yee wer ape QOS NYRST ZAM ATI I WOE SERGE OFF EMS EL ESS KS tea TS Se FOO Bebe SNR EAE So BSB PY ES ree WEN Cre ce CEN a ne Bt NG OB OA Iw NG FO ra CR Re IN Bee RAD NZS SS SENG Ae © AI 2G) SI SN OP poe Cee GCN A (ANC ECS FORE SWC AIS V1 y ONO Se ~ NES BO SS ay aw me ER TO D A) (CT Ie OF ow BAG SE: WZ . Z A 7 2 SRE a (ONCE SS TRADESMAN COMPANY, PUBLISHERS + SIS ea EES SOR SS PSO SOS ASS os Forty-ninth Year GRAND RAPIDS, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 6, 1932 Number 25 3 WATCH YOUR WORDS Keep a watch on your words, my brother, For words are wonderful things; They are sweet like the bee’s fresh honey— Like the bees, they have terrible stings; They can bless, like the warm glad sunshine, And brighten a lonely life; They can cut in the strife of anger Like an open two-edged knife. Let them pass through your lips unchallenged, If their errand is true and kind— If they come to support the weary, To comfort and help the blind; If a bitter revengeful spirit Prompt the words, let them pass unsaid; They may flash through a brain like lightning, Or fall on a heart like lead. Keep them back, if they’re cold and cruel, Under bar and lock and seal; The wounds that they make, my brother, Are always slow to heal. May peace guard your life, and ever, From the time of your early youth, May the words that you daily utter Be the words of beautiful truth. ‘AND A CAKE OF CAMAY,PLEASE,|, MR.ROBBINS. I'D LIKE TO BUY MORE, BUT TOILET SOAP | IT’S CELLOPHANE-WRAPPED. YOU CAN “THIS NEW CAMAY WONT,MRS. STRONG. BUY A DOZEN CAKES AT A TIME AND YOU'LL FIND THE LAST CAKE AS FRESH AND FRAGRANT AS | gg ‘THE FIRST.” ‘= ney < Fe Bi \ &F J,,| ALWAYS DRIES OUT SO FAST. If — | a i ‘ RWS FINES PLL TAKE A DOZEN. THEN You ||| I WON’T HAVE TO BE HANDING im ME A CAKE EVERY TIME |! | pe. COME IN AND | WONT id (GZ) BE RUNNING OUT YP > im tee) OF CAMAY ALL Wr Z an , 5 THE TIME” \= 1 ee SIN : me | GY N : a | a NY 4 YW Z We Soap of Beautiful Women ' SEALED IN CELLOPHANE AMAY is the only widely known and advertised soap that is wrapped in dust- proof, germ-proof Cellophane. | Because it is sealed in Cellophane at the very peak of Beauty Soap perfection, Camay keeps perfect. None of its delicate perfume is lost on the way to your customers. It goes into the home just as it should—unaffected by age or store- room smells. Fresh Camay has the gentle, cleansing beauty lather women have sought and 4 failed to find even in soaps that cost 20 times as much! Display the new Camay. It has a sparkle and brilliance which attract the customer’s eye. And because Camay keeps indefinitely in its attractive Cellophane wrapper, you can sell it in larger units—six cakes—or twelve cakes. Cellophane- wrapped Camay means bigger profits for you. PROCTER & GAMBLE ail SSS = Forty-ninth Year 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 im advance. $4 per year if not paid in advance. Canadian subscription, $4.04 per year, payable invariably in advance. Sample copies 10 cente each. Extra copies of : urrent issues, 10 cents; issues a month or more old. 15 cents; issues a year or more ald, 25 cents; issues five years or more old 50 cents. Entered September 23, 1883, at the Postofiice of Grand Rapids as second class matter under Act of March 3, 1879. JAMES M. GOLDING Det#oit Representative 507 Kerr Bldg. FOOD DEALERS IN FOOD CITY. They Hold Their Annual Convention in Battle Creek. The annual meeting of the Retail Grocers and Meat Dealers Association of Michigan was called to order at the library auditorium, Battle ‘Creek, Mon- day afternoon. The meeting was call- ed to order by H. F, Smith, President of the Battle Creek Association. Hion. William Pentz, Mayor of Battle Creek, delivered the address of welcome. The response to the address of welcome was made by Theodore L, Bathke, of Petoskey, as follows: In behalf of the Retail Grocers and Meat Dealers, it is a great pleasure for me to accept your most cordial wel- come to your city. Since entering the gates of Battle Creek this morning we have all felt the warm hand of welcome extended to us. We retailers of the food industry have looked forward to this trip for the past twelve months and we all feel that it is a rare treat on such an oc- casion as this to have the opportunity to come to your city—a city that is outstanding to all food dealers; in fact, it is one of the leading food cities of the world to-day. Every day we pass over our counters thirty to forty items which are produced in your prosperous city. We rightfully admit that there is no other city in the State of Michigan which is brought more frequently to the minds of the food dealers than your industrious city, Battle ‘Creek. Your cereal factories are known over the entire Nation. Your beautiful sani- tarium and health homes, which are giving relief to thousands of people, are making your city famous. Your local committees have set up a splendid entertainment for the ladies, an educational as well as an entertain- ing program for all the members and guests. To many of the members of the State Association this is their first visit to your city, but we can assure you that the impression that will be made upon us during this visit will bring us back many times. Again in behalf of the State As- sociation, [ want to thank you for your hospitable welcome to Battle Creek. President William Schultz, of Ann Arbor, then assumed tthe position of presiding officer and read his annual address, as follows: Ancther year has passed since we last met in convention assembled. It has been a very strenuous year with many difficulties. The food business faces a very com- plex problem. First, the reduction in volume caused by reduction of prices and reduced earning power of the peo- ple in our communities, also by keen competition we are facing, the reduc- tion of margin on ‘the merchandise we are selling and ‘because of the fact that our inability to reduce some of our fixed expense in proportion to the re- duction in margin is making it doubly difficult. It ibecomes necessary that we all must analyze our own situation as re- gards our customers, our stores, see that they have a buying appeal, our merchandise must be responsive to the buying public, and we all must elim- inate any unproductive expense. I cannot urge you too strongly to ‘ake advantage of the plans and sug- gestions offered monthly through our National Bulletin. Operating expense and decline in net profits—is because ‘business men have been pounding away at cut price items, Their publicity, ‘their advertising, their selling ability—all concentrated on selling “loss leaders” in the hope that such inducements would attract buyers and these buyers would pur- chase enough profitable goods to off- set the loss on leaders. Just the same old story which is practiced by the chains, The figures, however, show that the plan doesn’t always work as expected. The drive to increase sales through cut prices with no thought as to the ulti- mate effect of the method used, has brought problems that are constantly growing more serious. The very fac- tors which have produced (business, have reduced profits, The public has responded liberally to cut price sales, but at what cost to the advertiser? Instead of buyers who once ‘bought because of sound values and fair prices we find a new type of buyers constantly seeking lower prices, because countless sales and insistent cut price advertising have taught them to shop for goods on which the mer- chant makes no money. How long will the grocers and meat dealers of this country continue such policies? Will it be necessary for profitless competition to put an end to it through the elimination of stores, or will the business men take the matter in hand and correct this condition be- fore it is too late? Eventually—and ‘it might as well be now—merchants who expect to make money must direct their efforts to building business on the basis of con- fidence in the merchandise they have to sell, instead of trying to convince a skeptical public that they undersell all others. Profitless selling does not seem to apply only in retailing, but among manufacturers as well. Last January I had the pleasure of attending the Food Manufacturers Industry dinner in Detroit. At this dinner their Na- tional President, Paul S. Willis, made a plea to food manufacturers to take an intelligent and individual action for the abolition of the most drastic forms of price cutting. He said in part: “We cannot think selfishly in terms of our own profits alone; we must contribute 1932 what we can to the profits of our dis- tributors if we in ‘turn are to receive their consideration and co-operation during the coming year, “The craze for volume, pursued by every group im the food field has con- tributed a great deal to the demoral- izing conditions existing during the past two years. We must reconcile ourselves to being content with our present existing share of the prevail- ing consumption of our commodities. Undue expansion now will promote further drastic price cutting, ruinous to the recovery of the grocery indus- try. All are striving to maintain volume, but at the sacrifice of profits. This is having the result of shopping around on the part of the housewives, who are going around from ‘store to store, with the consequence that too lange a per- cen‘age of sales are of the profitless ‘type. During this year I have endeavored to serve the ‘State Association the best I could. JI am a firm believer in or- ganization. [ believe every town or city can derive benefits from them. Through organization you can serve the best interests of the individual food dealer in a way which would be utterly beyond his personal efforts. What can the independent do about the com- petition of the vagrant, fly by night hawker, who comes into your town or city, unloads great quantities of special food stuff in their particular line, indi- vidually nothing, collectively a great deal, I am sure we will fully appreciate the time and efforts of the Battle Creek Association has put forth in prepara- tion for this convention. I commend them on their efforts in inviting our ladies to be present. J am sure that they will not go away without the most hearty appreciation for the efforts put forth for their entertainment and I am sure that it will be very beneficial to the food business in the future. In arranging this program for this convention we are presenting practical men and plenty of time has been left for open discussion during which time you can talk about any subject you desire. No one will have the right to leave this convention saying he did not have an opportunity to speak his own mind, Secretary Hanson then read his an- nual report, as follows: A year ago, I fully expected to be sitting in the side lines and hear an- other ‘Secretary deliver the 1932 re- port at this convention. The unprecedented business chaos undoubtedly is entirely to blame, as I fully expected to be managing the big- gest food show ever held in Grand Rapids about this time of the year in our new million dollar civic auditorium, but the auditorium is still a dream, as I presume you retailers can also refer to your supposedly new secretary. At last year’s convention there was prevalent a limited amount of senti- ment to secure a full time Secretary for our Michigan State Association and naturally the question of being able to pay a reasonable salary for a full time man with our present organ- ization construction, was thoroughly investigated by your officers and di- rectors, and I deem it only just at this time to remind you, that your Board of Directors exercised good old horse sense in making the investigation, ig- noring all wild illusions, that every as- sociation is subjected to more or less, Number 2533 and as a result, I was requested to continue as !Secretary from one board meeting until another. As a result, two proposed constitu- tional changes will ‘be submitted to this convention for consideration. The proposed changes have been published twice in our publication and undoubt- edly is familiar to every member at this t-me, The principle change proposed pro- vides that the initial dues for a new indiv:dual member be raised to $5 for the first year, and $3 for each succeed- ing year, The individual dues now provide for a flat $2.50 per year rate. If this advance is adopted, it would permit a reasonable commission to be paid to a solicitor for securing new members and an advance of 50c in the dues for each year following, Surely this could not be classed as prohibitive to any retailer and would permit mak- ing a greater effort for additional members and at the same time con- serve our modest treasury for any worthy emergency, The proposed change also provides for a 25c increase in all group rates, which would still leave the rate low enough to discourage locals from only paying on a portion of their member- ship, which has been our experience in years gone by, when the group rate was double. The other amendment proposes changing the close of fiscal year from Feb. 15 to Dec. 31, which affords, who ever the Secretary may be, more time to collect the dues before each annual convention, so that the convention may be conducted on a strictly business basis, by insisting that only paid-up members be privileged to vote, rather than permit anyone and everyone re- gardless of the status to vote at our business meetings, as was the custom up to a couple of years ago. At the last convention held in Ann Arbor, a resolution was recommended by the resolution committee to discon- tinue our quarterly publication, depriv- ing the officers of the valuable contact that can only be kept intact by an offi- cial association publication, owned and operated under the direct supervision of your officers and board of directors and was unsuspectingly adopted with- out due deliberation, during the Sec- retary’s absence from the room and at a time when only a small representa- tion was present, all in a hurry to get through and return home. According to my information, the officers have been unable up to this time to learn whether or not the reso- lution in question was submitted by a member of our Association, in view of the fact, just a year previous, a resolu- tion was proposed instructing the 3oard of Directors to inaugurate a monthly publication instead of the quarterly publication, and was not even considered when your Secretary advised the convention it would be necessary to secure another editor, if the resolution was adopted, stating as his reason, his inexperience and lack of time available would make it im- possible, The matter was discussed next at a noon day meeting while attending the National convention in Milwaukee last July which was attended by twenty- eight representative Michigan members of our State Association, and it was decided at that time, that the Secre- tary issue a letter of explanation and enclose a postal card containing a printed ballot, affording every member in the State Association an opportun- 2 ity to express himself in regard to the matter, While all did not return their cards, the result was five to one favor- ing a monthly publication. Your officers and directors assumed this to be a fair poll of the member- ship and felt they were perfectly justi- fied in abiding by the decision as a consequence, the new monthly publi- cation was authorized and inaugurated January of 1932, with an entire change of form, in keeping with the modern trend, necessitating the conservation of unnecessary printing expense, and making it possible to offer advertising on a more reasonable cost basis, and render a greater service. At no time have we issued less than 1,000 copies, using the surplus copies to. contact prospective members, af- fording us an opportunity of valuable contact, we could not possibly make in any other way. As an illustration of the possibilities and value of contact, our publication affords, practically all of the principle retailers in all the cities and towns surrounding Battle ‘Creek, our 1932 convention city, received a copy of the March issue inviting them to this con- vention. In all, 1326 copies were mailed and we still have an overage of approximately $70 from the March issue. No one has been urged to advertise and J challenge anyone to prove that high powered or unethical methods have been employed in the solicitation of advertising, and no attempt has been made to commercialize, the sole ob- jective has been to create and main- tain an effective contact with informa- tion the retail grocers and meat deal- ers are most concerned. It would indeed be a sad occasion for this Association to permit a repe- tition of last year’s experience and should serve to impress the members of the extreme importance of properly considering each resolution presented, taking into consideration the sponsors, its purposes and the effects if carried out. It is indeed a privilege accorded me to report to this convention the nu- merical strength of our association and the financial condition of our treasury. While the report may not measure up to the expectancy of many, it must nevertheless be a sad disappointment to the persons responsible for the per- sistent barrage of malicious criticism, based strictly on greedy, selfish mo- tives. It occurs to me from time to time, when the attacks are called to my attention, How long will the re- tailers tolerate such unjust attacks up- on their chosen representatives, un- selfishly striving to accomplish for the benefit of all? Last year our State association paid per capita tax to the National Associa- tion on 432 paid-up members and re- ported 320 paid-up members previous to the opening of the convention. This year [ take pleasure in reporting 312 paid-up members previous to the open- ing of the 1932 convention, showing a loss of 8. It is possible for us to show an increase over last year before the time rolls around for us to pay our National per capita tax. It should in- terest you to know thet Pontiac local paid for eighteen more members this year as compared to last year and help- ed to overcome the losses suffered by some of the larger and older locals. Last year we reported a cash balance in the treasury of $888.70, while this year we have a balance in the treasury of $1,105.63, with $191.32 unpaid ad- vertising accounts and unpaid bills amounting to $106.05, which shows a gross gain of $302.20. I would recommend to this conven- tion at this time, that our trustworthy and efficient Treasurer, Orla H. Bailey, ‘Sr., who has served this As- sociation faithfully for a number of years in various capacities and the last two years as Treasurer and having at- tended every board meeting held dur- ing the past year, at his own personal MICHIGAN TRADESMAN expense, be highly commended for his services and. rewarded at least in a measure that will suitably express our appreciation, I would also recommend that this convention express their appreciation to the officers and directors who have unselfishly served during the past year, in an able, fearless and businesslike manner and in this I wish to be per- mitted to express my personal appre- ciation for their wise counsel, sincere and whole-hearted co-operation. This convention will be privileged to consider several important National legislative measures that are of vital importance to all retailers and should result in the adoption of several reso- lutions urging our congressmen and senators to use their influence in the passage of the several important measures. We will also be privileged to con- sider a state legislative program and to plan a dignified program in order that we might acquaint the members of the Legislature of our sincerity of pur- pose, strive to merit their confidence and to retain same, and when the proper time for discussing this subject is at hand, I wish to acquaint this con- vention with the methods employed by the California state association. During this period of business chaos, when so many thousands of able bodied men are unable to obtain employment, to my mind affords an unusual oppor- tunity to accomplish wonderful results and is the opportune time ‘to prove to the buying public, that their buying habits are a vital factor in their daily pursuit of a livelihood and prosperity. This must be accomplished, how- ever, by honest, frank and businesslike methods, devoid of all racketeering and ballyhooing and should be managed and controlled by sincere organized ef- fort, rather than stampeding to follow the murmurs of false prophets. The time for the building of consumer good will is now at hand and is yours for the bidding. In order to retain the consumer good will, we should fortify ourselves with knowledge and tact. There is no reason why independently owned stores cannot be just as appealing as any of the syndicate stores and there is no reason why the independent mer- chants should not be just as efficient in merchandising as syndicate stores. The required knowledge and train- ing may be attained by every retailer by organizing groups and secure the co-operation of your public school offi- cials. Practically every locality prides itself on its high standards of public schools and should willingly aid in con- ducting classes of the conference type, requiring a trained leader who under- stands bringing out the exchange of ideas that are contained within the group itself. The educational privi- leges should also be extended to the clerks, as most every store is judged by the conduct of its hire. Your officers and board of directors, acting in conjunction with the local committee, have purposely endeavored to avoid taking up the convention’s time with theoretic pep speakers and have endeavored to supply important retailer topics as suggestions for dis- cussion, believing more real benefits will be derived by all concerned. In closing, I wish to express my per- sonal appreciation to the Battle Creek members and committee, who have left nothing undone to record this 1932 convention among the most worth- while of our many annual conventions, The President announced the usual convention committees, when Paul Schmidt, of Lansing, opened the ques- tion box, Standard Brands then presented its educational film, Food for Thought, and the convention adjourned until Tuesday. Tuesday morning the convention was opened by community singing. Reports of delegates and members were received. John A. Lake, of Petoskey, then delivered an address, which is publish- ed verbatim elsewhere in this week’s paper, Rev. John P, Battema, of Grand Rapids, delivered an address setting forth the work undertaken by the In- dependent Merchants ‘Council of West- ern Michigan, The meeting then adjourned until afternoon, when the Visual Training Corporation presented an educational film on How to Build Community Prestige. Gerritt Vander Hooning, of Grand Rapids, then headed a round table dis- cussion on a number of important topics of vital interest in the grocery and meat trade. In the evening a very enjoyable ban- quet was held in the ball room of the W. K. Kellogg Co., which was the host of the occasion. Wednesday forenoon an address was given by William C. Geagley, State Analyst, reports were received and acted on, officers were elected, and place of holding the 1933 meeting de- cided on, —_—_»++—__—_ Items From the Cloverland of Michi- an. Sault Ste. aac April 5—We were all fooled on April 1 by the weather man when he put a fierce December blizzard on for the day, but we all took it gracefully, letting some of our hoarded money go to the garage man for thawing the brakes and giving the car the once over, so that we were certain that the trouble was only due’ to the severe weather, with slush ice frozen solid to the bottom of cars, which was unusual in this Northland. John McInnis, who for the past sev- eral years has been engaged as travel- ing salesman for the Purina Mills, has resigned to accept a position with the MacLaughlin Bros. Co. here. Mr. Mc- Innis has had considerable experience among the dairymen and poultrymen of this county and adjoining coun- ties and is an expert salesman. The American Legion have decided to rebuild the clubhouse recently de- stroyed by ‘fire. Plans for a one story structure have been submitted and ac- cepted. It will be built on the former site on the Fort Brady Park, facing the river, Spring is beginning to be in evidence on the farm. ‘The hot dog stands are being painted and the “rooms for tourists” signs brightened up for the 1932 trade. The hay crop seems to be moving again. Records show that over 500 carloads were shipped out from here during the month of March, most of it going to Minneapolis and St. Paul and some to Wisconsin points, The Upper Penimsula Development Bureau have opened their office in ‘Chicago at 161 North Michigan avenue, The show window is well trimmed for the 1932 season and will continue from April 1 to about October. The State of ‘Michigan and the ‘Michigan Tourist and Resort Association are participat- ing with the Bureau. Miss Mildred Howe will be in charge of the office again this year. ‘She has been man- ager for the past three years and has had much experience in tourist infor- mation work, Harold Bushman and Harold ‘Saun- ders have taken over the Standard Oil station formerly operated by Arza Swart at 315 Portage avenue. Mr. Bushman has been previously attend- ent at the Federal gas and oil station. The new proprietors will operate the filling station, grease and wash cars also repair tires. This is a good loca- tion, opposite the Hotel Ojibway, and April 6, 1932 should do a nice business during the tourist season, Snow or no snow, the folks are com- ing back from Florida in droves and in a few weeks nobody will be sure who had money enough to go South the past winter and who didn’t, Jacob Schopp, ‘the well-known mer- chant at DeTour, has taken advantage of the quiet days during the winter by redecorating his large store. The fix- tures have been rearranged and the stock distributed in a manner which would make some of the A. & P. stores jealous. The meat refrigerator with a large glass front affords a ‘fine display of the best quality meats. A more com- plete stock of groceries and meats would be hard to find in the county. Hugh McDonald, DeTour’s popular barber and proprietor of the confec- tionery and soft drink parlor, is spend- ing a week in Cincinnati, Ohio. He is accompanied by his wife, making the trip by automobile. Miss Bobb has had her ice cream parlor redecorated and put in a new stock of candy and stationery and is all ready for the summer tourist trade. 'The coal dock at Spring Bay is em- ploying about forty people, which will mean additional prosperity tto the De- Tour merchants, Next will come summer trips to Eu- rope. The rates are so cheap this year that one can hardly afford to stay at home. Mr. Kelly, who has been with “The Canteen” in charge of the meat depart- ment, has resigned to accept a similar position at Escanaba. Herman Roe has succeeded him at ‘The Canteen.” Mr. Roe needs no introduction to the Sault people. He is an expert meat cutter with over thirty years’ experience, be- ing associated with his brother, the late John Roe, until the latter retired. He also had charge of the meat de- partment for the Soo Co-Op Mercan- tile Association for about ten years, so he has won the conifidence of most of the housewives who need only to tell him what they want and leave it to Mr, Roe, The Canteen is fortunate in se- curing his services, which means in- creased patronage. : A. M. Edling, D. (C., has opened a new chiropractic office in the Zellar block, Mr. Edling is a graduate of the Palmer school, three year course, post graduate in Phipiotherapy, licensed and registered by the State of Michi- gan, Fashion decrees broader shoulders for men this year. Necessity also de- mands stiffer backbones. The Clifton Hotel, at Marquette, which has been closed since Jan. 1, has been purchased by A. B. Har- grave, of Houghton, and opened for business on March 17. Prior to the opening, Mr. Hargrave had the entire house redecorated and the woodwork refinished, ‘The kitchen and dining room have been remodeled and_ the lobby has been improved. [Most of the rooms have been reconditioned. Miss Elyse Morton, who has had twelve years’ experience in the hotel business, will manage the Clifton, Miss Morton has been manager of the Jonquil Hotel, in Chicago, and last summer conduct- ed the Hillcrest, at Lake Gogebic, previously having been assistant man- ager of the Chicaming Country Club, near Chicago, Several years ago she was associated with the Baltimore Ho- tel, in Kansas City. The hotel was previously owned by Dr James H. Dawson, now living in California. William G. Tapert. —_—_——_»++—___ Apparent Incongruity. “I’m glad you’re so impressed, dear, by these explanations I’ve been mak- ing about banking and economics,” re- marked the young husband. “Yes, darling. It seems wonderful that anybody could know as much as you do about money without having any of it.” a ee asses oe April 6, 1932 MICHIGAN TRADESMAN 3 Se turned around and Walked out! Principal Products distributed by GENERAL FOODS SALES COMPANY INC. POSTUM CEREAL INSTANT POSTUM GRAPE-NUTS POST TOASTIES POST’S BRAN FLAKES WHOLE BRAN DIAMOND CRYSTAL SALT JELL-O LOG CABIN SYRUP MINUTE TAPIOCA WALTER BAKER'S COCOA WALTER BAKER’S CHOCOLATE MAXWELL HOUSE COFFEE AND TEA FRANKLIN BAKER’S COCONUT CERTO CALUMET BAKING POWDER LA FRANCE SWANS DOWN CAKE FLOUR SATINA SANKA COFFEE © 1932, G. F. Corp. C WAS a newcomer in the store. Her husband was a crank about coffee. She asked the grocer for the well known brand of coffee she knew her husband liked. He tried to substitute an unadvertised, unknown brand. She resented his ques- tioning her judgment. She knew what she wanted and—- She Turned Around and Walked Out! The grocer shrugged his shoulders. Not much loss! No, not on the one sale, but he lost her trade. Hundreds of dollars of profitable business that went to his alert com- petitor across the street who appreciated the business- building power of well-known advertised brands! And it is a fact that many women will walk out when an attempt is made to substitute little-known brands for Jell-O, Maxwell House Coffee, Swans Down Cake Flour, Post Toasties and other advertised food products they have used and liked for years. Proof? Last year alone, hundreds of thousands of women went “‘across the street” to grocers who didn’t antagonize them by attempting to substitute unknown, unwanted brands. They spent two billion dollars for advertised food products—and millions more for additional grocery items. ‘Ask the General Foods Salesman!” East Side Grocery & Market, Grand Junction, Colorado, asked him—and women walked in to buy 1,692 packages of General Foods Products in 2 days. 4 ‘MOVEMENTS OF MERCHANTS. | «Céldwater—The Regal Gasoline En- gine Co, has changed its name to the Regal Marine Engine ‘Co. ‘ Detroit—The Eagle Dairy Products Co., 5071 Tillman aveque, has increas- ed its capital stock from $15,000 to $20,000. Houghton—Nathan H. Glass has engaged in business at 158 Sheldon street, under the style of the Glass Haberdashery. Battle Creek—The stock and fixtures of the local store of the bankrupt B. 'S, ‘Chapin, Inc., were sold at auction for about $3,500. : Detroit—The G. & R. McMillan Co., New Center Bldg., wholesale and re- tail grocer, has increased its capital stock from $325,000 to $425,000. Detroit—The Uptown Shoe Store, Inc., 3100 East Grand Blvd:, has been incorporated with a capital stock of -$1,000, all subscribed and paid in. Detroit—The Standard Hardware & Auto Supply, Inc., 1361 Gratiot avenue, has been organized with a capital stock of $5,000, all subscribed and paid in. Saginaw—The Public Service Plumb- ing & Heating, Inc., 93 West Genesee avenue, has been incorporated with a capital stock of $1,000, all subscribed and paid in. Lansing—Nehi Beverages, Inc., 408 Kalamazo Plaza, has been incorporated with a capital stock of 2,000 shares at $10 a share, $9,000 being subscribed and paid in. Saranac—Stebbins Ice Cream ‘Co. has changed its capitalization from $40,000 common and $30,000 preferred to $30,000 preferred and 4,000 shares no por value. Detroit—Withowski’s, Inc., 6305-11 Chene street, department store, has been incorporated with a capital stock of 1,000 shares no par value, $50,000 being subscribed and paid in, Detroit—Witkowski of Hamtramck, Inc., 9741 Jos. Campau avenue, de- partment store, has been incorporated with a capital stock of 1,000 shares, no par value, $10,000 being subscribed and paid in. Detroit — The Detroit Varnish Works, Inc., 4401 East Six Mile Road, has changed its name to the Mc- ‘Namara-Detroit Varnish Works, Inc., and decreased its capital stock from $15,000 to $5,000. Mt. ‘Clemens—The Fleming Co., confectioner, having suffered two dis- astrous fires in 1931, is re-establishing its business in a new location at 15 North Gratiot avenue and will open its store May 2. Grand Rapids — American Paper Chemicals, Inc., 1100 G, R. National Bank Bldg., has been organized with a capital stock of 10,000 shares at $1 a share, of which $4,999 has been sub- scribed and $1,000 paid in. Saginaw—Clare ‘Haight, associated ‘with the drapery department of the M. W. Tanner Co., has engaged in the drapery and interior decorating busi- ness at 121 South Baum street, under the style of the House of Draperies. ‘Muskegon—John J. Schuitema has merged his electrical business into a stock company under the style of the ‘Schuitema Electric Co., 885 Terrace street, with a capital stock of $20,000, MICHIGAN TRADESMAN $10,000 being subscribed and: paid in. Bay ‘City—John G. Arnold has merged his bakery and delicatessen business into a stock company under the style of the Arnold Baking Co., 819 Saginaw street, with a capital stock of $8,000, all subscribed and paid in. ‘Cadillac—Peter E. Torbeson, who engaged in the drug business here March 13, 1909 and occupied the same ‘location all these years, has removed his stock to the remodeled American State bank building which he purchas- ed and modernized, Charlotte—Marshall W. Field has merged his grocery, meat and bakery business into a stock company under the style of Field’s Pure Food Market, Inc., -with a capital stock of 1,000 shares at $10 a share, $5,000 being sub-— scribed and paid in. Jackson — Michigan Wholesalers, Inc., 104 West Ganson street, whole- saling and jobbing of lumber, building materials, supplies and fuel, has been incorporated with a capital stock of 5,000 shares at $10 a share, $1,000 be- ing subscribed and paid in. ‘Bay City—The Norris Tobacco Co., 260 McKinley avenue, has merged its wholesale and retail tobacco, candies and cigarettes business into a stock company under the style of the Norris- King Cigar Co., with a capital stock of $125,000, all subscribed and paid in. Detroit—The Italo America Lega Del Popolo Grocery Co., 2305 Mack avenue, has been organized to deal in groceries, provisions, hardware and dry goods, with a capital stock of $4,- 000 preferred and 200 shares at $5 a share, $1,100 being subscribed and $1,- 000 paid in. Detroit—Charles F, Becker, whole- sale and retail dealer in cigars, tobacco, pipes and confectionery, has merged the business into a stock company un- der the style of the ‘Chas. F. Becker Cigar Co., 226 Woodward avenue, with a capital stock of $100,000, all subscribed and paid in. Iron Mountain—The Ford store, lo- cated at the corner of South ‘Carpenter and Woodward avenues, which opened here about eight years ago, is being closed, having outlived its usefulness according to the announcement of Victor Perini, superintendent. The closing order does not affect the Ford store at Pequaiming, Cedar Springs—Howard L, Russell, owner of a hardware store here, passed away at his home here on Wednesday of last week. Mr. Russell was only 39 years of age and had been sick about two weeks with the flu, aggra- vated by heart trouble. He leaves his wife and two children, Donald and Lowell. He had lived in Cedar Springs for five years. Lowell — Delbert Kropf, formerly connected with the J. I. Case Co., of Lansing, has removed here and en- gaged in the agricultural implement business in connection with L, W. Rutherford. A cream buying station will: be conducted in connection with the store, Mr. Rutherford giving his attention to that department and Mr. Kropf assuming the management of the store. Bay ‘City—The Buckingham Cloth- ing Co., conducting a clothing store at 400 South Saginaw street, Flint, is named defendant in an involuntary petition in bankruptcy filed in Federal Court here. A second petition filed simultaneously, seeks the immediate appointment of the Union Guardian Trust 'Co., Detroit, as receiver. Liabili- ties of the company are in excess of $100,000 and its assets less than half of that amount. Charlevoix — Andrew 1. Creamer, who was manager of the Inn, near Charlevoix, for more than twenty-five years for the Pere Marquette Railway, owner of the property, will open the hotel next summer under lease. Nego- tiations are now under way and will be concluded shortly. The Pere ‘Mar- quette recently gave out the statement that the Imn would be closed this sea- son. Mr, Creamer is co-proprietor of the Southern Pines ‘Resort, at South- ern Pines, North ‘Carolina. ‘ Owosso—iA petition asking for the dissolution of the Harris Lumber & (Coal Co., and the appointment of a re- ceiver has been filed. It is set up in the petition that while the assets ex- ceed the liabilities, the dissolution of . the firm and the naming of a receiver is necessary to protect the interests of both the stockholders and the creditors, due to the fact that many of the assets are frozen, being in the form of real estate and contracts. Clark V. Harris has been named receiver and it is planned to continue the business under the receivership, Lansing—Financial report of the members of Redman Brothers, a cor- poration consisting of forty-two inde- pendent food dealers of Lansing, dis- closed that the organization had made a gain in 1931 as compared to a loss in 1930. The organization, which buys merchandise as a group and thus elim- inates overhead and wholesaler and distributor margins, came into being two years ago. An interesting ifilm on tuna fishing in the Pacific was shown. Redman Brothers has now its own warehouses on Borden court. Members of the organization, however, unload much of their requirements directly from the cars into their own delivery rigs. There is no overhead for travel- ing salesmen nor delivery. Muskegon—Edward Greenspan, do- ing business as the Fair Store, has been adjudicated bankrupt in the U. S, District Court at Grand Rapids on petition of the following creditors: Booth Newspapers of Michigan, doing business as the Muskegon Chronicle, $1,150; Universal Leather ‘Co., Chica- go, $223, and Pitzer Bros., Inc., New York, $80. Creditors with claims ex- ceeding $500 are: City of ‘Muskegon, taxes, $983; 'H. J. Block, New York, $644; Brown & Durrell, New York, $760; Carson-Pirie-Scott, ‘Chicago, $1,- 250; Ely Walker, St. Louis, $788; Mus- kegon Chronicle, $1,150; E, A, Wor- den, Redlands, Calif., (rent) $1,130. Schedules list merchandise valued at $14,525; ifixtures and equipment, $8,- 094; debts due on open account, $2,- 383, and negotiable securities, $8,770. Liabilities are listed at $27,365 and mominal assets at $34,113. Manufacturing Matters. Detroit—The Progressive Engineer- ing Corporation, 2832 East Grand River avenue, has been organized to design and manufacture machinery April 6, 1932 and appliances with a capital stock of $2,000, all subscribed and paid in, Detroit—Simple Simon Food Prod- ucts, Inc., 12824 Livernois avenue, has been organized to manufacture and deal in food products with a capital stock of 20,000 shares at $1 a share, $1,000 being subscribed and paid in. Grand Rapids—-Hodges Tool & Manufacturing Corporation, 331 Ionia avenue, has merged its business into a stock company under the same style, with a capital stock of 2,000 shares at $10 a share, $20,000 ‘being subscribed and paid in. Muskegon—The National Irrigation Co., 625 West Western avenue, has been organized to manufacture and trade in manufactured goods and raw materials, with a capital stock of 1,000 shares at $2.50 a share, $1,260 being subscribed and $1,050 paid in. Flint—The Flint Nut Co., with offices at 2035 Dime Bank Bldg., De- troit, has been organized to manufac- ture nuts, bolts and auto parts, with capital stock of 10,000 shares no par value preferred, at $1 a share, 20,000 shares common A at $1 a share, and 60,000 shares of common B no par value, at $1 a share, $33,506 being sub- scribed and $1,000 paid in. Gabby Gleanings From Grand Rapids. The sixth annual reunion of the Old Time traveling men will be held at the Association of Commerce restaurant Saturday, April 23, from 3 to 10 p. m. Banquet will be served at 6 p. m. at $1 per plate. Geo. W. McKay is chairman. as usual, and will see to it that every detail which will contribute to the comfort and happiness of his ° guests is given due attention. J. L. Clute, meat dealer at 1512 Plainfield avenue, has added a line of groceries. Lee & Cady furnished the stock. John Barents, meat dealer at 4352 South Division avenue, has added a line of groceries, furnished by the Rademaker-Dooge Grocer Co. The business will be conducted under the name of Barents Food Market. —_—_—_» + Auto Buying To Help Glass Sales. Flat glass, and especially plate glass, has renewed possibilities of meeting increased demand through the newly launched campaign by large auto- mobile producers to induce buying of cars. Safety glass is playing a large part in the sales of new automobiles. Purchases by automobile makers have been considerably below the average for the first quarter of the year. Mak- ers of lenses and other glass products used in automobiles also await a re- newal of demand from the automotive manufacturers. The window _ glass market continues fair. —__-s--—————_——_ Pork Eaters in Lead. Pork has made up an increasing pro- portion of the Nation’s meat diet in the last ten years, says the United States Department of Agriculture. Fifty-two per cent. of all meat con- sumed in the United States last year came from hogs. The per capita con- sumption of pork last year was 69.6 pounds, compared with 69.3 in 1930, A record was established in 1923 and 1924, with 74.7 pounds per capita. 4 | | | | Xa incase q | | April 6, 1932 MICHIGAN TRADESMAN Essential Features of the Grocery Staples. Suar — Local jobbers hold cane . granulated at 4.60c and beet granulated at 4.40c. Tea—The (firmness in English ster- ling rates is continuing to have effect upon the tea markets in this country. The feeling in teas centering in Lon- don, such as Indias, has been strong during the week and there has been considerable ‘business done. Con- sumptive demand for tea is, of course, about ordinary. All the manifestations have been in the first hands market. Coffee—There has been some little firmness in*the future market for Rio and \Santos, green and in a large way, due to the improvement of. political and financial conditions in Brazil, This has produced some slight advances ‘both in the Rio and Santos list, but this has been confined almost entirely to futures. Spot Rio and Santos, green and in a large way, has remained about unchanged. Milds are unchang- ed from last week and so is the job- bing market on roasted coffee. Con- sumptive demand for coffee is without incident. Canned Fruits—Canned fruits are showing firmness in a general way, but, of course, there are still some offerings of cheap peaches from California. It is doubtful if any considerable amount of business in peaches is going on, but offerings ‘below the price structure of the Cling Peach Agency tend to give the market an easier tone, regardless. of how inconsiderable these stocks are in volume. ‘Canned Vegetables — The major vegetables are firm, generally. Mary- land tomatoes have been selling on a higher price basis. Corn is irregularly firmer. The Maine market on fancy Bantam shows signs of stiffening up, and iCrosby is holding to its former level. Standard evergreen continues around the former level in the Mid- west. There has been some business done in peas of late, many holders of- fering fancy and near fancy grades at attractive prices. Canned Fish—Salmon is pretty firm, but there is still some shading both in Alaska pinks and fancy sockeyes. Pinks, however, are the firmest item in the list and the shading is being confined to small lots and will probably soon disappear. Other tinned fish is quiet and unchanged. Dried Fruits—Dried fruits are mov- ing in hand-to-mouth fashion, with prices down to a point where it is dif- ficult for anyone to make amy money. Stocks on the spot are moderate and there are shortages of some counts of prunes here and there, but the retailer can get his requirements without much difficulty. Second hands are keeping inventories low to hold down their warehousing expenses as much as pos- sible, but there have been sufficient stocks consigned here by packers to take care of requirements. Raisins show continued strength and choice bulk ‘Thompsons are held at 6c on the coast by most factors. Spot prices run close in California, but here and there shading occasionally develops. Some times lower prices may mean only that the merchandise is off grade. Un- favorable export conditions have had a bearish influence on fruits this sea- son and importers and dealers abroad have also had the disadvantage of working against a declining market. This declining market has merely created a situation in foreign countries much like that here. Business is be- ing done on a hand-to-mouth basis, and no one wants to anticipate, How- ever, spot demand for prunes’ has shown some improvement, ‘both in Germany and England of late. Oregon prunes have moved ito the Continent in fairly large amounts, while stocks in England have been steadily reduced. The dried apple market is still largely affected by adverse world conditions, although New York State evaporators have moved fair amounts of stocks. ‘Beans and Peas—Perhaps California limas are a little steadier for the week, but outside of that the entire list of dried beans and dried peas is very dull, weak and draggy, ‘Cheese—Cheese has had a _ quiet week at steady prices, although toward the middle of the week the market weakened somewhat. Nuts—The Levant \filbert market is again advancing abroad, probably on improved ‘Continental buying. ‘Spanish almonds are. about cleaned up, and Italian shippers are showing an in- clination to hold their own stocks. The French walnut market is indifferent and cashews are unchanged. Brazils have declined to a point where import- ers now feel must be bottom and they look for no lower prices than those prevailing at present. Rice—Trading here is largely of routine character, with buyers not an- ticipating their needs very far ahead. Blue Rose is unchanged. The rough rice market is still showing more firm- ness than the clean rice market. /Millers cannot pay the present asking prices of growers and hope to make money at their own present prices. Salt Fish—The passing of Lent has brought considerable decline in the de- mand for mackerel and other salt fish. Business was continuously good, how- ever, throughout Lent and the trade seemed to be well satisfied. Spot stocks are low with some varieties al- most out of the market. Prices show no particular change for the week. The hearing on the effort to get higher duty on imported mackerel is sched- uled for April 19. If it succeeds, prices will without doubt be directly affected. Sauerkraut—Sauerkraut has a steady undertone. Activity shows some in- crease, with most of the demand still for the bulk kraut. Cans are in little demand. Advancing costs for cabbage have given a firmer tone. Syrup and Molasses—Sugar syrup has continued steady to firm during the week with a regular demand for actual wants only. ‘Compound syrup remains unchanged and in fair demand. Molasses moderately active, without change in price. Vinegar — New production prices have not been released yet on vinegar. These were not expected before early in May. A regular flow of business is reported, a Nature gives bright colors to poison- ous things, so this idea of decérating taxicabs isn’t new. Separate beds, separate bedrooms; separate cars, separate lives. Review of the Produce Market. Apples—Current prices are as fol- lows: Baldwins, 2% in., A grade ____-- $1.25 Baldwins, 21% in., C grade __.__. 85 Bananas, 2% in., A grade _____- E23 Delicious, 214 in., A grade _.____ 1.75 Dehcious, 24 in, € grade... __ 90 Greenings, R. I., 2% in., A grade 1.25 Greenings, R. J., Bakers, 3 in, _.. 1.50 Jonathans, 2% in, A grade ---. 1.50 Kings, 24 in, A grade 1.50 Kings, 3 in., Bakers, A grade ~-_ 1.75 Golden Russett, A grade ________ 1.50 Spies, gin. Baking 5.79 Spies, 24 in, A gerade __.._ "275 spies: 214 in, © grade 1.00 Cooking Apples 225 65 Speckled Cullis 2 2 ao Washington box apples are sold on the following basis: Extra fancy Pelicieus _.._ $3.00 Baney, Deteious 0010 4 28 Petra fancy Romes 225 baney Remes 22 2.00 Extra fancy Winesaps ____..____ 2.00 Fancy Wiiesaps 175 Bananas—44%4@5c per Ib. Butter— Butter has shown some weakness during the week and the market is 2c lower. Receipts of bet- ter grades of butter now seem to be rather larger than the demand. Job- bers hold plain wrapped prints at 22'%c and 65 Ib. tubs at 21%c for extras. ‘Cabbage—Texas, $4.50 per crate; Calif., $4 per crate. Carrots—$1.20 per bu. for old; new from Texas or Calif., $4.50 per crate or $1 per doz. Cauliflower—$2 for box containing 6@9. ‘Celery—30@50c according to size; box of 15 bunches, $1.50, Celery Cabbage—$1.20 per doz. Cocoanuts—90c per doz. or $3.50 per bag. Cucumbers—lIllinois hot house, $1.50 per doz. for extra fancy. Grape Fruit— Florida commands $3.75 per box; bulk, $3.75 per 100. Dried Beans—Michigan jobbers pay as follows for hand picked at shipping station: C.F Pea from elevator -. $1.70 Pea trom farmer 20 1.40 Light Red Kidney from farmer __ 1.50 Dark Red Kidney from farmer __ 2.50 Eggs — The market for fine fresh eggs has been firm during the past week. Receipts were not very heavy and the demand was good. Cheap eggs have been in excellent demand. No particular change has _ occurred since the last report. Jobbers pay 12c for strictly fresh and hold candled fresh at 14c. Grapes—Calif. Emperors, in kegs with sawdust, $6.25. Green Onions—Shallots, 60c_ per doz. Lettuce—In good demand on the following basis: Imperial Valley, 6s, per crate_--$3.50 Imperial Valley, 5s, per crate_-_ 4.00 Home grown, leaf, 10 tbs. ____-__ .50 Lemons—Present quotations are as follows: Seo Sunkist 2 $5.50 200 Sunkist 2 Se S60 Red Ball 2 5.00 B0G Red Bale 5.00 Mushrooms—S50c per one Ib. carton. Oranges—Fancy Sunkist California Navels are now sold as follows: 5 BG geese ee ee $3.25 mo 3.50 a 3.75 RCE CONG a Beebo 4.00 M6 4.25 OA ee 4.25 MW 4.25 DOR oie ice tt he ee ae 4.25 lloridas—$4 per box; bulk, $4.50@5 per 100. Onions—Michigan, $9 per 100 Ibs. for yellow; Texas Bermudas, $5 per crate. Parsley—40c per doz. bunches. Potatoes—On the local market transactions hover around 45c per bu. In Northern Michigan carlot buying points the price ranges from 20@25c per ‘bu.; Idaho, $2.25 per 100 Ib. sack. Poultry—Wilson & Company pay as follows: Heavy fowls... 15c Pight fawls 13c Ducks léc CeeS@) llc No 1 Turkey 18c Spinach—$1.50 per bu. for Texas. Sweet Potatoes—Kiln dried Indiana Jerseys, $1.75; Tenn., $1.50. Tomatoes—Hot house, $1.50 per 7 Ib. basket; $1.65 for 10 Ib. basket. Veal Calves— Wilson & Company pay as follows: Pauey (22 6@7%c Gogd 6c Medium 5c ——__+ +. Scales in Colors, Six new standard colors have been adopted ‘by scale manufacturers, in ad- dition to the usual white. These were chosen as the result of a color stand- ardization program worked out by a group of ceramic manufacturers, using a porcelain ifinish on the products in conjunction with the United States Bureau of Standards. The colors are green, ivory, blue, leghorn tan, black, and light brown. This range of colors fits in with practically any color scheme prevailing in modern retail stores which have adopted striking but, at the same time, practical decora- tive effects through use of unusual colors. The scale manufacturers sup- ply these colors at a small additional charge, ——_ ~~ —___ Food Sales Off For Quarter. Sales of packaged, canned and other prepared foods during the ‘first quarter of the year fell below the levels of any similar period for the last ten years, according to unofficial estimates by producers. The heavy carry-over of stock ‘by many retail and wholesale es- tablishments at ‘the close of the year, slowed sales through January, while price uncertainty in the last two months has discouraged volume pur- chasing. . Manufacturers seem _ con- vinced that the wave of price cuts has ended and will launch sales campaigns this month in an attempt to bring the second quarter business to normal levels, —___~>-o Mr. George Potts, dealer in dry goods, ladies’ and gents’ furnishings at Royal Oak renews his subscription to the Tradesman and writes: “I would not like to do without it, as it is read from cover to cover as fast as I get time after receiving it.” i Of course the meek will inherit the earth if nobody else has any children, MEN OF MARK. Lz Adam Brown, President Corduroy Rubber Co. We laud and celebrate the individual who has achieved extraordinary merit in art, letters, military renown, states- manship, and world wide fame largely rests on such distinctions. Men also become famous in law, jurisdiction, medicine and scientific study and dem- onstration, Yet all such matters in their several spheres do no more, often not so much, for the well being of mankind as the ingenious and untiring mechanics who discover something and makes it conduce to the benefit of an industry that is the foundation on which rest the stability, livelihood and happiness of many thousands of peo- ple. Peace hath her victories no less renowned than war and no victors are more deserving of acclaim among the chieftains of peace than those who in- vent. something which adds to pro- ductive power and successfully apply it. to general use. The man who evolves from the fertile mind a con- trivance whereby a utility can be de- veloped so as to greatly enlarge capac- ity to produce useful things, and at the same time give permanent em- ployment to hundreds who otherwise would have to struggle for a meager and. squalid existence, has done more for community and state than a gener- al or legislator or judge or any other celebrity whose name figures among the galaxy of notables in ordinary his- torical annals, The foundation of society and the state is in the productive industries, for they are the means whereby the population pursues an orderly and prosperous life. In the absence of war and consequent destruction of human life there is growth of popula- tion. Productive capacity must keep pace with this increase of human units or the people will lapse into a horde of vagrants, becoming savage, degraded and, like hungry predatory animals, devouring their fellows weak- er than themselves. By natural in- crease and by immigration the popu- lation of the United States is rapidly enlarging and it is necessary that the productive industries shall have a cor- responding augment in order to pre- vent the social disaster that would fol- low a lack of employment. For this reason no one can confer a greater benefit upon the country than he who contributes to the enlargement of pro- ductive capacity. Not to everyone is given the privi- lege of adding something of value to the commerce of this world. Those who do enjoy this privilege have not lived their lives in vain and their great- est satisfaction should be the knowl- edge that their efforts have been of practical, material benefit to mankind. Lz Adam Brown was born at Potter- ville, April 27, 1882. ‘His father and mother were both two-thirds Scotch and one-third Pennsylvania Dutch. They conducted a hotel at Cadillac for a great many years. They are still in good health, living summers at Whit- neyville, and winters at Lakeland, Florida. ‘Mr. Brown was a contem- pofary with Judge ‘Higbee, formerly presiding officer of the Kent County MICHIGAN TRADESMAN Probate Court. His parents resided in Potterville until he was 7 years old, when they moved to Nashville where Mr. Brown obtained most of his scholastic education. Mr. Brown has spent practically all of his business life in the rubber in- dustry. In 1908 he signed up with the ‘Continental Caoutchouc Co., of Han- over, Germany, to work in a sales capacity. A year later this company was succeeded by the Revere Rubber Co., which bought the right to manu- facture ‘Continental Caoutchouc tires in this country. A year later the Re- vere Co., the Continental Co., the Hartford Rubber Co., G. & J. Rubber Co. and Morgan & Wright consolidat- ed under the style of the United States Tire 'Co., which is the selling organ- Wichita, Kansas. Mr, Brown was one of the first tire executives to sense the tremendous possibilities of the cord tire, and it became a burning desire with him to popularize this type of tire. After a year with the Mid- Continent concern, he severed his con- nection there and came to Grand Rap- ids where he immediately organized the Corduroy Rubber Co, This was in 1919, and Mr. ‘Brown’s new com- pany was the first exclusive manufac- turer of cord tires in the world. The company was capitalized with 10,000 shares of preferred stock and 20,000 shares of common. He was made President of the company, which has prospered much ‘beyond his expecta- tions. The company now has 50,000 shares of prior preferred, 50,000 shares Lz Adam Brown. ization for the United States Rubber Co. Mr. Brown was sent to Kansas City to consolidate four of his com- pany’s branches into one that would serve all the former territory in West- ern States. Since each of the four or- iginal branches consisted of complete sales and distributing organizations, the task Mr. Brown successfully ful- filled at that time was in no wise an easy one. In those days there was no such thing as a cord tire and the manufac- turers had not yet learned to use the fabric in the tire diagonally. He remained in Kansas City from 1909 to 1917, when he became Vice- President and General Manager of the Mid-Continent Tire & Mfg. Co., which then conducted a fabric tire factory in of participating preferred and 50,000 shares of common. It is officered as follows: President—L. A. Brown. Vice+President—R, iC, Murphy, Secretary—4M. J. Goldner, Treasurer—B. T. Schall. The directors are as follows. L. A. Brown, Grand Rapids, R. C, Murphy, Grand Rapids, M. J. Goldner, Grand Rapids. B. T. Schall, Grand Rapids. Charles W. Boltwood, Grand Rapids, Clifton G. Dyer, Detroit, A. G. Roussin, Durand. Mr. Brown was married thirty years ago to Miss Goldie Winters Adley, of Grand Rapids. They have no children, They reside at Whitneyville in a home that was originally one of the stage April 6, 1932 taverns en route from Kalamazoo to Grand Rapids. ‘Mr. Brown is an Elk and a member of the Peninsular Club and the Cascade Country Club. He owns up to three hobbies—horseback riding, hunting and golf, but insists he is not a very hot golf player. During the time Mr. Brown has been connected with the Corduroy Rubber Co. he has paid his stockholders $700,- 000 in cash. An uncompromising pro- ponent of honest management, Mr, Brown has inspired a_ tremendous spirit of wholehearted and enthusiastic co-operation among the almost 2,000 stockholders of his company. Though adverse conditions in the world rubber industry, long preceded and abetted by the general slump in all business, have made great profits a distinct rarity among the tire companies of the United States, it is L. A. Brown’s prime am- bition to-day to put his company back on a dividend ‘basis in the not distant future. That great strides in this di- rection have been made is evidenced by both dollar and unit gains in sales in recent months, by the wonderfully lean financial condition, and by the aggressive sales promotional policies which have been put into effect, That the company is succeeding where others are failing is proved by the fact that the company to-day, largely through the almost unanimous support of its stockholders, has put its house in order and faces the future with three times as much cash and Govern- ment ‘bonds as current liabilities, and with no funded debt. And this has been done in a period when prices have fallen to almost un- believable lows. When Mr. Brown started the Corduroy Co., a single ford tire sold to the dealer for $26.50. A tire of to-day for the current car— many times better in quality, safety, riding comfort, appearance and mile- age—sells for $3 and less, Mr. Brown attributes his success to hard work and close application to business. He is certainly faithful to his business to a remarkable degree. He is a plain, sincere man, who at- tends to his own affairs. All of the time he has away from the business is devoted to his family and home. He was born with a fund of good nature and a ifine quality of dry humor. He has three ambitions: To do business all the time at a fair profit to his com- pany and his customers; to use what time is necessary in the affairs of his business; and to devote the remainder of his time to the benefit of those about him. The reader of human character will recognize by the excellent portrait of Mr. Brown, which is published here- with, that he is a man of quick nervous temperament and of great mental alertness. —_+++—___ New Hardware Store at Kingsley. Kingsley, April 2—Chas. Hoeflin has moved the Brownson building and re- modeled it into a hardware store. He is starting the store this week. He has all new stock which he purchased from the Michigan Hardware Co. and Buhl Sons Co. Mrs. R. H. Meyer has been pricing the goods and helping to ar- range the stock, Forrest Manigold and Tharon Brown are erecting a new building on South Maine street, West, for the pur- pose of conducting a cream station and alsoa barber shop, Anna M. Meyer. eee 4 ™ ear April 6, 1932 DETROIT DOINGS. Late Business News From Michigan’s Metropolis. Cluett, Peabody & Co., Inc., shirt and collar manufacturers of Troy, an- nounce a re-arrangement of their Mid- dle West sales policy. The local branch, in which stock was carried at 25 Jeffer- son avenue, W., has been transferred to Chicago. V. H. Skidmore, H. C. Acton and Coles Dunne, reprentatives, will work from the Chicago office in the same capacity as formerly. Don Smith, credit manager, will also join the Chicago organization. L. W. (Larry) Long, in charge of the Detroit branch for a number of years, will be in charge of the local office at 819 David Stott building, where a complete line of samples will be kept on dis- play. The General Hosiery Co. has opened for business at 170 Jefferson avenue, W., where a complete range of men’s, women’s and children’s hosiery will be carried in stock. The organization is headed by Ruby Goldberg, well known to the dry goods and furnishing goods irade in Michigan. According to Mr. Goldberg, plans have been made for an cxpansion of activities including en- largement of the territory covered by the company. The Reliable Cap Co. has moved its factory and salesrooms from 250 Jef- ferson avenue, W., into the recently remodeled building at 170 Jefferson avenue, W. Schoenfeld & Schoenfeld, for a num- ber of years in the wholesale clothing business at 158 Jefferson, East, have engaged in the manufacture of men‘s clothing and pants. Forty-seven ma- chines are ‘being installed in upper floors of the building. The firm for- merly conducted a jobbing business. According to Louis Alpert, head of the Pennant Neckwear Co., who mov- ed a short time ago to larger quarters at 122 Jefferson avenue, East, the com- pany has enlarged its production fa- cilities and larger floor stocks are being carried in anticipation of business from newly developed territory. The com- pany manufactures and distributes pop- ular priced neckwear exclusively. The Hamel Bros. Co., manufacturer of sausage, will build a new plant 100x 100 feet at Davison and _ Riopelle streets. The building will consist of two stories and basement and will be equipped with the latest type of ma- chinery. The present quarters of the 4srm are 2459 Riopelle street. Members of the Detroit Auto Deal- ers Association celebrated the twenty- fifth anniversary of its organization on Monday evening, with a dinner at the Hotel Fort Shelby. Walter Dunham, president of the Detroit Savings Bank, discussed the economic situation from the auto dealers standpoint. H. K. Chambers is president of the auto dealers association. Salary cut of 33% per cent. from April 15 to July 1, in addition to recent 10 to 20 per cent. reduction, 1s recom- mended to the Council by joint finance committee for all city employes receiv- ing less than $20 weekly. This would obviate payless June. MICHIGAN TRADESMAN A great change has taken place in Detroit. The automobile industry has begun to move at a feverish pace reminiscent of those climatic days of 1929. There is a widespread convic- tion that the industry finally has done the thing that everyone has been wait- ing for, as heralded in pronouncements by two of the leading figures in the industry. One is the statement of Henry ford coincidental with the in- troduction of his long deferred 1932 models: “I'll say candidly we have quit figuring costs on the car. The more you figure costs the higher the price goes, and this is no time for high prices. Time and money have not en- tered into our calculations. We have believed it our duty to do everything necessary to start employment again.” Much the same spirit of sacrifice— the sacrifice of temporary profits—is seen in the statement of R. H. Grant relative to the radical re-organization in the sales and manufacturing pro- gram of General Motors. Mr. Grant made it clear that in no sense was the move one of economy or retrench- ment, but a drastic step to get business moving at a faster pace. The reputations of Mr. Grant in the sales field and of W. S. Knudsen in the realm of manufacture corroborate the General Motors denial of an economy move in the re-organization. They are recognized as the aces of the corpora- tion’s staff. With the former as head of the newly formed Buick-Olds-Pon- tiac Sales Co., the year’s program en- visages the sale of 350,000 units among this group. Last year their combined total was 223,600. Flat denial is made of any intention to abandon the Olds- mobile and Pontiac at the end of the year. Both cars are regarded as indis- pensable to the new set-up. Henry ford’s announcement of his new car eased the tension that had pre- vailed here for three months. Those who think that only the lower priced cars suffered from the buying stale- mate durnig the first quarter are wrong; the feeling here is that cars in all price classes up to the luxury field have been affected. Now it is all over, and there is a new feeling of confidence. Not a single one of his competitors is conceding to ford the bulk of the business that was deferred pending the arrival of his new cars. As long as the ford was not on the market they were fighting against a phantom whose very mystery gave it a phenomenal appeal. Now the fight is out in the open. And what a fight Detroit knows it will be! Plymouth’s new 1932 model, which reveals the company’s intention to go after 200,000 sales in the low-priced field this year, indicate the intensity of the conflict now brewing. Ply- mouth’s competition is going to be on the basis of dollar value with a car “having 112 inches of wheelbase and a 65-horsepower engine, the big car in the popular price class. The particular model which has attracted the indus- try’s attention, however, is the seven- passenger sedan with a wheelbase of 121 inches. This car, listing at $725, represents Chrysler’s hope of winning the patronage of the large family with a small income, a buying class that has heretofore been dependent upon the used car market. The price is the lowest at which a model of such di- mensions ever has been offered. Right behind ford, General Motors and Chrysler, come others with ag- gressive sales campaigns. Hudson, Hupmobile, Studebaker, Packard and other makers are expanding their sales programs. All these efforts contribute to the change that has taken place in Detroit. ——_+-+~+___ When Cn Your Way, See Onaway. Onaway, April 5—The grand open- ing of the new Onaway theater took place Saturday night, April 2. A ‘full house greeted the opening, Parking spaces on the street were all taken in spite of the blizzard which raged—the worst of the season’s storms. A greet- ing and hearty welcome composed of twenty-five business firms, chamber of commerce and city officials occupied a full page in the Onaway Outlook. Messrs. Wilson and Watson are to be commended upon their thrift and ithe confidence displayed in the develop- ment of Onaway. Already the show is attracting patrons from surrounding towns and “after the show” the res- taurants are securing their share of the business. Perhaps it is general, yet it is so different to have a nice run of sleigh- o > 7 ing, together with a crisp cold atmos- phere after so long a term of “semi this and semi that.” However, it is all right and demonstrates the fact that winter has not been a complete failure; neither has it really forgotten us en- “rely. Wonder how the smelt dippers enjoy iit. Fishing is all right in its place, but it is a question between sport and appetite. The senior high eclipsed anything so far in the theatrical line when they presented Wild Oats last Thursday night at the high school auditorium. The acting was pronounced 100 per cent, by the entire audience and the play was well patronized. Miss Dop- pin, the director, knows her actors when it comes to selecting her cast; she also displays talent as a make-up artist, Dan Farrow, city manager, has had his clean-up crew busily engaged dur- ‘ng the past week and as the last ‘brushful of sweepings disappeared that ‘beautiful fall of snow arrived; well, it ‘s clean under the snow and the glit- ter.ng pavement will look fresher than ever afiter election. Squire Signal. ateectanmeaipretllllaibnceliiaiaiace came For Travel Comfort. Here is a prohecy from a manufac- turer in Wisconsin: “I am sure that within the next two or three years, we will see practically all of the trains, at least those which are through trains and special trains of any kind, equip- ped with air conditioning equipment.” Ja hundred table’ needs uperiority such as only Hekman Bakers can impart Soda Crackers Gy Mina Bcuit Grand Rapids, Mich. The Supreme Achievement in Cracker Baking’ au A 8 MICHIGAN TRADESMAN April 6, 1932 HELPING PEOPLE TO RISE. The Negro schoolboy who, in re- sponse to a Northern visitor’s question of what message he should take back home, said: “Massa, tell ’em we’s risin’,’ has many of his own race now- adays who are leading in the process with inspiring results. Somic of these Negro teachers, young and inexperi- enced, bring about community changes which testify both to their innate abil- ity and to the quality of the training they have received in college. One such person, whose story is told by John Hope, president of Atlanta Uni- versity, on her graduation from Spel- man College was offered the position of teaching in a red-dirt Georgia vil- lage at $35 a month. Although she might have had a larger salary and pleasanter surroundings elsewhere, she took the position. Stepping from At- inta to the red-dirt village, says Pres- ident Hope, was like stepping into an- other century. Even though the year was 1928, he adds, that girl was a pio- neer. : She taught and taught well, but her teaching was only a beginning, for she was the only educated person in that Negro community and all of its inhabi- tants looked to her for advise in every- thing. Her first work outside of her teaching was to improve the town’s sanitation: Three or four cases of typhoid fever had developed. She told the people what was the matter and how to clean up the town and thus averted an epidemic. Then she saw that the children she taught and their parents were not getting proper food. Ske went into their homes and helped the mothers plan the meals. “What have you got in the cupboard?” she would ask. Then she would say, “Let me suggest this kind of meal.” In this way she introduced ideas of healthful diet. This one person, working at her first real job, transformed the com- munity. Schools and colleges that graduate young people of such met- tle deserve every encouragement. TRUST-LAW AGITATION. Agitation in many industries for changes in the anti-trust laws which would permit the control of produc- tion, “price stabilization” and curbs on competition through agreement reaches a more feverish state as the depression grows more severe. At the same time the growth of price-fixing schemes of one kind or another is re- marked upon, .so that apparently many producers are not waiting for these changes but anticipating them. One spearhead of the movement for trust-law amendment is the effort being made to permit the so-called natural resource industries of timber, petroleum and coal to adopt restrictive measures under the guise of conserva- -tion and the elimination of waste. What these industries desire, of course, is the conservation of profits and the elimination of competition. The price to be paid for industrial agreement is government supervision, which would require full reports on operations and adequate protection against monopoly and unreasonable prices. If the industries concerned could see their way clear toward con- trolling this supervision as they have in numerous public service comsmis- sions, it is pointed out, then perhaps they would accept such terms, But evidently they are afraid of such regu- lation and balk at it. The proposals. before Congress deal- ing with trade practice conferences are aimed at achieving a modification of the trust laws without requiring their amendment. The ridiculous attempt to prevent “selling below cost” is the chief end sought and undoubtedly will be ued to fix minimum prices. Before Congress allows modification of the present regulations it should go ahead with its plan to investigate the whole subject of trust-law enforce- ment. Possibly it may discover that in many quarters the law, like prohibi- tion, is no longer observed. RESULTS DISAPPOINTING. While the quarter just closed saw the credit situation rescued from the verge of disaster, it furnished very lit- tle in the way of actual business im- provement. However, as this disap- pointing period closed, the long await- ed sales drive of the largest automo- bile producers was launched and now offers a basis of hoping for better things within the near future. In March last year there was an up- swing in business which seemed to point to the beginning of trade recov- ery. Payments on the veterans’ cer- tificates provided the additional buying - power which helped along this im- provement. Approach of the European crisis, however, soon brought about a relapse. The upturn last month was both smaller and has been affected not only by the fail- ure of employment to make its usual gains but also by the uncertainty created by the taxation program. The weekly busines$’ index has fallen to its previous low, chiefly as a result of the decline in car loadings which were temporarily increased by coal shipments. Commodity prices have also shown further weakness. Inflationary influ- ences have failed so far to bring about any firming of quotations, and it must be presumed that a real pick-up in busirfess will be required before there is price recovery. Since the construction business of- fers little evidence of expanding, and in fact is failing to make even season- al progress, it rests with the automo- bile industry to supply the stimulation required for an upturn in business. PERCALE PRICE FIXING. That retailers have a stake in liber- ties taken with the trust law is ap- parent in many directions. One of the most flagrant examples at present is to be found in the cotton goods field. Prices have been fixed for percales by large corporation printers and con- verters. One house has taken a lead- ding part in those movement and is understood to have the backing of the banks in this “stabilizing’’ movement. Three price advances were put into effect with the precision of clock work. shorter and apparently’ The support of wholesale houses was enlisted by restoring the old differen- tial. A meeting was held last week with large jobbers in the West to bul- wark this alliance. In the meantime, large retailers, whose purchases would exceed by a wide margin the orders of some jobbers and chains, are forced to pay the higher retail prices. The leading spirit in this enterprise is a “vertical” manufacturer and sev- eral of the plants are understood to be run day and night with women and minors—a practice against which the Cotton Textile Institute has been wag- ing war for more than a year with excellent results. Other converters, who condemn the price pact in the most severe terms and predict that it will collapse with the usual dire re- sults, complain that “they are looking for the appearance of gunmen at any moment.” : QUALITY CAMPAIGN. The campaign to promote quality in merchandise and to reduce the em- phasis upon price has gained numerous adherents among both manufacturers and retailers. Directors of the Nation- al Retail Dry Goods Association dur- ing the week endorsed the move. Attention has been drawn here be- fore on several occasions to the mis- taken ideas entertained on the matter of trading up. Too often in the past, it was pointed out, trading up has been confused with pricing up. Value has not been raised. Supporters of the present campaign, however, declare that what they intend to do is to push good quality at reason- able prices. But there is still the in- ference, of course, that prices must be higher if quality is to be improved. Such may be necessary in many cases, but, as any real merchant knows, there are numerous products which might be greatly improved and offered at practically the same prices for which cheap qualities are now selling. The difference lies merely be. tween studying a product from the angle of improving it and purchasing anything the market has to offer. In view of the fact that public pur- chasing power has reached a very low ebb, it would seem that the mainte- nance of prices at their present or even lower levels would be desirable while, at the same time, every effort is made by merchant and manufacturer to step up the quality. This plan would follow almost exactly the study and specula- tion carried out by the ten-cent stores, which have so greatly improved quality standards in the very low price brack- ets. DRY GOODS CONDITIONS. Some improvement is reported in retail trade, although the day-to-day results are rather spotty. Several of the stores here equaled their figures last week for the same week last year. Dress accessories and apparel attracted the best demand. Men’s wear results are rather disappointing. A report from the largest mail-order- chain organization disclosed that sales for the four weeks up to March 26 ran 19 per cent. under those in the corre- sponding period last year. This placed the loss for this company at 17,7 per cent. since the beginning of the year, which does not exceed the drop 4 prices. While there was an upturn right be- fore the holiday, March sales for .the stores here probably ran about 18 per cent. under last year’s. The daily average will show a larger loss because there was one more business day in the month. Comparisons for “e month are likely to show the effect of the later holiday last year. Among store executvies, now that the decline in sales has increased, there is an attitude of greater reconciliation to smaller volume. When the margin s not so wide strong effort is made o reach the comparison figures. The trend at present is toward accepting less volume, but at the same time driv- ing hard for a profit on it. Retail financial statements have lent vigor to this movement. A GREAT DISCOVERY. Fifty years ago—March 24, 1882— Dr. Robert Koch established as certain the fact that tuberculosis is caused by infection through a germ and is not hereditary, as had previously been thought. That discovery is the basis of methods of tuberculosis control which have greatly reduced the pre- valence of the disease and which in this city alone, since the organization of the New York Tuberculosis and Health Association twenty-five years ago, have saved thousands of lives. The golden anniversary of the Koch discovery is appropriately being made the occasion for impressing upon the public the importance and the manner of control of this disease. Members of a family in which there is or has been a known case of tuberculosis should be examined, since the disease is many times as frequent among “con- tacts’ as among people in general. There is no inoculation or other speci- fic preventive of tuberculosis. The protection against it is general good health, with the body resistance which that condition implies. te TAXES ON EDITORIAL FAITH. One of the greatest trials of the newspaper profession is that its mem- bers are compelled to see more of the shams of the world than any other profession. Through every newspaper office, week after week, go all the weaknesses of the world; all the vani- ties that want to be puffed; all the revenges that want to be reaped; all the mistakes that want to be corrected; all the dull speakers who want to be thought eloquent; all the meanness that wants to get its wares noticed gratis in the editorial column, in order to save tax in the advertising columns; all the men who want to be set right who were never right; all the crack- brained philosophers with stories as long as their hair, and as gloomy as their finger nails in mourning because bereft of soap; all the bores who come to stay five minutes, but talk five hours. Through the editorial and re- portorial rooms all the follies and shams of the world are seen, day after day as they pass by in a continuous panaroma. | { i ae e Be) o Oy a Fy ig April 6, 1932 OUT AROUND. Things Seen and Heard on a Week End Trip. We undertook to have two Out Arounds last week. On the assurance of the iocal weather prognosticator that Thursday and Friday would be fair days, we started for Lansing Thursrday, but were forced to start back home by a driving snow storm which rendered the guidance of an automobile extremely dangerous. Made our first call, as usual, on John Affeldt, Jr., whose store is one of the first we are in the habit of calling on when entering the city via East Grand River avenue. Mr. Affeldt is a very busy man and has a very busy store, but he soon found time to greet us cordially and promised to re- turn some one of the many calls we have made on him in the past. John Affeldt has one quality which has al- ways been cherished by R. E. Olds. When his associates fail to live up to the tenets of their organization or vote to do one thing and then deliberately proceed to nullify their action by doing the opposite thing, he quietly retires from all participation in the activities of the organization. That explains why he is not present at the annual con- vention of the retail grocers and meat dealers association at Battle Creek this week. Mr. Affeldt is always in evi- dence when he attends State conven- tions and his absence will be noticable in more ways than one. Saturday afternoon took me to Ionia —a city I am always glad to visit because of the many warm friends the Tradesman has on every business street. Found much interest in the General Motors automobile show in progress in Grand Rapids this week. Was unable to find parking space on main thoroughfare, as usual. Sorry to see some vacant stores on the main business street, which is noticeable in every city of any size I visit these days. Called: on Fred Green, as usual, only to find him away from the fac- tory. I have never yet found him in his office Saturday afternoons, but when he was governor he was seldom away from Lansing Saturdays. I think I never knew a governor who put in more hours at the capitol than he did. Some one asked’ me the other day how much Will Rogers received for an hour’s talk he gave the furniture men at their winter banquet here two or three years ago. A member of the committee told me he was paid, $2,500, which is a somewhat higher rate than he was paid twenty odd years ago when he appeared fourteen times on the programme of the vaudeville show at Ramona theater, for which he was handed $200. This included his calico trick horse, rope and chewing gum. A leading grocer in a nearby city informs me that the chain stores in his bailiwick are de- manding a portion of the patron- MICHIGAN TRADESMAN age of the poor commissioners in making purchases of staple gro- ceries for the indigent people un- der their jurisdiction and asks what he can say to the poor super- intendents to justify them in re- fusing the request. That is an easy matter. I would call the at- tention of the officials to the fact that the chain stores do not own the store buildings in which their stores are located; that they de- liberately falsify the value of their stocks to the assessors, which en- ables them to escape proper tax- ation; that they employ children under age in their stores and pay starvation wages to their clerks and helpers; that they ruin the farmers in the country tributary to their stores by bringing in for- eign products and selling them at less than the nearby farmers can afford to produce them. In other words, they demoralize everv- thing they touch and deliberately impair and destroy every condi- tion which contributes to the suc- cess and prosperity of legitimate business. Becauce of this thev are not entitled to the trade which be- longs exclusively to independent merchants who own their own stores, contribute to the support of schools, churches and civic un- dertakings, assist in building up reasonable __ living conditions among the farmers and create a spirit of friendliness and co-oper- ation among their home people. The most amusing feature of the city election on Monday was the ap- pearance of the union label on the cards and circulars of many of the candidates for public office. No busi- ness man of any standing in the com- munity would consider the use of the label on his business stationery under any circumstances, but when some men run for office they are easily persuaded that they must have the label on a portion of their cards, so they can be prepared to hand out a clean card to decent people and a card with the label printed thereon to the cohorts of arson and anarchy. When it is recalled that less than 5 per cent. of the voters in Grand Rapids are unionists, the un- tenability of their position is clearly apparent. Every man who makes this mistake shuold be rebuked! at the polls by thinking people. I am exceedingly sorry to note that Col. John G. Emery has decided to enter the political field as a candidate for Congress against Carl Mapes, who has served the Fifth District so well and faithfully for many years. His announcement that he proposes to make the run as a wet, pledged to the repeal or modification of the Volstead law, leads me to the belief that if he is nominated he will be elected, be- cause the wet voters of this district are undoubtedly in the majority. In view of this line up of the voters, I think Mr. Mapes would change his ideas on the liquor question, because he has always undertaken to accurately and understandingly interpret the views of his constituents, rather than enforce his own personal ideas on any great public question. Mr. Mapes has now been our repre- sentative in Washington so long that he has become very valuable to the people of this district. Because of his wide acquaintance and long experi- ence he is able to do things for his constituents which no new men could possibly do for many years. He presents the highest type of a faithful and, conscientious legislator. His record for attendance in the sessions in the House is approximately 100 per cent. Probably no member now in Congress can equal his record in this respect. He has come to be regarded as one of the fairest and best posted presiding officers the House has ever possessed. He is not a spell binder when it comes to oratory, but he never rises to his feet that his line of talk does not at once command the close attention of his colleagues, because it is universally conceded that he never undertakes to make any remarks until he has mas- tered the subject by close study and observation and has satisfied himself as to the correctness of his conclu- sions. I have not a word to say in dis- paragement of Col. Emery, with whom I have only a slight acquaintance. He came to this city a few years ago from Mancelona, where he was highly re- spected. He has made himself a good citizen of his adopted city and proved to be a good soldier in the kaiser’s war. He would, undoubtedly, make a good record for himself in Congress, but I greatly dislike to see so faithful a representative as Mr. Mapes relieved from a position he has filled with such signal ability and energy, solely be- cause he is not personally in accord with his constituents on one of the most difficult problems. which has ever confronted the American people. In common with all humanity I pos- sess the natural sentiment of religion; ‘n common with all humanity I have received an early training in accord with that sentiment, and in common with multitudes of people I have un- dergone experiences and have formed religious conclusions in relation there- to . It matters not here whether J am an earnest Methodist, a devout Cath- olic, a solemn Episcopalian, a serene Baptist, an intellectually zealous Uni- tarian, an ardent Presbyterian, ‘Con- gregationalist or Universalist. It does not matter a particle whether J am a Christian Scientist, a Hebrew, or a follower of the New Thought. Never have the cardinal principles of Christianity been more thoroughly believed in than they are to-day, and this fact is very largely due to co- operation between the pulpit and the press. Occasionally the press tells to the ministers things that are good for them to know and once in awhile the ministers get back at the press in kind. Mind you, I am now referring to the real. humanly devout and upright representatives of both pulpit and press, who have the general welfare 9 sincerely at heart. The essence of Christianity is understood, appreciated and practiced to a greater extent to- day than ever before because the press and the pulpit, both of whom are amenable to public opinion, are work- ing together harmoniously, broadly, in- telligently and fairly. More than half of the world, including all the really worth while ministers, are readers; and thereby religious liberty is becom- ing more real and so more holy every day in the calendar. Looking backward into my boyhood I can see a saintly man, perhaps 25 years of age, and his equally saintly bride as they came into a little back- woods lumber town, accessible only after a fifty mile drive through the The husband had accepted a pastorate which carried with it a sal- ary of $300 and a house in which to live. The congregation did not exceed forty members and cord wood, bear meat, pork, corn meal and potatoes were locally legal tender. ‘Cash was at a premium, and the annual barrels and boxes of second hand clothes, old books and old magazines and old everything else that came to this min- ister were not half so valuable to him as would have been the cash paid out for expressing the stuff by rail and wagon to him. In the winter that man drove the tote team for a lumber camp with the understanding that he could answer a sick call at any time. During spring and summer he worked about his house for his yearly supply of vege- tables and feed for chickens and hogs. He had no horse and he walked. forest. Work? He worked, physically and spiritually, all the time and hard, and I have known him to borrow a horse and ride the animal ten, fifteen and sometimes twenty miles through the woods to answer a sick call or to offer consolation and spiritual com- fort to bereaved ones—and all for $300 a year and a house in which to live. “Tf they would send me the maga- zines and $5 in cash,” he once remark- ed to one of his flock, “this help would be greater,” and then he told how carefully he read the magazines and how generously and discreetly he circulated them among his people and added, “and you have no idea how eagerly they read the magazines and how carefully they handle them that they may be passed on to others.” That information and such experi- ence coming to my notice, even as a boy, made a lasting, valuable impres- sion upon me. For one thing, it en- lightened me as to the meaning of genuine generosity and real mission- ary effort. It also taught me that that minister was a social economist of the highest order and that it is quite as possible to find legitimate priests of God in isolated, out-of-the-way pulpits as it is in the metropolitan temples. That minister was the ‘first to put up to my intelligence the splendid pos- sibilities—which are now being realiz- ed, thank God—awaiting broad mind- ed, fair minded, joint effort on the part of the press and the pulpit. oka Seek nee aks Signe 10 There is no earthly reason why the pulpit and the press should not co- ordinate their work. The minister, viewed as a social factor and not as the mere advocate of a certain associa- tion—a man who teaches and preaches the Golden Rule—is an obvious, indi- vidual character directly attached to and the representative of humanity. And it is such a man who transcends and spiritualizes his function as min- ister that is the true representative of humanity—the really great minister. So it is with the representative of the press who is really great in his voca- tion, Such men are made for the es- pecial purpose of working together for the great general good, and there are many, many such, Such men did not exist in the day of the wondrous Voltaire else there would have been no Voltaire; such men were not numerous when Tom Paine wrote his Age of Reason, and so that age had not yet arrived, and even fifty years ago conditions were such that Robert G, Ingersoll was able with his glorious eloquence and his wonder- ful personality to achieve a fame which would be impossible to-day. Sermons of the highest merit and most sincere devotion go out to them daily through the pages of periodicals and every Sunday over millions of radios and by virtue of these sermons the ministers are able to be alive and earnest and effective and altogether splendid. And thus through the united effort the congregations, regardless of sect, are daily coming mearer to the ideal age of real Christianity. Let the yellow journals and the pulpiteering bigots go their way. They are not open to discussion—just yet— and when they are ready they will not need to be discussed. They will have made their own argument and render- ed their own verdict and all the world will rejoice as it imposes the sentence of unqualified religious liberty. What is religious liberty? It is that condition of mind which develops hu- man intercourse on equal terms, which recognizes no caste save that which is dominated by intelligence, kindness and love one for another. And it is that kind of liberty, I am sure, which is the end aimed at by the God-fearing men and women of this generation. Dr. John Harvey Kellogg is ranked as the noblest of the world’s twenty- four outstanding men listed by Gren- ville Kleiser, poet and a frequent vis- itor in Battle Creek, in the current issue of Pathfinder, weekly magazine. Mr. Kleiser has made his selections on the basis of the outstanding char- acteristics of each of the twenty-four men. President Hoover is ranked as the foremost man in the world and Calvin Coolidge as the mutest. The remainder of the list follows: Smartest, Henry ford; kindest, John D. Rocke- feller, Jr.; soundest, Owen D. Young; mildest, Andrew Mellon; boldest, Benito Mussolini; sanest, Dr. Harry Emerson Fosdick; gravest, Justice Charles Evans Hughes; truest, Rabbi Stephen Wise; gentlest, Sir Wilfred MICHIGAN TRADESMAN Grenfell; broadest, Nicholas Murray Butler; brainiest, Elihu Root; gloom- iest, Dean William Inge; dearest, former Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes; cleverest, Arthur Brisbane; drollest, Will Rogers; cheerless, Prof. William Lyon Phelps; frankest, Gen. Charles G. Dawes; justest, Senator William E. Borah; brightest, O. O. McIntyre; vainest, George Bernard Shaw; hum- blest, Mahatma Gandhi. Careful perusal of the John A. Lake talk at the retail grocers convention at Battle Creek leads me to remark that that one talk alone was well worth the time and expense involved in a trip to Battle Creek by any grocer. ®. A. Stowe. —_—_—_.<>__—_ Proceedings of the Grand Rapids Bankruptcy Court. Grand Rapids, March 12—In the matter of Hubert V. Vander Myde, Bankrupt No. 4741, the first meeting of creditors has been called for April, 12. In the matter of William B. Bos, Bank- rupt No. 4842. The first meeting of cred- itors has been called for April 12. In the matter of Leroy Patton, Bank- rupt No. 4846. The first meeting of cred- itors has been called for April 12. In the matter of Carry L. Craig, Bank- rupt No. 4831. The first meeting of cred- itors has been called for April 12. In the matter of Charles E. Brown, Bankrupt No. 4848. The first meeting of creditors has been called for April 12. In the matter of Harry McAllis, Bank- rupt No. 4845. The first meeting of cred- itors has been called for April 12. In the matter of Walter H. Rohde, Bankrupt No. 4843. The first meeting of creditors has been called for April 12. In the matter of Thomas C. Lightfoot, Bankrupt No. 4694. The final meeting of creditors has been called for April 18. The trustee’s final report will be approv- ed at such meeting. There probably will be a small first and final dividend to creditors. In the matter of Neal Verwys, doing business as Verwys Auto Supply Co., Bankrupt No. 4743. The final meeting of creditors has been called for April 18. The trustee’s final report will be approved at such meeting. ‘There will be no divi- dend for creditors. In the matter of Juda Bazzett, Bank- rupt No. 4672. The final meeting of cred- itors has been called for April 18. The trustee’s final account will be approved at such meeting. There may be a small first and final dividend to creditors. In the matter of Jacob Heibel, Bank- rupt No. 4720. The final meeting of cred- itors has been called for April 18. The trustee’s final report will be approved at such meeting. There may be a small first and final dividend to creditors. In the matter of Enoch H. Beckquist, Bankrupt No. 4716. The final meeting of creditors has been called for April 18. The trustee’s final report will be approved at such meeting. There may be a small first and final dividend to creditors. In the matter of Lyell E. Frisbie, Bank- rupt No. 4639. The final meeting of cred- itors has been called for April 18. The trustee’s final report will be approved at such meeting. There will be. no divi- dend for creditors. In the matter of Ned W. Talbot, Bank- rupt No. 4640. The final meeting of cred- itors has been called for April 18. The trustee’s final report will be approved at such meeting. There may be a small first and final dividend. In the matter of Paul Weinberg, Bank- rupt No. 4632. The final meeting of cred- itors has been called for April 18. The trustee’s final report will be approved at such meeting. There may be a small first and final dividend for creditors. In the matter of Pearl D. Gibb, indi- vidually and doing business as the State Shop, Bankrupt No. 4697, the trustee has heretofore filed his final report and ac- count, and a final meeting of creditors was held Feb. 19. The bankrupt was not present or represented. The trustee was present in person. No creditors were present or represented. Claims were proved and allowed. The trustee’s final report and account was considered and approved and allowed. An order was made for the payment of expenses of ad- ministration. as far as funds would per- mit. There were no dividends. No ob- jections were made to the discharge of the bankrupt. The final meeting then adjourned without date, and the case will be closed and returned to the district court, in due course. In the matter of Hamilton-Anderson Co., Bankrupt No. 4489, the trustee has heretofore filed his final report and acl count, and a final meeting of creditors was held Jan. 29. The trustee was not present or represented. The bankrupt was not present or represented. One creditor was present in person. The trustee’s final report and account was considered and approved and allowed. Claims were proved and allowed. Americanism: Boasting of this gen- eration’s frankness; driving off in the 11 car or sneaking up an alley to be naughty, Beech-Nut COFFEE PEANUT BUTTER CATSUP + BUTTER WAFERS TOMATO JUICE TOMATO JUICE COCKTAIL and other foods of exceptionally fine flavor BEECH-NUT PACKING CO., CANAJOHARIE, N.Y. In Grand Rapids it’s HOLSUM Holsum Bakery TRUE FRIEND LILY WHITE FLOUR “The flour the best cooks use” Made by the Valley City Milling Co. Grand Rapids As the canned foods you feature grown and packed in your home state? W. R. Roach & Co., Grand Rapids, main- tain seven modern Michigan factories for the canning of products grown by Michigan farmers. A complete line of canned vegetables and fruits 12 FINANCIAL England’s Taxes and Our Own. The people of Great Britain have heartened the world by standing the immense tax levies of their non-parti- san, “National” government and end- ing their fiscal year with an actual surplus of a million dollars. All honor to them! Our hats are off! The people of this country are ready to show an equal devotion, a_ like patriotism. They are ready to “pay until it hurts” for the sake of balancing the budget and maintaining the Na- tional integrity. Yet they look with longing upon the case of their cousins across the sea, hard taxed as they are. For England, in her troubles, has had intelligent leadeship. Upon the problem of balancing her budget her very best financial brains were con- centrated. A program, hard and. bitter though it may have been, was formu- lated with the complete confidence of the electorate. People could scrape and save and pare down in order to meet its demands because they had faith in it. No tax is perfect, but these taxes were imposed with every possible re- gard to the welfare of the goose that had to lay these golden eggs. In Washington all is different. There is very little regard for the National welfare and every regard for the local welfare of political candidacies. A “Jackass rabbit” House, in a burst of madness, throws out of the window the sales tax, the only fair and easy tax that would distribute the burden upon all our shoulders. Then, in hurried remorse, this same unintelligent and unconscientous House votes tax after tax, so quickly and so unpreparedly that even the trained correspondents of the newspapers can barely keep up with them. Simultaneously, one hundred and sixty-six members of the House, who are publicly pledged to balance the budget, are announced by the grafting veterans of the kaiser’s: war as pledged, to vote a budget-breaking bonus of two billion dollars.” Also, the Senate looms in the near foreground, the Senate that has lost its old reputation for sound and conservative statesmanship. The country looks to it to undo the tax vagaries of the House. Yet what hope have we there? At its very threshold, Chairman Jones of its appropriation committee says that he has been so very busy that he hasn’t “had time” to find out about the tax bill. And we know that under, President Hoover's established policy we can hardly ex- pect from him an aggressive leader- ship over Congress. The truth is that our system of Gov- ernment in this world crisis is not func- tioning as well as is that of England. The real brains of the Democratic party is holding aloof from the vital matter of taxes. Governor Roosevelt’s supporters, indeed, inspired and organ- ized the successful fight against the sales tax. Al Smith and Baker and Ritchie, and even the Olympian Owen Young have not raised their hand or voice for their party or their country. They have left everything to the slop- py and untrained mind of a Speaker MICHIGAN TRADESMAN of the House who says that the kind of taxes voted is “inconsequential.” So, with the stock transfer tax and the triple dividend tax, the country’s great- est market place, the New York Stock Exchange, faces to-day stark ruin. Members of the Exchange and the allied community of Wall street are not lacking in patriotism. They proved that to the hilt in the kaiser’s war. They will meet and obey whatever tax system the Government imposes. They would close up the Exchange, if the law required. And they would do it without a murmur, if they thought that their representatives in Washington had made this requisition of them in a fair and wise consideration of the country’s needs. But this isenot the case. Neither Wall street nor the country is being given the benefit of an even half-way unprejudiced scheme of taxation. Pol- itics is in the program. Sloppy-mind- edness is in the program. We are not getting either a fair deal or an intel- ligent deal. Give us that and our peo- ple will be inspired with the same stanchness that has made England’s so brave and memorable an example. —_—__2--___ Shameful Statesmanship. The American people are eager to balance the budget and willing to bear the tax burdens which this process en- tails, but: What a shameful lack of statesman- ship there is in the tax bill as passed by the House to date! The original refusal to pass the only fair, easy and general tax, the succeed- ing fear that no attempt would be made to balance the budget have been followed by an era in which any and every tax is rushed through to pass- age as fast as a sleepless committee can throw together new proposals. Was there ever a more dangerous, a more unscientific, a more sheerly in- competent process of legislating upon one of the very few most important problems in all the history of the United States? Who knows what effect these hastily slung together provisions are going to have either upon business or for rev- enue? No one. Why was first-class postage given the enormous advance of 50 per cent., when all the money that it is counted upon to bring in might be saved by cutting out the enormous and familiar postal wastes? And what will this new penalty do to business? We know of one charitable institution with an operating postal charge of $6,000. How will it fare with that budget raised to $9,000? And what about this %4 of 1 per cent. tax upon stock transfers? In motive this was a “soak the rich” penal tax. It will almost certainly kill floor trad- ing and thus kill the broad, resilient market which is the New York ‘Stock Exchange’s greatest value to the coun- try. It will limit public re-entrance into the market at the time business needs it most. It will cut out the profits of brokers, cause them to reduce staffs and close offices. And, as the best- in- formed opinion agrees even while it thus vitally strikes at one of the most important instruments of recovery it will fail to bring in to the Treasury 4 larger revenue than the Government is receiving from its stock tax to-day. And how about these hit-or-miss, here-and-there sales taxes which they try to call “excise” taxes? Instead of spreading a small even sales tax upon all industries, why do they pick out an industry like the manufacture of auto- mobiles, one that is essential also in leadership to return to prosperity, and slap upon it a heavy direct tax? Why don’t they, in fact, admit the hurried unwisdom of all this stop-gap legislation and go back to the original sales tax? Why don’t they have the decency at least to attend the debates and vote in the roll call? Why should so vitally important a matter as the stock sales tax be voted on by barely half of the 435 members of the House? The American people are not afraid of tbearing their tax burdens. They want their National budget balanced and they know that this can’t be done without heavier taxation than they have ever known. They know, too, that if they start complaining about specific taxes they will break down the whole machinery of adjustment. They are fundamentally willing to accept the best tax bill they can get and then shut their mouths and “take it on the chin.” But it is the very gallantry of this spirit that makes the more shame- ful the hurried slapdash tax legislation which they are getting from the Wash- ington Representatives who do not “represent” and from a Speaker who thinks an intelligent tax program “in- consequential,” OO He wins who wills—and works! April 6, 1932 Action on Tax Bill Most Favorable Development, The action of the House of Repre- sentatives Tuesday on the tax bill was the most favorable development from the point of view of business re- covery since the start of the depres- sion. It was a genuinely constructive move and reflected the realization that we cannot “squander our way out’ of our difficulties. Nothing else could have happened within a period of a few hours that could so materially change the outlook. Of course, we still are a long way from a balanced ‘budget. Not only must more taxes be voted, but the Senate action remains ahead of us, It is probable that the upper house will make substantial changes in the tax bill when it is submitted to it and that extensive compromises will be neces- sary. Finally, nevertheless, ‘Congress is headed in the right direction, House AMERICAN HOME SECURITY °° BANK ° Under the Tower Clock On Campau Square Ally Your Business ° with a bank that will help you, in every way, to take advantage of the opportunities which you enjoy here in Grand Rapids - - a city of diversified industries. THE GRAND RAPIDS SAVINGS BANK has been an essential factor in the develop- and _its connection here. ment of Grand Rapids for over 61 YEARS, EXPERIENCED, PERSONAL SERVICE adds much to the value of a CIOL’ GRAND RAPIDS SAVINGS BANK “The Bank Where You Feel at Home” 17 Convenient Offices (natalia tn ttn tliat lhe lt tlt ttn lal latin Bin nO | ’ decidedly favorable. April 6, 1932 Bringing the budget into approxi- mate balance alone does not constitute business recovery. Rather it merely is one of the steps which points toward Stability in our financial system. This iS Significant ‘because until it is ac- complished it is useless to hope for a discontinuance of credit liquidation, More specifically, bringing the bud- get into approximate balance will mean in due time the elimination of Govern- ment borrowing. This will remove the heavy burden which has been over- hanging the Government bond market, Relief of pressure here will be reflected throughout the high grade list. It will become possible, accordingly, for the necessary long-term private financing to be handled at more reasonable rates. This will be merely the direct effect. In addition, an improved bond market will tend to instill confidence in the whole community and thereby to strengthen the secondary reserve posi- tion of the commercial banks. The importance of this is that such strength will have much more effect upon the lending policies of the banks than arti- ficial measures, such as the National redit Corporation, the Reconstruction Finance Corporation and the Glass- Steagall bill, On the other side of the picture is the fact that the increased taxes neces- sarily will be a burden on business. Some of the levies voted by the House are extremely heavy and unquestion- ably they will reduce the demand for products by the public. Further, it is quite possible that the amount of rev- enue which will be derived from vari- ous of the levies is overestimated with the result that we still have a deficit large enough to make Government borrowing significant in the bond mar- ket. Regardless of these limitations, nevertheless, the net result of the House action must be interpreted as If the House will continue along this path and the Sen- ate follows the same course one of the darkest clouds overhanging ‘business recovery will be removed. Ralph West ‘Robey. ['Copyrighted, 1932.] ——_++-—___ Farm Prices Are Out of Line. One of the major causes for distress at present is the disequilibrium be- tween the prices for agricultural com- modities and that for manufactured ar- ticles, On March 15, according to the Department of Agriculture, the gen- eral level of agricultural prices was 61 per cent. of the average for 1910-14. The price level for manufactured ar- ticles relatively is about 50 per cent. higher. It is mot necessary, of course, for these two price levels to be in perfect harmony. When the disequilibrium be- comes as much as 50 per cent., how- ‘ever, it is certain to have serious ef- fects upon the entire productive ma- chinery of the country. This is be- cause agriculture still contributes such a large proportion of the total purchas- ing power in the United States that it is impossible for us to have great pros- perity if the farmer’s ability to buy goods is materially impaired. Various factors have contributed to the development of this disequilibrium, First has been the fact that it is ex- MICHIGAN TRADESMAN tremely difficult for agriculture to ad- just its production to changes in the volume of consumption, This is not so much a question of the relatively long period between planting and har- vesting as it is that the selective pro- cess among farmers operates very slowly. The fact that farmers have to make relatively few cash payments en- ables them to continue producing on an unprofitable basis. Manufacturers, on the other hand, with their larger proportion of cash payments and fixed expenses are forced into bankruptcy more quickly, A second important factor leading to the disequilibrium between agricul- tural and manufactured products has ‘been that the former do not lend them- selves to price-fixing, In most instanc- es, it is true, industries are unable to maintain a given price indefinitely, but, except in those ‘fields where there are a large number of ‘strongly competitive units the prices of manufactured ar- ticles are more stable than those for agricultural commodities. The most important question at present is whether the two general price levels will be brought into equi- librium through agricultural prices ad- vanecing or through other prices de- clining. March 15 showed a slight ad- vance tin agricultural prices for the first time in nine months, but this, of course, is not sufficient to indicate a trend. it is quite probable that fur- ther substantial readjustments will be made in the price level for manufactur- ed products. There still are many parts of the industrial field that have failed to bring ‘their prices into line with the general lower purchasing power of the dollar. These readjustments must be made and no credit policies on the part of our banking system can prevent them. Liberal bank lending at present will ageravate tthe disequilibrium between agriculture and manufacturing, rather than the reverse. Temporarily the fundamental difficulties may be hidden by inflation, but ultimately the farm- ing section of this country must be given sufficient purchasing power to enable it to take its proportionate share of our output. Ralph West Robey. ['Copyrighted, 1932.] ——> ++ —__ Price and Yield in Stock Analysis. In ithe last few articles attention was paid, in stock analysis work, to fac- tors such as the company’s business, its balance sheet and earnings. The study of these cannot be com- pleted without considering the selling price of the stock. It would be in- consistent to say that all stock com- panies with good business, strong bal- ance sheet positions and high earnings are attractive or to say that those with- out these qualifications are poor risks. The stocks of companies with good business, strong financial positions and high earnings may be selling two to three times their worth in which case they are not attractive. Conversely, stocks without these qualifications may have good prospects and be selling at bargain prices. It is therefore logical to say that the position of the company must be con- sidered in relation to market quota- tions before a decision can be made regarding its attraction as an invest- ment, The most important factor in judg- ing a stock under normal conditions is price in relation ‘to its other and basic attractions because both the buyer and seller are interested in its price. A dif- ference of opinion causes the trading in the stock. The seller feels that the market price received is its worth and the buyer that it is below its true value, This statement is not true as technical conditions enter into the picture and stocks do not always sell for what they are supposed to ‘be Trading indicates divergence of opinion as to price, whether or not it is actual value or future market price for the stock in question. The understanding of true stock market forecasting and analysis worth, WE RECOMMEND Low priced bonds in the tol- lowing groups as exchanges for weak or defaulted secur- ities. Railroads Public Utilities Industrials List furnished upon request. J. H. Petter & Co. 343 Michigan Trust Building Phone 4417 13 decides these points and helps sway the opinion either for or against the purchase or sale. Jay H, Petter. ——_+~+<__ — Things I Am Tired Of. The Depression. The Farm Depression. The Foreign Depression. The Railroad Depression. The Industrial Depression. Economic Aspects of the Depression. Social Aspects of the Depression. All Aspects of the Depression. Reading about the Depression. Talk about the Depression. The Depression, 3 West Michigan's oldest and largest bank solicits your account on the basis of sound poli- cies and many helpful services ... OLD KENT BANK 2 Downtown Offices 12 Community Offices INCORPORATED Established 1860 Incorporated 1865 THE ONLY NATIONAL BANK IN GRAND RAPIDS The Largest National Bank in Western Michigan Sin ARE A DT MICHIGAN TRADESMAN Quaker Brand Products A line of Merchandise with Recognized Quality Popular Price Satisfied Consumers Sold by Independent Merchants only. Quaker Radio Program now on the air over Stations WOOD Grand Rapids WBCM Bay City WXYZ Detroit Every Tuesday and Thursday at 6:30 p.m. WKZO Kalamazoo Every Wednesday and Friday at 6:30 p.m. LEE & CADY Past and Present Declarations Based On Experience. In every article I write I avoid re- peating a statement. Nor do I inten- tionally harp on an old subject. There are declarations, however, which should be repeated often enough and by a sufficient number of persons to im- press a reader. For once, I submit past and present statements. Merchandising should never be re- garded as a game—a contest—to beat another person. He who thinks it legitimate business to profit by an- other’s inexperience or ignorance is in the wrong. He has imbibed false sen- timents; he has been trained by false teachers or influenced by unwise asso- ciates. He is bound. to fail. I once heard two young men arguing that a man could not be strictly honest and succeed as a merchant. They gave up their jobs with a city daily at fair wages and went into the retail grocery busi- ness. They were out of it some months later. No man can practice deception or falsify in his dealings with customers or in his advertising and hold for long his trade. He must frequently seek a new location. and have strangers for customers. No merchant can gamble. Unwise speculation is nothing less than gam- bling. All too often a merchant is led to overstock in hope of extra profit by advance in prices. The anticipated rise in prices may never come or if it does he learns that the cost of holding the surplus stock, the need of the space occupied and a decreased amount of ready money to avail himself of posi- tive bargains outweigh the increased profit. No merchant should add new lines which promise richer returns without considering whether there is actual need or demand for a line of goods or whether he alone can devote time and energy to build up a trade in it. No one should be discouraged: by the net results of his first year in business or his first year in a new location. If he holds his own his position is safe. The same careful, strict attention and added: experience will result in advance each year. A merchant should be wary in re- ordering any novelty which sells on sight—which goes like hot cakes. The second or third lot may stay like stale cakes. Stick by your old, well reputed wholesaler. A trial order with an un- known firm may be satisfactory and save you money. Later you may find goods not equal to the samples, short- age in count, substitutions without your consent, and so on until you drop the firm for good. ‘Discount every invoice even if you have to hire money to pay them. Bet- ter pay your banker 6 per cent. than the wholesaler 12 per cent. or more. All too many young men think that business affords opportunities to amass wealth without work. Experience alone will teach them otherwise. Others are looking for positions where work is light and salary good. They are never likely to be other than employes, with no business responsibilities and no as- surance of permanent positions. Still April 6, 1932 other are ambitious and willing to work. They could succeed in various occupations, but are averse to incie- ment weather, work that requires coarse clothing or is accompanied by dirt, dust, mud or strenuous physical activity, like farming, handling pro- duce, coal, lumber, operating a truck or such. Such a one decides to be a druggist. In due time he is a register- ed phamarcist at a good salary. Even- sually he becomes a proprietor and prospers. Having an auto he Ic Cause Unknown. The “unknown” fires are for the most part nght fires and, of course, the losses are always total. We are quite interested in this of- fice in ferreting out loss causes be- cause every time we can definitely lay our fingers on a hazard it helps with our work of prevention. Personally we feel that loss adjust- ments of all kinds center too much on getting the papers signed up in nice shape rather than in a thorough in- vestigation of all facts surrounding the fire. Spontaneous combustion covers a multitude of sins, but to one familiar with its workings it is not a satisfac- tory loss cause. Adjusters get to handling figures like bank tellers handle money, and they 7 lose their perspective. Now what we ' need more than anything else in loss | adjustments is a careful analysis of all factors bearing on the cause of the fire. A day or two spent in work of that kind will pay large returns in the way of saving to policyholders because it will mean fewer fires, and fewer fires mean reduced! insurance cost. Policyholders can help in this work if they only will. It is a mistaken idea that a claimant should withhold definite information from the adjuster on the theory that he may jeopardize his claim. On the contrary, the man who is open and above board always gets MICHIGAN TRADESMAN the best treatment. The Standard Policy says the insured shall “submit to examinations under oath by any person named by this company, and subscribe the same.” This is seldom done, but it may be one way out. A Few Things That Should Be Kept Apart. Sparks and gasoline. Heat pipes and wood. Caps and dynamite. Electric wires and metal objects. Children and matches. Electric bulbs and combs and hair pins. Careless people and inflammable sub- stances. Gas jets and lace curtains. Kerosene lamps and shaky tables. Oily waste and cigarette stubs. Ashes and wooden containers. Rubbish piles and careless smokers. Overloaded electric wires and bad connections. Celluloid combs and hot curlers. Coins or metal connections and safe- ty plugs. Re “At a time like this, with widespread business depression, high taxes and un- employment, the temptation to get rid of unproductive property is very strong,’ Alfred Hogston, State Fire Marshal of Indiana, stated. “In many of the above cases the property in question has been glaringly over-in- sured. There is no doubt that incen- diarism is on the increase, the object being to ‘sell the property to the in- surance companies’.” —_++--___ Neutron May Explain Cosmic Rays. The neutron, the physical concept brought into prominence by research reported by Prof, James Chadwick, of ‘Cavendish Laboratory, Cambridge, England, is a close combination of two other more familiar parts of the atomic structure, the electron and the proton. The electron is the negative particle or unit of matter and elec- tricity, while the proton is the unit of positive charge. The neutron, being a combination has no charge at all. The neutron may be the solution of the mystery of the cosmic ray, Since physicists began ‘to study these ex- tremely penetrating radiations from outer space there has been a difference of opinion as to whether they are elec- tromagnetic waves like light and X- rays or streams of electrons, the nega- tive particles of electricity. Prof. ‘Chadwick’s researches just reported from England may give evidence that they are neither, but that they are in- stead streams of neutrons. This would fit the experimental facts of other in- vestigators here and abroad that show that cosmic rays cannot be deflected - by magnetic fields as electrons should be and. yet do not wholly fit the char- acter of an electromagnetic vibration. —- o> on New California Bean Introduced. Farmers of Southern ‘California are expected to reap an additional $2,000,- 000 annually because of the introduc- tion of a new variety of small lima beans developed by the University of California. Ten years ago Prof, W. W. Mackie, university agronomist, found the Hopi Indians in Arizona growing an inter- esting hardy variety of beans to which had been given the name of their tribe. In spite of attempts to introduce com- mercial varieties of an established reputation among them, the Indians clung to their own variety because they deemed it more satisfactory. Starting with these Hopi beans—a heterogeneous mixture of colors, and sizes—Professor Mackie has develop- ed within those ten years a market variety now known as Hopi No, 56. The beans are free from defects, uni- form in size, shape and color, ——__- > ____ Interested in Many Different Under- takings, South Haven, March 29—Miss My- han, of this city, is a leader in Michi- gan’s big summer industry, vacation resorts. She is a director of the Mich- igan Tourist & Resort Association, 15 president of the South Haven Resort Association, educational committee chairman of the Michigan Hotel As- sociation, program director for the ho- tel short course at Michigan State Col- lege and chairman of the resort and convention committee of the South Haven ‘Chamber of Commerce. Times have changed. The Michigan ‘Central Railroad no longer runs week- ly excursions here. The ill-fated East- land and City of South Haven no longer race for this holiday port. The largest hotels, the Avery and Sleepy Hollow, have burned, but others have sprung up and automobiles bring more visitors than ever during the season. In the opinion of Miss Myhan the peak of resort business has not been reached, as the greatest unutilized re- source to-day is leisure time. —_-~-____ Science has now found a way to vaccinate you against nearly all plagues except patriotism. OUR FIRE INSURANCE POLICIES ARE CONCURRENT with any standard stock policies that you are buying the Ne cots OT Less Michigan Bankers and Merchants Mutual Fire Insurance Co. of Fremont, Michigan WILLIAM N. SENF, Secretary-Treasurer the ages. GRAND RAPIDS, Mutual benefit, protection and responsibility has been the object of all organized human efforts throughout It’s the underlying principle of Mutual Insurance. THE GRAND RAPIDS MERCHANTS MUTUAL FIRE INSURANCE COMPANY affiliated with the Mich- igan Retail Dry Goods Association offers all the benefits of a successful organization. 319-320 Houseman Building MICHIGAN panies. Standard Policy. Dwelling risk. Finnish Mutual Fire Insurance Company Of Calumet, Michigan Has paid dividends of 40 to 68 per cent for the past 40 years and have accumulated more assets and sur- plus per $1000.00 of risk than leading stock com- We insure at Standard Rates and issue a Michigan We write Mercantile, Garage, Church, School and Write for further information. JACOB UITTI, Manager 444 Pine Street Calumet, Mich. ? et ie ; \ \ tet ane eae then 16 WASHINGTON’S FAREWELL. His Last Address To Congress of United States. The unity of government which con- stitutes you one people, is also now dear to you. It is justly so; for it is a main pillar in the edifice of your real independence—the support of your tranquility at home, your peace abroad, of your safety, of your prosperity, of that liberty which you so highly prize. But as it is easy to foresee that, from different causes and from different quarters, much pains will be taken, many artifices employed, to weaken in your minds the conviction of this truth; as this is the point in your political fortress against which the batteries of internal and external enemies will be most constantly and actively (though often covertly and in- sidiously) directed—it is of infinite moment that you should properly esti- mate the immense value of your Na- tional union to your collective and in- dividual happiness; that you should cherish a cordial, habitual and immov- able attachment to it; accustoming yourselves to think and speak of it as of the palladium of your political safety and prosperity; watching for its preservation with jealous anxiety; dis- countenancing whatever may suggest even a suspicion that it can in any event be abandoned; and indignantly frowning upon the first dawning of every attempt to aleniate any portion of our country from the rest, or to en- feeble the sacred ties which now link together the various parts. For this you have every inducement of sympathy and interest. Citizens by birth or choice of a common country, that country has a right to concen- trate your affections. 'The name of America, which belongs to you, in your National capacity, must always exalt the pride of patriotism, more than any appellation derived from local discrim- inations. With slight shades of differ- ence, you have the same religion, man- ners, habits and political principles. You have, in a common sense, fought and triumphed together; the independ- ence and liberty you possess are the work of joint counsels and joint ef- forts—of common dangers, sufferings and successes. It is important, likewise, that the habits of thinking in a free country should inspire caution in those entrust- ed with its administration to confine themselves within their respective con- stitutional spheres, avoiding, in the ex- ercise of the powers of one depart- ment, to encroach upon another. The spirit of encroachment tends to con- solidate the powers of all departments in one, and thus to create, whatever the form of government, a real despot- ism. A just estimate of that love of power, and proneness to abuse it which predominates in the human heart, is sufficient to satisfy us of the truth of this position. The necessity of reciprocal checks in the exercise of political power, by dividing and dis- tributing it into different depositories, and constituting each the guardian of the public weal, against invasions by the others, has been evinced by experi- ments, ancient and modern; some of them in our country and under our own eyes. To preserve them must be MICHIGAN TRADESMAN as necessary as to institute them. If, in the opinion of the people, the dis- tribution or modification of the consti- tutional powers be, in any particular, wrong, let it be corrected by an amend- ment in the way which the Constitu- tion designates, But let there be no change by usurpation; for though this, in one instance, may be the instru- ment of good, it is the customary weapon by which free governments are destroyed. The precedent must al- ways greatly overbalance, in permanent evil, any partial or transient benefit which the use can, at any time, yield. Observe good faith and justice to- wards all nations; cultivate peace and harmony with all, Religion and moral- ity enjoin this conduct; and can it be that good policy does not equally en- join it? It will be worthy of a free, enlightened, and, at no distant period, a great nation to give to mankind the magnanimous and too novel example of a people always guided by an ex- alted justice and benevolence. Who can doubt that, in the course of time and things, the fruits of such a plan would richly repay any temporary ad- vantages which might be lost by a steady adherence to it? (Can it be that Providence has not connected the per- manent felicity of a Nation with its virtue? The experiment, at least, is recommended by every sentiment which ennobles human nature. Alas! is it rendered impossible by its vices? Against the insidious wiles of for- eign influence, J conjure you to be- lieve me, fellow citizens, the jealousy of a free people ought to constantly awake; since history and experience prove that foreign influence is one of the most baneful foes of republican government. But that jealousy to be useful, must be impartial; else it be- comes the instrument of the very in- fluence to be avoided, instead of a de- fense against it. Excessive partiality for one foreign nation, and excessive dislike of another, cause those whom they actuate to see danger only on one side, and serve to veil, and even sec- ond, the art of influence on the other. Real patriots, who may resist the in- trigues of the favorite, are liable to be- come suspected and odious, while its tools and dupes usurp the applause and April 6, 1932 confidence of the people, to surrender their interests, The great rule of conduct for us, in regard to foreign nations, is, in extend. ing our commercial relations, to have with them as little political connection as possible. So far as we have already formed engagements, let them be ful- filled with perfect good faith. Here let us stop. Europe has a set of primary inter- ests, which to us have none, or a very remote relation. Hence she must be engaged in frequent controversies, the cause of which are essentially foreign to our concerns, Hence, therefore, it must be unwise in us to implicate our- selves, by artificial ties, or the ordinary vicissitudes of her politics, or the or- dinary combinations and collisions of her friendships or enemies. Our detached and distant situation invites and enables us to pursue a dif- ferent course. If we remain one peo- ple under an efficient government, the period is not far off when we may defy material injury from external annoy- ance; when we may take such an at- titude as will cause the neutrality we may at any time resolve upon, to be scrupulously respected; when belliger- ent nations, under the impossibility of making acquisitions upon us, will not lightly hazard the giving us provoca- tion; when we may choose peace or war, as our interest, guided by justice, shall counsel, Why forego the advantages of so peculiar a situation? Why quit our own to stand upon foreign ground? Why, by interweaving our destiny with that of any part of Europe, en- tangle our peace and prosperity in the toils of European ambition, rivalship, interest, humor, or caprice? It is our true policy to steer clear of permanent alliances with any portion of the foreign world; so far, J mean, as we are now at liberty to do it; for let me not be understood as capable of patronizing infidelity to existing en- gagements. J hold the maxim no less applicable to public than to private af- fairs, that honesty is always the best policy. JI repeat it, therefore, let those engagements be observed in their genuine sense. But, in my opinion, it is unnecessary and would ‘be unwise to extend them, Taking care always to keep our- selves, by suitable establishments, on a respectably defensive posture, we may safely trust to temporary alliances for extraordinary emergencies, In offering to you, my countrymen, these counsels of an old and affection- ate friend, I dare not hope that they will make the strong and lasting im- pression I could wish; that they will control the usual current of the pas- sions, or prevent our Nation from running the course which hitherto has marked the destiny of nations; but if I may even flatter myself that they may be productive of some partial benefit, some occasional good, that they may now and then recur to moderate the fury of party spirit, to warn against the mischiefs of foreign intrigues, to guard against the impostures of pre- tended patriotism, this ‘hope will be full recompense for the solicitude for your welfare by which they have been dictated. (George Washington. United States, September 17, 1796. ‘ } 4 ‘ \ = 2 April 6, 1932 MICHIGAN TRADESMAN 17 POOR LIVING CONDITIONS. Recent Experiences in Rome, Nice and Paris. (All rights reserved) Expecting to remain in Rome sev- eral weeks, we wished to rent an apart- ment and promptly encountered a slant not exclusively Italian or Euro- pean: the “can’t” attitude. We found this in Nice and Paris, so our experi- ences may all be lumped together. It was “impossible’ to find what we wanted, for the time we could use it, and there were other inhibitions. The Roman top-notcher among es- tate agents was a Mr. Anderson, with office in the Via Frattina, adjoining the Piazza de Spagna, one of the most characteristic and historic localities in the jbetter part of modern Rome, so called because the Spanish embassy has been housed in an ancient palace in that square for more than three centuries. Anderson was Scotch, long resident in Rome, spoke English and Italian perfectly; regretted that he “could not’ get us what we wanted; small apartments not having as yet come to Rome; what apartments were to be had must be taken for the minimum of three months. Our persistence, our failure to accept at par his “could not” stuff, irked Anderson; but our pres- sure induced what seldom can be evoked in Europeans—a trifle of orig- inal soul-searching for the one apart- ment we sought. It was fun to listen to him argue on the telephone with landladies about his prospect who would rent for one month, perhaps staying for several months until he got one favorable re- Then with an air of resigna- tion, to indicate he was ready to do his best and maybe thus get rid of per- sistent Americans, we started out. He had no car. Only one realtor, a Parisian, had a car. Anderson called a taxi, after he had made sure we would not walk for twenty minutes. We had experienced these European twenty minute walks, knew they were hours long, so declined. The drive was replete with interest. Any drive anywhere in Rome is interesting, but this took us through districts we later got to know intimately, across the Piazza del Popolo, against Rome’s Northern gateway, which was the sponse, main way into the city from prehistoric . days until the railroad came. The sun was bright, the air translucent and bracing, as we entered a newer section, He showed us a_ magnificently spacious ground floor six room apart- ment, Furnishings were luxurious, high grade, placed and combined as exquisitely as only Italians have the faculty to accomplish. But it would not do. The layout, characteristic of most we saw, was awkwardly across a spacicus, chilly hallway entrance, kitchen and bath on one side, dining, living and sleeping rooms on the other, Floors, like all Roman floors, were of tile, penetratingly chill. There was a water heating plant, boiler in the hall- way. The boiler was about the size of a 30 gallon barrel, firebox like that of an old style parlor magazine heater. For six high ceilinged rooms, so spacious as these, we could not be- lieve this would more than modify the winter chill. ‘Hawthorne calls Roman residence buildings “immense seven storied, yel- low washed hovels,” and they have altered little for the better in the in- tervening seventy-five years, Ex- teriors are imposing, but the rooms are vast caverns of four bare walls, with not even a built-in closet. Walls join the tile floors with no baseboard finish and plaster dust gathers indefi- nitely at the junction. The great win- dows admit all the cold there is, which is plenty in Roman winter months— truly, from our standpoint, sepulchers within, whether whited or yellowed, regardless of exterior embellishments. These layouts contemplate one to several of the deceptively low-cost con- tinental servants, always of a lower order, accustomed to regard them- selves and accepted by their betters as hewers of wood and drawers of water in a literal sense, who have never known a household convenience, Those above them are naturally not con- scious of any lack of service facilities, so progress toward modernity is in- credibly slow. Anderson figuratively threw up his hands and actively shrugged his shoul- ders to indicate he had “told us so.” Subsequent experience mostly con- firmed his contention. We took an- other cab and, as we went his way, Anderson rode with us. That we paid for both cabs seemed humorous in view of experiences with American real estaters, but we saw that Ander- son was not prepared to pay—and the cost of each cab was about 25c—and both drives were worth more than that—so what were the odds? On only two men did we fasten a cab fare. One showed us a basement hovel filled with junk and dirty. We turned it down and let him pay the 50c. The other showed what he called a comfortable, roomy flat. It was as much that as a rambling second-hand furniture store would have been—and he also paid. A voluble boy, Edinburgh born of Italian parents, educated in the Scots capital and speaking excellent English, we found in the C I T office. His specialty, developed to a perfection I have never seen equalled, was osten- sible eagerness to “do something for us,’ then side stepping performance with the blandest skill. He guided us to a real estater who could speak no word of English, with whom we saw the basement place aforesaid. This man was typical of continental estate agents: no car; rudimentary use of telephone; office opened at 10, closed at 1 for luncheon and siesta, re- opened at 3, sealed for the day at 4.30. As with most similar European “ser- vices,” his clients did the heavy work of seeking what they wanted. He mostly remained seated, his greatest exertion (being extreme volubility. Truly he led a hard life, but this was not the only indication we had that Europe might solve her troubles if Europeans would work half as hard for half the hours habitually put in by American ‘business men, One Cesare advertised and we visit- ed him. He also had his doubts, but started out bravely, optimistically, but we did not get far. Having seen two glaring filthy hallways with janitress’s doors giving onto the main stairways, we left him. A few more leads to many angles of humanity, mostly dis- couraging, and we about concluded to remain at the Inghilterra or go to the Princess’s, and I must tell you of those. We liked the central location of the Inghilterra. The porter had spent the years 1904-7 in the Antlers Hotel, Colorado Springs, spoke fair English and knew something of American ways. Then our room was large, with two big windows, top floor, facing South and above the opposite roofs and got all the sunshine; furnished with grotesquely shabby but extremely comfortable antiques so genuine as to make one’s mouth water. It was equipped with that jocular thing Italians call central heating: a water radiator which at times was warm to the touch; but also there was a fire- place for which a big basket of wood cost 52%4c, so we could keep warm for little cost, and during our stay we were quite comfortable with controlled heat, In Naples we had learned of the Princess Wolkonsky, refugee Russian aristocrat reduced iby necessity to keeping what Europeans call a pension —pronounced, Irvin Cobb says, “pong- see-ong, only different;”’ in plain American, a family boarding house. We visited the Princess in the Piazza Mignanelli, The place was charming, the Princess delightful; but the climb up three flights of draughty stone stairs seemed forbidding, although we later got inured to such features. The ‘Princess was dubious about us in an apartment. “You cannot manage servants with- out dialetical Italian,’ she assured us, “and they will rob you on every pur- chase.” “But,” we smiled in answer, “we do not have servants—not even one—and we are too familiar with household costs to fear extortion, even in a strange land.” “No servant?” she countered, and she was \bewildered, for it must be un- derstood that not in her direst straits had she done entirely for herself. Not the most poverty striken landlady we saw did a physical thing about her household. (In those lands such things simply are not done. “Who does your cooking and housekeeping?” she asked. We told her that did not worry us; that we had kept our own home for years; had camped out in many places, roughing it with keen enjoyment that we were now eager to provide our- selves with Americn food, particularly American coffee; and that we should feel we had missed a main feature of our expedition if we did not keep house in various parts of Europe. Light broke over her countenance as she got the idea. “How lovely,” she explained with genuine, sincere ap- proval. “You are completely inde- pendent, aren’t you?” and there was an undercurrent of wistfulness in her tone, as if she envied us our ability thus to fend for ourselves, There will be more of this highly re- fined lady later. The wiser half of our party, making a last effort, mentioned at Warner’s Library what we sought—and thereby located a real find. It was a pent house atop a new co-operative building in the Northern outskirts of Rome, with a large terrace whence we looked over miles of the Roman Campagna right up to the Sabine Mountains on the North. The lessor was a five-months bride, husband a newspaper man unexpected- ly sent around the world and she with her newly leased apartment on_ her hands until the following March, hence to let for the interval. Divergent no- tions of what constituted a furnished apartment were part of our adventure. She had a few items which, with her wedding presents, were her idea of furnishings. ‘Humorous conferences followed in process of extracting the minimum of necessities—then we pur- chased many items ourselves. But to get hold of such a place, with elevator, for six weeks with privilege of a month to six weeks more, for about $48 per month, including gas and electricity, was too fortunate to be foregone for any little inconveniences in a land where convenience standards fall so short of our own. True, the tile floor was not laid in the living room, and was relaid twice, with care free good humor before we got in. The place was damp until the last day be- fore we occupied it. The bathroom radiator never functioned and she had to provide an oil heater. But we sub- mitted because of the charm of the place, located in a purely Italian sec- tion of many-storied villas, Except for the bathroom, heat was exceptionally good. We were general- ly quite comfortable. But the elevator, which bore the name of Otis, was an- other adventure. it could not be operated and we walked the six flights. Appeal to the manager met with the stoniest stare J ever saw, this man being overwhelmingly im- pressed with his own dignity. He shrugged his shoulders in emphatic in- dication that he could do nothing and, moreover, he would not even consider trying. Others gave us voluble assur- ance that it would be adjusted in the evening, Nothing resulting, next morn- ing’s assurance was that it would be fixed during the day. In face of still no result, we were assured, most sol- emnly, that it would be the next day. To us this seemed serious, but work- men on the job quit at 4:30. Overtime was not institutional among them, ap- parently. It was puzzling, for here was Otis, an American company, with a Roman office, and seemingly, big prospective business in this awakening During seven days country, especially in this Italian cap- ital, yet there was no haste or evi- dence of anxiety. We learned this was due to Otis having Italian repre- sentation and Italians had not develop- ed out of the old European trade at- titude that a deal once consummated was finished, responsibility on the part of the seller ceasing literally. The element of good will had not yet pene- trated Italy, The docility of the other tenants surprised us more. Here was a co- operative house. The occupants owned it among them. Each had paid his share, It seemed that some would take the initiative and start vigorous action. But day followed day and they walked the long flights without com- plaint, accepting the imposition as (Continued on page 31) e 5 z i g on Saie i apa SLRS ACS eer eed 18 DRY GOODS Michigan Retail Dry Goods Association. President—Jas. T. Milliken, Traverse City. —e ee C. Pratt, Grand pids. Secretary-Treasurer—Thomas Pitketh- ly, Flint. Manager—Jason E. Hammond, Lansing. Prices Worry Wash Dress Trade. Some of the large wash dress pro- ducers, who are still receiving percales purchased on contract before the high- er prices went into effect, are worried over what action to take when they must re-order cloth at the new quota- tions. While a fairly good business is being done from a volume standpoint at the present time, it is not up to ex- pectations and this, combined with the sharp price cutting prevalent, is a source of disturbance to them. They feel that they cannot advance quota- tions on garments in the present situa- tion and must therefore ‘find means of reducing costs, which have been fairly well deflated already. The weak credit situation among retailers is also worry- ing them, ———_ > ___ Sterling Rise Firms Import Prices. Advances in pound sterling have imparted a much firmer tone to pres- ent quotations in the linen, chinaware and other import markets for English products. The trading which marked sales over the last few months has dis- appeared completely, Keen competi- tive conditions, however, prevent im- porters in these trades from advancing prices. Scandinavian goods and prod- ucts from other countries governed by sterling firmed also, but no houses ap- parently feel confident enough of their markets to advance quotations. Pur- chasing by many importers, limited because of business conditions, has been further curtailed as buyers waited to see if the sterling rise would be maintained, —_——__ +. Buying Starts in Low-End Lamps. Manufacturers of popular price lamps are meeting unexpected success in promoting regular merchandise in the low-end retail brackets. The de- mand for a complete unit of lamp and shade to sell up to $8 took an upward turn ten days ago and has been in- creasing ever since. Much of the buy- ing ordinarily done at trade shows is being completed now. Retailers and jobbers are reported as feeling more confidence in the market for low-end goods, although still doubtful of the sales possibilities of merchandise priced above $10. As far as popular items are concerned, the call is said to be 15 per cent. above the levels of the two preceding months, —_>-+-2 Glassware Trade Enjoys Revival. Demand for beverage glasses and complete beverage sets of all types is furnishing an exceptionally heavy vol- ume of business for producers of stem- ware this month. Glasses in all price ranges and a wide variety of patterns are being re-ordered by retailers. Con- servative crystal as well as novelty de- signs in which contrasting colors, pic- tures of horses, dogs and ships are used, are among the types in which consumers show interest. The most active retail ranges are those between 60 cents and $3 a dozen. Producers attribute the revival to the unusual at- MICHIGAN TRADESMAN tention given to the styling of 1932 lines. ——_+2 + Cotton Dress Vogue Growing. Previous indications that the coming season iin cotton dresses would prove an exceptionally active one are being borne out. Retailers are placing ex- tensive orders for the merchandise and both large and small stores are accord- ing more prominent locations on sales floors to these dresses. The new lines being shown show a strong tendency toward novelty weaves, with predic- tion made that types which resemble hand-crocheted effects are likely to meet with favor, Ensembles for beach and club wear of more formal nature than sports models are receiving in- creased attention. oo Low Sheet Prices Reported. The slackening in demand for sheets and pillow cases, although more or less seasonal, has again brought forth a certain amount of trading on the cheaper goods and some low prices have been heard in the market recent- ly. ‘These, however, have been con- fined to a few mills anxious to move stocks, which are a little heavier than they should be. Producers, who re- duced discounts since the start of the year, have been holding quotations fairly steady and are keeping produc- tion in line with demand, —_—_+ ++ Novelty Notion Lines Changed. Novelty merchandise for late Spring and early Summer made its appearance in the novelty notion markets this week. Sewing kits and bags, waste baskets and writing desk accessories were featured by the producers. Floral chintz patterns are favored in most of the goods shown: Producers explain- ed yesterday that results obtained through promotion of designs based on the Colonial theme were satisfactory for early ‘Spring but the demand for such goods in their field is on the wane, Most of the new items have been pro- duced to retail under $1. ———_e---+___ “Specials” Wanted in Appliances. Demand for special sales merchan- dise in the electrical home wares field overshadows the call for regular goods to such an extent that many producers have ceased to emphasize normally priced merchandise. Reports in the trade are that Spring business to date has consisted of close to 80 per cent. sales merchandise with the bal- ance on regular goods. This trend is expected to have a considerable effect on Fall lines which will be curtailed as far as new numbers are concerned. Re-orders on ‘Spring items have been smaller than for any season in a decade, selling agents said yesterday. ————_2~o____ Novelty Picture Frames Ordered. Demand for low-price novelty pic- ture frames has resulted in the produc- tion recently of a number of new de- signs by manufacturers in that field. A current novelty frame, retailing at 10 cents, has attracted wide attention. The frame, modernistic in design, con- sists of two glass disks one and one- half inches in diameter set in a metal base. It is offered in ‘finishes of silver, gold, black and a number of pastel shades. Another active item in the same [field is a metal frame with a border decorated with black and other shades of glass, to retail around $1. ——_~+2>__—_ The question of the hour is “What time is it?” April 6, 1932 The Russians are funny. Everybody over there works to provide spending money for the Government, and they call it communism instead of Ameri- canism, MICHIGAN BELL TELEPHONE CO. i cate Ae | 4.1992 BY NEA SERVICE, “A job for me? Gee, that’s great! Pll report in the morning, sure” The man who can be reached quickly and easily by telephone usually is the first to be called back to work. A telephone in the home is protection, too, making it possible to summon aid instantly in case of fire, sickness or accident. . ® a ‘ Seeiaens es ae GRAND RAPIDS PAPER Box Co. Manufacturers of SET UP and FOLDING PAPER BOXES Corduroy Tires Known from the Canadian Border to the Gulf—and from New York Harbor to the Golden Gate—the Corduroy Tire has in ten years gained a reputation for value, for superlative performance and dependability that is second to none! The Corduroy Dealer organization dots the nation’s map in metropolis and hamlet. It is an organization that swears allegiance to the Corduroy Tire because of long years of unfail- ing tire satisfaction to the motorists of the country. Go to your Corduroy Dealer today. Ask to see the tire. Big— Sturdy—Handsome in all its strength and toughness, the Cor- duroy Tire will sell itself to you strictly on its merit. CORDUROY TIRE CO. Grand Rapids, Mich. SPECIAL DIE CUTTING AND MOUNTING GRAND RA PI DS, MICHIGAN April 6, 1932 MICHIGAN TRADESMAN 19 SHOE MARKET Michigan Retail Shoe Dealers Association. President—Elwyn Pond, Flint. Vice-President—J. E. Wilson. Detroit. Secretary—Joe H. Burton, Lansing. Asst. Sec’y-Treas.—O. R. Jenkine Association Business Office, 907 Trans- portation Bldg., Detroit. Beware of Scavengers in the Shoe Trade. A pair of shoes lies before me on my desk. An industry might well hide its face in shame at such a product. It is true that it is made in the shape of a foot covering, but at that point all resemblance to a shoe ceases. If it is on the basis of shoes like these that the pairage figures hold up to high National totals, then it is time to throw away statistics. : ‘We applied the pencil test to the sole and with slight presure pushed the point of the pencil through the sole. To say that the soles were “belly-soles” is to insult the animal. Tanned tripe would be tougher. If the maker paid more than 10 cents per pair, he was a poor leather buyer. The best we can say about the soles is that there was nothing wrong with the finish. For insoles, the less said the better. As lining goes, good brown paper would have been better stock. We pinched the lining and the ridges were made permanent. For uppers, remember the motto: “Save the surface and you save all.” Given the optical test, they looked a style of fad and fancy. A rainy day would prove that as upper leather it was good for nothing. We had hopes of finding some char- acter in the thread but even that had gone through the process of cheapen- ing. As examples of how cheap shoes can be made they might have had some value as museum pieces, but for foot- wear they were impossible. And yet a factory is operating some- where, perhaps to capacity, with shoes of such component parts that repre- sent only a search for cheapness. The shoe sold at retail at $1.95. Its whole- sale price must have been around $1.25. Pity the poor that get so poor a shoe Last week Everit B. Terhune was stopped on the street by a salesman who asked: “Where can I get a new line of welts to retail at $1.90? I could do a tremendous business.” Those of you who know Everit B. Terhune can quite appreciate the vehemence of his utterance: “I can’t help you. It’s men like you who destroy an industry. Cheap, cheap cheap. Is there no bot- tom to the shoes that you offer to the retailer? You haven’t got guts enough to go out and sell a real line, in a real way, to real merchants who know what a real shoe is. It is high time that this industry called a halt to such dis- honest shoe making and shoe selling. We are going to make it uncomfortable for men like you im the shoe business.” The salesman was pop-eyed and gib- berish. He didn’t know what to say. He had never been up against such a verbal drubbing. It is time that the entire industry made a crusade against “slop-shoemak- ing.” This industry will be injured ir- reparably by the kind of product that is turned out in the low $1 brackets. It is time for the industry to estab- lish some standards, even in cheap shoes. There are good shoes to be made at the price the public can afford to pay but no man, woman or child wants shoddy shoes whose wear is lim- ited by day, week or month. It is possible to make a low-priced shoe, with a well-balanced sole and upper ingredients properly molded ona last and suitable for human use. The very efficiency of our industry makes it possible to produce this shoe at a reasonably low price. There isn’t a consumer that can’t see the advantage of paying a dollar more for a shoe that is well balanced in ingredients in comparison to one that is dishonest. It is high time for an industry as serviceable as shoes to take a little more courage, a little more explaining to convince the public that its money’s worth is to be found in reputable shoes, by reputable stores in a reputable way. There never was a shoe worth wearing in the first dollar bracket, and that goes also for the second bracket. If some people must get the most for their money, at the lowest possible price, they will find honest shoes at an hon- est price, made by honest manufactur- ers and sold in an hnoest way. But beware of the scavengers. Their motto is: “Save the Surface and You Save All,’ and there is no substance in their product or their service. It is time the truth were told in no uncertain terms—that a good shoe can only be made one way, and that its worth, measured in dollars and cents, is de- termined by reputable manufacturers and merchants. The time has come to turn away from the price alone in shoes. The time has come for truth in shoe in- gredients and shoe service. Throw the scavanger out of the store before his oily tongue tells you that the public won’t pay any more. The truth is, the real public is finding anew its money’s worth in shoes. In a way, the public had to get acquainted with cheap shoes before they could rebel against them. The merchant, as the selector of shoes for his community, must now see the folly of shoddy shoes at any price. Stop trying to think how much money a man or woman has in his or her pocket, and begin to think of what you have to offer in a shoe in whole- some ingredients, in real fashion, in honest service and in values. Show your good goods—the public wlil find the money. We hope this marks the end of the scavenger and the beginning of sanity in shoes.—Boot and Shoe Recorder. ——_2 + >—__ Corporations Wound Up. The following Michigan corporations have recently filed notices of dissolu- tion with the Secretary of State: Michigan ‘Machine Co., Detroit. Harry A, Paul, Inc., Detroit. American Mutual Automobile Insur- ance, Grand Rapids. a Lake Shore Building ‘Corp., St. Clair Shores, Amber Oil Co., Owosso. Lamlein-Herbert Holding Co., Inc., Detroit. West End Beverage Mfg., Co., Detroit Plymouth Elevator Co., Plymouth. The Harris ‘Holding Co., Detroit. Bancamerica-Blair Corp., Detroit. Kleinsmith Co., Detroit, National Freight 'Co., Detroit. Gar Wood Engineering Co., Detroit. Fairmont Stoker Corp., ‘Detroit. American ‘Tourist Ass’n., St. Joseph. Arbor Manor Co., Jackson. Royal Aircraft Corp., Royal Oak. H. M. Hopkins Electre Co., Detro‘t. Riker Holding ‘Co., Pontiac. G. Vella & Co., Detroit. Wayne Dairy, Inc., Wayne. G. A. Bowne Co., Benton Harbor. Continental Illinois ‘Co., Detroit. Ball Drug Co., Detroit. Great Lakes Terminal Warehouse Co., Detroit. Manufacturing Finance Corp., Detroit, Sewell Cushion Wheel Mfg. Co., De- troit. Norman Meginnity & Co., Detroit. Home ‘Styles Bureau, Detroit. Ferndale Theater Co., Detroit. Superior (Carved Moulding Co., Grand Rapids, American Cyanamid Sales Co., Detroit National Spring & Wire Co., Grand Rapids. Buckeye Oil & Gas Co., Detroit. Blue Book Publishing Co., Grand Rapids. McMorris Service Station, Inc., Sag- inaw, Presbyterian Land iCo., Mt. Clemens. John W. Brown Manufacturing Co., Detroit. Electric Auto Lite Co., Hillsdale. Flintkote Co., Lansing. Remington Cash Register Co., De- troit. Superior Terminal Railway Co., Mar- quette County. United Lumber and Supply Co., Ply- mouth, McNaughton, Lovingston & Griffin, Inc., Detroit, Lockhart and Lockhart, Inc., Jackson. Lansing Mortgage Co., Lansing. Moore Salt Co., St. Clair. Acceptance Metropolitan Builders, Detroit. John Harvey Co., Detroit. McComb and Sons Laundries, Inc., Lansing. ‘Color-Ad Corporation, Battle Creek. Pryale Construction Co., Pontiac. Office Lunch Co., Detroit. Ohmer Register Co., Detroit. Investment Share Corp., Detroit. Burke Engineering Co., Holland. Wolverine Barrel ‘Co., Bangor. Mullet Lake Orchard Co., Bay City. Sport Shop, Inc., Muskegon Heights. Detroit Eskimo Pie Co., Detroit. Wyandotte Portland Cement Co., De- troit. Platers, Inc., Hamtramck. Litchfield Farmers Mutual Telephone iCo., Litchfield. Grand River Lumber & Coal Co., Red- ord, Au Sable Holding Corp., Detroit. Hupp Investment Co., Detroit. Edward R. Ladew Co., Inc., Detroit. Royal Importing Co., Detroit. Battery Warehouse Corp., Detroit. Consolidated Bond Depositing Co., De- troit, Graham-Paige Co., of El Paso, De- troit. Buchanan Line Service, Detroit. Maclean Building Co., Detroit. Tunnicliffe ‘Shops, Inc., Grand Rapids. Minneapolis Threshing Machine Co., Bad Axe. Richey, Browne & Donald, Inc., De- troit. Variety Rolling Door Co., Detroit. Farmer Street Corp., Detroit. Trybuna Codzienna Publishing Co., Detroit. Model Baking Co., Kalamazoo. Pratt Building Co., Inc., Detroit. Three Oaks Auto Sales Co., Three Oaks. Beaver Coal 'Co., Bay City. Rice and Miller Co., Detroit. Racine Trunk Co., Detroit. Vogt Manufacturing Co., Saginaw. Germain-Warner Construction Co., Detroit. $475,000.00 HAVE YOU RECEIVED YOUR SHARE? This amount has been paid to our policyholders in dividends since organization in 1912. Share in these profits by insuring with us ue MICHIGAN SHOE DEALERS MUTUAL FIRE INSURANCE CO. Mutual Building LANSING, MICHIGAN Phone 20741 RETAIL GROCER Retail Grocers and Meat Dealers Associa- tion of Michigan. President—William Schultz, Ann Arbor. First Vice-President—Paul Schmidt, Lansing. Second Vice-President — Theodore J. Bathke, Petoskey. Secretary — Herman Hanson, Grand Rapids. Treasurer—O. H. Bailey, Sr., Lansing. Directors — Ole Peterson, Muskegon; Walter Loefler, Saginaw; John Lurie, Detroit; Clayton F. Spaulding, Battle Creek; Ward Newman, Pontiac. Let Us Consider Legislation Fairly and Equitably. The impression has gained ground that I do “not advocate legislation in business.” That is true if we say “class legislation” or such as is aimed at any one segment of our people as a punishment Or such as is designed to promote any one interest or set of interests. It is not true that I do not favor laws designed in keeping with our Constitution and the spirit thereof. “We, the people of the United States, in order to establish justice, insure do- mestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare and secure the blessings of liberty’—whatever is in keeping with that preamble J am for, unqualifiedly, wholeheartedly, as vigorously as my single poor strength and ability admit. 1 am for the unqualified right of any owner of a trade name to control the distribution thereof clear through to the consumer, regardless of the chan- nels through which it may travel; and I want this to be accomplished with- out the necessity of formal contract between seller and buyer, so long only as no general monopoly can result. Monopoly in my own name, identity, trademarks—these I regard as primal rights. JI feel that, properly interpret- ed, these already inhere in the fifth amendment to our Constitution, but have been obscured and sidetracked in some way—perhaps by the mass of special, class legislation we have en- acted, Thus I am heartily for the three laws lately enacted in ‘California at the instance of the associated mer- chants, but I shall review these brief- ly in a later article. I fear the consequences of all at- tempts to enact tax laws aimed at any class of distributors, ‘because the ulti- mate effect and consequence thereof it is almost impossible to foresee, Here you will note, I speak from the most purely selfish standpoint. I totally disregard the spirit of the “general welfare” clause of the Constitution. Let us regard the latest reports from Kentucky and Indiana. The Kentucky law prescribed a graduated scale of taxes from virtually nothing on sales of $400,000 a year and less, to 1 per cent. on sales of $1,000,000 and over, in addition to all other taxes. This was going to produce “millions of revenue” and, because it did not hit the small merchant, no little fellow listened to the appeals of the few big department stores in the state. But to date the product has been less than $100,000—and one report is that the cost of administration was more than $100,000. Now a new administration in Ken- tucky finds itself in urgent need of more revenue—a “condition common enough elsewhere to-day. The new MICHIGAN TRADESMAN governor examined the graduated sales tax and immediately saw where that could ‘be changed so as to produce the “millions”: originally to be taken only from the “big fellows.’ ‘The proposal now is to apply a gross sales tax of 2 per cent. on all business, with no exemptions; and now we see the thousands of small merchants up in arms in protest, because this law grew far beyond their original intentions. If, when legislation is proposed, we take careful thought, get outside our- selves, try to disregard our own inter- ests for the time being, and question ourselves earnestly and honestly, “Is this going to be for the general wel- fare?” we shall still make plenty of mistakes. If, having taken such thought and proceeded with such soul-searching, we take counsel with disinterested parties, asking them to think only of the general welfare, we shall neverthe- less enact plenty of laws which do not eventuate as we had expected. All experience in the everlasting job of attaining workable, equitable self- government go to show that only as we have our eye single to the general welfare can we hope to approximate wisdom in legislation. We find that “equality of opportunity” is attained and ibest preserved only as we enact such laws as we are willing to have apply to each and all of wus, whose tendency is to clear the way for all, with special privileges for none. And always must we beware that we do not seek relief in legislation for anything whatever which we can do for ourselves. [| take a hint on this from a story by J. E. Bullard, which I find in the Merchants Index for March 15: “The average American business man does not look upon conditions in Russia as being the most favorable un- der which to do business. Everything is under government control or regu- lation. We consider ourselves in this country much more advanced than the Russians. Yet rather than co-operate voluntarily, the ‘Government is being called upon to solve more and more problems. We are drifting into the conditions where all control and regu- lation will be in the hands of the Gov- ernment. Unless this trend is correct- ed, there is serious danger that the taxes that are adopted as emergency taxes now will become permanent.” You said it, Mr. Bullard—only you stopped too soon, The well known fact is that taxes are never repealed, foregone or reduced. Under one form or another, for one reason or another, by one subterfuge or others, taxes are always retained and always grow. Let us beware of setting up laws to control the other fellow. Those are always Frankensteins which turn on their sponsors unexpectedly and more or less disastrously. I almost omitted to say that news from Indiana indicates that the special chain tax law is proving disappointing as a revenue producer, is hitting many lines not contemplated and is other- wise running wild. Such are the basic reasons why I do not “advocate legislation in business.” Legislation for the general welfare, carefully considered and enacted spar- (Continued on page 30) April 6, 1932 sie EVER, 9S, PS a OAs. SSOLVEIN WATER A Big Sales Booster Once customers start eating Fleischmann’s Yeast, they visit your store oftener. For they buy this healthful food daily. Fleischmann’s Yeast also develops better appe- tites. Your customers buy more of your other products. And this product like other Stan- dard Brands products offers you all the ad- vantages of a modern merchandising plan. You buy in small quantities; you have no stocking problems. Your turnover is rapid— your profits quick! You sell, more groceries. It pays to recommend this product. FLEISCHMANN’S YEAST . 4 Product of STANDARD BRANDS INCORPORATED Dear Eddies Lots of grocers hold their trade because they're Known as reliable. Well, I guess SHREDDED WHEAT heiped 2a lot of ‘em to that reputation. 5S.W. has weathered competition for over 37 years and has seen lots of 'em come and go. Steady advertising and keeping up the quality have done it. Folks know they can rely on SHREDDED WHEAT. They know it's nothing but whole wheat in tasty, healthful form -- and who could ask for more than that? Yours, The “Uneeda Bakers” Man April 6, 1932 MEAT DEALER Michigan State Association of Retail Meat Merchants. President—Frank Cornell, Grand Rapids Vice-Pres.—E Y. Abbott, Flint. Secretary—E. J. La Rose, Detroit. Treasurer—Pius Goedecke, Detroit. Next meeting will be held in Grand Rapids, date not decided. Pioneer Meals Usually Built Around Meat, The average housewife today is probably a better shopper than she was two years ago to-day. Reduced bud- gets have necessitated economy in pur- chasing food and women have been studying marketing in an attempt to get the greatest possible value out of their food dollar. In one large city, there has been a movement which has drawn the atten- tion of residents of that city to: the fact that it is possible to serve good, substantial meals consisting mostly of plain foods, for am extremely low cost. A great many families have made a habit of serving one of these inexpen- sive meals—called pioneer meals—each week, and giving the difference be- tween the cost of this meal and the cost of the meal which they would ordinarily serve to some charitable or- ganization. Many other families have copies the menus for some of the pio- neer meals and followed them closely because they had to choose between serving some inexpensive meal or serve nothing. The meals which were eaten by the pioneers were usually built around meat. In those days it wasn’t as easy to serve meat as it is to-day, because it was difficult to get fresh meat at all seasons of the year, but even so a large percentage of pioneer breakfasts, dinners and suppers were built around meat in some form. There isn’t any doubt that an in- expensive meal has a great deal of ap- peal at the present time. Somehow or other, it doesn’t seem to make much difference whether a meal contains a lot of fancy foods or plenty of plain foods, just as long as the main dish is meat. And from every possible angle, meat demands a place in the menu to- day. It remains just as high in food value as it ever was. Its flavor is just as good as ever and its price is lower than it has been in years. Dealers find it helpful to feature at the present time the cuts of meat which are lowest in price. For example, some dealers have neck should distinctly specials on spareribs, bones, corned beef, brisket bacon, breast of veal, ham shanks and other similar cuts. In one store in which the writer spent some time recently, more than half of the orders in a given space of time were for these “economy cuts’ To carry the idea still further, it should help to be able to suggest men- us which can be prepared inexpensive- ly, menus which, of course, call for one of the meats which is on sale. Dealers can have such menus printsd at very little cost, and they should result ina good increase in sales of the items, and other items as well, For example, meat which appear on them. here is a menu for a dinner of which anyone could be proud: MICHIGAN TRADESMAN Old Fashioned Navy Bean Soup Fresh Spareribs, Baked Creamed Cauliflower Browned: Potatoes Banana Salad Cottage Pudding Such a menu as that could be printed up, with the approximate cost of each item and the cost of the entire meal. It may well be astonishing to some housewives to see that a meal as de- licious as that could be prepared for such a small sum of money. When properly prepared, the less- demanded cuts of meat are equally as delicious as the more popular cuts. Many of the most famous restaurants have built their reputations because they were able to serve these cuts in a delicious European cook- ery, for not confined to steaks and chops and roasts. Hungaran Irish stew, smoked pork and red cab- bage, sauerkraut testify to the appeal which inexpensive meats can have, if they are properly prepared. The success of one of the most popular restaurant systems in this country has been due in part, at least, to the fact that in these xes- taurants one could buy delicious corned beef and cabbage. As sales of the less-demanded cuts increase, demand for all cuts tends to equalize. This points in the direction of what the entire meat and live stock industry would consider perfection—a condition where demand for chucks, shanks, fancy meats, ribs, rounds and loins was relatively equal. No one cut would have to yield the profit for the entire carcass, the consumer would get Bread Butter manner. instance, is Famous goulash, dishes such as and spareribs and her steaks and chops at lower prices and profits would be easier to obtain. John Meatdealer. ——_ + > > ——_— More Use For the Hog. And now hog’s hair is to be used in house construction! This information comes to us from an interested reader who saw our re- port, last month, of the use of por- celain enamel. Sterilized, odorless hog hair, stitched between two sheets of kraft paper in which a layer of asphalt cements the two top sheets and the two bottom sheets together, has heen coming into use during the last two years as an insulating material in refrigeration trucks. It has to be odorless, and tests at Armour Institute have proved that on account of the food carried For truck use, it also it 1s, in such trucks. has the advantages of being among the lightest of all flexible insulaticns, and of not abosrbing water by cap'l- lary action. It is one of the relatively few materials that made a in 1931. The first real tusts of this new ma- terial as a building insulation are being made in school buildings in Boston. sales gain ——_.>. + —____— Grad? A Frankfurters New State Standard. Grand Rapids. April 2—In_ the Tradesman of March 30 tender the heading “Why Kill Demand For a Wonderful Product?’ several state- ments are made which are incorrect. The article as a whole, however, was timely and in the main the topic was well covered, We wish, however, to call your at- tention to the paragraph in which Mr. Casey says the following: “I, personal- ly, would like to see a standard for- mula set up for frankfurters and to penalize anyone who produced and of- fered for sale a frankfurter which would not conform to such a formula. I am sure if this could be accomplish- ed, which I know full well cannot be done, we would all see a great increase in the sale of frankfurters and at a satisfactory profit.” ‘Mr. Casey, whoever he may ‘be, was right in that such a formula, properly designated, would aid the sausage busi- ness. To that end the ‘Michigan Sausage Manufacturers Association caused to ‘be enacted, a law specifical- ly defining a sausage to be labeled “Grade A.” Labeling any product “Grade A” which does not conform to the formula covered by the law makes the manufacturer of such an article liable to punishment according to the provisions of the law. The enactment of this law is a re- cent accomplishment. Tihe people of the ‘State will, through various means, soon be appraised of this designation of sausage products, so that they may at all times be assured of being able to procure a frankfurter which meas- ures up to a certain standard, We call this to your attention, know- ing that you will be interested in any accomplishment which will tend to in- sure the consuming public better and more wholesome food. We enclose, herewith, for your per- usal, the second pamphlet of a series now being distributed throughout the State.. You will notice that copy of said law may be obtained by writing E. E. Doty, of Detroit, Michigan. We MR. GROCER for repeat sales get your supply of POSTMA’S DELICIOUS RUSK Fresh Daily POSTMA BISCUIT co. Grand Rapids, Ti Mich. sou 1882-1932 Anniversary 21 are sure that a copy would be appre- ciated ‘by Mr. Casey, if you care to iorward one to him. Herrud & ‘Company. —_—_—_.+ > Seek To “Stabilize” Overall Trade. Following the recent failure of over- all prices to be advanced after a 50 cents per dozen reduction by the lead- ing producers, a movement has been started by some manufacturers to im- prove present chaotic conditions in the trade. : The denim trade is being can- vassed for suggestions, the thought being advanced that since it has the smallest number of operators of any single branch of the entire industry, effort to stabilize conditions might logically start there. While some leaders are doubtful that anything can be done, it has been suggested that a committee composed of representatives from the fabric, cutting-up and chain store fields be appointed to work out a plan, —_++ > Just look for your business and quit worrying about the business outlook. Store, Offices & Restaurant Equipment G.R.STORE FIXTURE CO. 7 lonia Ave., N. W. Phone 86027 FRIGIDAIRE ELECTRIC REFRIGERATING SYSTEMS Pp RODUCT OF GENERAL moro WITH FAMOUS COLD P CONTROL AND HYDRATOR All Models on Display at Showroom F. C. MATTHEWS & CO. 18 E. Fulton St. Phone 93249 ONIONS e CAR LOTS OR LESS BEST QUALITY YELLOWS VINKEMULDER COMPANY GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN G. A. LINDEMULDER CO. Wholesale Grocer 1438-1440 Eastern Ave., S. E. Little Boy Blue Canned Goods The Wm. Edwards Co. Olives Libby, McNeil & Libby, Inc., Canned Goods Lin-dee Spices Grand Rapids, Mich. HARDWARE Michigan Retail Hardware Association. President—Chas. H. Sutton, Howell. Secretary—Harold W. Bervig. Treasurer—William Moore, Detroit. The Amateur Gardener as a Source of Business. With the advent of spring, the aver- age individual awakens to the glorious possibilities of planting something and watching it grow. The amateur gar- dener who buys a packet of radish or lettuce seed for five or ten cents may not look like a big purchaser. Yet he represents potentialities that are often unrealized. Seed sales are small sales. Most iback-yard gardeners limit themselves to a few favorite vegetables. The hardware dealer who sells only what the customoer asks, is not apt to add much to his turnover. But the wide- awake hardware dealer who realizes the opportunity open to him can often sell a great deal. ‘Here is where a good many hard- ware salesmen make a bad mistake. The average back-yard gardener is hopeful but apologetic. ‘He is apt to make a jest of his purchase. ‘Really, it is cheaper to buy your vegetables from the store,” he may say, or “Ten cents’ worth of seed to produce a half cent’s worth of radishes.” And the un- thinking salesman promptly laughs and murmurs, “That's about right, isn’t it.” That is the big mistake. For the apologetic purchaser—though he may not realize it himself—craves encour- agement. JI remember one hardware dealer who was himself an enthusiastic gardener.. He had a rather different response for the apologetic jocularity of the customer who asked for a packet of lettuce seed. “Tt all depends,” he said. “I’ve had good luck with my garden. And so has Joe Brown. You know Joe? Of course Joe’s made a hobby of it. He uses fertilizers, and has a pretty com- plete line of tools—oh, maybe he has $5 or $10 invested in equipment. But you ought to see the garden stuff he raises. He makes money on his in- vestment and enjoys himself and the outdoor work is just enough to keep him fit. ‘Say, there’s nothing like a half hour or so in a backyard garden to quiet one’s nerves after a hard day. Then he went on to talk about this and that fellow gardener, his favorite methods of growing this or that vege- table, how it paid to cultivate thor- oughly and how cultivation was made easy by having the right equipment. The upshot being that the customer spent in the course of the season a good deal nearer $10 than 10 cents, and got real results from his back yard plot, as well as a lot of very real sat- isfaction. You can’t laugh at your prospect’s hobby and expect him to spend money on it—no, not even if he laughs at it himself, But you can, after encouraging him in a general way, do a great deal to develop additional sales. For instance, you can suggest that he try some of the newer vegetables, or some other flowers than those he has planned to grow. Then you can urge fertilizer. Then, too there’s the matter of the right kind of tools to use. And, later, MICHIGAN TRADESMAN there’s the watering can and the gar- den hose, The initial seed packet paves the way for a lot of sales-making suggestions on the part of the alert _ salesman. You can’t make all these sales at once. One wide-awake dealer adopted a different method. He made mental note of every back-yard gardener among his customers. And when he saw the man again, he asked how the garden was getting along. Not very well—perhaps it needed cultivating. Tired of carrying pails of water. How about a sprinkling can or a garden hose? Bugs getting at the rose bushes. Here was the very thing for them, cheap and easily applied. A follow-up of this sort will make quite a lot of additional sales in the course of the season. ‘Window displays of seed packets, garden tools and accessories are help- ful in developing business. These lines should be shown a little ahead of the actual planting season. A bit of green or of something growing is a great help in making such a display effective. Here is a suggestion which many dealers have found helpful. (Get a num- ber of long, flat boxes, a couple of inches deep, and fill them with good black loam. Then plant them with seeds in such a design that the green sprouts will spell a word or a phrase. “Our ‘Seeds Grow,” is a good slogan for a window display of seed packets and garden tools. Corn is about as good as anything, but grass or any of the grains will do. Plan your seed boxes so that you will have the green sprouts coming up just when you need them for a display. If they grow too long, it is apt to spoil the effect. ‘The ‘fertilizer business will pay for pushing. If a back-yard gardener tells you his vegetables last year were a failure or his flowers were weak and spindly, ten to one enquiry will dis- close that he fed no fertilizer what- ever to the exhausted soil. Study the subject of fertilizer yourself, and be in a position to tell the gardener just what he needs for certain crops. Flowers, especially, have their prefer- ences, and it pays to understand these. The more you know about garden-. ing in a practical sense, the better fitted you are to sell things to gar- deners. From now until the beginning of June, window displays can occasional- ly feature garden tools and allied lines. You can begin with a display of seeds and tools. A little later you can re- peat, stressing the idea that the best results are secured by the gardener who is properly equipped for the work, Later, you can devote a display to lawn mowers, lawn rakes, turf edgers, weed cutters, etc. Still later you can feature lawn seats, lawn swings and strictly summer lines. You can work in fertilizers and garden hose and ac- cessories where you see fit. Displays can be helped out by what may be called decorative accessories. Thus, a display featuring garden hose or lawn mowers can ‘be made more ef- fective by carpeting the floor of the window with green turf. Naturally, the dealer who has an in- telligent understanding of gardening, horticulture, fruit growing or similar activities has a distinct advantage in catering to this class of trade. But even if your basic knowledge in re- spect to these matters is weak, it is not difficult to give the subject a little April 6, 1932 study and thereby better equip your- self to meet your customers. (Here, as everywhere else in the hardware busi- ness, knowing your goods is essential. Victor Lauriston. COLL ROSS ay ISN WS SS LKGESS 4 rt PHONE 65106 New COYE AWNINGS will give it that clean, fresh look that attracts business. Write for samples and prices. CHAS. A. COYE, INC. How does YOUR STORE look to the passerby? GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN Plain Bearing and Hyatt Bearing. Water Ballast Lawn Rollers Four sizes carried in stock. Ask your dealer. Write for catalog. LANSING-CO. Lansing, Mich. Are you one of the thousands of merchants that are neglecting to look at their insurance costs for an extra profit? This is one item of expense that is often forgotten in reducing overhead. The Fed- eral Mutuals have played an im- portant part in helping mer- chants reduce operating costs so that their business will show a greater profit. You can still carry the same amount of fire, wind- EXTRA PROFIT? storm and hail protection—but at substantial savings ranging from 30 to 40 per cent. The Federal Mutuals after 32 years of opera- tion have saved merchants over 40 million dollars. If your prop- erty meets the rigid requirements of Federal inspection, you too can save on your insurance costs. We will welcome your com- munication for complete details. FEDERAL HARDWARE & IMPLEMENT MUTUALS Retail Hardware Mutual Fire Ins. Co. Minneapolis, Minnesota Hardware Dealers Mutual Fire Ins. Co. Stevens Point, Wisconsin Minnesota Implement Mutual Fire Ins. Co. Owatonna, Minnesota April 6, 1932 STRUGGLE THAT IS TO COME. Grocers Must Soon Face a Great Problem.* As I look over the names and’ faces of the members of this Association I am surprised at the few I recognize among you who were active when I was your president. I recall that those days were long ago. It was in 1917 and 1918. I was elected your president in 1916 in this very city. Among the members then were such men as De- Batts, Neilson, McMorris, Christiansen and others like them who have since passed to the Great Beyond. Mrs. Lake, too, has joined their ranks. We miss their faces, but their words of cheer, courage and the high principles for which they stood lead us on and lend hope to our cause, even in these dark hours of discouragement. How conditions have changed since then! Then we were in the midst of the world’s greatest war. Destruction and waste existed everywhere. Our sons, with those of our allies, were going forth in countless thousands. Only one object guided our people and John A. Lake. that was united action against the enemy. Prices had no upward limit. But conditions have changed in these few short years. We are now paying for the orgy. Our friends of those days whose appeals we heeded now want us to pay their bills by a general cancellation of debts when we are loaded with debt ourselves. Besides the loss of life and the general disrup- tion of business and industries, we find ourselves and posterity mortgaged for generations to come. It will take the assessed valuation of that vast section West of the Mississippi to pay for war and the pensions to come. Jf this is the price of victory, I am happy that we were not defeated. This is not all, however. The auto- mobile has taken the place of the horse. Great bands of concrete link our principal cities. Trucks haul most of our freight. The interurban has ceased to exist and the railroad is putting up a last desperate fight for existence. Most small independent factories, banks, newspapers, etc., have given up the fight and become a part of a great *Address before Grocers and Meat Dealers convention, at Battle Creek, by John A. Lake, of Petoskey. MICHIGAN TRADESMAN system of monopolies whose ever tightening hold is slowly strangling cur rural communities and robbing us of our wealth, our initiative and even the liberties and opportunities which we, as Americans, hold so dear. All of this is done in the name of progress and economy. Progress for a few and economy for the rest of us. In addressing you I am speaking to one of the organizations which stands for free and independent business and a fair opportunity in life for all—one of the organizations which stands be- tween opportunity ‘and legalized com- mercial slavery. You live, work and die in the community you serve. You personally know and have an interest in every man, woman and child in your community. Their success is your pleasure and their sorrows your mis- fortune. You aid every worthy enter- prise—church, school and home—and every benevolent enterprise is benefited by your contributions. Your test of a man is the principle for which he stands and not a cold blooded cash transaction, which some competitors call efficiency. Let me urge you to carry on this fight. America has been made great and strong by men of in- dependent thought and action. You are fighting individually for the same principle that our colonies fought for in the Revoluntionary days and your victory will make America _ greater. Your defeat will rob our young men of the inherited right of an opportunity for themselves and make them slaves of a great system, which, although it becomes rich, ultimately makes Amer- ica poor. My talk to-day will not cover the requirements which are necessary for success in the retail grocery and meat business, for, as you know, the Good Book says, “A childi shall lead them.” When my sons failed to follow in my footsteps, I sold out the business and went with them, selling drugs and the sidelines which go with them. How- ever, your problems are our problems and an attack on you is felt by us. We both stand for the same principles and while conditions may have changed there are certain fundamentals which every successful business must pos- sess and without which it cannot suc- ceed. Some of which I shall mention here. The selection of merchandise is im- portant to any retail store. Quality is the biggest factor in success. Goods well bought are half sold and there is as much money made in the buying as in the selling of merchandise. Turnover is important and it is the only place where actual profit can be made, for no profit exists until goods are sold and the money is in the cash register. Freight is a part of the cost of your merchandise and should ‘be added to the cost before marking. Your mark- up should be on the retail price, be- cause all expense is figured from your sales at retail. Credit is the biggest problem of the retail merchant. There are thousands of good worthy men out of work to- day through no fault of their own, men who will make good if times im- prove and they are given a chance. It seems too bad to make a county charge of such accounts. Such a method de- stroys the independent spirit of a man, for once becoming a county charge it becomes easier thereafter. It is also quite obvious. that merchants cannot carry this burden alone, therefore it behooves us to be careful in the ex- treme. Were all stores service stores, as a few years ago, it would materially help conditions to-day and we would feel the depression much less. Our friends, the chain stores, however, have introduced the cold blooded sys- tem of measuring a man’s value by the cash in his pocket. Our people have persisted in patronizing them. Many of us are carrying accounts far beyond our means to do so. Thousands of our merchants are down and out because of it. I see no way to handle the situa- tion except by county aid, even though it encourages pauperism, makes prop- erty worth less or confiscates it through taxation. The little leaks are numerous in busi- ness such as breakage, lost accounts, theft, spoiled goods, shrinkage, lost time, forgotten charges, excessive use of light, heat and water. They are the unseen losses which lower our profits and must be checked: closer to-day than ever before. Competition to-day is cold blooded. Nothing counts but the dollar. I fail to get this feeling towards my fellow man or see its benefit. Big corpora- tions have sprung up with retail stores by the thousands. Their trucks operate on State free highways. They pay star- vation wages only for the very few active years of a man’s life, then he 23 becomes a county charge. They make or break prices, render no local service, carry no local insurance, have no phones and advertise only that the newspaper will be silent. They are experts on store display, selling Na- tionally advertised goods at cost and tax dodging. In my judgment their influence on the country in forcing the producers of the farm and factory down to ruinous production prices have an indirect effect on labor and the farmer. Such business methods are more to blame for the present depres- sion than either the war or our ex- travagant expenditure of money. It is such institutions as these that are ruin- ing our rural communities, transferring our wealth to the large cities and rob- bing our young men of just opportuni- ties and these must necessarily make of us a second Europe within a few generations unless checked. Gentle- men, it is this competition that you must face, but fight it to the last in the interest of free America and if that sad time comes, and it sometimes looks as if it may, let us take one last manful look at the Stars and Stripes and Furl that banner softly, slowly, Treat it gently—it is Holy— For it droops above the dead— Touch it not, unfold it never, Let it drop there, furled forever, For its people’s hopes are dead. Michigan has been most for- tunate in having a trade paper through all these years that has led the fight for the independent (Continued on page 30) GRAND RAPIDS C.W. MILLS Paper Co. 204-206 E’sworth Avenue 1 Block South and 1 Block West of Union Station MICHIGAN Certainteed Roofing, DISTRIBUTORS FOR Mansfield Cord Tires, Vortex Soda Fountain Service, Reach Sporting Goods. JOBBERS OF Wrapping Paper, Paper Containers, Crepe Paper, Toilet Paper, Paper Napkins and Towels, Woodenware, Cordage, Clothesline, Brooms and Brushes. Printed Sales Books, Gloves and Mittens, Hosiery, Pipes, Purses, and many other specialties. Ohio Blue Tip Matches Burts Drinking Cups, OUR AIM Is To Serve and Help the Retailer To Succeed. Unless We Succeed In This—We Will Not Be Successful. reper ee ene a aati po a erA 24 HOTEL DEPARTMENT How the Mojave Desert Looked To Verbeck. Victoryville, Cal, March { $ and els hac Saeurar Heidenbrand clan has forward oo Tt §. itr _ portable mation to pecting me t summer make 3 are tak Preston started Californi One of my acknowledgment, am unable to read it—t to some Swami or othe oriental interpreter, He says: “I do want t to be mad at me, but nobody he seems to be able to tell from his communication whether he is «” Or not. George Dauchy, manager of Warm Friend Tavern, Holland, is sending out some classy letters announcing that Sunday dinners are going to be served at a dollar each, and that the piece de resistance will be carved out of a 24% pound milk-fed chicken. Seems reasonable enough. The Pullman ‘Co. is restrained from making an extra charge when two per- sons occupy the berth simultaneously. The Interstate Commerce Commission which made the ruling probably went on the assumption that any time two people decide to occupy a Pullman berth jointly they are motivated by dire necessity for the most rigid econ- omy, although it would be going a little bit too far to infer that anybody so doing could possibly be in a “straightened” condition. Now a party of friends, in several autos, are starting me on my way East assuring me of most amicable in- tentions, but convincing me that it is a well-planned act of deportation. But I am soaking in the sunshine and just sawing wood, for where in the wide, wide world has nature better demon- strated her ability in the florticulture line, A trip into the desert at this time of the year is never time wasted. Out here where spaces are vast and the air has the quality of a first-class tonic, some of the cobwebs of this too-exact- ing existence are automatically swept away. It is a rest just to look at the scenery without a foreground of bill- boards, telephone poles and_ wires. Snow capped mountains sparkle rays of light down through this peaceful canyon and keep one reminded that Time is a nagging old woman who can make city folks rustle around like a nest of crazy ants, but out here his pestiferous voice is lost, Even our car seemed to sense that Time had some- how become less important. As there were many things to see we were bust- ing no. traffic regulations, but just moving along, There were even plans for stopping en route, and investigat- ing the contents of thermos bottles, and incidental lunch baskets. Includ- ed in the itinerary of scenery we find, for instance, an old Indian cemetery where the tablet tells us that two white men and scores of red faces are resting together in one happy hunting ground. Somebody says that no desert trip is complete without some such visitation as this. There is always a particular feeling of awe and reverence, vague longing to have lived and seen the MICHIGAN TRADESMAN of straight track is curves combined in make sixteen com- ially marvelous ircular Bridge, deep, the which passed co - one + t eyes. A wond from fr on every now capped every where Is on the ylic and so observatory It was locat- r Thaddeus C. t, after whom Hotel and Restaurant Equipment H. Leonard & Sons 38-44 Fulton St., W. GRAND RAPIDS, MICH. tropics. any ot hoosegow is pluncerers. Michigan hac tofore, there would be oodles o a everywher lB: AERC TIIE SHE Nearly everyone fornia asks b observatory. Wilson, which to the summit, or, line of Mt. Lowe. Iti Pacific Electric Line, ts miles distant from Los very near the beautiful dena. All the way there you are pass- ing through citrus groves, with ma- turing oranges and lemons in great profusion. Altadena is the terminus of the surface line. At the surface terminal you are transferred to a car on an incline railroad and rise 1,254 feet in a journey of about half a mile. On this journey, which is safe in every way, you are thrilled with the scenic grandeur as the valleys below unfold Warm Friend Tavern Holland, Mich. Is truly a friend to all travelers. All room and meal rates very reasonable. Free private parking space. GEO. W. DAUCHY, Mer. April 6, 1932 HOTEL OJIBWAY The Gem of Hiawatha Land ARTHUR L. ROBERTS Deglman Hotel Co. Enjoy the delightful Govern- ment Park, the locks, the climate and drive. Sault Ste. Marie Michigan Park Place Hotel Traverse City Rates Reasonable—Service Superb —Location Admirable. GEO. ANDERSON, Mgr. ALBERT J. ROKOS, Ass’t Mgr. New Hotel Elliott STURGIS, MICH. 50 Baths 50 Running Water European D. J. GEROW, Prop. 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 ee Universally conceded to be one of the best hotels in Michigan. Good rooms, comfortable beds, ex- cellent food, fine cooking, perfect service. Hot and Cold Running Water and Telephone in every Room. $1.50 and up 60 Rooms with Bath $2.50 and $3 HENRY M. NELSON, Manager in their ever widening panorama. This incline railway is one of the world’s greatest engineering feats, and in all the thirty-three years of its operation there has never been a single accident of any description, At Echo Mountain, the top of the incline, we find the Lowe observatory, which the writer visited on the evening of his return trip, and through the courtesy of the attendants had his first opportunity of inspecting some of the celestial wonders at close range—the Moon and the Pleiades. Here the last and most picturesque part of the journey begins after you change cars and take a trolley ride of three and one-half miles suspended twixt heaven and earth. In this short distance you make 127 curves, pass over eighteen trestles and gradually climb to an elevation of nearly 5,000 feet above the Pacific sea level. Bridg- ing rugged canyons, where vou can peer down a depth of 1,500 feet, skim- ming the sheer walls of the cliff on a roadbed of solid granite, blasted out of the mountain side. The view, with its constant changes, is sublime and awesome, with the valleys below and the mountain peaks towering above you. From this point of vantage you can view the ladscape of four counties and ‘Catalina Island, forty miles away. CODY HOTEL IN THE HEART OF THE CITY OF GRAND RAPIDS Division and Fulton RATES $1.50 up without bath $2.50 up with bath CODY CAFETERIA IN CONNECTION Occidental Hotel FIRE PROOF CENTRALLY LOCATED Rates $2.00 and up EDWARD R. SWETT, Mar. Muskegon *5- Michigan Columbia Hotel KALAMAZOO Good Place To Tie To “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. ND RR cP hs Bh aN URGES SEN CE Nik oA ATIC HN NED He tH j i seen ntesaktoscort ersten ree io NaN NIREE OE RATE SRT SERRE ART STENT SSSA ISSA April 6, 1932 Mt. Lowe was named. The observ- atory is located at an altitude of 3,500 feet and the site is ideal for as- tronomical work. When I returned to California on my last Michigan trip I was equipped with a letter of introduction to Hugh ©. Corbett, secretary of the South- west Los Angeles ‘Chamber of Com- merce, since which time [ have be- come very much attached to a very in- teresting family. Now comes forward one John P, Hughes, a resident of Seattle, and a brother of Mrs. Corbett, claiming relationship to me, on ac- count of being born in the same Wis- consin county, and [ admit 7 rather like the idea. Mr. Hughes nominated me as his scout and guide at first sight and we have been doing a lot of ex- ploring together. Later on I expect to inflict my observations on Trades- man readers. This interesting gentle- man spent several years on _ the Hawaiian Islands and knows very many people with whom [ ‘became ac- quainted during my visit there several years ago, and albeit is a very patient listener. I have to acknowledge very many courtesies which he has bestow- ed upon me. California’s auto fleet now consists of approximately two million cars—a caravan big enough to take the entire state joy riding at one time, with room in the back seat for all the people of Arizona, Nevada and Idaho, not to mention the army of “back seat driv- ers.” Based on the latest reports of the license bureau, the state has two passenger automobiles for every five persons, or at a ratio of two for each average family. When one has an op- portunity of negotiating the wonderful highways out here, this large quota of cars is easily understandable; also the excess of traffic accidents, The delay in the United States Sen- ate in confirming the nomination of Judge Wilkerson, of Chicago, who was advanced by presidential appointment to the court of appeals, seems to me almost inexcusable, and very poor politics. Judge Wilkerson refused to confirm an agreement entered into by Al. Capone, chief of Chicago gangsters, with the prosecuting attorney, whereby a phony sentence would be given him, and insisted that he “toe the mark,” as it were. Now the auxiliary gang of bandits, known as labor leaders are making a fight on the worthy judge, presumably due to some compact be- tween the outlaws, in the hope of as- suaging his sentence. Will the citizen- ry stand for such actions on the part of the Nation’s law makers? I hardly think so. Some hotel man suggests that the deadly “third rail” in the old-time bar- room has been systematically convert- ed into brass musical instruments. Such being the case non-observers of Volstead legislation may ‘be auto- matically transferred to the martyr class instead of being branded as scoff- laws, especially if these instruments happen to be saxaphones. The American Hotel Association has launched a prodigious fight for a liberalization of prohibition legislation, but for the life of me I cannot see how they can possibly get anywhere with it. Promotion and education cannot possibly compete with hypocrisy and graft, To a dead moral certainty a very considerable majority of Nation- al legislators are patrons of bootleggers and indulge in alcoholic absorption to a more or less degree. But if there is any so-called “liberalization” the boot- legger will be deprived of his calling and his easy dollars will be no longer employed in advancing the cause of “temperance.” Some years ago a movement was started in the Michigan associations along this line, but some of the older heads, among them the MICHIGAN TRADESMAN late Mr. Statler, advanced the idea that the fourteenth and fifteenth amend- ments, still alive on the statute books had fallen into disuse for the reason that effort had ceased along the line of enforcement, which is an actual fact. “Stirring up the animals” is bad prac- tice. America is now the only coun- try which observes prohibition to the slightest degree. Not all countries have repealed such legislation, but all of them, with the exception of the United States, have ceased to observe them. Anti-prohibitionists may have their own ideas; this is my own. The A. H. A. voices its opposition, also, to advertising in railway time- tables, questioning its value. Most ho- tel men are poor judges of good, prac- tical methods of advertising. If I was operating an establishment for the sale of barber supplies, I would con- sider myself justified in using barbers’ journals to exploit my goods, but if I was simply “barbering” J would hard- ly feel that I could reach prospective customers through the same channel. Why not a timetable or similar pub- lication that is seen by the very people we look upon as possible patrons? Now information comes to me to the effect that Fred. Davidge has been appointed manager of Hotel Tuller, Detroit, succeeding Lloyd McGregor. Mr. Davidge has been on the Tuller staff for several years. One of his first moves was to restore Harold A. Sage to an executive position. Other changes are being considered. Lloyd Neufer, proprietor of Hotel Traverse, Traverse City, has bought the Peoples’ Savings Bank building in that city and will begin alterations at once to convert it into a modern ho- tel with both public and private dining rooms and two floors of guest rooms. Among the changes will be a passenger elevator, Kohn Bros., who formerly owned Hotel Arlington at Coldwater, but who purchased Hotel Keefer, at ‘Hillsdale, some time ago, are making extensive improvements on same. Hillsdale is one of a very few Michigan cities which is not over-hoteled, and the Kohns are very satisfactory and popu- lar operators, They will, no doubt, be justified in making the considerable improvements they have in contempla- tion. Work on the rehabiliation of ‘Hotel Kerns, at Lansing, is said to be pro- gressing satisfactorily. It is always a substantial evidence of good intentions when a hotel man keeps in vision the requirements of his guests and lives up to same, The annual “cooking school” of the Michigan Hotel Association will take place at the Michigan State College, Lansing, next week, April 14 to 16. Not only will the toothsome apple pie and grandma’s raised buckwheat cakes be discussed, but a lot of other incidentals in hotel life, will be “treated.” The list of orators seems to be overwhelm- ing. I will confess I would like to look in on the boys—and the girls, for that matter—and see what they are up to. W. E. Snyder, former manager of Hotel Seward, Detroit, has been made catering manager of Hotel Netherland Plaza, Cincinnati, Mr. Snyder, for some years interested in Michigan ho- tel work, has ‘been in the harness ever since he was 11 years old, beginning at Hotel Oliver, South Bend. Frank S, Verbeck. —_+->___ The reason economic problems aren’t solved is ‘because those who have full shocks of hair ican’t feel much in- terested in cures for baldness. United Commercial Travelers Take Drastic Step. Detroit, April 5—Following an ad- dress by Mayor Frank Murphy the team work group of the United Com- mercial Travelers at their regular Sat- urday luncheon at the Detroit Leland Hotel decided to take militant and ag- gressive steps on the pertinent political issues facing Detroit and ‘Michigan citizens. This organization, in Detroit, repre- sents approximately 1,000 of the high- est type of commercial salesmen and business executives. Heretofore, it has confined its program within the or- ganization, but it now plans to inject itself into political issues in a non- partisan manner, Those effecting the traveling men will receive the fullest attention. The team work group have decided that salesmanship is no longer a mat- ter of ‘“back-slapping’ and “story- telling” but that under present eco- nomic conditions it is a question of the ability of both merchants and the pub- lic to buy merchandise and that arti- ficial stimulations of trade have no basic value whereas this organization because of its numerical strength and intelligent leadership can best help business by taking part in the political issues that will tend to increase the potential buying power of the so-called ultimate consumer. The team work group is making an exhaustive study of the present day taxation problems especially as they affect the commer- cial travelers and this subject will be the topic of discussion at the next group meeting, Saturday April 9. The people of the State of Michigan are at present paying nearly $500,000,- 000 per year in taxes. The quickest way to stimulate ‘business is to effect a sav- ing of at least 20 per cent. of this amount which would automatically in- crease the buying power of Michigan citizens by $100,000,000., To start their entry into this pro- gram the team work group has wired to Senators Couzens and Vandenberg as follows: “One thousand United Commercial Travelers in Detroit emphatically pro- test against the proposed tax of three per cent. on automobiles.” The traveling men are, perhaps, the largest users of automobiles and ac- cessories of any group in tthe country. The 20,000 commercial salesmen of this great State buy $20,000,000 worth of automobiles alone each year, which are driven 600,000,000 miles, At fifteen miles per gallon average over 40,000,- 000 gallons of gas is purchased in Michigan alone by traveling men each year. This means Michigan traveling men pay $1,200,000 im gasoline taxes and $300,000 for license and weight taxes. Now it is proposed not only to cripple Michigan’s largest industry, but ito add $600,000 more to the taxes of the Commercial Travelers in the State of Michigan. Arrangements are now in progress for another territorial team work meet- ing at Grand Rapids for April 16. A. G. ‘Guimond,, Jurisdiction Director. Grocers Support Bank Bill. Executives of the National Whole- sale Grocers’ Association ‘went on record last Friday in support of Con- gressional bills intended to protect merchants against losses due to the failure of National banks in which their customers have accounts. Gro- cery jobbers, it is claimed, lost heavily during the last two years through in- ability to collect om checks drawn by customers on banks which failed be- fore the checks were presented for pay- ment. Under the proposed laws the holders of such checks would be treat- ed as preferred creditors in instances where receivers are appointed for National banks. 25 The Pantlind Hotel - The center of Social and Business Activi- ties in Grand Rapids. Strictly modern and fire - proof. Dining, Cafeteria and Buffet Lunch Rooms in con- nection. 750 rooms — Rates $2.50 and up with bath. YOU ARE CORDIALLY invited to visit the Beauti- ful New Hotel at the old location made famous by Eighty Years of Hostelry Service in Grand Rapids. 400 Rooms—400 Baths Menus in English MORTON HOTEL ARTHUR A. FROST Manager : i { ¥ : MICHIGAN TRADESMAN Arril 6, 1932 DRUGS Michigan Board of Pharmacy. President—Clare F. Allen, Wyandotte. Vice-Pres.—J. W. Howard Hurd, Flint. Director—Garfield M. Benedict, San- dusky. Examination Sessions—Three sessions are held each year, one in Detroit, one in the Upper Peninsula and one at Ferris Institute, Big Rapids. This year’s Big Rapids session will be held June 21, 22 and 23. Michigan State Pharmaceutical Association. : President—J. C. Dykema, Grand Rapids. First Vice-President—F. H. ‘Taft, Lan- sing. Second Vice-President—Duncan Wea- ver, Fennville. Secretary—R. A. Turrell, Croswell. Treasurer—Clarence Jennings, Law- rence. Finding a Manager For the Drug Store. There comes the time when, for one reason or another, the druggist con- templates engaging a man as manager for his store. Perhaps he feels he de- serves a little more time for other things; maybe he even has in mind retiring, selling the store if an attrac- tive offer presents. Maybe there are a lot of other matters to attend to; likely, too, the druggist is desirous of going on some ocean trip. At any rate, now there is confronting the problem of selecting the proper individual to whom to assign the responsibility. To where to turn? That is the question. Should Mr. Druggist go outside and snare some manager from another store? From a drug shop where the desired individual is known to have made a success, as manager? Maybe this particular manager has been un- usually successful. Perhaps, even, his success covers a long term of years, and in one particular establishment. Maybe this manager has been an em- ploye there for a considerable number of years. Perhaps he has grown up with the business there, so to speak. Maybe, in fact, he has worked there ever since he started in the drug store business. Well, in any case, he has proved himself a successful manager. And his abilities look desirable to a certain drug store owner who wishes to unburden himself a little bit. When Mr. Druggist starts contract- ing, however, he may find that this manager is not going to chuck his job so very lightly right over his head, for something not so secure. Why leave a shop where he has held sway for such a long term of years, where he is a fixture, so to speak; where he knows everything from A to Z, forward and backward; where he holds the respect and reverence of the owner; where his job looks like something: where he belongs three; where he has a rightful place? Why gamble all of a sudden? Why take a chance in place of a sure thing? Mr. Successful Drug-Store Manager can’t see the offer at all. Just nothing to it. However, the manager - scouting druggist is insistent. He is willing to unloosen his purse strings a little bit. He is ready to tempt, to lure, for men with feather in cap are deserving of something attractive. The manager sees a little light but he demands a contract. He is not going to take on a job where he might be let out on very short notice and find himself out in the cold. No; he has been on the earth a little too long to know some- thing about that. Well, when a drug store owner needs a manager, unusually so, and when some successful manager is tempted, unusually so, something is likely to happen. There may ‘be a severance of services in favor of another establish- ment. And so be it. However, when such an_ episode evolves we do not usually find suc- ceeding events developing in concord with one’s. anticipations. Decidedly not. Far too often there is conflict with desires. Mr. Manager from an- other place is not always the solution to the problem. Things, somehow, just don’t shape up the right way. For one thing, the manager from another drug store, is now faced with a new set of problems. The fact that he has been unusually triumphant in a certain establishment does not guar- antee similar success elsewhere, albeit he be possessed of all the desirable requisites that go to make an efficient manager. And all the more so is this when the enticed manager is of that old- fashioned type. This man has left a store where he was at home; where he “knew everything”, mind; knew enough about things, about customers, the community, the store’s sales pol- icy, the employes there, the products sold; about the requirements in all phases of the establishment in general. Can this be said also for the place where he has now assumed manager- ship? Hardly! In fact, there may be a complete about-face. There are new conditions, different conditions, differ- ent problems. An entirely different class of customers, in all likelihood. New faces, different store policy; new merchandising practices. And it all may be so out of key with this new manager who is used to things as they were in the store wherefrom he de- parted. Somehow the ship simply doesn’t steer as it should. Mr. Manager may be at a loss now solving problems. And he can’t get over his ideas so readily as he did in that other shop. Something’s out of joint all right. Mr. Manager just doesn’t feel as he would like to. Nope; things don’t run the way he would like. And, to add to his misery, he finds the owner trying to butt in, perhaps. Want him to operate the store contrary to his own ideas. The wish doesn’t take, so we find both miserable; the drug store owner senses now that he can’t get the necessary co-operation from his new manager— interference resented. Do you see any harmony here? Let us now jump, however, to the individual who has gotten his experi- ence from a number of drug stores, more than from only one, anyway. This sort of manager, we find, is more reasonable, more amenable to co-opera- tion, and would nct require the tempt- ing salary necessary to win over the manager of the old school type. Not that the latter is desirous of more money. The old-fashioned manager, or the manager functioning in one es- tablishment for a long term of years, simply does not desire to relinquish his position where he is known, appre- ciated, well-regarded. That is all very well. And there is much to be said in his favor. Now, the manager gaining his ex- perience from different drug stores is not so fixed in his ideas, as a rule; his experience will be more diversified. Very likely more headway can be made with him. Nor is it likely that a long- term contract is involved to employ him. It is one thing to employ a man- ager and another to fire him. Things somehow don’t crystallize happily for the drug store owner when he has bound himself to a manager who can- not make good in the new place. There is more latitude, assuredly, when en- gaging a manager of distributed ex- perience. However; let us consider the material right now available in your own. store. Very likely there is some man there deserving promotion to the manager- ship. You know enough of the men to have some reliable, dependable knowledge to go by. This cannot be said in the case of individuals procured from outside sources. You know enough of their abilities, their foibles, their character in general, their ambi- tions. The assistants now at work for you know the store, the community, the products sold, the community’s re- quirements. And the customers know your assistants. Your assistants are well versed, as a rule, with the store’s policy. They are well conversant with things as now operating in your estab- lishment. That is something well to bear in mind. Your assistants are familiar with the store’s problems. They are used to solving them as required. A man chosen from your present force for the managership is not likely to find him- self at a total loss as attends the re- sponsibilities of an utter outsider. The outsider must first find himself in the new place, adapt himself to new con- ditions, generally upsetting the entire schedule to which he has been so ac- customed. A man promoted from the ranks feels he is being appreciated, of course. For that reason he is sure to be all the more loyal and to help you to get over your plans. This man knows to a nicety just what the store needs to make it a success. You will find, too, that he is very agreeable to co-operate with you. This man has his future be- fore him right now; if you get the meaning in the sense implied. He has much to accomplish; his retention is dependent upon results developing, in your establishment; not upon results that have already developed, elsewhere! And, of course, there will be no long- term contract entailed. Is that some- thing? There is small cause for wonder when things are all out of key when comes in a stranger undertaking the drug store’s managership. Certain as- sistants may rightly reason they should have been selected. If some outsider with dictatorial methods tries to fasten his particular ideas onto the store, and onto the employes, with whom he has hardly become acquainted, we can Will She Be Pleased With Her Order ? Will the meat be appetizing? Lard firm? Everything so clean and neat that she will come back for more? You go a long way to assure this when you use KV E DELICATESSEN PAPER It is an excellent, all-around utility product —air- proof, moisture-proof, odorless and grease-resistant. Snowy white, pure and firm, reflects the best stand- ards of service in delicatessen, grocery and meat stores. Rolls, wall cartons or boxes. Let us send working sheets and information. Kalamazoo Vegetable Parchment Company Ky p= alamazoo PROTECTION PAPERS National Candy Co., Inc. MOTHERS DAY MAY 8 It Costs No More to Handle the Best Buy )OWN EY'S Feature Packages BETTER THAN EVER Distributed by PUTNAM FACTORY Grand Rapids, Mich. April 6, 1932 readily appreciate why things don’t materialize as desired. The drug store owner eager to find a manager should contemplate possi- bilities in his own store. Why turn to some distant field? The fact that a manager has been a glowing success in one store, may, or may not, mean any- thing, so far as your particular shop is concerned. What you want is a man- ager who will be successful in your store. Frank V. Faulhaber. SWORN STATEMENT FURNISHED THE POST OFFICE DEPARTMENT. Statement of the ownership, manage- ment, circulation, etc., of the Michigan Tradesman, published weekly at Grand Rapids, Michigan, required by the Act of Aug. 24, 1912. State of Michigan, ae County of Kent, ° 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.) B. 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 MICHIGAN TRADESMAN WHOLESALE DRUG PRICE CURRENT Prices quoted are nominal, based on market the day of issue. 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 5th day of April, 1932. (SEAL) Florence E. Stowe. Notary Public in and for Kent Co., Mich. (My commission expires Jan. 18, 1935.) —_—_- + —--- Man owes his growth, his energy, chiefly to that striving of the will that conflicts with difficulty, which we call effort. Easy, pleasant work does not make robust minds, does not give men a consciousness of their powers, does not train them to endurance, to per- severance, to steady force of will, that force without which all other acquisi- tions avail nothing. BROOKSIDE BRAND WHISK BROOMS ROTARY PRIZE Whisk AMSTERDAM BROOM CO. AMSTERDAM, N.Y. ALL STYLES AND PRICES Grand Rapids SPRING SPECIALTIES Marbles — Jacks — Rubber Balls Base Balls — Playground Balls Tennis Balls — Tennis Rackets Tennis Sundries — Golf Complete Sets Golf Balls — Golf Clubs — Golf Bags Golf Tees — Golf Practice Balls Sport Visors—Swim Tubes—Swim Animals Bathing Caps—Bathing Slippers—Swim Aids Sprayers — Rogers Paints — Paint Brushes Sponges — Chamois Skins — Electric Fans Soda Fountains and Soda Fountain Supplies Largest Assortment in our We have ever shown and only the Best Advertised Lines — We certainly invite your inspection. Lines now on display. Hazeltine & Perkins Drug Co. Sample Room Michigan 27 Acids Boric (Powd.)-. 11%@ 26 Boric (Xtal) -. 11%@ 26 €arbotic —._..... 36@ 43 Citeie 2. 40 @ 65 Muriatic ..__..._ 38%@ 10 Nitric .......... 9 @ 15 Oxalie 2.20 15 @ 25 Sulphuric ~------- 3%@ 10 Nartarie ......-__ 35@ 45 Ammonia Water, 26 deg...06 @ 18 Water, 18 deg... 54%@ 13 Water, 14 deg... 5%@ 13 Carbonate -..... 20 @ 25 Chloride (Gran.) 08 @ 18 Balsams Copaiba -~.------ 50@ 80 pe ee 2 00@2 20 Tole 22 1 50@1 80 Barks Cassia (ordinary). 25@ 30 Cassia (Saigon) -. 40@ 60 Sassafras (pw. 45c) @ 35 << Cut (powd.) see eee 15@ 25 Berries Cubeb 2 @ 7 Bish 222 @ 2% duniper —.......... 10@ 20 Prickly Ash -_-... @ 650 Extracts Licorice, box -. 1 50@2 00 Licorice. powd. -. 50@ 60 Flowers Arnica —........_ 75@ 80 Chamomile Ged.) 35@ 45 Chamomile Rom. @ Gums Acacia, Ist ~-._. @ 60 Acacia, 2nd —---- @ 465 Acacia, Sorts _... 20@ 30 Acacia, Powdered 25@ 35 Aloes (Barb Pow) 35@ 45 Aloes (Cape Pow.) 25@ 35 Aloes (Soc. Pow.) boos 80 Asafoetida 50 60 Fow. _.... @ 7 Camphor 80@1 00 uaiae ....... ee @ 60 Guaiac, pow’d --.- @ 7 OR @ 90 Kino, powdered__ @1 00 Myrrh @ 60 Myrrh, powdered @ 175 Opium, powd. 21 00@21 50 Opium, gran. 21 00@21 50 Shellac, Orange. 25@ 35 Shellac, White ~. 35@ 45 Tragacanth, pow. 1 25@1 50 Tragacanth -... 1 75@2 25 Turpentine ~. @ 2 Insecticides Arsenic @ Blue Vitriol, bbl. @ 0 Blue Vitriol, Bordea. Mix Dry 114%@ 21 Hellebore, White powdered ______ 20@ 30 Insect Powder__ w@ 40 Lead Arsenate, Po. 11144@26 Lime and Sulphur y 6a 88 Paris Green -. 23144@43% Leaves Buchu -__. ee @ 60 Buchu, powdered @ 60 Sage, Bulk --.... 25@ 30 Sage, % loose -. @ 40 Sage. powdered... @ 35 Senna, Alex. -... 50@ 175 Senna, Tinn. pow. 30@ 35 Uva Urel 20@ 2% Olls Almonds. Bitter, true, oz, ~~... @ & Almonds, Bitter, artificial ..__. 3 00@3 25 Almonds. Sweet, teue 2 1 50@1 80 Almonds, Sweet. imitation -... 1 00@1 25 Amber, crude -. 75@1 00 Amber, rectified 1 50@1 75 Amise 25@1 60 Bergamont -... 5 00@5 20 Cajeput ~..... 1 60@1 75 Cassia -....... 2 25@2 60 Castor 2... 1 35@1 60 Cedar Leaf -.-.. 2 00@2 25 Citronella ...... 75@1 20 Cloves _... 2 50@2 80 Cocoanut —.... 224%4@ 35 Cod Liver ---... 1 00@1 50 Croton 22.2... 8 00@8 25 Cotton Seed -._. 1 25@1 650 Cubebs --..--.- & 00@5 25 Bigeron ........ 4 00@4 25 Eucalyptus -.. 1 00@1 25 Hemlock, pure... 2 00@2 25 Juniper Berries. 4 00@4 25 Juniper Wood — 1 50@1 75 Lard, extra .... 1 55@1 65 Lard, No. 1 -... 1 25@1 40 Lavender Flow-_. 6 Lavender Gar’n. 1 25@1 50 Leman 2 00 Linseed, boiled, bbl. @ 61 Linseed, raw, bbl. @ 58 Linseed, bid., less 68@ 76 Linseed, raw, less 65@ 73 Mustard, artifil. o23. @ 30 Neatsfoot -...... 1 25@1 35 Olive, pure -... 3 00@5 00 Olive, Malaga, yellow _._.._._. 2 50@3 00 Olive, Malaga, green ....._.._. 2 85@3 25 Orange, Sweet 4 00@4 25 Origanum, pure Pennyroyal ... 25@3 50 Peppermint -... 3 50@3 75 Rose, pure --.. 13 50@14 00 Rosemary Flows 1 50@1 75 Sandelwood, EB. j Ee 12 50@12 75 Sassafras, true 2 00@2 25 Sassafras, arti’) 75@1 00 Spearmint —.-... 3 00@3 25 Sperm. 1 25@1 50 Tangy 2. 5 00@5 25 Tar USP ...... @ 75 65: Turpentine, bbl. _. @ 57 Turpentine, less 64@ 72 Wintergreen, lene 6 00@6 25 Wintergreen, sweet birch a-- 3 00@3 25 Wintergreen, art 75@1 00 Worm Seed -... 6 00@6 25 Wormwood -.. 7 00@7 25 Potassium Bicarbonate —.___ 35@ 40 Bichromate - ... 15@ 25 Bromide 48@ 51 Bromide .... 64 71 Chlorate, gran’d_ 210 28 Chlorate, powd. 17@ 23 Or Mial 1i@ 24 Cyanide ..____ — 32@ 90 Jogige 4 06@4 28 Permanganate __ 22%@ 365 Prussiate, yellow 35@ 45 Prussiate, red _. 70@ 175 Sulphate ________ 35@ 40 Roots Alkanet _........ 30@ 40 Blood, powdered_._ 30@ 40 Calamus 25@ 65 Elecampane, pwd. 20@ 30 Gentian, powd. _~ 15@ 25 Ginger, African, powdered ______ 20@ 25 Ginger, Jamaica. 40@ 60 Ginger, Jamaica, powdered -_.._.. 35@ 40 Goldenseal, pow. 2.00@2 40 Ipecac, powd. __ 3 00@3 60 iicorice 35@ 40 Licorice, powd... 15@ 25 Orris, powdered. 35@ 40 Poke. Powdered 25@ 40 Rhubarb, powd. _. @1 00 Rosinwood, powd. @ 60 Sarsaparilla, Hond. eroune @1 00 Sarsaparilla, Mexic. @ 50 Squlle 2... 50 70 Squills, powdered 70 80 Tumeric, powd.._. 15@ 25 Valerian, powd. _. @ 50 Seeds Anise 2.0 15@ 20 Anise, powdered _. @ 25 Bird, ta ....... 13@ 17 Canary 10@ 15 Caraway, Po 25 20@ 25 Cardamon ____._ 00@2 25 Corlander pow. .30 15@ 25 SETAE 15@ 20 Fennel 20@ 30 Wigs 6 15 Flax, ground —... 15 6@ Foenugreek, powd. 10@ 20 Hemp 2. 8@ 16 Lobelia, powd. -... @1 100 Mustard, yellow 10@ 20 Musard, black... 20@ 25 Povey 15@ 25 Quinee 2 00@2 25 Sahadiia, ...._.... 30@ 40 Sunflower -_..... 12@ 18 Worm, American 25@ 380 Worm, Lavant — 5 00@5 75 Tinctures Aconite —............ @1 Aes @1 56 Asafoetida -__..- @2 28 Arnica @1 50 Belladonna ....__. @1 44 Benzoin ~...--_.__ @32 28 Benzoin Comp’d_ @2 40 Backs @2 16 Cantharides -... @2 52 Capsicum ....... @2 28 Cateehe @1 44 Cinchoena —...... @2 16 Culchicum -..... @1 380 Cube .......... @2 76 Digitalis ........ @2 04 Gentian .._._... i @1 % Gusise @2 28 Guaiac, Ammon... @2 04 Iodine... @1 25 Iodine, Colorless_ @1 50 ren, Cla, @1 56 Nite @1 44 Myers @2 52 Nux Vomica ___ @1 80 men oo @5 40 Opium, Camp. -. @1 44 Opium, Deodorz’d @5 40 Rhubarb —....... @1 92 Paints Lead, red dry __ 12@12% Lead, white dry 12@12% Lead, white oil ~ 12@12% Ochre, yellow bbl. @ 2% Ochre, yellow less 3@ 6 Red Venet’n Am. 3%@ 7 Red Venet’n Eng. 4@ 8 Pay .......4. 5@ 8 Whiting, bbl. ._. @ 4% Whiting _...... 54%4@10 Rogers Prep. .. 2 45@2 65 Msceillaneous Acetanalid ....... 57@ 75 ANG 2. v5@ 13 Alum, powd. __.. 05%@lj Bismuth, Subni- trate 22 1 72@2 00 borax xtal or powdered -..... o6@ 13 “antharides, po. 1 26@1 60 Calomel 2 12@2 40 Capsicum, pow’d 42@ 66 Carmine ....... 8 00@9 00 Cassia Buds -_. 35@ 45 Cloveq 25@ 35 Chalk Prepared... 14@ 16 Chloroform ...... 47@ 64 Chora] Hydrate 1 20@1 60 Cocaine 12 85@13 50 Cocoa Butter -... 40@ 85 Corks, list, less 30710 to 40-10% Copperas -..-.___ 3%@ 10 Copperas, Powd. 4@ 10 Corrosive Sublm 1 37@1 60 @ Cream Tartar ..... 26 40 Cultie bone -.. 40@ 60 Dextrine _..__ —- 6%@ 16 Dover’s Powder 4 0u@4 50 iumery, All Nos. 10@ 16 Hmery, Powdered @ 16 Epsom Salts, bbls. @03\% kepsom Salts, less 3%@ 10 Ergot, powdered _. @4 00 Flake, White __. 15@ 20 Formaldehyde, lb. 09@ 26 Geliting _.......... 6u@ 70 Glassware, less 55% Glassware, full case 60%. Glauber Salts, bbl. @ 03 Glauber Salts less 0#4@ 10 Glue, Brown -... 20@ 30 Glue. Brown Grd 16@ 22 Glue, White -... 27% @ 35 Glue, white grd. 25@ 35 Giveerine 2... 15@ 35 Hope 60@ 75 CONSE 6 45@7 00 lodoferm 8 65@9 00 Lead Acetate . 17@ 2% Mace: a @1 60 Mace powdered__ @1 6&0 Menthol 0. 4 88@6 00 Morphine _... 13 58@14 33 Nux Vomica —_. 26 Nux Vomica. pow. 15@ 2 Pepper, Black, pw. 35@ 45 Pepper, White, po. 55@ 65 Pitch. Burgundy. 10@ 20 Quassia -_._.__._.. 15@ 20 Quinine, 5 oz. cans @ 57 Rochelle Salts -... 21@ 31 saccharine __.._ 2 60@2 76 Salt Peter... 10@ 22 Seidlitz Mixture 30@ 40 Soap, green -... 124%@ 25 soap, mott cast. @ 2 Soap. white Castile, cm @15 00 Soap, white Castile less, per bar _._ @1 60 Soda Ash ...._ 8@ 10 Soda Bicarbonate 3%@ 10 Soda, Sar... 02%@ 08 Snirits Camphor @1 20 Saihiue, vo 4@ 11 sulphur, Subl. .. 44#@ 10 Tamarindsa __... 26 Tartar Emetic .. 60 60 Turpentine, Ven. 60 16 Vanilla Ex. pure 1 50@2 00 Venilla Ex. pure 2 25@2 50 Zine Sulphate _. 06@ li Webster Cigar Co. Brands Websterettes - .._ 60 CW: ooo 33 50 Webster Cadillacs _. 75 0 Golden Wedding Panatellas _...... 75 00 Commodore -........ 95 00 DPBS a i : B { 4 28 MICHIGAN TRADESMAN GROCERY PRICE CURRENT These quotations are carefully corrected weekly, within six hours of mailing and are intended to be correct at time of going to press. Prices, however, are liable to change at any time, and merchants will have their orders filled at mar- ket prices at date of purchase. For price changes compare with previous issues ADVANCED DECLINED Canned Bacon Pork Rice AMMONIA Pep, No. 224 -------.-- 2 70 Plums Parsons, 64 eg No. 202 —.--.<: ._200 Grand Duke, No. 2%-- 3 25 Parsons, 32 Krumbles, No. 424 --..2 70 Yellow Eggs No. 2%4-- 3 25 Parsons, 18 Bran Flakes, No. 624 2 45 Parsons, 10 Parsons, 6 59 10 lb. pails, per doz. 8 80 15 lb. pails, per doz. 11 70 25 lb. pails, per doz. 17 65 APPLE BUTTER Quaker, 12-38 oz.. doz. 2 00 Musselman, 12-38 oz. A acca De aa 2 00 BAKING POWDERS 8 Royal, 12 oz., doz. _.-. 4 - Royal. 2% Ibs., doz. 13 7 Royal, 5 Ibs., doz. ca ee 50 KC, KC, KC, KC, 25c size, 25 oz. —- KC, 50c size, 50 oz. KC, 6 ib. size —_._.- KC, 10 Ib. size ----_--_ 6 BLEACHER CLEANSER Clorox, 16 oz., 248 .. 3 8 Lizzie. 16 oz.. 128 ---. 2 15 BLUING Am. Ball.36-1 oz.,cart. 1 00 Boy Blue, 18s, per cs. 1 35 BEANS and PEAS 100 Ib. bag Brown Swedish Beans 8 50 Dry Lima Beans 100 Ib. 6 90 Pinto Beans ~--------- 5 50 White H’d P. Beans 2 75 Split Peas, Yell., 60 lb. 3 65 Split Peas, Gr’n, 60 Ib. 3 90 Scotch Peas, 100 lb. -- 5 20 BURNERS Queen Ann, No. 1 -- 1 15 Queen Ann, No. 2 -. 1 26 white Flame, No. 1 and %. dos. _....--- 2 26 BOTTLE CAPS Ohl Lacauor. 1 gross pkg., per gross ------ 15 BREAKFAST FOODS Kelloga’s Brands. Corn Flakes, No. 136 2 85 Corn Flakes, No. 124 2 85 Bran Flakes, No. 602 1 50 Rice Krispies, 6 oz. -. 2 25 Hice Krispies. 1 oz. -. 1 10 All Bran, 16 oz. ----- 2 25 All Bran, 10 oz. ~----- 2 70 All Bran, %& 0z. Kaffe Hag, 6 1-lb. Cant 2 75 BROOMS Peacock, 4 sewed -. 3 45 Our Success, 5 Seba 5 25 Hustlers, 4 sewed -. 6 00 Standard, 6 sewed -. 7 50 Quaker, 5 sewed __-. 8 40 Warehouse ---------- 6 50 Woy 2 8 46 Whisk, No. 2.2 2 25 ROLLED OATS Purity Brand Instant Flakes ee ng -->———_ Let Us Conuider Legislation Fairly and Equitably. (Continued from page 20) ingly and conservatively, is another consideration; and of that, to my mind, all good citizens must approve. It will always likewise prove beneficial to business, if it be wisely planned and therefore beneficial to anybody. Tradesmen are making progress—a lot of it. Progress is taking the way of co-operation in one form or another, That indicates that men learn more and more that the welfare of their business as such is more important than that of any branch of it, as I ex- pect to show more at length next week, On March 18 the Federal Trade Commission promulgated the latest re- vision of trade practice rules. Con- sideration should seem to have been sufficient, even for the dilatory cum- brousness of a Government bureau, since these have been in the making since October, 1928, and they are a final revision of what were issued Jan. 16, 1929. Here we have ten weeks from the first consideration to the first publication—admittedly fast enough— and two years and a quarter for the revision. ‘Surely such a time as that should indicate that business in and by itself could do better than any Gov- ernment bureau. There are signs that business lead- ers realize fully that fair play pays, that one price to all is good business, that a fair ‘field and no special favors is the only true basis. The very move- ment which resulted in the rulings of the ‘Federal Trade (Commission had its inception, I believe, in business; and as I read over the rules, it seems to me that each and every one was conceived by business. The Federal Trade Commission had to be called in, I think, fecause au- thority was necessary to make certain members of business behave. The nec- essity thus to compel conformation to sound practices must be recognized, but let us also recognize the danger we always run when we go to Wash- ington to safeguard business practices, for that way also lies the danger of complete loss of commercial liberty— with political liberty certain to follow. Dictatorships never have been famous for self-limitation. Paul Findlay. —_—_+~+>___ STRUGGLE THAT IS TO COME. (Continued from page 23) merchant. It has never been bought, sold or bartered. It has fought our battles with the manu- facturers, transportation com- panies, newspapers and in our courts and legislative halls. It has stood for free opportunities for the common people and | wish here to pay a just tribute to E. A. Stowe and the Michigan Trades- man and to ask you to take his paper, read it, encourage advertis- ing in it and to respect it, for it is one of your greatest lines of de- fense in the great struggle that is to come. I don’t know but that I should ask you to be politicians as well. Taxes must come down. Our total tax rais- ed in 1931 exceeded ten. billion dollars. That is over a bilion dollars above the war time peak. It is twice the circu- lating currency of the United States. It means that we turn our entire mon- ey circulation every six months in taxes alone. Is it any wonder that our peo- ple have no money and that real estate has become an undesirable holding? You as merchants are discriminated against by our present system of tax- ation. It is obvious that fruit, grain, vegetables, etc., ripening but once a year, must be carried by someone. Who carries them does not matter to the consumer. They can best be car- ried by the factories, wholesaler and retailer combined. A firm of the chain nature depending entirely upon turn- over is dodging its share of this tax burden. They carry a small stock on the shelves, having most of it on trucks that never reach the tax roll and they have experts to fight their tax battles. The only profit in business is on the sales and that is where our tax should be levied. A tax so raised is easy to collect, as it can be taken without ex- pense from the report that every mer- chant must make to the Government. The amount of this tax should be taken from the real estate tax raised by the State. By such a method the local business man who owns a home or business location would have nothing to pass on to the consumer and out- side concerns doing business in the State, and who refuse to own property, would leave millions of dollary with us that now leaves the State. These and other problems which af- fect the welfare and independence of our country must be watched. You should be free to communicate your thoughts on these subjects, on which you are well versed, to our law makers at all times. It is only by such meth- ods that liberty and opportunity can be saved for our common people and the Stars and Stripes continue to float over a great Nation. It can be done. Let us do our part. —__~+~+<.___ And where is the prophet who said social evils ‘would disappear when a prudish world learned to discuss them frankly? April 6, 1932 POOR LIVING CONDITIONS. (Continued from page 17) they might an act of (God. But also, when the elevator ran again, it was al- most our private convenience, Those folks mostly walked anyway. Elevators are such novelties in Europe that Eu- ropeans use them little even when they have them. Another feature amazed us. Al- though this was a new ‘building it was a mass of patchwork. Every pipe joint I saw was made tight with oak- um, threads so badly cut it would not have held otherwise. As a _ purely amateur pipe fitter, | should be asham- ed to install one ‘fitting so joined. Heating pipes were so unevenly hung that water would not circulate, as in our ‘bathroom where the radiator never got warm. Yet no contractor seemed to worry or bestir himself, Other features of Roman life and custom astonished us. A workman would knock plaster excrescences from casings five stories up, letting the debris fall to the sidewalk without guard or warning sign. No liability, apparently, attaches to anybody over there, Despite these drawbacks, we got so to love our little pent-house, the dis- trict, even the ludicrously dirty but pretty and eternally sweet little jani- tress—ever good natured, cheerful and kindly—that we were loath to leave it. And thereby hangs a rather pathetic incident. Near to our leaving, the janitress came to our apartment accompanied, as usual, by one of her infants, char- acteristically dirty, and begged us to “por-ter-ay” her with us to America; and we often realized while in Europe that America is the equivalent of Heaven to those folks, a haven of rest, an earthly Elysium for fair, With starting tears, she conveyed to us that her husband had struck her yesterday, and she exhibited her distinctly black- ened eye. Indignation surged within us in face of any physical abuse of that gentle, ever-industrious little woman. We had seen her husband, the chauffeur of somebody who provided him with a handsome uniform, and he was a fine figure. Introducing us, his wife had evinced the characteristic pride of womankind in the possession of a handsome male, letting no hint of unhappiness escape her. He had been drunk, ‘but to think that a man of such size and strength should—even in his cups—strike a wife so sweet and patient stirred us deeply. Yet we could do nothing. Even to speak to him would be to harden her lot. But we carried away increased compre- hension of the bleakness of some lives. Nice, long a playground of the leisure class of Europe and, more re- cently, of a growing American con- tingent, affords wide choice of accom- modations, fitted with every variety of taste—or lack of taste—large, inter- mediate and small, ‘The abode of an artist couple was odd as could be, but location and outlook so far compen- sated for its extremely impress:onistic furnishings and embellishments that it would have been taken, except for the bed. Most French beds are good, al- though not up to Italian standards. French hotel beds usually are com- MICHIGAN TRADESMAN fortable. But private beds in France are like those elsewhere—quality de- pendent on the owners’ personality. ‘And whether in France or America, or elsewhere, it ever puzzles us why folks are so indifferent to the quality of the place wherein a third of life is spent. The luxurious palaces overlooking the Mediterranean, of which we saw several, incidentally were not for us. We also inspected impossible places— dens of unbelievable filth; overfurnish- ed hodgpodges; and ever and again we were amazed at the complacency with which some will exhibit their personal dirt and disorderly housekeeping, their equanimity proof against any hint of embarrassment. One was a prize ex- hibit. We had seen this advertised. It was central, on a main thoroughfare; build- ing promisingly modern with elevator that worked; apartment on third floor where, at 10:30 a. m. we got no answer. Descending, we. asked the concierge about the flat, and she re- ferred us to a little girl, of nine or ten, just in from school, a sweet, pretty little thing, She spoke in pure Eng- lish and on our remarking that she did speak it, she smiled charmingly: “A little.” She knocked peculiarly and some- body within answered. ‘She spoke a few words and we were admitted by a young peroxide blonde arrayed in ki- mono hastily assumed—plainly a wo- man of the demi-monde. The rooms were well enough, light, commodious; but the clutter of disorder, the garish- ness, the plain dirt prompted us to take the speediest once-over and get out, wondering whence the pungent smell. Then the kitchen door opened and gave us gilimpse of a diog, a cat and some other live pets, with a bedrag- gled female and a blast of zoo-like atmosphere. We left, speculating on what might become of the lovely little girl under the tutelage of two such women. Everywhere many of the prettiest flowers flourish on dunghills. The first apartment shown us was in a new, modern building, provided with elevator and heat; well planned, with charming outlook and adequately fur- nished. But the decorations seemed too pronounced to live with. But after days of disheartening experiences, we returned and occupied that set of rooms during our entire stay in Nice. We enjoyed every minute, even though our joy was tempered by our first con- tact with that strictly French institu- tion, the concierge. This man was as pig-headed as any- one J ever met up with, an autocrat for fair, who did not hesitate to pull the switch on the elevator when he thought I was trying to get my trunk onto it though thereby he put out all the forty-five occupants. Elevation of belongings, even a valise, is not pro- vided for. For such operations, one must hunt men to carry things on their backs, I got even-—as I learned others likewise did—by withholding all tips, and those from me alone would have increased that man’s monthly income by two or three dol- lars—which is distinctly something when turned into francs. Our ground was so high that our third floor, actually the fifth up, afford- ed a sweeping view over all the city Eastward to the mountain boundary of Italy, plus outlook over the Med- iterranean. The elevator was wun- certain, of course, but there was also a service lift, and anyway the climb was compensated by entry to our warm little nest with its delightful out- look, ‘This was a touch of dol-chay far ne-AYINT-te in our wanderings. The cost was perhaps $53 per month, all inclusive, and we look back with unalloyed pleasure to our domiciliary experiences in Nice. Mr, Bennett, of Lloyd’s agency, in Paris, the one man who owned a car, was courteous, but he, too, had few places for rent by the month. He ex- plained: “It is highly probable, as you say, that with curtailed travel many apartments will remain vacant and owners would gain by letting them by the month. But they do not yet know that, and if I were to let one for a month, I would not have that place again next year—and [ must safe- guard my business.” We understood, but as the unexpect- ed had happened in Rome and Nice, so it did in Paris. We had almost de- cided to stay out our few weeks in a Parisian hotel when we found a place advertised so prominently we wonder- ed why Bennett had not shown it to us. We guessed that he might not get much commission. It was the Derby Hotel, 5 Avenue du Quesne, where we had a neat place on the third floor overlooking the military school enclosure, with ele- vator and daily maid service, plus telephone and mail delivery to our room for about $55 per month, all in- cluded, We were close to the Eiffel Tower, near the American church, close to subway, adjacent to “every- thing.” All of which may indicate that if we travel with rigid schedule, are slightly persevering and have no false notions about insisting that everything be first class, we may enjoy ample comfort in Europe and have experiences not ac- cessible to ordinary tourist travel on a basis of exceedingly moderate cost. Paul Findlay. ———_++>——_ Celery City U. C. T.’s Are Up and Doing. Kalamazoo, April 5—Kalamazoo U. C. T. team workers were visited by state group leader “Al” (Guimond last week. The meeting was held in one of the parlors at the Columbia Hotel and plans are being made for a session of all state groups to be held in Kalama- zoo during the Grand Council conven- tion in June. The new officers of Kalamazoo Council, No. 156, are getting off to a good start and have had two practice rehearsals—anticipating a class of can- didates for our April meeting, Satur- day, April 9. Entertainment will be furnished by a group of first-class artists under the direction of Junior Counsellor Morley Leach, followed by a buffet luncheon. At this meeting, which will be a stag affairs, we es- pecially invite all members who are “lady shy” (we understand there are a few of this type in No. 156) and as the Ladies Auxiliary has no regular meeting Saturday, the Council mem- bers are to come “unattended” by their wives or anyone’s else. Any members of outside councils, if in Kalamazoo on the above date, will be heartily welcomed at this meeting. Gene Welsh, we regret to report, has been confined to his bed of late and 31 we hope soon to hear of his recovery, so that he may be able to attend the next meeting. The Ladies Auxiliary will hold a luncheon and afternoon party at the home of ‘Mrs, ‘Claude DeFrance on Friday, April 15. Interest is manifested all along the line and throughout the State for a fine meeting of the Grand Council here on June 2, 3 and 4. Frank Saville. GREENE SALES CO. SPECIAL SALES CONDUCTORS Reduction — Money-raising or Quitting Business Sales. 142 N. Mechanic St. Phone 9519 JACKSON, MICHIGAN 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 CO. Saginaw. Phone 61366 JOHN L. LYNCH SALES CO. SPECIAL SALE EXPERTS Expert Advertising Expert Merchandising 209-210-211 Murray Bldg. Grand Rapids, Michigan 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. if 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. For Sale or Trade—40-room hotel, com- plete, up-to-date. In most beautiful re- sort town in Michigan. Making money. For smaller hotel in Southern Michigan, or what have you? Address No. 509, c/o Michigan Tradesman. 509 FOR LEASE—Store room, one hundred per cent location. Five or ten year lease. In the heart of the business district in one of the best small cities in Ohio. 35,000 population. Woolworth’s, Krege’s, Grant’s and other big chain stores in the same section. Suitable for drug store, ladies’ ready-to-wear, shoes, or depart- ment store. Write JIM DUGAN, Marion, Ohio. 510 For Sale—Meat market fixtures, includ- ing Butcher Boy ice box 9x6x7 ft. 6 in. Address No. 511, ¢/o Michigan Trades- man. 511 in a dry goods store by man of ample experience. Can start at once. Address No. 512, c/o Michigan Tradesman, 512 il pay cash for any stock of mer- chandise, none too large or too small. Write, phone, or wire. L. LEVINSOHN, Saginaw, Mich. 32 TERRIFIC BLOW TO CHAINS. Greatest Set-Back They Have Ever Received. Several months ago the large gro- cers’ associations induced the Federal Trade Commission to agree to a code of trade practice rules which were supposed to cover the whole field of the proper operation of the grocery business. The code defined what should be unfair competitive practices, and the Commission agreed to take the position that anything forbidden by the code was illegal and to bring cases accordingly. It would then re- main for the courts to decide whether such things were illegal or not. During the week the Federal Trade Commission has completed a final re- vision of this code, which is as follows: The secret payment or allow- ance of rebates, refunds, commis- sions or unearned discounts, whether in the form of money or otherwise, or secretly extending to certain purchasers special ser- vices or privileges not extended to all purchasers under like terms and conditions, with the intent and with the effect of injuring a competitor and where the effect may be to substantially lessen competition or tend to create a monopoly or to unreasonably re- strain trade, is an unfair trade practice. Price discrimination in violation of Section 2 of the Clayton Act is an unfair trade practice. The offering or giving of prizes, premiums or gifts in connection with the sale of grocery products, or as an inducement thereto by any scheme which involves lottery, misrepresenta- tion or fraud isan unfair trade practice. Commercial bribery is an unfair trade practice. The making, causing or permitting to be made, or publishing of any false, untrue, misleading or deceptive state- ment, by way of advertisement or otherwise, concerning the grade, qual- ity, quantity, character, nature, origin, preparation or use of any grocery product is an unfair trade practice. The use of deceptively slack-filled or deceptively shaped containers is an unfair trade practice. Any joint trade action which pur- poses unlawfully to exclude any manu- facturer, merchant or product from a market, or unlawfully to discriminate against any manufacturer, merchant or product in a market, whether by con- spiracy, agreement, unjust and mis- leading propaganda for the purpose of influencing legislation or other public action, is an unfair trade practice. The selling of goods below cost for the purpose of injuring a com- petitor, and where the effect may be to substantially lessen competi- tion, is an unfair trade practice. (a) The industry approves the prac- tice of each individual member of the industry independently publishing and circulating to the purchasing trade its own price lists. (b) The industry approves the prac- tice of making the terms of sale a part of all published price schedules. MICHIGAN TRADESMAN Deceptive prices on certain temporarily selected brands of ad- vertised food specialties or staple merchandise, in order to influence consumers, creates the false im- pression that competitors are ex- acting an unfair and unwarranted profit on all merchandise and is condemned by the industry. The abuse of buying power to force uneconomic or unjust terms of sale upon sellers, and the abuse of selling power to force uneco- nomic or unjust terms of sale upon buyers, is condemned by the in- dustry. The practice of compelling the pur- chase of several or a group of prod- ucts, as a condition to the purchase of one or more of them, is condemned by the industry. The failure by a wholesaler to fill orders accepted by him is condemned by the industry. The failure by a retailer to accept the delivery of orders given by him is condemned by the industry. The practice of certain jobbers of sniping drop-shipment business from the legitimate wholesaler, who serves a useful purpose in the grocery trade to the manufacturer, the retailer and the consumer, is condemned by the industry. Violation by either party, buyer or seller, of the agreement between them as to the discount for cash, is con- demned by the industry. “Free deals” that affect injuriously wholesalers, retailers or consumers, are condemned by the industry. The substitution by a wholesaler or a retailer of another product for the product ordered is condemned by the industry. The industry recognizes as beneficial to the grocery trade the work of the duly qualified food broker, but con- demns the practice of others than bona fide brokers acting in that capacity and receiving brokerage commissions. Many of the features now condemned —and thus made illegal—are habitually practiced by the chains. These prac- tices they will be forced to abandon in the future, if the action of the Federal Trade Commission is sustained by the courts, as it probably will be. This is the greatest forward step the independent merchant has ever been able to take and will do more to give the chains a set-back than any blow they have ever received in the past. Nothing that could be done will give the independents greater courage and hope than this action. —_.2>—_—_ The art of selling goods is as diffi- cult to acquire as any other art; that the proper methods can only be ac- quired by multiplicity of actual ex- periments, and the one who tries the greatest variety of experiments will become finally a master of the art and become a wealthy merchant. —-o-?- > Put the Lid On. “Father, did Edison make the first talking machine?” “No, my son, God made the first talking machine, but Edison made the first one that could be cut off.” - nated “Charm D’Amour, IN THE REALM OF RASCALITY. Questionable Schemes Which Are Under Suspicion. The grocery trade is hereby warned to beware of men who claim to be sell- ing trays for the Modern Package Co., Bush Terminal ‘Bldg., ‘New York City. The men solicit orders aggregating $20, but in writing out the orders for the signatures of the merchants they “stuff”? the orders so they amount to ten times $20. Any representative of the Modern Package Co. should be kicked out the back door ‘without de- lay or ceremony. Stipulations to cease and desist from alleged unfair methods of com- petition have been agreed upon by the following: A publisher agrees to discontinue carrying advertising matter of a cer- tain vendor of a device alleged to con- tain radium in sufficient quantity to have therapeutic value. A publisher agrees to discontinue carrying advertising matter of a cer- tain vendor of an alleged treatment for bladder trouble and kindred ailments. A publisher agrees to discontinue carrying advertising matter of a cer- tain vendor of an alleged cure for rheumatism. A publisher agrees to discontinue carrying advertising matter of a certain vendor of an alleged remedy consisting of a saline laxative in solution. A publisher agrees to discontinue carrying the advertising matter of a certain publisher using puzzle adver- tisements as a device to secure a mail- ing list, and certain vendors of an al- leged remedial appliance for inhaling medicine and alleged cures for skin troubles, asthma, catarrh and diabetes. A publisher agrees to discontinue carrying advertising matter of certain vendors of an electric appliance alleged to have therapeutic value, a magnetic appliance alleged to be effective in treatment of the prostate gland, and an alleged cure for constipation. An advertising agency agrees to dis- continue handling advertising matter of a certain vendor of an alleged cure for rheumatism. Dr. William Davis, Woodbridge, N. J., agrees to discontinue representing that a certain treatment for moles, warts and growths will banish moles or big growths or that it may be safely used other than under the supervision of a physician. A. Abramson, trading as Parisian roducts Co., New York, agrees to dis- continue advertising a perfume desig- ” and to con- fine its sale to unsolicited orders. The Atlas Medic Co., Buffalo, agrees to discontinue representing that a cer- tain treatment will restore sufferers from asthma, catarrh and bronchitis to health, and that use of samples of this preparation will so prove, when such are not the facts. Philip H. Simmons, trading as Park Art Co. and Universal Co., New York, agrees to discontinue representing that certain books, pamphlets and pictures were imported from France when. such is not the fact, A manufacturer of a chemical used for killing rats, agrees to discontinue the use of labels and advertising mat- April 6, 1932 ter representing that the preparation has been endorsed ‘by the Biological Survey of the United States Depart- ment of Agriculture, when no such ap- proval has been accorded. A manufacturer of men’s shirts and women’s blouses agrees to discontinue claiming operation of factories in cer- tain places, when neither owning mor operating factories in the places desig- nated, A manufacturer and_ distributor agrees to discontinue representing him- self as the manufacturer of the furni- ture he purchases for resale. Simmons Co., New York, agrees to discontinue the enforcement of a resale price maintenance policy in the sale of springs and mattresses. A distributor agrees to discontinue use of the words “Chromium” and “Kwickrome” to designate compounds that do not contain chromium, and to discontinue use of the words “Plate” and “Plating” to designate a com- pound that is not a plating for other products. A manufacturer agrees tinue use of the word “extract” on labels and in advertising matter to designate products that are not malt extracts, A distributor agrees to discontinue use of the word “Linen” to designate a product that is not derived from the flax or hemp plant. A manufacturer agrees to discontinue substitution of other woods than. those advertised and represented, without the knowledge and consent of the cus- tomer, A distributor agrees to discontinue the use of the word “Laboratories” in firm name and in advertising matter when neither owning nor operating a laboratory. A manufacturer agrees to discon- tinue use of words and pictures sug- gestive of Germany, on labels and in advertising matter to designate prod- ucts neither made in Germany nor made of ingredients imported there- from, A distributor of golf tees agrees to discontinue use of the word manufac- turer in a way to imply ownership or operation of factories in which the products are manufactured, when neither owning nor operating such fac- tories. A manufacturer agrees to discon- tinue using representations stating or implying that the flavors and extracts sold by competitors may not be used with safety, when such is not the fact. to discon- A distributor agrees to discontinu2 use of the words “Toyo” and “Pan- ama” to designate hats that are not made from the leaves of the Jipijapa tree nor by the process used in the manufacture of Panama hats. A manufacturer agrees to discon- tinue use of the word “Extract” in firm name and to discontinue its use on labels and in advertising matter to designate a product that is not a malt extract, ———_-+ To Win Success. Be brief-politely. Be aggressive—tactfully. Be emphatic—pleasantly. Be positive—diplomatically. Be — right—graciously. RS A i i a aa a dU i aR Rademaker-Dooge Grocer Co. Distributors Fremont Sweet Peas Miss Michigan Ex Stand Cut Wax Beans Miss Michigan Ex Stand Cut Green Beans Miss Michigan Sweet Peas Miss Michigan Early June Peas Above all packed by Fremont Canning Co. Wholesale Only Wholesale Only DISTRIBUTORS of PINE TREE Brand FARM SEEDS Vigoro Inoculation Semesan Bulk GARDEN SEEDS Packet Vegetables and Flowers We specialize in LAWN GRASS and GOLF COURSE Mixtures SEEDS Write for our special prices INSTANT SERVICE Telephone 4451 ALFRED J. BROWN SEED CO. 25-29 Camrpau Ave. Grand Rapids, Mich. Wholesale Only Wholesale Only CALL US WE SAVE YOU 25% TO 40% ON YOUR INSURANCE COST. CGDOL SO THE MILL MUTUALS AGENCY 208 NORTH CAPITOL AVENUE LANSING, MICHIGAN Phone 20741 BRANCHES GRAND RAPIDS—601 Grand Rapids Trust Building Telephone 95923 DETROIT—716 Transportation Building Telephone Randolph 0729 Your Customers Know that the quality of well-advertised brands must be maintained. You don't waste time telling them about unknown brands. You reduce selling expense in offering ‘your trade such a well-known brand as Baking Powder Same Price for over 40 years 25 ounces for 25c The price is established through our advertising and the consumer knows that is the correct price. Furthermore, you are not asking your customers to pay War Prices. Your profits are protected. Millions of Pounds Used by Our Government ELIMINATE —- - that SECOND TAX* The Grand Rapids Trust Company, in introducing the ESTATE ECONOMY PLAN, offers to you a means of legitimately avoiding unnecessary ex- penses in the disposition of your estate....... A will containing trust provisions is the most economical method for a married person to trans- fer property for the benefit of the members of his family. A will containing such a trust need not re- strict the wife or other beneficiaries to the income. i We will be pleased to furnish you, upon request, further information supporting these assertions GRAND RAPIDS TRUST COMPANY ee MUNA ORION eCeia th INCORPORATED emetic: ~m re aioe ete a x GM SO Ae ec eee ay Soe