BEI SL LEIAES ERR NIN OSDIR EES 9 AG My SSS Ak SSE Oe bocce wi i ZONE On OR a WR AS What ea ea La) TS a lr ai naar aa aa (CDENG an we NGS a SON 3 KW 4 LA i "> SS SS RY G 1) BA \ Oe BNA ay YY Zz ih ! © ){G KG SRA LES ba \(( PSR ACD I pete [3 Ad el SY Wei GEO OLWZZZZAI .s NEG on TRADESMAN COMPANY, PUBLISHERS AS TMU OR FEDS POOR DOS GRAND RAPIDS, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 21, 1932 CSPUBLISHED WEEKLY WG SOG SERUM Viftieth Year Number 2570 \ = ie » Les ) ie SS WF \) Zags x Peace on Earth Good GAIIl to Men ae 0 +See IE is too short to spend much time unhappily. If you can- ) Z Zy y form yourself to them. You I are a free agent. This is the season when old account Ae ah books are closed and a new start made. (® 3\\ Don’t repeat the mistakes of the past. ry, Kind words are the currency of human commerce. They never depreciate in value. If you appreciate a piece of work that is well done, don’t keep the fact to yourself. Fault-finding is neces- sary, but it can be done constructively and kindly. A word of praise reflects credit on the speaker and produces better work from the recipient. Fw ng ~ SF N 6) JA f eis =F fir ———— ») Zags ee. ' ) Zefews Pree SNe NY GEER PDR Ps SNE NS RE NE EN Quaker Brand Products Quick Selling Dependable Merchandise Recognized and accepted by the consuming public: for Quality and Purity Quaker Products produce increased sales and have proven to be a wonderful asset to the retailer A partial list of the many Quaker Brand Items Apple Butter Jelly Ammonia Jelly Powder Brooms Prepared Mustard Canned Fruits Pickles Canned Vegetables Salad Dressing Canned Meats Coffee Salt Peanut Butter Cocoa Spices Tea SOLD BY INDEPENDENT MERCHANTS ONLY LEE & CADY Why Sacrifice Profits? It is not necessary when you stock and sell well-known merchandise on which the price has been established through years of consistent advertising. In showing the price plainly on the package and in advertising Baking Powder Same Price Today As 42 Years Ago 25 ounces for 25c we have established the price—created a demand and insured your profits. You can guarantee every can to give perfect satisfaction and agree to refund the full purchase price in which we will protect you. Millions of Pounds Used by Our Government er A SS We Believe You Are Entitled to a Profit on All Merchandise You Handle or is Distributed to Your Customers We don’t believe in the distribution of free samples or free merchandise to the consumer unless such merchandise pays the merchant his full profit which includes the expense of handling when handled by him. ee a cen ET naan Peon e 2s acer tenet aA ar ie i oe Key Fiftieth Year Number 2570 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 are as follows: $3 per year, if paid strictly in advance. $4 per year if not paid in advance. Canadian subscription, $4.04 per year, payable invariably in advance. Sample copies 10 cente each. Extra copies of -urrent issues, 10 cents; issues a month or more old, 15 cents; issues a year or more old, 25 cents; issues five years or more old 50 cents. Entered September 23, 1883, at the Postoftice of Grand Rapids as second class matter under Act of March 3, 1879. JAMES M. GOLDING Detroit Representative 507 Kerr Bldg. THE CHRISTMAS RUSH. Why Worthington’s Patrons Don’t Step on Each Other. Although Worthington has the best holiday trade in town, there is never a crush at his store. Of course there are crowds, for people will flock in the glad Christmastime and mer- chants are delighted to have them, if they have the price, but at Worthing- ton’s there are no exhibitions like un- to the football season. When other merchants are reason- ing with buyers, suggesting that they come in early before the army of buyers forms, and, too often, before the best goods are in, Worthington is telling them to drop in any old time and he will keep excited shoppers from stepping on them. The miracle of a well-ordered store during the holiday scramble is worthy of notice, so I’m going to tell you how it came to be: Worthington came down to his store one morning, during the week before Christmas, and found a head- on wreck at his front door. There was a crowd trying to get into his place of business and another crowd trying to get out. There were cus- tomers waiting to buy goods and cus- tomers waiting for their change. The former were eager and sarcastic; the latter were tired and ugly. It took the merchant half an hour to get back to his desk and the first thing he did when he got there was to send for his manager. The man- ager came looking as if he had been keeping cases on a dog fight. “What kind of a joint are you run- ning here?’ demanded Worthington. “The joint that’s got the best trade in town,’ chanted the manager, joy- fully, unmindful of the dilapidated state of his whiskers and his attire. “Looks like a ward caucus!” in- sisted Worthington. “Glad of it!” The merchant scowled. “I’m here to bring crowds.” Worthington scowled again. “And you’re here to take care of them after they come,” he said. “You seem to have overlooked that.” “How take care of them?” “See that they are waited on promptly and sent away satisfied.” “Tf there is any living being who could satisfy that howling cyclone out there,’ with a shrug of the shoul- der toward the main flooor of the store, “I’d like to meet him, her or it.” “You do only half your duty when you leave people in a mess like that,” insisted the merchant. “Hame you any. suggestion to make?” asked the manager. “These off-hand observations point to a con- dition but they don’t present a rem- edy.” “Find your own remedy. That is what you are paid for.” This manager of Worthington’s was a good man for the job. He was so good and in such demand that he could sass his proprietor if he wanted to and not run the risk of getting fired. At this time, however, he didn’t want to. He said: “All right, boss! [ll draw up plans and specifications to-night and pre- sent them to you to-morrow morn- ing. Don’t you ever think I don’t know how to do it and don’t you ever think it will be a cheap proposition.” Worthington growled again and the manager went off to his work. The stomping, the pushing, the excited voices, the sharp calls for cash boys, were all music to him. He knew that money was rolling in on the store in a golden stream. Next morning he presented his scheme for a _ quiet Christmas trade to the merchant. Worthington was busy and_ told him to go ahead with it. The man- ager sat down to wait until the boss wasn’t busy and the boss scowled. “This requires your attention,” the manager said. “Go ahead, then,’ gasped the mer- chant. “First,” said the manager, “I’m go- ing to rent the long store running back of this and facing Sixth street. It covers the entire width of this store.” “What for?” “Then I’m going to cut four doors through the wall of this building and connect with that other store.” “What are you going to put into that other store?” “People, buyers, satisfied customers. Then I’m going to cut a chute from the cash and wrapping gallery up there to this back store.” “IT hope you know what you are about!” “Then I’m going to rent cash reg- isters for all the departments where the articles on sale are small—where the saleslady can do her own wrap- ping.” “And permit all these new clerks to handle my money? Not yet!” “Then I’m going to get a map of the store, showing where every de- partment is situated. I want one that will guide a stranger through the maze without a break.” Worthington began to see a great light. The manager, feeling that he had won his point, went on: “Now for the reason, the utility, of all this: First, the people going out make more noise and more fuss than the people coming in. If there is a woman shopper in the world who doesn’t love to stop in a crowd, with her arms full of bundles, and tell a friend coming in what she has and what she paid for it, see her. It is the rush at the front door that makes the trouble. Now, I’m going to send customers out by the back doors, through that store.” “And you can put a line of goods in there, too. Good idea.” “Not so you could notice it!” re- plied the manager. “What do you want to do? Block up the exit so it will be just as bad as the front en- trance? Not much. People don’t stay there a minute to buy. They get bun- dles and go right out on Sixth street; and no one comes in that way, either.” Worthington had sense enough to let the manager have his way. “This relieves the pressure at the front door. It stops people butting into each other and it saves the floor space for people who want to buy.” “Get on with it!” The merchant saw that it was a good idea, but didn’t want to speak of it too highly until it had been tested. “Now, the aisles are always clogged by people waiting for their goods and their change. They hang on to the counters with both hands and feet, so they won’t get cheated out of what is coming to them. the way.” “T don’t see how you can get rid of them,” said Worthington. “You can not hurry them out of the store.” “I don’t want to. I want to give them a quiet place to wait in. I’m going to have them wait in a room at the back of that rear store.” Worthington laughed. “You’re dreaming!” he said. “As I said before, the clerks in the departments where the articles are small are going to wrap goods and make change. Then buyers can pass right along, out of the way of the others. In the other departments the clerks will put a number on their cash tickets and give duplicates to the buyers.” “Too much red tape, old man.” I have yet to They are terribly in “For instance: A lady buys a coat at $15. The clerk makes her cash slip show the sum of money given her and the sum to come back, as usual. She adds a number and a letter showing her department. A duplicate of this is given to the customer.” “Too complicated.” “When the buyer gets the duplicate she goes into this new store room and waits until the clerk at the bot- tom of this chute I told you about yells, ‘A sixty-five!’ if that is her num- ber. She presents her duplicate and gets her goods and change. If she has paid in the exact sum called for by the purchase, and doesn’t want to wait for the bundle, or wants it delivered, she can go her way and leave it there. Or she can call and get it any old time.” “T think the rear exit will work, all right,’ said Worthington, “but 1 am not sure about the bundle business. However, it is worth trying. People do not like to wait half an hour for their change and purchases and we do not want them clogging up the aisles while they are waiting. Go ahead with your scheme, anyway.” The rear exit plan works Hike a charm. People walk in at the front door and walk out into the rear store and so on out into Sixth street. The motion of the crowd is, as a rule, all in one direction. To be sure there are always people walking back and forth, from one department to an- other, but there is no football rush at the front door and in the main aisles, as there used to be. It took some time to inaugurate the bundle delivery system Buyers would wait as if afraid some trick was be- ing played on them, at first. They re- fused to take their eves off the clerk they had given their money to until they got their goods and their change —which is human nature, after all. But in time the bundle service be- came familiar to all, and now people take a sort of pride in showing their friends from the cunotry how familiar they are with the complicated system of a big store. Anyway, Worthington has wiped out two evils: The buyer on the way out and the buyer waiting for goods and change. That is why his store is not a place of torture during the holiday rush. Alfred B. Tozer. —_2-.___ New Beverage Container Has Many Attractions. : A new principle in packaging bottled beverages is becoming very popular in the beverage field, a packing material moulded to the form of the bottle mak- ing a tight fitting enclosure which en- sures not only protection against breakage handled roughly in transit but insulation, especially for when retaining a mean temperature. More important is the utility in dis- playing the bottled beverage and serv- ing as carriers or home packs for bot- tled beverages. The new product ap- peared as the answer to the beverage industry’s long search for a satisfac- tory package—one that could be pre- packed at the bottling plant, serve as a flexible over-the-counter package and which could be carried conveniently. 2 MICHIGAN TRADESMAN December 21, 1932 — FARM EQUIPMENT DEALERS. Annual Address of President Schantz at Lansing Convention. In reviewing conditions this year and comparing them with a year ago, I am prone to say that we have not made the progress you and I had hoped for. True, it has not been your fault nor mine, but the world wide troublesome conditions which have followed us to every county and town- ship in which we live. Sales of tractors and heavy machin- ery, outside of a few rare cases, have hit the lowest level since they have come into their own, and still in com- paring automobiles we find from the report of October for this year, only 50,000 units were made. No question but that more replacements are neces- sary than what are sold and the same applies to the heavy machinery. Small- er horse drawn tools did not measure up in sales, although some places re- port a fair trade in this class of goods. The one redeeming feature in our business that has held its been the repair business. Repairs have held their volume with former years, even if No. 9 wire did make a great play, and right here let us give our own state association the credit that is due, in regards to the everlasting pounding the last two years of “get- ting cash for repairs.” This is one of the most vital association services rendered and if you or I as dealers do not demand cash it is our own fault. We have been accustomed to giving good service in repairs and it is not uncommon for anyone in the imple- ment business to furnish repairs for tools from twenty-five to forty years old. I had occasion the other day to furnish a part for a machine which had seen service for fifty-two years. By comparison, try and get a repair for an automobile eight or ten years old. They just don’t aim to do it. Keep after collections, for this is money which is due you. Do it sys- tematically. Go out certain routes and cover them at stated intervals; keep calling and. calling on the man who owes you. He will have some money, even though it is only a little, and he will pay the man first who pesters him most. Make names and amounts owing you on accounts and notes. Carry this list with you at all times and keep it up to date. All you need besides this list is a receipt book and when you see a customer who owes you, don’t be bashful, but tackle him for your money. Send statements every month, give them a personal touch such as, “we are in urgent need of funds,” please pay by the 10th,” “part payment at this time help,” “anything you can do will be appreciated,” etc. Keep your customer honest and he won’t cross the street. Instead, he will come into your store. Write letters, and if you are poor at that kind of work, get your associa- tion collection service and use that. If it is necessary to repossess a tool, do it, don’t wait, get it in your place at once. and do it with good grace if pos- sible, but get the old deals cleaned up and it will give you time for something more profitable. own has lists of would One of the real evidences of a step in the right direction is the improve- ment shown at this time in our finan- cial structure. The banks are begin- ning to show strength and the con- tinual sapping of the banks in the past has reversed itself and through the agencies of Government, help has and will be given where deserved. I was agreeably surprised when my banker told me last week that less than 100 savings accounts were needed to give their bank the largest number of sav- ings accounts in their history, and this from the largest bank in Grand Rapids. Our industry is a fundamental neces- sary A person would not conceive of going farming without the use of labor saving implements. In the last 100 years the progress made in the development and use of farm tools is practically inconceivable. With the limited sale of implements and tractors in the last two years there cannot help but be an increased de- mand. In conversation with farmers from day to day they invariably tell me that they are in need of equipment, only waiting for a better break in con- ditions. It is not necessary to dwell I do not know of a single major crop of any conse- quence which did not surpass former years in our state and throughout the Nation the same, but, unfortunately, supply and demand have something to do with prices. The thought I can give you for next year is that we apply ourselves; be diligent about our work, and make good use of our time. Don’t waste it on unprofitable sales. Analyze each sale and its possibilities for profit. Sales are fewer and it be- hooves us to make good ones. Know the financial status of your prospect. Our group meetings have not been as successful this year as in years past, consequently we have not had as many meetings or as many in attendance. Dealer troubles were not in evidence as in former years. “Who gets the business,” did not apply so much this year as, “dare I sell him” and “will I get my money?” Nevertheless I trust this good work will continue and as gets on a better basis the demand will again be felt for monthly group meetings. business. on the bumper crops. only constructive business It is natural for dealers in times like we are experiencing to want to econ- omize in every way possible, but they are likely to go to the extreme in cur- tailing expenditures. Support of a good association is more important in times of stress than in times of plenty. A wise dealer would not think of permitting his insurance policies to be cancelled simply because it is difficult to pay the premiums. We are won- dering if the associations, safeguard- ing your interests as they do, are not, after all, the best insurance you have and if their protective influence, their many services, do not make member- ship one of the best assets in your business. Our appeal to all implement dealers is that they stand together against every force which in any way opposes their progress. Your secretary and your officers are doing everything humanly possible for the advancement of the dealers’ interests, but without help they cannot accomplish all you hope for. I feel that we should give our wholehearted endorsement in adver- tising and promoting the sugar beet industry of our state. The thousands of acres used this year in the produc- tion of sugar beets has taken the place of the same number of acres grown to various crops which have shown over- production. This industry is an added asset to us all, helps the farmer and uses additional employment in its har- vesting and manufacture. Modern beet sugar is now on a par with cane sugar. The housewife owes no apol- ogy in using it for every purpose, in- cluding canning. Let us all specify beet sugar from now on. I trust our resolutions will include an endorse- ment of this subject. The four points coonstituting the Farm Prosperity First Program, which was included in the resolutions of the National Federation, is such a wonder- ful composition that I feel that I must bring it to your attention. It s clear to all thinking people that the recovery of business is very largely dependent upon the return of pros- perity to the farms, therefore, it is the belief of this convention that the fol- lowing steps are essential to the im- provement of the conditions of agri- culture. 1. The utmost economy in the ad- ministration of all public business (from Congress to the» township board) and, the redistributio nof the tax burden so that real property may not have to bear the enormous share it now does. : _2.. The readjustment of transporta- tion rates, to the end that the primary essentials of life may not carry such high rates. Also, that provision be made to allow temporary reduction of rates to areas needing aid in times of economic stress. 3. Phat all governmental agencies having contact with the farmer lend every possible aid in improving agri- cultural conditions, particularly as follows: a. In refinancing farm debts at low interest rates. : b. Through market information so that production may, as nearly as pos- sible, meet the probable demands. c. Assistance in the disposition of surpluses in such manner, and to such countries as shall have the least tend- ency to depress the home market. 4. That the present situation de- mands that every manufacturer or re- tailer of any goods essential to the economical production of food stuffs, join in delivering them to the farmer at the lowest cost consistent with the maintenance of their own business establishments. To the furtherance of this program, we pledge our every effort. We are indebted to R. A. Lathrop, Secretary of North Dakota, for his splendid outline and I trust that we will all, as individuals, dedicate our- selves to the fulfillment of the four point program and that our resolution committee will see fit to include it in the resolutions. I gratefully acknowledge at this time the assistance during the year of the officers, dealers, travelers and manu- facturers who have stood so nobly by our association. Also the finest bunch of past presidents an organization could possibly have. As an Association we all appreciate the co-operation of the manufacturers in putting on the complimentary luncheon. This is a new arrangement in our program and I am glad to note that it starts our convention off with a bang. In conclusion let us enjoy the con- vention, make it a part of ourselves, attend every meeting, be on time, give all our constructive criticisms and when we return home, we will have become inspired to do something bet- ter, and, grateful for courage to face the future we will say with the poet: Take what God gives oh heart of mine, And build your house of happiness, Perchance some have been given more, But many have been given less, The treasure lying at your feet Whose value you but faintly guess Another builder looking on, Would barter heaven to possess. Have you found work that you can do, Is there a heart that loves you best Is there a spot some where called home Where spent and worn your soul may rest A friendly tree, a book. a song A dog that loves your hands carress A store of health to meet lifes needs Then build your house of happiness! Trust not tomorrow's dawn to bring The dreamed of joy for which you wait You have enough of pleasant things To house your soul in goodly state To-morrow times relentless stream May bear what now you have away Take what God gives, oh heart and build, Your house of happiness to-day. Survey Grocery Credits. A study of wholesale grocery credits has been started by the retail grocery merchandising committee of the Na- tional Wholesale Grocers Association, in conjunction with the research de- partment of R. G. Dun & Co. The results of the survey will be presented for discussion at the annual convention of the grocery association on Jan. 23 and 24 at the Congress Hotel in Chi- cago. The questionnaire, which was sent out last week, conatins eighteen ques- tions on all phases of grocery whole- saling. The study will cover four groups of wholesalers—those doing a business over $5,000,000, those with a volume of $1,000,000 to $5,000,000, those ranging between $500,000 and $1,000,U00 and those under $500,000. —_—_+- Men’s Gift Buying Restricted. The failure of gift buying to appear in any volume cut sales in men’s wear stores appreciably during the week and executives reported that it was one of the poorest holiday periods they have experienced in many years. Some sta- ple furnishings, such as shirts, neck- wear and hosiery, have been bought, but the more expensive lines, including robes, silk pajamas and other novelties failed to move. Even special promo- tions of low-price clothing and fur- nishings did not elicit much interest from customers. The cold weather brought out a little activity on over- coats, principally those selling at $25 and under. —__ tes Fair Demand For Home Glassware. Among producers of blow and press- ed glassware, items for table and kitchen use continue in fair demand. Orders for these products during the last several weeks have been for small individual quantities, but of satisfactory proportions in the aggregate. In the Eastern section of the country, special sets, such as decanter combinations, four and six piece smokers’ outfits and the decorated variety of jugs and tum- blers enjoy fair turnover for the mo- ment. Plate glass requirements for the automobile field continue slow, while requisitions from the building trades for flat glass reflect the dullness in the construction line. ae i | , f ee December 21, 1932 IN THE REALM OF RASCALITY. Questionable Which Are Under Suspicion. Schemes The Los Angeles Commercial Bul- letin warns retailers of a new “racket” which it says is being practiced by some crooked concerns in that section. It says: “A smooth salesman approaches a retailer with a plausible story about how easy it should be to sell his busi- ness at a profit. The dealer, naturally is skeptical, and the salesman counters with a proposition that he will handle the sale on a basis which will pay its own commission. For example, he will ask a flat commission of $500 for selling the business, but instead of asking $4,000, whch would be a satis- factory price to the owner, he will ‘guarantee’ $4,500, making this extra $500 pay the commission. “The dealer is given to believe, fur- thermore, that there will be no com- mission paid unless the sale is actually made and, in any event, the contract is for a limited time—say fifteen days. “But what actually happens? “Nothing comes from the sales- man’s glowing promise to sell the store and the retailer dismisses the matter from his mind Possibly he thinks about writing the agency, definitely canceling the listing, but can find no copy of the contract. Presently, he sells the store, possibly at auction, and gets not $4,500 for it but $2,500. Then the racketeering broker, who apparent- ly has given no further attention to the matter, files with the escrow a bill for $500. : “When the retailer protests, he is told to read his copy of the contract. Having received none, he gets a dupli- cate from the broker. He finds—if it is a typical form—that the contract, while supposedly for fifteen days, ac- tually continues for six months—pos- sibly indefinitely—and that commission is payable, no matter how or by whom the sale may be made. “Not only that, but the contract, un- fair as it may seem, has in many cases been held by the courts as a perfectly legal document. The fact that it did not coincide with the salesman’s state- ments is regarded as having no bear- ing on the matter, as the signer had an opportunity to read it before affix- ing his signature. “Take no chances on having some forgotten contract bob up after a sale has been made through other parties. There are cases on record where com- missions almost approximating the total sale price of the business have been claimed—and allowed by the courts.” A manufacturer agrees to dscon- tinue the use of endorsements which are not the unbiased opinions of users of the product and to discontinue the use of endorsements given for a mone- tary consideration unless accompanied by a statement to that effect. A manufacturer agrees to discon- tinue impressing the words “One Pint” “Full Pint” or “Half Pint” upon glass bottles having a capacity less than that indicated and stamped thereon. — A manufacturer of electric clocks and lanips agrees to discontinue repre- MICHIGAN senting that he holds patents on the products. A manufacturer agrees to discon- tinue the use of the word “Witch Hazel” to designate soap that does not contain witch hazel in sufficiently substantial quantities as to be so designated. A distributor agrees to discontinue the use of the word “Fashioned” to designate hosiery that has not been manufactured by the method used to produce fashioned hosiery. A conductor of a correspondence school of instruction in aviation, agrees to discontinue misrepresenting the scope of the instruction, the demand for and opportunities open to its graduates, and the financial benefits the students will realize. A distributor agrees to discontinue representing that two alleged reme- dies distributed are competent to cure psofiasis, when such is not the fact. A manufacturer agrees to discon- tinue the use of the word “St. Thomas” on labels designating bay rum that is not manufactured at St. Thomas, in the West Indies. A manufacturer agrees to discon- tinue representing that his salesmen are representatives of Drovers Veter- nary Union or that he has purchased Drovers Veterinary Union, when such are not the facts; to discontinue repre- senting that Drovers Veterinary Union has cheapened or changed its formula when such is not the fact; and to dis- continue representing that a certain product is made from the same formu- la from which the product made by the Drovers Veterinary Union designated “Third Degree” was formerly made, when the “Third Degree’ continues to be made by the Drovers Veterinary Union, and by the formula always used by them. A distributor agrees to discontinue the use of the word “Manufacturing” in firm name and to discontinue its use in any manner to imply ownership or operation of a factory in which the carbon paper and typewriter ribbons sold are manufactured, when neither Owning nor operating such a factory. A manufacturer agrees to discon- tinue representing that an alleged malt extract manufactured will perform the same Or similar functions in the meta- bolism of the human body as cod liver oil, when such is not the fact. A manufacturer agrees to discon- tinue misrepresenting the therapeutic value of certain alleged remedies for diseases common to livestock; to dis- continue representing that a certain treatment is an effective remedy for certain diseases of live stock when no scientifically recognized remedy has been discovered for those diseases; and to discontinue representing that a product designated “Stomach Medi- cine” is. a competent remedy for chronic troubles of the human stom- ach, when such is not the fact. A distributor of soap agrees to dis- continue circulating a test or formula designed to show that soaps made with animal fats contain free alkali, when such is not the fact; and to discontinue publishing a warning against the use of soaps that contain animal fats on the score that most soaps are made of animal fats or grease that you scrape from the dinner dishes, that they leave TRADESMAN a greasy film on the skin that clogs the pores, make the skin coarse, pre- vent it from throwing off the poison- ous bodily excretions, and often cause eruptions, when such are not the facts. A manufacturer agrees to discon- tinue representing that cats and dogs will not eat a certain vermin extermin- ator and that it will mumify the car- casses of rats and mice, thus prevent- ing offensive odors, when such are not the facts. A publisher of a book designed to inform importers relative to the cus- toms tariff, United States Customs procedure and procedure at different ports in the United States, agrees to discontinue the use of the words “United States” in firm name and to discontinue the use of the words “United States,’ “U. S. Commerce Publications” and the representation 3 of an eagle, or other insignia, in a manner to imply affiliation with or en- dorsement by the United States Gov- ernment, when neither a part of nor. officially endorsed by the Federal Government; and to discontinue repre- senting that the address of the pub- lishers is the United States Customs 3uilding in New York City and that some of its officers are officially con- nected with the U. S. Customs Service or were interested in the publication while so connected, when such are not the facts. A manufacturer of malt syrup agrees to discontinue the use of the word “Extract,” to designate products that are not extracts manufactured wholly from barley malt. A distributor agrees to discontinue misrepresenting the weight of soap and of other commodities sold. Anchor Red Salmon Rademaker-Dooge Grocer Co. Distributors of Red Heart Med. Red Salmon Surf Pink Salmon Bull Dog Sardines Red Crown Sliced Beef The House of Quality and Service A NEW SALES-BOOSTING . ga ELCDT 08 _COFFEE | Product of DISCOVERY! The average man or woman has a ‘coffee tolerance’ of 5 cups a day, provided the coffee is fresh. That’s a new scientific discovery, now featured in Chase & San- born’s Dated Coffee advertising. Capitalize on this new appeal and STANDARD BRANDS INCORPORATED get your share of the increased business by pushing this famous brand that’s always fresh. Besides regular profits, additional you'll gain the advantages of the Standard Brands Merchandising Plan of— frequent deliveries, small, fresh stocks, small investment and quick turnover. CHASE & SANBORN’S Dated COFFEE 4 MOVEMENTS OF MERCHANTS. Detroit—Aladdin Sales, Inc., 944 Penobscot building, has been incorpo- rated with a capital stock of $2,000, all subscribed and paid in. Detroit — The LaSalle Boot Shop, Inc., 6525 14th street, has been incor- porated with a capital stock of $1,000, all subscribed and paid in. Grand Rapids—The Northwestern Timber Co., 303 Michigan Trust build- ing, has been incorporated with a cap- ital stock of $1,000, all subscribed and paid in. Lansing — William O. Kantlebner has removed his jewelry and clock and watch repair business from North Lansing to the corner of Grand River and Washington avenues. Detroit—Good Times Sales, Penobscot building, has been organ- ized to do general merchandising, with a capital stock of $5,000, all being sub- scribed and $1,000 paid in. Lansing—The North Side Pharmacy, Inc., 1136 North Washington avenue, has been incorporated with a capital stock of 300 shares at $10 a share, $3,000 being ‘subscribed and paid in. Cadillac—The L. J. Deming Co. has merged its plumbing, heating and ga- rage supplies business into a_ stock company under the same style with a capital stock of $5,000, all subscribed and paid in. Detroit—The Cumulative Sales Co., 1026 First National Bank building, has been incorporated to act as merchan- dise broker with a capital stock of $50,000, of which $1,000 has been sub- scribed and paid in. Detroit—The Progressive Sales Co., 801 Cadillac Square building, has been organized to deal in merchandise spec- jalties with a capital stock of 5,000 shares at $1 a share, $1,000 being sub- scribed and paid in. Lansing—The Mills Dry Goods Co. recently assigned some of its book ac- counts to Marshall Field & Co. as se- curity for a past due account. The Cap- ital National Bank thereupon proceed- ed to place the corporation in the hands of F. D. Keller, of Edson, Moore & Co. as receiver. Mr. Keller has placed James Sander, of Edson, Moore & Co. in charge of the stock, with in- structions to close it out as rapidly as possible. inc., Manufacturing Matters. Detroit—Montague, Inc., 1420 Far- mer street, has been organized to man- ufacture and repair drapes and furni- ture coverings, with a capital stock of $6,000, all subscribed and paid in. Kalamazoo — American Electrical Displays, Inc., 812 Gull street, has been incorporated to manufacture illuminat- ed signs with a capital stock of 10,000 shares at $1.20 a share, $12,000 being subscribed and paid in. Charlotte—Harry Wills, recently of Vermontville, has leased the Goodrich Manufacturing plant where he will manufacture magnetic separators, mail- ing list machines and several electrical items to be used in elevators. Grand Rapids—The Young-Johnson Furniture Co., 106 Division avenue, South, has been incorporated to manu- facture and sell furniture and house- MICHIGAN hold appliances with a capital stock of $100,000 common and $50,000 preferred, $70,000 being subscribed and paid in. —_—_—_»~++___ Damages For Injury To Good Will. Needless to say, the good will of a retail business may constitute one of its most valuable assets, and any im- pairment thereof may indeed be a serious matter for the owner. By the same token, the law will give a mer- chant a right of action for damages, that result from any deliberate and un- fair course of action that tends to destroy or injure an asset of this kind. Of course, since each case of this kind must necessarily be decided in the light of the particular facts involved, the subject cannot be covered by any hard and fast rule. However, as an example of judicial reasoning thereon and the possible liability of one for in- tentionally injuring the good will of a business, the following case is squarely in point. In this case the plaintiffs were part- ners engaged in conducting a retail business, while the defendant resided across the street from where plaintiffs’ business was located. For some reason which does not appear in the report, the defendant took a dislike to plain- tiffs and openly stated that he would put them out of business if it cost him a thousand dollars. Defendant, it appears, owned con- siderable property in the neighbor- hood, and made good on his threat by telling his tenants that if they traded with plaintiffs they would have to move. Furthermore, he kept his word and compelled one or two of his ten- ants to move upon their failure to quit trading at the plaintiffs’ place of busi- ness. In addition to the foregoing, defend- ant from day to day took up a position on his porch and called to his tenants and others who passed by not to trade at plaintiffs. He stated plaintiffs were not reliable, that their goods were trash, and called upon people not to go into plaintiff's establishment. Defendant, it appears, pursued this course of action continuously for about two months and with such success that he actually put plaintiffs out of busi- ness. Their trade fell off under the continued verbal attack of defendant until their profits dropped to from forty to fifty cents per day, and they closed up. Following this, the plaintiffs brought the instant action for damages against the defendant for the driving away of their trade and the loss of their busi- ness. Upon the trial of the case the plaintiffs showed their damage by prov- ing their net weekly profits before de- fendant started to drive them out of business and what they earned after that time. On the evidence as sub- mitted the trial resulted in a judgment for plaintiffs for $1,400 for the loss of their business, and $5,000 punitive damages. The defendant appealed from this, and especially contended that the judgment for punitive damages was grossly excessive and should be set aside. In passing upon this point, and in affirming the judgment the higher court reasoned: “The facts appearing in the case au- thorized a verdict for punitive dam- TRADESMAN ages. The malicious and inexcusable conduct of appellant (defendant) con- tinuously and persistently engaged in for two consecutive months, accom- panied by offensive and vicious accla- mations directed toward appellees (plaintiffs) and their business, result- ing in their closing it, authorized the jury to find punitive damages. “The appellant’s (defendant’s) con- duct and declarations were an invasion of the appellees’ (plaintiffs’ rights and not only aggravating and insulting, but were engaged in by him in utter reck- less disregard of the rights of the ap- pellees to enjoy the peaceful pursuit of their own business. Accepting the theory of the appellees and their ex- planation of his protracted course of conduct it cannot be said that $5,000 punitive damages were excessive. Wherefore the judgment is affirmed. The foregoing case was somewhat unusual in its facts, but it constitutes a striking illustration of the possible liability that may be incurred by one who intentionally pursued a course of action for the purpose of injuring the good will of a business. Here, it is obvious, the defendant went to great and wholly unwarranted lengths in his campaign to drive away plaintiffs’ cus- tomers and continued therein until he had accomplished his purpose. In the light of which, the holding of the court in sustaining the judgment rendered, not only for actual damages but for punitive damages as well, is in accord with a long line of decisions that uphold punitive damages in cases of this kind. A nice case indeed on the subject involved, and one that may well give pause to anyone contemplat- ing a course of action of this kind, for the purpose of wrecking an establish- ed business by driving away its cus- tom and trade. Leslie Childs. —__>-~> Impairing Health By Excessive Caution. Health faddists belong to that minority of persons who naturally be- come excessively enthusiastic about something because it is new. They are likely to be influenced by the gloss rather than by the heart of the matter. They are “in the mode,” which, after all, is often their main concern. Such persons fall for all sorts of ideas, some of them good, others only half good, many of no value, and others of decided harm. It is quite impossible to control persons of this type, for by their very nature they are quite uncontrollable. So, if they make a mess of things, it is their own fault. But there is another class who are really sincere about health and long life, who overdo the thing. And ad- vice can help such persons. A well-meaning man recently came into a physician’s office somewhat worried about his condition. The doctor, after questioning him, discov- ered that he religiously walked four miles a day, watched his diet like a detective, got his eight hours nightly sleep willy-nilly, drank no coffee or tea, used no tobacco, and in every other conceivable way seriously and conscientiously attempted to carry out the basic living rules. But the sad _ fact remained that physical righteousness had not only gone to his head but to his body also. December 21, 1932 This individual had become so imbued with the religion of proper living that he unconsciously had become a fanatic and in his fanaticism had become so violently earnest in well-being, that the thing back-fired upon him. In- short, he was a nervous wreck. Which should at least prove that health fanaticism, whether directed to- ward fads or orthodox expressions, is good for neither the soul nor the body. Persons, of course, should become interested in healthy living. And they should abide by the major rules of nature, and thus make a practical ap- plication of their interest. But when the zeal for health ‘becomes an obses- sion, it is carrying the thing quite too far. After all, the main object in life is to live. Most of the living should be a more or less automatic affair with the primary rule of moderation and good sense crowning all. Dr. Theodore B. Appel. ——_2++——___ Grocer Problem That Is Hard To Beat. “Problems facing the independent grocers in 1933 are multitudionous, multifarious and never ceasing,” de- clared William H. Funk. president of the Independent Retail Grocers of Baltimore, Inc. “One of these was put up to head- quarters this week, when a member made this statement: ‘I am carrying on my books three and one-half times the amount of credit accounts that I was carrying last December, and this in the face of the fact that commodity values are lower.’ “Don’t you think you ought to cut them off?” I asked. “The grocer replied, ‘These people have been dealing with us for years, some of them twenty or thirty years; they are up against it, we can’t see them starve.’ Now, this man not only has to carry this load, but has to meet chain store competition. His trade is of such a character that they quote chain prices to him and demand equal prices. The customer never figures that this grocer is charging his goods and has no idea when he will receive his pay. The chain demands cash or no goods, and yet unreasonable women expect equal. if not better prices. Not only does chain competition have to be met, but erratic independents, often irresponsible, are cutting worse than the chains. “Women are prone to compare meat prices and never consider quality and expect and demand from the establish- ed grocer a quality and weight that they know is impossible to be obtained at the cut-price establishment.” —_—_*-+-o- Six New Readers of the Tradesman. The following new subscribers have been received during the past week: John W. Niemeyer, Grand Rapids. August Biewer, Grand Rapids. F, E, Shears, Kalamazoo. A. J. Rademacher, Grand Rapids. A. G. Cooper, Grand Rapids. Wendt & Kanners, Detroit. —_2 32> A new synthetic transformer oil compares with mineral oil as an in- sulating and cooling medium, is non- explosive and non-inflammable. Ap- paratus must be designed especially for it. ne AR RSE RS NAPE 7 i] 4 ij } December 21, 1932 MICHIGAN TRADESMAN Essential Features of the Grocery Staples. Sugar — Local jobbers hold cane granulated at 4.65c and beet granu- lated at 4.50c. Tea—Figures issued during the week show an increase in the imports of tea about 1 per cent. covering the five months from July 1 to November 30. Considerable of this increase was in Java teas and also in Indias, For- mosas and Japans. Ceylons showed smaller imports and so did Pingsueys. Primary markets showed fractional de- clines during the week in some grades, but in this country prices remain about unchanged. The first hands demand is very moderate. Consumptive de- mand routine. Coffee—The market for Rio and Santos coffee, green and in a large way, has been restless during the week with some small gains early in the week and about corresponding losses later. Perhaps actual Rio and Santos is a small fraction higher than it was a week ago. The first hands business in these coffees has been quiet since the last report. There is a little easier feeling in mild coffees, though it has not resulted in any notable decline. The jobbing market on roasted coffee is substantially as it was a week ago. Canned Fruits—Business is being booked on new pack grapefruit at the low prices named late last week. The Polk company has met the 92%c price on No. 2s established by the Scoville Canning Co., so that for the time being this establishes the market. Grapefruit is not likely to go lower; in fact, the probabilities point rather to advances, but more will have to be known of packing plans and the trend of fresh fruit before any guess of the future market can be made. Canned Vegetables — The major vegetables showed no change during the week. Some liquidation of Mid- west corn has been completed while standard peas and beans are just where they were a week ago. Higher grades are dragging. Canngd Fish—Important news of the week is the effort of the Maine sardine packers to get a tariff so high that it will put a decided crimp in the importation of Norwegian sardines in particular. Nobody appears to think that they will succeed as the two products resemble each other only in name. As to salmon, Alaska salmon of the various grades is about steady and fairly active. Japanese pink sal- mon is attracting some attention in this country entirely on the question of price. The supply is not large. The current pack of shrimp is going to be short this year and this is affecting the market to some extent. Other tinned fish unchanged, quiet. The approval of President Hoover as to the Tariff Commission’s findings on imported crabmeat settles the issue, so far as a higher tariff is concerned. For various reasons the Commission has found that imported crabmeat differs from domestic crabmeat and that the costs of production in this country and in Japan, the principal competing coun- try, do not furnish an adequate basis for determining the duty under Section 336. The tariff on imported crabmeat, therefore, remains unchanged. Dried Fruits—The cold weather is here and the holidays fast approaching. These two factors have served to put a little more life into the spot dried fruit market, which has been drifting along without any special activity or interest being displayed in it. Jobbers here reported a pick-up in business. The character of the trading has not materially changed, however. Retail distributors are so closely covering their requirements that undoubtedly a sizable business is being lost by the fact that inventories have not been well rounded out. Low spot prices on fruits are nicely timed with the cold weather when dried fruits are most in demand. Raisins, apricots, prunes and dried peaches and pears are priced at levels which should encourage volume consumption, but they have, of course, got to meet the competition of other foods also featured at low prices. The coast market continues relatively firm- er than the spot market. There is little pressure to sell raisins and prunes are effectively controlled by the pool. Apricots and other items are so well out of the hands of growers that the future market is definitely in the hands of packers. Beans and Peas—Demand for dried beans during the week has continued poor and the price situation is weak. This refers to practically the entire list. Split peas, especially yellow splits, are also weak and neglected. Nuts—Somewhat improved buying has come into the nut market as busi- ness is expected to increase now as the holidays approach. Prices show no particular changes for the week, al- though pecans, filberts and Brazils are generally in light supply. French wal- nuts eased slightly recently, but de- mand from this country is so light that there is little basis for attractive trad- ing. The shelled nut market as a whole has been somewhat more active, also, as large buyers have been cover- ing their requirements for the holidays. New crop Manchurians are here,: but first arrivals are said to lack quality, just as the first arrivals of French walnuts were inferior to the old crop. Rice—The market shows a rather featureless tone, as more attention now is being devoted to selling out mer- chandise already on the shelves or in the warehouses than to new buying. A better market is looked for soon after the first of the year, however. Stocks are not heavy. Rough rice is rather inactive in the South, as mill stocks are ample for the near future. Both the rough and clean rice markets are generally well maintained, however, and losses have been slight. Salt Fish—Demand for mackerel and other salt fish continues good and the situation is healthy on account of the lack of surplus. American shore mackerel are plentiful enough for the demand, for medium and smaller sizes, ‘but the large mackerel are scarce. Sauerkraut—The demand for sauer- kraut remains slow. Syrup and Molasses—Demand for sugar Syrup has been fair during the week with prices steady on account of limited production. Compound syrup unchanged in price with quiet demand. Grocery grades of molasses are un- changed, quiet selling. Vinegar—Nothing new has develop- ed in the vinegar field. The demand is quite normal. Cider, although still moving in quantity, has passed the peak of its season. No price changes are reported. ——_--___ Review of the Produce Market. Apples—20 oz. Pippin and Red Mc- Intosh, $1@1.25 per bu.; Wagner, 85c @1.25; Spys, $1.50 for No. 1 and $1 for No. 2; Baldwins ,75c@$1; Green- ings and Russets, 75c@$1. Bagas—Canadian, 60c per 50 lb. sack. Bananas—5@5Mc per tb. Beets—60c per bu. Butter—The, market has ruled from steady to firm during the past week and has shown no change in price. At the present writing the demand is fair and the receipts are being well clean- ed up. Jobbers hold plain wrapped prints at 24c and 65 Ib. tubs at 23c for extras, Cabbage—40c per bu.; 50c for red. California Fruits—Empress Grapes, $1.50. Carrots—35c per doz. bunches per bu. Cauliflower—$1.75 per crate contain- ing 6@9, Celery—20@30c per bunch. Cocoanuts—90c per doz. or $5.50 per bag. Cranberries—$2.75 per 25 lb. box for Late Howe. Cucumbers—No. 1 home grown hot house, $1.20 per doz. Dried Beans—Michigan jobbers pay as follows for hand picked at shipping station: €. EH. Pea from elevator _.. $1.10 Pes from Cismier .90 Light Red Kidney from farmer __ 1.50 Dark Red Kidney from farmer __ 1.25 Cranberry beans to farmer ______ 225 3 0c Eggs—Offerings of fine fresh eggs continue limited and if there was any improvement in the demand prices would undoubtedly advance. The market is about 2c per dozen lower for the week and that is on a rather mod- erate demand. Jobbers pay 26c for 56 lb. crates and 28c for 57 and 58 Ib. Pullet eggs fetch 17c per lb. Jobbers sell candled fresh eggs at 30c. Cold storage are offered on the following basis: MN; candied (220-57 27c M Gandled 2220 2 ee. 24c Clee 23¢ Grape Fruit—Present prices are as follows: Plorida More Juice —...~.-._..- $3.00 Elomda Sealed Sweet _.---__. 3.25 fBexas: Choice 2. 3.50 exas, fatey 20. 94. 2 S45 Green Onions—Chalots, 50c per doz. Green Peppers—60c per doz. Honey—The market is weak and un- certain, because of over supply. Lettuce — In good demand on the following basis: Imperial Valley, 6s, per crate ~.$3.25 Imperial Valley, 4s and 5s, crate 3.25 Hot house, 10 Ib. basket _._____- 65 Lemons—The price is as follows: Geo See $6.00 OOO: Suticist 220 6.00 S00 Hom Bat oo. 5.00 om eee de 5.00 Mushrooms—28c per one Ib. carton. Oranges—Fancy Sunkist California Navels are now sold as follows: 5 $260 $3.50 PS 3.50 176 3.50 200 2 CO RG aaa 262 2 O88 3.50 S28 ee aa Red Ball, 50c per box less. Onions—Home grown, 50c per bu. for medium yellow. Domestic Spanish, $1.50 per crate. Parsley—50c per doz. bunches. Potatoes—Home grown 35c per bu. on the local market; Idaho bakers, 25c for £5 Ib. sack. Poultry—Wilson & Company pay as follows: Meavy fowls 10c Fignt tows... 8c Peeks 8c Light Broilers 2fis.. i 7c Rock Broilers, 214 lbs. up _______ Oc Takes... l1c Geese 7c Radishes—40c per doz. bunches hot House. Spinach—$1.50 per bu. for Southern grown. Squash—Hubbard, $2 per 100 tbs. Sweet Potatoes—$1.50 per bu. for kiln dried Indiana, Tangerines—$2.25 per box or bu. Tomatoes—Hot house, $1.10 per 7 Ib. basket. Veal Calves — Wilson & Company pay as follows: Paley 6@7c ne. CL |. Se nn _5e —_~~-~.___ Start Off With Flying Colors. Red ‘and White stores opened their doors in Grand Rapids last Saturday as follows: Twenty-six Roy Blandford, 2165 Alppine, N. W. L. Bradley, 300 Corrine, S. W. Mrs. Nel Bronkema, 60 Mack, N.W. S. P. Cooper, 1056 Bridge, N. W. Ford DeYoung, R. No. 6. Greep & Rippens, 3006 Coit, N. E. Walter Grotenhuis, 302 Cedar, N. E. L. D. Haigh, 610 Alexander, S. E. Don Holaday, 742 Scribner, N. W. C. H. Heskett, 1955 Division, S. C. H. Heskett, 315 Michigan, N. E. Ideal Food Shop, 5th & Stock., N.W. Wm. Jennings, 2325 S. Division. J. Kolehouse, 1303 Alpine, N. W. Lowman & Anderson, 305 Division. L. V. Nelson, 1759 S. Division. S. Popma, 725 Spencer, N. E. C. E. Potruff, 976 Cherry, S. E. A. Rademacher. 336 Bridge, N. W. Schichtel Bros., 736 Bridge, N. W. Wilmer Selvius, 733 Alger, S. W. Stellard Bros., 700 Jefferson, S. E. John Waalkes, 1887 Grandville. C. T. Willacker, 152 Michigan. L. Wygmans, 724 Fulton St., W. E. W. Kowalski, 757 Michigan. A temporary committee has been appointed, as follows: advisory William Lowman. C. E. Pottruff. A. J. Rademacher. A. Stellard. A permanent committee will be elected soon after Jan. 1, at which the regular officers of the organization will be elected. All of the members report a satis- factory business on the opening day. 6 MUTUAL FIRE INSURANCE The Incendiary Fire Problem. During recent months nearly every city has reported a considerable in- crease in the number of indendiary fires. Arson is a problem to which a con- siderable number of cities are giving their attention. For example, the Bos- ton Chamber of Commerce and Massa- chusetts Safety Council have taken an active part in securing the adoption of amendments strengthening the arson statutes in Massachusetts this year. Arson Laws. The arson laws are a primary consideration in its proper control. For many years the laws of most states defined arson so haphazard- ly and imposed such severe penalties that convictions for the crime were very difficult to get. The model arson law sponsored by the National Fire Protection Association was prepared to correct these shortcomings, and thirty states have now adopted this law or its equivalent. Local communi- ties in the remaining states desirous of securing the model arson law may call on the N. F. P. A. for active support. Fire Records. Many cities are not aware they have an incendiary fire problem because fire records are incom- plete. No real investigation of the origin of fires is made and the records of large fires or those with suspicious circumstances are no more detailed than the report of a trivial grass or rubbish fire. The establishment of a good system of fire records by the fire department is important. MICHIGAN Arson Squads. The most important single procedure in any city toward the control of arson is prompt and thor- ough investigation by trained men of all suspicious fires. Many cities have established arson squads composed of fire department men and police detec- tives whose duty it is to be on call for fire investigation twenty-four hours a day and to prepare cases for prosecu- tion in court. One of the best known arson squads is the one in Detroit, now composed of two police department men and two firemen. During last year this squad investigated 1,216 fires, finding 150 of these of incendiary origin. The squad took statements of 420 witnesses and suspects, made sixty-three arrests and secured sixteen convictions. —_—_—_+--~. Cigarette the Greatest Fire Hazard Ever Known. Tom Wheeler is editor of the Farmers Guide, Huntington, Ind., one of the best farm papers published. He has given the subject of fire prevention on the farm serious thought and through the columns of his papers and through frequent radio broadcasts has been able to put his practical ideas over strong, reducing the fire losses on the farms of Indiana materially. In a recent issue, Tom said: “T had occasion this past week to deliver an address on fire prevention. In digging up data for developing my discussion I came across some astound- ing figures bearing on a serious fire hazard, namely, cigarette smoking. In 1930 there were 120,000,000,000 cigar- ettes smoked in the United States. TRADESMAN Think of that many stubs, many of them lighted, being tossed aside, every one a potential source of fire. A lighted cigarette, unlike a cigar, will burn un- til it is all consumed, and there are many instances on record of destructive fires resulting from the careless dis- position of these lighted stubs. “No matter what you think about the effect of cigarettes on human health and morals, they do constitute a fire hazard and especially on the farm, that must not be overlooked.” —_—_~2<+.___ A Fable For Builders. Last summer a good citizen of a cer- tain town not over a hundred miles from almost anywhere, built a wooden house for a woman and her children. He built the chimney of brick because he had to. The chimney was able to stand alone, so did not have to prop it with wood. But the floors of the house would not stay up without props. The good citizen saved a dollar by using the chimney as a support to the floors. He nestled the ends of the floor joists nicely in the brick of the chim- ney. He covered up the job and got his money. The rains fell and the winds blew in the most Biblical manner and winter came after its fashion. The chimney settled a little and there was a tiny crack. One morning the woman woke up with fire all about her. She tried to get to her children. If she got to them no one ever knew it. The good citizen who built the house was not arrested for manslaughter. He is building other December 21, 1932 houses of the same kind for other women and children. He is making his living by it. Franklin H. Wentworth. —_+-.>___. Warn the Outsider. In looking over a number of reports on fires in various plants, one is im- ppressed by the number that are caused by the carelessness of some person working in the plant only temporarily. Painters, carpenters, welders —all of the many men who come into a shop for a few days to repair or remodel— often do not understand the hazards present. Whenever any outsider is to work in a building where there are hazards of any kind, someone should explain to him the dangers present, and the local rules for preventing fires. The location of the work should be inspect- ed frequently, and particularly at the end of the day. The same obedience to plant rules should be demanded from the outsider as is expected from employes of the firm itself. It is obviously wrong to work out a thorough fire prevention code for employes only to have a fire because some outsider failed to heed its provisions. —_»2+>__ We Doubt This One. While loitering in a fire station the other day, we heard this story about an assistant chief: He drove home early one morning after a particularly hard fire that lasted for hours. Pulling into the driveway he climbed from his car and opened the garage doors. On finding that his car wasn’t in the 1907 I eT Tr er } , , E. G. Ashley, Toledo, Ohio Director and President M. J. French, Springfield, Ohio Director and Ass’t Secretary-Treasurer SS Sage ge nage age gE ge UGE aT Uy Uy a apy ay aT GP Rea aT Oe aT eT ee Oe OT I Silver Anniversary THE GROCERS MUUTUBL INSURANCE COMPANY SPRINGFIELD, OHIO For Twenty-Five years the Grocers Mutual has SUCCESSFULLY provided GROCERS and other Policy- Holders with SAFE and SOUND Fire and Tornado Insurance. We have paid our Policy-Holders $1,205,567.49 in Fire Losses. We have returned to our Fire and Tornado Insurance Policy-Holders dividends amounting to $768,83 71 —a saving of 25% on each policy. ARE YOU ONE OF THE 25,000 POLICY-HOLDERS THAT TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THIS SAVING? The GROCERS MUTUAL maintains the same Legal Reserve as Stock Companies, and is under the super- vision of the Insurance Department of the State of Ohio. DIRECTORS AND OFFICERS W. A. Knoderer, Columbus, Ohio Director and Vice President H. F. Duesing, Springfield, Ohio Director and Secretary-Treasurer Without obligation, Call our Agent or Special Representative, or address H. F. DUESING, Secretary, GROCERS MUTUAL BUILDING, SPRINGFIELD, OHIO We Insure Preferred Risks — Mercantile Buildings, Merchandise, Factories, Public Buildings and Homes Henry Mueller, Cincinnati, O. 1932 Director { { { ‘ ‘ { { { { ‘ { peepee _ellen alin el el tin tlt el tl Al tlt tn tl lll allt tl lll ttl ll lon nln ln en lin ln nen tlt Al li tn ln ttn nl nln inna ntl December 21, 1932 MICHIGAN TRADESMAN 7 garage, he slammped the doors shut, jumped into the car, and went to the police station to report his car was stolen. Could the fire have been in a brewery, or are we ahead of time? Fire Alarm Saves Life. The firebug believed to have set fire to a vacant apartment house in Lock- hart, Texas, recently, no doubt would be surprised to learn that his act was responsible for the saving of a man’s life. The night clerk at the railroad station, hearing the fire alarm, rushed out to see where the fire was. He stumbled over a drunk lying across the railroad tracks. A few minutes later a fast freight rushed by. —_22+>—__ Corporations Wound Up. The following Michigan corporations have recently filed notices of dissolu- tion with the Secretary of State: Mullin Land Co., Detroit. Atlas Iron & Steel Co., Detroit. — Automobile Transport Corp., Detroit. O. M. Smith & Co., Flint. Robins Resort and Development Co., Detroit. Michigan Chemicals, Inc., Grand Rap- ids. Pontiac Stationery Co., Pontiac. Telegraph Road Holding Co., Detroit. Allen Road Corp., Detroit. | Sunset Hills Estates, Detroit. Roberts-Chevrolet, Highland Park. Bridgman Chevrolet Sales Co., Flint. Chenik Hospital, Inc., Detroit. Dowagiac Farmers Co-operative As- sociation, Dowagiac. : Jean LeNault, Inc., Detroit. Inland Company, Grand Rapids. Paramount, Publix Corp., Detroit. F. E. D. Corp., Detroit. Parrish, Roskam & Keller, Detroit. Royal Oak Savings Building Co. Bilz-em Toys, Inc., Royal Oak. Thompson’s Malted Milk Co., Detroit. ; Seminole Fuel & Supply Co., Detroit. First Broomfield Threshing Co., Ltd., Mt, Pleasant. Penoleum Oil Corp., Detroit. : Detroit International Corp., Detroit. Delaware Floor Products Sales Co., Detroit. Royal Tire Service of Michigan, Inc., Saginaw. Inc., Quality Tire Service, Inc. Battle Creek. Master Tire Service, Inc, Grand Rapids. National Equipment Corp., Lansing. People’s Soda Water & Baking Co., Detroit. Barnett-Sturm Co., Detroit. Daggett Farm Bureau, Daggett. Harbor Tire Co., Benton Harbor. Phil’s Cut Rate Stores, Pontiac. W. J. Burton Co., Detroit. Petermann Stores Co., Inc., Laurium. R. G. Byron Florists, Detroit. Servwell Drug Co., Detroit. Big Rapids Fuel Co., Big Rapids. East Jordan Electric Light & Power Co., East Jordan. Dowagiac Light & Power Co., Do- wagiac. Holland Gas Co., Holland. Talo-Sima, Inc., Detroit. Earl Crest Land Co., Detroit. The Pittsford Milling Co., Pittsford. —__+2++—__——_ Equitable Manner of Handling Men Who Are Delinquent. Lansing, Dec. 17—Mr. Affeldt and myself sat in at a meeting of factory welfare executives which was _ held Dec. 13, at which time these executives discussed the employment situation fully. They were desirous of working out some plan whereby information con- cerning the men could be handled through a clearing house. In other words, they do not want everyone in the community phoning them, asking whether certain men were working and how long, and how much they had coming, all of which would be for the purpose of collecting past due ac- counts. In addition to this, men were garnisheed in many instances before they drew their first pay and in some cases, as high as three and four gar- nishments, which is discouraging to labor and kills the morale. After goin~ over the matter quite fully, it was decided that all informa- tion would be handled through the Lansing Credit Exchange, which pledged itself that we would not per- mit our collection department to garnish anyone until he had at least his second pay. We are enclosing a notice that is going out with our weekly bulletin to all of our members. Mr. Affeldt, thought you would be interested in receiving same. We feel that this ts a step forward and if at any time there should be further information you would like concerning it, we will be glad to furnish you with same. H. G. Heidt, Gen. Mer. Lansing Credit Exchange. The communication above referred to is as follows: Lansing, Dec. 17—At the sugges- tion of Welfare Executives of the prin- cipal factories, a meeting was held on Dec. 13, and a plan worked out by them which will make credit informa- tion more helpful to our members, which is as follows: The Welfare Departments will not pass out any informaton regarding their employes, except through the Lansing Credit Exchange. We suggest to our members that all credit information concerning factory employes and other employers of labor, be cleared through the Credit Exchange, rather than through the Welfare Departments. This arrangement will greatly help the factory Welfare Departments, while the service to you through the Credit Exchange will be prompt and efficient. Lansing Credit Exchange. —_2+>__ Items From the Cloverland of Michi- gan. Sault Ste. Marie, Dec. 19—The Sault has caught the holiday spirit, with Christmas coming upon us. It was a pleasant sight to note the crowds in the stores Saturday night. Some of the big department stores were so filled that it was with diffi- culty the crowd could get through the aisles. It recalled the good old times when depression was only to be found in the dictinary, There are plenty of turkeys at low prices coming into the city and the old-time newsboys have had their an- nual Saturday sale of newspapers to raise enough money to see that poor children are remembered by Santa Claus. The other charitable organiza- tions are also busy laying in: supplies to send out Christmas baskets, as has been the habit for many years. We have much to be thankful for this year and hope that next year will surprise us by being better than anticipated. Con Harris has purchased the build- ing formerly occupied by Jim Mc- Kenzie on East Spruce street and will occupy the same in the near future with his grocery stock. Mr. Harris has been in business on Easterday avenue for the past year and worked up-a good business, much of which he will take with him to his new location. The Ryan funeral home, which has been conducted during the past six months by the estate of the late James R. Ryan, will be continued by James Ryan, grandson of the former owner. James has completed a course in em- balming at a Chicago college. He was born and brought up ‘here, where he graduated from the high school. He has a host of friends who wish him every success in his new venture. Mr. Withey, manager of the Sault Kresge store, announces that the en- tire stock of the store will be disposed of this month in preparation for changes which the company has de- cided on. The store will be converted into the 5-10-25c type. It is now a 25c to $1 store. During the first three weeks in January the store will be closed. New stock will be shipped in and new fixtures will be placed. The disposal sale starts Monday and will continue until after Christmas. Percy Elliot, one of our well-known traveling salesmen, is taking a forced vacation, being laid up at home with the grippe. W. H. Miller was elected chairman of the War Memorial Hospital last week at the board of trustees meeting. The other members elected were D. E. Murray, vice-chairman, and Mrs. T. F. Falkner, secretary. “Live within your income” seems to be the prevailing advice of the day. 3ut this is pretty hard for a man who has no income. _Tronwood wll be the scene of the sixth annual Tri-State Dairy Con- gress on or about March 20. It will be the second meeting at Ironwood, the first having been held in 1930. j. Otis Pratt, formerly with the Wienneke Soo Co., has been added to the sales force of J. L. Lipsett & Sons. Pratt and Austin Lipsett make up the sales department, with Paul Hoholik as manager. Ve read of a farmer in North Caro- lina who wants the county to take his place for a poor farm site, so he won't lave to move. i Gladys Cutler, daughter of Ace Cut- ler, city salesman for the Soo Whole- sale Grocer Co., is going into the gro- cery business in the store recently oc- cupied by Con Harris on Ann street. This is Miss Cutler’s first business venture, but she has had several years’ experience in the office of the National Grocer Co. We wish the Tradesman and _ its many readers a Merry Christmas and a Prosperous New Year. William G. Tapert. @ There is satisfaction in knowing you are getting the most for your money That is why Federal policyholders continue their pro- tection with these companies year after year. They know that they are securing the safest protection, the best service and capable management at the lowest possible cost. It is pleasant to know you are securing value for every dollar expended. You don’t have to tolerate excessive insurance costs. The Federal Mutuals will save you 30 to 40%. Federal Hardware & Implement Mutuals Retail! Hardware Mutual Fire Ins. Co. Hardware Dealers Mutual Fire Ins. Co. Minneapolis, Minnesota Stevens Point, Wisconsin Minnesota Implement Mutual Fire Ins. Co. Owatonna, Minnesota Tk GRAND RAPIDS MERCHANTS MUTUAL FIRE INSURANCE CO. A LEGAL RESERVE MUTUAL COMPANY 23 YEARS OF DIVIDENDS TO POLICYHOLDERS Affiliated with THE MICHIGAN RETAIL DRY GOODS ASSOCIATION 320 Houseman Bldg.. Grand Rapids, Mich. OUR FIRE INSURANCE POLICIES ARE CONCURRENT with any standard stock policies that you are buying me Net Cots 0% Less Michigan Bankers and Merchants Mutual Fire Insurance Co. of Fremont, Michigan WILLIAM N. SENF, Secretary-Treasurer 8 THE TRADESMAN’S GREETING. As the Tradesman goes to press on this 21st day of December, millions of households are happy in the wide open integrity of our annual Season of Sa- cred Secrecy. Each one possesses its sanctum sanctorum where only the most trusted familiar may enter. And as we move about trying our best to preserve inviolate the confi- dences with which we have been en- trusted; striving to fight down the de- lightful expectations we are so fearful may be foreshadowed by our careless- ness, we cannot avoid seeing, hearing and feeling things which are truly holy. Even the tight shut doors of closets seem to mock us, while the locked drawers in dressers and chiffoniers, the demure bulks of great’ silent trunks, the lids of myriads of boxes and the wrappers of a host of bundles spring up and out and at one in a mad rout of ecstasy, as though bantering all to the commission of unpardonable in- discretions. And is this all a delusion? Do not peddle out the conventional cant, hiding behind the children as you thus indulge your disposition. If your stomach is out of order confess, but put aside your fears that the chil- dren are being deceived. Try, for once, at least, to see if you cannot form some conception as to the exquisite pleasure, the supreme pride and the beautiful devotion of mother, sister, father, brother, as they indulge in their ante-Christmas secrecy. The children know and the givers know that the children know. Better than all, the children know the significance of the day and of the giving. There is nothing dubious about the spirit of that house which is filled with the true Christmas cheer; nothing doubtful as to the purity and genuine- ness of that spirit. And so, from the Tradesman, to all households here’s a Merry Christmas to you. May your remembrances be those telling of increased harmony, peace and contentment and may your joys continue and increase fourfold with the passing of the New Year. INDUSTRY HOLDING GAINS. War debt developments, with pay- ments by Great Britain and others and defaults by France and her associates, overshadowed ordinary business affairs during the past week. The general opinion was that the French will lose considerably more than they failed to pay and that Britain has helped her case for adjustment. It is accepted that revision of the debts is in sight, but what the ordinary layman cannot see is why private debts are conspicuous by their absence from the discussions. It has been evident that for the last two months or so general business ac- tivity has entered a stage where it is resisting decline from the early Fall rise. In view of adverse developments of one kind or another, this is viewed in a hopeful light as marking clearer skies in the near future. The weekly index shows an upturn, which was brought about largely by the sharp rise in the automobile series. Automobile production more than dou- - ly disputed. MICHIGAN bled in the last week reported as pro- ducers expanded their output of new models. Commodity prices have eased further and the Annalist weekly index has fal- len to a new low at 86.1. The main losses were in farm products, which have dropped to an index number of 66.0. This compares with 128.1 for the fuel group and 106.5 for building ma- terials, which are so obviously out of line. Dun’s list for the week showed about the same excess of declines as previously. A group conspicuously weak in this compilation was hides and leather. While commodity price movements are scarcely of the cheering sort, at- tention may be called to recent labor statistics, which show improvement, and to a further drop in the adjusted figures for money in circulation. The latter have reached the low level of the year, although they are still about $800,000,000 above the point just before the hoarding rush began in June, 1931. FACTS REQUIRE STUDY. It is quite the usual thing at this stage in a depression to hear of many interpretations of the trouble and of countless plans for affording relief. Many of these offerings deserve scant attention, but others are worthy of consideration. Reactionary forces are not idle and they attempt to lump all plans together so that out of the con- fusion there may come little change and the ancient order may be bulwarked. At present there are discussions of purchasing power and how it may be improved so that business operations may be resumed on a normal scale. It has been shown that the most reliable figures available disclose a maladjust- ment of income which probably goes to the root of the crisis. But against this view it is argued that lower wages will finally touch a level that will en- able manufacturers to see a profit and induce them to start up operations. This theory of how recovery is to come about is earnestly disputed by those who believe that business ac- tivity under present conditions starts with consumer demand and not with lower costs. Fixed charges on plant and machinery, it is explained, have become too heavy to permit the old economic principle to work. Wages can be cut down to a point where the market is too restricted to absorb any- where near the normal output. The influence of the machine, it has been declared, has finally become so strong that a new social order is possi- ble. The debt burden is offered as a further reason pointing in this direc- tion. Both claims are, of course, warm- Nevertheless, facts will govern and it would be best for all con- cerned, it seems, to consider and work on those facts instead of letting their emotions control their views. INACCURATE FIGURES. In the agitation being carried on by certain domestic interests against im- ports of various kinds, there have been some figures used which are growing somewhat shopworn. They were not correct to start with, and age has not added to their accuracy. TRADESMAN Thus, an official of the International Chamber of Commerce, who returned last week from the meeting held in Paris, took occasion to repeat these dreary statistics. Rubber footwear im- ports for the first six months of this year, he declared, were 700 per cent. over the entire total for 1931. Actual- ly, the increase in quantity for the first half of 1932 was 156 per cent. ahead of the number of pairs brought in for the corresponding period last year and not the whole of 1931. Something was mentioned about a particular type of steel products which Commerce Department figures indicate were received in smaller quantities than last year. Attention was also called to the shutting down of plants making miniature electric light bulbs, although it is strongly suspected here that the foreign plants of this company are shipping from Japan or at least have provided the machinery to the Japan- ese producers under license and royalty. The burden of this particular plea was that the country is being flooded with imports because of depreciated currencies. The figures fail to reflect this devastation and the Tariff Com- mission has reported to the Senate that imports from countries on the gold standard had dropped less than those which came from nations off that standard. DRY GOODS CONDITIONS. The number of shoppers is stiil in higher ratio to total transactions than is customary. Locally, the salary cuts to be taken by municipal employes are undoubtedly a factor, along with anxi- ety among other workers that further reductions will be made after the turn of the year. As an added difficulty to the reduced volume of transactions which is re- ported, retail prices have failed to hold to recent levels where a check to the decline was indicated. The Fairchild index for November dropped 1 per cent. under the October figure. This was the largest loss since July. Only women’s underwear and floor coverings showed gains for the month. The big- gest drop was in women’s apparel. Because they are faced with an ex- ceptionally difficult period after the holidays and through the first quarter of next year, some stores are moving forward their sales in an effort to ex- pand Christmas volume. Fair results are reported for this move. However, it does not seem that customers are waiting for last-minute bargains, be- cause unit purchases in many cases are understood to be for smaller amounts. Wholesale merchandise markets have been quiet during the past week and even the volume of rush orders is re- duced. Dry goods jobbers have al- ready started to purchase their Jan- uary needs in staple lines. Plans in several lines for marking up prices have been abandoned and weakness has again developed. RETAIL EXPERIMENTS. Some experimenting has been done by retail stores, and as a result new plans of operation have been put into effect recently in order to prop up sag- ging sales volume. This was a step December 21, 1932 suggested here some time ago, but which could be followed, perhaps, on an even wider scale than it is with good results. In the case of a department store, it is generally believed that a definite operating policy for the whole store must be observed. The question is, however, whether the highest efficiency is attained by having all sections eax erned by the same tactics. Obviously, there is room for change here and there which would mean profit. If a regular program of experiment- ing with departments one after another was adopted, no doubt improvements could be effected. Such a program should not interfere seriously with the store policy itself, and might, as a mat- ter of fact, inject that novelty, if noth- ing else, which would keep public in- terest alive in the establishment. Distribution science is new but not as flexible, it would seem, as a new science generally is. There are a great many items which stores might add to their present lines and probably a number of methods which might be changed and improved upon with a little imagination and experiment. ae If we were to fancy a wholly Christianized world, it would be a world inspired by the spirit of Christmas, — a bright, friendly, beneficent, generous, sympathetic, mutually helpful world. Let us cling to Christmas all the more as a day which in every age some souls have believed to be the pos- sible spirit of human society. The lighting of Christmas trees, the hanging up of stockings, the giv- ing, the happy family meetings, the dinner, the game, the dance— they are all the natural signs and . symbols, the flower and fruit of Christmas. For Christmas is the day of days which declares the universal human _ consciousness that peace on earth comes only from good will to men. George William Curtis. UNFAIR TO THE FILIPINOS. Senator Johnson of California has in- troduced an amendment to the Philip- pine independence bill barring Filipino immigration into the United States af- ter freedom is granted. So offensive a measure would be unworthy of us. The Filipinos have been under the American flag for more than thirty years. Filipinos served in the armed forces of the United States during the kaiser’s war. If they are granted com- plete independence, they should be placed under the quota system applied to most aliens. saaeeemesteniinientnieeae ree eee SENT Se aR nS I have always thought of Christ- mas time — when it has come round — apart from the venera- tion due to its sacred name and origin, if anything belonging to it can be apart from that—as a good time; a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time; the only time | know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely. Charles Dickens. i t . a i i j December 21, 1932 MICHIGAN TRADESMAN 3 i k ‘ F ; 5 t } OUT AROUND. Things Seen and Heard on a Week End Trip. In the face of the determined opposi- tion of the War Department, based on detailed reports made to that body by chief engineers and the district en- gineer, it is very evident that any im- provement in the navigation of Grand River above Bass River, which is 17% miles from Lake Michigan, is next to impossible. As it looks to me, this condition is due to two causes—the passing of the men who advocated the improvement of the river in season and out of season for many years and the disappointment of the men who furnished the money for the two ill- fated river boats which were con- structed about twenty-five years ago, which caused them to lose interest in the undertaking. Senator Smith had handled the matter very energetically and diplomatically up to that time. He had secured a series of favorable re- ports from General Ludlow, obtained the co-operation of the War Depart- ment and the assistance of the rivers and harbors committees of both houses of Congress. If his constituents had not made the mistake of creating two boats not adapted to the navigation of the river at that stage of the pro- ceedings and had continued to main- tain their interest in the improvement of the river, Mr. Smith would, I think, have seen to it that the outcome of the undertaking would have ‘been very much different than I am now describ- ing it. With the further improvement of Grand River ultimately and definitely abandoned, what is there left for Grand Rapids in the shape of a water connec- tion with Lake Michigan? Much as I love Grand River, because I have lived on her banks most of the time for nearly sixty years, I am compelled to admit that another route offers advan- tages much greater than the Grand River plan ever possessed. I refer, of course, to the construction of a ship canal from Jenison to Black Lake. This discovery is not original with me or any man of the present generation. As I recall the circumstance, it orig- inated with Melbourne H. Ford, who was the representative of the Fifth district in Congress for one term about the War Department to make a pre- liminary survey of the route I have been unable to ascertain, but I think some informative information on. this subject could be dug up in the files of the War Department. I have asked Congressman Mapes to assist me in securing information on this matter. If the information is there, he will promptly unearth it, because he has never failed me in any request of this kind I have ever made of him—and he has received quite a few requests dur- ing the twenty years he has represent- ed the Fifth district in Congress. Since the above paragraph was writ- ten and put in type, I am in receipt of the following letter from Representa- tive Mapes: The office of the Secretary of the Board of Engineers reports that “‘after a very careful search” it is unable to find that the De- partment has ever made a survey of the route which you call the Black Lake route or that it ever made any survey of the proposi- tion for a canal from Grandville to Black Lake over the old river bed of Grand River. I wonder if you have in mind the agitation which was before the city council for a canal to the Lake - some thirty odd years ago? I think that was a city matter and not a matter with which the Fed- eral Government had to deal. | appreciate the way you treated the correspondence from Senator Vandenberg and myself in this week’s Tradesman and | shall be glad to get the copy of the next issue to which you refer. In seeking information for the Black Lake route, I called on Robert Merrill, civil engineer, who has the most re- markable knowledge of facts concern- ing ship canals of any man of my acquaintance. He was connected with the local U. S. Engineer’s office for many years, served as engineer on the New York ‘barge canal and two years on the Grand canal in China, Mr. Merrill went over the matter with me very carefully. I am glad to be able to transmit his ideas to my readers. Mr. Merrill says the plan to con- struct a ship canal from Jenison to Black Lake is a perfectly feasible one, but as a commercial proposition it would be a dismal failure, from a finan- cial standpoint, because there would not be enough tonnage for the canal to make it a profitable undertaking. The route, in his opinion, should fol- low the old route of Grand River when it emptied into Black Lake, ten or fifteen ‘thousand years ago. This would involve passing under the Pere Marquette railroad three times, twice under the main line and once under the Pentwater branch. It could be constructed without crossing under the main line, but the high elevation around Zeeland would render the cost of excavation almost prohibitive. their water courses, while in this country we build boats and then pro- ceed to deepen the rivers to fit the boats. Mr. Merrill told me many facts of a historical character I never knew before. One was that Grand River originally emptied into Lake Michigan at Saugatuck. The next glacial activ- ity changed the mouth of the river to Black Lake and the last event of the kind again changed it to Grand Haven. He told me that the Yellow River, in China, had changed its course many times. The last change was in 1853, when it sought an outlet 160 miles from where it emptied before—from the Yellow Sea to the gulf of Pe-chi-li. Great expense is incurred in maintain- ing artificial embankment to prevent frequent changes in its bed and outlet. Yellow River is 2,600 miles long—ten times as long as Grand River. The last change caused the death of three million people. Mr. Merrill has accepted an invita- tion to address the Rotary Club next week on the subject of the Black Lake route to Lake Michigan. He estimates that by following the old bed once used by Grand River the distance can be covered in twenty-one miles. The distance from Grand Rapids to Grand Haven via Grand River is forty-one miles. Anyone who is interested in this project who is not a member of the Rotary Club would do well to solicit an invitation from some mem- ber to attend the meeting named, be- cause the enormous amount of informa- tion Mr. Merrill has accumulated on the subject will be well worth the effort. Frank C. Morse, Secretary of the Browne-Morse Co., Muskegon, writes me as follows concerning the proposed improvement of Grand River from his viewpoint: I want to congratulate you on your forty-ninth anniversary. As I recall, it was just about forty-five years ago when my dad was engaged in the hard- ware business at Whitehall, that I be- gan to read the Michigan Tradesman. I may be wrong in this, but I have a faint recollection I am telling the truth. I know that your magazine has been a familiar one to me for many many years and it has alwavs been a magazine of exceptionally high char- acter, not only because of its editorials, but because it is a very instructive periodical for the benefit of retail dealers. I am particularly interested in your recent articles on Grand River. Out of due respect to the energy of some of the Grand Rapids citizens in the past—and I was living in Grand Rap- ids at the time—who were fooling around Grand River years ago, I al- ways did think that the efforts to make Grand River navigable were rather crazy and entailed the expenditure of a lot of Government money for the benefit of a very few people and with- out much hope of realizing but very little benefit therefrom. I think it would be far better to build a special road for trucks between Muskegon, Grand Haven or Holland— one capable of carrying super-loads. The initial cost of such a road and, I as M 50 as a special truck road. I am inclined to think if you get right down to brass tacks, sharpen your pencil and begin to figure you would find that all the tonnage which would go in or out of Kent county by boat from Grand Haven to Grand Rapids would not begin to pay the in- terest charges on the cost of making such boat transportation possible. Of course, this is just one man’s opinion, and it is rather superficial, for I haven’t the facts and figures to sub- stantiate the statement. Mr. Morse’s reference to the con- struction of M 50 from Grand Rapids to U S 31 asa “piece of extravagance” will hardly meet with the approval of local people, who consider the im- provement one of the most important ever undertaken in Western Michigan. I have never heard any Grand Rapids man rail against the cut-off cement road now under construction between Nunica and Muskegon; in fact, I think we all hail the improvement with de- light and fond anticipation, because we always rejoice in any good fortune which comes to Muskegon and Muske- gon people, largely, I think, because they have both been handicapped in the race for supremacy by conditions over which they have no control, The way they have progressed in the face of their handicaps is the wonder of the world. Local shipping interests at Grand Haven find themselves in about the same position as the advocates of deep water Grand They recently requested the construc- tion of two detached breakwaters at the harbor entrance, each arm being about 1,000 feet long with an entrance about 600 feet wide. The request was referred to the Corps of Engineers, who report adversely on the proposed construction, as follows: navigation on River. 1. [I submit for transmission to Congress, my report with accompany- ing papers, on preliminary examination of Grand Haven harbor, with a view to constructing suitable breakwaters, au- thorized by the river and harbor act approved July 3, 1930. 2. Grand Haven harbor is on the East shore of Lake Michigan, nearly opposite Milwaukee on the West shore. The harbor is formed by the improvement of the lower portion of Grand River. Under the existing project for improvement two paralle! piers, about 400 feet apart, have been constructed at the mouth of the river, revetments constructed inside the mouth; and a channel for deep draft lake shipping has been provided from deep water in the lake about 2% miles up the river. The channel has a depth of 23 feet at the entrance, and 21 feet inside the entrance, and a width of 300 feet in the lower portion and 200 feet for a distance of about 15 miles up- stream. The project is substantially completed. Its cost to June 30, 1932, for new work, was approximately $1,- 000,000. The estimated annual cost of maintenance is $35,000. Local inter- ests request the construction of two detached breakwaters, each about 1,000 feet in length, and parallel to the shore, about 1,000 feet off the entrance to the piers, with an opening between them 600 feet wide. 3. The population of Grand Haven is 8,000. The commerce of the harbor in vessel cargo is about 250,000 tons ) ‘ : : believe, the cost of the transportation per annum, consisting in large part of ‘i thirty-five years ago. His enthusiasm would be far less than eae of sand and gravel produced a ’ large | for this project caused him to make Asked how it is that Europe makes deepening Grand River so that boats plant near the head of the 21 foot many speeches in behalf of the Black 4 success of navigating light draft could go from Grand Haven to Grand channel. The traffic by translake car é Lake route. Whether he ever suc-_ river and ship canals, Mr. Merrill said Rapids. It might be a good idea to set ferry was somewhat in excess of 1,- >: ceeded in inducing Congress to instruct that in Europe they build boats to fit aside that piece of extravagance known 000,000 tons in 1927 and 1928, declining to 630,000 tons in 1931. 4. The district engineer reports that the entrance to the harbor is consider- ed generally satisfactory by master mariners, and as one of the best har- bors on the East shore to enter. Ex- perience with detached breakwaters has shown that the currents and eddies set up around the structures result in rapid formation of shoals at the en- trance and bad cross currents. It has been found necessary to extend prac- tically all of the detached breakwaters to the shore to form an arrowhead type of outer harbor. He is of the opinion that the breakwaters desired would make the entrance to the harbor more difficult than it now is. 3 The division engineer, concur- ring with the district engineer is of the opinion that the existing project for (Continued on page 23) 10 ____ FINANCIAL No Occasion For Further Statistical Studies. The attitude of the Administration on banking reform has been expressed in such strong language that there is considerable reason to hope for some accomplishment in this direction in the relatively near future. President Hoover, it will be recalled, in his an- nual message put this need as second only to balancing the budget. He was not specific in what should be done, but since he urges action in the short session of Congress he must be lean- ing toward the Glass bill. Secretary Mills, in his annual report, also gives ardent support to banking reform. Further, he believes that “there is no occasion for any extensive new gathering of material” as a pre- liminary step to the drafting of needed legislation. He thinks that there should be a “prompt formulation and enactment of legislation that will remedy the fundamental weaknesses of our banking system.” All of ths provides a new basis of hope for those who believe that it is essential not only to clean up our banking system but also at the earliest opportunity to take such protect us possible steps as are essential to against a repetition of the errors be- tween 1920 and 1930. The attitude of Secretary Mills is especially encourag- ing in this regard, because he cuts through one of the favorite excuses made by those who always oppose any banking reform, namely, that further extensive studies must be conducted before anything is done. There is no question, of course, of the accuracy of the position of Secre- tary Mills. The errors made in our banking system before 1930 and the structural defects of our organizations Such statistics as are appraising the exact are well known. necessary for significance of various policies already are available as a result of studies which have been completed. Further delay in banking reform in order to make still more exhaustive studies, therefore, would be an almost complete waste of time. Our energies now should be devoted to starting legislation in motion which once and for all will wipe out the possibility of our commercial banks becoming hodge- podge real estate and security organ- izations, In order to accomplish this the re- form must go beyond those structural changes such as Secretary Mills and various financial leaders suggest. Vari- ous structural changes, notably branch banking, are important, but the major problem is one of banking policy and appreciation of the necessity of main- taining the liquidity of the American credit system. Unless this is done no banking reform bill will more than scratch the surface. Ralph West Robey. [Copyrighted, 1932.] > ___ Current Liabilities Should Be Known To Prospective Investors. Current liabilities are considered by accountants to represent the unfunded corporate obligations which are pay- able currently. A bond or note issue, maturing in a short period of time, is MICHIGAN not considered current liability while a bank loan, payable over a period of six months, is considered a current liability. Current liabilities also include such as taxes, accounts payable, interest, dividends and notes accrued. Some corporations show all accrued items under a special head of accrued liabili- ties. Unless this is included in current liabilities, it may lead the investor astray in making his analysis of the company. Accounts or bills payable on a good balance sheet must be al- ways separated. The investor will find, in many cor- porations, that they generally finance themselves with notes payable on 30, 60 and 90 days commercial paper. The thing for the investor to watch is that the corporation has not sold too much commercial paper to finance its busi- ness. Investors should check to find if the maturing commercial paper is in- creasing or decreasing as this inflation of credit will not appear in the balance sheet. This condition is avoided by periodical audits by reliable concerns and some requirements of banks and other purchasers of commercial paper that the obligations be registered with the trust company. The prospective investor, in a cor- poration, should satisfy himself on this point. Contingent liability is an ac- count which should appear on all bal- ance sheets. The account may or may not be due but should be stated on the balance sheet so the investor can check his corporation. In many cases this contingent liability is due to ob- ligations of a subsidiary or affiliated company or it is either a guaranty, in- terest or dividends of stock or a bond of another company. This contingent liability should be known to the prospective investor in any corporation particularly if he is making an invest- ment in common stock. Jay 4. Petter. + -o Check Swindlers Are Getting Trickier. Craftily the check swindler plies his calling. Investigation of cases report- ed show that the wiles of these para- sites, sharpened by increasing wariness of the merchants, are still too frequent- ly successful in getting money from even the most careful store operators. Meat dealers are constantly pestered with them. In Chicago there is being used an accurate copy of the regular Wilson & Company payroll check. A few weeks ago three men were convicted and sent to the penitentiary when it was shown that they had been counterfeiting these checks by making a plate from a stolen blank check and imitating the signa- tures of company officials. They were passed through subordinates. Since then a woman, about 25 to 28 years old, has been passing similar ones. They were made in amounts of $9.37, $9.73 and $11.39. She worked in Cicero around 5300 West 22nd street, with checks dated Nov. 21 on the Sat- urday following that date, and was working around Clark and Grace streets the next week with checks dated Nov. 26. Several dealers in these localities cashed the checks but their banks sent them back with a “not genuine” notation. The name used by the woman is L. D. Smith on TRADESMAN some of the checks and John L. Smith on others. Look out also for a fellow who comes into your store and talks about his wife, “Mrs. Smith,” on one of your nearby streets, by saying: “She got a chicken this morning and we are go- ing to have company and she wants two more just like it.” After you have drawn two more and wrapped them up he flashes a check on the Central Republic Bank, at the same time say- ing: “Now if you will just take the pay for the chickens out of this check, I’d like for you to deliver them.” He gives an address near the place. He worked Western avenue and Peterson road and Southport and Grace streets. His checks are signed J. C. Smith. He is about 40 years old. Look out for a nice looking natural blonde, well built woman, who will trade with you for a month or so, when she starts to have small checks cashed, These checks are all good, but she in- creases the sze of them each time until they are up around fifty dollars, then she gives one which is not good and the neighborhood butchers find that she has worked on five or six grocers and meat dealers in the locality and has landed them all. She looks like a regular housewife and is apt to come Schouten-Hoogesteger Co. INVESTMENT BANKERS We serve those who desire to improve their investment position. Phone 96111 911 Mich. Trust Bldg., Grand Rapids December 21, 1932 into your place in an ordinary house dress and bedroom slippers. She is very pleasant and is seldom turned down. She has worked in the Hal- sted and Willow district and also at Clark and Grace streets. Other new and partly new rackets are reported from other parts of the country. At St. Louis a woman called up a grocery market and gave an or- der amounting to $8.40 to be paid on delivery. A check was accepted and it came back from the bank with the notation “no funds.’ The merchant could not get the woman to make the check good. Se was informed that un- less she did she would be prosecuted. Then she showed her hand. A money order for $1 was purchased and sent to the dealer. Fortunately for him W 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 Offtices Established 1860 Incorporated 1865 THE ONLY NATIONAL BANK IN GRAND RAPIDS The Largest National Bank in Western Michigan > ee Q sone a December 21, 1932 when he reported the matter to police he had not cashed the money order, as that would have represented a payment on account. That trick would have absolved her from prosecution and the retailer would have had to forget the balance of $7.40. This one has been worked, too. A woman makes a small purchase, ten- ders a $20 bill and gets the change. Shortly after she leaves, a man comes in and makes a small purchase, pre- senting a $5 bill. When he gets his change he insists he tendered a $20 bill in payment. When the storekeeper denies it, he says he is very careful of his money and not only notes the denomination but makes a record of the numbers of the bills which he has in his wallet and then tells the store- keeper the number of the $20 bill which he claims to have given the re- tailer. He asks the storekeeper to look and see if he has not a $20 bil with that number. In his cash regis- ter the retailer finds a bill of that num- ber and thinks he has made a mistake, so gives the man the remaining $15,.— Al Saunders in Butchérs’ Gazette. Proceedings of the Grand Rapids Bankruptcy Court. Grand Rapids, Dec. 12—In the matter of William Y. Kooiman, doing business as Bellview Grocery, Bankrupt No. 4864, final meeting of creditors was held Oct.. 28. Trustee was present in person. Cer- tain creditors present in person. ‘Trus- tee’s final report and account approved and allowed. Claims proved and allowed. Balance of accounts receivable sold to F. H. Roth, Muskegon. Bill of attorneys for bankrupt reduced and allowed. Made order for payment of administration ex- penses, preferred claims and a first and final dividend to creditors of .75 per cent. No objection to bankrupt’s discharge. Meeting adjourned without date and files will be returned to U. S. District Court in due course. Dec. 12. We have to-day received the schedules, reference and adjudication in the matter of Henry H. Merriman, Bank- rupt No. 5077. The bankrupt is a resi- dent of Kalamazoo, and his occupation is that of a mechanic. The schedule shows assets of $254.05 of which $45 is claimed as exempt, with liabilities of $15,434.77. The court has written for funds and upon receipt of same, the first meeting of creditors will be called and note of same made herein. In the matter of Glen E. Martin, in- dividually and doing business as Martin Autoelectric Service, Bankrupt No. 4835, final meeting of creditors was held Oct. 28. Trustee present in person; bankrupt present in person and by attorney C. Sophus Johnson. Trustee's final report and account approved and allowed. Claims proved and allowed. Bill of attorney for bankrupt approved and allowed. Balance of accounts receivable sold to Glen E. Martin. Made order for payment of ad- ministration expenses as far as funds on hand would permit, there being no divi- dend or preferred or general creditors. No objection to bankrupt’s discharge. Final meeting adjourned without date and files will be returned to U. S. District Court in due course, Dec. 138. We have received the refer- ence, and order of adjudication in the mattr of J. F. Eesley Milling Co. a cor- poration, Bankrupt No. 5070. The bank- rupt had his residence in the city of Plainwell. The court has written for schedules to be filed, and upon receipt of same the list of creditors, assets and lia- bilities will be published herein. Dec. 138. We have received the sched- ules, order of reference and adjudication in the matter of William L. Hall, Bank- rupt No. 5078. The bankrupt is a resident of Grand Ledge. The schedules of the bankrupt show assets of $3,602.75, with liabilities listed at $3,651.26. Dec. 14. We have received the sched- ules. order of reference and adjudication in the matter of Earl Cassada, Bankrupt No. 5079. The bankrupt is a resident of Grand Rapids, and his occupation is that of a druggist. The schedules of the bankrupt show assets of $186.06, with lia- bilities listed at $4,966.04. The court has written for funds and upon receipt of same the first meeting of creditors will be called. The list of creditors of said bankrupt is as follows: Hazeltine & Perkins Drug Co., Grand Rapids 2220-20 $2,100.00 Holland Furnace Co., Grand Rapids 56.00 Quendag Grocery Co.. Grand Rapids 13.00 Heyboer Stationery Co., Grand R. 96.00 MICHIGAN Geo. Rysdale Candy Co., Grand R. Johnson Candy Co., Grand Rapids Gray Beach, Grand Rapids —-_----- Colonial Bath Salt Co. & Colonial Cosmetic Co., Grand Rapids -_-- 4.50 Wayne Calendar Co., Fort Wayne 151 Battle Greek Dog Food Co., 73.00 56.23 65.00 Wattle Creek. 22 625 14.53 Frederick Laboratory, Toledo ---- 3.50 Sehust Co, Saginaw =~ ----2 2. es Christy Sales Co., Fremont, Ohio__ Sete Peoria Corporation, Louisville, Ky. 5.00 V. C. Milling Co., Grand Rapids... 4.40 Geo A. Breon Co., Kansas City. Mo. 2.58 Novelty Import Co., Holland ------. 2.34 Shaw News Agency, Grand Rapids 19.00 Press, Grand Rapids —-_.-__-____ 30,00 American Lending Library Co., : Chicas 2 19.21 Bayuk Cigar Co., Grand Rapids _- 22.00 Freeman’s Service Garage, G. R. 25.92 Mandeville & King, Rochester, i New Vouk “o2)0 008 Se 19.50 John Ten Hopen, Grand Rapids —- 950.00 Boyer & Co., Chicago .-_____-_- 12.65 Boggiana Brothers, Grand Rapids_-_ 3.21 Nelson Baker Co., Detroit —--_—-— 26.25 G. BH PRP. Cigar Co., Detroit —.___ 5.79 Wurzbure’s Dry Goods Co., G, R. 28.82 Bon Marche. Grand Rapids ------ 87.05 Mich. Bell Telephone Co., Grand R. 22.00 Ridgeway Dairy, Grand Rapids _--- 34.39 Consumers Power Co., Grand Rap. 19.00 Hartnett Flower Shop, Grand Rap. 3.50 American Laundry Co., Grand Rap. 32.00 Hammer & Cortenhof, Grand Rap. 4.80 Herpolsheimer Co., Grand Rapids__ 157s Carrol, Dunham, Smith Pharmical a @o. New York = 2223 se 6.00 Kelly Ice Cream Co., Grand Rapids 23.00 Vanden Berg Cigar Co., Grand Rap. 21.00 Woodhouse Tobacco Co., Grand R. 22.63 Dec. 14. We have received the sched- ules, order of reference, and adjudication in the matter of Frances W. Haines, Bankrupt No. 5080. The bankrupt is a resident of Ludington. The schedules of the bankrupt show assets of $350, with liabilities listed at $998.49. The court has written for funds and upon receipt of same the first meeting of creditors will be called. In the matter of Leo P. Ritzenhein, Bankrupt No, 4529, final meeting of cred- itors was held under date of Dee. 12. Truste was present by Arthur Branson and Hilding & Baker, attorneys. Bank- rupt was represented by L. D. Averill. Creditors represented by G. R. Credit Men's Association. Trustee’s final report and account approved and allowed. Cer- tain attorney's bills approved and al- lowed. Three items of real estate aban- doned as worthless and burdensome. Or- der was made for the payment of ex- penses of administration as far as funds on hand will permit. No objection to dis- charge. Files will be returned to U. 538. District Court, In the matter of Stanley Hattis, indi- vidually and doing business as Cinovox Co., Bankrupt No. 4829, final meeting of creditors set for Oct. 18, was adjourned to Oct. 25, at which time the trustee was present in person; bankrupt present and represented by ‘Dorr Kuizema, attorney. Certain creditors present in person. Claims proved and allowed. Trustee’s final report approved and allowed. Bill of attorney for bankrupt approved and allowed. Bills, notes, accounts and con- tracts receivable sold to Arthur Kulms. Order made for payment of administra- tion expenses and preferred claims as far as funds on hand will permit, there being no dividend for general creditors. No objection to bankrupt’s discharge. Meet- ing adiourned without date. Files will be returned to U. S. District Court in due course. Dec. 16. We have received the sched- ules, order of reference and adjudication in the matter of Errol Rogers Barber, Bankrupt No. 5082. The bankrupt is a resident of Kalamazoo, and his occupa- tion is that of a laborer. The schedules of the bankrupt show no assets, with liabilities listed at $1,693.58. The court has written for funds and upon receipt of same the first meeting of creditors will be called. Dec. 16. We have received the sched- ules, order of reference, and adjudication in the matter of Floyd Dillon Mason, Bankrupt No. 50838. The bankrupt is a resident of Kalamazoo. and his occupa- tion is that of a laborer, The schedules of the bankrupt show no asets, with $50 claimed as exempt to the bankrupt. The sum of $518.47 is the scheduled liabilities of said bankrupt. Dee. 16. On this day first meeting of creditors in the matter of Frank Eas- terbrook, Bankrupt No. 5061, was held. Bakrupt present and represented by R. J. Wade, attorney. Creditors represented by Jackson, Fitzgerald & Dalm, attorneys. Claims filed. Bankrupt sworn and ex- amined without reporter. M. N. Ken- nedy, Kalamazoo, trustee; bond $100. Meeting adjourned without date. Dec. 16. On this day adjourned first meeting of creditors in the matter of U. S. Pressed Steel Co., a corporation, 3ankrupt No. 5038, was to be held. By agreement the matter. was further ad- journed to Dec. 23. Dec. 17. We have to-day received the schedules, reference and adjudication in the matter of Edward Ludwig, Bankrupt TRADESMAN No. 5085. The bankrupt is a resident of Grand Rapids, and his occupation is that of a decorator. The schedules shows as- sets of $1,600.70 of which $850 is claimed as exempt, with liabilities of $3,448.61. The court has written for funds and upon receipt of same, the first meeting of creditors will be called and note of same made herein. Dec. 17. We have to-day received the schedules, reference and adjudication in the matter of Hans Johnson, Bankrupt No. 5084. The bankrkupt is a resident of Grand Rapids, and his occupation is that of a carpenter. The schedule shows as- sets of $1,725 of which $1,700 is claimed as exempt, with liabilities of $3,466.72. The court has written for funds and upon receipt of same, the first meeting of creditors will be called and note of same made herein. In the matter of Fetke & Rutkoskie, alleged, Bankrupt No. 5018, adjourned hetaring on composition was held Dec. 9. Claims were proved and allowed. Com- position offer of 20 per cent. in cash and 13-1/3 per cent. in note payable thirty days after confirmation was accepted by a majority of creditors. Referee’s certifi- cate will be made and files returned to District Court in due course. Dec. 19. We have to-day received the reference and adjudication in the matter of Vosler & DeLoof Co., Bankrupt No. 5072. This is an involuntary case and the schedules have been ordered filed. This concern is located at Kalamazoo. UNDER THE TOWER CLOCK ON CAMPAU SQUARE 11 The Christmas Echo. Joyously the Christmas bell Heralds wide that ‘‘all is well.’’ Sweet Peace of Yuletide comes again To stimulate the hearts of men. Though many minds are weary quite And some sad, crippled up with fright, And though the larder’s running low God’s cheer has stood the staggering blow. Sweet Christmas spreads a healing balm To bring distress a soothing calm; In children’s eyes there glows a light Of toys old Santa soon will bring As reindeer prance and sleigh bells ring. ’Tis Christmas! Golden time of year When earth-bound griefs must disappear; When friendships old we each renew And many “happy times” review. ‘Tis Christmas! Time when faith in men Inspires us all to try again, To garner mellow hope and cheer For use throughout the dawning year. So let’s drink deep the music sweet That wafts from firesides, from the street, And see the Peace Christ’s Love imparts, Finds reverent echo in our hearts. Frank K. Glew. ee a Spreading work spreads revival. Analysis of any se- curity furnished up- on request. e J. H. Petter & Co. Investment Bankers 343 Michigan Trust Building ii Phone 4417 account. Why You Should Choose This Bank This bank is big enough to accom- -modate you regardless of the size of your banking requirements. And, what is equally important, it is big enough to appreciate you regardless of the size of your When and how can we serve you? GIOL’O GRAND RAPIDS SAVINGS BANK “The Bank Where You Feel at Home” 17 Convenient Offices 12 MICHIGAN TRADESMAN December 21, 1932 RETAIL GROCER Retail Grocers and Meat Dealers Associa- tion of Michigan. President—Paul Schmidt, Lansing. First Vice-President — Theodore J. Bathke, Petoskey. Second Vice-President — Eckert, Flint. Secretary — Herman Hanson, Grand Rapids. : Treasurer—O. H. Bailey, Sr., Lansing. Directors—Holger Jorgenson, Muske- gon; L. V. Bberhard, Grand Rapids; John Lurie, Detroit; E. B. Hawley, Battle Creek; Ward Newman, Pontiac. 0 aa Good Goods Are Always in Demand. “Q. | think people are veering away from mere price again.” It is the maker of high quality merchandise speaking. “Folks want value these days.” Paul Willis writes: “People have found that much of the price merchandise offered Price appeal has Randolph is inferior in quality. lost its appeal. Value and quality are necessary to draw trade.” If we should write that two plus two make four our statement would be just as exciting to the thoughtful, for the fact is that value always wins. Good “times” and when “things” are bad, the merchant who works close to the line of genuine service and real values fares best. Odd that we have to re-learn this lesson every cycle. It remains true that the men who will dig out of depressed conditions most speedily will be those who put effort and emphasis behind genuine values and then make certain that in every instance they deliver what they advocate. And this is no truer now than it ever was, because it is eternal truth, Experiences in Indiana with special taxes designed to hamper chains run as some of us clearly foresaw. They have (1) not yielded the revenue an- ticipated—not nearly as much as the most conservative estimates. They have (2) not borne heavily on the chains nor hampered chain growth in the least. They have (3) pressed where least expected and where not at all intended. Worst of all—and here’s the real rub—they have (4) put politicians on the scent of new evenues through which to raise revenue. “We told you so” is cold comfort, but it is bad to monkey with a buzz saw. Let us all remember, merchants as well as others, that what we need That may help us to avoid further errors on the Indiana special tax plan. Kentucky seems to have fared no better, al- though I have no late news from that state. is less taxes, not more. Far better that grocers study their inside and make right moves instead of wrong ones. One merchant sought to save expense by cutting out a phone exten- sion whereby customers might give their orders directly to the meat de- partment. He has been inundated by complaints from those who do not like own business from the to give their orders to grocery clerks for transmission to the meat dealer. They feel they take enough chances talking to one man. So this man may save a few dollars monthly, and cut his meat trade in half or worse. He may have put in so much time thinking how he could stop some other merchant—maybe a chain unit—that he failed to see the conse- quences of such a fool move as he has made. The painless dentist seems to be the model of many would-be collectors of grocer accounts. Virtually every “plan” I see outlined is designed to be so gentle, polite, downright sub- servient that no debtor could be blamed much if he did not take it seri- ously. A real model for a collection letter, recently sent to the Grocers Advocate, runs thus: Dear Mr. Customer— It does not pay to be sued because: First: Your employer is made a party to the suit. Second: Your name is published in the municipal court record, a daily newspaper. Third: Your credit is impaired— your job jeopardized. Fourth: The costs of the suit are added to the amount of the bill. Fifth: Your wages are subject to garnishment. Therefore, if you will call at this office, we can make better terms than those that the court will impose upon you. In this way you can save time, money, inconvenience and credit stand- ing; or better still, remit by postal money order or check to cover your overdue account of $42.20. 3ut you will have to act quickly if you desire to take advantage of these benefits. That is a model of the right kind. And I, personally, can assure you from my own long experience, that there is no nourishment in being gentle with slow-payers. “Treat ’em rough” was not invented until after my own grocery experience terminat- ed: but we practiced that method without the slogan. We had no com- punction whatever about demanding what was coming to us, and we were just as outspokenly uncompromising about it as this letter. We went further than that. We treated applicants whose record on in- vestigation proved unworthy or shady with such harshness, roughness and plain discourtesy as warned all people whose credit was not the very best that it was not pleasant to apply at Findlay’s for an account. We did not care how widely that part of our reputation traveled—the wider the bet- ter. One pleasing result was credits which were far better than cash for the many reasons that sound credit always is better than any cash trade there is anywhere. Credit business is fine, if it is fine. It continues fine if you always keep it fine. Every bit of its results is right up to the merchant himself, and nobody else. In former times almost any kind of a story would be taken as true, also as interesting and likewise as unusual, if it were credited to Kansas. But that state is not quite so wild and woolly as it was forty years ago. Still they do get a bit loco even yet at times. Strong against competition by others against grocers, trade papers there are yet willing to endorse the practice among grocers of selling quite a line of popular household proprietary preparations. Grocers are not supposed to cut prices on those things; but how far do supposes go in such affairs? Is this a bit like the pot calling the kettle black? It seems ‘to me—always has seemed so to me—that it is folly to seek to confine any man’s efforts to any inhere in the greater, else the greater were of none effect. special lines of *goods. One reason why is because such efforts get us no- where and they do interfere with our doing a good job in our own individual stores. Drugs which may be com- pounded must be sold only by those trained to compound them and licens- ed to do that. Otherwise the best practice is to let competition take care of what lines any man shall handle. Note, for example, Ralphs of Los Angeles. Trade there has been all het up over a law to prevent a mer- chant from offering anything for sale with a limit attached. That strikes me as basically unsound because it robs us of our right to choose our own customers. Constitutionally, we can sell or refuse to sell to anybody— just as we can tell anybody he is not wanted in our store, and he has to stay out; for the law gives us un- limited liberty to use any means to keep him out thereafter, once he has been warned. The lesser right must But while all this mixup is bubbling over in that sprawling region, Ralphs cuts the Gordian Knot in an anounce- ment that every offering he makes is without limit or restriction. He is- sues an “Invitation to retail grocers to come and buy all you want at our regular or special prices. No limit.” That kind of sanity should help to clear the atmosphere, even in that town of unlimited sects and isms. We would all be in better business if we sought to keep competition open and free. “Business is War’ said the Iron Woman. She spoke an eternal truth. Camouflage it as we will, ham- per it with populistic and Coin Harvey notions as we like, competition re- mains the true Life of Trade. Inter- ference with its free play jeopardizes our most cherished commercial rights. Paul Findlay. ASSOCIATED TRUCK LINES The Outstanding Freight Transportation Line of Michigan. State Regulation means Complete Protection. ASSOCIATED TRUCK LINES Phone 93401 108 Market Ave., Grand Rapids, Mich. Agency Offices in Principal Cities of Michigan. ROWENA FLOURS INCLUDE Pancake Flour Buckwheat Compound LILY WHITE FLOUR Graham Flour Golden *‘G’”’ Meal White Corn Meal Cake and Biscuit Pure Buckwheat Steel Cut Wheat ROWENA- TO PROFITABLE FLOUR SALES Made by the VALLEY CITY MILLING CO. GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN KENT STORAGE COMPANY Grand Rapids, Michigan EGGS - EGGS - EGGS APRIL and MAY Candled Whites or Browns Now shipping finest quality Wire or Write us for prices. Axe the canned foods you feature grown and packed in your home 2 b en d You know 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 = = e December 21, 1932 MICHIGAN TRADESMAN 13 MEAT DEALER ating costs of a huge business organ- Henry Jaffe, of 739 E. University, Michigan State Association of Retail ism are “terrifically high.” Ann Arbor, sends in his renewal and SALESBOOKS Gccntinnt a ee cee a John A. Kotal, writes: “I still find your paper very NOW is the time to order. Vice-Pres.—E ®. Abbott, Flint. Secy National Association of Retail useful. I believe every business man We save you money. Pobceer_pies Goetccke, Dowell Meat Dealers. should have the Tradesman on his } Battle Creek Sales Book Co. ands ao ge ee Women No Longer Shop Together. desk.” Battle Creek, Mich. Several years ago Paul H. Nystrom Trend Is To Higher Standards. of Columbia University made the : es statement that women no longer en- In the “old days” families spent $43 joyed shopping. He pointed out that of every $100 for food and there were i, former days women went shopping not so many foods competing with j;, pairs, fires aod ies and that it } meat. A summary two years a80O was a real event. Under present con- showed that $19.38 of every $100 was qditions and with the social use of spent for food and $13 of. every $100 jeisure plus the fact that many women spent for automobiles and accessories. are employed, “shopping together” This condition is very much changed has been on the wane. Recent support ‘to-day and food is the principal con- of this statement was gleaned from an And you can help at no cost to yourself. When you need cern of many. analysis of an apparel chain systems’ sugar buy Michigan Made Beet Sugar. 35,000 Michigan The trend of the times is toward ee gh - pan ont os wage earners depend on the sale of Michigan Made Beet ore hical merchandising and re- W4Yy. The particular chain in ques- eee : aus aoe uae lees aeatiy Reta]. tion would not locate within a hundred Sugar for a living. If you don’t buy Michigan Made Beet Se aie bride ihcy clos by Fe of o theater Naturally one Sugar, you help the foreigners. meeting competition with (1) conveni- thinks first of all of the fact that the ence to the consumer through attrac- bright lights would dim the window tive displays in the show windows and displays and, of course, this is true. Buy and Use on the counters: (2) by courtesy which After becoming adjusted to the light brings back the customer again and of the theater, and then the brilliant Mi hi Mi d & t S again and gives the store a reputation lights of he theater lobby and entrance, iC igan a e BP ugar of appreciation of the trade; (3) by one does not turn to window shop- service. which means the fulhitment of P'S: hence, it is more desirable to Available in 5-10-25 and 100 lb, sacks. For sale at all grocers. the ideals of intelligent buying and locate down the street about a oy Farmers and Manufacturers Beet Sugar AsSociation selling, and (4) display which com- dred yards. However, the executive : esuleal & bined with a little reasonable adver- in charge of location pointed out that Bay City, Michigan tising, help spell success to the retail- women no longer enjoy shopping to- er in his field of merchandising. gether as the most significant reason for not locating within a hundred yards age age a age ag a ee a That large and powerful organiza- tions striving for the bulk of business are not as successful to-day as appear- ance would have them is evidenced in a statement made by Dr. Julius Klein, assistant secretary of commerce, over a coast to coast network, when he said: “Certainly to-day the passion for great bulk in business is not so power- ful as it once was. Take the case of two of our largest and best known merchandising organizations. Some time ago they opened new stores all over the United States. They found that, in a rather surprising number of instances, the new establishments did not pay. Many of them were closed. And here is another angle: Formerly these two organizations exercised strictly centralized control from their headquarters city. The idea was that of a gigantic, closely integrated busi- ness unit. But that did not work out satisfactorily. The thing proved too unwieldy. The companies found it wise to decentralize and made territor- ial divisions with localized responsibil- ity and individual decisions to meet the varying circumstances that arose.” Another of our gigantic selling or- ganizations, operating many thousands of stores, made a radical alteration in its policy a couple of years ago. It decided not to try to expand any fur- ther. Moving in the contrary direc- tion, it reduced the number of units. As a close student of this particular situation has said, ‘the change was due mainly to the “personnel” equation. The organization found it difficult to control effectively the human cogs in its intricate machine without incurring a really burdensome cost for extra supervision. The commentator whom I have been citing here is evidently correct when he asserts that, on ac- count of waste and leakage, the oper- of the theater. . They will go to theaters together but at the close of the afternoon theater it is customary to stroll together for a short distance and then separate for late afternoon shopping. This, according to the chain executive, was one of the main reasons why they were not locating within a hundred yards of the theater. —_—_~+>+—___ A new gas furnace operates as an auxiliary to the present warm air fur- nace. Gas is used in ordinary winter weather, coal during severe cold, thus eliminating: peak gas bills. Added Sales With Oysters and Fish For The Holidays. Fresh Shipments Daily. Ask your Dealer for Reader Fish. They are better. Lake and Ocean Fish. Wholesale. G. B. READER, Grand Rapids. crisp goodness of HEKMAN’S. customers. FRIGIDAIRE ELECTRIC REFRIGERATING SYSTEMS Pp RODUCT OF GENERAL moro Hekman Grahams HEKMAN’S delicious honey-flavored Graham Crackers are a profitable, quick-selling item every grocer should handle. They top all other brands for popularity. Even people who never knew they liked Graham Crackers, revel in the fresh, During November, HEKMAN Grahams will be advertised state-wide in leading newspapers. Arrange now for your deliveries so you can cash in on this advertising direct to your ein ofan ct ate fin afin then, ttle atthe nttlltr. attltrn atthe atthe atthe tite tlle lilt atti allan olen ait tilltin ntl. nee tana GRAND RAPIDS, MICH. SFE NS ae AG CGT Ge I TT IT TT a IT IT I I OT OT OO ee F, C. MATTHEWS & CO. 18 E. Fulton St. Phone 93249 , 2 Dian Be "| } EKMAN BISCUIT COMPANY nelle ntl nil cil tlle alte nln tlie atl atten alta nln ttinn ntti & ® 14 MICHIGAN TRADESMAN December 21, 1932 HARDWARE Michigan Retall Hardware Association. President—Chas. H. Sutton, Howell. Secretary—Harold W. Bervig. Treasurer—William Moore, Detroit. Suggestions For the Hardware Dealer After Christmas. With the holiday trade in its last stages, the wide-awake hardware deal- er is planning his next move. In this, as in everything else connected with the business, it pays to look and plan ahead. The natural tendency right after the holiday is for selling effort to slacken. The Christmas selling season has called forth a good deal of extra ef- fort: and afterward the dealer feels like resting and the customer feels like economizing. As a result of this dual tendency in the same direction, the winter months are apt to be very quiet. This very fact, however, constitutes the best of reasons why the hardware dealer and his salespeople should put forth extra efforts to get business when the holiday is over. For then, if ever, a little extra business counts for a lot. The first thing after Christmas is to remind yourself that the strain of the winter months will not be exceptional- ly heavy. With this concession to the forces of reaction, you can then rally yourself and your salespeople to the task of carrying on efficiently. To this end, a first essential is the deter- mination to make the most of these dull winter months. You will have plenty of time to rest, and also plenty of time to do what business there is done, and still plenty of time to plan for the spring trade. If business is hard to get in January, February and March, it is especially hard to get in the first week or two immediately after Christmas. The day after Christmas you can do two things. First, you can meet the needs of the immediate moment by launching a clean-up sale to get rid of odds and ends of seasonable stuff. Second, you can begin to lay your plans for the three winter months. Whether or not to hold a clean-up sale is a matter of policy. Some mer- chants are strongly opposed to price- trimming under any conditions. Others prefer to wait until after stock-taking. Others hold a pre-inventory sale, but take a week or two to sort over the stock and select their loss leaders and other features. There is, however, one phase of the situation worth remembering. That is the Christmas “hang-overs.” Right after the holiday there is still a chance to sell gift lines. First, there are al- ways some people overlooked in the annual giving. Second, belated gifts arrive and the recipients feel they ought to send something in return even if it is a day or two late. And of course there are youngsters in a good many homes who failed to get everything they wanted and are clam- oring for some desired article and un- willing to wait until Santa Claus comes a year hence. You won't sell a very large number of gifts to these people; but there is some little opportunity of doing busi- ness if you put on a “sudden death” e sale of your odds and ends of Christ- mas stuff right after the holiday. Don’t wait to stage an elaborate sale. Dump the stuff in the window and on the counters ticketed at prices that will move it out. Add to your offerings as you go through the stock. Do a little advertising, scatter dodgers, put a few striking show cards in the window. Besides the classes of folk I have mentioned, there are a few thrifty ones who are willing to buy such stuff—at a price—and store it for next year. Such a sale should be launched, however, the day after Christmas and pushed through the holiday week from Christmas to New Year’s. After that, the possibilities of pretty well exhausted; and it will be time for you to go ahead with the serious task of stock-taking. For this after-Christmas sale select the lines you obviously ought to get rid of at once—the old articles and broken lots that it will not pay you to carry over under the most favorable circumstances. Pile a lot of them in the window in a hurry-up display with the biggest price tickets and the most impressive price cuts you can afford. Put in a show card explaining that these are extra specials offered at extra special prices—prices so dras- tically cut that it will pay people to buy the articles and keep them until next Christmas. The main thing is to get nto action right after Christmas and make it vigorous, mpressive, decisive, forceful action, that will arrest attention and draw business. This sale might, as you size up your stock, be gradually merged in your pre-inventory sale, if you hold one. Or- in the alternative, it will bridge the period until you are ready to go ahead with your stock taking. The problem of stock taking should be considered while you are holding this sale—that is, immediately after Christmas. You may not start stock taking until January, or even Febru- ary; but here, as everywhere else, it pays the hardware dealer to plan care- fully and thoroughly and then to move swiftly into action. Most dealers take stock as early as possible in the new year and hold the stock taking sale after the job is fin- ished. Some on the contrary hold a pre-inventory sale which means that they must take stock later. The policy to follow is for the individual dealer to determine. He ought to know what best suits his circumstances. The Christmas lines you do not offer at your after-holiday sale should be pushed into the background to make way for more seasonable winter lines. Quite often a sale of stoves can be staged to good advantage right after Christmas. It is usually considered that stoves can’t be sold at this time; which is perhaps one reason why isolated dealers who have defied prece- dent and tradition, have been able to sell stoves as a result of judicious ad- vertising and small price concessions. Often, instead of shading the price, it is good policy to give some article— a razor, a carving knife or a lamp— as a premium. Premium articles can usually be found when you sort over the stock; and quite frequently they selling will be . are articles which, though they will not sell readily for cash, will help to sell a stove for a great deal more cash. While taking stock and pushing after Christmas and winter business you should also plan thoroughly for the spring trade. Victor Lauriston. Lines of Interest To Grand Rapids Council. A great many of the boys who make the territory bordering on 31 and 131 have little fear of hardships due to cold, wintery weather. They have a feeling of comfort as they roll along in their cars because they know the long, cold evenings will be made cheerful by the hospitality of the excellent hotels on their route. The Occidental at Muske- gon offers everything that a landlord who is big, physically and mentally, can devise for the traveler. As they drive Northward they have confidence that a cheery welcome will be had at the Sterns at Ludington. The Chip- pewa at Manistee is another favorite. Crossing to Traverse City the Park Place offers them a fine home and meals that make them want to eat beyond a healthy man’s capacity. Farther North they anticipate the Perry at Petoskey. The landlords of these hostelriess know that the rigors of winter must be tempered with gen- uine hospitality. The boys do not hesitate to report very favorably for them. As they glide down 131 en route home. the Northwood at Cadillac is a favorite stopping place. There is an air of welcome that is appreciated. There are many smaller inns which are deserving of praise. They are not pre- tentious, but they lend a cheery home- like atmosphere to the traveler who has his ups and downs all day long. If it came to a vote, there is not any question but what the travelers on the routes mentioned would elect the ho- tels in Western Michigan and North- ern Michigan to a place second to none in the country. Women have a keen sense of humor. The more you humor them the better they like it. The scribe could well dispense with the columns this week on a valid ex- cuse. Practically every reporter on the staff has had the flu the past week and those who are convalescent are in the minority to those who have it now. There must be meat for news. No hunters—no meat. No meat—no news. Gilbert Ohlman and wife are host and hostess to the flu this week. We extend our sympathy and hope they are soon on the road to normalcy. W. E. Lypps and wife are on the sick list. It seems that the Lypps’ are sympathetic with each other and they decided to make one case out of the thing and have it over with. Our sym- pathy applies here also. Charlotte Ghysels, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Ghysels, is reported on the list of those who have contracted flu. The flu is no respecter of age, they all get it. Some people grow old gracefully; others attempt the new dances. Mrs. Marion Fox, of Detroit, arrived in the city Sunday evening to spend the holidays with her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Lypps. Her husband will join her the latter part of the week. George W. Hunn, age 44, a hard- ware dealer of Parma, died suddenly last week. He was formerly cashier of the bank in Parma. Mr. Eastwood has been employed by the Blue Point Oyster Co. of Lansing to cover the Western part of the state. The line consists of all kinds of sea foods. Congratulations. The past week has been a severe one for weak batteries and poor ignition system in automobiles. A can can go eleven months and never think a swearword, but one cold, frosty morn- ing will plunge him into the biggest swearing room he can find. Prepared- ness is all that is needed to avoid the troubles resulting from procrastination. The last we saw of Gil Moore he was pushing Gil Ohlman out of Mt. Pleas- ant. We have been run out of towns. but nevec yet pushed out. Some fresh guy standing on the curb yelled out, “two Gils equal what?’ Some other fresher villager answers, “fish.” It has come to our attention that the Democrats and Republicans met again last week and that some intricate economical problems were worked out satisfactorily. The convention shifted from the lake region to the Dal-Van Hotel in Jackson. We did not learn whether Mayor Heuman was invited in on the session or not. When pol- iticlans meet politicians they start an argument. We have long suspected that many a politician who claims that he hears his country calling is a ventriloquist. With a tremendous list of delinquents on the books, it looks like a big shrink- age in membership for 131. However, Senior Saxton and our efficient Secre- tary Bradfield reduced the list from one hundred twenty-five to seventeen. That is work and the work got results. There is a possibility that their labors will be crowned with the knowledge that they have, perhaps, saved some good wife the prospect of being left penniless when her protector is taken. The highway department of Kent county is to be congratulated on the thoroughness of their attention to road conditions in the county. It is quite noticeable when one enters from an- other county. The roads have the best of attention and care and the work of snow removal is promptly done. We believe Kent county is outstanding in her road work. Harry Nash was one of the many U. C. T. members who attended the Elks picnic which was held Saturday. Harry reported that it looked like a U. C. T. convention when he began to count noses. We haven’t heard who sent in a request to W O O D to have their artists play and sing, “Show Me The Way To Go Home” for Ray Bentley. It must have been a joke because we are sure Ray was already in his domi- cile when the clock struck the hour of ten. (Continued on page 15) a December 21, 1932 DRY GOODS Michigan Retail Dry Goods Association. President—Geo. C. Pratt, Grand Rapids. First Vice-President—Thomas P. Pit- kethly, Flint. Second Vice-President—Paul L. Proud, Ann Arbor. Secretary-Treasurer—Clare R. Sperry, Port Huron. Manager—Jason E. Hammond, Lansing. Advises on Selling Non-Run Hose. Intelligent promotion of non-run hosiery by stores will enable them to lift the dollar volume of hosiery de- partments considerably above the cur- rent levels, Elliott Sanger of J. R. Beaton & Co., large wholesale dis- tributors of hosiery, remarks. Com- menting on the fact that response to such styles has been spotty, Mr. Sanger asserts that early shipments were somewhat experimental, but that various improved features have been added since August, that many retail- ers did not merchandise the goods properly in view of the fairly high price and that in some cases misconceptions among customers regarding the run- resist quality were not cleared up. Sev- eral of his retail customers, however, are doing an excellent job in merchan- dising non-run styles, he added, and demand from these accounts is above expectations. ——_22-__ Notion Trade Ahead in Volume. An exceptionally active demand for notion gift items this year has carried the unit volume at least 5 per cent. above the total for the previous holi- day season. The gain over last year’s Christmas business may reach 7 or 8 per cent. before the shopping period closes. The popularity of low price gifts of a practical type accounts for the increase. Price reductions made since January on most of the articles on which demand is heaviest will leave the dollar volume for the current sea- son more than 10 per cent. below the previous year, it is believed. Sewing kits and such clothing accessories as shoe trees, hat stands and clothes hangers, are the leading numbers in current sales. — 3.2 >___ Women’s Spring Sweaters Shown. Open-stitch constructions, rough- surface fabrics and short puffed sleeves are features of women’s Spring sweater and knitted dress lines opened by sev- eral Cleveland, Brooklyn and Phila- delphia mills during last week. Slip- over styles in ratine, boucle and other knotted yarn types and one and two piece dresses are shown. The whole- sale prices, starting at $7 to $7.50 per dozen are only slightly under those prevailing last year. White is predom- inant, with bright pastel shades also widely featured. The open stitch is a carry-over from this year’s Spring and Fall styles, on which mills are doing an exceedingly good business. : ——__~e-o .____ Lamps and Shades Move Freely. Week-end orders for popular price lamps provided a considerable volume of business. The demand varies wide- ly but bridge lamps in retail ranges up to $15 are favored. Most of the orders are from nearby stores which request immediate delivery. Table lamps with both pottery and metal bases sell well in ranges up to $10. The call for shades continues strong with silk and combinations of silk and rayon out- MICHIGAN selling all other types. Purchases for January and February promotions are limited in volume and only the cheap- est styles are in demand. Greeting Card Trade Off Sharply. Greeting-card manufacturers are con- vinced that this season’s dollar volume will fall at least 25 per cent. below the level of 1931. The sharp drop is due, they hold, to the public’s insistence on cards retailing in the 5 and 10 cent ranges, and to the growing popularity of packaged assortments of greeting cards available at a low unit price. With sales for this season concluded, producers have turned to Christmas 1933 lines and prepared a wide range of merchandise for inspection by buy- ers immediately after the first of the year. The new cards feature novelty shapes and folds but adhere to this year’s decorative designs. A large se- lection of extreme low-end goods is included in the new lines. —_?-¢-« Holiday Trade Showing Gains. The week thus far has seen sub- stantially increased buying of holiday items by consumers, but the gain in either volume or transactions has not measured proportionately to the in- creased crowds in the stores. Home furnishings and accessories, apparel and toys show up best in the business being done, with less useful gift items falling a good deal behind. The view was expressed that much buying has been slow in making its appearance, leading to expectation that the volume the last three days of this week will be heavy. It is also pointed out that the seven-day period before Christmas this year will have two Saturdays, favor- ing increased late volume. —>+>____ Gray Goods Quiet But Firm. Trading in the gray goods market has slackened from the activity of last week, but the market continues very firm. Sheetings are restricted, but the trade looks for a pick-up in demand this week. December deliveries of 38%4 inch 60-485 were quoted at 2% cents, with some mills asking 234 cents for year’s shipment. A strong tone prevails in 38% inch 64- 60s at 3% cents and in 39 inch 80 squares at 4% cents. Nearby 39 inch 68-72s were offered at 35% cents, with later shipments at 334 cents. Demand is quiet for 39 inch 72-76s at 4 to 4% cents. = next —-__ 2-2-2 To Mark Down Men’s Clothing. Failure of men’s wear retail trade to measure up to expectations during this month will result in stores having to take fairly substantial markdowns on a good volume of clothing during the January sales. Retail stocks are not exceptionally heavy, nor are there substantial lots of distress merchan- dise available, but in order to clear out existing goods thoroughly during the January and February clearances, ex- ceedingly low prices will have to be offered. Suits may have to be priced from $8 to about $15 in the sales to attract any interest. ee A brick pavement filler has been de- veloped which is said to be nonsoften- ing and nonskid. A new method of application leaves a minimum of the filler on the surface. TRADESMAN Stores Feature $1 Gift Wares. Retail concentration on $1 items de- prived art and gift ware manufactur- ers of most of their profit in holiday operations this year. The dollar vol- ume purchased by gift stores was the most disappointing in years, although unit sales were well in advance of the 1931 totals. The same trend toward $1 merchandise is apparent also in the orders placed by buyers from Winter resort establishments. Even the ex- clusive gift shops in Florida will fea- ture $1 retail goods in the months, coming —_>e___ Lines of Interest To Grand Rapids Council. (Continued from page 14) Nowadays, whatever is not worth saying is sung. R. B. Clark of 824 South College avenue has been removed to Butter- worth hospital for a serious operation. Many of the boys know R.B. because he has traveled out of Grand Rapids for several years. He _ represented Brown & Sehler for twenty years and then took over the Morley Brothers hardware line. Mr. Clark will be glad to have his friends visit him after he is sufficiently recovered to receive visitors. Men don’t like to tell of their sur- gical operations. anyone to They don’t care for think they haven’t been everlastingly all right. We haven’t learned whether the ad- vent of the new Chevie floored A. B. Burkholder or whether it was the flu. We do know that whatever indisposi- tion he had kept him from being pres- ent at his place of business when the big showing took place Dec. 17. The Council joins in congratulating Burk on the fine car he has to sell this com- ing year and in wishing him a speedy recovery to his usual good health. Raymond W. Bentley was confined to his bed at the Western Hotel in 3ig Rapids during last week. He re- turned the latter part of the week feel- ing some better. Sympathy to you also, Ray. H. Pilkington, of Lakewood, Ohio, spent the week end with his brother and family of this city. One of our reliable members who is not easily excited and who is an adept at resale work with the retailer, stated he worked in and around Jackson for five days and never once heard depres- sion mentioned. We believe that in itself is reason for encouragement. If we will quite discusssing the depression and begin to think prosperity, the quicker we will be up toward the line of normalcy. Surely Job knew what he was talking about when he wrote, “the things I feared have come upon me.” If we can banish fear, we will dispense with four-fifths of the troubles which beset mankind. Past Counselor A. Bosman and wife left Monday for Chicago where they will spend the holidays with Mrs. Bos- GRAND RAPIDS PAPER Box Co. Manufacturers of SET UP and FOLDING PAPER BOXES 15 man’s folks. We sincerely hope Abe doesn’t meet up with any of the boys that Mayor Cermak is gunning for. It is reported that Mrs. A. T. Hein- zelman, who underwent a serious op- eration at Butterworth hospital, is rap- idly recovering and expects to return to her home shortly. Don’t forget the big New Year’s eve party. It is going to be something. Ray Bentley and his met Saturday afternoon to complete plans for the best party ever held by the Council. committee Favors have been purchased and all matters pertaining to the enter- tainment have been settled. When the band strikes up Saturday evening, Dec. 31, everything will be planned for the enjoyment of everyone present. This party is for United Commercial Trav- elers and their friends. The commit- tee which has done plenty of hard work toward making this party a huge suc- cess is composed of the following: R. W. Bentley, chairman; W. E. Lypps, treasurer; J. C. Laraway, Darcy Wil- cox, Frank Holman, Paul Schmidt and their wives and ladies. Perry Larabee and wife are located at Saline, Michigan, where they are em- ployed in the State Nospital for the Insane. They send their best wishes to all their friends and have extended an invitation to those coming near there to make them a call. We wish to ad- vise that it might be well for some of us to pay our call via the telephone. We understand barred doors and win- dows do a prison make if you are unable to pass certain tests. Convicts don’t care much for our penal institutions, but all the inmates are crazy about our insane asylums. Frank the He says if Holeman has come to front as a good samaritan. everyone who has the symptoms of a cold or the flu used Colman’s mustard in a hot bath that they would get im- mediate relief. Frank says he knows the mustard and would even use it on himself if neces- sity demanded it. Thanks, Frank, for the tip—we haven’t had our flu as yet. Gilbert Moore reports that old man depression has been chased out of the Mt. Pleasant-Midland country. The rapid development of the oil fields in that section has thrust prosperity upon the people without much effort on their part. because he sells Alma and St. Louis are now the center of speculation as to the merits of that section for another field. Four test wells are being drilled and excite- ment is high as to the possibility. There is an immense supply of natural gas and there is talk of piping it to within a radius of one hundred and fifty miles. We congratu- late that region and believe that some nitro charges down this way might dis- various cities pel some of the black pessimism. The man who said that oil and water won’t mix never bought any oil stock. A very Merry Christmas to all. Scribe. SPECIAL DIE CUTTING AND MOUNTING G R AN D RA,PIDS, ™M I-C H I GAN 16 HOTEL DEPARTMENT Landlords Doing Their Best To Dissipate Pessimism. Los Angeles, Dec. 17—_Not a week passes that Pastry Chef Hans _Gott- manns, of the Book-Cadillac, or Pastry Cook Charley Maier, of the Detroit Statler, doesn’t turn out some extrava- gant bonbon to stun the banqueteers at their institutions. They bounce from birthday cake to anniversary OT wedding cake without knowing, most of the time, just who it is intended for. Only a short time ago Hans produced a cake with a candy piano of sizable proportions and recently he baked a cake six feet high for the Rotary Club. Maier did a cake with a huge refrig- erator on it for Kelvinator. The Stat- ler’s real piece de resistance was a cake prepared for the Free Press centenary. These monsters are baked the day be- fore, assembled and decorated the day of the function, with the fruits or jellies placed between the layers. There is said to be one unwritten law about birthday cakes. When in doubt about a lady’s age or when she ts getting to the point that she may be touchy about it, just place one candle in the center of the cake. Reserve the exact number of candles for children’s parties. The hotel men of the country are certainly doing their level best to dis- sipate pessimism, and I give them a great deal of credit for their effort in that direction, more especially as no other business or profession has sut- fered more than their particular line as a result of financial depression. The facts are that the hotel field was en- tered by Old Man Trouble long before the Wall street debacle in 1079. Mr. Statler sensed trouble several years prior to that date, when he told the world that the hotel field was over- developed, that there were already too many hotels and the tendency was still toward over-production. Then, too, the hotel men were not altogether responsible for this condition. It was forced upon them by promoters who had worn out their influence in the sale of mining, oil and other stocks, and it was necessary to cast a new bait toward the wary investor. Hotel rates had been previously increased on account of war demands, but the cost of operation had increased at even a greater ratio, business was falling off and house counts were lowering at an alarming rate. The layman thought he had discovered that hoteliers were profiteering and he proved an_ easy mark for the promoter. But while the hotel man opposed the move for good and substantial reasons, the investor went ahead and erected the hotels, made it an object for operators of es- tablished reputations to take charge of them and the era of trouble began. It has kept up ever since. I think I am safe in stating that nowhere in the entire Nation, has there been a single proposition, long-established or other- wise, which has paid an adequate re- turn on the investment, and it will easily be a decade before a lot of these enterprises get outside the red in their book-keeping activities. It is for this reason that I get frequent thrills when I realize that the hotel men of the country are going farther than in any other line of industry to promote optimism, by advertising, orally and by their actions, and there has been no Government bureau to. standardize their activities in that direction. They have honorably won the best wishes of the public at large and great should be their reward. Also, it seems to me that another industry in which overbuilding is ap- parent is the steamship line. To-day I took occasion to inspect the new Grace line offering, the Santa Rosa, which is carded to link Pacific coast cities with Atlantic ports. It 1s a magnificent $5,000,000 proposition, and is one of a quartette of similar vessels MICHIGAN programmed for the near future. But is it really needed. Every California port is clogged up with vessels which have been out of service for some time, and some of them really floating pal- aces. Rates have been cut to the “quick” on almost every route, coast, transPacific and otherwise, and the sailing lists of passengers are very meager. Perhaps there is a certain in- vestment element which is being car- ried off its feet by the tinkle of the cash register which induced the public to place their investments in hotel securities. Some irresponsible news gatherer makes the announcement that there will be plenty of work on the Boulder Dam project on and after March 1 next. Such an informant ought to be chained to one of the hundreds of model “t” flivvers, which are to be found parked at Los Vegas and other Nevada towns, in which human beings are actually keeping house and have been for the past year, awaiting de- velopments on this project. The actual facts are that when the aqueduct work is started there will not be enough jobs to absorb the horde which is already on the ground awaiting the sound of the gong. In the section where these squatters are encamped the game and fish have absolutely been absorbed, and a touch of cold weather, such as has been prevailing for the past fort- night, is the cause of added suffering. On the California section of the work contractors have already announced that only Californians will be consider- ed when the jobs are allotted. Several Michigan hotels are furnish- ing radio service to such of their patrons as desire same, either gratuit- ously or at a moderate charge. Most of them, however, insist that 11 o'clock shall be the closing hour for such service. If the civic authorities would only follow this up by suppress- ing the public desire to over-produce such songs os “Oh, Lord! You make the night too long,” one outstanding menace might be abated. One of the prominent roadside inns out here, is ‘being talked about on ac- count of a lettuce “slaw” they are fea- turing. Very simple to prepare and really worth while introducing else- where! Crisp lettuce, chopped fine (not shredded) sprinkled lightly with granulated sugar, and an application of French dressing, topped off with lemon juice. The Eastern bankers have come to the conclusion that the movie corpora- tions are spending money with too lavish a hand on much over-estimated stars and a whole lot too much on the type of mush which is prepared and worked off on the public who are al- ready beginning to indicate that a re- turn to the legitimate stage would be a relief. Of course the talk about salaries of $10,000 per week is largely hoakum, unless the stars have sur- passing drawing capacity, but it is rea- sonably true that as high as $50,000 has been paid for scenarios which could not compete with some of the yellow-back classics we used to steal away and read in our youthful days. The principal reason for all this is that while the movie houses are apparently well patronized the stockholders are subsisting on husks, and don’t care who knows that they are not pleased with the situation. It is claimed that pay checks are being cut down, but the production of “twaddle”’ concerning princely salaries seems to continue. Reminding me of something else: When “Grand Hotel” was produced. at one of the Hollywood palatial movie houses, announcement was made that “never would it be produced anywhere at standard movie prices.” It has al- ready been shown at the Main street ten cent houses here, and my Detrcft paper is evidence of the fact that at least a score of houses in that city are TRADESMAN offering it at fifteen cents or, better. And a lot of us poor saps paid $1.50 for the same thing and “hoped” we liked it. Dry skimmed milk is an item rather recently introduced into the hotel cuisine and is working out very satis- factorily. It is, in reality, nothing but fresh, pure skimmed milk, but in some sorts of cooking it is exceedingly de- sirable and many chefs prefer it to the natural milk. Recently the manager of a local bakers’ supply house called my attention to a demonstration going on in his establishment, and while I had seen it used in a small way previously, its advantages were mami- fest. One great advantage is that it requires no refrigeration, requires small space for storage, and is pronounced by experts to be just as nutritious as in its original form. President Hoover’s debt moratorium of last year seems to have raised the hopes and, at the same time, “dickens” with those European statesmen, who have been visualizing Uncle Sam as a somewhat heroic form of Santa Claus. Henceforth, it is to be hoped, they will content themselves with Christmas cards on which “received of” will have due prominence. The Detroit Free Press, which I read regularly, publishes a definition of the term “printer’s devil,’ which I am glad to have. In my youthful days I occupied such a position in the office of the Fond du Lac (Wisconsin) Com- monwealth. At the time I didn’t think so much of the “impish” position, but since perusing the following I am fairly gloating over the fact that its glories were once mine: “In print shops of old the boys running back and forth between presses apparently always managed to be smeared with ink. For, in writings of former times we find them referred to as “black as the devil.’ It has been advanced that they first acquired the name printer’s devil from the circumstance that print- ing was called the Black Art.” I am glad to learn that at a special meeting of the board of directors of the Browning Hotel Company, Grand Rapids, held recently, Miss Leah F. Brown, daughter of the late Alvah Brown, was elected president, treasur- er and general manager of that insti- tution. Miss Brown was associated with ther father in a managerial capacity for several years, and has demonstrated thoroughly her capabili- ties in that direction, Joseph Denowitz, candidate for president of the Detroit Charter of Store, Offices & Restaurant Equipment G.R.STORE FIXTURE CO. 7 lonia Ave., N. W. Phone 86027 Hotel and Restaurant Equipment H. Leonard & Sons 38-44 Fulton St., W. GRAND RAPIDS, MICH. December 21, 1932 ALL GOOD ROADS LEAD TO I A AND ONI THE REED INN Excellent Dining Room Rooms $1.50 and up MRS. GEO. SNOW, Mor. CODY HOTEL GRAND RAPIDS RATES—$1 up without bath. $2.50 up with bath. CAFETERIA IN CONNECTION “A MAN IS KNOWN BY THE COMPANY HE KEEPS” That is why LEADERS of Business and Society make their head- quarters at the PANTLIND HOTEL “An entire city block of Hospitality’ GRAND RAPIDS, MICH. Rooms $2.25 and up. Cafeteria oie Sandwich Shop MORTON HOTEL Grand Rapids’ Newest Hotel 400 Rooms -i- 400 Baths RATES $2.50 and up per day. Park Place Hotel Traverse City Rates Reasonable—Service Superb —Location Admirable. GEO. ANDERSON, Mgr. ALBERT J. ROKOS, Ass’t Mor. New Hotel Elliott STURGIS, MICH. 50 Baths 50 Running Water European _D. J. GEROW, Prop. Occidental Hotel FIRE PROOF CENTRALLY LOCATED Rates $2.00 and up EDWARD R. SWETT, Mgr. Muskegon “3 Michigan Columbia Hotel KALAMAZOO Good Place To Tie To 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, Mgr. HOTEL ROWE We have a sincere interest in wanting to please you. ERNEST W, NEIR MANAGER December 21, 1932 MICHIGAN TRADESMAN Greeters, has been appointed assistant room clerk at the Detroit-Leland by Manager Harrisom® For some time he has filled the position of mail clerk at the Book-Cadillac. At a recent meeting of the Detroit Stewards Association, held at Hotel Fort Shelby, Fred H. Simonson, president of the National Restaurant Association, in an interesting address, outlined the most pressing problems facing the hotel and restaurant indus- try during the coming year. It was reported at this meeting that the hotel course at Michigan State College is making a very satisfactory showing. A new scheme of catering is de- veloping in Chicago. A group of prominent catering managers have formed a company for the purpose of leasing and operating the catering de- partments of hotels and clubs, includ- ing country and golf clubs, in the Chi- cago and Detroit districts. The per- sonnel of the company are men who for years have been connected with leading hotels and clubs and who real- ize that the catering art and quality standards of years ago must be re- vived in order to compete with various forms of “feeding” institutions which have sprung up in the past decade. Alfred J. Creamer, for the past forty years identified with hotels froni Mich- igan to Florida, and connected with the winter operation of Highland Pines Inn, Southern Pines, N. C., for twenty years, and managing director of The Inn, Charlevoix, for twenty-six years, died at his home in Maine after a long illness, at the age of 59. He was well known among Michigan hotel men. President J. Henry Pichler, of the Detroit Hotel Association, has ap- pointed a committee consisting of Albert E. Hamilton, managing director Hotel Fort Wayne, chairman; Edward T. Lawless, general manager Book- Cadillac; Preston D. Norton, general manager Norton and Norton-Palmer; Chas. H. Clements, manager Royal Palm, and Maynard D. Smith, pro- prietor Hotel Fort Shelby, to follow up the prohibition work of the As- sociation, acting in conjunction with the prohibition committees of the American Hotel Association and the Michigan Hotel Association. The committee will await instructions from Arthur L. Race, of the A. H. A. and John A. Anderson, of the M. H. A. ‘before proceeding with their activities. A plan adopted by various hotels throughout the country is to make a registration of license numbers display- ed on the cars of their patrons, which practice ought to be useful in many ways, especially in locating the where- abouts of “skippers.” If properly ap- plied it ought to be of considerable advantage to hotel operators. The Detroit Free Press has inaugu- rated what I would call a “cooking school on wheels,” which they purpose sending out on call to any of the vari- ous Home Economics clubs in Michi- gan, who may desire its services. It ought to be gratefully utilized. And now several Detroiters who are not looking for profit, and have little desire for publicity, are establishing several “Penny Pantrys,” in that city, where really good meals will be served at a penny a portion, and at a cost for the entire meal, of less than a dime. This is similar to an enterprise estab- lished in Los Angeles, several weeks ago, by one of the large cafeteria or- ganizations which had been giving away its surplus productions, but found a lot of indigents who possessed too much self respect to accept absolute charity. It works out very nicely here, and I expect to hear of similar results in Detroit. The conveniton guest is undoubtedly a good thing to have at your hotel oc- casionally, but far more valuable is the fellow who comes along several times each year and leaves a few dollars in your collection plate. You may crowd him out at convention time, but he is usually gritty enough to come back for more punishment, especially if you give him the glad hand as if you really meant it. There are a few people who decry hospitality, but if you will take time to make a survey you will find the men who really made their mark and a stake in the hotel game, were such as appeared genuinely glad every time you visited their hotel, and then followed it up by showing that they were sincere in their manifestations. California is getting a bunch of nice, soaking, rainy weather just now and I am wondering just what some of her “croakers” are going to worry about for the next few months. With an unusual depth of snow in the mountain ‘ regions it looks as though she were carded ahead for a good measure of miosture in her irrigation ditches next summer. And yet with all these offer- ings not a single indication of frost in the citrus belt has been reported. James C. Cleary, National counsel for the Hotel Greeters of America, is an individual possessed of good, horse sense, and is by no means a crepe hanger. In a recent address before that well organized body he offered the prediction that while, for the time be- ing, there may be no accumulation of evidence to the effect that we have actually reached the end of the most universal depression the world has ever experienced, there are certain un- mistakable signs of the near approach of the culminating phase of the great bear market of 1929-30. He says: “I believe the close proximity of general commodity prices to the actual and necessary cost of production has been reached—a condition which, in the in- dustrial history of the world is worth considering and may be relied upon shortly to expose at least the dead-line of the present economic situation.” Frank S. Verbeck. —~---.___ Michigan Farm Implement Associa- tion. At the twenty-ninth annual conven- tion of the Michigan Farm Implement Association, held in the Hotel Olds. Lansing, the following officers were elected: President—E. B. Straehly, Burr Oak. Vice-President—A. J. Rankin, Shelby Treasurer—Henry A. Schantz, Grand Rapids. Secretary — S. E. Larsen. Grand Rapids. 1933 Directors—C. E. Hochradel. Maybee; S. A. Ford, Gaylord; George Rummel. Frankenmuth; W. H. Camp- bell, Hemlock. 1933-1934 Directors — Elmer Lang, Capac; G. D. Wilius. Elkton; Wm. Montague, Ovid; D. A. Baylis, Ann Arbor. It is not unlikely that the thirtieth annual convention will be held in the new auditorium in conjunction with the Michigan Dairyman’s Association. No exhibits were shown at the Lan- sing convention. Because the Grand Rapids auditorium affords ample space for exhibits the custom will probably be resumed next year. —_+~+<+—___ A new outlet for cotton is seen in the use of cotton sheeting, permeated with a bituminous compound, to patch or entirely cover old roofs. It is said to be economical, effective. DETROIT DOINGS. Late Business News From Michigan’s Metropolis. In spite of the downward trend of the factors shown on this page, the Industrial Department of the Detroit Board of Commerce has been receiv- ing reports which indicate a substan- tial improvement in local activity. Ac- cording to the report compiled Dec. 15, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and even Sunday activity in local industrial plants is now showing a decided im- provement. Most manufacturers of automobiles are now in the process of stocking up dealers with the new 1933 models. This, alone, is expected to maintain fairly high levels of activity over the next month. A slight decline was apparent last week in the value of building permits, passengers carried by the Detroit Street Railways, deliv- eries of passenger cars and bank clear- ings. The value of building permits last week declined to $23,000 as com- pared with $32,000 reported the previ- ous week. The working day average of passengers carried ‘by the D. S. R. declined slightly from 788,000 reported a week ago to 786,000 last week. Deliveries of passenger cars in Wayne county are holding up very well, con- sidering the seasonal trend at _ this time of the year. Deliveries for the latest period amounted to 246, a mod- erate decline from 278 reported the previous period. Bank clearings last week showed a_ slight drop and amounted to $50,282,000 as compared with $53,478,000 the previous week.— Detroiter. There are no more emphatic figures relating to just how busy this heart of the automotive industry is these days than those which describe the propor- tions of present factory payrolls. These figures show that Chevrolet is employ- ing 30,000 persons in its own factories and giving work to 21,000 more in the plants of the Fisher Body Company. Ford’s payroll is between 30,000 and 40,000, and the four units of the Chrys- ler corporation have a list of 22,000 workers. Buick has expanded plant activities until it now is working a force of 10,000. Hudson-Essex is re- calling an additional 4,200 men and already is giving employment t@ 6,000. Oldsmobile with its new line under way is returning 2,000 more to their jobs. Graham’s roster includes 1,550. From 8,000 to 9,000 others are work- ing in the body plants, such as Briggs and Murray. The trade announcement came dur- ing the week that Auburn was _ pre- paring to stand pat on its 1932 line of cars. The only changes will come in the form of additional body models to the eight and twelve cylinder lines, salon sedans on each chassis which will have many special features and be sold at correspondingly higher prices. E. L. Cord’s decision with regard to new models is rated by many as the most radical in his spectacular career in the industry, coming as it does at a time when every manufacturer is making many changes in his products. Rockne seems slated to be another that differs on the idea of lower price 17 as the vital sales stimulant in 1933. The same list as prevailed last year will apply to the materially modified new car with which dealers now are being stocked. Another feature of the that of abandon- ment of the larger six, the series 75. Rockne program is The 65, with an increase in horse- and numerous interior and exterior body changes, the offering for the coming year. power, refined chassis details will comprise Rockne Sidney Styer, for more than fourteen years associated with the S. M. R. Co., of Chicago, and vice-president of the Women’s Apparel Club of Michigan, returned this week from the Eastern manufacturing centers. He announces he has made arrangements to handle the products of several manufacturers of jewelry and leather novelties and will represent them in the same Mich- igan territory he has covered for the past several years. The new lines will be displayed at the Women’s Apparel Club of Michigan exposition and mar- ket to be held at the Statler Hotel, Feb. 12, 13 and 14. Sam Rosenfeld is now representing the S. & F. Garment Co., Detroit branch, located at 1217 Griswold street. The company sells misses’ coats and dresses. Before be- coming associated with the present firm Mr. Rosenfeld represented a local coat and dress house in the Michigan territory. Previous to coming to De- troit several years ago he made his headquarters in New York and trav- eled through the South and Southwest. Manley Sprague, secretary of the Women’s Apparel Club of Michigan left this week for Providence on a business trip. Mr. Sprague represents several Eastern manufacturers of wom- en’s apparel in the Michigan territory. The M. Starr Co., 162 East Jeffer- son, wholesale dealer in silks, dress goods and novelty piece goods, has liquidated its stock business. The apple vendors of Detroit have applied a slogan to their business: “An apple concession fights Old Man De- pression” and, let us hope, successfully even though the apples are not Mich- igan products. Andrew B. Fraser, well known in local automobile circles, Buick service and sales 10217 Linwood avenue. Fraser has been associated with Buick sales for about ten years in the Detroit area. William Schaible, resident manager of the Hotel Norton-Palmer, in Wind- sor, died last Friday, following an at- tack of pneumonia. a few days. women’s and and discontinued has opened agency at He was ill for only He served for eighteen months in France during the kaiser’s war and received wounds which at the time were considered critical. Although he recovered he was left in such a weakened physical condition that he was unable to withstand the ravages of a disease as formidable as the one 3ill Schaible (every one who knew him called him Bill) was born in Ann Arbor thrity- eight years ago. Associated with his brother in the cafe business in that city he received the which struck him down. first rudiments of a (Continued on page 24) 18 MICHIGAN TRADESMAN December 21, 1932 DRUGS Michigan Board of Pharmacy. President—Clare F. Allan, 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. - Michigan State Pharmaceutical Association. President—F. H. Taft, Lansing. First Vice-President—Duncan Weaver, Fennville. : Second Vice-President—G. H. Fletcher, Ann Arbor. Secretary—R. A. Turrel, Croswell. Treasurer—William H. Johnson, Kala- mazoo. Queer Drugs Used in Medicine. Many fanciful tales have been told about the ancient fears and supersti- tions of primitive folk. Stories are told of how the earliest medicines were made from the fat off the back of a crocodile or the hardened nails of some prehistoric monster. Evil spirits were blamed for many ills and a common cure was catching the four winds and placing them in a bottle, which was then corked. Still, for other ailments, prayers were offered and various sacri- fices made to the gods. With the progress of civilization, herbs, roots, barks, berries, leaves and many crude drugs made their advent into the therapeutic field of medicine. Indian medicine men used these in pro- fusion together with their noisy, wail- ing incantations to the gods to drive away the evil spirits. But—medicine has been said to have progressed rapidly. Still—to-day, we find faith healers flourishing and in- numerable disciples of Christian science, everywhere. Medical men of the allopathic school prescribe live maggots in the treatment of bone dis- eases; spanish flies as a rubifacient; cochineal and other loathsome insects, which harken back to biblical times, for other ills, Fish of all kinds are now being used in medicine, as witness the recent popularity of codfish and halibut in the treatment of rickets. The sun’s rays, in recent years, are being utilized for its curative powers. Yet, we laugh at the thought of bottling four winds. Homeopathic physicians use a great variety of animals and insects in their daily practice, which reminds one of the earliest prescriptions of the Ebers Papyrus calling for parts of the croco- dile, lion, tiger and other jungle ani- mals. The entire animal, however, is rarely used in homeopathic practice. Usual- ly the venom of the snake is used, the excretion of some animal and in some cases the entire animal or insect is used. From Boericke’s Materia Medica with repertory, a standard reference book for homeopathic physicians, we have taken a list of the more unusual drugs. Included in this list are the adder, the ant, beaver, bedbug, bee, bushmaster (snake) caterpillar, cat’s milk, centipede, cobra, cockroach, Colorado potato bug, copperhead, coral snake, crawfish, Cuban spider, cuttle- fish juice, dog’s milk, eel serum, flea, gila monster, green dragon, green lizard, grey spider, headlouse, thumb- nail of the horse, king crab, kissing bug, lady bug, lizard, lizard’s tail, lob- ster, louse, moccasin snake, red mullet fish, New South Wales black spider, New Zealand spider, orange spider, papal cross spider, plant lice, saliva of a rabid dog, rattlesnake, red starfish, skunk, snail, snake head, snake lizard, dragon, Spanish fly, Spanish Cuban spider, sponge, fresh water sponge, stingfish and viper. These animals and insects have been used therapeutically with very excel- lent results and have a scientific basis for their use. For example, snake and spider poisons decompose the blood, rendering it more fluid; hence a hem- orrhage tendency is marked. These drugs all have their specific uses and have proven their worth, however, some are still in the experimental stage. After a glance at the list of drugs used to-day, one cannot refrain from asking the question, “Has medicine advanced?” Max I. Kern. —_>—____ Michigan’s Four-Year Course in Phar- macy. When the pharmacy laws were pass- ed by the State Legislature in 1885, the requirements to become a registered pharmacist in the State of Michigan were very few. Since that time the re- quirements have gone from drug store experience to tenth grade education, then to high school, and up to the pres- ent law, passed in 1925, which requires a pre-requisite of two-year college at- tendance. When this legislation was passed the pharmacists of Michigan thought they would never have to change the law again so far as college requirements were concerned. If we are going to keep pharmacy in the front line trench- es, we will have to change our present law to four years or graduation from a school of pharmacy. I have had the pleasure of speaking on this subject to several city drug clubs in the state and in every case they have gone on record unanimously in favor of changing the law to require college graduation. Michigan has al- ways excelled in manufacturing phar- macy, in pharmacy colleges and in up- to-date drug stores. If we are to con- tinue in this position, we will have to change our law to conform with the other thirty-five states which require college graduation. Michigan is a densely populated state and has the advantage of four colleges of pharmacy. It certainly should rank as high as the majority of states in the Union in so far as pharmacy is con- cerned. The states which do not re- quire college graduation are sparsely populated and, in most instances, have no college of pharmacy within their boundary. In such states it would be very difficult to legislate so that they require college graduation. Michigan should not remain in this group. The National Association of Colleges of Pharmacy have a uniform four-year course that is required of the colleges which are in the National Association. In other words, each year’s course and the subjects required are nearly uni- form. The first year is devoted mostly to cultural and general subjects, in the secocnd the student only begins his actual pharmacy studies. If a student at the end of the second year is allowed to write the examination given by the Michigan Board of Pharmacy, he would snap spider, have very little training in so far as the practice of pharmacy is concerned. The pharmacy laws were passed by the State Legislature to protect public health and anyone can see that a student, who is given a certificate to practice pharmacy in the state, with very little knowledge of the actual compounding and dispensing of medi- cines and poisons, is not qualified to care for the medical requirements of the general public. The Michigan Board of Pharmacy does not license their students to en- gage in a commercial enterprise but they do license them to carry on a pro- fession which is as important to the doctor’s patients as the doctor is him- self. Every state surrounding Michigan, namely, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wis- consin and Kentucky, requires college graduation. In these modern times every pharmacist wants a license which does not limit his activity to one state. If Michigan still stays in the two-year college class, Michigan pharmacists will not be able to reciprocate with the surrounding states and there will be only a few states in the United States with which they can reciprocate. I believe the pharmacists of Mich- igan are interested enough in their pro- fession to always want to stay at the top instead of falling by the wayside with the small minority of the smaller states that are members of the Na- tional Boards of Pharmacy. Clare F. Allan. —_+2>___ Drug Store in Sweden Is 310 Years Old. The chemists’ shops in Stockholm are venerable institutions, judging from a recently published report. The seven oldest shops in Stockholm have a com- bined age of 1,860 years, or an average ._of 265 years each. The oldest one is “The Lion,” originally the drug dis- pensary of the royal palace, which has celebrated its three-hundredth and tenth anniversary. It is an old tradi- tion among the Swedish druggists to give animal names to their shops, Distributors of alam HOLIDAY CANDIES POPULAR SINCE 1865 JowNey's - CHoco,Ares PUTNAM FACTORY NATONAL CANDY CO., INC. Grand Rapids, Michigan it over. Grand Rapids Blank Books for 1933 Ledgers — Journals — Record Books Day Books — Cash Books Counter Order Books — Tally Books Standard Order Books Petty Day Books — Memorandum Books Also Account Files — Shannon Arch Files Greenwood’s Business and Income Tax Records Card Index Files — Letter Files Blank Notes — Receipts — etc., etc. Our stock is complete. Come in and look Prices Right. Hazeltine & Perkins Drug Co. Michigan ' praia ar a December 21, 1932 MICHIGAN TRADESMAN 19 which wear a gilt sculpture of their A Business Man’s Philosophy. WHOLE AL R particular animal as a signboard. Thus, The man who thinks follows a rou- S E D UG PRICE CURRENT besides “The Lion,” there is “The ‘tine that is as standard as the stance be ; ; , : Pri : : Raven,” “The White Bear,” “The of a golfer. The thinker may be un- ces quoted are nominal, based on market the day of issue. et a. 9 66 9 66 Sa Bice . Acid Gum Hemlock, Pu., lb.2 00@2 25 Swan,” “The Owl,” “The Deer,” “The conscious of the process and he may Acetic, No. 8, 1b.06 @ 10 Aloes, Barbadoes, Heml’k Com., lb. 1 00@1 25 Unicorn,” “The Griffin,” be unaware of ever having learned it, hay nowt or oe - a so ° juan Bs lb. 4 00@4 25 : oe al, y oo 0856 OW = 35 @ 5 unip’r ’"d, lb. 1 500@1 75 ———_@—>—____—_ : but that does not alter the fact that his Carpolie,Xtal,Ib. 36 @ 43 Aloes, Socotrine, Lav. Flow., Ib. 4 00@4 25 Beans and Business. reasoning proceeds in a definite se- ee DP a 40 @ 55 e ai @ 7 spn Gard., lb. 1 25@1 50 a : uriatic, Com’l., -OW Ib, @ 80 emon, Ib. ~~. 2 00@2 25 Merchandising beans and the condi- Pe oo . ae ee ae 03%@ 10 aac, first, Ib. @ 50 Mustard, true, ozs. et 50 yaaa? : os ; et rdway Tead in “Human Nature itric, Ib. __-__ 08 @ 165 Arabic, see., Ib. @ 45 Mustard, art., ozs. @ 35 tions in the bean trade, from grower J - @ealic he 15 @ 25 Arabic. sorts, lb. 15 @ 25 Orange, Sw., Ib. 4 00@4 35 to consumer are identical with all lines 29¢ Management says that the neces- Sulphuric, Ib. -- 03%@ 10 Arabic, Gran., lb. @ 35 Origanum, art, cl ‘business. Shortage of money. A SAFY steps in thinking are: eo a eS oe in “ da a P naan 1 3 os ce : 55 ’ : a afoetida, BOC ennyro 3 25 grower needs some article he does not 1. Recognition of a problem. stages Asafoetida, Po., i: @ a Paiisernint. Ib. 3 s0O8 5 produce. Takes some beans to the 2. Accumulation of all possible Gal, ---------- naa oe oe 6 | Ce US Me Ga cone a ; : se ae Grain, Gal. __._. 4 00@5 \ , ‘= au ee an., OZS. 09 5 elevator. Many more growers have data which throw light on the nature wood, Gal. ___.. 50 co ane Wye 99 Rosemary done the same thing, resulting in tak- of the problem and, perhaps, there- : Alum-Potash, USP aoa @ = dane os ing all the cash of the elevator owner, fore, its solution. poaae Pan fae fo 13 aa ahi Ib. @ 7% a . . ----12 50@12 75 Z ec} +4 < ‘ : . Ta = o bes eS 50@ who, not being able to borrow on the 3. Classification of all data into se” Ammonia Ibs : a 25 @ 35 Sassafras, 4 gt 15 beans, stored as he did in former times. nificant groupings—groupings which, Concentrated,lb. 06 @ 18 Ground, lIh__ 25 @ 35 true, Ib. ..._ 2 00@2 26 if intelligently made, supply clues to oe een ae eee Se. ait i. bee He must pass the beans along to the Suey owe eo A 054%@ 13 (bone dr’d) Ib. 35 @ 45 Spearmint, lb.__ 3 00@3 25 broker, jobber or other wholesaler the probable nature of the solution. Carbonate, Ib... 20 @ 25 Tragacanth., Tansy, Ib. --.__ 5 00@5 25 ao ; : : ’ 4 85 lati f ay Muriate, Lp., lb. 18 @ 30 No. 1, bbls.___ 1 75@2 00 Thyme, Red, Ib. 1 50@1 75 who in turn, having his money tied up - Formulation of a tentative con- Muriate, Gra., Ib. 08 @ 18 No. 2, lbs. ____ 1 50@1 75 Thyme, Whi., Ib. 1 75@2 00 in beans with other merchandise, must clusion, a solution, or “working basis” Muriate, Po. Ib. 20 @ 30 Pow., Ib. ____ 1 25@1 50 Wintergreen dispose of the beans to the retailer. ae “hypothesis” (as it is called in pouna ao @ 20 Pound SP aves 25 @ 40 Birch, Ih 5 0003 28 Perhaps several of the many who have scientific enquiries) which is to be tried oa oo Hops wot ao te ae s si i i ea opaiba, Ib. __ 50 80 Tormseed, Ib._. 5 00@5 25 handled beans have been paid for their = ges i if it works. : ae Cana.. Ib. 2 0092 40 m8 Peers, Pressed, @ ig Wormwood, Ib. 6 00G 6 25 ae : ; estin re Si ir, e o6n Gt OO: = 2 = = i work and made a small profit, which, 2 e° o € tentative solution Bec. _ oo Go . Hydrogen Peroxide Casto: — ee a 60 accrued above the handling costs. Most in action and finding out if it works. Wola ib 1 50@1 8v age gross 25 00@27 00 Cocoanut, lb. __ 22%@ 35 bean handlers, particularly the retailer, 6. Adoption of the solution as a ‘ Barks wm eh pt a cai aa Cod Liver, Nor- é : : in: ry Sa 2 assia, ee : Wegian, gal. __1 00 eee sor tcen pad for (ace for 7) me metiiod t fe effective as long = Ordinary, Ib 25 @ 90 y Indigo Cot. “Seed Gals. 9091 10 even. Few of the many who have as all the supporting conditions of the Ordin., Po., Ib. 20 @ 25 Madras, Ib. ---. 2 00@2 25 Lard, ex., gal. 1 55@1 65 : case remain the same Saigon, hb - @ 8 , inaeet Paweee Tard, No 1, ast. 1 Sheet 46 handled beans know what it costs them _ ae Saigon, Po., lb. 50 @ 60 FPure, Ib. ------ 25 35 Uinseed, raw, gal. 60@ 75 to do so. The average retailer uses William Feather. a =a a % ¢ i ao Lead Acetate oe Bal. 63@ 78 : : —_3>>—___ yl : Xtal, ee w@ 3 = . 3 s a percentage mark-up to ascertain his ©’Connell Comments on Christmas ee en a a . a Powd. & Gran. 25 @ 35 oiea a. — 1G) selling price. . pound of choice H. Trade. Soaptree, cut, lb 15 @ 25 Extracts aa ae gal.__ 2 50@3 00 : ene wi | the peas = A heavy rush of Christmas shopping cones = . oo Bee — 1 a @2 00 dnena Ge a i 2501 50 . Tih : fi o> 2 < : S, re no a To - ac i o et a oe E beginning Monday and continuing Cubeb, Ib. -__- @ 75 Wafers, (24s) box 1 30 wa > ps * oe ae rer e ane 2 i: through the week is counted by re- a Ib. a a a ee | Leaves Whale, gal. ___- “Oe oo u c LU ng . Ce nn a eS ree ee a ttre Gitte ate Soe Hcg 0 admin mge cre Miata tr otgceor: uchu, i. 8 a : ee — - ea 8 th c pe tailers to make up for the poor volume Blue Vitriol Buchs. ib no e ' Guin Opium osts no ne | tO : c encountered thus far, according to P. Pound ------___ 05 @ 15 Buchu, P'd., 1b. @ 60 ws ee 50@20 beans than the pea beans. Why should AOC i id ; Borax Sage, bulk, lb. 25 @ 30 Powder, ozs, $1.40: D20 00 ie eae ee ee? in ie : onnell, president of the National pd or Xtal, lb. 06 @ 13 48@, loose 7: awe s i : Me ‘es 4 1D. -------- ( ( Ca oh be ie eee Canes Retail Dry Goods Association. His Brimstone ae eee Ib. ’ 2 Gran., ozs., $1.40; ies pe : . . . . ° : So 3 : 2 3 advices indicate, Mr. O’Connell said, Pe @ 10 sage, P'd & Grd. @ 38 es 17 50@20 00 goods. A can of corn costs 6c. He ct Waccuiber jead fe ai € Camphor Senna, : Paraffine adds 1%c. A can of pears costs 20c. 4 Hen oe a = a youd Se @ 7 ao hog o 62@ 15 ee ay night was running about er : antharides innevella, lb.20 @ 30 veers He adds 5c. Why charge 3%c more ae ] Russian, Powd. -. @3 50 Powd., lb. 25 @ 35 Black, grd., @ 40 for the same service. Of course, in . y go. in o on, he’ Chinese, Powd. @1 25 Uva Ursi, lb. -. 20 @ 25 Red, grd., i 42 @ 55 getting figures of cost of handling, al- added, the percentage of decline was Chalk ae = % wits, 42s rc : ’ e i rgu lowance for interest on extra cost of around 20 to 21 per cent., with a drop wie dozen__ @3 60 Chloride, meds ag — 220 @ 25 dive can ouer another should be added of 4 per cent. noted in reports on trade noe - @6 00 — large, dz. @145 ,) i heb higay : bee 3 renc owder, ycopodium Amber, Plain,lb. 12 @ 17 particularly on slow moving merchan- a D. C. Mr. O’Connell é ee i 03%@ 40 Pound = 35 @ 50 ao Garth. 144 @ 19 a . “ s i i recipitated, F 1 ; ream t, Ib. & dise. My point is that the cost of Sy e would not be surprised if the prehdred, Ib. 14 @ 16 Carb, 4 Were @ 3 ily White,’ Ip. 20 @ 2 merchandise should be ascertained be- pigs nas Se - SS White, Ee Ib. 03 @ 10 Carb.. dies, Ib. @ 22 — bhai Ib. 22 @ 27 ; ; re ie or e entire mon Oo ecember apsicum varb., P’wd., lb. 15 25 aster Paris Denta fore the selling price is set. If an ar Pods 60 @ 70 Oxide, Hea., lb. ’ g a Barrelg “oe 25 ticle is sold below cost the difference showed sales 30 per cent. below the Powder, ib. _. 62 @ E5 Oxide, light, Ib. @ 75 Less, lb. ---__ 03%@ 08 should be carried in a profit and loss Same month in 1931. Cloves Menthol a ee es If such (oes ee abe re eoeee cc. oe ae a Liquor,” a 6h made fo the purpose of advertisin Quality Demand Held Growing. nee a Pound —— Potassium —o r ' S ; A : ain I 25@1 35 edad sis Essentials, such as clothing, food- Ounce -_-__ i Be 13 60 FeGis Actas, Ib. @ & such reduction should be made a part : Morphine Bicarbonate, lb. 30 @ 35 Ok Hi adeceae ceonank Eten stuffs and small housewares, and a4 yya; wp Coppera Rca “a Quncees, @10 80 Bichromate, Ib. 15 @ 35 ounds of su See 45c ‘delivered few higher price products, including Powdered, Ib. 04 @ 15 - "Mustard — Garheual ik ve u i) , oe BC SS cline He Whe a household heating units and, electric é oo Tartar Bulk, Powd., Chineata, a = 9 a : oe refrigerators, are absorbing the atten- a = € select, Ib. ---. 456 @ 50 Xtal., Ib -__.17 @ 23 tailing, and this same sugar is sold as Bee of ceececicie tlie presen Hine ae Culyanone oi No. 1, lb. ---- 25 @ 35 paaleep m2 @ : se é 4 ; UNE Soe ran., Ip. <2. 2I a ertising i c, 4c should : F Naphthaline # = OF Seilint of Canter Recently ae come int Bails, 1b... Ub%@ 1s [aide Ib. 3H @ z : . e€ 5 ake, | en ’ Shia id Inc., says. In the last six months, ac- White ean. is eee : . O4G 15 Prussiate, kore Getting back to beans. Beans and : — : ies @ Nutmeg Red, lb. ee ae fi ees ane cine cording to enquiries received at the or- Extract Pound. 20 @ 40 vie hs @ 90 a ith a ne pauincas ganization’s headquarters, retail buyers ee aa @1 83 Baers sr ae es aa eo c wi . & < : ” . 4 i ae ene P ae ae See oe have been only slightly interested in Licorice, P’d, Ib. 50 @ 6() Pound lbs @ 2 roee, oo 5 @ 20 f t : ee OV oe rn g : 8 4 3 automotive products and in the luxury : Flower Powdered, 1b... 15 @ 25 ' Gui = ¢ or his beans to pay for the seed, his t Ot wieveiaad Me Senti Arnica, lb. ---- 75 @ 8) Oil Essential e EERIE taxes and the interest on the mortgage 6 eee heme. Almond Ss oS SS If he do Sa eh . ee added that buyers with which his — i» =. 36 e 2 Bit. trae. oat. = @ 8 cam ip Sal “ e s no i1ore ° ou : jib. = _ ib to tak ne hs - wal ty group comes into contact are less con- Saffron, moe mice 1 5001 30 Glaubers, — ; ] . < i * ? ’ . oo : : Y cerned with price than with the qual- American, Ib. 35 @ 40 Sw't, Art., Ibs.100@1 25 9 ump, Ib. ---_ 03 10 other articles he may need. The =; : Spanish, ozs. @1 25 Amber, crude, lb. 75@1 00 Gran., Ib. ---. 034%@ 10 farmer must have more money for his ity of products requiring investments Formaldehyde, Bulk Amber, rect., Ib. 1 5@2 00 Nitre, products befor the r nes of ane oe Be ee ren on ie uae e — oe ee fecaa Gran i. 09 @ 20 I s b e the re popular price goods, such as medicines uller’s Earth By, I 400@4 25 Rochelle, Ib... 21 Powd B @ 31 people can get the money and then the owder, Ib. ---- 05 @ 10 Bergamot, Ib. --5 00@5 20) Soga ip archondine sh ped and foodstuffs, he says, consumers are Gelatin Caienut, Ib. ---. 1 50@1 75 gage 02%@ 08 Ss ed. an 44° . ' ‘ > : € they nee — now willing to pay a premium in price, P0Und ---------- 66 Cee ee At through their close contact with cus- . Gl ane. Uer, b. 2 ee toa honaia (in So * if necessary, in order to insure quality. Brok., Bro. Ib Cedar Leaf, lb. 2 00@2 25 Bicarbonate, Ib. 03%@ 10 tomers carry the thought that the con- a rok., Bro., Ib. 20 @ 30 Cedar Leaf Caustic, Co’l., Ib. 08 @ 15 : —__>- > Gro’d, Dark, lb. 16 @ 22 : - | ite. . “44: . : Coml., Ib 00@1 25 Hyposulphite, lb. 05 @ 10 sumer is worse off in the end by get- Glass building brick, plain or color- Whi. Flake, lb. 27%@ 35 itronella, Ib... 75 @120 Phosphate, Ib. 23 @ 28 ting merchandise at less than cost of ed, have now reached a_ practical wae Se Ral @ caves, 2 001@2 25 TC he : oo ee : ’ a See production, whether it is farm products stage. Used in industrial and other Ib. ---------- @ 40 Cale a oo : aoe - Dry, Powd., Ib. 3%0 20 or those from the factories. buildings they permit infiltration of HuEnoe ‘ai po ae ss Bescon. y ee oes = Silicate, Sol.gal. 40 @ 50 a ycerine ucalyptus, Ib. 75@ Turpentine Burton S. Haswell. light, offer unusual effects. Bok 1S @ & Fennel -.._---- “2 00@2 25 Gallons __.... 52 @ 67 MICHIGAN 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 Beef Veal Quaker Potted Meat Hart Lima Beans Hart Wax Beans Cod Fish AMMONIA BROOMS Pears Parsons, 64 oz. ._..__ 95 Leader, 4 sewed ____ 3 45 Pride of Mich. No. 2% 2 25 Parsons, 32: oz. __. _ 335 Quaker, 5 sewed ____ 6 25 Parsons, 18 oz. ___.._ 420 Warehouse = 6 50 Parsons, 10 oz. -.____ 2) Bose 2 75 Parsons, 6 oz. _____ 180 Winner, 5 Sewed ____ 3 70 Bla oR b Whisk No.3 = Cc aspberries 3 _- Ni Be 2 80 ce eerie BUTTER an Pride. of Mich. No. 2__ 2 45 Quaker, 12-38 oz., doz. Amsterdam Brands ogg Gel Ren Par, oe j eee ae Prize, Parlor, No. 6. 8 00 Red R end White Swan Par., No.68 50 no 9 app verries 3 25 BAKING POWDERS i lL Royal, 2 oz., doz. ____ - Marcellus, No. 2 __ 2 35 Royal, 4 oz., doz. 2 4 ROLLED OATS Pride of Mich, No. 2 90 Royal, 6 oz., doz| _____ 2 ‘45 Purity Brand towal, 12 oz., doz. ____ 4 85 Royal, 2% lbs.. doz... 13 75 Instant or Regular Royal, 5 ibs., doz.____ 24 50 — ae aoe : aman i Mme Strawberri 7) INSTANT (| RFS¥SAR 4 No 8 es a fe BOR IO ey eceareenens 1 20 HAO waet tt k= 2 § Marcelins, No. 2 _- 4 8p PRemius PURITY OATS OATS ; a of Cina § i wens eS : CANNED FISH Small, 285 153 Clam Ch’der, 10% oz. 1 35 Clam Chowder, No. 2_ 2 75 jexree, 125 1 85 Clams, Steamed. No. 1 2 75 China, large, 12s -._ 270 Clams, Minced, No. % 2 40 Chest-o-Silver, 12 lge. 2 98 Finnan Haddie, 10 oz. 3 30 Glassware, 12s, large 2 25 Clam Bouillon, 7 oz._. 2 50 Purity Oat Snaps, 24s 2 20 Chicken Haddie, No. 1 2 75 Fish Flakes, small __ 1 35 Cod Fish Cake. 10 oz. 1 55 Post Brands Cove Oysters, 5 oz. __ 1 35 Grapenut Flakes, 24s 200 Lobster, No. %, Star 2 75 Grape-Nuts, 24s ----_ 230 Shrimp, 1, wet 1 45 Grape-Nuts, 50 ~-_--_ 140 Sard’s, % Oil, Key __ 4 25 Instant Postum, No. 85 40 Sardines, % Oil, k’less 3 35 Instant Postum, No. 10 4 50 Salmon, Red Alaska._ 1 90 Postum Cereal, No. 0 cc Salmon, Med. Alaska 1 45 wat cc Wilson & Co.’s Brands Top —--—---______________ OG Slb. pails 1 40 Whole Spices Congou. Fancy ~~~ 2043 Raisins Oleo Good ween nn nnn 08 Cut Pumneh 2 1 50 Allspice, Jamaica ___. @24 ---- Seeded bulk .2.2 eG a9 Medium 20s 3 07 Boned, 10 lb. boxes _. 16 Cloves, Zanzibar ____ @36 Thompson’s s’dless blk. 3% Special Rol 12 Cassia, Canton _____. @24 Oolong Thompson’s seedless, Cassia, 5c pkg., doz, @20 Medium 39 ee 7% ee ua u SHOE BLACKENING Ginger, Africa __-____- Ge Se 45 Seeded, 15 oz. —------- 73% pring Lamb ----------- 2 in 1, Paste, doz. __ 139 Mixed. No. 1 -_--___. Gil Bancy 50 MATCHES OO 12 E. Z. Combinati Mixed, 10c pkgs., doz. @65 Diamond, No. 5, 144 615 Medium —--------------- @ aw €.2 5 Nutmoss, 70990 @s0 Searchlight, 144 box 615 Poor 2.0. 05 Bixbys, doz. __.._..... 1 30 Nutmegs, 105-110 ___. @48 TWINE California Prunes Swan, 144 -___________ 5 20 Shinola, doz. _......_. 99 Pepper, Black -______. @23 Cotton, 3 ply cone 25 909100, 25 Ib. boxes... 05 Diamond, No, 0 ___-__ 4 90 ———— Cotton, 3 nis Bene --— 3 80@90, 25 lb. boxes__@05% : Mutton i a T0@80; 25 Ib. boxes--@06 a os STOVE POLISH ee 60@50, 25 lb. boxes._@06% tis ence fedium -—-—---—-—--- Sieeus cae don te cc oe VINEGAR 50@60, 25 lb. boxes.__.@07 y Matches Poor -------~---—---- 02 Black oz. -._. 1 30 Ispice, Jamaica ---_ @25 O. B. Grand Rapids : Red Top, 5 gross case 5 45 ack Silk Liquid, dz. 130 Cloves, Zanzibar __.. @38 Cider, 40 Grain oe = a ee Black Silk Paste, doz. 125 Cassia, Canton _____- @25 White Wine, 40 grain. = 30030, 25 Ib. boxes__@12 fa Sete ie ae Ge te Wine, to's 18@24, 25 Ib. boxes--@14% MmuLLeR’s PRODUCTS Butts __....... 08 E. Z. Liquid, per doz. 130 Mace, Penang _...... @85 Macaroni, 9 oz. _____ 200 Gioukiers 06 So. per doz. _...130 Pepper, Black ________ @25 _ WICKING Spaghetti, 9 oz, ______ 900 Sparenibs 2 06 6 ising Sun, per doz. 130 Nutmegs -----_-____. @26 No. 9, per gross ______ 80 Hominy Elbow Macaroni, 9 oz. 2 00 Neck bones ~-_-_---_-_ 03 = Sh Ege dz. 280 Pepper. White @38 No.1, per gross ___ 1 35 Pearl, 100 Ib. sacks 350 Hes Noodles, 6 oz. _.200 Trimmings —-_._-_____- 05 uicanol, No. 10, doz. 130 Pepper, Cayenne -__. @36 No. 2, per gross ______ 1 50 ear —— Ege Vermicelli, 6 oz. 2 00 Stovoil, per doz. —____ 300 Paprika, Spanish -__. @36 pe * Der ardag 2 30 Egg Alphabets, 6 oz.__ 2 00 ’eerless Rolls, per doz. 90 PROVISIONS Rochester, No. 2, doz. 50 Barreled Pork SALT Rochester, No. 3, doz. 2 00 oe a oe 1b. 06 Clear Back ___ 16 00@18 00 F. O. B. Grand Rapids a. a Seasoning Rav, we de ae Noodle, 10 lbs. _. 12 NUTS—Whole Short Cut Clear ---_ 15 00 Colonial, 24, 2 lb. ___ 95 Chili Powder, 1% oz... 65 Ege ws oh ae Almonds, Peerless ____ 15% ore. Ore nan a Peay oe suede 82 wooD Brazil, large —. 12 Olonial, Iodized, 24-2 1 35 = C, + ---------- o ENWARE Fancy Mixed __...... lie y Salt Meats Med. No. 1 Bbls. 2 90 pea Salt ---------- 1 35 Baskets Pearl Barley Filberts, Naples ______ a «=D S Bellies 18-29@18-10-8 Med. No. 1, 100 lb. bk. 1 00 Toe ae ----~-- 1% Bushels, Wide Band, So eee ee 700 Peanuts, Vir. Roasted 6% oo Spec., 10 Ib. ¥ 00 Kitchen ‘Piriauat |G 50 Masnet — ------ 2 00 Barley Grits -------- 5 00 poe Jumbo —_-__ Tec Lard yocece Meat 50 Th 65 Laurel Leaves _.._ ss 20 Market, pr Ag iene a Chester —------------- od bo plied Poco es a Pure im tierces 2.2002 = 5 cream, 100 lb.. each 85 Marjoram, 1 oz, ~..... $0 Market, extra : 1 60 Pecans Manunoth 59 80 1b. tubs ----advance Butter Salt, 280 lb. bbl. 4 00 S@Vary, 1 oz. ------_- G5 Sphnt, large 9 8 50 Walnuts, Cal “"73@21 50 lb. tubs ----advance % Block, 50 Ib. __________ 49 Luyme, 1 oz. —_______ 90 Splint, medium ______ 7 50 eins Eickere Mae 07 20 1b. pails ----advance Baker Salt, 280 Ib. bbl. 3 g9 © Tumerci. 1% oz. -_-_. Sonat ane - 6 50 East India 10 ea ee 10 Ib. pails _...advance % 6, 10 lb., per bale ____ 93 A on : > Lt ve merece 20, 3 lb., per bale ____ 1 00 < Ib. pails -...advance 28 Ib. bags, Table ____ hurns Eg Peanuts Compound tierces --.. 6% . , “ oe Barrel. 5 gal., each __ 2 40 Tapioca a ore ee Compound, tubs ._.__ 7 Winantecd. 3 : arrel, 10 gal., each__ 2 55 Pearl, 100 Ib. sacks s Ree 24 1 Ib. Cellop’e case 1 30 oe ae ane a 2 a 3 to 6 gal., per gal. __ 16 Pecnosary Ineiant . #50 Bologna aUeaee* s Go a ee a Shelled clogna 220 ee 2 oo ails Almonds: #005. 30) iver oe 15 10 qt. Galvanized ____ 2 60 Peanuts, Spanish Brankfort 2.0205) 00. 15 12 at Galvanized 2 85 Jiffy Punch ims 1b. bags —_____ Ss fo... 20 Giewe 14 qt. Galvanzed _____ 3 10 3 doz. Carton ~------- 225 Filberts ----_---________ 32 Veal ------- jan 19 Aveo, M4. 1 Ih when. 162 7, 2° Waring Gal Jr. § 00 Assorted flavors. Pecans Salted ________ 45 Tongue, Jellied ~_______ 25 Argo, 12. 3 Ib. eo eg 17 10 at. Tin Dairy —____ 4 00 Walnut California ___. 42 Headcheese ------------ 15 oe a oe 2 _ ie Gloss, 48. Is _. 11% Traps tie, 32 pies. ___ 255 M FLOUR Smoked Meats as 2 ouse, Wood, 4 holes. 60 V. C. Milling Co. Brands MINCE MEAT Hams, Cer. 14-16 Ib. @12 2 2 75 Mouse. wood, 6 holes. 7¢ iy White 5 10 None Such, 4 doz. __. 6 20 Hams, Cert.. Skinned ' a ‘9 Mouse, tin, 5 holes __ 65 Harvest Queen __--_- 5 20 Quaker, 3 doz. case __ 2-05 LGake iy ase Hae. wood 1 06 Yes Ma’am Graham, a. Yo Ho, Kegs, wet, lb. 16% a over beef - Rat, | oe ae aes 1 0 50s ----------------- anuckies: 621 2 SYRUP ; ee 20 California Hams ~__.@09 Picnic Boiled Hams @16 Bine Karo “ 1% 2 45 OLIVES Boiled Hams -—----- @18 Blue Karo, No. 5, 1 dz. 3 38 , Bo s nee ® Cady Brande 1 oe, tee Vee ee. 1 ced Bae @12 = Free Run’g, 3%, 26 oz. 240 Blue Karo, No. 10 _.318 Mediane tenmized —--- 8 75 1 14 e g, o 2 : -- Medium Galvanized __ 7 75 eS 16 oz. Jar, Plain. doz. 195 Bacon 4/6 Cert. ----@ Five case lots ------- 230 Red Karo, No. 1% -- 266 Small Galvanized a oe ee Quart Jars, Plain, doz, 3 25 Todized, 32, 26 oz. -. 240 Red Karo, No. 5, 1 dz. 3 64 cae oF : Ge aoe = : a Geet Five case lots ----__- 30 Red Karo, No. 10 _____ 3 44 8 oz. Jar. Stuffed, doz. 225 Boneless, rump ----@19 00 Banner oe 5 50 10 oz. Jar, Stuff., doz. 2 65 + ONE ----~--- i ; Q Brass, single _.___ 5 oo oo 1 Gal. Jugs. Stuff.. dz. 2 40 BORAX Imit. Maple Flavor Gas ae ee resto Mason Liver + ty Mule T Ag wenty Mule Team Orange, No. 1%, 2 dz. 310 Double Peerl F. O. B. Grand Rapids BOCl ee 09 24, 1 lb. packages __ 3 35 Orange, No. 5, 1 doz. 47 Ss og eeriess --____ 8 50 Half pint ------------ 715 PARIS GREEN CMe 35 48. 10 oz. packages _. 4 40 : : ’ pie : Peerless ~_-~__ 7 50 One pint es “ie 05 96. %4 Ib. packages __ 4 00 Moe Te mo Gilere 222 8 Oo pe Se egcle cee ene 2 CC ESESAE 5 Half gallon ---------- 11 55 - and ba 2222 30 Hivcae tee 1 50 RICE Kanuck, 5 gal. ean __ 5 50 Wood Bowl aes ai Fancy ae Rose _. 3 . zs wens oon. 13 in. Butter : 5 00 4 ad oe 75 on Ami <¢ LOS, 1 90 a. FRUIT CAN RUBBERS Medium Sour ee foe amt Gike We 16 3 Baller 2% ! ake, 18s 5 Grape Juice 17 in. Butt Presto Red Lip, 2 gro. 5 gallon, 400 count __ 4 75 Billo 85 (in, Sutter -_-_____ 18 00 carton (22-8 70 : Ginmiis A doe 3 g9 Welch, 12 quart case 440 19 in. Butter -_______ 25 00 Presto White Lip. 2 RUSKS_ Gon 16. ce SS Welch, 12 pint case. 2 25 gro. carton 7 Postma Biscuit Co. . ’ -=- Welch, 36-4 oz. case__ 2 30 Le cn Sweet Small 18 rolls, per case -___ 180 Grandma, 24 Large -- 3 50 § Gallen 606 6 ee eta 0 See ee 1S WRAPPING PAPER . 18 cartons, per case-. 215 G0 ust, ; Tge COOKING OIL Fibre, Manila, white__ S 12 cartons, per case__ 145 Golden Rod, 24 _-____ 4 25 Mazol No. 2 Wibve 2.2057 GELATINE La Frace Laun., 4 ds. 3 65 . Yell-o, 8 @ez. .....- 255 Gis aie, Clean 4am cg Vite, 2 dow __...____. 460 Butchers D F -____W 05% Minute, 3 doz, ~------- 4 05 Dill Pickles Octaron. 9c : "3 90 @uarts 1 °deq ...- 4 30 Kraft --------—---- au @4 Plymouth, White ---. 155 Gal., 40 to Tin, doz. __ 7 60 SALERATUS fae a 329 Half Gallons, 1 doz. 7 75 Krait Strife OY % Quaker, 3 doz, ------ 175 32 oz. Ge : . pte ood Bees 1 hi le 5 25 Sa ine each ——— , 7 32 oz. Glass rown -. Rub No More, 100, 16 5 Gallon cans, each _. 3 7 2. + Quaker Oats Declined in Price. In conformity with declining price of oats, now around 15 cents,.at a record low, Quaker Oats Co. has again cut the price of its breakfast food lines. At the same time, owing to its grain buying policy, it is but slightly affect- ed as regards inventory values, any losses on this score being small. While profit margins have naturally been cut somewhat by successive reductions in selling prices of food and pancake flour lines, there has been a favorable com- pensatory factor toward maintenance of profits through substantial operat- ing economies. The latest reduction by Quaker Oats totals close to 30 per cent. of which 7% per cent. is a standard reduction and the remainder a mark-down in connection with a special offer to re- tailers. The 7% per cent. cut and the total of 30 per cent. marked off are directly reflected in the retail price. Reduction in prices of Quaker Oats products are obviously unavoidable. Actually its. foods compete directly with all other foods, dairy products, meats and branded foods. They must seli at prices which compare with the general selling levels of foods. Latest reductions bring retail price lists of the Quaker Oats line from one-third to one-half less than two years ago. That the effect on inventory values of the decline in oats is small is brought out by the fact that declines in 1932 have been gradual. Compared December 21, 1932 with current price of 15 cents per bushel, oats a year ago sold at 2534 to ' 26% cents, a drop of around 11 cents spread over twelve months during whch sudden downturns were agsent. > -- A Business Man’s Philosophy. Sometimes it seems as though the change from muscle power to machine power, known as the industrial revo- lution, had merely enabled the world to feed more mouths. We know that population vastly in- creased in the last century and a half. Some people debate whether the or- dinary man is better off, but the mass of evidence indicates that he is. But even if he isn’t, Hartley Withers contends. in an exposition of the bene- fits of capitalism that to enable so large a number of people to be alive is a great deal. He continues, eloquently: ‘Under capitalism millions saw the light of the sun, smelt the scent of spring, knew love and friendship, made and laughed at good and bad jokes, ate and digested their meals, made their queer guesses at the secret of life, played games, read books, cherished their hobbies and their prejudices, knew a little, thought they knew much more, and went their way leaving others behind them to take up the thread of life and spin another strip of its mysterious cloth, “If life on the whole is a good thing —and most of us waste little time in sending for a doctor if we do not feel well—capitalism has made the enjoy- ment of that good possible to millions.” Willam Feather. —_++>___ Weather Spurs Wool Hose Demand. The cold weather has proved a boon to wool and part-wool half-hose mills, which have found that a renewed de- mand for spot shipments will keep them operating into next year at least. In the last two or three years such mills have wound up their production late in November, but current demand will keep them going well into January. The season, as a whole, will not show a very large volume of business, as early this year large chain and mail- order organizations decided to confine themselves to 25 and 35 cents part- wool styles and very few all-wool num- bers. The last-minute spurt, however, will enable mills to make a better show- ing than they expected. ositive protection profitable investment ‘1 the policy of the yy MICHIGAN 244 SHOE DEALERS MUTUAL FIRE INSURANCE COMPANY Mutual Building . . Lansing, Michigan —— a t t i L : z ' k December 21, 1932 MICHIGAN TRADESMAN 23 OUT AROUND. (Continued from page 9) improvement will provide adequately for present and reasonably prospective commerce on Grand River, particular- ly in view of the contemplated remov- al of the car ferry terminal from Grand Haven to Muskegon. 6. The Board of Engineers for Rivers and Harbors, in review of the report, states that experience else- where indicates that the breakwaters requested ‘by. local interests would not accomplish the desired result, and that the removal of the Grand Trunk Rail- way car ferry terminal, as proposed, will eliminate practically all winter navigation and therefore any substan- tial need for additional protection. The Board therefore concurs with the reporting officers and recommends that no improvement of Grand Haven harbor, other than as authorized by the existing project, be undertaken by the United States at the present time. 7. ‘After due consideration of these reports, I concur in the recommenda- tions of the Board. Lytle Brown, Major General, Chief of Engineers. Arthur Brisbane, who is probably the highest paid editorial writer in the world, has this to say about the un- fortunate utterance of Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt: Mrs. Roosevelt, who will live in the White House after March 4, would have liked to see prohibi- tion succeed, but is compelled to call it a failure. “The modern girl,’’ according to Mrs. Roosevelt, “faces the problem of learning very young how much she can drink of such things as gin and whisky.” That isn’t all. Thousands of young girls in the United States drink cocktails every day, and thousands that are now young will be confirmed, hopeless, middle- aged female drunkards, twenty years hence, and nothing on earth can save them. Still worse, thousands, by their drinking are demoralized, before they become confirmed drunk- ards. People who own boats on Grand River have secured the consent of the United States Engineer in this district to raise a fund for the purpose of scouring out the sand bar in the river just below Lamont. This they propose to accomplish by piling obstructions on a portion of the bar which will di- vert the current into the old channel in such a manner as to lower the river level to an extent which will enable boats of light draft to pass through without detention or delay. Rev. McNeal, pastor of the Messiah Baptist church (colored), dropped in on me a day or two ago to say that he must abandon the pastorate of his church, because the organization is $1,100 behind in paying his salary. He said he would never. ask the church for the arrearage, but must transfer himself to some other church which will enable him and his family to live comfortably. I have never witnessed greater self sacrifice and self abnega- tion than some of my colored clergy- men friends exhibit under unfavorable circumstances. When I note how use- lessly some of my friends spend money with great prodigality and how a small portion of such expenditures would keep the wolf from the door of our colored preachers, I feel like taking my hat off to those men of heroic courage who keep on ministering to their flocks in sunshine and shadow, plentitude and disaster, until forced by hunger and privation to seek relief by transfering themselves to another locality where the preacher and his family are not forced to go hungry. Perhaps I appreciate this situation more because most of my forebears for three generations were Congrega- tional clergymen in New England. I find a record of one of these old fel- lows in New England Ancestry who evidently did not care much for the emoluments of the average preacher in those days. The Congregational flock to whom he ministered once in- formed him that his preaching was not satisfactory and asked him to seek an- other pulpit. Not agreeing with his congregation in their willingness to part company with him, he ignored the request to quit. At the end of the year his congregation cut off his salary. Even that did not phase him, for he continued to occupy the pulpit of his church for thirty-one years without any compensation whatever, when death kindly came to the relief of his congregation. Charles A. Heath, assistant editor of the Seed Trade News, who has con- tributed a poem to the Tradesman nearly every week for the past twenty- five years, will celebrate this month the fiftieth anniversary of his connec- tion with the seed trade. I recall him as a long-time associate of Albert Dickinson, who put Chicago on the map as a center of the seed trade, long enjoyed by Toledo. Mr. Heath will also celebrate his birthday on Dec. 24. A mutual friend acquainted me with the two anniversaries, whereupon I wrote him 'the following letter: I am informed that the present month of December marks the fiftieth year of your connection with the seed trade of America and also the an- niversary of your birth. I think I am entitled to congratulate you on both counts. It must be nearly or quite forty years ago when I did business with you at the Dickinson establishment. I formed a liking for you at that time which has gradually increased with the years. I happen to know that every other trade journal man of my acquaintance who called on you form- ed ‘the same conclusion concerning you that I did. The trade paper men I have met are almost invariably bright men who cannot be attracted by cajoling or clap trap. To receive the universal approval of such men is, in my opinion, a very great honor. I have never heard any man speak ill of you. That, in my opinion, is a great point in your favor. I am told by many men who have known you for a long time that you have led a pure and blameless. life. Such expressions have pleased me greatly. Careful perusal of your poetical ef- forts leads me to the belief that if you had devoted your life to the muse, you would ‘to-day be in receipt of as large an income as Douglas Malloch and Edgar Guest from their poems and lectures. In conclusion, permit me to say that I am glad I have been permitted to know you and that I hope your life may be spared for many years to come. With three regular contributors in California, I have been obliged to request them not to use the air mail in transmitting their letters, because of the large percentage of delay and loss involved in that method of transmis- sion. On Monday of this week a manuscript came in from Los Angeles which was mailed Nov. 19, exactly thirty days in advance of the date of delivery. Until the air mail straight- ens out some of the kinks in the ser- vice, I prefer to receive our mail in the regular way. In talking with our local Postmaster (who entered the Grand Rapids post- office as a boy, thirty-nine years ago, and who worked his way up through every position in the office) concerning the recent death of the pilot on a mail airplane on the Rocky mountains, he stated that the bags used by the postal service in air mail service were made of cotton fabric. Considering the frequent loss of both pilot and mail by fire, I cannot understand why the Department does not use asbestos bags, so as to protect the mails from destruction. Speaking of our local postmaster re- minds me that he is probably the only person in the United States who has served one Office thirty-nine years and held every position from janitor to postmaster. He is what is called a service postmaster—and service it is in all that the term implies. It would seem to me that a man who has de- voted thirty-nine years to the service of Uncle Sam in one office ought to be permitted to remain there as long as he is physically and mentally able to discharge the duties of the position. E. A. Stowe. —_+~+>___ Perfect Plans For Food Sales Drive. First-quarter sales in the grocery trade in 1933 will be at least 10 per cent. above the volume for the corre- sponding period this year if plans per- fected this week by grocery manufac- turers are successful. The producers have fixed upon a 10 per cent. increase as their goal, because the depleted con- ditions of both jobbers’ and retailers’ stock indicates that abnormal replace- ment purchases must be made in the coming three months. Special cam- paigns in which advertising and prem- iums will be used on a larger scale than usual are being discussed by leading producers. ——_+ + -___— Rug Volume Reaches New Low. The slackest period experienced in the floor-coverings industry in years held the movement of merchandise in both the soft and hard surface branch- es of the trade to a minimum through- out last week. Reports reaching the wholesale market from retailers are that consumer purchases of rugs and car- pets are far below the average for the normally slow pre-Christmas period. Special promotional efforts made by stores last week have been abandoned in many instarces, because the early active interest first engendered by the sales appeals has disappeared. —_—_-->____ Experience is a dead loss if you can- not sell it for more than it cost you. Increased Call For Brass Noted. Increased activity among manufac- turers of brass wire and similar goods is one of the most encouraging features of the metal market this week. At the present time brass manufacturing plants are reported using heavy amounts of scrap, purchasing 50 per cent. more from rolling mills now than they were taking four months ago. The rate of operations has increased from 25 to 38 per cent. recently. Because of the demands for brass, rolling mills are ready to purchase new supplies of copper, and the zinc trade has enjoyed a slight upturn in the demand also. a Limited Call For Electrical Goods. Re-orders on low-end electrical ap- pliances continue to reach the New York market this week. Calls are for small quantities and immediate deliv- ery is specified. 30th retailers and jobbers are showing interest in Spring merchandise, but producers will not show the 1933 goods until after the Christmas Although the price situation is still unsettled, manufacturers are convinced they must retain the Fall levels in order to sell season iS over. and plans for advancing prices 5 per cent. above this season’s quotations have been abandoned. ——_2>2s___ The Little People. A dreary place would this earth be Were there no little people in it; The song of life would lose its mirth, Were there no children to begin it. No little forms, like buds, to grow, And make the admiring heart surrender; No little hands on breast and brow, To keep the thrilling love-chords tender. The sterner souls would grow more stern, Unfeeling nature more inhuman; And man to stoic coldness turn, And woman would be less than woman. Life’s song, indeed, would lose its charm Were there no babies to begin it; A doleful place this world would be, Were there no little people in it. John Greenleaf Whittier. 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 heaa 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 RENT—Store building 25x75, lo- cated on main business street, especially adapted to women’s wear and women’s shoes. Rent $40, including basement. Will Curtis, Reed City, Mich. 551 | OWING to sickness, will sell at a bar- gain modern electric steel foundry. Latest equipment. Investigate at once. Lin- wood post office, box 23, Detroit, Mich. 554 COMPLETE men’s’ and women’s apparel. Solid walnut, all crated and packed for shipment in Chicago. Cost $30,000. Willing to sell at about cost of packing and shipping. Convenient terms arranged. Write for blue prints and photograph of original set up. Bentley’s, 517 Olive St., St. Louis, Missouri. 556 FOR SALE—General store. Stock most- ly groceries. Country resort. Northern Michigan. Year around business. Cause for sale, death of owner. Address No. 557, c/o Michigan Tradesman. 557 FOR RENT—Central location in Green- ville for large store. Good opening for any kind of business. Best town in Mich- igan. Home of the Gibson Refrigerator. For further information address No. 558, c/o Michigan Tradesman. 55s DETROIT DOINGS. (Continued from page 17) training which led to a successful hotel career. Before coming to Windsor, four years ago, he was connected with the old Boody House and the Hotel Fort Meigs, at Toledo. He was well regarded by all who knew him and a friend with him was always a friend. He tried to make every hotel guest his friend. Whether behind the hotel desk or on the greeting line few handled the job more efficiently. His very de- meanor radiated good will and service. Bill Schaible was tolerant and straight- forward with his friends. His efficiency was brought to mind in a conversation with Preston Norton, managing direc- tor of the Norton-Palmer, when he spoke of the days when Bill acted as clerk behind the desk. “I cannot re- call,” he said, “of a single instance when Bill’s daily figures on the books or the cash, contained a single error. In the rush and activity which follows the arrival of a number of guests at one time this is unusual.” The burial was at Ann Arbor. He left a sister, Ernestine, of Detroit, and four broth- ers, Fred, Walter and Ernest, of De- troit, and Henry, cf Toledo. Well, the breweries are doing their bit toward the returning of business. The Tivoli Brewing Co.. one of the old breweries of this city, has placed or- ders for equipment which will more than double the capacity of the present plant. —_—_~+++___ Gabby Gleanings From Grand Rapids. The Vendor Slate Co., Inc., plaintiff, has commenced suit in the Kent County Circuit Court against the Grand Rapids Cut Stone Co., defend- ant. It is alleged that on March 26, 1930, plaintiff sold to defendant, mer- chandise to the value of $960, to which it is entitled to commissions and credits of $320, leaving a balance of $640, which is now long past due and unpaid. Ted Beecherfi landlord of the Crath- more Hotel, will re-open the restaur- ant formerly conducted in that hostel- ‘ry Jan. 3. It will be well conducted along thoroughly modern lines. Reg- ular waiter service will be installed, with a menu in keeping with the ex- cellent service rendered by the hotel, which has been lifted up to the Fred Mehrtens standard under the manage- ment of the present landlord. ———_ + > Advance Low-End Kitchen Tools. Price advances of 5@10 per cent. have been put into effect on Spring lines of cutlery and small kitchen uten- sils by manufacturers. The articles affected are chrom‘um-plated goods in the low-end ranges and utensils on which a new type of composition han- dle is supplied. In both instances court actions compelling producers to pay a royalty to originators of the processes are responsible. Operators of chains which feature low-end goods in estab- lished price ranges have _ protested against the advances, but manufactur- ers have refused to absorb the increased production costs represented by the royalty payments. —_—_+~+.___ A man may be happy without a fortune but he can never be happy without a friend. MICHIGAN NOISE IS BAD BUSINESS. Cases It Tragedy. Numerous studies and experiments show that excessive noise reduces efficiency of workers. A 12 per cent. increase in output followed a reduction of about 28.5 per cent. in the noise level in an insurance office where the workers were en- gaged in a variety of machine opera- tions, one experiment disclosed. Dr. Donald Laird, Director of the Psychological Laboratory at Colgate University, made a special survey of noise in Chicago, not so long ago. He discovered that Chicago’s loss in effi- ciency on account of its myriad noises, inside and outside, amounted to at the lowest possible minimum, $1,600,000 per week. A British scientist, at about the same time, estimated that London’s noise cost was $5,000,000 per day. Astounding figures. At least 5 per cent. of the payrolls in the United States is eaten up by inefficiency caused by _ preventable noise, says Dr. Laird in a recent re- port to the U. S. Department of Labor. Measuring the effects of noise on the output and energy of mediocre and champion office typists working at top speed was 5 per cent. greater when the room was only 15 per cent. quieter. As much as 30 per cent. increase in output was noted in certain places where disturbing noises were cut down. Noise, it seems, reacts harmful- ly on the nervous system, even when individuals are accustomed to it and not consciously disturbed by it, and the average typist uses up 25 per cent. more bodily energy in a noisy room than in a relatively quiet one, as the result of pounding the keys harder and of muscular tenseness. Noise is indeed a problem in the modern business office. Outside noises we can hardly control without the aid of various civic and municipal bodies, but inside noises—din within the four walls of an office or a factory or any business place can be greatly elimin- ated to the immense benefit, financial, social and moral, to all concerned. In the offices of the Rike-Kumler Co., Dayton, Ohio, the clamor of machines was almost intolerable. In an area of approximately 5,000 square feet, seventy-two machines, of twelve different types, were at work, efficient, of modern types, but inevitably noisy in the aggregate, just as in countless other offices where machines grind out vital statistics. In this comparatively limited space sixty-nine employes worked. The answer to the noise problem was found and a five-sixths noise reduction was reached. Dr. William Braid White, director of the Acoustical Laboratory of the American Steel and Wire Co., has placed his tape measure on office noises. Measured mathematically and recorded on photographic prints is the evidence that the physical intensity generated in the clatter of the noisy typewriters is sixteen times greater than that of a certain well-known noiseless typewriter. Probably the most thorough tests ever made of office noises were con- cluded last year at the home offices of Remington Rand Inc., at Buffalo. Dr. In Many Is a_ Real TRADESMAN White spent three days at Buffalo, utilizing the osiso or acoustic camera. The experiments resulted in a graphic and compelling’ story of the value of quiet in the office. Actual photographs now make comparisons which hereto- fore have been available only in word pictures. The test which holds the widest in- terest to all business men was made in the stenographic department of Rem- ington Rand. Oscillograph recordings were made with forty hammer blow typewriters going at full speed. Noiseless typewriters were then set up and a second series of acoustic photographs made under exactly the same conditions, as regards the room, location of the machines and tempera- ture. It was the result of these tests, made with engineering precision, that the ratio of energy expended between the noisy and the noiseless typewriters was established as approximately 16 to 1. Through his studies of sound, be- ginning with tests of piano wire for the American Steel and Wire Co., Dr. White has become an outstanding au- thority on noise and problems involved in its abatement. He has classified accurately the harmful effects of noises in offices and industry and is optimistic that the rapidly-growing noise-consciousness of the Nation will show steady results in a pronounced manner. “In a noise office, about two hours after lunch, there comes a marked drop in work accomplished, and a marked increase in the number of errors made,” Dr. White points out. “The typist finds that the task of keeping herself at attention under the constant hammering of noise on the brain, becomes increasingly difficult. Instead of going to pieces entirely, she slows down. She is suffering from an intense straining of the nerves. “For years we have assumed that because noise is indicative of activity that it is therefore commendable. Most noise, however, is simply waste. This is not a new doctrine in prin- ciple, but it is new in practice. Some people say they like to hear a noisy office. We have long since learned that noise has nothing to do with con- structive activity. The noisy office is not necessarily one in which anything is being accomplished. Instead, it is almost certain to be an office in which everyone is working under the worst conditions possible. “Influential minds throughout the country realize that a noisy civilization is not an efficient civilization. We should prevent noise the same as we do smoke, tuberculosis and other harmful things. A noiseless civiliza- tion is possible—a noisy civilization will drive itself insane.” Every noisy office has its permanent wave. It is a sound wave, jarring to the nerves, breeding errors, endanger- ing health and causing nervous energy to be largely expended in the mere task of keeping going at your work. A few years back, Dorothy Sherlock, a Washington stenographer, locked herself in the bathroom and took her life with a 38 caliber revolver. Beside her body lay a note which said: “I am sick and weak __--D.” The dead girl’s mother said that her daughter told her December 21, 1932 the day before that “the noise of those typewriters is driving me_ wild.” Dorothy confided to her mother that she didn’t feel able to endure another day of the noise in her office. Noise is more than bad business. Noise, many times, is real tragedy. Robert Kerwin. —_++._____ Heavy Underwear Season Prolonged. For the first time in about five years, heavyweight underwear mills will have to prolong their production of goods on a large scale into January. Several mills cannot promise deliveries for three to four weeks on certain types of union suits and shirts and drawers. Wholesalers and retailers, who are in the market looking for off-price goods, cannot find any such merchandise, and this strength in prices as the season draws to a close is likely to have an encouraging influence on the 1933 quo- tations, which will be made at the end of January. —_>++—____ American Woolen Co. Cuts Prices. The American Woolen Co. has re- duced prices on some men’s Fall suit- ings 214 to 7% cents per yard below the opening quotations made recently, according to reports in the trade. In a few instances. cuts are as high as 10 cents. The revisions apply mostly to men’s fancy worsted suitings, which are regarded as being higher than the general market established on these cloths. The volume staples of the com- pany’s lines are reported to be very little affected by the changes. Gen- eral business on Fall goods continues very quiet, with buyers waiting until the market reaches some sort of sta- bility before placing orders. —__>~-~>____ Lower Swim Suit Line Planned. Leading bathing suit mils are seri- ously considering introducing a pure worstéd, ribbed line at $7.75 per dozen to meet the competition provided by the one large manufacturer, who is now selling such a number. Definite announcements to this effect are ex- pected next week. Pressure from wholesalers is behind the move for the lower price style, as it permits them to obtain a regular mark-up and they will still be able to offer a suit to fit a low retail range. Current demand is spotty, with renewed activity expected after the first of the year. +++ Sheets Ordered For January Sales. A last-minute rush of orders from retailers to cover their sheet and pil- low-case requirements for January white goods sales is now in evidence. Although many mills, realizing that buying would be very late, had prepar- ed goods in anticipation of the de- mand, some stores are finding it dif- ficult to obtain their full needs. One of the leading mills advised its custom- ers last week that current prices had been extended to include January ship- ments and, from present indications, no downward revisions are in sight. —_+ +> ___ A weighing device has been perfect- ed for measuring changes in physical properties of materials. It shows in- creases or decreases in elasticity, specific gravity, and moisture, also the percentage of volatiles which can be driven out. MODERN CUTS OF PORK This is the tenth of a series of articles presenting modern methods of cutting pork which are being introduced by the National Live Stock and Meat Board.—Editor’s Note. CUTS FROM THE FRESH SKINNED SHOULDER (Cont’d.) In the prececding article the suggestion was given for slicing the fresh skinned shoulder into steaks. Another way to use the shoulder to advantage is to make it into two rolls. Instructions in making these rolls is given here. TWO ROLLS FROM FRESH SKINNED SHOULDER (hock off) Two rolls may be made from the pork shoulder. It is divided at the natural seam which separates the supporting muscle of the back from the outside of the shoulder. Inside Shoulder Pork Roll Art. X.—C sl Ht Z Art. X.—Cut 3 Art. X.—Cut 1 se gs : : ; : ; 2. Follow natural dividing seam to the tip 3. Roll into shape, making the eye of the 1. i . vo of the blade bone. Cut through to the shoulder the center of the roll. the i eck f the hegid block to remove the inside cut of the P : . Soe shoulder. Outside Shoulder Pork Roll After the inzide shoulder has been lifted the outside shoulder may be boned and faczhioned into an attractive roll. Art. X.—Cut 6 ‘Art, &% Cut 4 ou 2. Lift meat from arm and blade bones. 4. Complete the Inside Shoulder Pork Roll . : ole by tying into shape. Art. X—-Cut 5 1. Open the outside shoulder from the rib side. AE ey Cra My " P - : L* 3 . - se Art. X.—Cut 8 4. Fold shoulder lengthwise. Put three or Art. X.—Cut 7 four stitches in the roast to hold it in 3. Remove the bones. shape while being tied. Art. X.—Cut 9 5. The completed Outside Shoulder Pork Roll. OUR SELECTION OF RISKS INSURANCE ECONOMY FOR YOU Why Help Pay The Losses On Poor Risks? Each year we are saving our Michigan Policyholders over $400. 000.00 How? _ By selecting the better risks. Join our group of select policyholders and benefit by our lower cost. Insurance of all kinds Inquiries invited The Mill Mutuals Agency Mutual Building Lansing, Michigan Phone 20741 DETROIT GRAND RAPIDS Transportation Bldg. Grand Rapids Trust Bldg. Phone Phone Randolph 0729 95975