to load about half the cars with straight half- barrel boxes and the remainder with the half-barrel and quarter-barrel box- es in equal quantities. eg es One Compensation. “Charley, Charley,” whispered my wife, poking me in the ribs. ‘‘Wake up, Charley; there are burglars in the pantry and they're eating all my pies.” “Well, what do we care,” said I, so long as they don’t die in the house?” Awex Se TLY WHITE FLOUR “the Flour the best cooks use.” Also our high quality specialties Rowena Yes Ma’am Graham Rowena Pancake Flour Rowena Golden G. Meal Rowena Buckwheat Compound Rowena Whole Wheat Flour Satisfaction guaranteed or money refunded. VALLEY CITY MILLING COMPANY Grand Rapids, Michigan SWEETEST DAY SATURDAY, OCTOBER 8 “Make Somebody Happy” NATIONAL CANDY CO., INC. PUTNAM FACTORY GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN (LET US SEND YOU SOME WINDOW POSTERS) GRAND RAPIDS PAPER BOX Co. Manufacturers of SET UP and FOLDING PAPER BOXES G KR AN DBD R A,® FSB S MeEe¢H FE G AN VINKEMULDER COMPANY Grand Rapids, Michigan Distributors Fresh Fruits and Vegetables Now Offering: Cranberries, Bagas, Sweet Potatoes, “VinkeBrand” Mich. Onions, Oranges, Bananas, etc. THE BEST THREE : AMSTERDAM BROOMS. PRIZE White fwan Golddond AMSTERDAM needa COMPANY 41-55 Brookside Avenue, Amsterdam, N. Y: (] Dasa be a Hh fr ni A ) iM Tn I a i Dy gy es Chiis + BAAS rT | y You are entitled to a generous profit on each and every sale of Rumford. It is the product that makes con- tented customers because it is pure and wholesome. Rumford isasteady seller and gives you consistent profits. B25 BUMFORD CHEMICAL WORKS Providence, R.1. HARDWARE Michigan Retail Hardware Association. President—C. L. Glasgow, Nashville. Vice-Pres.—Herman Dignan, Owosso. Secretary—A. J. Scott, Marine City. Treasurer—William Moore, Detroit. Suggestions Fer the Hardware Dealer in October. Written for the Tradesman. October is a time of year when push- fulness counts in the hardware busi- ness. Good window displays and a good showing of stock inside the store will reap a rich reward. There are, this month, a great many lines which the hardware dealer can push to good advantage. In connection with October window displays, it is sound policy wherever poss.ble to give the windows a sea- sonable touch. This is the time of the harvest: and introducing a suggestion of the season and the harvest into your window display helps to emphasize the timeliness of the display itself. Of course you don’t sell pumpkins. Nor is there any market for autumn gloriously red and Turnips, cab- leaves, however golden they may be. bages, potatoes, have no place in the hardware stock. But in the hardware window display right now they add a decorative value that is inestimable. More, they serve the useful purpose of reminding the passerby that harvest time is over, that winter is coming and that now is the time to make every needful prepara- tion for cold weather. To induce the customer to buy his seasonable goods early is a part of good merchandis:ng. The normal tendency will be for a lot of folks to wait until the first severe frost before they get their stoves set up or lay in their supplies of winter accessories. To stimulate trade early in the sea- son, to induce people to buy seasonable actual cold weather them to do so, the dealer lines before the compels should, first of all, display the goods themselves. with appropriate show cards emphasizing the desirab/‘lity of And from the harvest he buying early. whatever season- able accessories can add to his display, by that much he adds to its effectiveness. One dealer featured in ‘his big win- dow a heater, with a lot of stove ac- Then he. filled in the cor- open spaces with first harvest—potatoes, cab- cessories ners and the fruits of the bages, turnips. tomatoes, and the big- gest squash and pumpkins he could get gold of. He threw in a lot of red autumn leaves. The following card added significance to the display: HARVEST IS DONE WINTER MUST COME Now is the time to Prepare for Cold Weather. Here’s the Heater You Want Here the goods displayed, the decor- the ac- all worked together to drive home to the passer-by a lot of ative harvest accessories, and companying card, indisputable facts. A good many peo- ple who otherwise might have pro- crastinated became suddenly much interested in that heater. Out of the same materials it would very be possible, of course, to devise a more elaborate and probably more effective display. But the principle involved would be the same. Of course in such displays the timely MICHIGAN TRADESMAN “accessories —the harvest stuff—must link up logically with the goods shown. The show card used should tie the whole together. That's the idea in using ‘harvest decorations at this time —to emphasize the timeliness of the display. If you can’t link up the decorations with the goods you're try- ing to sell, it is better as a rule to leave out the decorations and concentrate on the goods. At this season of the year “prepare for winter’ should be the slogan of the hardware dealer. An outstanding item in preparation for winter is the stove trade. The dealer has probably started an aggressive stove push in September. He has a good string of prospects lined up, and has already in all probability made quite a few sales. If the fall months are busy—if a great deal of trade is coming to the store—a tendency may develop to slacken effort in certain specific direc- tions. Actually, though, the dealer's “push” on ranges and heaters should gain force as the season advances. In- stead of letting up on his individual prospects, he should go after them harder. It is the continuous and per- sistent push that counts in business- getting. Give the ranges and heaters every chance to sell. Display is necessary. See that the stoves have room to show themselves. Give them a section of their own where the prospect can look at them from all sides. And besides their interior display, see that they get a fair proportion of window space now that the season is here. And keep in touch with your stove prospects. Follow them up. It’s often the little bit of extra effort that clinch- es the sale. When you are inclined to slacken your efforts, remember this fact. Keep after the prospect until you land his order, or until it is too late to do so. And in the latter event, transfer his name to next year’s pros- pect list and go after him then. You will find that this season’s effort helps to clinch the sale later. As the season advances, you have less time for outside work. But outside canvassing will help, especially in the stove department. A stove sale adds materially to day’s or even the week’s business, and is worth a little extra effort and a little overtime. Fall housecleaning should be a con- siderable item in October. There are many lines that can be displayed. At- tractive displays can be shown of dust- less mops, vacuum cleaners, curtain stretchers, brushes, carpet sweepers, dusters, brooms, polishes and interior finishes of various kinds. It will usually pay to link up the fall housecleaning with necessary prepara- tions for holiday visitors a little later in the year. The normal houseclean- ing business can be considerably in- creased by judicious display. Thus, in most homes there will be the heater to set up. Why shouldn't the hardware dealer get this job or, at least, sell the necessary accessories? For instance, stove pipe should al- ways be cleaned and polished before it is set up. So should the heater. Put on a display of stove polish, pipe enam- el, aluminum paint, and similar lines, Include an assortment of brushes in will your display; for brushes of various kinds will be needed in cleaning and polishing. An old stunt but a good one is to secure a length of old pipe. Polish half of this pipe, leave the other half as it was, and put it in the center of your display. The contrast between the polished section and the part that is not polished will hit the passer-by square between the eyes. Contrast is always an effective item in display, and wherever if can be used it should be introduced. Such a dis- play accomplishes the worthwhile pur- pose of showing the customer exactly what results the goods will produce. And it is in results that the customer is interested. Another point worth remembering is October 12, 1927 that nine out of ten ranges and heaters lack something to make them perfect. Perhaps a stove lid is cracked, perhaps the old coal scuttle is worn out, per- haps the stove lifter has been lost— anyway, there is some accessory need- ed right now for almost every stove in your community. In connection with your stove displays, or as an alternative to the regular stove display, why not put on a display of stove accessories? There are plenty of accessories to show in such a display. Coal shovels, lifters, ash sifters, ash cans, fire clay, stove lining, flue stoppers, stove shovels —these are just a few items out of the many that can be shown and sold at this season. As the cold weather de- velops, the need of these accessories will be more and more realized; and strictly confidential. GRAND RAPIDS An experienced hardware salesman wishing to make a new connection may communicate with us. All correspondence or personal interviews held erStevens&(Co. Founded 1837 61-63 Commerce Ave., S.W. WHOLESALE HARDWARE MICHIGAN Michigan Hardware Co. 100-108 Ellsworth Ave.,Corner Oakes GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN e Wholesalers of Shelf Hardware, Sporting Goods and Fishing Tackle Automobile Tires and Tubes Automobile Accessories Garage Equipment Radio Equipment BROWN &SEHLER COMPANY “HOME OF SUNBEAM GOODS” Farm Machinery and Garden Tools Harness, Horse Collars Saddlery Hardware Blankets, Robes & Mackinaws Sheep Lined and Blanket - Lined Coats GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN sone en tn ee an RRO 9& a4 » » > ’ 9& a4 October 12, 1927 you can sell them if you display and push them. With early evenings, cloudy days and dark weather the need of light will also be more and more appreciated. Accordingly, it is timely to display electric table lamps and accessories, if you handle such lines. For those who don’t use electricity you can show oil lamps, burners, wicks, kerosene, and similar items. The farmers, and a good many others as well, | will require lanterns, or, in the alternative, electric flashlights. A “Lighten the Darkness” window display won’t be out of place at this season. Try such a display; and if you can evolve some ingenious and original stunt it will add to the effec- tiveness of the window. Put your in- ventive faculty to work. On cold, dark mornings it is more difficult to get up. Hence, a good many people who must get up early or at a specific hour will be in the mar- ket for alarm clocks. They will, how- ever, be apt to postpone buying, and to take chances, unless you do your part by putting on a display. The line is a new one in a good many hardware stores: but it is always in demand and can ‘be handled by the hardware dealer to good advantage. The life of the average alarm clock is limited, par- ticularly where there are children; so that it is practically imposs-ble | to “saturate” the market. In connection with your houseclean- ing displays proper, drive home once more the idea of saving labor by the possession of a complete equipment for housecleaning. Too many housewives spend dollars worth of time and effort in order to save an outlay of a few cents for some small article of equip- ment that would pay for itself many times over in a single season. It is a good thing to put on a com- prehensive display of housecleaning accessories. Show everything you have; everything calculated to save time and labor for the busy housewife. But if you can introduce into your dis- play something that brings out and emphasizes the idea of saving labor and time by the utilization of a com- plete equipment, your display will be that much more effective. Drive home this idea at every op- portunity. It may be a good stunt to get out a circular letter to a selected list of housewives, discussing this phase of housecleaning, and giving a list of time and labor-saving accessories. Use the idea in your newspaper advertising. Follow it up from year to year. It may be a good stunt to offer “combina- tion outfits’ of housecleaning devices for a lump sum. And if you can’t sell a complete outfit, sell as many items as you can and get into the customer’s mind -the idea of buying other items later. Many people while housecleaning will wish to brighten up the home for the holiday season, particularly if ab- sent members of the family are ex- pected to revisit the home at Thanks- giving or Christmas. So, as the sea- son for exterior paint draws to a close, it will be timely to feature your in- terior finishes, varnishes, radiator paints, flat wall tints, and similar items useful for interior decoration. From now on play up the interior specialties, MICHIGAN TRADESMAN and emphasize the idea of brightening up the home for the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. Put all the punch you can into your October displays. Use show cards that say something, and try to devise win- dow displays that carry a distinct mes- sage. Remember, that most people are less interested in the goods themselves than in ,the results those goods they will produce. Make your window dis- plays talk results wherever possibie. In October it is not too early to plan for your Thanksgiving and Christ- mas campaign. If you have not al- ready done so, it will pay, as oppor- tunity offers, to map out your plans for the Christmas holiday campaign. Outline your advertising ideas, map out your window displays, and think up selling stunts. Whatever work you can do in the way of preparation now will reduce by that much the heavy rush which is bound to come as Christ- mas approaches. Careful plans now will result in a bigger Christmas trade and one handled with less strain and effort. Victor Lauriston. ——_2>-.>___——_ SWORN STATEMENT FURNISHED THE POST OFFICE DEPARTMENT. Statement of the ownership, manage- ment, circulation, ete., of the Michigan Tradesman, published weekly at Grand Rapids, Michigan, required by the Act of Aug. 24, 1912. State of Poem | County of Kent, See Before me, a notary public in and for the State and county aforesaid, person- ally appeared Ernest A. Stowe, who, having been duly sworn according to law, deposes and says that he is the business manager of the Michigan Tradesman and ~ that the following is to the best of his knowledge and belief, a true statement of the ownership, management (and if a daily paper, the circulation), etc., of the aforesaid publication for the date shown in the above caption, required by the Act of August 24, 1912, embodied in sec- tion 443, Postal Laws and Regulations, to wit: 1. That the names and addresses of the publisher, editor, managing editor, and business manager are: Editor—E. A. Stowe, Grand Rapids. Managing Editor—E. A. Stowe, Grand Rapids. Business Manager—E. A. Stowe, Grand Rapids. Publisher—Tradesman Company, Grand Rapids. 2. That the owners are: (Give names and addresses of individual owners, or, if a corporation, give its name and the names and addresses of the stockholders owning or holding 1 per cent. or more of the total amount of stock.) BE. A. Stowe, Grand Rapids. F. E. Stowe, Grand Rapids. F. A. Wiles, Grand Rapids. 3. That the known bondholders, mort- gagees, and other security holders owning or holding 1 per cent. or more of total amount of bonds, mortgages, or other securities, are NONE. 4. That the two paragraphs next above, giving the names of owners, stock- holders, and security holders, if any, con- tain not only the list of stockholders and security holders as they appear upon the books of the company, but also, in cases where the stockholder or security holder appears upon the books of the company as trustee or in any other fiduciary rela- tion, the name of the person or corpora- tion for whom such trustee is acting, is given; also that the said two paragraphs contain statements embracing affiant’s full knowledge and believe as to the cir- _ cumstances and conditions under which stockholders and security holders who do not appear upon the books of the com- pany as trustees, hold stock and securi- ties in a capacity other than that of a bona fide owner; and this affiant has no reason to believe that any other person, association, or corporation has any inter- est direct or indirect in the said stock, bonds, or other securities than as so stated by him. E. A. Stowe, Business Manager. Sworn to and subscribed before me this 19th day of Oct., 1927. (SEAL) Florence E. Stowe. Notary Public in and for Kent Co., Mich. (My commission expires Jan. 12, 1931.) —_——_->-o > ——--- No man ever became an expert by picking out the soft snaps. ONSUMERS POWER COMPANY is under- taking for you and for Michigan a large and im- portant conservation pro- gram. A generation ago the historic timberland of Michi- gan was cut down — leaving millions of acres of bare stump land. Through such idle acres flow the Manistee, Au Sable and Muskegon Rivers. Here it is that this Company converts waterpower into useful elec- tric energy and carries it to 277 Michigan cities and towns. And now—in order that this wasteland may be made useful to Michigan, Consum- ers Power Company has be- gun a constructive reforesta- aes tion program, which will be- » , come an increasingly valuable , (\) 7 ANE asset to the State. Over 100,- Wf ; Ny sg 000 pines have been set along Ld the Manistee and Muskegon aren re re Rivers and are being carefully ees a developed. What does this mean to you? The influence of growing timber and_ forest land is far-reaching. It affects and helps climate, rainfall and dranage; it aids the flow of streams; it increases soil fer- tility; it preserves animal life —and fosters an abundance of birds, keeping down insect pests on the farms. da exc Pind wa | So will come again the forest monarchs — to help bring back to Michigan the 2 - d View of “Baby Forest* forest glory that was _ hers. on Au Sable, planted by {ONSUMERS POWER COMPANY coun ee ee SS ee STORE FIXTURES — NEW AND USED Show cases, wall cases, restaurant supplies, scales, cash registers, and office furniture. Call 67143 or write Grand Rapids Store Fixture Co. 7 N. IONIA AVE. N. FREEMAN, Mgr. A good seller A splendid repeater HOLLAND RUSK AMERICA’S FINEST TOAST Place your order today All jobbers HOLLAND RUSK CO.,, Inc. Holland, Michigan 24 COMMERCIAL TRAVELER Verbeck Engaged in Hotel Construc- tion in California. Los Angeles, Oct. 8—For the infor- mation of my Michigan hotel friends I would like to state that for the next several months I will be engaged in superintending the construction of a new fire-proof hotel at Glendale, a suburb of this city, for a friend of many years’ standing. It does not neces- sarily follow that I shall operate same. but the work at hand will keep me here this winter. From time to time my letters will appear in these columns. I never had a great deal of use for pugilistic encounters which seem to me are staged all too frequently in this country, which is about the only one on earth which countenances them. Even in Mexico and Sunny Spain the bullfght has been outlawed, the dog- fight fell under the ban ages ago, and even in the veriest slums of New York the cockfight is no longer popular on account of its brutality. But in America, where some people believe that license has taken the place of liberty, human beings are permitted to commit assault and battery, and even mayhem, with the assurance that they will not be interfered with by peace officers, and other human beings will witness such demonstrations, howl their heads off and relax into gentility. Some vears ago, before prohibition became the outstanding feature of our country’s government, Congress passed a law making it a felony to transport prize fight films from one state to an- other, and the penalties, quite severe, were not. by the public at large, con- sidered too severe for the enormity of the crime involved. And yet to-day every movie house in the country is advertising and showing the recent abatto:r contest in Chicago and thous- ands are witnessing them, accompanied by vouth of tender years, not as a hor- rible example of outlawry, but as high moral entertainment, though almost as tough from a moralistic standpoint as the operation of the old Louisiana lot- tery or partaking of “home brew” in the sacred confines of the private cellar. Only one criticism have I heard about the whole proceeding and that was mention of the fact that Dempsey was a “slacker” during the late war, but this criticism never got a great wav with me, for he was not by any means, the only one. He at least was not one of the Americans damning his fellow countrymen as yellow and with such a record of exhortation and de- nunciation. He did not grab off a swivel chair and confine his efforts to brain work exclusively. He makes, of course, thousands when he fights and he undoubtedly committed an error for not doing it awhile at $30 per. Neither do I blame his critics when they are veterans or men of service. But when thev are able bodied and well-to-do four minute speakers, able bodied and well-to-do Liberty bord salesmen, and able bodied and _ well-to-do patriots who had something to do with winning the war by calling sauerkraut Liberty cabbage and German fried potatoes American fried potatoes, we like to hear the driticism from other sources. Dempsey made an error at that time, but it was infinitessimal with what he is doing in destroying public respect for the human family at this time. Evidently Congress can do nothing further toward preventing the show- ing of the pictures, for the reason that public sentiment favors them, and they will continue to make contributions to defray the expenditure of missionaries to foreign lands, because in those be- nighted countries there are those who believe jn calm and secluded worship- ping of images and idols and he opera- tion of “joss” houses. Arthur Brisbane, Americas great editorial writer announces the fact that MICHIGAN TRADESMAN he has purchased many thousand acres of arid farm lands in California, but in the same breath warns other prospec- tive purchasers that he would not ad- vise them to invest unless they are willing to wait long and weary years for returns. I certainly have a great deal of admiration for anyone who takes a position such as has been as- sumed by Mr. Brisbane. California has certain areas which bloom as the rose, and she develops them profitably, but there are other areas upon which one could not raise an umbrella. It is the proper differentation which en- courages “safety first” in the purchase of land for agricultural or any other purpose. Some day the Hearst editor may cash in on his California invest- ments, but the deserts will not be scat- tered with skeletons of those who were inveigled into buying wastes at his behest. We were promised a general stirring up of the animals on two great trans- portation problems—the railroads and merchant marine—at the opening of the next Congress. Involved in the solution of each problem is a new declaration of policy with accompany- ing principles, the working out of which has created many complications in the past. In the first place an at- tempt will be made to formulate some plan to consolidate many rail systems into a lesser number of organizations, but the lesser questions of exhorbitant rates. war taxes, surcharges on Pull- man accommodatioas will have to be brought to a show-down, or there will be much trouble in store for the po- litical organizations during the Presi- dential year. While less intricate in its details than the railroad consolidation measure, the merchant marine problem is sure to be regarded generally as of equal importance since the sea fleet has the double function of commerce carrying in peace and naval auxiliary in war. Consolidation of railroad lines might not be such a bad thing for the country. It is eminently preferable to government operation, with the chican- ery of politics to be taken into con- sideration. There would be the item of enormous savings in the costs of ad- ministration which might make it pos- sible for rail lines to pay reasonable dividends to investors and eventually restore transportation charges to a fair basis. At present they are too great a burden on everyone. But the marine proposition is an entirely dif- ferent affair. We as public operators have had to face enormous deficits every year, with a fleet of 1,500 bot- toms, and the public have not been sufficiently schooled to these losses. And it is all largely due to the en- forcement of the obnoxious Lafollette Seaman's act, a political measure in every sense of the word, which has proved ruinous to all ocean and lake transportation organizations with ves- sels under American registry. If the act continues to remain the law of the land (and sea), then we must resort to subsidies. Private owners, under the existing order of things, cannot oper- ate ships in competition with foreign companies unless Uncle Sam _ helps them out, and we certainly cannot af- ford to lose our shipping. It is a preciously hard job to keep our flag floating on the sea, but we must have it there or crawl into a hole and pull the hole in after us. Government op- eration of merchant vessels at a loss is one form of subsidy, but a loss in this form, does not “smell as sweet.” Let’s do one of two things—repeal the La- follette act or arrange a regular scale of subsidies with something to work up to. But Congress must do some- thing toward the settlement of trans- portation complications and Congress knows it. In one of the San Francisco schools bare-legged girls have been barred. Presumably if they left off their shoes, nothing would be said about it. Seems like drawinsy a very fine line. It is the Tuller Facing Grand Circus Park, the heart of Detroit. 800 leasant rooms, $2.50 and up. ard B. James, Manager. DETROIT, MICH. HOTEL IULLER “We are always mindful of our responsibility to the pub- lic and are in full apprecia- tion of the esteem its generous patronage implies.” HOTEL ROWE Grand Rapids, Michigan. ERNEST W. NEIR, Manager. MORTON HOTEL Grand Rapids’ Newest Hotel 400 Rooms -i- 400 Baths RATES $2.50 and up per day. “A MAN IS KNOWN BY THE COMPANY HE KEEPS” That is why LEADERS of Businesa and Society make their head- quarters at the PANTLIND HOTEL “An entire city block of Hospitality” GRAND RAPIDS, MICH. Rooms $2.25 and up. Cafeteria -i- Sandwich Shop Warm Friend Tavern Holland, Mich. 140 comfortable and clean rooms. Popular Dutch Grill with.«reasonable prices. Always a room for the Com- mercial traveler. E. L. LELAND, Mer. October 12, 1927 NEW BURDICK KALAMAZOO, MICHIGAN In the Very Heart of the City Fireproof Construction The only All New Hotel in the city. Representing a $1,000,000 Investment. 250 Rooms—150 Rooms with Private Bath. European $1.50 and up per Day. RESTAURANT AND GRILL— Cafeteria, Quick Service, Popular Prices. Entire Seventh Floor Devoted to Especially Equipped Sample Rooms WALTER J. HODGES, Pres. and Gen. Mgr. HOTEL OLDS LANSING 300 Rooms 300 Baths Absolutely Fireproof Moderate Rates Under the Direction of the Continental-Leland Corp. GrorcE L. CrocKER, Manager. r Wolverine Hotel BOYNE CITY, MICHIGAN Fire Proof—60 rooms. THE LEAD- ING COMMERCIAL AND RESORT HOTEL. American Plan, $4.00 and up; European Plan, $1.50 and up. Open the year around. 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. Columbia Hotel KALAMAZOO Good Place To Tie To Four Flags Hotel Niles, Michigan 80 Rooms—50 Baths 30 Rooms with Private Toilets N. P. MOWATT, Mgr. Occidental Hotel FIRE PROOF CENTRALLY LOCATED Rates $1.50 and up EDWART R. SWETT, Mor. Muskegon ote Michigan HOTEL GARY GARY, IND. Holden operated 400 Rooms from $2. Everything modern. One of the best hotels in Indiana. Stop over night with us en route to Chicago. You will like it. Cc. L. HOLDEN, Mgr. HOTEL KERNS LARGEST HOTEL IN LANSING 300 Rooms With or Without Batr Popular Priced Cafeteria in Con nection. Rates $1.5( up. E. S. RICHARDSON, Proprietor WESTERN HOTEL BIG RAPIDS, MICH. Hot and cold running water in ali rooms. Several rooms with bath. All rooms well heated and well venti. lated. A good place to stop. Amer- ican plan. Rates reasonable. WILL F. JENKINS, Manager October 12, 1927 MICHIGAN TRADESMAN 25 The entire atmosphere surrounding Los Angeles, fairly teems with air- craft, and every paper we read chron- icles some fatality. Seems like aviat- ing should be taken up as a course in kindergarten, and developed therefrom. Fatalities increase in 21 undue ratio as air transportation develops. Even air mail service is no lon’ -~ to be depend- ed upon in cases of emergency. Aerial navigation is* seemingly little more than an epidemic, and should be looked into by the health authorities. In addition to commonly operated municipal necessities, Los Angeles con- trols her electric light and power ser- vice, which is supplied to the public at very low rates, and brings in hand- some dividends to the city. Also the controls enormous dock holdings at Wilmington and San Pedro. These bring in satisfactory earnings, allow shipping a wonderful anchorage at rea- sonable cost, and the property is con- stantly intreasing in value. With all its facilities and improvements, taxes are normal, the city is well governed, and there is an air of stability abou: everything offered in the shape of a public convenience. Frank S. Verbeck. Items From the Cloverland of Michi- gan. Sault Ste. Marie, Oct. 11—Good progress in building our new hotel is being made, but it will not be ready for the opening for about two weeks later than the time announced, which was to be Nov. 1. Many reservations made for the Nov. 1 opening had to be cancelled unless arrangements can be made to take care of them at the pres- ent Park Hotel until the opening. L. France, formerly of the Kroege market, at Detroit, has taken a posi- tion as meat cutter in the A. H. Eddy store, having succeeded Ralph Willis, who left for California to spend the winter. The city clock was turned back one hour on Monday, putting us back on central standard time again, so that we will have less misunderstanding with the travelin’ public and from the outside trade who have been incon- venienced during the summer, when they came to do some shopping only to find that the stores were closed or orders placed too late for prompt ship- ment. The State ferries at the Straits are withdrawing the first ferry, also the lest ferry. The half hour service will, however, be continued until further notice. The first ferry each way will be at 7:30 o'clock a. m. and the last ferry at 7:30. p. m. fhis announce- ment is made to correct a rumor that one of the ferries had been removed. Cheer up. If you swallow your collar button at least you know where it 4S. The many friends) of Dr. T. N. Rogers, for many years a resident here, were shocked to hear of his sud- den death, which occurred in Mon- rovia, Californ a, Oct. 3. The remains will be brought here for burial, which will be in charge of the Masonic order. A. M. Trickery has opened a bakery at DeTour. He is the first to start a bakery there and should make a suc- cess of the new venture. The citizens of Marquette will on Friday evening, Oct. 14, honor Louis G. Kaufman, President of the Chatham & Phoenix National Bank of New York City and the First National Bank of Marquette, at a banquet in Colonial Hall. It is certain that several hun- dred will be present to show their ap- preciation of Mr. Kaufman’s gift of the land for the new high school build- ing, now under construction, and the new bank building, one of the finest structures ever erected in the North country. The banking institution is to be opened to the public on Saturday, Oct. 15. The Brunswick Lumber Co., which has sawmills at Big Bay and Ewen, has purchased the interests of the Nufer Cedar Co., at Marquette. Ad- ditions are now being made at the Marquette plant so that it will be pos- s.ble to both cut and plane lumber, and there will also be a cutting-up department. When these’ changes have been completed the planing mill at Ewen will be dismantled and the machinery from there will be moved t» Marquette. The planing mill at Big Bay was not rebuilt after the fire of last vear. Material for bowling alleys also will be produced at the Marquette plant. Some of this is now being manufactured at Ewen, but all of the work will in future be concen- trated at the Nufer mill. It was a bit of good news to the Canadian Soo merchants to learn that the Algoma steel mill was to start up again within the next week. They have received a 50,000 ton order for steel rails from the National Railway of Canada and are assured of another similar order shortly, which will keep the mills in operation all winter. This will mean more business and better times there. There is always room at the top. The elevator doesn’t run that high. Mrs. Sewall, proprietor of the Home bakery, on Ashmun street, has re- turned, after several months’ absence, and re-opened the Home bakery. We are all pleased to hear of the high tribute paid Hon. Justice Joseph H. Steere by the various papers throughout the State, after his retire- ment from the Supreme Court of Michigan, a position he has honored for sixteen fruitful years. No _ finer gentleman ever gave himself to the higher responsibilities of the State. No finer mind ever decorated the public service, with a perception as keen as a diamond’s edge, with a judicial tem- perament as profound as that of any of the great luminaries in Michigan, and with a culture as broad as the uni- verse. As he retires into private life he carries with him the heartfelt bene- dict.on of a grateful people. We hope he will come back to his native city here and spend the remainder of his days with his many friends who are proud of his brilliant career. William G. Tapert. —_»+2>—___ Gabby Gleanings From Grand Rapids. Grand Rapids, Oct. 11—Charles M. Heald and wife left the city Oct. 8 to take up their residence in Pasadena, where a residence awaits them at 203 Oakland avenue. Because Mr. Heald has been first and foremost in every movement for the good of the city and State, his removal to California is a genuine loss to the community and the commonwealth. As President of the predecessor of the Pere Marquette Railway system he did all he could in all ways he could to build up the ma- terial interests of the people and since hs retirement from active service he has done much to contribute to the welfare of those who were within the scope of his operations. No matter what he undertook to do, he played his part well and faithfully, as would be expected from a gentleman of his character, standing, experience and ac- complishments. Traveling salesmen as well as the traveling public generally have taken much interest in the organized attempt of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters to have the Pullman Co. in- crease the_r pay rather than to have to rely on having their palms greased in the way of tips as the principa: scurce of their income. In testimony beiere the Interstate Commerce Commission it was declared that Pullman passen- gers contribute $7,000,000 annually to add to the wages of $72.50 per month paid by the Pullman Co. to its porters. The Pullman porters, like organiza- tions of waiters, take the position that their wages are held to a minimum by their employers in the firm conviction that the traveling public is too self- conscious, or too short of moral back- bone, to decline paying tips. The ques- tion of tipping or not tipping is as old as the practice itself and it has been abolished so rarely that the exception probably proves the rule that tipping always will prevail, some of it because there are those who really enjoy the feeling of “opulence” that comes over them in dealing out largess. But pay- ing “George” 25 cents for dusting off his clothes or for serving him a meal is known by the passenger to be over payment. The matter of performing extra services is not in the issue be- cause it is realized it morally at least calls for payment. It will be interesting to see what, if anvthing, the Commission does about it. And if it attempts to abolish tips —just how it could do the impossible is a most disturbing puzzle—the ques- tion then arises as to whether Pullman berth prices will go up on the strength of higher wages paid to the army trav- eling under the blessed name of George. The election of David A. Warner as a director of the Michigan Trust Co. is a worthy honor, worthily bestowed. Mr. Warner will add great strengtn "> the board of our oldest trust company. Harvey Gish (Hess & Clark) re- turned from the Canadian Northwest, where he has been since May 1. He had the largest orders he ever received from that territory, but is fearful some of them may ‘be cancelled on account of the difficulty the farmers are experi- encing in securing their wheat crop. In many places the wheat fields are covered wth four inches of snow. The next day after Harvey returned home his son, Russell S. Gish, bumped into a mail wagon in an alley of of Wealthy street and received a concussion of the brain, a broken jaw bone and other serious injuries. He made a rapid im- provement and is now on the way to normal, thanks to a good constitution. Mr. Gish is planning to spend the win- ter months in Florida, his house hav- ing suggested that he work that ter- ritory in order to get away from the cold weather peculiar to this latitude. Not many houses @re so considerate of their men as Hess & Clark appear to be. —_—_§_ wr + .___ Succeed: Tregoe in National Credit Body. New York, Oct. 11—Stephen I. Mil ler, national educational director of the American Bankers Associat.on and the American Institute of Banking, has been appointed executive manager of the National Association of Credit Men to succeed J. H. Tregoe, accord- ing to an announcement made to-day by the credit organization. Mr. Miller will assume his new po- sition Nov. 1, following Mr. Tregoe’s retirement from the executive man- agership Oct. 31. ‘Mr Eregoe has been executive manager of the as- sociation for fifteen years. Mr. Miller has occupied his present position with the American Bankers Association since 1923. He has been closely identified with banking and economics for many years. He is the author of several textbooks on bank- ing and finance and has been active in business research and_ educational work. During the kaiser’s war he was pro- fessor of military transportation and military history at the University of Washington. He served as vocational counselor for returned soldiers in all colleges and universities in the North- west. His Government service includes also two years in the U. S. Forest Service and work as special investigator of inter-corporate relations and of salmon costs, marketing and finance for the Federal Trade Commission. Mr. Miller is a graduate of the law school of the University of Michigan and of Leland Stanford University. He spent two years at Heidelberg Univers- ity, Germany, as a student of economics government, philosophy and history, one year in graduate work at the Uni- versity of Michigan and one year at M ller Harvard holding an Austin scholar- ship. +> Hen Affected By Sunstroke Marken Rasen, Eng., Oct. 7—The latest method of getting hens to lay is to have them afflicted with sun stroke. F. Parker, of this city, has a hen that was aftected by sunstroke when it was about a month old. Since it has grown up, it has been laying two eggs at a time an average of four days a week and on two occasions has laid three. Recently the other hens on the roost resented this infringement of union rules, and began attacking the hen. Mr. Parker separated the hen from the other hens and since then she has been laying 11 and 12 full-sized eggs a week. —_—___+- > Brazilian Bananas To Go To England. London, Oct. 7—On the ground that Great Britain is suffering from a short- age of bananas, Lord Vestey, 10-year- old head of the Blue Star Shipping Line, has started a “banana war’ with Covent Garden as the battleground. The hitherto unchallenged banana monopoly imports about 40,000 stems of bananas weekly from Jamaica. Lord Vestey is planning to flood the market with a somewhat similar but not less delicious and considerably cheaper Brazilian ‘banana, and he expects to force prices down. HOTEL STEVENS ALFRED STEVENS, Prop. First-Class Dining Room Remodeled and Redecorated REED CITY, MICHIGAN CODY HOTEL | GRAND RAPIDS | RATES—$1.50 up without bath. $2.50 up with bath. | CAFETERIA IN CONNECTION Bst. 3912 15 YEARS OF SERVICE @ QUAKER RESTAURANT THE HOME OF PURE FOOD 318 Monroe Ave. Grand Rapids Michigan HOTELS! Our specialty is hotel linens, towels, blankets spreads and textile supplies. Enquiries solicited—We can save money for you. HOTEL LINEN & TOWEL CO. 335 Jefferson Ave., East DETROIT, MICH. HOTEL BROWNING 150 Fireproof Rooms GRAND RAPIDS, Cor. Sheldon & Oakes Facing Union Depot; Three Blocks Away. 26 DRUGS Michigan Board of Pharmacy. President—James E. Way, Jackson. Vice-President—J. C. Dykema, Grand Rapids. Director—H. H. Hoffman, Lansing. Michigan State Pharmaceutical Association. Howard Hurd, Flint. Ciechanowski, President—J. Vice-President—J. M. Detroit. Secretary—R. A. Treasurer—L. V. Rapids. Turrell, Croswell. Middleton, Grand Reforms the N. A. R. D. Is Under- taking To Accomplish. President Houser: Gentlemen, I see Mr. Reimenschneider in the room and it is with a great deal of pleasure that we have him here this morning. I presume you all know Mr. Reimen- schneider is chairman of the Executive Committee of the National Associa- tion and has come here from Chicago to meet with us and I am sure he has a good message for us. It is with pleasure that I extend to you and the National Association the greetings of this convention, Mr. Re!menschneider. Mr. Reimenschneider: I was in hopes when I got here that 1 might have a chance to catch my breath and discuss some of the problems with my good friend Jack before talking to you; but inasmuch as Mr. Woodside is not present I am going to take up his time and I might say that I visited with Mr. Woodside on several occasions and I want to say for him that when he does speak, I feel that you will be well repaid for the information he has for you. I am here in the capacity of a mem- ber of the Executive Committee of the N. A. R. D. I was in hopes I might get my Sam Henry, to come with me, but he had another meeting and he left for North Dakota only yes- terday morning. We were quite in the air as to where we should go, but Michigan being a favorite spot of mine, I told him I would come here and he went to North Dakota, because I do feel at home in Michigan. I would like to give you in a few words developments which have taken place in the last year, some of the problems which have come before the National Association of Retail Druggists, of which you are affiliated members, which they have had to face, and some of the things which are under consideration; also some of the things that we have ac- complished, which I trust will meet with your approval. I am going to touch upon the National problem first and then if I am permitted, Mr. Presi- dent, I would like to touch upon some of the State problems which are more or less universal all over the country. I would like to cite some of the things we have to contend with in the State of Illinois. I am sure you are all very much interested in the present status of the Capper-Kelly bill. That is a subject which has been before the retail druggists for twenty years or more. Some of the men are getting rather skeptical as to whether we are ever going to accomplish anything, but I want to say to you men I don’t think at any time the prospect has been so favorable toward the enactment of the Capper-Kelly bill or a similar meas- ure as it is to-day. Perhaps one of boss, some of the MICHIGAN TRADESMAN the outstanding features which has de- veloped only in the last few days would be of interest to you. On July 27—that was last week—there was an order to investigate relative to the question of price maintenance. It makes the statement that the court findings dealing with these questions have been of such a nature that they are unable to define as to where and how far they may go. They admit that the biggest question to-day rela- tive to the retailer, wholesaler and manufacturer's methods of distribu- tion is that of price maintenance and, recognizing the fact that something should be done, they have instructed the committee of which the chairman of the Federal Trade Commission is chairman, to thoroughly investigate this problem with a view of making a recommendation to Congress to clear the atmosphere. Naturally we are very much gratified by this action. It shows that the Federal Trade Com- mission which has had to do with the enforcement of the act dealing with the question of price maintenance recognizes that the atmosphere should be cleared. If the report is favorable, and I don’t see how it can be any other way, I am sure that any recom- mendation coming from the Commis- sion to the Government will have con- siderable weight with Congress, be- cause after all any bill fostered by in- dividuals or organizations always faces Congress with the idea it is a selfish measure and we all look toward the Federal Trade Commission as helping us in this fight when they once make a thorough investigation of the subject. The present status of the Capper- Kelly bill is known as the Committee Print No. 1. For an explanation of same, all you men who may not know, following the hearing of the Capper- Kelly bill last year, there was a gen- eral impression prevailing in the com- mittee that something must be done. They were not satisfied with the bill as it was presented and under the leader4 ship of a Mr. Merritt, a sub-commit- tee drafted what is known as the Com- mittee Print No. 1. Frankly, I want to say Committee Print No. 1 goes even farther than our original bill. It clears the situation up more thorough- ly and those of us who have studied the bill very thoroughly are perfectly satisfied—in fact, more than satisfied— to accept Committee Print No. 1. It clears up definitely the right of con- tract between manufacturer, whole- saler and retailer. If Committee Print No. 1 becomes a law a manufacturer may, under its provision, make a con- tract with the individual dealer where- by a price agreement may be stipulated and whereby the wholesaler, ‘the third party in the case, which now makes a contract of that sort illegal, would make it legal. In the past the manu- facturer may make a contract with the individual, but as you know most of your merchandise is bought through a jobber: and while the manufacturer may make a _ contract with the jobber to sell his merchandise at a stated price, the jobber has no control over the retail price. Therefore if Committee Report No. 1 is adopted that matter will work out as antici, pated. There have been some matters appearing in the pharmaceutical press which claim that the bill as proposed would not benefit the individual re- tailers one bit. They have often gone so far as to say that it would merely benefit the general store and the whole- saler. I have never scen any explana- tion of just how they figured it, but the fact remains it is a deplorable fact that now, while we finally are reaching the stage of actually putting this bill over, some people and some editors who should have the interest of the retail druggist at heart are now at this stage of the game, passing reflections on the bill and trying to gum up the machin- ery. The N. A. R. D. has never made any undue claim for the Capper-Kelly bill. It is a bill which provides for the making of a contract and legalizing the contract which the Supreme Court has held as unconstitutional under the Sherman act. In other words, it is an amendment to the Sherman act and why some people should at this par- ticular time, after all these years, take exception to the bill and find fault is something we cannot quite understand. I want to say to you men that at the prsent time we are nearer the goal than we ever have been before and I don’t want you to let anything inter- fere or allow anyone to question as to what this bill will do. Men who have studied this bill, men who have gone into this matter, who have gone through the mill year after year, are satisfied. The N. A. R. D. is satisfied with the Committee Print No. 1 and when the ‘time comes and when you will be asked to get behind your Con- gressman or Senator to support this measure, don’t let anybody say it isn’t going to help you, but only the chain stores, because I believe they have some motive—I don’t know what it is —in taking this attitude, so I want to appeal to you strongly at this particu- lar time to get behind and support it because we are satisfied it is going to give you the relief you have been fight- ing for for the last twenty years. So much on the Capper-Kelly bill. One of the problems which always stares us in the face and gives the offi- cers a great deal of trouble is the Pro- hibition enforcement act. We have had a lot of trouble. About a year ago when prohibition—or this spring when the Prohibition bill was before the Senate of the United States and before the House—the N. A. R. D. practical- ly stood alone in the contention that the appointment of a Prohibition Com- missioner be placed in the hands of the Secretary of the Treasury rather than the President of the United States. We placed considerable stress upon that and in the final wind up that prevailed. I presume some of you men wonder why we insisted upon that. The con- ditions fully justified our position. Un- fortunately, in the enforcement of the Prohibition act, some men who are placed in a position as chief enforce- ment officers are not practical men.. They are controlled possibly some- what by the Anti-Saloon League, but be that as it may, they are not prac- tical business men. They see only one angle and they refuse to recognize the rights of legitimate business. When Roy O. Haynes was appointed as tem- porary Commissioner we were afraid October 12, 1927 if he was appointed as permanent Com- missioner many of our troubles would come up again. We had the experience there during his administration of be- ing unable to argue with him or get him to see our way and it was a con- stant battle between the office of the N. A. R. D. and the Commiss:oner’s office relative to the problems for the retail drug business. Mr. Durand was recently appointed Commissioner of Prohibition and his first act was ‘to call together the various administrators throughout the country and notify Secretary Henry to appear before them and address them as to the require- ments and needs of ‘the retail drug business. Mr. Henry assured us that never in his experience had he met with so cordial a reception or at no time was he given the attention he was at this last meeting some two weeks ago. Mr. Durand assured him that he would at any ‘time take up any case brought to him by the National As- sociation, so if you men or any one of you have any trouble with the depart- ment, if you will take it up with the Secretary's office, it will receive the personal attention of the Commission- er himself and I believe that a good many of the trying things we ‘have had to put up with in the last year or two are going to be eliminated. Regulation 60, which deals with the Volstead act, is being revised. It is in print now and I believe that when it comes out of print, a new regula- tion will provide for many needs and avoid and save you men plenty of trouble. I am not speaking now of whisky. That is only one of the angles, but every one of you men uses alcohol, every one of you are personally inter- ested. I don’t know whether you have had much trouble in ‘the State of Mich- igan, but if you could see some of the complaints which come into the office of men being called upon because they are withdrawing the five gallons a quarter, because the administration sas that is too much because some one else only uses a gallon, so the other man should not have more than a gal- lon. But I think our troubles are over, at least I hope so, and I can repeat that if anyone in the State of Michigan has any difficulty which cannot be adjust- ed with the local administrator, I am sure the N. A. R. D. office will be only too glad to take up the matter for you. In connection with the regulation, no doubt it will be of some importance to you to know that Regulation 35, deal- ing with the Narcotic law, is also be- ing revised. It will be known as Reg- ulation No. 5 after this. About two months ago several of the members of the committee, with Secretary Henry, spent practically a half day in the office of Colonel Knott, who is Chief En- forcement Officer. Our complaints had been accumulating two or three years. Col. Knott is a registered pharmacist. He understands the business. He un- derstands your angle just as well ad you do. It was rather amusing when some of the things were called to his attention. In a conference of that kind the Government always has its lawyers present. There were three of them at the table. Every once in a while Col. Knott would say, “Sure, that can be done,” and then one of the lawyers ine + + s «bd > . «ff i sG& « ' Le "October 12, 1927 MICHIGAN TRADESMAN 27 a : would say, “No, it can’t be,” and the the rough drt of your law when it WHOLESALE DRUG PRICE CURRENT l -¢ fact is the Colonel argued the lawyers was presented to your Legislature, be- up and down. That is our problem. cause Mr Web.ster presented a copy Prices quoted are nominal, based on market the day of issue. -« HE. Some of the things look very simple to us at the time the Executive Com- en Clic tet ek a ll to us, but the lawyers for the depart- mittee was in session and we spent pore (Powd.)-.. 12%@ 20 Cubehe eS 6 ae z a ee & “ ae nua dhe ; ‘ ae Mate ate ac : i : oo geron t enzoin Comp’ 4 i ments who have had only these. eae) cons.derable time going over your bill. oo he a ’ nee ise 2. @2 16 training cannot see it our way. Take, That 25 per cent. clause you have in Q Hemlock, pure.. 2 00@2 25 Cantharadies -.. @2 52 7 r ° : c : : CHEE nena nnn Se 7 Juniper Berries. 4 50@4 75 Capsicum @2 28 “y for instance, the question of the re- there is one of the finest things you oo 274 a Juniper Wood _ 1 50@1 75 Catechu ...------ @1 4 filling of prescriptions. I take it you can get. I do hope that your experi- Qxalie ________- 16%@ 25 — — oe : seal o oo e = es : : : : : , Noy olchicum - , ) fe. are all familiar with the ruling made ence may be just a little better than it ao aa a Lavender Flow-- 6 00@6 25 Cubebs ..-.------ @2 76 7 J some three months ago whereby any has been in the State of Illinois. We po a Gar’n_ i pr a a ————— +4 . | 1 prescription containing a certain have in the State of IMinois no pro- Ammonia Linseed, raw, bbl. g _ Gasiae . 00. ¢ 2 a coe she : = File eas ae : Sa i Water, 26 deg... 06 16 inseed, boiled, bbl. 7 Guaiac, Ammon... | ; amount of narcotics may be refilled, vision which prevents a corporation Water 18 — ceue 7 tt we kee La a oi 25 providing you keep a record of the from entering into business, provided Water, 14 deg... 04%@ 11 Linseed, raw, less 1 04 Iodine, Colorless. @1 50 narcotic so dispensed. We have been the chief officers, president, secretary a ae a e = Mustard, artifl. = 591 = Loe tinal eeu pe 7 four years or more trying to get this and treasurer, are registered pharma- GENS. pure ee j 00@5 00 Myrrh, pee = = : ‘concession. The fact is the N. A. R. cists. We found out it was very simple oe — caicies wo 2 85@3 25 cia \isaelie renee gs 40 7 i court and tried to force and very easy for a corporation to put opaiba _-.--~-- Olive, Malaga, Opium, Camp. -_ 44 pouesenin ean) ogee arrnatoes Sega e doen EAE (Canada). 27693 00 green 285@3 25 Opium, Deodorzd @5 40 them to change their regulations. We up sort of dummy directors and open ir (Oregon) _- sgt 00 Orange, Sweet - 5 00@5 25 Rhubarb ___.___- @1 92 were defeated, of course, and after two up a drug store if they saw fit. It is har eno-o--- ong goon = oaue ours. ‘ oot = | or three years they finally got to see true they stopped a number of indi- Pennyroyal ..._ 3 25@8 50 it our way and the new regulation will viduals. We have a condition existing Barks Peppermint ---- 5 50@5 70 Paints ‘i aoa twit ia Ch | t t Cassia (ordinary). 25@ 30 ROSe Pure... 13 50@14 00 1 ead, red dry __ 13%@14% i : : ne We aah . Le : a : A be os in about thirty days and wi In nicago W aes a great many stores Cassia (Saigon). 50@ 60 oleae a 5@ Lead, white dry 13%@14% provide for the refilling of these pre- were opened in these hotels, not for Sassafras (pw. 50c) @ 60 ~y ..’ - 10 60@10 75 Lead, white oil__ ISO 14% scriptions calling for one gr. of codeine profit so much as for the convenience — Cut (powd.) ae x0 ane poe 1 LF . Gene peated _ 3 22 ‘ Cg ee a ee 2 Re = --——-____-- , ar etc., are not refillable, but nevertheless of the guests of the hotel. It added a ecateaten pene 8 00@8 25 Red Venet’n Am. mg 7 at was the ruling of the d ent ber of stores hose already in 1 i iia mw Dee ons ee : that was the ruling of the departmen number of stores to those already Berrles sees saat Coe 5@ 8 and it took them three or four years existence in Chicago and it did not help we or--------- > 2 Tar USP ....... 66@ 175 Waitine” HOE uo ‘% to change their minds. I think, also, matters any and the ownership law in Juniper _-----.-. 11@ 2 Parccutue Ss wie a L. H. P. Prep... 2 90@3 0° in connection with the narcotic regula- this case apparently has had its desired Prickly Ash —_ ™% Wintergreen, ‘ Rogers Prep. -. 2 90@3 ¢ | tion, many of the things we me suf- Hie After the sina oe was Gintraces Wintergisen, sweet 0 c fered from and which have caused un-_ in effect for two years at the last ses- Po : d fre c ‘ ' 7 fee ere ieee ease 60@ 65 Wintergreen, art 75@1 00 Miscellaneous , told trouble and a great deal of agony sion of our Legislature—and I merely corice, powd. --- 60@ 70 Worm Seed -__. 6 00@6 35 Acetanalid 57@ 7 for some people will be cleared up and am telling you this as a matter of cau- Wormwood -. 10 00@10 25 Alum ___..______ 0s@ 12 : ; aS . Se : oe ia Flowers Alum. powd. and I think we will get along pretty well tion—a determined effort was made by Arnica @ 85 a 09@ 15 from now on. some people to repeal the law. It was commanmito (Ged.) @ 60 Potassium ae Subni- 7 I am sorry that I was not here this a real determined effort to repeal our — oe 6 ao - SSS nee i isten tc iscussion on wnership law in the State of Illinois. Bromide _.._..-- 69@ 85 powdered --.. 6%@ 15 morning to listen to the oe ion 0 . | - 1 : nois Gums ss as cea eb eee your ownership bill. This is a thing It might have been successful if it secs, ae 50@ 55 Chlorate, gran’d 23@ 30 Calomel -...__ 2 70@2 91 which is particularly interesting to me. were not for certain conditions devel- Rentin ao 2m 7 Or powd. ue a a ae. soar - Some two years ago we passed a law’ oped in the Senate and House which Acacia, Powdered 35@ 40 oo 30@ 90 Cassia Buds... 35@ 40 at nature in the State of Illinois. threw everything Aceptaiew @- ape MS & dds 4 36@4 55 Cloves ....______ 50@ 55 , of that nature in the State of mols irew everything out except a few Aloes (Cape Pow) 25@ 35 permanganate 20@ 30 Chalk Prepared. 14 16 : The other day, I think it was last week, portant bills and we were saved by —— (Soc. Pow.) 65@ 70 prussiate, yellow 40@ 50 Chloroform -_.. 530 60 < " ae chat thic ow was diti be east they existed Safoetida ------ 50@ 60 prussiate, red @ 70 Chloral ete | 1 ae 50 ‘ , > was the first time that this law was con itions being just as they existed. Pow 22 75@1 00 Sulphate ___-___ 35@ 40 Cocaine -... 10@12 80 , tested in the courts and the State se- If you have a bill that steps on the oa -------- “ = Coane Batter ———. iiu0% ‘ cured a conviction and the case will be toes of some big corporation, it is very Guaite, powd _ @ 90 Sicte Copperas |_____ “2 ( appealed and I presume that our law easy to get some one to introduce a Kino, powdered. -o All Factors Should Unite To Improve Food Laws. It is a good augury that the spec- ialty manufacturers have had a confer- ence with the United States Depart- ment of Agriculture on the subject of food laws. There has been heretofore altogether too much conflict between State and Federal laws and even in not a few instances in municipal or- dinances with both these. Furthermore it should be accepted as a principle that the more gereral such Federal and State laws can be made, the better they are for enforcement, leaving de- tails to rules and regulations under the statutes. It is encouraging to find the growing effort to clarify the laws and regula- about drugs, chemicals and household remedies. The manufactur- ers of proprietary preparations are vitally interested in what seems to many the unreasonable restrictions against retail grocers dealing in these. There should be found a good work- able tions manufacturers. wholesalers and retailers to combine on a program of reducing and revising the present laws and working toward a better condition of simplification. program for The trade generally has a genuine re- gard for the public welfare, but never- theless resents, not unnaturally, un- reasonable Governmental interference, which in too many instances hampers business and serves no good purpose to the public. —_+ + 2>__ Chronic Kicker Is Far From Dead. Mears, Oct. 11+There seems to be a growing, or ingrowing, impression among the Tradesman readers that the C. K. has died of old age, simply be- cause he has not smirched the clean pages of the Michigan Tradesman in the past few months. Despite his four score and ten years, he is very much, if not more so, alive and still actively working 104 hours a week to keep 1927 cash receipts up to par. _My natural modesty forbids me in- flicting myself on your readers during the time every available space in all papers was devoted to Col. Lindbergh, but as I find Lindbergh is not quite so much in the limelight at present, I most likely will have another spasm soon and break loose and, providing my Tradesman censor is asleep on the job, I possibly may get into its col- umns once again. Hence, the travel- ing fraternity beware. Yours until Al Smith is President, C. A. Brubaker, C. K. Sauerkraut Possesses Many Palate Delights. Everywhere throughout the country there is a new interest in sauerkraut. For science has been finding out re- markable things about this ancient and honorable food. For centuries, sauerkraut has been a favorite with millions. People like it because of its pleasant sour flavor, its delicious piquancy. y Sauerkraut, as everyone knows, is nothing more than fermented cabbage. And cabbage is not only one of the most delicious of vegetable foods, but also one of the most healthful. It con- tains all the vitamines. It is rich in lime, potash and phosphorus; also in iron and in calcium, the bone-building substance. Dr. Harvey W. Wiley, director of the Bureau of Foods, Sanitation and Health, conducted by Good House- keeping, wrote in response to a letter of enquiry: “Cabbage is one of the vegetables which is found to be the richest in vita- It contains all three of the vitamines. I am, therefore, a great believer in the free and extensive use of cabbage, especially when it is raw. But after all, I think there is no form in which cabbage can be used to such an advantage as in sauerkraut. I wish, too, that the lovers of sauerkraut would eat it raw. It is much more whole- some that way, and I think more pal- atable. All the vitamines which it contains are preserved in the raw state. The slight acidity of sauerkraut also safeguards against the destruction of the vitamines in cooking. It is a well established fact that vitamines resist high temperatures much better in an acid medium than they do in a neutral or alkaline medium.” mines. Sauerkraut gives us all the valuable poperties of cabbage, and in a form which is not only more palatable, but more easily digested. It does more than this. The process of fermenta- tion which it undergoes produces lactic acid, which is known to science as one of the most valuable prophylactics, and which renders sauerkraut not only more digestible, but also more valuable as a food. Dr. John Harvey Kellogg, superin- tendent of the famous Battle Creek Sanitarium, and one of the foremost authorities on foods and health, says in his book, The New Dietetics—W hat to Eat and How: “Sauerkraut deserves a larger place in the National bill of fare. The cab- bage is a valuable source of iron, vege- table salts, and vitamines. In addi- tion, it is a valuable means of giving the alimentary mass the necessary bulk to encourage peristaltic action. When properly made, sauerkraut is a most wholesome foodstuff.” In the cafeteria maintained by one of the largest banking institutions in the United States, where every day one thousand employes eat lunch, sauer- kraut is served regularly three times a week. In a great Chicago mail order house, where all employes, from the president down to the messenger boys, eat lunch in a great cafeteria serving 7,500 to 8,500 a day, sauerkraut is on the menu the year round. October 12, 1927 Thousands of business institutions, large and small, maintain such cafe- terias, in charge of experts who select foods not alone for their appetizing qualities but also with careful consid- eration of their nutritive and health values. And in many of these cafe- terias sauerkraut is one of the most popular dishes on the menu. It is also regularly served in hotels, restau- rants, dining cars, hospitals, sanitari- ums, as well as in thousands of Amer- ican homes. Sauerkraut is becoming a National dish. When the juice of raw sauerkraut is taken as an appetizer or as a thera- peutic agent in cases of diabetes or of excess uric acid, one or two table- spoonfuls are taken before meals and upon retiring. Sauerkraut juice has a delicious flavor, especially when iced, and thousands of people are to-day taking it as a corrective and health conditioner in their daily regi- men. usually 2-2 2 Sports Scarfs Selling Well. A nice business is being done in silk sport scarfs. The consumer demand has been steadily growing and is ex- pected to reach its peak soon, now that the football season is under way. New designs in hand-blocked and printed effects are being brought out, with scenic and floral types in medium and small patterns featured. Interest centers in both triangle and square shepes, although in some sections of the country one style greatly outsells the other. Crepes and sheer silks are most commonly used in making the scarfs. oo New Effects in Jersey Cloths. Favor for two and three piece sports end formal ensembles continues a strong factor in the demand for plain and novelty jersey fabrics. Diagonal stripings feature some of the latest of- ferings of these cloths. The fancy de- sign is used in one portion of the en- semble and the matching plain fabric in the other. Cashmere jerseys show new designs in the form of tinsel and wood grain effects. In the former, wool partly covers the tinsel and elim- inates any harsh “handle” of the fab- ric. For tailored garments tweed- effect jerseys retain popularity. —--__ 2 -«___ Combination Corsets Sell Best. The volume of Fall business in cor- sets is said to be somewhat ahead of last year at this time. This is credited in part to more active replenishing of stocks lately by retailers. The bulk of the business is being done in brassiere and corset combinations, the larger sizes of which are in the more active demand. Girdles are also selling well, much of the demand for misses’ goods being for these types. Sales of ban- deaux are said to have declined some- what, owing to the popularity of the combination garments. —_2--___ Life. A little sun, a little rain, A little loss, a little gain, A little joy, a little strife, And this is Life. A little work, a little play, Some kind deed done each passing dayj A few good-byes, a setting sun, And Life is done, . week. October 12, 1927 Correct Balance Between Cash and Credit Trade. (Continued from page 20) hand on open account. But I question it. It seems to me that, in all but very exceptional instances, bills owed should not exceed fifty per cent. of stock on hand. Such a condition may result from margin which is narrower than calcu- lated, plus slow stock turn. Located where this store is, doing the kind of business it is doing, perhaps the maxi- mum rate of stock turn already has been attained. oe Given a margin of 16 per cent. aver- age, a $7,000 stock will yield $8,333.33 sales, and dividing that into annual sales of $60,000 we get a stock turn of 7.2 times. If ten turns could be at- tained, the stock could be reduced to $5,040. But, of course, it is better to increase sales on the same stock and if $65,000 can be reached this year, the present stock will show just about e ght turns. I hope this may be useful to my cor- respondent. If I have misapprehend- ed his enquiry, I shall be glad to hear again. On the subject of greeting anyone who enters a store, I had this experi- ence yesterday: I drifted into a local dry goods store for a pair of what the English call braces, used to suspend trousers. The store is kept by husband and wife. Both were discussing something with a salesman. He had his grip on the counter and was just saying: “Well, but Christmas will be here before you know it and when folks come in for this thing you'll be out of luck not to have it—and you can’t get it in a minute.” The wife looked at me with some enquiry in her eyes, then asked: “Did you want something?” My impulse was to say, “Oh, no, madam. I came in simply to listen to the charming talk this salesman is handing you,” but I indicated that, yes, I did want some- thing. Then the husband broke away and got me what I wanted. I wonder what has become of our old familiar rule that the minute any- body enters a store—and that means anybody—the assumption is that he or she has come to be waited on. Every- thing is dropped at once—especially a salesman—so the possible customer can have undivided attention. Paul Findlay. >>> ___ Are Buying Underwear Slowly. Wholesalers continued to purchase knitted and fleece-lined underwear for men in a quiet way during the past Numerous small orders were received from selling agents in various parts of the country and in the aggre- gate a fair volume of merchandise was moved. It was nothing like it should have been for this time of the year, however, according to trade authori- ties. The principal check on buying this week has been the cotton crop re- port that is due to-morrow. Buyers are frankly hoping for a distinctly bearish one. What sellers would like to see most of all is a report that would let cotton reach a stable basis on which business could be done with- out uncertainty. MICHIGAN TRADESMAN Doll Makers Are Busy. Doll manufacturers are now quite busy, according to trade authorities. August and September were unusually bad months for manufacturing on ac- count of the high humidity, to which dolls are peculiarly susceptible. Orders in hand are said to be somewhat in excess of last year’s, and all indica- tions point to a busy time this month and November. There is more than a fair chance, it was said yesterday, that late purchasers will be disappointed. Imports of dolls have decreased, and the market here is credited with being definitely in the hands of American manufacturers. The only exceptions are the very cheapest grades and the high-priced novelties. The latter are imported in small volume, and are more used for display than as salable merchandise. There are reports in the trade of at- tempts to bring in foreign dolls and stuffed animals as containers for candy. These dolls have attached to them a paper box or similar contrivance to hold the candy, the purpose of which, it is contended, is to avoid payment of the high duty levied on ordinary dolls and toys. Trade leaders say that the infant type of doll is not in such great de} mand as a year ago. The doll which’ distinctly says “Mamma” is again favored to the one which only cries. Slender dolls with bobbed hair wigs, share popular fancy with those having somewhat longer curly locks. >> New Cards Are Unusual. Several novelties in playing cards have been introduced into this mar- ket recently, and are taking well with buyers for department stores. One of them, which is imported and which has thus far been available in only a limit- ed quantity, shows the cards with black faces instead of white. The designations in the four suits are print- ed in colors, clubs being green, dia- monds white, hearts red and spades yellow. Another novelty, which is offered by one of the leading domestic playing card companies, is a special bridge set with revoke proof indexing of the suits. In this case the numbers and designa- tions of the major suits—hearts and spades—appear on the top line as the “hand” is arranged for playing, while those of the club and diamond suits are at the bottom. This leaves a group of blank spaces between the different suits, as they are held in the hand, that makes it practically impossible for even the most inattentive player to select a card from the wrong one. oo Cheap Dresses Better. Consumers are getting better silks in their low-priced dresses to-day than ever before, according to an executive of a prominent silk firm. Fabrics of a quality that last year were used in $16.75 dresses are now used in gar- ments priced at 10.75, and even $6.75, this man said yesterday. One of the reasons why this can be done is that the silk manufacturer is paying a good deal of the difference out of his profits, the executive in ques- tion contended. Overproduction and sacrifice pricing of fabrics to meet keen competition cut the profit mar- gin of the manufacturer to small pro- portions. At the same time, the executive ad- mitted, the great production facilities of the dress manufacturers, which en- able them to take only a small profit on each garment, also contribute to the excellent fabric values the consumers are receiving. This, he thought, has been one of the outstanding reasons for the recent marked growth in sales of dresses to retail at low prices. ———~+ 2 >___ Buys American Watches. Great Britain is one of the best for- eign markets for American watches and clocks, ‘but it is capable of much greater development, reports Assistant Trade Commissioner C. G. Isaacs from London. From 1924 to 1926 inclusive the value of imports of watches, clocks and all kinds of parts into Great Brit- ain has averaged in value fully $10,220,- 000 a year. Of this amount only 6 per cent. was supplied by the American manufacturer, imports from the United States averaging over the three years approximately $628,000. It is estimated, according to Mr. that British manufacturers supply less than 5 per cent. of the demand, there being only a few im- portant watch and clock makers. Three firms who were formerly im- portant manufacturers of watches are now engaged principally in assembling imported parts. The clock industry, of rather fair proportions existing forty or fifty years ago, has almost dis- appeared. a Novelties Wanted in Raincoats. New offerings in raincoats for wo- men and misses feature light-weight garments of rubberized alligator grain fabric and leatherette. Swagger styles are played up in this merchandise, which shows such design details as raglan sleeves, inlaid velvet collar and pockets, and belt and hat to match. In garments of regular weight for sizes 14 to 20 trench coats with convertible collar, bellows pockets and all-round belts are taking particularly well. These garments are lined with suede cloth harmonizing in hue with the outer fabric. The bright shades are stressed. In women’s sizes the straight-line style with convertible collar, raglan sleeves, patch pockets and belt is selling ac- tively. Isaacs, a Neckwear Orders Shape Up Well. While some spottiness prevails, good progress in the booking of holiday or- ders for men’s neckwear is reported by manufacturers. Some of the leading firms are credited with substantial or- ders for delivery up to Nov. 15. Stripe and all-over designs lead in the pat- terns favored, jacquard designs being particularly well liked. The trend in colors is somewhat mixed, with both bright and conservative shades wanted. Ties to retail at $1 and $1.50 are meet- ing with the bulk of the demand. a Bringing Hair Ribbons Back. Attempts to bring back hair ribbons are meeting with fair success, accord- ing to manufacturers. New offerings of semi-fancies to stimulate this de- mand are being made, the patterns 31 comprising moire and satin stripes on solid-colored taffeta grounds. Plaid effects are also being shown. Manu- facturers have also brought out new types of fasteners designed to elimin- ate the need of tying the ribbon more than once. In some quarters of the trade it is held that retailers could do much to further the return of hair rib- bons if they would stress the better grades of this merchandise. —~> > Bracelets Continue in Favor. Latest reports to reach the jewelry trade from Paris indicate the continued popularity of bracelets, of which the smart woman frequently wears as many as six at a time. These bracelets, be- ing made of bright colored enamel and set with various combinations of bril- liants and rubies, sapphires or emer- alds, show off extremely well against the white gowns that nowadays play so large a part in evening wear. They are invariably flexible, being made in sections that are held together with links of brilliants or chip diamonds. Links, particularly in square and cir- cular forms, still are the principal motifs of all bracelet and necklace de- signs. a Novel Slogan. Shoe comfort, reasons a prominent merchant, is not strictly a matter of itself but of the foot. In consequence, in a conspicuous position the shoe in this merchant's advertising always appears this slogan: “A shoe of ours always has a comfortable foot inside.” Business Wants Department Advertisements inserted under this head for five cents a word the first insertion and four cents a word for each subse- quent continuous insertion. !f set in capital letters, double price. No charge less than 50 cents. Small display adver- tisements in this department, $4 per inch. Payment with order is required, as amounts are too small to open accounts. TO EXCHANGE—Detroit city improved property, for a good sized general stock and store in a small town. Write to R. Rutowitz, 4558 Tireman Ave., Detroit, Mich. 697 FOR SALE—Old established grocery. Stock and fixtures about $2,500. Reason for selling, ill health. Address W. A. Quick, Nashville, Mich. 698 SALESMAN WANTED. SIDE LINE PROPOSITION—Manufacturer offers ex- eceptional opportunity to experienced trav- eling salesman. Complete samples. Nov- elty styles. Low prices. Seidman Neck- wear Co., 111 Fifth Ave., New York. 699 FOR SALE—Grocery store. Best loca- tion in manufacturing city of 5000. Good farming trade. Leaving town reason for selling. Address No. 700, c/o Michigan Tradesman. 700 CASH For Your Merchandise! Will buy your entire stock or part of stock of shoes, dry goods, clothing, fur- nishings, bazaar novelties, furniture, etc. LOUIS LEVINSOHN, Saginaw, Mich. Pay spot cash for clothing and furnish- ing goods stocks. L. Silberman, 1250 Burlingame Ave.. Detroit. Mich. 566 FOR SALE—Dry goods and_ grocery stock located in small town in good farm- ing country. Excellent roads. Invoice about $6,500. Other interests. Address No. 685, c/o Michigan Tradesman. 685 WANT TO TRADE—S80 acres unimprov- ed land near Ithaca, Mich., for equal value of dry goods. A chance for some- one who wantg.to close out his dry goods department. ddress No. 687, c/o Mich- igan Tradesman. 687 For special merchandise sales, or clos- ing out stocks, employ W. G. Montgom- ery, 7411 Second Blvd., Detroit, Mich., over twenty-three years’ experience. De- troit Wholesale House references. 692 FOR SALE—Meat market on main street, centrally located, factory town. Good fixtures. Reason, age. Address J. K. Jackson, 110 West Allegan St., Otsego, Mich, 678 32 Trust For One of Small Means. Contrary to general opinion, life in- surance trusts may be advantageously used by the man of moderate means as well as by the wealthy individual. In- stances are cited in the “Ten Unusual Stories From Real Life.” In purchasing a drug store Mr. Clark —a fictitious name, of course—borrow- ed $5,000 from his mother to add to his own $10,000 in closing the deal. It was only natural that he wished to be assured this debt would be liquidated at or before his death, while at the same time he wished to provide for his wife. He was advised to insure his life for $25,000, making the premiums a charge on his business. The insurance was placed in a life insurance trust which provided that in case of his death the loan from his mother was to be paid immediately and the remander was to be held in trust for his wife. As a result of the arrangement, the $5,000 loan was liquidated by the trus- tee immediately after Mr. Clark’s death and family misunderstanding and’ ill At the same time the widow was assured of a regu- feelings were avoided. lar income for life. Another instance cited was that of a clergyman living quietly on a modest salary. His income was sufficient only for providing $10,000 insurance for his family. This he regarded as too small, so when he received an unexpected bequest of $8,000 he sought a means of increasing the protection for his wife. His adviser pointed out that inas- much as he had never enjoyed the in- come from the additional $8,000, he did not need it for living expenses. It was suggested, therefore, that the in- heritance be invested so that the in- come would meet premiums on $12,000 additional insurance. Together with the inheritance, the new insurance in- creased his estate to’ $30,000, assuring an income for his wife and a substan- tial bequest to his daughter. The case of a middle-aged physician who had saved about $50,000 from his practice was cited. He felt his savings, the care of which caused him some worry, were insufficient to provide an adequate income for his family. It was suggested, therefore, that he take out insurance to the amount of $50,000 and place the policy together with his securities in a revocable life insurance trust. The income from in- vestments paid for premiums on the insurance, the balance going to the physician. His estate, therefore, was doubled in value, and proceeds, in event of his death, would provide ample protection for his family. At the same time the physician freed himself from the worry of managing his securities. Wilham Russell White. { Copyrighted, 1927.] —_—_-+_-~> 2-2 Be Conservative in Buying Wheat and Flour. Written for the Tradesman. The Government crop report, issued t i vesterday. increases the United States pring wheat crop about six million bushels, which was a surprise to the trade, a reduction having been antici- pated, This, together with a bearish MICHIGAN TRADESMAN report on corn, was a little too much for wheat prices to-day, they showing a tendency to decline at the opening quotations. There is no material change funda- mentally from conditions prevailing a week or two weeks ago. A bigger corn crop has been made than was thought possible a month or six weeks ago. The Canadian spring wheat crop has shown a larger out-turn than previous estimates had suggested, so that, all in all, both corn and wheat appear plenty high enough in price. Of course, there are two unknown factors in the market, which preclude an open-and-shut prediction. One is, will farmers continue to market their grain freely or withhold offerings sell- ing sparingly? The other is, what is going to be volume of export business? United States and Canadian consump- tive, seed and carry-over requ:rements are well known. It appears probably the United States and Canada com- bined will have approximately = six hundred million bushels of wheat to sell abroad. Is the foreign market broad enough to absorb this quantity? The world crop appears about nor- mal. An unusual demand, therefore, is not anticipated, although wheat and flour, being on a fair level of -values, suggest the probability of higher con- sumption of wheat and wheat flour, both at home and abroad, and more wheat used for stock feeding in the United States because of the relatively high price of corn. Of course, fall seeding conditions have been unfavorable in some respects too much rain having fallen over the winter wheat area of the United States, causing late sowing of wheat. In the long run this may work out advan- tageously from the standpoint of good crop next season. There have been no reports of under-sowing. Under conditions existing conserva- tism as regards purchasing both wheat and flour appears a wise and sane policy, but as in other markets, chang- ing conditions, which cannot be fore- seen, are an ever present threat to a fixed policy, except that fixed policy be “To closely watch markets at home and abroad, pr:mary offerings and re- ceipts, favorable or unfavorable grow- ing condition, and thus make provision for advisable changes in attitude toward buying and selling.” Lloyd Smith. > 0 Andrew Ress Elected President Food Craft Shops. Andrew Ross has severed his con- nection with the George L. Dyer Co. to become President of the ‘Food Craft Shops.’ in the trade knows, was previously Mr. Ross, as everyone sales manager of the Armour Grain Corporation and before that of the Kellogg Co. Ralph C. Gilfillan has been made treasurer and his brother, J. C. Gilfillan, formerly president of the Jell-O Co., is associated with him. A few years ago C. F. Keene, for- merly advertising manager of the Calumet Baking Powder Co., started what he calls “the food craft shop” at 616 South Michigan avenue, Chicago, a few doors from the Blackstone Ho- tel. The first craft shop included at- tractive reception luncheon room. model kitchen, etc, Here lunch- room, eons were served without charge to women’s clubs. Women’s societies were furnished with tickets for the luncheons which they sold to their members. The luncheons consisted of the products of standard food manufacturers who paid the food craft shops a fee for services. The service consisted of mentioning the food product on the menu; serving the product as part of the luncheon; a brief lecture after luncheon explaining the merits of each product served and suggesting to those present that they order goods by the brand name and supplying each guest with literature regarding each product. This plan has proved popular with women’s clubs and successful adver- tising for the manufacturers. Food craft shops are in successful operation in Chicago, Minneapolis and Milwaukee and the plan is being ex- tended to the larger cities in the East. The idea is popular with women’s clubs because it provides a favorable opportunity for them to raise money for their activities and incidentally af- fords an attractive luncheon and pleas- ant meeting for members. The ladies may use the rooms for bridge or any other purpose after luncheon. The manufacturers are pleased with the lan> because the food craft shop offers an opportunity to them to have their products intelligenly demon- strated to housewives, averaging about 100 daily, five days a week, fifty weeks in the year, a different society being approached each day. As a result of the success of this plan the Food Craft Shops, Inc., has been organized under the State of New York with head- quarters in New York City, and plans are under way to open food craft shops in Pittsburg, Philadelphia, But- falo, Baltimore, New York and Boston. The personnel of the corporation comprises men of extensive experience in the food industry and the enterprise is well financed. > Trade Flow Will Continue Full. A round up of the October opinions on business held by the profess‘onal forecasters reveals the same strong faith im the future that prevailed a month ago. Not one analyst among the recognized authorities entertains any very serious doubt on the trade position. A evariety of views is held on the stock market, however, differing from forecasts of a sharp break in prices to predictions of still higher levels. Per- haps the most daring prophecy in the lot is that of the Brookmire Economic Service, Inc, which holds that. the Federal Reserve policy is on the threshold of a change that will result in a more liberal use of our gold re- serve to lower rates. The econom:sts of that bureau call attention to the uninterrupted decline in prices for sev- eral years which has “pinched” some producers and forced the rate of busi- ness failures up, all of which, they say, “is generating an enormous pressure which will be brought to bear in a de- mand. for ‘inflation’—i. e., rising com- modity prices through fuller utiliza- tion of gold reserves.” The gist of their contention is that rates once more will ‘be based on the banks’ reserve October 12, 1927 position “rather than on the board’s judgment of what is necessary to main- tain and stabilize prosperity.” The evidence, viewed from all angles “clearly points to a good volume of trade this fall,’ according to the Har- vard Economic Service. This service likewise foresees a continuation of un- usual “easy money” during the next three months. Moody’s Investors’ Service explains the plethora of cap:tal in part by a re- lease of working capital from business and then goes on to say that these funds, which must be employed, ex- plain the action of the stock market. Roger Babson’s statistical organiza- tion finds the outlook for business “moderately good” but contends that the stock market is “very high and a decisive reaction sooner or later will take place.” The Franklin New York University, Dr. Haney’s bureau, finds that its P-V line Statistical Service, of Lewis now is headed upward which to them means that ‘a period of better business lies ahead.” The present caution and conservatism in buying are looked up- on as an assurance of the soundness of the basis for gains to come. All of which leads the Franklin forecasters to conclude that the price trend for good securities will continue upward for some time to come. The Alexander Hamilton Institute believes that the credit situation and a better agricultural condition “faver the business outlook for the next twelve months.” From the SIberling Business Ser- vice of Berkeley, Cal., comes the re ort that Pacific Coast business activity remains steady at a level slightly be- low normal, and that “during the bal- ance of this year it is more likely that some further recessions will occur than that business will resume the prosperity levels of 1925 or 1926.” Paul Willard Garrett. [Copyrighted, 1927.] —_+- +> There was once a disposition to con- sider Turkey the “sick man of Eu- rope,’ but one can imagine the dis- comfiture of Gladstone were he alive to-day to listen in on the radio from Oct. 15 to 18 as Mustapha Kemal Pasha delivers his 400,000-word speech. Not only is Turkey completely revived but it will take the President of the republic four days to tell of its achieve- ments during the past nine years. With some aid from his secretaries he will read a document of 1,200 pages to the First General Congress of the Turkish People’s Party, and a microphone will carry his message to all Turkey and as much of the rest of the world as chooses to tune in. President Mustapha Kemal certainly cannot be accused of doing things by half-way measures. When he decides to make a speech he makes a speech. And, in view of his dictatorial powers, we do not doubt that he is amply assured of an audience. There will be no empty benches in the National Assembly at Angora as he details the history of the National Gov- vernment. No longer will any one be able to refer to the “unspeakable Turk,”