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URPOSES

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Use Your Head Instead of Your Shoulders

ag “Many a man goes through life with his shoulder at the wheel, who would
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tongue.”— W. L. Brownell.

 

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Thirty-First Year

GRAND RAPIDS, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 29, 1913

Number 1571

 

DETROIT DETONATIONS.

 

Cogent Criticisms From Michigan’s
Metropolis.

Detroit, Oct. 27-—-Rather a large job
finding Detonations in sucn a large edi-
tion—yes?

Many of the delinquent merchants be-
lieve that the term credit man is a
me ey are always demanding
cash,

But not so with Edson, Moore & Co.'s
sweet faced credit man, F. D. Keller. He

demands more cash.

But how Harry Eberline, Crowley
Bros.’ credit man, with his gentle dis-
position and kindly ways ever fell into
such a nefarious ‘‘business’’ as credit
man is more than the average man can
comprehend. Harry says that one of the

evstomers of his house told him, apropos
of insurance, that cyclone’ insurance
might be a good ching, but who can start
a cyclone?

Adloph Fixel, (A. Krolik & Co.) the
Burns of credit men, says it is all right
enough for a man to try and make a
name for himself, but in order not to
ineur the wrath of the credit men and
the authorities, he should be careful
that he selects the right name.

John B. Pollock, after a lapse of five
years, has again become a member of
the sales force of Burnham, Stoepel &
Co., having control of the Woodward
avenue trade with the special drapery
line.

“Robby” Ruth, the robust rover from
the up-state village of Grand Rapids, is
finding much fault with the pleasant
weather, saying it injures his business.
Robert sells tombstones, mausoleums,
ete., for F. D. Black, of Grand Rapids.

We hope that John Thorne, who was
recently appointed State hotel inspector,
will prove to the delinquent hotels that

there is something in a name after all.
It will be with extreme regret that
the news will be received of the re-

tirement from the duties of credit man,
after twenty-four years of faithful serv-
ice to his employers, Edson Moore &
Go. of J. S| Duthe, one of the grand
old men of the profession. In the busi-
ness in which he was engaged, many
unpleasant episodes are bound to appear
that cause more or less ill feeling, but
it can be truthfully said that, owing
to his honest. frank ways and extreme

fairness, Mr. Duffie never incurred any
feelings of resentment towards either

himself or his house. He, witn his wife,
will take a trip to California immediate-
ly after his resignation takes effect,
which will be December 1. Mr. Duffie,
who is 74 years of age, is as robust as
most men many years his junior and his
many friends wish him and his good
wife Godspeed.

Some doctors never collect from a pa-
tient—they get it from the estate.

A Paris tailor says $2,500 a year is
enough to spend for a man’s clothes.
Yes, if he is going in the clothing busi-
ness.

Frankenstein Bros., proprietors of the
Rochester Clothing Co., have purchased
the clothing stock of the Roe Clothing
Co., of Adrian. They will operate both
stores.

Saturday night Detroit Council No. 9
will give the second of the series of
dances to be given by them this fall

and winter. All U. C. T. members with
their friends are invited to attend the
party, which will be held at St. An-
drews’ hall, Congress street.

What has become of the old-fashioned
traveling men who played set-back?

Frank “Windy” Girard. one of Crow-
ley Bros.’ veteran travelers and the only
traveler extant who sells gold eye needles
and package hair pins in carload lots,
inadvertently misspoke himself to one of
the younger members of the order fillers
brigade. Windy almost instantly saw_his
mistake—even though he was obliged to
see it through one eye. ‘‘Anyway,” says
“Windy,” “I fooled him. When he aimed
his fist at my eye I closed it and blocked
the blow.’’

An article in last week’s Tradesman
is headed, ‘Have Specialty Salesmen
Been Overdeveloped?”’ Very easy to
Answer. Wook at G. K. Coffey. He
weighs over 800.

Leo Sullivan, familiarly known as
“Sully,” former sales agent for the

}ray-Davis Co., of Boston, manufacturer
of self-starters for automobiles, has re-
signed his position with that concern
and has done the most logical thing
possible—he has moved his shirt, sox
and collars to Detroit where he intends
locating permanently. Mr. Sullivan is a
graduate from an W®astern college of
electrical engineering and is well known
in every city between Boston and Chi-

cago. ‘‘Sully’s’’ addition to the Detroit
contingent of traveling men will prove
a pleasant one.

M. Wohlgemuth, member of Detroit
Council, No. 9, is again able to be out,
after an illness lasting, five months. Mr.
Wohlgemuth sells ostrich feathers, being
in the business for himself. His many
friends will be pleased to hear of his
recovery after his long siege at home.

Sid Pungs (Burnham, Stoepel & Co.)
—he of the happy smile and_ golden
tooth—started on his northern trip this

week, carrying his gun and_ several
rounds of ammunition with him, with
which he intends slaying at least two
deer. Speaking of deer hunters, a hunt-

er is very careful it turns out to be
dear hunting.

That the U. C. T. dances are proving
more popular every season was evidenced
by the fine crowd which turned out to
the party given by Cadillac Council last
Saturday night. Everyone who attended
speaks in glowing terms of the splendid
time enjoyed and one way to increase
business is to give a person his money’s
worth. The next party will be given
November

Chestnut season now on—not referring,
of course, to the traveling men’s stories.

oo 0 Netzorg one of Crowley Bros.’
veteran traveling men, has been con-
fined to his bed for the past three weeks,
but is slowly improving, although un-
able to be up and around. The trade
throughout the S:ate has come to know
and admire ‘‘Uncle Jake” as few travel-
ing men have been admired and they
anxiously await the good news that he
is again on the road. It would take
a more serious sickness than has yet
been invented to prevent ‘Uncle Jake’”’
from eracking a joke or have a pleasant
word for all with whom he comes in
contact. His residence is at 141 Warren
avenue East.

m. J. Clark, who conducts a shoe
store in Flint, near the Buick plant, has
added a line of men’s furnishing goods
to his shoe stock. Mr. Clark’s business
has been growing rapidly, which is en-
tirely due to his progressiveness.

We received a card from somewhere
up-state this week without comment.
We will give the contents verbatim:
Walter Thorne, of Thorne & Masters, of
Alpena, owing to these splendid hunt-
ing days, is not handing over much of
‘Unele Sam’s circulating medium to the
butcher. There’s a reason.

Our idea of a diplomatic
one who knows just when to
a customer’s joke.

R. A. Beak is a new
Michigan’s traveling men’s colony.

29

salesman is
laugh at

acquisition to
Mr.

Beak covered the Michigan territory for
the American Steel & Wire Co., about

twelve years ago, later being transferred
to Iowa where he has made his home.
Mr. Beak will make his headquarters in
Grand Rapids, which village will be en-
riched by an added population of six
persons, a fine wife and two husky pair
of children, one pair each of boys and
girls., to say nothing of himself. Mr.
Beak is a member if B. P. O. E. and,
although not a member of the U. C. T.,
we are under the impression that. it
would take but little persuasion to in-
duce him to place his signature at the
end of an application blank. He _ is
looking about Grand Rapids for a home,
after which he will immediately bring
his happy family to that city. His
headquarters at present are at the
Pantlind Hotel.

H. J. D’Almaine, the Englishman with
the cockney accent, French name and
county Kildare face, says that too durn
many people are being coaxed in this
world when it is a club they need. And
D’Almaine, who is the westbound travel-
ing agent for the New York Central—
Pere Marquette lines, ought to know.

Bill Freligh, former Plantista cigar
salesman, has resigned his position to

accept a position with the Best & Rus-
sell Company, cigar importers and job-
bers of Chicago, succeeding J. A. Gon-
zalez, who had covered the territory for
a number of years. Mr. Gonzalez, dur-
ing his long career, has made many
friends throughout Michigan who will
always remember him as a_ polished
gentleman and an all around good fel-
low. In selecting Mr. Freligh to succeed
him, the Best & Russell Co. made a
happy choice.

Nick Schloff, department manager for
Crowley Bros., says that he saw the
“geeses flow south,’’ so he believes it
is now time to buy the winter supply
of German shredded food Known in se-
lect cireles as sauerkraut. Nick made
a hurried trip to Ionia last week and,
finding it was in a local option county,
said that it was no place for a healthy
German family to live.

At the last meeting of Cadillac Coun-
cil, “Tom’’ Burton was elected captain

with his
about to
be talked
be pur-
in many

of the degree team.
usual aggressiveness,
organize a team that ‘‘will
about.”’ New uniforms. will
chased and the team instructed

Fom,
has set

new drills. And they still continue to
do things in Cadillac Council!

Speaking with Mr. Brown of Brown
& Williston, proprietors of the Bailey
House, at Ionia, about the roller towel
nuisance, Mr. Brown stated that they
had furnished individual towels for their
guests for over four years. They find
fhem more economical than the disease
breeding roller towel. The hotel keepers
who are still violating the law will soon
find that the use of the roller towel
will prove very unhealthy to them.

One apparently insignificant
overlooked by the railroad
the use of the regular passenger
in the day coaches py the train news-
boys, more familiarly known as ‘“butch-
ers.’’ Irregardless of how crowded the
coach may be with passengers, “ye
buteher”’ occupied two seats with his
wares. This is especially noticeable on
the Pere Marquette train on the Sagi-
naw-Grand Rapids branch, where but
one-half the full sized car is utilized
for passenger service. Possibly some
day the P. M. will furnish a full sized
coach for the smokers.

Martinson & Stafford, who
clothing and furnishing goods
Alpena (when not fishing or
have remodeled their store, sparing no
expense in the work and they can now
show one of the prettiest stores in that
section of Michigan. Changing the old
motto slightly, ‘Goods: well bought are
half sold,’ their motto is ‘Goods well
displayed are half. sold.’’ Hence the
new front.

Eddie Nelson, assistant manager of the
clothing department of the 3usy Big
Store at Ludington, when not calling on
the Chicago jobbers with a special line
of clothing, spends his time inventing
items of interest for the ‘‘Detonations”’
column. Quoth Eddie, ‘‘They say money
can not buy happiness, but I have never
yet seen the guy who wouldn't like to
take a chance at it.”

Next meeting of Cadillac Council will
be held on Saturday, Nov. 8. AS many
applications are already accepted, a
good sized crowd will be expected to
tuke the initiation work. Reports from
the various booster committees will be
read and more plans laid before the
Council for gaining new members. Vis-
iting members are cordially invited. The
meeting will be held at the usual place,
St. Andrews hall, 111 Congress street,
East.

After reading the news reports, we are
led to believe that the Michigan Buggy
Co. was the one that put the lie in
liability.

Guy
booster,
urday.
Johnson
Saturday

Erskine Mel.eish,
for Edson, Moore &
serious operation at
about two weeks ago,
found his stomach to be in

item
companies is
seats

conduct a
store in
hunting),

Master’”’
last Sat-
the  G. J.
returning

Caverly, the “Dutch
was in Grand Rapids
paving his employer
Gizar €o., 2 visit,
night.

department manager
Co., underwent a
Harper hospital
the doctors having
a very bad

condition. ‘The operation, however, has
remedied this and Mr. MeclLeigh’s hosts
of friends will be pleased to hear that

all probability, be able to
leave the hospital this week, although
it will be some time before he will be
strong enough to resume his position.
That Grand Rapids is a good school
for druggtsts is proved by the great suc-

he will, in

cess of those who have left that city
and gone elsewhere to follow. their
chosen vocation. The names of H. W.

Wedge and Robert Hanna appear among
‘etroit’s prominent druggists, both be-
ing former Grand Rapids boys. Mr.
Wedge is head salesman in the Roy
Bodimer drug store at 381 Clay avenue,
while Mr. Hanna is the manager of the
Dr. Johnson drug store at 717 Rivard
street.

James QOuelette, who reprseents the J.
T.. Marecero Co. throughout the Central
part of Michigan, besides being a sales-
man of much merit carries another title
that makes him the object of envy by
his brother travelers—that of Handsome
Jim. Jim carries a handsome head of
grey hair and a perpetual smile at all
times (he also carries insurance in the
U. Cc. T.) He attributes his handsome
head of hair to the fact that he has
always been good to it, hence it never
had a falling out.

John Van Tatenhove’ general super-
intendent of the P. S. Boter clothing
store, at Holland, says that charity be-
gins in the clothing store and he'll be

dinged if he will allow it to get any
further in the future. Wherein lies a
tale. John purchased a new hat and

reserved the old one for his father to

 

wear about the farm. His parent ap-
peared in due time and one of the boys
who happened in, seeing the old hat in
the bag, carefully extracted it and re-
placed it with John’s new hat. When
John saw his father he handed him the
bag, telling him it contained a present
from him, something he could use when

working about the farm. Of course,
John discovered his loss later and, to

cap the climax, his kindly pater returned
the next week and carefully and pains-
takingly gave him a lecture on the fol-
lies of extravagance. He also explained
that when he needed a new hat in the
future he probably was better able to
afford it than John was. Being a farmer,
we claim he was right.

What a splendid addition to the sal-
vation army Fred C. Richter would make!

However, it is much easier to direct
a battle from Traverse City than it
would be in Mexico.

Which shows that the five dollar foun-
tain pen is mightier than the sword.

Bert Mead who manages the dry goods
store for D. BE. Burgess, at Allegan, says

that you can’t always judge a man’s
salary by the clothes his wife wears.

For dollars may come and dollars may
go, but the installment houses are al-
ways with us.

Perhaps John Jordan, head of the De-

troit office of the Otis Elevator Co.,
might do the world at large a great
amount of good by explaining how he
compelled union painters to work over-
time.

The Mazer Cigar Co. has added an-
other story to its factory. which all
goes to show that ‘‘Miss Detroit,’’ their

5 cent creation in the cigar line, is being

well received.

Holland contains the original tough
guys. The other day Issy Altman, Pete
Boter, John Van Tatenhove and others
matched pennies to see who should buy
a cup of coffee.

John Van Tatenhove must derive a

deal of satisfaction

the telegraph
his name to a
we would

great
with
signs
Also
much
two or

George

getting even
company when he
telegram.

never have
space if we hadn't used
three times.

Mack, at Scottville,
the gink who is always waiting for
something to turn up is the gink who
generally is the first to get turned down
George. besides being an expert autoist
and motorcycle maniac, assist his father,
J y

used so
his name

that

says

N. Mack in his department store.

Pity the mail carrier who has many
Tradesman subscribers on his route this
week.

Thankful is the writer that the blue
pencil does not leave its mark on this
page.

However, the original was not written

on this page.
Only seventeen more days before the

next dance—in Grand Rapids U. C. T.
hall.

Who put the first four letters in the
Jackson correspondent’s name?

Read the Tradesman’s Guy Pfander.

Boost and the world is with you.
Knock and there will be some _ with
you anyway.

Claud Hiser, of Leslie,
the Smith-McCurrach Co.,
of men’s neeckwear, writes us to please
explain, through these columns, that he
is no relation, although occasionally
seen in company with Ann Hiser, of
St. Louis.

Saving Burnham, Stoepel & Co.'s
credit man, Frank Martin for our finale,
we beg leave to hand out Mr. Martin’s
sage advice, which he acquired through

who represents
manufacturers

his long regime, during which time he
was ungentlemanly enough to request

merchants to attach their sig-
“When a person is anxious
secret—be wise—keep him
James M. Goldstein.
——_-s-————.

Press Room Not Union.

Edmund W. Booth recently called
on the Tradesman and requested that
it correct the statement made two
ago to the effect that the
Evening Press had signed closed shop
with the printer’s and
pressmen’s unions. Mr. Booth says
that he has a closed shop agreement
with the typographical union, but
that his pressroom is non-union, there
being no union men employed therein
The Tradesman is pleased to make
this correction.

delinquent
natures etc.
to keep your
anxious.”’

weeks

agreements

 

 

MICHIGAN TRADESMAN

 

  

October 29, 1913

 

THE WINE OF WORK.

Retrospective Glance Over the Past
Thirty Years.
Thirty years!
Looks like a long time to a man

who has not much to do, but to the
man who starts out with the deter-
mination to make every day count

and keeps constantly before him the
idea of doing more and better work
every day than he did the day before,
thirty years seem but a span.

The Michigan Tradesman was con-
ceived one cold wintry day in Petos-
key—about the year 1880. I was then
advertising manager of the old Daily
Leader. When advertising was dull,
I entered the subscription field for
a few weeks. I was in Petoskey in
June, 1879, and solicited the subscrip-
tion of a merchant who agreed to take
the paper providing the market re-
ports were kept correct. I promised
to do my best and when I returned to
the office at the end of the week,
I implored the editor to see that the
market reports were kept corrected,
which he agreed to do. I noticed that
the price current was revised the next
day and then the matter passed out of
my mind. On calling on the same Pe-
toskey merchant, seven months later,
he remarked, “I thought you were
going to print prices in the Leader?”
“Wedo,’ I replied. “Thats so,’ said
the merchant, “but look at this: here’s
strawberries quoted in January.” J
was dumbfounded. The editor had
revised the market report once—and
then forgotten all about it, the same
as I had done. The circumstance sug-
gested a thought and I asked the mer-
chant, “If there was a paper publish-
ed in Grand Rapids that printed quo-
tations which could be absolutely de-
pended on would you take it and pay
for °° “Sure, was the reply—and
that moment the germ of the full-
fledged Tradesman was born.

For nearly four years I talked with
every merchant who would discuss
the subject with me, so that by the
fall of 1883 I had a well-defined idea
—or thought I had—of what the mer-
chant most needed in a trade journal.

In the meantime I discussed the
subject with every wholesale dealer at
this market and also at other markets
as well. Most of them undertook to
discourage me. They said Grand
Rapids was too small and Michigan
was too provincial to support such a
venture. They cited the case of the
defunct Grand Rapids Price Current,
established by Dillenback & Beagle
about 1880. They also called my at-
tention to the fact that three or four
attempts had been made to establis’
trade journals in Detroit, all of which
had ended in failure. [|
their but I still maintained
that my project should not be weigh
ed in the balance failures
quoted, because I believed I was
equipped to produce a paper the mer-
chant would take and pay for. I had
clerked in dry goods, drug and gen-
eral stores at Reed City. I had serv-
ed an apprenticeship and learned the
printing business in

listened to
advice,

with the

Bie Rapads 1

had worked on the editorial staffs
of Grand Rapids dailies six years.
While employed on the old Daily

 

Eagle as news editor, I witnessed the
death of the Daily Sun and purchased
the equipment, renting a single room
in the Eagle building at 49 Lyon
street. It soon became known that
I intended to start a paper of some
kind. Old printers shook their heads
and voiced a superstition—then com-
mon among the craft—that the paper
would soon suspend because it was
to be “printed from type the Sun had
died on.” The first issue appeared
Sept. 23, 1883. It was in newspaper
form, four pages and six columns to
the page. It was printed on common
paper and bore little resem-
blance to the Michigan Tradesman of
to-day. The seventeen hundred dol-
lars I had saved to establish the
paper soon vanished and I borrowed
several hundred dollars from my
friends before I got the paper on a
self-sustaining Among the
friends who came to my assistance in
those trying times was Mr. Wm. Wid-
dicomb, who was the Cashier of the
Grand Rapids National Bank, and who
loaned me $200 of the bank funds for
sixty days, endorsing the note him-
self. The note was paid at maturity,
and there is not money enough in
Grand Rapids to buy that old cancel-
led note.

news

basis.

The Tradesman was not an instan-
taneous success by any means. |
spent three days each week in the
office and three days on the road.
I averaged 100 new subscribers a week
for the first six months, but I could
not get over a quarter of them to pay
in advance. They had been swindled
so many times by fly-by-night papers
I took
their signed orders—no one has ever
gotten on the Tradesman  subscrip-
tion list without a signed order—au-
thorizing me to send them the paper
for a year and agreeing at the end
of the year to pay the year in arrears
and a year in advance. At the end
of three months I could see over the
hill. At the end of six months I could
get my feet over. At the end of the
year the Tradesman had $509
in the treasury, which was invested
in five shares of stock in the Kent
County Savings Bank, which was then
being organized. That investment is
now represented by 29 shares in the
Kent State Bank, having a market
value of about $7,500.

that they were suspicious.

 

first

[ don’t think any one ever worked
harder to establish a business than
I did. I was always at work by 7
o'clock and seldom left my desk until
midnight. For many years I deprived
myself of theaters, lectures and other
forms of entertainment and amuse-
order to devote my entire
energies to the Tradesman. I literally
builded the Tradesman out of my own

ment in

flesh and blood, until advancing years
and a serious illness, which kept me
from my desk seven months, reminded
me that I was not made of steel and
iron, as I had supposed.

In the early days of the Tradesman
I conceived the idea of unifying the
retail trade of the State by means
of local associations and a State or-
ganization. At my own expense and
at the sacrifice of much valuable time
I organized 100 local associations of
merchants and business men and sub-

sequently assisted in the work of
forming the Michigan Business Men’s
Association, which enjoyed a success-
ful career for several years and left
an indelible impress on the State. It
curtailed credits, secured the enact-
ment of the uniform fire insurance pol-
icy—the standard form which has nev-
er been changed—brought about a de-
gree of harmony and good will which
has increased with the years and did
valuable service in paving the way for
the boards of trade and associations of
commerce which are now in evidence
in nearly every growing town and
progressive city.

The first man to subscribe for the
Tradesman was J. C. Benbow, who
was then engaged in general trade at
Cannonsburg. That dollar looked as
big as a cart wheel to me. I had
meat that night for dinner—we called
it supper in those days—for the first
time in several days.

Among the wholesale merchants
who saw the latent possibilities in the
Tradesman were Lester J. Rindge,
Christian Bertsch, Henry Spring,
Chas. S. Hazeltine, Paul Steketee and
John Caulfield. These men treated
the Tradesman liberally—even gen-
erously—-and their words of encour-
agement and still more tangible evi-
dences of support will ever be re-
membered with gratitude.

When I started the Tradesman
there appeared to be a deep-seated
prejudice between the wholesale and
retail trade. I could noi account for
it on any other theory than ignorance
of each other's methods. I exerted
the influence of the Tradesman to
bring the two branches of trade near-
er together and I am happy to be able
to say that I have lived to see both
classes regard each other as friends
and mutual coworkers in the great
system of distribution.

When the Tradesman was started
the traveling man was not regarded
in the same light as he is to-day.
He was too often a swaggering, liquor
drinking, story telling perambulator.
He was seldom mentjoned in the
public prints except in connection
with a runaway, gambling episode or
woman scrape. I believed that the
profession of traveling salesman could
be made an honored one and I am
vain enough to concede that I have
contributed in some small measure
to the wonderful reformation which
thirty years have brought about. The
Tradesman was the first paper in the
United States to give the traveling
man recognition by devoting a de-
partment to his interest. We have
given the profession from one to five
pages every week for thirty years—
a total of probably 5,000 pages—and
have on file in the office over 3,000
biographical sketches of traveling
salesmen which have been’ published
in the Tradesman.

One of the most annoying features
of my career has been the almost
numberless attempts to establish trade
journals by shysters and adventurers
and the reprehensible methods they
have used to secure patronage. I have
always welcomed—and always will

welcome—honest competition in any
line, but I have no patience with the
unscrupulous schemer who starts out

 

   

with the avowed intention of invading
fields already well occupied and divid-
ing business none too large through
the medium of specious promises
which can never be made good. Sev-
en trade papers have started and died
in Detroit and six have started and
died in Saginaw since the Tradesman
was established. In most cases the
deceased publications were utterly
devoid of merit. They had neither
capital nor brains back of them. Their
sole idea was to copy the Tradesman,
so far as a bogus can be made to
masquerade as the original, both ‘n
name and appearance. Of course,
all such efforts are short lived, be-
cause the people soon come to dis-
tinguish the good from the bad, the
true from the false. It has long beea
a matter of surprise to me that no
one else has ever succeeded in estab-
lishing a successful trade paper in
either Michigan, Ohio or Indiana.

The Tradesman has had four homes.
It was started in one room in the
Eagle building. It subsequently ex-
panded to an entire floor. In 1888 it
removed to 100 Louis street. In 1895
it removed to the fifth and seventh
floors of the Blodgett building. In
1902 it removed to its present quar-
ters in the Barnhart building, where
it expects to remain at least six years
longer. Its present lease covers a
period of seventeen years and three
months.

The Tradesman has had its full
share of legal trouble. Its frankness
in dealing with frauds and cheats has
compelled it to defend about a dozen
suits for libel. It has been victorious
in all but two cases brought against
it. Many of the suits have involved
important principles which the
Tradesman felt should be passed upon
by the courts of last resort. In every
such case the Tradesman has sustain-
ed its contention and in several case3
it has added new decisions to the or-
ganic law of the State. I have always
made it a rule to meet any man who
thinks he has a grievance—whether |
think so or not—more than half way,
but when he resorts to legal proceed-
ings, he must be prepared to go all
the way round the track. Shyster
lawyers who bring suits in the ex-
pectation of securing a_ settlement
outside of court have come to under-
stand this and give us a wide berth.
Ex-Judge Hatch has been the legal
advisor of the Tradesman for more
than twenty-five years and to his
watchful care and constant scrutiny
is largely due the success which has
attended our legal controversies.

Ernest A. Stowe.
—_+--___
the Tradesman’s

Friends.

George F. Cook, general dealer at
Grove, Newaygo county, engaged in
business Sept. 22, 1883. The first issue
of the Tradesman appeared Sept. 23,
1883. Mr. Cook has taken the Trades-
man ever since the thirty-fifth issue,
so he is now on his thirtieth year. He
has always been a strong friend and
partisan of the publication.

—————-_— > ——_..

It is no uncommon thing to see 2
man run until he gets out of breath
trying to get away from a trouble
that is not pursuing him.

One of Oldest

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

October 29, 1913 MICHIGAN TRADESMAN

 

 

 

Otte Brothers American Laundry

ESTABLISHED 1881
ONE OF AMERICA’S MOST FAMOUS LAUNDRIES

 

 

 

 

 

Dry Cleaning Plant Main Office and Laundry

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

OUR NEWS LETTER

| Brboes that are doing in Grand Rapids, which affect your

interests:
First —All dealers who contemplate purchasing Holiday Goods
should familiarize themselves with the prices we are making.

Second—We can still show you all the new novelties and guarantee
prompt service.

Third—In our book department you will find all the latest in
popular copyrights, and standard works at prices that cannot
be duplicated elsewhere.

Fourth—If you come this way, drop in and make us prove it.
Fifth—Heed the suggestion now, and come.

GRAND RAPIDS STATIONERY COMPANY
GRAND RAPIDS “ 3 3 MICHIGAN

 

 

 

 

 

 

4

MICHIGAN TRADESMAN

October 29, 1913

 

Review of the Grand Rapids Produce
Market.

Apples — Wealthys, Wolf Rivers.
Greenings, Baldwins, Snows’ and
Wagners command $3.25; Spys, $3.50.

Butter—The market is steady at
1c advance. The cool weather has
stimulated the demand somewhat and
the situation is healthy and steady to
firm. The percentage of strictly fan-
cy butter is very light. But few goods
are being withdrawn from storage as
yet and the market seems likely to
remain steady. Fancy creamery com-
mands 32c in tubs and 33c in cartons.
Local dealers pay 25c for No. 1 dairy
and 19'%c for packing stock.

Cabbage—75c per bu.

Carrots—65c per bu.

Cauliflower—$1.25 per doz.

Celery—18c per bunch.

Cocoanuts—$4.75 per sack contain-
ing 100.

Cranberries—$7.50 per bbl. for late
Blacks.

Crab Apples—$1 per bu. for Hys-
lops.

Cucumbers—$1.25 per doz.

Eggs—Receipts of fancy are very
light and the market is firm at an
advance of 1c. Storage eggs are in
fair demand also at an advance of Ic.
Eggs are in good consumptive de-
mand, and the outlook is firm, as no
increase in the receipts is likely soon.
Local strictly
fresh.

Egg Plant—$1.50 per doz.

Grape T'ruit—$5 for all sizes.

OT

dealers pay 27c for

Grapes—Malaga, $5.50 per keg, Cal-
ifornia Tokay, $1.65 per 20 Ib. crate.
Green Onions—20c per dozen.
Honey—18c per lb. for white clov-
er, and 16c for dark.
Lemons—Verdellis, $5.50 per box.
Lettuce—Eastern head, $2.50 per
bu.; home grown leaf, 90c per bu.:
hot house leaf, 12c per Ib.
Onions—The market is strong on
the basis of $1.10 for red and yellow

and $1.25 for white; Spanish, $1.49
per crate.
Oranees-_$3.75 for all sizes of

Floridas; $5.50 for Valencias.

Pears—Sugar, $1 per bu.; Duchess,
$1.40 per bu.; pickle, $1.25 per bu.;
Keiffer, $1 for large and 75c for me-
dium.

Peppers—Green, $1.25 per bu.; Red
20c per doz.

Pickling Stock—Onions, $1.35 per
box.

Potatoes—65c per bu. for home
grown. Country
around 50@55c.

Pop Corn—$1.75 per bu. for ear;
5c per lb. for shelled.

Poultry—Receipts are liberal and
the market is not very firm. It is ap-
parent that the season is on when
farmers are making a move to reduce
stocks for the winter.

buyers are payng

Young roost-
ers and non-layers are being weeded
out and shipped into the markets.
There are very few turkeys offered at
present. There will not be a demand
of any proportion until colder weath-
er comes. Local dealers pay 11c for
springs and fowls; 6c for old roosters;
8c for geese; 10c for ducks; 12c for
turkeys. These prices are liveweight.
Radishes—15c per dozen.
Spinach—90c per bu.

Sweet Potatoes—Virginias com-

mand 75c per bu. and $2 per bbl. Jer-
seys command $3 per bbl.

Tomatoes—$2.50 per 6 basket crate
of California.

Veal—Buyers pay 6@12M%c, accord-
ing to quality.

—_+--____
The Grocery Market.

Canned Fruits—Apples are firm, prices
for New York. State brands in gallons
from $2.75@3 in a large way. Cali-
fornia canned goods are unchanged and
quiet, but with a firm feeling because of
reported light stocks on the coast. Small
Eastern staple canned goods unchanged
and quiet.

Canned Vegetables—The tone of the
tomato market is weak for two reasons:
First, the pack will, without doubt, be
found to be large when the figures are
published and, second, most packers sold
no futures, therefore have no deliveries
to make which will bring them in money,
and to get money for their current obli-
gations are compelled to sell some of
their holdings. The trade are not in-
terested, and holders have to push in
order to sell. This is the story of the
present very unsatisfactory—to packers
—tomato market. It is said that the
goods now selling at 70ec or lower cost
from 5%4%@7%e more than that to pack,
so that the situation spells disaster to
somebody. Corn and peas are both un-
changed from last week, with nothing
to report.

Dried Fruits—Currants are in season-
able demand at unchanged prices. Citron
has advanced %c during the week on

account of short supply. Other dried
fruits quiet and unchanged. Prunes are
unchanged and quiet. The trade seem

to have enough on hand to do them for
the present. Peaches and apricots un-
changed and dull. Raisins are very dull;
nobody is buying, especially referring to
the association’s goods. The trade deep-
ly resent the recent advance to 6%ce,
after naming opening prices which were
high. Independent raisin interests are
cutting about %4¢ below the combine.

Cheese—The market is firm and_ un-
changed. Although some of the produe-
ing markets have declined a_ fraction
during the week, the jobbing markets
remain unchanged. The quality of the
receipts is still running fancy. Stocks
in storage are light, but prices are
probably plenty high already,

Canned Fish—Salmon of all grades
are unchanged from a week ago and are
in quiet demand. Domestic sardines
are growing firmer on account of con-
tinued scarcity, and some holders are
now asking $38 for quarter-oils in a
large way f. o. b., though others will
still sell at $2.75. Imported sardines
unchanged, very searce and high.

Salt Fish—Cod. hake and haddock are
all unchanged. The supply is light and
prices are firm. The mackerel situation
is about unchanged. Norways are very
firm and high, with but little move-
ment. Trish mackerel seem not to be
much wanted, and prices are unchanged.

Provisions-—-The demand for smoked
meats has fallen off, as usual at this
season. Pure lard is steady to firm at
4c decline. Compound lard is moder-
ately active at %%e decline. Barrelled
pork and canned meats are quiet and
unchanged. Dried beef is. still very
searee and high.

Coffee—Rio and Santos. grades’ are
1,@%e lower. Crop reports from Brazil
are largely responsible for the uneasi-
ness of the market. The demand _ is
fair, although buyers seem more or less
afraid of the market, and are not willing
to plunge much on it. Mild coffees are
very firm and prices in the South Amer-
ican primary markets” are. relatively
higher than in this country. Java and
Mocha are unchanged, but’ steady to
firm. Mocha is very scarce and what
stock there is in this country is con-
centrated in strong hands.

Sugar—Refined is the same as a week
ago—44c for granulated, New York
basis. Raws, however have stiffened up
somewhat and it is a little difficult to
forecast the market. No radical advance,
however, if any is indicated. The con-
sumptive demand for sugar is fair.

Syrups and Molasses—Corn syrup is
unchanged. The demand for compound
syrup is opening up somewhat and sugar
svrup and molasses also show some lit-
tle demand.

>

The controversy between E. A.
Stowe and the U.S. Express Co., which
was reviewed by Judge Perkins in the
Kent Circuit Court recently, will be
taken to the Supreme Court by the
plaintiff. None of the daily papers
covered the crux of the controversy
in their accounts of the case.

——__++___—__

W. S. Smith, the Upper Peninsula
representative of the Loose-Wiles
Biscuit Co., of Chicago, died at a

Marquette hospital on Tuesday. Mr.
Smith had only been ill since Sunday,
suffering from nephritis.

Only Three Houses Not Represented.

This anniversary edition of the
Tradesman presents probably the
most comprehensive review of job-
bing conditions—present, past and
prospective—that has ever been put
out by any publication in this coun-
try. While the articles are mostly
general in character, many of them
deal with local conditions almost ex-
clusively, because of the local charac-
ter which this particular event is in-
tended to celebrate. Every Gran1l
Rapids jobber has been given an op-
portunity to be represented in the
advertising columns of this edition
and it is a matter of pride with the
Tradesman that every house in the
wholesale line responded but three,
as follows:

H. Leonard & Co.

Jennings Manufacturing Co.

Heystek & Canfield Co.

————_ ++ ____
Geo. C. Whitworth has been select-
ed to act as toastmaster at the annual
banquet of the Michigan Retail Im-
plement and Vehicle Dealers’ Associa-
tion, which will be held on the second
floor of the Furniture Exchange
building. Wednesday evening, Nov
19. Mr. Whitworth acted in a sim-
ilar capacity when the Association
met here about ten years ago and
pleased the members so much tha?
they made an almost universal clamor
for his appearance again this year.

This city now has two banks on the
honor roll, with surplus and_ profits
above the capital. The Old National,
with $800,000 capital, has surplus and
profits of $826,201.24. The Peoples

Savings, with $100,000 capital, is $119,-
909.32 to the good. Two of the other
banks are likely to get into the king
row the coming year, the Fourth Na-

tional, with $300,000 capital being
within $15,000 of it and the Kent

State, with $500,000 capital having but
$32,000 to go. All the banks have
made very substantial additions to
their undivided profits during the
year, averaging about 6 per cent.
—_—_—_>-+-.___

John B. Stuit, dealer in men’s fur-
nishing goods at 444 West Leonard
street, has formed a_ copartnership
with Wm, Oltman under the style of
Stuit & Oltman. They will add shoes
to their line and occupy the new
store adjoining their present location.

———__+ +. ___

W. S. Bowen, who has been a trav-
eling man in Michigan for many years,
is nOW managing director of the Crow
Lake Iron & Land Co. and is making
his headquarters at Toronto, Ontario.
His company owns 40,840 acres of
virgin timber on Madawak River, Ont.

—_——___.-_.___—

Detroit — The American Motor
Truck Co. has engaged in business to
manufacture and sell motor trucks,
automobiles and do all things neces-
sary thereto, with an authorized cap-
ital stock of $5,000, all of which has
been subscribed and paid in in cash.

——_.<-—2>

Detroit—The Detroit Piano Co. has
increased its capital stock from $10,-
000 to $15,000.

——_2-.____
The Fisher Show Case Co. has in-

 

creased its capitalization from $10,000
to $16,000.

 

HOTEL HERKIMER

 

 

 

 

GRAND RAPIDS, MICH.

European Plan $1.00 up, Detached Bath.
$1.50 up, Private Bath.

Excellent Restaurant—Moderate Prices.

 

MAXIMUM COMFORT AT MINIMUM COST

 

 

 

Thomas Canning Co.
Grand Rapids, Mich.

‘b

Packers of

“Thomas Pork and Beans”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

October 29, 1913

MICHIGAN TRADESMAN

 

 

 

 

 

 

HERE IS YOUR OPPORTUNITY

 

 

We Are Now Closing Out Our Jobbing Business

Sale Now On—To Last Until January 1, 1914

Mr. Shrewd Buyer, we are not trying to hocus-pocus you by saying this is the only opportunity you will ever
have. This is not a ‘‘Fire Sale’’ or ‘‘Sacrifice Sale’ as you often see. WE DO SAY this is your chance to buy fresh,
up-to-the-minute merchandise at bargain prices. Nothing reserved. NOTICE THIS LIST and check your wants

on same.

Atomizers

Air Guns
Albums-Photo
Autograph Albums
A B C Blocks
Abdominal Supporters
Backgammon Boards
Bank Pins

Bill Books

Bill Folds

Bills Payable

Bibles

Blackboard Erasers
Blank Books
Blotting Pads
Blotting Paper

Box Files

Box Writing Paper
Bristol Board
Business Blanks
Bottles

Bandages
Brushes—all kinds
Bicyele Oil

Bicycle Cement

Bed Pans

Breast Pumps

Bath Brushes
Bric-a-brac

Banjo Strings
Baskets—fancy
Baskets—infant
300ks—miscellaneous
Building Blocks
Blacking—shoe

Bird Seed

Bath Thermometers
Blackboard Slating
3ronchial Lozenges
Birthday Cards
Birthday Gifts
Bedbug Poison
Balls—variety
Banks—money
Blackboards
Booklets

Baseball Goods
Bronze Powders
Carbon Papers
Cardboard

Card Cases

Card Racks
Carpenter Pencils
Chalk Crayons
Checkers

Christmas Bells
Christmas Post Cards
Christmas Tags
Christmas Gummed Seals
Cigar Cases
Clips—board
Clips—paper

Clothes Brushes
Combs

Compasses

Counter and Order Books
Crayons—lumber
Crepe Paper Napkins
Crepe Tissue Papers
Cribbage Boards
Crochet Hooks
Crutches

Chamois Skins

Clocks—fancy

Collar and Cuff Boxes
Cigar Sets

Collar Buttons
Complexion Brushes
Cold Cream

Cologne

Chewing Gum
Corks—all kinds
Chinaware

Candles

Celluloid Goods
Comb and Brush Holders
Cement—rubber
Cement—leather
Cement—crockery
Chest Protectors
Cardboard

Checker Boards
Curling Irons
Condition Powders
Concentrated Lye
Court Plaster

Can Wax
Drugs—complete stock
Dyes—all kinds
Drinking Cups
Drums

Drawing Instruments
Dolls—all kinds
Doll Buggies

Doll Furniture

Doll Clothing
Dating Stamps
Douches—Nasal
Dusters—feather
Druggists’ Sundries
Dairy Thermometers
Desk Pads

Dice

Dice Cups
Dictionaries
Dominoes

Drawing Paper Tablets
Eye Shades
Envelopes—all sizes
Express Wagons
Erasers—Rubber
Examination Paper Tablets
Flags

Fireworks

Finger Cots

Face Powders

Face Preparations
Florida Water
Flavoring Extracts
Fishing Tackle
Faney Goods

Fly Paper

Furniture Polish
Fluid Extracts

Floor Wax

Fountain Pen Ink
Files—simple account
Fountain Pens
Games—all kinds
Gloves—rubber
Gloves—all kinds
Glue—prepared

Gold Paint

Grease Paints

Gift Books

Guitar Strings

Glove and Handkerchief Boxes
Glassware—fancy
Garlands—-paper
Gem Paper Clips
Glue

Goggles

Gummed Labels
Herbs—medicinal
Hair Curlers
Hammocks

Hobby Horses
Headache Cures
Hot Water Bottles
Hair Brushes
Hand Bags

Hand Brushes
Harmonicas

Hat Brushes
Inhalers

Infant Powder
Infant Brushes
Infant Sets

Ice Bags

Invalid Cushions
Insect Destroyers
Inks—all kinds
Indian Clubs

Ink Stands

Invoice Books
Jews-harps

Jewel Boxes

Julep Straws
Juvenile Books
Key Rings

Key Chains
Knives—pocket
Kalsomining Brushes
Letter Seals
Lanterns—paper
Lantern Candles
Lunch Boxes

Lawn Tennis
Liquors—medicinal
Leather Goods
Library Paste
Lace Paper Napkins
Lather Brushes
Lead Pencils

Lead Pencil Sharpeners
LePage’s Liquid Glue
Letter Copying Books
Letter Files
Mirrors

Marbles

Mixed Spices
Music Rolls

Masks

Magnifying Glasses
Mandolin Strings
Mourning Paper
Manicure Goods
Match Boxes
Mustard Plasters
Memorandum Books
Mouth Organs
Mucilage

Music Books—Mozart’s
Novelties

Nipples

Nail Brushes

Nut Pix and Crax
Nursing Bottles
Nail Cleaners

Napkins—paper

Note Books

Note Books—Stenographers’
Note Books—Students’
Oils—medicinal

Office Stationery
Order Books

Pacifiers

Paint Boxes

Paint Brushes

Paper Bells

Paper Clips
Paper—Crepe Tissue
Paper Napkins
Paper—shelf
Paper—tissue
Paper—toilet
Paper—typewriter
Paper—-writing
Papeteries

Paste

Pencil Boxes

Pencil Holders

Pencil Point Protectors
Pencil Sharpeners
Pencils

Penholders

Pen Racks

Pens

Pins

Pipe Assortments
Pipe bits

Pipe Stems
Pipes

Pipes—corncob
Pipes—Meerschaum, in cases
Playing Cards

Poker Chips

Receipt Books
Rubber Bands
Rulers—school

School Bags

School Straps

Sealing Wax

Shipping Tags

Shelf Paper

Slate Pencils

Slate Sponges

Slates

Sponges

Sponge Cups

Stamp Pads

Steel Pens

Steel Pen Assortments
Stick Files

String Tags

Tablets

Tally Cards

Tape Measures

Tissue Papers
Tobacco Pouches
Toilet Papers

Tooth Brushes
‘Toothpicks

Tweezers

Typewriter Papers
Visiting Cards
Visiting Card Assortments
Waste Paper Baskets
Wire Hook Files

Wire Letter Trays
Wire Waste Paper Baskets
Writing Papers

And Hundreds of Other Articles Too Numerous to Mention

If you don’t see what you want ask us.

Look over your shelves and then come and see us. We will make

you glad. Don’t forget we have the latest, newest holiday and seasonable goods ready for your inspection. You

can sell right if you buy right.
men or write us immediately.

Tell us your needs.

best service. We must liquidate our jobbing business by the end of the year.

GRASP THE OPPORTUNITY NOW

ESTATE OF FRED BRUNDAGE

32-34 W. Western Avenue, Muskegon, Michigan

Are you going to get your share or not? If you can’t come right now ask our sales-
We will sell you right goods at bargain prices and give you

 

 

 

 

 

 

THE SEED TRADE.

 

Its Growth and Development in This
State.

You will see by my picture that |
am not a very old looking man, even
if I have been identified with the seed
business for nearly thirty years. How-
ever, i have a son old enough to com-
mand an important position in the
business and who is well known to
the trade throughout Western Michi-
gan. In the spring of 1885, when I
established the feed business of the
Alfred J. Brown Seed Co., there was
not such a thing known in Grand
Rapids as a seed store. Those who
dealt in seeds handled fruits, produce,
grain, etc., and seeds were only a side
line which were dealt in for a few
months in the spring of the year.

As the country grew, developing its
agricultural so the seed
business grew and kept pace with the
demand We

par-

resources,

for seeds of all kinds.
found that
ticularly adapted for producing cer-
tain kinds of seeds and we went right
at it. You will remember the little
seven by nine building in which I
made my feeble start in the spring of

soon Michigan was

1885. There have been great changes
in many lines since then, but none
more pronounced than the seed busi
ness | have built up in the communi-
ty. In the busy season which is now
coming on, we employ over a hundred
hands.
one end of the continent to the other.
Our operations also extend over a
goodly portion of Europe and even
into Western Asia. We produce seeds
in Michigan that go nearly
part of the civilized world.
What a contrast to the early days of

1885!

Our business reaches out from

out to
CVETY

The development of this bus'-
has not
bounds.

ness been by jumps and
It has been a steady growth,
with the natural de-
mands for good seeds which we have
been striving to produce for so many
years.

keeping pace

Knowledge and integrity fig-
the than
any other asset. Our customer must

ure more in seed business
have confidence in us or we could not
stay in business very long. When
one buys a table or a chair, a cook
stove or any other article of house-
hold goods, he can be a pretty good
judge of its value. When one buys
any article of food he can test it
and find out very closely as to its real
value, but when it comes to seeds,
the real value is not determined until
after the harvest.

The more we please our customers
with seeds that produce satisfactorv
results, the more right kind of ad-
vertising we get and the more the
business grows. My business career

life. I have never
but hard work for
forty years. I have always
made the best out of life and have
kep my health. I have found
it easier to work than to play,
but I have tried not to overdo, realiz-
ing that my health might suffer and
then all would be off for me. I love
my business and my greatest ambi-
tion is to see it grow. The seed busi-

started early in
known anything
nearly

ness is a very interesting business.
It gives plenty of food for thought.
As the country grows and as our agri-

 

 

 

cultural resources extend out, so we
are obliged to fit the conditions. Many
new fields of supply are continually
opening up and if we are not alive
to the situation that confronts us and
keep posted as to what is going on,
we would soon die of dry rot. New
kinds of seeds are being introduced
by expert agriculturalists almost year-
ly. Alfalfa, for instance, is being
grown in localities where we thought
it impossible to grow satisfactory
only a few years ago. Many legume
plants have come into prominence
only in the past few years, such as
Soy Beans, otherwise known as Soja
Beans, Cow Peas, Hairy Vetch, known
also as Sand or Winter Vetch. Sweet
Clover, which was classed as a bad
weed is now becoming a favorite for

MICHIGAN TRADESMAN

   

POST CARDS.

 

Business Not in Existence Thirty
Years Ago.

We hear every day that post cards
are a fad. It is wrong. Post cards
are one of to-day’s necessities. While
the development of the post card has
been of recent date, the idea itself
dates back almost as far as history
goes. In the stone age William chip-
ped his greetings on a flat dornick
and, as no R. F. D. had been estab-
lished, carried it to the abiding place
of his sweetheart. Whatever the
sentiment he choose to put upon it—
“Be Mine,” “I Love but You” or “O,
You Kid’—he was but doing in his
own crude way what the youth of
to-day is still carrying out. The
stone age kid had to think up his own

 

 

 

ALFRED J. BROWN.

poor sandy soil and so we must keep

alive to all these new and valuable

forage plants. Alfred J. Brown.
—_>++____

Butter, Eggs, Poultry, Beans and Po-
tatoes, at Buffalo.

3uffalo, Oct. 29—Creamery butter,
fresh, 26@32c; dairy, 25@27c; poor to
good, all kinds, 20@24c.

Cheese — New fancy 16@16%c;
choice 154%4@16c; poor to common, 6
@10c.

Eggs—Choice, fresh candled, 32@
36c; cold storage, 26@27c.

Poultry (live) —Turkeys, 18@23c;
cox, 11@12c; fowls, 14@16c; springs,
14@17c; ducks, 15@17c.

Beans—Marrow, $3.75; medium
$2.40; pea, $2.30@2.35; white kidney,
$3.50@3.75. Red kidney new, $2.25@
250.

Potatoes—75@80c per bu.

Rea & Witzig.

cards and then beat his ideas into a
flat stone, while the modern boy can
go to the corner store—drug, grocery
or furniture—and find a rack filled
with hundreds of pretty sayings wait-
ing to be mailed out—5 for 5 cents.

While we think that nearly every
laughter-provoking expression to be
thought of has been published on
post cards, think of the fun the post-
master of the olden day must have
had, reading the stone effusions that
passed through his office. The post
card has had a wonderful growth.
Few people imagine the quantities
that pass through the mail to-day.
Grand Rapids has bought more than

    

October 29, 1913

   

two million local views during the
past twelve months. Little towns of
five hundred inhabitants will use ten
thousand views of their town in a
year. Villages of one hundred people
will order one thousand views of one
subject and mail them all out in the
twelve-month.

This relates only to the view card.
Birthday cards, comic, stork, and
cards for every holiday are produced
by the million and as fast as thev
come from the presses are picked up,
decorated with a one cent stamp and
hustled to every part of the earth
to make someone happy or sore—
for there is many a chip put on a
man’s shoulder because he received
a post card through mail that touched
a sore spot.

The post card has changed many
ideas and plans. Ten years ago the
owner of a big lithographing plant
was approached and asked to bring
out a run of post cards. His answer
was that his presses would rust be-
fore he would print picture post cards.
To-day his plant runs _ practically
nothing else and he is paying bigger
dividends than ever Eight
years ago a traveling salesman for a
New York post card house resigned
and, going to a printer friend, un-
folded a plan for selling post cards
by mail all over the United States.
The printer went into it and to-day

before.

this firm is known from coast to
coast. Only $1,000 was used for the
start. Their weekly profits exceed

that amount to-day. Ten years ago
95 per cent. of the cards used in this
country came from Germany. To-day
90 per cent. are made in this country:
New York City produces the greatest
quantities, but Chicago, Boston, Cin-
cinnati, Buffalo, and Rochester each
throw tons of post cards on the mar-
ket. When cards were imported they
sold from 25 cents per dozen up. To-
day every where you see the signs
5 for 5 cents.

We used to wait for a building to
be finished to get a photograph to
reproduce. To-day we take a flash of
the architect's drawings, doctor it up
and sell a hundred thousand cards be-
fore the building is erected.

The writer has been asked what
in his opinion is the future of the
post card it has come to stay.
There never was any license for the
comic card, yet millions have been
sold. But the birthday wish, con-
gratulation, birth announcement and
holiday card will always be demanded.
They fit into their place too well to
ever be dropped. Wm. P. Canaan.

———_2++—___
A One-Cylinder Joke.

“Do you think the motor car has
come to stay?” asked one man of his
neighbor.

“Well,” replied the other, “there
was one out in front of my house
to-day which I thought had; but they
got a horse, after a while, and towed
it home.”

 

FooTE & JeNKS’ COLEMAN’S

(BRAND)

Terpeneless Lemon and High Class Vanilla

Insist on getting Coleman's Extracts from your jobbing grocer, or mail order direct to

FOOTE & JENKS, Jackson, Mich.

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

sR ARR EN io aes ea re

a SANI i NAM RRR SN AIOE NN Rc

   

      

October 29, 1913 NICHIGAN TRADESMAN ?

The New Stationery House

We manufacture everything in View Post Cards in quantities from
one hundred of a subject to one hundred thousand of a subject.

 

 

 

       
    
   
 
  
   
  
    
    
    
  

If you are a dealer and want View Cards to sell—

If you are a manufacturer and want View Post Card of your plant,
interior or exterior—

If you are a jobber and want Post Card Views of your sample rooms
or shipping department—whoever you are, whatever you want

Ask Us for Samples and Prices

WILL P. CANAAN COMPANY

Grand Rapids, Mich.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Explain the Many Uses of
BORAX & win your Customers
Everlasting Gratitude

Tell the housewife of its many uses in the Kitchen, in the Laundry,
in the Nursery, in the Sick Room, and for the Bath.

Or better still, place a package of

20 Mule Team Borax

right in her hands and let her read the directions.

ne It will require but a minute or two
ee of your time, and it will be well worth

, it. For Borax is a “repeater” that shows
SSS a worth-while margin of profit.

Try the plan we suggest on the next
five customers that enter your store.
See if three out of the five don’t buy,
and keep right on buying.

See if you don’t win their everlast-
ing gratitude by calling their attention
to this almost indispensable antiseptic
cleanser. Try it now, to-day.

PACIFIC COAST BORAX CO., Chicago

 

 

   

MICHIGAN TRADESMAN

 

October 29, 1913

 

 

 

 

 

DEVOTED TO THE BEST INTERESTS
OF BUSINESS MEN.

Published. Weekly by

TRADESMAN COMPANY,
Grand Rapids, Mich.

Subscription Price.

One dollar per year, if paid strictly in
advance; two dollars if not paid in ad-
vance.

Five dollars for six years, payable in
advance.

Canadian subscriptions, $2.04 per year,
payable invariably in advance.

Sample copies 5 cents each.

Extra copies of current issues, 5 cents;
issues a month or more old, 10 cents;
issues a year or more old, 25 cents.

 

 

 

Entered at the Grand Rapids Postoffice
as Second Class Matter.

EK. A. STOWE, Editor.
October 29, 1913.

 

 

 

THIRTY YEARS OLD.

The Michigan Tradesman is prob-
ably the only trade journal in the
world which has been published thirty
years without change of ownership,
editorship or business management
and it commemorates the event this
week by the publication of a 120 page
paper—the largest edition in size and
circulation ever issued by the Trades-
man Press.

Thirty years is a long time to look
back over, embodying, as it does, the
record of so many victories and de-
feats—so many achievements and dis-
appointments.

There is very little resemblance in
the Tradesman of to-day to the
Tradesman of thirty years ago, owing
to changed conditions and the even
revolution in the
trend of thought and action, yet an in-

more wonderful
spection o* the files of the publication
that the same well-defined
policy has been dominant all these
years—an earnest desire to serve the
merchant well and faithfully, to con-
siantly keep before him an ideal which
he should strive to emulate, to the
end that he may assume and retain
his proper place in the community in
which he lives.

discloses

If there is any one characteristic.
more than another, which the Trades-
cultivate in the
merchant it is that of dignity and in-
dependence. It has undertaken to
elevate the standard of all merchan-
dising by influencing the merchant to
conduct his business with the same
dignity as the jobber and banker,
to the end that he may take justifi-
able pride in his calling and regard it
as something more than a means of
making a livelihood.

man has aimed to

The Tradesman has always aimed
to inculcate high principles of honor
and integrity in the minds and lives
of its readers, believing them to be
the bedrock of business success and
that no success, in its truest sense,
can be achieved without these ele-
ments.

The Tradesman would ordinarily
apologize to its readers for the unusu-
ally large amount of personal matter—
personal to itself and its editor—
which appears in this edition; but it
is assumed that the reader will gen-

erously overlook this deviation from

the established policy of the publica-
tion in view of the fact that laudatory
references of the kind were not in-
dulged in until the Tradesman passed
the thirtieth milestone.

In contemplating its own growth
and business success the Tradesman
is not unmindful of the fact that its
publication in the midst of a particu-
larly wide-awake, progressive and
liberal business community has made
possible its prosperous development
from small beginnings. In other
words, the Tradesman simply reflects
the rapid growth of its home city
and the enterprise and appreciative
intelligence of Michigan merchants
and business men generally. From
the inception of the undertaking the
Tradesman was never a purely local
institution, nor did it entirely depend
upon its home patronage, preferring
to draw its support from the mer-
chants of Michigan and the Middle
West. There is not a county in Michi-
gan which it does not enter regular-
ly, nor a town of any size from which
it does not receive business.

The Tradesman has always enjoyed
a larger paid circulation and a more
lucrative advertising patronage than
all of its immediate competitors, and
this advantage it confidently expects
to maintain at all times and under ail
circumstances, through the most
thorough occupation of its field and
opportunities.

In the gradual development of the
from humble beginnings,
every facility for publishing a thor-
oughly first class, up-to-date trad>
journal that would be a credit to
Michigan and the Middle West has
been added to the plant from time to
time until there is now no more com-
plete establishment of the kind in the
country. While the mechanical ap-
pliances have carefully been looked
after, there has been equal effort made
to improve the scope and character
of its contents and place the editorial
policy in sympathy with the best ele-
ments of the retail trade. Personal
journalism has never found counte-
nance in the columns of this paper,
nor have special classes or cliques or
interests. The management is inde-
pendent of “entangling alliances” of
any description and has always under-
taken to defend and subserve only
the general interests of the trade. It
is never possible to please every-
body, and criticism may be expect-
ed, but the Tradesman stops not, in
doing what it conceives to be right
and proper, to listen to either the
selfish, the envious or the carping.

What has been accomplished under
this policy and these conditions the
Tradesman believes to be simply an
earnest of greater things to come.
The lines of trade and manufactures
which are presented in such an en-
viable light in the columns of each
week’s issue must continue to expand.
They are yet only in the infancy of
their development, and as their grand
destiny is gradually unfolded all
business enterprises depending upon
them for success may confidently be
expected to expand with them. The
stories of progress, of natural and
acquired advantages, of opportunities
for business and attractions for in-

business

 

vestor and capitalist which are pre-
sented from week to week in the col-
umns of the Tradesman go into thou-
sands of stores and offices and, while
presenting an attractive panoramic
view of the situation as it actually ex-
ists, at the same time bring substan-
tial results.

The Tradesman gladly avails itself
of this opportunity to thank its pa-
trons—both subscription and advertis-
ing—for the generous manner in
which they have supported the publi-
cation; its contributors for the effec-
tive way in which they have presented
their best thoughts; its employes for
the loyal service they have rendered
the publication at all times and under
all circumstances.

 

 

Recent Mercantile Changes in Michi-
gan.

Bannister—K. Waters succeeds
Edward Letts in the meat business.

Greenville—George L. LaClear has
engaged in the grocery business here.

Sparta—J. D. Cobb & Co. will en-
gage in the bazaar business about
Nov. 1.

Mancelona—S. W. Westbrook suc-
ceeds Hartford Taylor in the grocery
business.

Boyne City—William
engage in the meat
about Noy, 1.

Stanton—Mrs,. William M. Thomp-
son succeeds Mrs. E. N. Brown in the
bazaar business,

Charlotte—R. G. Cole is closing out
his stock of implements and will re-
tire from business.

Cheboygan—Fire destroyed the F.
S. Steiner & Son store building and
meat stock Oct. 26.

Niles—The S. Kalla furniture fac-
tory was destroyed by fire Oct. 25.
Loss about $20,000.

Dowagiac—Mac C. Gumm has add-
ed a line of meats to his stock of
general merchandise.

Hillsdale—J. -C. McLeod, formerly
of Cadillac, will open a bazaar store
in the Sutton block, Nov. 1.

Boyne Falls—W. C. Walsh has
closed his private bank, owing to a
run on the bank by the depositors.

Evart—John Nemrava, recently of
Traverse City will open a harness
store and repair shop here Nov. 1.

Hastings—Miller & Harris have
opened undertaking parlors in con-
nection with their furniture business

Luce—The William Craig Merchan-
dise Co. has sold its stock to Ray
Detwiler, who will continue the busi-
ness.

Bowers Harbor—M. A. Kroupa has
sold his general store and dock to
G. Polck, who will continue the busi-
ness,

Pigeon—A. Hirshberg & Son, con-
ducting a general store, have increas-
ed their capital stock from $15,000 to
$20,000.

Dowagiac—H. Lackey will open a
meat market at the corner of Com-
mercial street and Pennsylvania
avenue Nov. 1.

Luther—E. Minzey & Co. have add-
ed a line of pianos and musical in-
struments to their stock of grocer-
ies and hardware.

St. Johns—Bresien Bros. sold their
implement stock at auction and will

Sutton
business

will
here

devote their entire attention to the
hardware business.

Kinde—The Huron Hardware Co.
has sold its stock to John L. Bishop,
recently of Deckerville, who will con-
tinue the business.

Alma—M. E. Stuckey has sold his
grocery stock to Murdo McIntosh,
recently of Breckenridge, who will
continue the business.

Benton Harbor—Vincent A. Lowe,
pioneer druggist, dropped dead Oct.
24, as the result of an attack of heart
trouble, aged 65 years.

Middleton—M. E. Wiseman has
sold his meat stock to W. K. Town-
send, who has taken possession and
will continue the business.

Hastings—J. T. Pierson & Son are
closing out their shoe stock and will
confine their entire attention to their
stock of general merchandise.

Bangor—E. J. Cote has sold his
store building, harness stock and re-
pairs equipment to N. F. Steinman,
who will continue the business,

East Jordan—LaLond Bros., form-
erly engaged in the grocery business
at Boyne City and Charlevoix, have
opened a grocery store here.

Vicksburg—A. M. Cattell has sold
a half interest in his furniture stock
to L. P. Free and the business will be
continued under the style of Cattell
& Free.

Pelkie—M. Kivi & Co., dealers in
meats and general merchandise at
South Range, have opened a branch
store here under the management of
Albin Lahikianen.

Irons—Haslett & Hilderbrand have
sold their store building and stock of
general merchandise to H. Soldon,
who has taken possession and will
continue the business.

Negaunee—Jalmar Johnson and
Herman Autio have formed a copart-
nership under the style of Johnson
& Autio and will engage in the meat
and grocery business at the corner
of Jackson and Tobin streets, Nov. 1°

Detroit—Jos. M. Hackett, druggist,
has merged his business into a stock
company under the style of the J. M.
Hackett Co., with an authorized cap-
ital stock of $20,000, of which $10,000
has been subscribed, $2,500 paid in in
cash and $5,000 in property.

Perry—H. Starks & Co., operating
an elevator, has merged its business
into a stock company under the style
of The H. Starks Co., with an au-

thorized capital stock of $20,000,
which has been subscribed, $6,509

being paid in in cash and $13,500 in
property.

Calumet—The stock of the bank-
rupt Calumet Store Co. was disposed
of at public auction to George Goshe,
of Manistique, the price paid being
$10,650. The sale was conducted by
Referee in Bankruptcy R. T. Looney.
The bidding was spirited there being
prospective buyers present from Man-
istique, Detroit, Duluth, St. Paul and
other points, as well as many copper
country bidders. Bidding started at
$6,000.

—_»++-___

Harbor Springs—John Culp has
sold his bakery to Alex Hornkohl,
who will continue the business un-
der the style of the Harbor Springs
Bakery.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

October 29, 1913
STORE MANAGEMENT.

Experience of One of Michigan’s Best
Store Managers.

I hope you will agree with me that
we are in business, not so much for the
dollars there are in it, as for the re-
ward that comes to us from satisfactory
service we render in our various com-
munities.

In this day of extreme competition,
no retailer in a small town, buying
goods in the ordinary way, makes a
profit only on the goods but on his ser-
vices as well.

I want to bring out strongly, with-
out treading on any one’s toes, a few
facts to demonstrate that all the profit
in our business is not in the goods,
but in the service we give to our com-
munity.

We get some good ideas from the
trade papers yet we often fail to put
into action those ideas even though we
know they are good, and out of which
others are making a success. We know
the difference between a lemon and a
grape fruit; it is that a certain lemon
had a chance to take advantage of be-
coming a grape fruit. So it is with
us and if the chance comes along let
us not stay a lemon but embrace the
opportunity of being a grape fruit.

It is the consummate knowledge that
keeps them in good humor and makes
them feel and know that the organiza-
tion which is employing them is look-
for their best interest and for
their general welfare. The position of
the store manager requires not only a
general knowledge of the goods in
stock, but he must have that expert
knowledge of each of the many items
contained therein that will enable him
to get the best goods for the least
money and know that he is getting
them. To keep our stocks to the very
lowest possible point, keep up a good
assortment, and avoid getting out of
staples, is no small

ing out

goods, especially
task.

Our purchases are large and a few
mistakes wipe out all hope of profit.
Our company’s interest should be our
interest, and if not we should get out.
We are in charge of the store, not
merely to haul out goods from behind
the counter, but we are trusted employes
just as much as the president and the
with responsibilities
proportionately great. It should be our
aim to reflect credit upon our companies
by keeping a bright, neat. clean anil
cheerful establishment; by treating our
fellow employes—our customers—wit!
just as much courtesy and deference as
we would were we in business ina place
where good service is absolutely es-
sential to success.

It may be of interest to some of you
to learn just what kind of a store
am in charge of and how I manage
it. The main building is 30 to 100 fee
with a stock room and a meat market
the same length as the main store, open-
ing into main room on the north side
‘through the grocery, a flour, feed and

Cu eral manager,

grain warehouse near the depot side
of the railway track, and a store room,
which is a separate building at the rear
of the main store. The store has large
show windows in the front and both a
front and a rear entrance. A post of-
fice is located in the northwest corner

 

TTI ETRE SHINY ITD RMN ic i CORT AAR eh

MICHIGAN TRADESMAN

of the main store room. The store has
two rows of counters with a wide aisle
in the center. Now, as to arrangement
of the stock. The grocery department
has straight shelving, thus enabling us
to make an excellent display. Beneath
the base shelves are tight bins zinc-
lined, with hinger covers, where we
keep our bulk goods.
Arrangment of Stock.

I do not believe in a haphazard ar-
rangement of stock, it is an inconven-
ience to salesmanship. A clerk whose
spell is broken by the necessity of hav-
ing to leave a customer and conduct a
protracted search for some article will
not sell as easily or as much as the
clerk who, aided by a scientific and in-
telligent arrangement of the stock, is

 

 

 

 

able to concentrate his every effort on
the problem of selling. This is so ob-
vious there is no-need of comment upon
it.

The remedy for such a state of things
rests primarily with the merchant. He
must evolve a definite and logical sys-
tem of arrangement of stock. Just
what system he should adopt is a matter
of individual choice.

I prefer and do arrange the goods in
stock according to the ultimate use to
which they are to be put. That is,
those goods that are in the greatest de-
mand and sell the fastest, I have a:
ranged so I can get them to the cus-
tomer in the quickest possible time with
the least amount of labor.

My system is facilitated by a sort of
informal departmentizing. I find this
plan works well, even in a small store.
1 group the staples in a section, that is,
canned vegetables in one, canned fruits
in another, all bottled goods in another,
confectionary in another, coffee, teas
and package goods in another, tobacco
in another, and all the various kinds
of stocks, each class of a kind in a
section or department.

By having arranged my stock accord-
ing to this system, I then see that my
help understands the system, as well as
I do myself.

The simpler and more logical the
system, the better. A definite
of arrangement should prevail,
firmly adhered to.

The shelves in our store always look
full, when we sell an article as we re-
move one can or package, we bring for-
ward another to fill the open space.
Then in spare moments we keep refill-
ing the shelves from the reserve stock
in the stock room adjoining the main

system
and be

store. Systematizing of this sort takes
time and some mental effort at the
outset. It pays and saves the mer-

chant’s time, the clerk’s time and the
customer's time.

Further, it enables the merchant to
keep in close touch with his stock, to
order to better advantage, to prevent
goods from accumulating, and helps to
move out lines that show a tendency to
linger on the shelves. The clerk who
understands the store arrangement and
can place his hand on any article at a
moment’s notice can devote more at-
tention to the actual problem of sales-
manship, and thereby secure better re-
sults.

Now as to the arrangement of the
dry goods stock. The piece goods we
place on the shelves in a sloping posi-
tion facing the light from the front of
the store. The customer can see the
goods to a better advantage this w.
and we so arrange the goods on _ the
shelves to make the best possible dis-
play.
silks, veiling, domestic and white goods
in drawers under the base shelves and
Our
shoe stock is arranged with the men’s
shoes 1n one section, women’s, children’s,

We keep the laces, embroideries,

in drawers under the counter.

boys’ and giris’ shoes each in a section
The men’s work shoes

All

are

by themselves.
are separate from the dress shoes.
the number
placed together and arranged on the
shelves with the sizes in rotation from
the lowest up. This arrangement we
find enables us to almost stand in our
tracks and pick out any size or kind of
shoe a customer wants.

Our

shoes of same stock

shirts,
hosiery and sweaters—are all arranged
on the shelves according to stock num-
ber and sizes, the same as the shoe
We find this arrangement en-
ables us to get the desired size in the
quickest time and with
jabor than if otherwise arranged.

box goods—underwear,

stock.

less
Our
pants, overalls, jackets and shirt stock
we arrange on the shelves with all sizes
of a kind together. A neat printed
slip in large figures is attached to the

possible

front of the shelf under each pile, giv-
ing the sizes. It takes but a moment of
our time to get any size desired. We
keep a full run of sizes on the shelves
with a reserve in the stock room on the
second floor.

Our loose dried fruits we keep in a
dust and mouse proof case at the rear
of the groceries. All bulk
the glass front, dust and vermin proof
display cases, arranged in a neat dis-
play rack. In the meat market we are
unable to make a display except with
the pail and package goods.

We operate a first class meat market,
carry all kinds of fresh and cured meats,
have one of the best coolers in our sec-
tion, keeping a temperature that enables
us to hold up fresh meats in the warm-
We keep
camp supply goods, such as gallon
canned goods and dried fruits, in boxes,
tea, coffee, barrel sugar and barrel meat
in the warehouse at the rear of the
store. We put up the smaller items of
the camp orders in the stock room north
of the main store and assemble there
the different items from the store
proper to be packed.

Many of the camp supply goods are
furnished in full package lots and we

cookies in

est summer weather. our

ae

 

9

aim to handle this part of the business
in a way to save us as much double
handling and extra work as_ possible
and to get the orders out in the short-
est time.
of Stock Keeping.
Stock keeping should be thoroughly
classified. When you look up a word
in the dictionary you do not have to
hunt in several places. You find the
letter it begins with, the next and the
next, and you can soon tell to a cer-
tainty whether it is in the dictionary
or not.

Classification

\ stock of merchandise natu-
rally falls into classes, and each class
falls into subdivisions.

If a salesman had an outline of the
stock arrangement fixed in his mind,
he then would come systematically in
touch with variety. Soon he
could know perfectly the stock in the
most

every

complete general mercantile es-
tablishment.

Too much stress cannot be laid upon
the fact that protection in business is
an absolute necessity, for must
guard against the fallibility of the hu-
man mind, against dishonesty, against

one

unwarranted claims and against care-
lessness.
We have ¢ Dayion computing scale in

our meat market, an Ideal computing
scale in our grocery and candy depart-

ment, and a six-drawer National cash
register.
Evils of Open Credit.
| do not believe in’ the open credit

for any store. We do a cash business,
using the coupon system, which is the
same as cash. It simplifies book-keep-
ing, it enables us to head off the man
who persists in over-running his credit.
“Kickers” always know just what they
owe, and that they are paying for just
what they get. It from
forgetting to charge goods, and enables

prevents you
vou to keep track of your business, and
also to avoid trouble with grouchy peo-
ple who always annoy you by disputing
their accounts.

To assist us in our buying we keep
a want book in each department. When
we find an item running low or some
for, we
the items in the want books.

new items being called enter
We use a
requisition in book form in
insist that requisiton num-
bers appear on each invoice which we
request the

duplicating
buying. and

wholesale houses to issue
in duplicate, one for our own use and
one for the company’s main office files.
We insist that and
plainly entered on original order.
have

terms be
We
a double check on out-going as
well as We hold
the seller to the price written in the
original order.

prices

m-cominge orders.

We weigh and count
everything coming in as well as going
out. We find this system means a sav-
dollars to our company
We are persistently looking
for the leaks and stop them as soon as

found. It is the little things that

ing of many

in a year.

count.

[t is safer to know than to guess in
every department of retailing. The
more we know the surer we are. If
we really know our business, if we are
well-posted merchants, success is only
a matter of industry and application.
Storekeeping should not be humdrum.
very dav we find something new to
interest us. We are greedy for infor-
mation about merchandise, selling plans,

eee een eee

 

10

MICHIGAN TRADESMAN

  

October 29, 1913

 

store management, window displays, and
advertising. We gather knowledge
from salesmen, customers, clerks, mag-
azines, trade journals, and our local
newspaper. We study our customers’
wants and know how to supply them to
their advantage and our profit.
Keeping Posted.

A college president has stated that
fifteen minutes a day spent with good
books will make a man well read in a
few years’ time. Apply the same meth-
od to our business, and we will soon
become well-posted merchants, and we
need to study but two books—human
nature and merchandising.

We should be well posted on the
sources of supply, to know where to buy
and the price to pay. As far as possi-
ble buy from first hands, saving cus-
tomers the jobber’s profit whenever it
is practical to do so. Shun shoddy
goods and consider quality as carefully
as price. Avoid getting overstocked by
sending in small and frequent orders.
Take advantage of low price levels on
staple commodities but never speculate
in merchandise.

Our counter should be a clearing
house. not a store house. If we are
basing our business on hard-headed,
tried-and-true principles of successful
merchandising, we will take no chances
in our buying. We should so under-
stand the requirements of our trade,
that we can buy to a certainty. We do
net have to take any chances.

Whenever I find I am in doubt I give
doubt the benefit. With rapid jobbing
methods it is hard to make a mistake
by buying too little at a time. There is
no excuse for buying to excess. Let
the jobber take the risk. If he makes
a mistake, if he misjudges demand,
quality or any other of the thousand
other things, he pays the penalty. That
is one of the requirements of the suc-
cessful jobber. He is equipped for it.
He knows how to meet it. When I
want to try out a new line, I buy a
small quantity first. We never buy
much at a time of “new fads,” but at
the same time our store always has an
assortment of latest styles and up-to-
date goods. [ would rather re-order
more often than run any chances.

In trying out new goods, I find it
Days personally to call the attention of
the individual customer to the new line
and suggest a trial order. I follow up
the purchase by enquiring how the cus-
tomer is pleased with the goods. By
the time the first order is sold I know
whether the line is likely to prove a
seller or just a flash in the pan, so to
speak.

Clearing and Bargain Sales.

I believe a clearance sale to be legiti-
mate, desirable and effective only when
it comes normally and in due season;
that is, when the majority of the people
have already bought their summer goods
and the dull mid-summer season is on.
However, the clearance sale. like the
revival, is not a success when it is
merely worked up. In that event it
comes before it is time; consequently it
cuts down profits which would accrue
to the merchant under normal con-
ditions.

T believe it depends a great deal on
local conditons, but if we must have
clearance sales to clean up stock and
are unable to do so in any other way,

the later we hold the clearance sale the
larger the aggregate profits on the year’s
business.

I believe in holding clearance sales
off as long as possible. I do not be-
lieve in these cut-price bargain sales,
a sort of competition we have to con-
tend with from some neighboring mer-
chants, who are really overdoing the
fake bargain business. Bargains? What
are they? Something for nothing?
Somewhere in the selling chain there
is a missing link, else the buyers could
net get value for nothing; that is, as-
suming that they get a real “bargain.”

Not that bargain sales may not be
entirely legitimate at times, and_ the
careful buyer is wise in taking advan-
tage of them, but they are the excep-
tions to the rule of business—excep-
tions that prove the rule that all legiti-
mate business presupposes not only a
fair equivalent for the money paid, but
also a profit to the seller.

Business is always disturbed by bar-
gain sales. Some people never recover
from the bargain craze. They become
chronic bargain hunters and_ forever
haunt the cheap bargain counters in
search of “a little more for their
money.” ‘Time and again ihey find
themselves deceived, but like ihe mining
stock investor, they come again and
again to the sale. Others, learning
from experience, recover from the bar-
gain epidemic and settle down to a
search for quality goods at quality
prices, and having adopted that plan
they become satisfied buyers of. satis-
factory merchandise.

This process of education is going on
all the time. Merchants, too, some-
times get the bargain giving fever. They
ache to give the public large value at
small prices. They imagine that the
really smart thing in business is to sell
cheap, never thinking that anybody can
do that only as long as their money
lasts. Did vou ever hear of a mer-
chant failing in business because of
asking too high prices for his goods?
Possibly, yes; but in a thousand other
failures the cause is low prices.

Modern merchandising is ideal, not
when goods are given away, not when
they are sold at an exorbitant price,
but when the seller meets the buyer on
the plane of fair values for a fair
price and both are satisfied. On such
a basis they can meet again. Another
thing I never believe in is to cut the
price on regular merchandise to make
a sale.

Intelligent Competition.

Someone has said: “If you do not
cut the price how can you develop and
grow? There would be no competition
and business would be dull and unin-
teresting.”

There is a sort of competition that is
upl:ftine as well as one that is degrad-
ing. | think we have seen that com-
petition by cutting prices is degrading;
but a competition of reliability, of neat-
ness of dispatch, of intelligence as to
what we have to sell, all uplift and
broaden the scope for individual ac-
tivities.

Tt is not necessary that everyone
should sell goods at the same price,
but it is necessary that all should sell
goods at a fair price. We should be-
come scientific salesmen. An authority
has said that scientific salesmanship is

 

Christmas 1s

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Dolls, Vanity Cases, Mesh Bags, Toilet Sets
Leather Bags and Purses, Jewelry
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Christmas Garlands
Holiday Boxes

Etc.

ah

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Detroit

Branch Offices and Display Rooms
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. Heavenrich Block Sloane House

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Shearer Block 12 Arcade

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Smith and Baker Bldg.

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28 S. Ionia Ave,

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109 Second St.

 

 

 

    

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eo

CLARE KNITTING MILLS

sme ee ere
SAGINAW, MICH.

        
   
 
 
 
  
   
 

+ RREKRUTERS ERS Ccon

UGRRUTEES

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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October 29, 1913 MICHIGAN TRADESMAN 11
selling goods at a profit. Selling goods prived yourself of your legitimate with the chart gotten out by the Day- werk, and that is what our companies
without a profit is not good salesman- profit. It is almost impossible to volun- ton Computing Scale Co. and find it pay us for. Surely not for just

ship.

I think this is good gospel. I be-
lieve that any man who works should
have a fair return for his services. 1
believe that any man who works and
furnishes capital should have a fair re-
turn for his work and for the use of
his capital. I do not believe it a good
thing for the worker to lose his wages,
or the capitalist to lose his capital.

To make a regular habit of noticing
and reflecting upon the effects of our
methods on buyers is the very best pos-
sible education in the art of selling.
When dealing with men, I have found
it is well to beware of too suddenly
lowering one’s price for the sake of sav-
ing the order. Suiting the price is half
the battle in salesmanship. It is really
surprising how often it pays the sales-
man hetter to hold out for the regular
price than to try to tempt the customer
by offering goods at a reduced figure.

When the customer is likely to de-
cline an offered article, to offer to take
less than the proper price for it may
only raise suspicion of the honest value
of the article. A better plan I have
found is to bring forward a still higher-
pricec line, and to dilate upon its su-
perior merits, but not to overdo by
talking too much. If it is beyond the
customer’s means, the first shown ar-
ticle probably will be taken with satis-
faction rather than with the dangerous
resignation which sometimes forebodes
the loss of future orders.

Thus, you get full return and the
customer carries away a better impres-
sion of the store than if you had de-

tarily lower the stated price without at

the same time lowering the customer’s

estimation of the article’s real value.
Two Subjects to Consider

The complete satisfaction of the cus-
tomer and the maintenance of a fair
profit are the two main objects in sound
salesmanship. It is profit that counts
and the men back of the counter who
are worth while to-day are those who
show a profit on their sales.

When we give a customer “what they
cali for’ we have not sold them a
thing. It does not make any difference
if the order is a yard long. Getting a
dozen good, profitable items on the or-
ders that are not called for is selling
goods. Getting a profit is simply up to
us. Let us start to sell stuff. It’s fun.
It’s really inspiring. Business inspira-
tion beats any drug on the market.
Take in big doses; there is no bottle
to shake; it does the shaking.

I wish to touch briefly on the proper
way to mark goods to get the desired
profit Napoleon said, “Get your prin-
ciple right, then it is a mere matter of
detail” ‘The retail selling price is made
up of three units, or factors, the whole-
sale or delivered cost; the cost of doing
business, and the net profit desired. The
whole thing lies in figuring from the
selling amount and not from the cost.
It is on the business we do that our
profit is to be made, and not on the
price we pay for goods which are yet
to be sold.

How are we to know the proper price
to sell so as to get the desired profit?

We use the following rule, together

works very satisfactorily:

Always let 100 per cent. represent the
unknown quantity; that is, the selling
price. The invoice cost, plus freight,
is first cost. Our ptofit is what we add.
This should be the actual cost of doing
business and the desired percentage of
profit we wish to make.

For example, say the invoice plus
freight is 90 cents. Our cost of doing
business as a fair average is 17 per
cent. and we wish to make a net 10
per cent. profit. We add these two,
which is 27 per cent. Then 100 per
cent. for the selling price, less 27 per
cent. margin leaves 73 per cent. which
equals cost or invoice price. Divide the
price at which we actually bought, or
90 cents, by 73 and we get 1.23 21-73.
We -vould mark the item to sell for
$1.25.

Tix the selling price at a reasonable
profit considering the article, as no
one expects to buy goods at cost or
below cost, unless they get stung, but
base the selling price on the first cost,
freight added, on a_ percentage, and
have each article bear its share of the
overhead expense or selling cast. I be-
lieve we cannot say too much on a sys-
tem from the front to the back.
everything systematized.

Have

It is svstem that greases the wheels
of progress and turns out the showing
our companies want. Novw, let us have
better stores and let us be better man-
agers, than we have ever heen.

It takes work on our part, but nine.
tenths of the prescription for success
consists of plain, everyday, honest hard

what we know, but for what we know
and do. We should make a constant
study of our trade, its likes and dis-
likes, preferences and demands, watch
tendencies and not be bound down by
prejudices, be ever ready to discard old
methods and adopt new. better to meet
changing conditions,

Seme Commendable Selling Expedients.

I believe in marking selling price in
plain figures and putting price tickets
on everything. We ali use too few
price tickets. We should not fail to
make constant employment of that most
willing of workers, the price tickets
Haye all goods marked cost and selling
price and have one price and that the
lowest the goods can be sold for to ob-
tain the profit desired. The people
then will know that the price they pur-
chase at is the best anyone could have
honght the same article for, and it helps
to create confidence in our store.

I believe it good policy not to buy from
too many houses. You run the chance
of overbuying and duplicating. By con-
centrating our buving as much as pos-
sible we have less book-keeping; we get
the best prices, and if we must ask for
favors we are more likely to get them
than if we bought a little from every-
one who comes along. Our account in
that way would not be large enough for
any house to use extra effort to hold
our trade

When a man comes into
our store we give him the elad hand,

and supply our wants.
traveling

and if busy excuse ourselvevs, and as

soon as we can become disengaged

spend a few minutes with him, and if

 

 

 

A Place in the Roll of Honor is like a man’s character—it is something money cannot buy,

but is won by merit and worth alone.

 

 

 

 

THOMAS HEFFERAN, President

THOMAS HEFFERAN, President

CHRISTIAN BERTSCH, Pres. Herold-Bertsch Shoe Co.
ALFRED D, RATHBONE, Pres. Rathbone Fireplace Mfg. Co.

J. BOYD PANTLIND, Morton House and Pantlind Hotel

‘THE

Capital $100,000.00

PEOPLES SAVINGS BANK

IS THE ROLL OF HONOR BANK OF GRAND RAPIDS AND KENT COUNTY

Surplus $110,000.00

Assets $2,327,000.00

OFFICERS

AMOS S. MUSSELMAN, Vice Pres.
T. WM. HEFFERAN, Cashier

DIRECTORS

AMOS S. MUSSELMAN, Vice President
JOHN W. BLODGETT, Lumberman

REUBEN BLOOMER, Real Estate

WM. H. GAY, Berkey & Gay Furniture Co.

There is Nothing in Safe Banking That We Cannot Perform

EUGENE D. CONGER, Vice Pres.
WM. SMITTON, Asst. Cashier

EUGENE D. CONGER, Vice President

WM. H. ANDERSON, Pres. Fourth National Bank
VICTOR M. TUTHILL, Baldwin, Tuthill & Bolton
JOHN MURRAY, Capitalist

 

 

 

 

 

12

MICHIGAN TRADESMAN

October 29, 1913

 

necessary look at his line, even if we
do not buy, as he may have some new
specialty or some better price, that
would be of value to us later. I have
many fricnds among the traveling men
who call on me when passing through
town, of whom I never buy any goods;
and why?  Pecause I am willing to
meet them in a decent manner and
treat them courteously. They often
have and can give us valuable informa-
tion. We must not only know our own
line but also competitive lines, as this
will help us, not so we can knock, but
to be able to talk our goods better, and
there is no better way of getting posted
than through the traveling men.

They can give us information on sell-
ing plans and stock arrangements, be-
cause they come in contact with so
many other merchants, and in general
they can do us a lot of good.

Be honest with the salesmen and give
them a deal; and we wiil
get the best they have in special dis-
count, special value or any other ad-
vantage they may have.

Then I believe it good business policy
to give aitention to the children. Don’t
treat them as if they were of no ac-
count.

square

! believe in using more care in
putting up an order for a child the par-
ents have sent to the store than if the
parents were present doing the shop-
ping for These children
become men and women sometime and
if we

themselves.

continue in business, they are
sure to remember us as a crank, or a
nice man who treated them nicely.
Then keep the store and stock scrup-
lously clean at all times, not only to

obviate. so far as possible, losses sus-

tained on stock by reason of dust and
dirt, but to help business generally.
Merchants cannot ignore the advertis-
ine that accrues from a_ thoroughly
clean and neatly-arranged store.

Using Store Windows.

Use windows; they are the index of
our store The old story that they
don’t pay in a small store is obsolete.
Our outside appearance is very import-
ani. A stranger, at least, forms his
opinion of our store by our windows,
just as he does of us when he looks
us in the face. I helteve the most econ-
omical means for attracting extra busi-
ness that would reduce the selling cost
and increase the profits is to render a
service to the public that is not cus-
tomary with the average store. There
is no doing away with competition with-
out establishing monopoly, which is
more distasteful, so the channels
through which business passes to-day
are undoubtedly the channels through
which it will pass for some time to
come.

Service, as a general thing, does not
necessitate money expense. It is large-
ly the attitude of the store toward its
customers. A thorough knowledge of
the goods carried and their use is some-
thing that has a cash value in any busi-
ness. At the same time this knowledge
dces not represent an expense, simply
an investment of the time and a dispo-
sition. to Service is any mer-
chant’s one best asset, because the pub-
lic will pay for service and buy their
goods from the stores that serves them
best.

know.

Invoicing of Importance.
There is one more important subject

T want to bring out briefly. We all
know the druggery of the annual or
seimi-annual inventory, and how often
its results are unsatisfactory. Did you
ever try the plan of invoicing the re-
tali price with each item? It takes
really no more time and you will be
surprised at the results obtained. It
gives you an idea of profits which you
do not get in any other way Tt
shows errors in marking goods.

It shows discrepancies in prices. It
is the best reference book and _ price
book combined, and if we want to find
a lost retail price, it is always at hand.

We keep our invoice book for ready
reference and have found the double
pricing an immense help. Try it and
see how easily it is done and how much
yeu will use the book.

In conclusion I wish to add that the
life of the store in the long run depends
upon the adoption of the principles of
good merchandising that applies to
every other legitimate business. Not
only is the sale of good merchandise at
reasonable prices imperative, but it is
highly important that the management
of any retail establishment shall ap-
pear in the attitude of soliciting the
business of all comers. The man who
has money to spend likes to feel that
his trade is solicited and appreciated ;
he resents any other policy.

One man’s money is as good as an-
other’s, and the individual customer de-
mands the same treatment that he sees
The
who finds that he can buy from the

accorded his neighbor. farmer

store of a large corporation is apt to
gauge his opinion of that corporation

by the satisfaction he gets out of his
dealings with the store.

We have developed a good trade with
the farmers.

The fact that the store can recruit
a considerable number of farmer cus-
tomers aiso is strong evidence of the
fact that it is pursuing a liberal policy
with its employes for whose conven-
ience it is maintained. It not infre-
quently happens that employes who have
no basis for comparison get the idea
that the stere is over-charging them,
but when the management can show
that the farmers of the vicinity are buy-
ing from the company store, the fact
will go far tewards allaying suspicion
and satisfying discontented employe
customers.

I believe the dawn of a new mer-
chandising era is here; more science,
less sentiment, but just enough of each
to make business a pleasure and profit-

John T. Bellaire.
__—— 2 —-@-.
Right and wrong, like weeds in a

able.

 

garden, grow side by side. These never
mix, yet only the good needs protec-
tion, the bad being able to take care
of itself. The best system possible to
formulate the safe-guarding of the
good is the one for which we are all
looking. In brief this represents the
difference between efficient service and
the indolent sidestepper in business
who, when not handing out promises,
1s putting forth excuses for his fail-
ures,
—_+~-+—____

If you treat your employes cordial-
ly they will pass it on to the custom-
ers.

 

 

810. Men’s H B Hard Pan

 

 

Above all six inch heights.
and 16inch. Orders solicited.

Trade Winners Fall 1913
H. B. Hard Pan

 

D.S. Tip Blu, unlined $2.30
D

811. Men’s H B Hard Pan .S. Plain Cong..... 2.39
812. Men’s H B Hard Pan '2 D.S. Plain Bals..... 2.20
813. Men’s H B Hard Pan %D.S. Tip Blu........ 2.30
849. Men’s H B Hard Pan 3 sole. Plain Blu ....... 2.50
896. Men’sH B Hard Pan 3 sole. Tip Blu ....... 2.50
909. Men’s H B Hard Pan % D.S. Plain Blu...... 2.30

Other heights 8-10-12

 

 

D°

name on your footwear?

and Railroad Man in the country the name

H. B. HARD PAN

on shoes stand for quality. They know that shoes bearing
this name have in them the high grade material that make
Year after year we have refused to substitute
cheaper material because we could not afford to shake
the confidence that is so universally placed in this great line.

for service.

More and more retailers are ‘catching on’’ and are
pushing this line, because it means a reputation for de-
pendable goods, which is going to bring the TOILER’S
family to them for THEIR footwear.

Can you, Mr. Retailer, afford to handle any other line?
Your live neighbors have caught on and are gaining a hold
on the substantial trade in your locality.

Our salesman will call on request (without obligation
to you.) Or send us an order for samples from the list at-
tached. Let us hear from you TO-DAY.

THEY WEAR LIKE IRON

Herold-Bertsch Shoe Co.
GRAND RAPIDS, MICH.

YOU realize the value of a well and favorably known

To every Farmer, Mechanic

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

.

es
=
Rg
oe
ee

 

 

 

October 29, 1913

  

GERMAN MADE DOLLS.

 

How the Output Is Handled in This
Country.
Written for the Tradesman.

Late in December, when the holi-
day season is drawing to a close, the
foreign doll buyer boards a big Ger-
man liner and, after a snowy voyage,
disembarks at Hamburg. From there
he makes his way leisurely to the
German headquarters of his _ firm,
stopping on the way to visit the
Capital and taking in two or three
doll fairs at the larger towns.

The warehouse at which he finally
arrives is probably in the Black For-
est, in the heart of the toy and doll
country. Here his firm will have a
permanent force of men working un-
der a local manager, and here the
buyer establishes himself.

Manufacturers visit him, bringing
samples of their latest work, while
he in turn makes flying trips to the
various doll fairs and to some of the
places where dolls are made.

These German doll “factories’’ are
interesting places, many of them quite
small family affairs, but as establish-
ed and dependable as any big Ameri-
can business. Generations of prac-
tice enable the German doll makers
to turn out remarkable lifelike faces
and figures while yearly consultation
with the world’s cleverest buyers en-
ables them to dress their dolls in the
fashions best suited to their various
customers.

The buyer we are discussing is, let
us assume, one of the few who do not

deal with German brokers. These

brokers do the selecting and packing
for small importers, adding their com-
nussion to the cost of the dolls.

This buyer deals with the manu-
facturers direct, and the sorting and
packing are done by their warehouse
manager and his men. This means »
lot of extra work for the warehouse
force and the buyer, but it cuts the
net cost of the big importers a lot.

Lucky is the maker who produce;
a sample doll that is accepted by the
buyer without a change of some kind!
The buyer has a highly cultivated
sense of what the little American girl
and her mamma expect in a doll, and
this doll must have a larger hat, that
one needs a different shaped wig, the
other one must be dressed more be-
comingly, and so on through the long
lines of samples.

Not until the buyer has finished
his work on the samples and placed
his orders do the manufacturers begin
to make up the dolls according to the
final specifications. Thereafter con-
signments are delivered to the local
warehouse at short intervals and paid
for in German money as they arrive.

The local manager and a consider-
able force of employes attend to all
the details, finishing and
packing the dolls as they arrive. Their
work includes nearly everything bu:
the actual making of the dolls. Some
dolls are bought undressed and must
be clothed completely at the ware-

assorting,

house, with garments obtained from
other makers. Others need only shoes
or hats. Sometimes a single maker
has just the variety for a popular as-

 

MICHIGAN TRADESMAN

dolls
packed at the warehouse will contain
selections from the lines of five or
six different makers.

sortment, sometimes a dozen

The local manager and his men are
busy at the warehouse the year round,
packing dolls, sorting samples and at-
tending to the many details of the
work. But the buyer, his work in
Germany completed, flits back to
America in June to watch the home
markets and familiarize himself with
local demands in preparation for the
next season's buying.

During the busy fall season he is
at his post every day among the
samples of dolls and toys, watching
the sales and discussing the market.
A great many of his customers will
want to put in a little time with this
man who has seen the German work-
man making the very dolls that will
during tke

be sold in their stores

holiday season. From these mer-
chants the buyer in turn obtains valu-
able suggestions as to changes and
improvements in his next year’s line.

About the time the last doll is
being shipped to the last merchant,
cur friend, the buyer, boards the big
German liner again and is off on
another lap of his interesting circle
of merchandising.

This, im the main, is the yearly
programme of the foreign doll buyer,
patched together from the oft-heard
whom
were buying dolls when the writer

experiences of men some of
was still young enough to be person-
aily interested in them.

CW.

Kaiser.

13

Installed the Quick Turn in His Store.

The merchant I have in mind, in
writing this for the Tradesman, lives
in an Eastern town of about 12,000
people and has the fiercest competi-
tion in his territory. In addition,
many people in this district are mail
order patrons and he has to “seratch
gravel’? in order to make sales. But
here’s his system:

Ele makes a daily round of his stock
and manages to keep a finger on the
pulse of every single line in his es-
tablishment. He knows, at the end
of each day, how much merchandise
he has on hand, the merchandise he
needs to take care of the following
day‘s business, and he bases his pre-
dictions, not on guesswork, but upon
the records of a day’s business last
week, last month and last year. He
has figured up his sales for a long
period and knows almost to a dot
what each day's business will be.

He never buys in large quantities.
our or five gross lots are absolutely
unknown in his store. He includes as
many varieties of merchandise in one
bill as he can possibly collect.

In this way he manages always to
take full advantages of the hundrel
pound freight rate minimum and so
distributes his shipping cost over z
great many lines.

Ile sends in an order to his whole-
saler every single evening and in con-
sequence buys his stock fast enough
to make some retailers’ heads swim.

With such a system he secured, last
year, a net protit of $6,000 on a $7,000

stock.

Anderson Pace.

 

 

 

A LITTLE more cold, rainy weather with some snow and the rubber season will be at its height. How
is your stock of BEAR BRAND Rubber footwear? If you are not well sized up it would be to
your interest to doso NOW. Weare the Michigan Distributors of the famous

WALES GOODYEAR

(BEAR BRAND)

RUBBER FOOTWEAR

For years this great line has been looked upon as the STANDARD OF QUALITY in the rubber
world. Every boot or shoe that bears the BEAR BRAND trade mark has seventy years of development
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Send us that order now. You'll need the goods all right, for we will have the weather, and you
should be prepared for the rush when it comes.

Goods shipped the day order is received. Catalogue on request.

HEROLD-BERTSCH SHOE CO.

GRAND RAPIDS, MICH.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

14

MICHIGAN TRADESMAN

 

October 29, 1913

 

=
~~
—
~
~—
—_
~
~
—

 

 

4s

a
Ueda spared

 

Bankers and Banking Conditions
Thirty Years Ago.

The years that have passed since the
Tradesman was founded, thirty event-
ful years in the city’s commercial life,
have brought almest a complete revolu-
Thirty
years ago Grand Rapids had four Na-
tional and one State bank, and these
with their capitalizations and officers
were:

The Old National—Capital, $490,000;
President, 5. L. Withey: Vice-President,
James M. Barnett; Cashier, Harvey J.
Hollister.

City National — Capital, $300,000;
President, Thomas !). Gilbert; Vice-
President, Julius Houseman; Cashier,
J. Frederick Baars; Assistant Cashier,
Ee. A. uni.

Grand Rapids National — Capital,
$200,090; President, Edwin F. Uhl;
Vice-President, Freematu Godfrey ;
Cashier, William Widdicomb.

Fourth National—Capital, $360,000;
President, A. B. Watson: Vice-Presi-
dent, A. J. is0wne: Cashier, I. M. Wes-
ton; Assistant Cashier, H. P. Baker.

Grand Rapids Savings—Capital, $50,-
000; President, Isaac Phelps: Cashier,
D. B. Shedd.

Total capital, $1,300000; total re-
sources as shown by the statements,
7,702,287; total deposits, $2,083,584.

tion in Grand Rapids banking.

Of the officers named only three sur-
vive to-day. These are E. H. Hunt,
now Vice-President of the City Trust
and Savings; D. B. Shedd, to-day as
then attached to the Grand Rapids Sav-
ings, and William Widdicomb, who long
ago returned to his first love, the manu-
facture of furniture.

Just a year before the Tradesman was
founded the old First National, with a
capital of $400,900 and a surplus nearly
as large. had been reorganized into the
Old Nationai with the same capital and
a year later the surplus was capital-
ized and the Old National was given its
present capital of $800,000. The Grand
Rapids National increased its capital-
ization to $500,060 in 1883 and in 18s
the National City did the same. In
1885 the Kent County Savings was or-
ganized with $50,000 capital and J. A. S.
Verdier as Cashier. In 1886 the Fifth
National, with $100,000 capital, was
founded with Win. H. Fowler as Cash-
ier. Later still the Peoples Savings
was tounded with Chas. B. Kelsey as
Cashier and then the State Bank of Mich-
igan with $200,000 capital was brought
out by Daniel McCoy. The Jast bank
to be started was the Commercial Sav-
ings in 1903 with Chas. B. Kelsey as
the moving spirit, capitalized at $200,-
000 to start and later reduced to $100,-
000. Three years later the City Trust
and Savings was established as a child
of the National City In 1903 the city

had five National and five State banks
with a total capitalization of $2,950,000
and then the merger movement set in.
The Kent Savings and the Michigan
State were merged with a capitalization
of $500,000. The Commercial and the
Fifth National got together as the Com-
mercial with $200,000 capital. The last
merger was the largest of all, that of
the National City and the Grand Rap-
ids National as the Grand Rapids Na-
tional City with $1,006,000 capital. The
city now has three National and _ five
State banks in the downtown district
with a total capitalization of $2,350,000.
compared with $1,350,000 thirty years
ago.

Except Mr. Hunt and Mr. Shedd
there are very few in the banks to-day
who occupied positions in the
thirty years ago, even as clerks.

banks
Those
now active in the management of the
banks were, with a very few excep-
tions, then almost unknown in the world
of finance. Clay H. Hollister and Dud-
ley E. Waters were then still school
boys. Wm. H. Anderson was still a
young farmer up in Sparta, but be-
ginning to think of coming to town.
Chas. W. Garfield was on the farm out
in Paris township. Robert D. Graham
was dividing his time between farming
and politics and making a success of
both. Jas. R. Wyle was practicing law,
with banking as a side line at Petoskey.
Chas. H. Bender was a young stenog-
rapher. Willard Barnhart was a lum-
berman and wholesale grocer. Thomas
Hefferan was at Eastmanville looking
after lumbering and country store in-
terests. E. D. Conger was still a farm-
er lad down in Lenawee county, but
thinking of trying for a place for him-
self in the big town. Henry Idema was
local manager of the Bradstreet agency,
laying the foundation for his skill in
finance and credits.

 

The stockholders in the banks thirty

Kent State Bank

Main Office Fountain St.
Facing Monroe

Grand Rapids, Mich.

Capital - - - ~- $500,000
Surplus and Profits - $300,000

Deposits

7 Million Dollars

3 i Per Cent.

Paid on Certificates

 

 

_You can transact your banking business
with us easily by mail. Write us about it
if interested.

 

 

 

The
Old National Bank

GRAND RAPIDS, MICH.

Our Savings Certificates of Deposit form an
exceedingly convenient and safe method of invest-
ing your surplus. They are readily negotiable, being
transferable by endorsement and earn interest at the
rate of 3% @% if left a year.

 

 

Fourth National Bank

   
   

 

 

 

Savings ag Commercial
: tates °
: D
Deposits Badan eposits
. Per Cent Per Cent
Interest Paid Interest Paid
Savings Certificates of
Deposits Deposit
Left
Compounded One Year
Semi-Annually
Wm 2 eee, Capital Stock
John W. Blodgett, and Surplus
Vice President
a $580,000
J.C. Bishop,
Assistant Cashier

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

GRAND RAPIDS
NATIONAL CITY BANK

Resources $8,500,000

Our active connections with large
banks in financial centers and ex-
tensive banking acquaintance
throughout Western Michigan, en-
able us to offer exceptional banking
service to

Merchants, Treasurers, Trustees,
Administrators and Individuals

who desire the best returns in in-
terest consistent with safety, avail-
ability and strict confidence.

CORRESPONDENCE PROMPTLY REPLIED TO

 

 

 

a OR aaa ESTE SII SST SETTERS SG ABT ASE a NL

 

 

 

 

|

enone } SORT SALSA ION OOO ER
TSH, ee meen

 

 

 

 

 

4

 

October 29, 1913

vears ago are not the stockholders of
to-day. In an old scrap book inherited
from his predecessors by L. Z. Caukin,
of the Fourth National, and carefully
preserved as one of the valuable ar-
chives of the Bank, is pasted a printed
list of the stockholders in the five
banks of thirty years ago, as cut from
one of the newspapers of the day. The
lists are interesting as recalling those
active in the commercial life of the
city at that time, but if these old roll
calls were read to-day how few would
be the responses! The Old National,
for instance, had 106 stockholders, as
shown by the list, and of these only
eighteen now survive. The proportion
of survivors among the old stockhold-
ers in the other banks is still smaller.
Thirty years may be a brief period in
the history of cities, states and news-
papers, but what ravages it creates in
the ranks of we mortals! It may be
of interest to recall who the stockhold-
ers in the banks were thirty years ago,
and here are the lists, as given in the
scrap book:

The Old National.

Martin L. Sweet, 718; S. W. Oster-
hout, 200; Ht. J. Hollister, 295: S i.
Withey, 200; J. H. Martin, 125: L. H.
Withey, 105; W. R. Shelby, 112: W. S.
Howard, 37%; Cc. H. Johnson, 6: C. FF.
Pike, 5: Helen G. Smith, guardian, 20;
Wm. Haldane, 5; A. B. Turner. 35; T.
J. O’Brien, 12144; C. W. Watkins, 5: H.
M. Hinsdill, 6; Mary F. Hinsdill, 5; F.
Loettgert, 30; J. L. Shaw, 49; J. Heald,
15; Emmor Ware, 10; Wm. Kramer, 10;
R. W. Butterfield, 5; N. Burchard, 25;
M. P. Brown, 25; Fanny D. Brown, 5;
J. C. Pulcher, 5; R. P. Sinclair, 25; A. W.
Pike, 25; Isaac Phelps, 20; R. Hi. Smith,
15; Ss. B. Jenks, 25; W. A. McMullen, 15:
J. OW. Champlin, 37: G. G. Briggs, 50;
Sarah LL. Peirce, 10; Samuel Judd, 5;
Mrs. Helen Roberts, 10; A. H. Hentig,
10; M. J. Smiley, 5; Joseph Horner, 2;
Enos Putman, 66; Geo. G. Clay, 15; Mrs.
F. DeLano Stev ens, 10; M. Larabee, 10;
M. S. Crosby, 30; Oliver S. Waters, 5;
P. Kusterer, 10; Eliza Lyon, 10; Geo. C.
Fitch, 5; Geo. F. Buss, 10; R. E. Butter-
worth, 40; Chas. Pettersch, 10; J. M.
Barnett, 270; D. D. Cody, 67; W. N. Mc-
Bane, 10; W. G. Robinson, a: Ft ¢C€.
Smith, 5; W. H. Ramsey, 10: WwW. of.
Ramsey, Jr., 1; John Clancy, 150; John
McIntyre, 25; Thos. Martin, 15; M. ,
Bissell, 20; L. H. Withey, trustee, 2;
A. G. Hodenpyl, 15; Geo. C. Peirce, 75;
I. W. Wood, 10; Mrs. Fanny L. ‘Avery, 3
Dy Et Waters, 50; Geo. Holbrook, 10;
Chas. D. Lyon, 5; Chas. W. Eaton, 5: ,
J. Moseley, 10; S. H. Sherman, 10; L. E.
Hawkins, 15; Mana D. Kusterer, 10;
Mary S. Wykes, =o: Clara C. Perkins, 5;
Cc P Gleason, 5; C. G. A. Voigt, 20;
Wm. G. Herpolsheimer, 20; Henry Spring,
10; we Barnhart, 67; Julius Berkey, 25;
Susan E. Berkey, 10; Don J. Leathers,
10; E. S. Pierce, 10; Ww. O. Hughart, 50;
Mary A. Kendall, 15; A. B. Porter, 5;
Hoyt G. Post, 9; Cc. L. Grinnell, 4; A. B.
Leet, 10; Mrs. John Porter, Wyoming, 10;
Jacob Cummer, Cadillac, 100; H. S. Pick-
ands, Fruitport 50; Chauncy Pelton,
Cedar Springs, 25; Thos. Hefferan, East-
manville, 50; O. F. Conklin, Ravenna,
10; J. W. Converse, Boston, Mass., 50;
Henry Kritzer, Newaygo, 5; H. C. Akeley,
Grand Haven, 100; M. W. Bates, Paris,
5: — C. Brooks, Denver, Colo., 10. Total,

City National Bank.

George Kendall, 120; Euphrasia J.

Aldrich, 125; Thos. D. Gilbert, 100: R.

Luce, 100; F. B. Gilbert, 100; Wm.
Bemis estate, 31; Charles Shepard, 80;
C. C. Rood, 15; | Putnam, 53; H. S.
Smith estate, 30; Henry Fralick, 75; J.
C. FitzGerald, 60: J. Et. Stewart, 10;
John Mangold estate, 30; James M. Nel-
son, 90; Leonard Covell, 15; Leonora
Kelly, 18; Elizabeth L. Kendall, 11%; G.
WwW. Allen, 45; J. Frederick Baars, 30;
Norman Cummings, 15; H.C. Smith, 15;
Julia H. Sinclair, 15; Thaddeus Foote,
10; Elvira O. Eaton, 30; Alfred M. Col-
lins, 30; Emma L. Chamberlin, 30; A. P.
Watson, 37; Martha G. Earle, 10; N. W.
Northrup, 753 J. I. Letellier, 45; J. wD.
Robinson, 15: Almeria Robinson, 10%;
= 6. Jenks, 38; Isabella W. Putnam, 5;
H. G. Grout, 9714; opreeman Godfrey, 25;
Sias F. Godfrey, 25; Caroline W. Put-
nam, 4; Jacob Barth, 20; Julius House-
ee 20; IN. I. Avery, 106; S. Emily

Berkey, 15; Wm. B. Ledyard, 515; Wm.
Widdicomb, 58; Sarah L. Peirce, 75;
Sarah L. Morris, 37144; Frank W. Morris,
37144; Mary A. Morris, 371%; Jennie J.
Bryne, 37%; E. L. Briggs, Grand Rapids
Township, 15; John W. UL. Pierson,
Stanton, 15; E. E. Farman, Warsaw. N.
y., 100; B. L. Smith, Chicago, 15; Jen-
nie W. McKibbe:: Detroit, 9; Charlotte
G. Slocum, Detroit, 9: Isabella C. Wood,
Detroit, 34; Lorraine F, Wood, Detroit,
8344; Wm. Hinsdill, Wyoming, '30; Abbie
L, Blake, Grandville, 20; Franklin and

 

 

MICHIGAN TRADESMAN

Lydia H. Peck, Leighton, 30; Louis W.
Morse estate, Elmira, N. Y., 15; Mary
H. Chamberlin, 15.

Grand Rapids National.

Chas. T. Bennett (estate), Plymouth,
170; Wm. B. Ledyard, 40; Freeman God-
frey, 80; Silas F. Godfrey, 70; Edwin F.
Uhl, 175; John L. Shaw, 15; Chas. Shep-
ard, 185; A. H. Hentig, 50; S. B. Jenks,
5; P. Steketee, 30; L. D. Putnam, 60;
Wm. Bemis (estate), 10; Joseph House-
man. 28144; Moses May, 1814; E. F. Sweet,
30; J. A. Rumsey, 45; C. E. Perkins, 6:
A. B, Mason, 3; J. H. Brown, 10: J. H.
Doornick, 30; H. Idema, 10; A. Rath-
bone, 10; W. Barnhart, 30; Enos Put-
man, 25; I. M. Clark, 60; C. G. A. Voigt,
guardian 50; Wm. C. Herpolsheimer, 50;
Lucretia J. Mayhew, 15; Truman Haw-
ley, 22%: ©. €. Rood, 15: George EH:
Long, 100; George C. Kimball, (6: J. A.
Sawyer, 20; M. E. Brown (estate), 20;
J: C; Clark, 15; W. J. Stuart, 15; Lovell
Moore (estate), 5; MecIvah Larrabee,
17144; Helen Louise Hoyt, 1; Edwin Hoyt,
Jr., 1; James K. Nelson, 1; Caroline A.
Rathbone, 15; Helen Roberts, 2; Florence
Carpenter, 3; Louise B. Shaw, 5; A.
Clark, 15; C. G. Swensberg, 15; Joshua
Morse, 15: 7. J. OBrien, 15: Pauline
Sibley, 44%; €C. W. Coit, 30; C. C. Phil-
brick, 15; De A. Waters, 15: FE. EH.
Withey, Guardian, 15; Mary A. Kendall,
15; A. S. Richards, 30; Amanda Rath-
bone, 20; C. S. Hazeltine, 254%; Julia A.
Moore, 5; Wm. Widdicomb, 100; Abbie
A. Buekley, 20; J. W. Champlin, 20;
Mary Brown. 10; J. C. More, 25; Abbie
A. Bemis, 5; G. E. Pantlind, 10: Helen
K. Hoyt, 1; J. Boyd Pantlind, 10: H.
T. Ledyard, 10; Jesse A. Pantlind, 60;
Ii}. Crofton Fox, 20; L. D. Putnam, Guar-
dian, 80; Katherine Aldrich, 40; Mrs. E.
J. Aldrich, 90; Mrs. Isabella Ledyard, 10;
Mary Adele Morris, 10; O. K. Pearsall,
20; Nellie L. Peck, Plymouth, 20; Ade-
line Baker, Plymouth, 20; T. C. Sher-
wood, 5144; Wm. Hinsdill, Grandville, 55;
Margaret LL. Rogers, 10; M. J. Clark,
Grand Rapids township, 60; E. L. Briggs,
Grand Rapids township, 15; T. D. Brad-
field, Delaware, Minn., 15; O. F. Conklin,
Ravenna, 10; W. P. Conklin, Ravenna, 5;
Jane B. Jenks, Geneva, Ill., 10; A. B.
Long, Lewiston 100; J. B. Amsden, Grand
Rapids township, 15; Florence G. Tous-
ley, North Bennington, Vt., 9; Sophronia
E. Rice, Milford, Mass., 10; D. L. New-
borg, New York City, 15; H. P. Wyman,
Wyman, 45; M. Englemann, Manistee,
45; T. D. Stimson, Muskegon, 50.

Fourth National Bank.

A. B. Watson, 225; A. J. Bowne,
Hastings, 225; I. M. Weston, 170; D. A.
Blodgett, 110; Thos. M. Peck, 75; Sarah
A. Morris, 75; D. Striker, Hastings, 75;
Geo. W. Gay, 70; J. H. Wonderly, 65;
G. K. Johnson, 60; Estate of James M.
Nelson, 59; J. S. Lawrence, 50; Martha
A. Watson, 50; Helen M. Matthews, 50;
Joseph Heald, 48; D. P. C’ay, 45; H. C.
Smith, 45; E. N. Follett, Ypsilanti, 45;
G. Kalmbach, 40; Mary ‘A. Kendall, 20;
R. G. Matthews 20: John L. Shaw, 20;
J. A. McKee, 20; Annie M. Wood, Kala-
mazoo, 20; Sarah E. Wood, Kalamazoo,

wm. H. Ramsey, 10; Helen G. Smith,
Guiardian, 15:  b. A. Clay, 15; M. M.
Clark, 15; W. Clyde, 15; Mrs. G. K. Nel-
son, 15; Julia H. Sinclair, 15; Samuel
Judd, 15; Charlotte Cumming, 1b; Louis
B. Shaw, 13; E. M. Ball, 12; F. M. Les-
ter, 10; W. J. Stuart, 10; R. P. Sinclair,
10; Henry Spring, 10; Almyra Wonderly,
10; Henry Idema, 10; E. E. Walker, 10;
Cc. D. Lyon, 10; A. B. Turner, Guardian,
10; L. W. Heath, 10; T. I. Dale, 10; S. BE.
Berkey, 10; S. A. Sears. 10; Emma Lyon,
10; Lucy Myers, 10; M. B. Warrell, 10;
Mrs. F. DeLano Stevens, 10; Fanny IL.

(Continued on page 107.)

 

Ask for our Coupon Certificates of Deposit
Assets Over Three and One-half
Million

 

 

v cr ——
{ [RAND APIDS,)AVINGS K
an i »

 

STOCK OF THE

National Automatic
Music Company
Approved by the

Michigan Securities Commission
Under the New So Called

“BLUE SKY” LAW
This stock pays 1% per month
LOOK IT UP — IT’S
WORTH WHILE

40-50 MARKET AVE., N. W.
Grand Rapids Michigan

 

15

 

 

Michigan Trust Co.

Resources $2,000,000.00.
OFFICERS.

Lewis H. Withey, President.

Willard Barnhart, Vice President.

Henry Idema, Second Vice President.

F, A. Gorham,

Third Vice President.

George Heftteran, Secretary.

Claude Hamilton, Assistant Secretary.
DIRECTORS.
Willard Barnhart. Henry Idema. J. Boyd Pantlind.

Darwin D. Cody. Wm.
E. Golden Filer,

James D. Lacey,

William Savidge,
Spring Lake, Mich.

Filer City, Mich. Chicago Wm. Alden Smith.
Wm, H. Gay. Edward Lowe. Dudley E. Waters.
F. A. Gorham. W. W., Mitchell, T. Stewart White,

Thomas Hefferan.
Thomas Hume,
Muskegon, Mich.

Cadillac, Mich.
R. E. Olds,
Lansing, Mich,

Lewis H. Withey.
James R. Wylie.

3% Every Six Months

Is what we pay at our office on the Bonds we sell.

$100.00 BONDS--6% A YEAR

 

 

 

 

YOUR FAMILY NEEDS YOU

When you are gone there is nothing can fill your place, but a nice Life

Insurance Policy will help.

The Preferred Life Insurance Co. of America

INSURE TO-DAY,
Grand Rapids

 

 

 

We Offer High-Grade

Municipal and Timber Bonds

NETTING 41.

5 to 6°%

[TRAND RAPIDS [RUST [ OMPANY

Both Phones 4391

123 Ottawa Ave., N. W.

 

 

 

 

ONE HUNDRED
DOLLARS

WILL EARN
6%

If invested in a collateral
trust bond of the

American Public
Utilities Company

successfully operating public
utility properties in fourteen
prosperous cities in the United
States.

Bonds amply secured by under-
lying liens. Any bank will pay
the interest—March ist and Sep-
tember Ist.

We recommend the investment.

Kelsey, Brewer & Co.
Bankers, Engineers, Operators
Mich. Trust Bldg. Grand Rapids, Mich.

 

 

United
Light & Railways
Company

First Preferred,
6% Cumulative Stock

One Share
Investment Par Value

75 to $80 $100

Interest
Return

%t071%2%

Cheaper money will mean a
higher price for this stock, and
every dollar of gain in price
means a dollar of profit to the
holder of the stock.

BUY IT NOW

Howe, Corrigan & Company
Investments
Mich. Trust Bldg. Grand Rapids, Mich

 

 

16

MICHIGAN TRADESMAN

October 29, 1913

 

YOU OR YOUR CUSTOMERS?

Who Is Manager of Your Credit De-
partment?
Written for the Tradesman.

Judging from the way some mer-
chants hand out their goods to anyone
who happens to have a good tale of
woe to put up to them, the customer
is the boss, and the merchant is the
cringing individual who hands out the
goods and waits for his money until
Mr. Customer gets good and ready to
come across, if ever. I have seen mer-
chants “accommodate” customers who
spend all of their cash elsewhere, and
cost the merchant more than the whole
emount of the account to say nothing
of the profit, to collect the account,
where if he had refused, he would have
been doing some business perhaps with
the man who stayed away because he
did owe

Don’t Be Afraid to Say “No.”

Now, | know it 1s sometimes pretty
hard to offend an old friend by turning
him down and | know that there are
some dead beats who pay some certain
merchants. But they will beat you in
the end so why take the chance. My
experience in the credit game is not
imited; I live in a grape country. The
customer here “when he

credit pays

gets a crop;”’ some years he gets one
and some years he does not. In the
meantime Mr. Merchant How-
ever he is a good trader, is responsible
pays in the

waits.

and always, or nearly so,
end, and in most cases after they have
had credit for one year they give a note
for the remaining time. This looks
foolish to the city man who is in the
habit of notes

having given

month, but there are many foolish meth-

every

ods in vogue in the rural districts that
time alone will efface.

It is not this class of customers that
merchants generally get fooled on; for
Neither is it the
real dead-beat; because we know better
But right here is
credit
game: trusting the “part good” kind;
the fellows who pay awhile and then
move away. The men who pay once
and then get mad and go elsewhere.
The ones who put up a good spiel and

they pay in the end.

than to trust him.
where we all lose out in the

win your contidence only to let you
drop with a thud—and they with the
goods These are the ones to let alone.
Cut ’em out. Say NO. These are the
kind you worry over. These are the
ones you have now on your books. Go
and look now, you'll find them there
$7.00, $14.00, $11.00, dozens of ’em.
They amount to no small sum. This is
the class of trade I leave alone. I turn
down some every day, I presume, who
would have paid me. But among those
who would have paid are surely a few
who would not pay, and these few
would more than use up the profit on
the good ones.

There is money in the credit trade if
managed properly. If you will just try
ut my plan and put the “partly-good”
custoniers in the class, in your mind,
with the no-good ones you will soon
find that your accounts will look good
to you instead of giving you the shiv-
evs every time you look them over. Don’t
he in too big a hurry to start Mr. New-
comer in the account class. Tell him
you will let him know in a little while.

In the meantime look him up and
KNOW that he is good. Then you re-
duce the risk to a per cent. that will
not injure your credit business. Don’t
get frightened when he roars and gets
mad because you do not want to trust
him on the spot. My experience has
been that the man who gets sullen when
you question his ability to pay, or ques-
tion him relative to his chances, is the
very one to let alone. It is better to
have them mad before you trust them,
than to have them “jump the track”
after you have extended them a fairly
good line of credit.

Must Be Accommodating to Prosper.

I do not wish to infer that you can
get business by being grouchy in any
way, but quietly and pleasantly inform
the customer you wish to turn down
that you cannot extend him any credit.
Then do not argue about it. Get away
from him. He will be less likely to
get permanently provoked. In addition
to this, the store, the merchant or the
clerk who is always ready to do any
little act of kindness or favor of any
kind for customers or for prospective
ones, is the one that gains in popularity,
and the popular store is the one that
gets the business to-day.

Too many merchants are long on dig-
nity and short on popularity. Each one
tries to make his store popular, but
how to do it—that’s the question. If
the merchants about us are any criter-
ion, here’s the best recipe: Keep a good
complete stock of goods in the lines you
represent. Sell at reasonable prices.
Make every customer a friend. The
last is the whole secret, but it is mighty
hard to accomplish. Generally speak-
ing. it is best to adjust all possible
grievances customers may have (or
think they have), no matter who is at
fault. Fricton, no matter how little,
drives away trade and profit too. Learn
to adroitly fail to extend the credit to
the customer who is no good and at the
same moment gain his good will and in
many cases sell the very same person
the goods he has asked you to charge,
for cash. This can be done.

One merchant recently said to me:
“Tam afraid that if I do not do a cer-
fain amount of business either by cash
or credit, T will not be able to con-
tinue.” T asked him: “Did you ever
hear of a merchant failing in business
with a good stock of goods on_ his
shelves and no bad accounts out?” He
said “No.” And I believe he was right.
There may he instances but I never
heard of them. Don’t be afraid of
losing out that way. If you’ve got the
goods and got them paid for, do not be
afraid to turn Mr. Part-good down.
You won’t fail. You may not. get
awfully rich, neither will you get ver:
poor. Be attentive to business. Watch
the credit end and you will have little
to worry you and you'll be reasonably
sure to make a fair living, and anyway
that’s what most of us want and get.
Just get ideas that the other fellow,
your competitor cannot copy, and then
you will be like the individual Rudyard
Kipling mentioned when he said:

And they asked me how T did it

And I gave ’em the scripture text,

‘You keep your light so shinin’,

A little ahead. o’ the next.

And they copied all they could follow

3ut they could not COPY MY MIND

And I left ’em a swearing and stealing

A year and a half behind.

L. A. Packer.

 

What the Co-operation of Your Clerks
Means.

People see through advertising. Ad-
vertising, in whatever form, is one of
the windows of a business. Looking
in through a store’s advertising, peo-
ple see things as surely as they do
through the glass windows. And they
see things not always visible through
the plate glass; things unsuspected by
the proprietor, too. For instance:

Years ago, I purchased a “skinned”
pair of shoes. A few weeks’ wear
showed that the soles were made of
pressed cuttings and not solid leather.
Returning with the shoe, I soon
discovered that the store “couldn't do
anything’ for me. It didn’t then;
and it never had the chance again!

Through that store’s advertising,
for more than twenty years, I have
seen that faked sole (and sold) pair
of shoes. Through its advertising T
am always reminded of that store’s
self-proclaimed inability to serve me.

Then if a store says what it doesn’t
mean, people “see through” its adver-
tising in a most unpleasant and un-
profitable sense Worse still, insin-
cerity in advertising breaks down con-
fidence that the store’s clerks should
have in their own proposition

The retail merchant who knows
most about advertising and sales of
all the men I have ever met, tells me
that he will not permit the slightest
inaccuracy in any of his advertising.
Not because the public might find out
—not alone because some customer
might suffer, but, primarily and prin-
cipally, because his own clerks would
recognize quickly such misrepresen-
tation, with the resulting loss of be-
lief in their employer and confidence
in their business.

In my outline of sales control, re-
cently, J dealt with the subject in its
relation to the store proprietor and
the buying public.

There is an element between the
two—the store clerks. I had almost
said a difficult element. But that
would have been unfair to the clerk
and not altogether honest with the
employer; for I am persuaded that
when the clerk is “difficult,” the fault
is largely with the proprietor of the
business.

“Sales Control,” we have seen, is
accomplished after the manner in
which the architect does his work:
3y planning a sales structure definite-
ly related in all of its details—and
then carrying out the plan in toto.

No retailer can hope to exercise
anything like a comprehensive sales
control over his business without the
enthusiastic help of his clerks. There
must be not only sales plans and ad-
vertising that will bring custom, but
service that will keep custom.

Service that will keep custom is
possible only when the merchant, cus-
tomer and the clerk are together in
a hand-to-hand endeavor in the work-
ing out of a broad policy of good will.

Judicious Advertising claims that
failures in advertising are largely
traceable to the lack of co-operation
between employer and clerk. In or-
der to fully benefit by advertising,
clerks must be led (not driven) to
understand and appreciate the store’s
policy, so that the customer, upon

arriving at the store, will be met in
the right spirit.

The printed word in advertising is
the store’s invitation to come.

When your customer comes make
him feel that he is welcome. There
are certain things in old-fashioned
store-keeping that ought to be re-
vived. One of these is the old-time
merchant’s conception of his place as
the servant of his customer. Too
often the customer gets the impres-
sion that his is the position of servi-
tude. We treat him as though he
were compelled to come to us to buy.

If you have a store policy it should
be clearly reflected in your advertis-
ing. If you have a store policy it
should be thoroughly understood an4
made real by the clerks. It is co-
operation like this in advertising and
in selling that makes advertising prof-
itable.

The authority already quoted, states
—‘“Newspaper advertising only costs
as much as you make it. It can be
a profitable investment or more or
less of a loss. It can build your busi-
ness or it can lose it; just in so far as
it is used rightly.”

If you are about to undertake to
put into operation a plan of sales
control for the ensuing four months,
let your clerks be fully informed as
to this plan; what you expect of it,
and what you must have from them
in order to realize these expectations.

Permit no detail to escape the at-
tention of your clerks. Let them
know what you are advertising; how,
when and where. Enlist their interest
in an appeal to their natural desire
for accomplishment. Every man of
decent enough disposition to be
worthy of a clerkship in your store has
in him the dtermination to do better
work; to be a better clerk than éver
before.

You can stir the ambition of these
men by taking them into your conf
dence: by® showing them that your
policy is sound, your metheds acre
right and you yourself are genuine.
In turn get their suggestions and lis-
ten to them with respectful atten
tion; let these men feel that thev
amount to something about the place.
Give them a show!

Let the boss do his part and every
other man will do his.

I commend to every clerk a care-
ful examination of the whole questio>
of sales control; and, in particular, of
his own individual bearing thereto i«
the business that produces his pay
envelope. That is, first, a study of
the store in its relationship to its
public; and, second, what he can do,
as one of the points of personal con-
tact with that public, to bring it under
more complete and responsive sales
control.

The thinker is the man of power.
Power is a splendid source of pleas-
ure. Is there any better fun than get-
ting people to come your way; or, to
be more exact—than getting people
to be glad to come your way?

J. C. Armstrong.
———_>---.

Never boast too much of what you
can do. You may get into a corner
sometime where you will have’ to
make good.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

|

 

 

October 29, 1913

 

Rooms 102-103-104
Michigan Trust Building

Both Telephones
Citizens 1260—Bell Main 519

ESTABLISHED 1875

Grinnell-Row-Althouse Co.

INSURANCE

Grand Rapids, Mich.

. oe
see

‘Sy
Fire Accident Compensation
Health Liability Disability Automobile

Plate Glass Parcels Post

Property Damage
Collision Registered Mail
Burglary Fly Wheel Boiler
Tourists Use and Occupancy Transit

Sprinkler Leakage Tornado

Water Damage Fidelity Bonds Surety Bonds

  

  

 

 

 

MICHIGAN TRADESMAN 17

A Hundred Thousand
Visitors

Every year a hundred thousand visitors pass
through the Home of

SHREDDED WHEAT

at Niagara Falls, N. Y., and inspect every detail
in the manufacture of Shredded Wheat Biscuit
and Triscuit. This means a million intelligent,
enthusiastic advertisers of Shredded Wheat in ten
years—all working for you, Mr. Grocer—helping
us to make business for you. Are you getting
your share?

Nothing so delicious and nothing so easy to
prepare as Shredded Wheat with canned peaches,
pears, plums and other fruits. You
sell both the Biscuit and the fruit.

Shredded Wheat is packed in neat, substan-
tial wooden cases. The empty cases are sold
by: enterprising grocers for 10 or 15 cents
each, thereby adding to their profits on
Shredded Wheat.

MADE ONLY BY

The Shredded Wheat Company

NIAGARA FALLS, N. Y.

 

 

 

 

 

Factory of O. & W. Thum Company
Where the Sanitary, Non-Poisonous Fly Destroyer

‘TANGLEFOOT, Is Made

9

 

 

 

 

 

 

18

MICHIGAN TRADESMAN

 

October 29, 1913

 

 

 

 

s))
144)

f

 

»))
m((

 

 

 

 

Michigan Poultry, Butter and Egg Asso-
ciation.
President—B. L. Howes, Detroit.
Vice-President—H. L. Williams, Howell.
Secretary and Treasurer—J. E. Wag-
goner, Mason.
Executive Committee—F. A. Johnson,
Detroit; E. J. Lee, Midland; D. A. Bent-
ley, Saginaw.

 

Some Facts Regarding the American
Cantaloupe Crop.

Beginning about the last week of
May and continuing uniil the end otf
July, a crop movement of more than
local importance takes place, although
it is unlikely that the financial col-
umns of the great dailies have ever
mentioned it. This is the movement
of the cantaloupe crop of the Imperial
Valley oi California.

Last year’s crop of cantaloupes pro-
duced in the Imperial Valley amount-
ed to 2,950 cars, nearly all of which
were shipped prior to July 25. The
crop was valued at about $2,250,000.
Not less than 57,000,000 pounds of
ice was required for the refrigeration
of the melons in transit. This year’s
acreage was considerably larger than
last year’s, and shipments East begai
before the last of May.

It is only five or six years since the
Imperial Valley began to attract at-
tention as a producer of cantaloupes,
but it is now the most important pro
ducing district in the country. Its
special advantage lies in its excessive-
ly hot, dry climate, enabling growers
to put cantaloupes on the market be-
fore the seeds are sprouted in most
sections of the country. The first
melons of the season come from this
torrid valley, and that fact enables
growers located in it to disregard the
handicap of distance from the large
markets. Most of the crop is mar-
keted east of the Mississippi River,
Chicago, Philadelphia, and New York
taking consignments of trainloads,
and Buffalo, Pittsburg, Cleveland, To-
ledo, Cincinnati, and scores of other
cities calling for many carloads each
season.

The biggest day’s cantaloupe pick-
ing that ever took place in the Im-
perial Valley (or anywhere else, for
that matter) was on June 11, 1911,
when 133 carloads were gathered and
packed for shipment. These were
hauled from
center, to Imperial Junction, on the
main line of the Southern Pacific
Railroad, in one train, which measur-

srawley, the shipping

ed 6,175 feet in length. It was the
longest train load of cantaloupes ever
hauled over any railroad. There were
324 crates in each car, and 45 melons
in each crate, or a total of 1,939,140
melons. Each melon had to be hand-
led at least three times—for picking,
wrapping, and crating—so that the
amount of labor involved in getting

off that one train load of melons was
far from inconsiderable.

Last year, for the first time, Arizona
and Nevada made some showing a3
cantaloupe growing states. The Osave
melon, developed in Southwestern
Michigan; the Rocky Ford, originated
in Colorado; and the Montreal Mar-
ket, produced in Canada, all belong
to the netted or nutmeg type. Hence,
according to the best authorities, the
famous “Rocky Ford” cantaloupe is
not a cantaloupe at all but a netted
or nutmeg melon.

Possibly the most famous canta-
loupe growing section of the United
States is the Rocky Ford district,
comprising the countries of Pueblo,
Otero, Bent, Prowers, and Crowley,
in the Arkansas Valley of Colorado.
Last year these five counties shipped
1,275 carloads of Rocky Ford canta-
loupes, mostly to Eastern markets.
Several other localities in Colorado,
on the Western slope of the Rocky
Mountains, recently made the dis-
covery that they can produce canta-
loupes equal in flavor and quality to
those of the Arkansas Valley, and last
year 300 carloads were shipped from
Delta and Mesa counties. Conse
quently, the commercial cantaloupe
crop of Colorado in 1911 amounted
to 1,575 carloads, valued at $510,300-

Popularly, the words cantaloupe and
muskmelon are interchangeable.
Properly, the term muskmelon is the
more comprehensive -of the two, in-
cluding the cantaloupes and other var-
icties. The two common types of
muskmelon are the furrowed and
hard-rinded kinds and the netted soft-
er-rinded __ varieties. Horticultural
writers requested seeds of the best
varieties of muskmelons that could
be obtained. The Commissioner of
Agriculture wrote to United States
consuls in various cities on the Med-
iterranean Sea, repeating the re-
quest. When the specimens arrived,
a small package was sent to Senator,
G. W. Swink, one of the pioneers of
the Arkansas Valley, who is conced-
ed to be the orginator of the Rocky
l‘ord cantaloupe. In 1887, Mr. Swink
invited the employes of the railroad
shops at La Junta to join with the
people of Rocky Ford (then little
more than a thriving village) in a
melon feast. The next year a gener-
al invitation was given to the public
to visit Rocky Iford and partake of a
free feast of melons. About fifteen
hundred persons attended, and ever
afterward they sang the praises of the
Rocky Ford cantaloupe. Then a fair
association was formed, and_ ever
since that time ambitious exhibits of
agricultural products have been made,
but “Melon Day” is always the big

 

If You Can Load

OTATOE

Let’s hear from you. We will buy or can make
you an interesting proposition to load for us.

If you are in the market, glad to quote
you delivered prices in car lots.

H. E. MOSELEY CO.

F. T. MILLER, Gen. Manager
30 IONIA AVENUE GRAND RAPIDS

 

 

 

Loveland & Hinyan Co.

GRAND RAPIDS, MICH.

We are in the market for car lots

APPLES AND POTATOES
BEANS

CAR LOTS AND LESS

Get in touch with us when you have anything to offer.

 

 

M. Piowaty & Sons

Receivers and Shippers of all Kinds of

Fruits and Vegetables

GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN

Branch House: Muskegon, Mich.

Western Michigan’s Leading Fruit House

(ome in and see us and be convinced

 

 

 

The Vinkemulder Company

JOBBERS AND SHIPPERS OF EVERYTHING IN

FRUITS AND PRODUCE

 

 

Grand Rapids, Mich.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ag ee

 

SAAR ER POTN ETON:

 

 

 

 

 

a
4
+
:

 

 

October 29, 1913

day of the fair. That the crowds are
large and hungry may be inferred
from the fact that 20,000 watermelons
and 20,000 cantaloupes are required
each year on Melon Day.

Rocky Ford people become quite
indignant when the name, “Rocky
Ford” cantaloupe is applied to melons
grown anywhere else than in Ar-
xansas Valley. However, the Rocky
Ford cantaloupe is simply a variety
of the netted melon, and it is none
the less a Rocky Ford, though it be
grown in New Jersey, Georgia, or
California. One large corporation
which grows cantaloupes for the New
York and Boston markets has plan-
tations scattered from the Atlantic
seaboard to the Rocky Mountains. It
has plantations in the Carolinas de-
signed to supply early melons; and
others in Tenessee and Arkansas that
produce a crop that matures a little
later. Still later come the melons
from the corporation’s farms in the
Rocky Ford district. It is, however,
in the Arkansas Valley that seed is
grown for all the company’s farms
in the United States. One concern
that makes a specialty of seed pro-
duction grows not less than 150,000
pounds of cantaloupe seed annually,
shipping it to all parts of the country.

From the foregoing it must not be
inferred that West enjoys a monopoly
of cantaloupe growing. The states
along the Atlantic Seaboard produce
enormous quantities for the great
cities of the East. Every state in the
South produces cantaloupes for local
consumption and for shipment within
a limited distance, the Middle West
supplies most of the demand in the
cities of the Mississippi Valley, and
Michigan and neighboring states ship
an aggregate of thousands of carloads
to Chicago and other cities of the
Great Lakes. However, neither the
time of ripening nor the quality of
the melons themselves justifies ship-
ping them across the continent, as is
done with the melons of the Imperial
Valley, or even half way across the
continent, as is the case with the
product of the Arkansas Valley of
Colorado. Their melons ripen when
melons can be had almost everywhere,
and their quality is good, but not ex-
traordinary. Hence, the melon grow-
ers of those regions must be content
with low prices and must depend upon
close-at-hand markets.

The highest priced (and presumably
the finest-flavored) muskmelon that
reaches the American consumer is
the Montreal melon. As high as one
dollars is paid for the melons on the
vines, and when the same melons
reach the fancy restaurants and great
hotels of New York City, they figure
on the menus at one dollar. and a half
a “portion.” The melons are much
larger than the Rocky Ford variety,
so that each is usually divided into
eight portions. It is said that the
Monteral melon was “discovered”’
by a tourist from Boston about twen-
ty years ago. He sampled the melons
sold in the stores of the Canadian
city and was so delighted that he
had a number shipped to friends in
the New England States. That was
the beginning of Montreal’s export
trade in melons, which is now limited

MICHIGAN TRADESMAN

only by the quantity obtainable. It
is claimed that the best melons grow
only on the Island of Montreal. The
largest shipment of these ever made
consisted of six cars. A full carload
is considered a notable shipment, and
shipments are more often made in lots
of a few crates than in any other way.

The muskmelon is said to be native
to Africa and the East Indies, and
the netted melon is supposed to have
originated in Persia and the neighbor-
ing regions of the Caucasus. About
four hundred years ago seeds of a
variety unknown in Western Europe
were taken to Rome and planted at
Cantaluppi, a country seat of the
Pope. As the years passed melons
of this variety became widely dis-
tributed throughout Europe and
everywhere were known by the name
of the Pope’s country residence,
which survives with little change in
our word, “Cantaloupe.”

— 27-3 >___
Auto Accessories in the General

Store.
Written for the Tradesman.

With the country-wide use of auto-
mobiles has come a demand for tires,
lamps, spark plugs and many other
supplies that extends te every little
neck-o’-the-woods where autos are
owned.

So rapid has been the growth of
demand for these supplies that in
most communities of less than urban
size no one merchant or dealer has
appropriated the opportunity thus
presented to start a very profitable
new department. Various dealers
and garage men have put in more
or less incomplete lines of auto sup-
plies and the auto owner has been
compelled to send to the nearest city
for many of his supplies or to our
plethoric friend, the retail mail order
house.

While this is a line that the gen-
eral merchant can handle with pro-
priety and profit, one very reason-
able objection made by many of the
smaller stores is that a complete line
of auto supplies would tie up quite
a little capital. One enterprising
wholesale concern got around this
objection last season by sending out
a catalogue with retail prices for the
merchants to show to his customers.
Of course, the merchant kept a small
stock of the better known supplies
on hand, but depended on the cata-
logue to sell more expensive and lit-
tle used goods. The plan was a huge
success and will no doubt be used
widely during the coming season.

Whether sold through a catalogue
of the sort described above or car-
ried in stock, there can be no doubt
that the merchant who pushes this
line in the near future is sure of sat-
isfactory results. The goods are
nearly all long profit-payers and the
market for them is big, and growing
bigger beyond all calculation.

Almost any merchant who takes a
census of the auto owners trading at
his store will find he has sufficient
outlet for auto supplies to justify him
in handling them. In communities
where the field is still open, it is
merely a question of time when the
general merchant, the hardware deal-
er or someone else will go after the
business and get it. Carl Kaiser.

 

19

 

Dandelion Vegetable Butter Color
A perfectly Pure Vegetable Butter
Color and one that complies with the
pure food laws of every State and of
the United States.
Manufactured by Wells & Richardson Co.
Burlington, Vt.

We want Butter, Eggs,
Veal and Poultry

STROUP & WIERSUM
Successors to F. E. Stroup, Grand Rapids, Mich

 

 

Satisfy and Multiply
Flour Trade with

“Purity Patent” Flour

Grand Rapids Grain & Milling Co.
Grand Rapids, Mich.

 

 

 

FOR FINE WEDDING PARTY AND
FUNERAL WORK TRY

Crabb & Hunter Floral Co.

114 E, FULTON ST.
Citizens 5570 Opposite Park Bell M 570

 

 

REA & WITZIG

Produce Commission Merchants

104-106 West Market St.
Buffalo, N. Y.

 

Established 1873

 

_ Liberal shipments of live poultry wanted, and good
prices are being obtained. Fresh eggs more plenty and

selling well at quotation.

Dairy and Creamery Butter of all grades in demand.
We solicit your consignments, and promise prompt

returns.

Send for our weekly price current or wire for special

quotations.

Refer you to Marine National Bank of Buffalo, all
Commercial Agencies and to hundreds of shippers

every where.

 

 

Cream! Cream! Cream!

Do you have cream to sell?
Then write for our prices.
As a good salesman you can’t afford not to

look up our proposition.

Blue Valley Butter is becoming more popu-
lar every day and we just must have more good
cream to supply the demand. So write at once.

Blue Valley Creamery Company
GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN

(The Largest Manufacturers of Pure Carton Butter in the World)

 

 

When in market to buy or sell

Clover Seed, Potatoes, Apples

cali or write

Both Phones 1217

MOSELEY BROTHERS

Grand Rapids, Mich.

 

 

Want to Buy Winter Apples

Write us what you expect to have
=: TOLEDO, OHIO

M. O. BAKER & CO.

 

 

HAMMOND

DAIRY FEED

A LIVE PROPOSITION FOR LIVE DEALERS
Wykes & Co., Mich. Sales Agt., Godfrey Bldg., Grand Rapids

 

at

20

MICHIGAN TRADESMAN

October 29, 1913

 

THE GARBAGE PROBLEM.

 

How It Is Handled at Pasadena,
California.
Written for the Tradesman.

Some weeks ago the garbage ques-
tion was brought up editorially in
the Tradesman. As this problem is
something that every town that has
outgrown its village clothes and be-
come a city, must tackle sooner or
later, the solution that is being
worked out in a city near the Pacific
Coast may be of interest to Trades-
man readers.

Pasadena, California, has now
about thirty-five thousand  inhabi-
tants. In earlier days when the place

was small, each family took care of
its own garbage in its own way.
Most people in moderate circumstan-
ces kept a few chickens to eat up
their table scraps and parings, while
from hotels, restaurants, and large
private houses, the garbage was tak-
en away by farmers who used it as
feed for stock.

The city grew rapidly, population
thickened on the ground, and it be-
came necessary to adopt other meth-
ods than the old individualistic ones.
The upshot was that some years ago
Pasadena went into raising “hawgs.”

It should be explained that the city
owns a tract of over 500 acres lying
some miles to the southeast, known
as the sewage farm. This land is ir-
rigated by the city sewage, purified
and rendered fit for the purpose by
a tank system. One Inhoff tank is
now in operation.

Keeping hogs on a sewage-irrigated
jarm and feeding them on garbage,
might seem to be, economically con-
sidered, an ideally clever scheme.

The hogs did their part. They
throve and grew and multiplied so
that in the palmy days of this enter-
prise the citizens of Pasadena could
point proudly to twenty-five hundred
swine grazing on the fields of the
sewage farm. The hogs not. only
flourished, but, from time to time,

such as had been made ready for
market, sold. That the garbage-fed
municipal hogs were not seriously

discriminated against in the market,
may be known from the fact that
sometimes they brought as high as
ten cets per pound. live weight.
Along with the many other respects
in which this famous little city is
held to excel and surpass all other
places on earth, loyal boosters of
Pasadeng maintain that its garbage
is of a very superior quality. This
contention is not illogical. Pasadena
is the winter resort of thousands of
wealthy people. The hotel industry
is of proportions. The
broken victuals and table refuse of
these fashionable hosteleries as well

mammoth

as that which comes from the large
private establishments maintained by
millionaire owners, are better food
than that found on the tables of the
poor in congested districts of large
cities. liere was an ideal spot for
feeding garbage to hogs, because, in
the first place, the garbage was
ideal.

But the best laid plans of mice and
men and even of economists “gang

aft a-gley,” and Pasadena’s hog-rais-

ing was not destined to abide.
There are unsavory associations

connected with the word garbage-fed

taken at its best, and the character

of any animal so sustained _ rests
under some cloud. It has no stand-
ing in high-browed society. Fas-

tidious folk were wont to declare that
they would not knowingly eat of a
sewage-farm ham, even though the
animal had been fed and fattened on
the peerless Pasadena garbage.

I understand too, that the city did
not do so well financially out of its
hog proposition as it ought to have

done—that for some reason or other

the profits went into private pockets
while the city paid the bills. How-
ever, I have not investigated this
phase of the matter because it is
outside the main issue, for it was not
the money question nor yet the hy-
gienic prejudice above alluded to that
broke up the hog industry. It was
Alhambra’s kicking that did it.

Somewhat to the southeast of Pasa-
dena and directly on the route to the
sewage farm lies the small but not
spiritless city of Alhambra. The gar-
bage wagons must go through this
neighboring town.

Drivers of garbage wagons being
mostly foreigners of low degree are
not gentlemen and scholars, nor can
they be relied upon to use tact and
diplomacy. Sometimes they went to
sleep on their wagons and_ their
teams wandered aimlessly about Al-
hambra’s streets. When awake the
drivers traversed the same streets
day after day, not varying their
route to go by different streets as
they might easily have done to take
off a little of the curse.

The garbage wagons, however,
which were of iron and covered, were
not the worst nuisance Alhambra suf-
fered at Pasadena’s hands. Owing
to an ordinance to the contrary, no
dead animals could be buried within
the limits of Pasadena. These had
to be taken to the sewage farm for
burial. A dead horse in an open
wagon, its head hanging out behind
and a swarm of flies following the
carcass, is an offensive sight and one
calculated to arouse the ire of any
self-respecting municipality.

Even dead horses and dogs and
cows were not all. There is a smell
about hogs when they are kept in
close quarters and the manure not
properly taken care of. The man-
agers of the sewage farm were not
all model husbandmen, nor were the
hogs always given the wide range
the size of the farm would have al-
lowed. Alhambra was growing and
stretching out in that direction. The
proximity of “Pasadena’s swill farm”
became obnoxious. Alhambra _pro-
tested to the supervisors of the
county, not unreasonably, say fair-
minded Pasadenans.

As a result, about August 1, 191t
Pasadena was given until. the first of
the following May to dispose of her
garbage-fed hogs. When the time
was up she still had some on hand
and was allowed a short extension.
On the first of January, 1913, she was
prepared to put into operation an
up-to-date incinerating system.

 

She had erected within her own
city limits at a cost of about $50,000
a concrete incinerator having a chim-
ney 154 feet high lined with brick.

By the ordinances of Pasadena
garbage is defined as_ kitchen and
table waste, and also includes the
waste from stores and shops where
food products are handled. All
other ordinary waste accumulations
are called refuse matter, which is
divided into three classes:

1. Matter that is combustible or
that which is or may become putre-
factive, such as trimmings from
lawns and trees, old boxes, paper,
straw, hay, leather, rubber, manure,
etc.

2. Matter that is non-combustible
and non-putrefactive, such as ashes,
crockery, glass, stone, brick and
metals.

3. This class is made up largely
of fruit, culls and otherwise, and of
waste by-products of industrial
plants.

Refuse matter of the first class may
be mixed with garbage, but not that
of the second class. An exception to
this last is made in favor of small
tin cans. The accumulation of refuse
matter of the first and third classes
is under strict regulation as to time
and amount, unless it is kept in
vaults or receptacles not accessible
to flies or rats.

Garbage pails must be water-tight
and have close fitting covers. Gar-
bage must be drained. ‘Families
have to take care of their own dish-
water.” After draining, the garbage
must be wrapped in paper.

A garbage wagon with its load of
wrapped parcels looks like an old-
fashioned rag peddler’s rig, or, to use
a little imagination, like an express
wagon at Christmas. While the
wrapping of garbage may seem old-
maidish and extreme, no one who has
seen the draining and wrapping sys-
tem well carried out will ever want
to go back to the old way of the
dripping wagon with its foul, fly-at-
tracting stench,

From private houses garbage is
collected twice a week, from hotels
and restaurants as often as may be
necessary. The city pays the ex-
pense, using its own teams and wag-
ons and hiring men to do the gather-
ing. Garbage collectors receive
good pay, $75 per month for eight
hours work—better pay than most
other teamsters; but the work is con-
sidered unpleasant, and is not sought
after by the better class of laborers.

As a last touch of _ perfection,
Pasadena has a garbage automobile
for emergency calls, as when it may
be necessary to have garbage taker
away at once, or when a place has
been omitted by the gatherer, or
when a pail has gotten full before
the regular time.

The gathering of other refuse is
a private enterprise, the “rubbish
men” furnishing their own horses
and wagons and dealing directly with
those they serve. Each is required
to hold a from the city.
Every family, firm, and manufactur-
ing plant pays for the removal of its
own refuse other than that which
may be mixed with garbage.

permit

Refuse matter of the second class
is hauled to a waste tract called the
dry dump, or used for filling mater-
ial. Other refuse matter is received
at the incinerator and burned with
the garbage, almost all of it free of
charge. The amount that will be
taken is regulated—it will not an-
swer to receive forty tons of rub-
bish one day and none the next. The
canneries have to pay $1.00 a ton
extra for having their refuse burned.

Dead animals, which formerly were
such a source of annoyance, are eas-
ily handled at the incinerator and
occasion no unpleasant odor. Carcass-
es are now brought in from the neigh-
boring cities of South Pasadena, Al-
hambra, and San Gabriel to be dis-
posed of. Outsiders are charged for
this service, $2 being the price for
cremating a horse.

Some of the rubbish, tree trim-
mings for instance, is a help in the
incinerating process, being less moist
and compact than garbage. Lawn
clippings are a nuisance and choke
the fire. Strange to say, the burning
of grass causes more trouble in the
way of offensive odor than anything
or everything else. Tin cans up to
one gallon in size are put through the
incinerator and taken out as clinkers.
Tin cans being made now mainly of
steel do not become molten, but after
going through the fire, when exposed
to the air they soon. disintegrate.
Much of the garbage is hard stuff
to burn. The watermelon season is
now at its height and it is necessary
to keep putting on the fuel oil that
is used to keep the fire going, con-
tinually.

The ashes and clinkers make up
about -14 per cent. of the original
weight of the matter consumed. The
ashes at presetft go onto a dry dump,
but it is expected that soon some-
thing can be realized from their dis-
posal.

Irom a sanitary point of view the
incinerating system is, humanly
speaking, perfect. The only objec-
tions to it are the cost and the fact
that by it a large amount of matter
that by careful selection and prompt
gathering up would be most excellent
feed for animals and would be better
sustenance for human beings than
many have, is absolutely wasted.
Pasadena fully realizes the serious-
ness of both these drawbacks, but
still is so fully convinced that the
crematory method is the best thing
that has yet been tried out, that it
has no intention of abandoning it.

It costs the city $4.70 per ton to
collect the garbage. In the five
months from January 3, 1913 to June
3, 1913, the incinerator handled 997
tons of garbage and 898 tons of other
refuse at a cost of $1.06 per ton. Fig-
uing in depreciation of the plant on
a twenty-year life basis, the cost is
$1.62 per ton.

The incinerator has the capacity to
handle nearly or quite three times
the amount it is now taking care of.
A larger amount would decrease the
cost per ton. The cost of gathering
is also relatively larger than it would
be if more families availed them-
selves of the privilege of free garbage
removal. Only about one third of

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 
 

MICHIGAN TRADESMAN

a

 

 

Our Second Message

The Quaker Coffee has met with wonderful success. It is a good
coffee, an attractive package and pleasing to the consumer

 

 

 

 

   

 

 

 

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22

MICHIGAN TRADESMAN

October 29, 1913

 

the householders of Pasadena at
present have their garbage taken
away. The remainder feed it out,
mainly to chickens.

Probably in the near future a small
charge of say 25 cents per month
for each family will be made, and pro-
portionately more for hotels and res-
taurants. This will help out with the
expense, and the service will then,
to some extent, be paid for by those
who enjoy its benefits, while those
who feed out their garbage will not
be so heavily taxed to have the other
fellow’s taken away. Whether under
the pay plan a still greater number
will feed out or bury their garbage,
remains to be seen.

For operating the crematory sys-
tem, Pasadena has some special ad-
vantages as well as some drawbacks
that all places do not have. The dry
weather during eight or nine months
of the year and the entire absence of
ice and snow lessen the work of col-
lecting both the garbage and the rub-
bish, and because of these climatic
conditions they are in better shape to
burn. On the other hand, the price
of labor, the expense of maintenance,
and possibly the original cost of an
incinerator plan are greater here than
they would be in most Michigan or
Indiana cities. Ella M. Rogers.

——_.-.—____
“Hoss” Sense.

A traveler in Indiana noticed that
a farmer was having trouble with his
horse. It would start, go slowly for
a short distance, and then stop again.
Thereupon, the farmer would have
great difficulty in getting it started.
Finally, the traveler approached and
asked solicitiously:

“Is your horse sick?”

“Not that I know of.”

“Ts he balky?”

“No, but he is so danged ’fraid I'll
say whoa and he won’t hear me that
he stops every once in a while to
listen.”

——— +2 >___
A Butcher’s Joke.

An English butcher put up a notice
in his establishment as_ follows:
“Joints to suit all purses.” One day
a seedy-looking individual called in
and thinking to take a rise out of the
enterprising tradesman, said: “I see
you have joints to suit all purses.”
“Yes,” replied the butcher. “Well,
what joint do I get for an empty
purse?” “The cold shoulder,” replied
the butcher, as the seedy individual
slunk off.

—_>2>—____
Blew Her Own Horn.

James, walking across the fields
with his father saw a cow for the first
time.

“What is that, father?” he asked.

“That is only a cow.”

“And what are those things on his
head?”

“Horns,” answered the father.

The two walked on. Presently the
cow mooed. James was surprised.

“Which horn did she blow, father?”
he asked.

——_--+.—___
General Use.

“The vacuum system seems now to
be applied to everything.”

“Quite so. I know a number of
people who even think with it.”

PREACH PRESERVATION.

 

Pledge Yourself to Protect Wild
Flowers and Shrubs.*
When I heard the title, “Wild

Flowers that We May Grow in Our
Garden,” which Mr. Garfield gave to
this little talk, my first thought was
that he wished me to tell you about
the hepatica, bloodroot, Jack-in-the-
pulpit, jewelweed, cardinal-flower,
gentian, etc. All of these may be suc-
cessfully grown in our home gardens,
if we are careful to take them when
through flowering, with a large ball
of earth around their roots and trans-
fer them in such a way that we may
have the same conditions under which
we found them growing in their na-
tive haunts.

But planting wild flowers in our
own back yard gives pleasure only
to ourselves and the few friends who
come to see us and, as I thought it
over, it seemed to me if Mr. Garfield
had meant “our garden” in the lim-
ited sense of our own individual little
plots he would have said “Wild
Flowers that I May Grow in My Gar-
den” and not “Wild Flowers that We
May Grow in Our Gardens.” Know-
ing him as I do, it suddenly came
over me that to Mr. Garfield ‘our
garden” is not limited to the little
patch we weed and water, but takes
in all the high-ways and by-ways,
the borders of the brooks, the edges
of the swamps, the shady country
lanes, the hill sides and the meadows.

These are “our gardens” and Dame
Nature has filled them with plants,
flowers, seeds and fruits which “we
may grow” if we but will. It is for
us to say. Shall we continue to grow
them or shall we destroy our gardens
by ruthlessly gathering, on every
pleasure jaunt we take, great masses
of bloom? Flowers, in most instances
te-produce themselves by means of
seed. If we gather the flowers we
not only remove a thing of beauty
for the time being but we help to
make barren and desolate for all
time the spot where beauty stood, for
flowers gathered means no seed ma-
tured and no seed means no flowers
for the next season.

The woods call us in the early
spring and some sunny morning be-
fore the trees have put forth their
leaves, we find a hill side covered
with trilliums, ‘which come to wake
the robin into song.” Do we admire
them and leave them? No, we load
ourselves with them and we return
the next spring expecting to be
greeted again with that enchanting
sight, a hillside covered with nod-
ding green and white; but there are
no trilliums. Disappointed we turn
away and wonder why, never dream-
ing that the non-appearance of this
spring flower is due to our thought-
less gathering of the blossoms the
year before.

We are driving through “our gar-
dens” on the country roadside and
suddenly there bursts upon us, like a
rose coloured vision, a sweet-scented
thorn in full bloom. O, the pink and
white of the petals, and the fragrance
of the flowers! No artist ever paint-

 

_*Paper read at meeting of Grand River
Valley Horticultural Society by Miss
Alice I. Hefferan.

 

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The best selling arguments the clerk then had
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This modern selling marvel has been
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National Biscuit Company products in the
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i

 

October 29, 1918

ed such a picture. But do we leave
the picture and the fragrance for the
enjoyment of the next rambler on
the road?

And some day when we are fol-
lowing a pretty brook through “our
garden,” we catch a glimpse of the
cardinal-flower gazing at herseif in
the stream. Do we drink in her
beauty and pass on? No, we pluck
her stalk and so the work of her ex-
termination goes on as Neltje Blan-
chan says, “as rapidly as that of her
bird namesake.”

We cut baskets full of golden-rod,
big bunches of white, blue and pur-
ple asters, masses of Joe Pye Weed.
We leave in their stead great barren
patches where before all was beauty
and color.

This is an age on _ conservation.
Not only are we looking after our
citizens, but we are trying to pre-
serve and protect our natural re-
sources and the great natural beauty
of our country. We _ protect our
birds, fish and game, but we have
not yet come to realize that the
wild flowers and shrubs in Nature’s
Garden, which is “our garden” must
be protected if we wish to save them,
not only for our present enjoyment
but for the enjoyment of our chil-
dren and our children’s children.

The members of the Grand Rapids
Park and Boulevard Association have
banded together in an effort to pre-
serve for all time to the people a
part at least of the gardens by which
our city is surrounded and to pre-
serve therein all bird and animal life.
We can under the present laws save
the wild life within the drives and
parks, but what are we going to do
about the flowers and shrubs? To ar-
rest a man for shooting a robin or
squirrel on our premises will meet
with the approval of the public; but
suppose some woman or child gath-
ers all the wild flowers we have spent
months in growing and we should ar-
rest them, will we have the support
of the public? And while they do not
realize it, they are destroying natural
beauty and wild life just as surely
as is the man with the gun.

You all know Mr. Hodenpyl gave
the Woods for the “benefit, pleasure
and instruction of the people of
Grand Rapids, the intent being that
the people of said city shall always
have an opportunity of seeing in this
park specimens of practically all
worthy varieties of trees, shrubs, and
wild flowers indigenous to this local-
ity that can be successfully grown on
said premises.” In carrying out this
intention there were planted in the
Woods a great many trilliums, but
when they blossomed last spring, in
spite of printed signs, care-taker’s
warnings,. coaxings and threats, they
were soon completely wiped out of
existence. Learning of the havoc
wrought Mr. L. G. Stuart spent his
vacation gathering trillium corms
and, thanks to his thoughtfulness,
we hope to have the Woods filled
again with the waxy white and purple
red blossoms.

Mr. Blacklock, the care-taker, can
tell you many tales of the destruc-
tion of shrubs and flowers, but per-
haps the one whicn stands out strong-

 

 

MICHIGAN TRADESMAN

est in his memory is that of the
pretty little dogweed tree which
grew on the road just beyond. He
and the teamsters grading the road
had admired its bloom all the week.
One of them likened it to a “cloud
dropped from the sky or a drift of
snow blown across the green.” But
Sunday came and with it the nature
lovers, who delight in gathering wild
flowers, and when darkness fell you
could not even find where the little

. tree had stood.

Now this destruction of flowers
and shrubs on our country waysides
and in the city parks and drives is
not wrought by the ignorant and
malicious man. I am sorry to say
it is our well educated nature lover
who does most of the work. Why
does he do it? Simply because he
is thoughtless. He is a lover of
beauty, but this love has not yet
grown to its fullest extent. His pres-
ent love contains that desire of
possession for himself alone. He has

not yet learned that things living
and growing in “our garden” are
“ours” and not just “his.” He has
not yet reached that height from

which he can admire the flower and
shrub and pass on, leaving it a live
thing of grace and beauty to charm
the next passer-by.

So here is a vow each and every one
should register: Say to yourself,
“Never again shall I thoughtlessly
or carelessly gather a wild flower or
break a flowering shrub or vine. To-
day I enroll myself as an apostle of
the doctrine of conservation and I go
forth to teach and preach preserva-
tion to my relatives, friends, bene-
so that all wild
life may grow in our gardens,”

factors and enemies,
which,

as I understand the word, means in
all of God’s great out-of-doors.

—_>++—___
Not Any More.

They were gazing out of the win-
dow of the Pullman car. The thin
man was rapturously
sunset.

"Ah, Nature is a real artist,” ex-
claimed the thin man, addressing the
fat man who sat in the opposite seat.
“Have you never gazed at her won-
ders? Have you never watched the
lambent flame of dawn life leaping
across the dome of the world? Have
you never watched the red-stained
islets floating in lakes of fire? Have
you never been drawn by the ragged,
raven s-wing sky-fantoms as_ they
blotted out the pale moon? Have
you never felt the amazement of these
things?”

“Not since I swore off,’ replied the
fat man, as he prepared to hunt an-
other seat.

admiring the

Any man likes to be called a hero,
because he really believes he is.

23

 

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ne .
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GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN

 

 

24

WHY THEY FAILED.

 

Reasons For the Non-Success of
Some Merchants.

When a young doctor starts out
for himself, he has a vague general
idea of his profession; he knows
something about the curative prop-
erties of drugs and medicines, but
ability to help the sick doesn’t come
until he has tried out his raw mater-
ials and seen for himself what they
will do. In other words, he must
practice awhile. The oftener pa-
tients come to him, the wider the
variety of his cases, the more skillful
he becomes in the handling and pre-
scribing of his remedies. The more
cases he has to diagnose, the more
expert he becomes in finding the
root of each trouble.

The only merit we claim for our
suggestions is based upon the fact
that we are called upon to diagnose
so many ills and to administer our
remedies in so many different cases.
Now, after thirty-six years, we have
almost reached the place where we
can pretty conclusively pick out the
trouble and administer a_ beneficial
remedy.

When a doctor comes to a sick man
he doesnt ask his patient is he’s suf-
fering from arteriosclorosis or from
atrophy of the pituitary gland. The
patient would probably ask the medi-
cal man to speak “American.” In-
stead of this the doctor asks the sick
man if he feels this way or if his
body does this thing or that, and he
might even describe the symptoms of
another patient in order to secure the
facts he needs.

That method is the surest to get re-
sults, and it shall be the one used
here. I shall describe the maladie:
of a number of typical sick stores and
then describe the remedies and the
effects they produce.

Two years ago a mournful looking
man came to us saying, “We've fifty
thousand dollars invested in stocks.
our sales are good and our store has
what we consider the best location in
town, but we’re not making a profit
on our business. There’s a_ clog
somewhere.” Investigation showed
that the basement of the store was
filled with a stock of crockery dating
back four or five years and in which
almost as much money was tied up
as in all the other merchandise car-
ried. Year after year the proprietor
had been bying crockery from a
drummer friend until the overstocks
soaked up enough cash to have fur-
nished a very satisfactory income at
3 per cent. The basement was unat-
tractive, the counters and_ shelves
were makeshifts and in the center of
the floor were the furnaces and coal-
bins, which supplied heat for the
whole establishment.

llere, therefore, was one-third of
the entire floor space earning never
a cent and more than one-third of
the stock paying back nothing on the
investment. We advised the retailer
to throw or give all his crockery
away, to install modern variety store
fixtures, to buy a diversified assort-
ment of variety goods and to adver-
tise the new department as strongly
as any other department in the store.

MICHIGAN TRADESMAN

Two months ago the merchant
came back to us and reported that
the basement was not only self-sup-
porting now, but that the net profit
from the department for three months
previous had been more satisfactory
than the profits from all the other
lines carried.

Six months ago a merchant from a
town of fifteen thousand people came
to us with the statement that the 10
per cent. net profit which he had ex-
pected failed to show up at the end
of the year. When questioned, he
admitted that he didn’t know whether
this line turned faster than that one
or whether this one was more profit-
able to push than another. He was
doing business in the dark. When he
went home at night he had only cash
tegister totals to show what the vari-
ous expenses were, what part of the
overhead expense each line was carry-
ing. In fact, he was doing what thou-
sands of retailers are doing—running
a store by guess-work.

We advised him to tag every line
he carried; to assign to each sub-de-
partment. a letter or a number; to
classify each week the sales, profits
and expenses of each sub-department
and to find out the hole where profits
were leaking away. In less than three
weeks he reported that the lines which
he had considered the speediest were
in reality a clog upon his store and
that the ones which he had _ been
spending the most of his advertising
appropriation upon were really the
least profitable lines. Upon analyzing
his market, he also discovered that
he was not carrying the merchandise
most of the people in the district
could buy. He had been catering
to a high-priced trade which really
did not exist. A clearance was hel:|
and he did a thing that hurt his feel-
ings, namely, threw out five depart-
ments that had been a part of his
store for ten years and replaced them
with goods more suited to the trade
of the city.

Several years ago we sold an open-
ing bill of goods to a man whose
prospects were about as rosy as any
we've ever seen. His opening day
was a whirlwind. People swarmed
into his store and continued to come
in large numbers the next day, the
next and the next. For more than a
year he made an almost perfect record
and then he began to totter. Sales
continued and customers continued
to multiply, but the business was far
from well. The second year he bare-
ly made both ends meet, in spite of
the fact that he sold goods to a larger
number of customers than had bought
from him during the first year. The
third year he failed, dropped out
sight, and was not heard of again un-
til a few months ago when he bobbed
up at one of our sample houses and
told our manager (who, by the way
had sold that opening bill of goods)
the story of the failure.

He had overbought, not ignorantly,
but with the perfectly definite purpose
of saving the difference between the
cost of dozens and the cost of grosses.
His reasoning led him to believe th
the price difference would more than
offset the dangers that he knew to ac-
company quantity buying. As he

 

himself said, “I swear every time I
think of the capita] I had tied up for
months in goods waiting to be sold,
when I might very well have used the
money to spread out the variety of
my stocks, or to earn me 8 per cent.
in a bank.’'

“At the end of my second year,”
said this failure, “I was compelled to
lose nearly $1,000 net profit sacrificing
stickers that had accumulated.”

Two hours’ ride from Council Bluffs
is a store that will be dead within
twelve months. If a monument is
erected in its memory, the owner will
probably inscribe the words, “killed
by a mail order house.” In reality,
it will be a case of suicide and the
retailer could save the day yet if he
were wise enough to see the remedy
and use it.

The trouble with his store is com-
mon; you find the disease everywhere.
It is a case of “too much quantity and
too little variety.” This store carries
five lines when it might carry twenty.
Compare these five lines with the in-
finite variety of the mail order houses
and you'll see why this particular mer-
chant is blaming his downfall on his
big city competitor.

This merchant is carrying five lines
and is over-stocked om every one of
them. Only one-quarter of each is
placed where a customer can see it;
the remainder is hidden away in bins
and warehouse. Yet this merchant is
close enough to his source of supply
to be able to replenish his stocks in
a few days’ time. He could cut down
the investment he has sunk into each
of these five departments fully two-
thirds and thereby save enough to add
fifteen other kinds of goods that his
trade would buy. He complains of
mail order competition. For hit
there isn’t any mail order competi-
tion. He offers so weak a resistance
to the efforts of his big rival that it
can’t be called competition at all. In
reality, he forces trade to the city
by simply refusing ro carry many
lines of merchandise that he could sell
as well as anyone.

While we are on mail-order compe-
tition, let me say its severity is great-
ly overestimated by the rank and file
of retailers. They are afraid of shad-
ows; somewhere they have gained
the impression that mail order values
are beyond competition, that mail or-
der advertising is all-powerful and
that the time is not far distant when
all buying and selling will be done
through these agencies. Here’s some
evidence on the other side:

It costs the mail order house more
to do business. In fact, the difference
between its cost and that of the effi-
cient small merchant more than off-
sets the difference between the buy-
ing-expense of each. So far as that
goes, the mail order house’s buying
superiority is largely the creation «
the brain of some timid retailer. I
recently prepared a list of merchan-
dise on which retailers can meet mail
order competition and beat it. The
list contains hundreds of items whic~
will meet mail order prices and give
a profit in the bargain. If any reader
is really anxious to deal in facts, I
will give him a copy of this list a)
prove beyond the shadow of a doubt

een ee nnn nn

October 29, 1913

that the bugbear of mail order compe-
tition is not formidable at all.

The trouble with a great many tot-
tering merchants is that they have
never learned how to buy. Instead
of shopping around and purchasing
solely upon the evidence given by
side-by-side comparisons, they are led
to buy much as the lamb is led to
slaughter. They take the word of
every traveling man, the word of
every advertisement for gospel truth,
refusing to follow the method that
is safe.

I know a merchant who is sweating
blood and using all his energy in
pushing goods that never will be any-
thing but slow-movers. He wonders
why he doesn't get more results for
the work he does. He said to me,
“I’m the most active advertiser in
my territory and yet I’m slipping back
every day. I tell you that the smah
merchant is doomed.” Yet, despite
his pessimism, he has evidence to the
contrary in the very next town, where
a progressive merchant, using a sin-
gle advertising medium has boostea
his sales in five years from $15,000
to $50,000.

The latter man used to be an old-
line general merchant handling gro-
ceries, piece goods, clothing, shoes,
farm implements and a few notions.
After one of the longest and hardest
campaigns we ever had we induced
him to add candies, home goods,
quick-selling dry goods _ specialties,
tin and enameled ware, a sample line
of furniture, household hardware,
glassware, toys, jewelry, woodenware
and to keep on hand a smaller quan-
tity of his original lines. By branch-
ing out, by increasing the appeal he
had for his trade, he literally made
two customers grow where only one
had been before, and in a few years
has increased his sales 233 per cent.

There are lines of merchandise in
every store which could be profitably
replaced with goods which turn fast-
er, without doing the slightest dam-
age to the volume of business. Drug-
gists found this out years ago, and
if the druggist hadn’t seen a great
light and branched out, he wouldn't
be in the game to-day. The grocer
and hardware man are slowly falling
into line, but until they really do
something towards catering to the
tendency to buy everything in one
place, they will continue to eke out
a very scanty existence.

The ills that come most frequently
to our attention are advertising ills.
It would be a very liberal statement,
were I to say that less than 5 per
cent. of the retailers of America
know how to advertise.

They do not know how to appor-
tion their advertising expenditures
in such a way that each line adver-
tised will get its proportional amount
of benefit.

They do not know how to put
punch into their advertisements.

Right now there is a campaign of
advertising, promoted by one of the
mai] order houses, that is attracting
attention all over the country. To
oppose the strength of such advertise-
ments with the kind that the average
merchant prepares is a waste of
money. Anderson Pace.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bisa ANA RNR AIA AL A aCe ed RRR EN le

October 29, 1913 MICHIGAN TRADESMAN

25

 

 

Moseley Brothers

Grand Rapids, Michigan
Commenced business in 1876. Own their Grounds, Ware-
houses, Stables, Railroad Tracks and Offices

On the block bounded by Pleasant street, Hilton avenue.
Grant street and Railroads S.W. They own a thousand feet
Railroad trackage on their own grounds.

Have the best Railroad Warehouse facilities in the city.

Own and operate a Line of Refrigerator Cars, the only Line
of Private Refrigerator Cars owned and operated by Grand
Rapids firm, loaded only by them, which are carrying Pro-
duce and Fruits to all parts of the United States and adver-
tising Grand Rapids and Michigan Products.

Moseley Brothers are in Business to Buy and Sell
Farm Products.

Will Buy or will Sell you

BEANS, SEEDS, POTATOES, FRUITS
AND FARM PRODUCE

Moseley Brothers

oe. a Grand Rapids, Mich.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

October 29, 1913

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STEVENS

WILDER D.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

October 29, 1913

FIFTY YEARS IN HARDWARE.

 

Some Changes Which Five Decades
Have Wrought.

You ask me to furnish an article
for the thirtieth anniversary number
of your valuable paper, which will, in
a measure, furnish your readers with
some information as to the difference
in methods of conducting the hard-
ware business, as we are accustomed
now to know them, and conditions
thirty years ago,

The first thought is that this is an
easy thing to do, that there have been
great changes in thirty years, and that
one can easily fill a column or two in
enumerating them, but I find it a very
difficult task to write a satisfactory
article confined to the experiences of
so short a time.

It is true that in thirty years there
have been many changes, both in
goods and in methods. Thirty years
ago we had more trade with lumber-
men and less with furniture manufac-
turers. It is within this period of
time, I think, that the old iron cut
nail has been displaced by the steel
cut nail, and it in turn by the steel
wire nail, now almost exclusively
used. I would not like you to ask
me to go back and give you a history
of changes which have taken place
since Wilder D. Foster started the
first tinshop in this city in 1837, for
this is only a matter of hearsay and
[ would not be good _ authority.
Neither ask me to commence with
1845, when the firm of Foster & Parry
was formed, for that, while a matter
of record, was before my time.

I have before me, as I write, the
articles of copartnership above re-
ferred to, dated July 22, 1845, in
which I find the following sentence:

“They each of them have this dav
paid in the full sum of one hundred
and fifty dollars to be used, laid out
and employed in common between
them, in the management of said
trade and business, to their mutual
benefit and advantage.”

Ask me to tell you some of the
changes which have taken place in
the hardware business during the pas:
fifty-one years and a more extended
article can be written. Strange as it
may seem, I think it is a fact that as
we grow older we live over again in
our minds the days of our youth. We
live in the past. We remember much
more vividly the happenings of our
daily life when young than we do the
occurrences of later life. So it seems
| remember more distinctly the early
methods, the class of goods handled
and the people we did business with:

In 1862 the shelves of a hardware
establishment did not look much as
they do now. Then most of the shelf
and many of the heavy goods were
imported. We did not have the taste-
ful paper and wooden boxes nicely
sampled on our shelves, but instead
a clumsily done up paper package,
with a sample of the contents tied
on the outside. Every time an ar-
ticle was sold this package had to be
taken down, the contents shown,
and, after a sale was made what was
left was done up again, resampled
and returned to its place on the shelf.
You can readily imagine the appear-

Pi PORE LRN TENTS Haan Lmao

MICHIGAN TRADESMAN

ance of the shelves after the day’s
work was done; and the days were
long—from early morning until 9
o’clock or after, six days in the week.

There was no wholesale hardware
trade in the city, as there were no
country stores tributary to us who
handled hardware. There were no
railroads to bring us customers. Our
trade, outside of the city, was ex-
clusively with lumbermen and farmers,
and how we did dread the rainy
periods of spring and fall when the
roads were impassable by reason of
the mud and our customers could not
come to town!

There were no factories making
pressed tinware, the result being that
every establishment had to run a well-
equipped tinshop for making pieced
ware, stovepipe, elbows, etc., besides
doing general job work, from putting
up conductors and eave troughs to
making steam pipes of copper for our
river boats, at $1 per pound for the
copper and $8 per day for copper-
smith and helper. I remember, also,
that we paid 75 cents per dozen for
making common stove pipe elbows,
we furnishing tools, shop room, stock,
heat and light.

There was much barter in the early
days of the hardware trade in Grand
Rapids. Anything the farmer raised
could be changed for goods. Wood,
dressed. hogs, corn, potatoes, cheess
and butter were taken and disposed
of to employes. Our factories and
mills paid their hands largely in or-
ders on the stores and settled their
accounts once each year. The farmer
was Offended if asked to pay before
harvest, and did not always pay then.
It was necessary to keep a man on
the road all the time, with a buck-
board in summer and sleigh in win-
ter, making settlements, and many a
note was saved from outlawing by
endorsing the value of a meal taken
with him, usually 25 cents.

The store was not supplied with
porters to wash windows, get up
heavy goods from the basement and
wood for heating. The clerks did
all of that work and the brunt of it
usually fell upon the youngest of
them,

One feature is still remembered
with vividness and that is the rag bin.
All hardware stores took rags—both
city and country rags—for goods. In
some convenient place in the floor
of the salesroom was a trap door
leading to the bin the basement. After
weighing the bag—they were usually
brought in a bag—the contents were
shaken out into the bin, stones and
all, for even the honest farmer would
sometimes not be careful in filling the
bag. When the bin was full and trade
quiet, the ‘“‘cub’ was sent into the
bin to assort and sack ready for ship-
ment to Eastern paper mills. I should
think IT spent nearly half of my first
year in the rag bin, working by the
light of a coal oil lantern or candle,
and this reminds me that I can re-
member when the only lantern made or
sold in our establishment used a can-
dle as a means of light. It was con-
structed of tin, with a light of seven
by nine glass in front; in fact, our
first production had no glass, the
rays of light coming through slits

 

cut in the tin with what was called
a “lantern chisel.” I doubt if there
is a “lantern chisel” in any hardware
store in the United States at the
present time.

There have been many, many
changes in the character of goods
handled. I can not begin to enumerate
them. The scythe and cradle have
been to a great extent displaced by
the mower and reaper, now hand-
led exclusively by agricultural and
implement dealers in the city. Belt-
ting, packing and mill supplies gen-
erally have left the hardware stock
and are sold by establishments pay-
ing particular attention to this class
of goods. The wagon, carriage and
harness hardware is also handled by
exclusive houses. The spinning wheel,
which used to take up so much room,
has given place to the bicycle in
many hardware stores. The tinshop
has been almost abolished, outside
work being done by houses establish-
ed for this purpose, and pieced tin-
ware has been largely displaced by
pressed ware. The rough ironware
for kitchen use has almost disappear-
ed and we have the lighter granite
and polished steelware. The _ steel
knife and fork, with wood or bone
handle, has given place to fine plated
or sterling goods.

The old clumsy counters have to
some extent disappeared, their place
being taken by handsome plate glass
show cases, filled with attractive
goods. Barbed wire for fencing now
employs the capital formerly invest-
ed in mill and logging supplies, while
sporting goods occupy the space
formerly taken up by heavier and
rougher goods necessary in a newlv
settled country.

The old wooden carpenter planes
have given place to the lighter iron
tool, in endless variety. The old bor-
ing machines are nearly a thing of
the past, and shop work by machinery
has made unnecessary many carpen-
ter tools which were constantly called
for.

I think the most important and
gratifying change that has been made
in the hardware business is the change
from imported goods to those of
American manufacture. American
iron, American steel, American tin-
plate, and the manufactured products
thereof, constitute 95 per cent. of a
stock of hardware at the present time,
while in 1862 about as large a pro-
portion was imported.

Wilder D. Stevens.
—_——_++-
Knowledge of Goods.

The man who comes to your store
to buy has the right and the expecta-
tion to be reliably informed regarding
the goods you offer for sale. The
fuller you can fill him with informa-
tion the better are your chances for
securing his order. In order to do
this you must know your own goods
thoroughly. Also you ought to know
your competitor's goods almost as
well. You ought to know who makes
both lines of goods and where, and
what facilities and experience the
manufacturers possess. All of these
things have selling force, and that
is what the dealer must have if he is
to make a success of his business.

SSS ASS a SONU STE ROR

27

Anger Presents Help in Time of

Need.
Written for the Tradesman.

There is a species of latter-day cult-
ism that puts an embargo on ange>
of whatsoever sort.

According to these apostles of
peace, anger is too violent, too in-
hibitive, too fundamentally evil to
serve any legitimate function.

Therefore it ought to be avoided
as a poison, as pestilence, or anythinz
else of a destructive or harmful nature.

Consequently, so runs the smug
theory, to give way to anger is to limit
one’s powers, one’s vision,
demoralize one’s resources, and play
hob generally with one’s vitalities.

The theory is beautiful and sooth-
ing, but not quite practical.

And the reason it isn’t practical is
just because it overlooks some stub-
born facts that make good old Simon-
pure anger quite a wholesome thing
now and then.

There is, I believe, a Scriptural
phrase about “righteous indignation.”
And Solomon somewhere’ remarks
that there is “a time for everything
under the sun.” There are times
when anger is in good form, even in
the politest circles.

Of course the disposition to go off
half-cocked and empurple the sur-
rounding atmosphere with picturesque
language apropos of nothing in par-
ticular, isn’t commendable. It ought
to be discouraged. It inflicts wounds
without cause and it explodes good
brain-cells to no purpose and con-
sumes valuable time that had better
be given to other matters.

But he must be either a very rash
or a very stupid person who would
take a solemn and binding obligation,
never, never to lose his temper and
wax indignant under any circumstanc-
es. There are times when it is high-
ly proper to stand up on one’s hind
legs and get purple in the face and
violent in one’s protest. And the
man who cannot get angry through
and through isn’t normal. He has
either lost his sense of values, or he
has lost his punch.

The people who have inaugurated
crusades, built big businesses, or help-
ed appreciably in the world’s uplift,
have been folks who could get dan-
gerously angry on occasions.

obscure

Resentment is both a weapon of
defense and implement of service. 1
is an edged tool—highly dangerous in
unskilled hands; but a very present
help in time of need.

There are both things and people
in the world so downright mean and
nasty and low-down, we’d hardly be
human if we didn’t get angry when
they got across our pathway.

Frank Fenwick.
OO
The Orderly Store.

Keeping stock in apple-pie order,
having everything neat and orderly
and scrupulously clean, is an abso-
lute esential.
people into the store, but it cannot
make them buy or induce them to
visit the store a second time if the
first visit is unsatisfactory.

+.

A wise man enjoys what he has,
while the fool is seeking for more.

Advertising can bring

 

28

 

MICHIGAN TRADESMAN

 

October 29, 1913

 

LOOKING BACKWARD.

Wonderful Development of the Tele-
phone Industry.

it is apparently natural and in a
sense very proper to rejoice when a
birthday comes around. This is quite
as true with publications as it is with
humans; and it is very natural at such
a time to indulge in retrospect. Those
backward glances may be made very
useful if discriminating eyes are used,
and if the incidents of the past shall
become guide posts to wiser, more dis-
criminating action in the future. Hence
the scheme of the Tradesman in the
celebration of its anniversary, in re-
questing various retrospects from its
friends and admirers, is a good one and
worthy of encouragement.

So along this line the invitation to say
something about telephones and the tele-
phone business of the community and
the region, the country generally, al-
though it was fully realized that such
a discussion must necessarily be dis-
cursive and not particularly wise or
witty, was accepted.

As a resident of Grand Rapids for
considerably more than forty years and
engaged at the time in newspaper work,
I was quite familiar with the first ap-
pearance of telephones in this city and
can remember, as though it were but
yesterday (but I cannot give you the
precise yesterday in date), the wonder-
ment of myself and others when the
first pair of telephones brought into
this region—and I believe, into the
State—-was tested out between the Grand
Rapids Plaster Co.’s city office, on the
second floor of a_ building fronting
Campau Square, and the office of the
plaster cave on the west side of the
river. The late Deacon J. W. Con-
verse, of Boston (Malden), and his
intimate associate in various business
affairs, and especially the plaster in-
terests here, Deacon Hovey, had pro-
vided a telegraphic circuit for commun-
ication between the plaster cave on the
west side of the river and the city of-
fice, and found it very easy to adapt
that line to an experiment with a pair
of telephones. Converse was
particularly well acquainted with Mr.
Hubbard—I think his Christian name
was Gurdon—who was the financial
genius of the early days of the Bell
telephone interests, and, as I remember,
the father-in-law of Elisha Graham Bell,
whose name is immortalized in the title
of that great corporation; so it was
quite natural that the experiment in
this city occurred so early in the de-
velopment of telephones. As a news-
paper man I was one of the first in-
vited to participate in the tests or dem-
onstration of the new invention. I was
quite incredulous and not at all dis-
posed to believe that what appeared to
be true, was not a hoax for the diver-
sion of those who had been invited to
talk over the wires. I well recollect
the astonishment and bewilderment in
the faces of my neighbors who heard
Mr. Apted’s voice at the plaster cave
office as distinctly as though he were in

Deacon

the same room, while using the telephone
in the city Monroe street.
Some of us—and T was one of them—
still not wholly convinced, attempted to
get around back of the machine to dis-

office on

 

cover if we were not, after all, victims
of a good-natured, practical joke.
3ut the telephone had = arrived in
Grand Rapids. That same pair of in-
struments is still in this city and they
have been here now about thirty-six
years, in fact; they came in some six
years earlier than the Tradesman did.
Grand Rapids in those days, as since,
was progressive, energetic, and ready
to try new things, to make ventures,
and to be among the leaders in practi-
cal development of apparently useful,
new ideas: so a little later the project
was started of establishing a telephone
exchange. Some of my personal ac-
quaintances were identified with these
efforts, and as a newspaper man I was
kept advised of their progress. I was
invited to inspect the various practical
steps in the establishment of the new
system and the office with which I was
identified had telephone No. 25 in the
roster of the first exchange in the city.

 

 

tistics of those earlier days. I know
that the Grand Rapids exchange grew
steadily and the rapidity of its growth
was an astonishment to its patrons and
the public generally. My _ recollection
is that for some time the Grand Rapids
exchange was the largest, per capita, in
the country, as it was always one of
the best in management and_ general
conduct, so far as those locally con-
nected with it and controlling it could
accomplish it.

In place of any attempt to discuss
statistics through that period, perhaps
this anecdote may be _ tolerated. It
comes to me from a gentleman yet liv-
ing, who was quite intimately acquainted °
with Deacon Converse, already men-
tioned, and he told me the following
tale shortly after he heard it:

While Deacon Converse was a frien
of Mr. Hubbard, the
(Boston was for many-years the head
center of the telephone interests in the

Boston man

ERNEST B. FISHER.

By the way, the Tradesman afterward
fell heir to that number years ago, and
in a modified sense still holds it, be-
cause the 5025 of its present main tele-
phone in the Citizens system is the suc-
cessor of the original 25, being changed
when the automatic service in this city
succeeded the manual service a few
years ago. he editor of the Trades-
man could write this feature up very
much better himself, but he has heen
so firm and wise a friend of .the Cit-
izens Company that his mere request
for some reminiscences became prac-
tically a command not to be
garded.

disre-
Of course while identified with the
newspaper work of the city during the
succeeding years—well toward a score—
following this earliest development of
telephony, T was fairly familiar with
its growth and with the general pro-
gress of the business in the country. IT
could not, however, give details or sta-

United States and Canada); while he
had brought the first pair of telephones
to this city, he had not become per-
suaded that telephone stock was a good
investment. Like many other infant in-
dustries, it was a very serious effort
on the part of Mr. Hubbard to get
funds with which to take care of new
business to keep up with the demand.
In a way Mr. Hubbard’s work was al-
most as important as the inventor’s,
in introducing and promoting the in-
vention; in making it a practical suc-
cess and a useful instrument. Quite a
number of years afterward, while vis-
iting in this city where the Deacon had
very considerable interests, he fell into
conversation with my friend during a
long car ride, and was asked why as a
Boston man he did not become a con-
siderable stockholder in the Bell Tele-
phone Company.

The Deacon smiled pleasantly and
said: “I will have to tell you a story.

You know of course about my bringing
the telephones here first and about the
general situation, because you were
identified with telegraphy in those days
and we used to meet each other with
some frequency. They tried to sell me
some stock, teased me to take some and
offered me quite a large block at 35.
I really thought that the telephone was
a rich man’s toy or plaything rather
than a business utility, and so I didn’t
take hold. Time went along and I was
busy with other things, the Phoenix
Company out here, real estate in Grand
Rapids among other things, and I did
not take any stock. I was here for
quite a long visit at one time and got
a telegram from one of my family who
wanted to know if I didn’t want some
Bell stock, naming the price. I was
just a little provoked at such a ques-
tion and my answer was a short, ‘No’.
The next day I got another telegram,
suggesting that I better have some, and
it could be gotten at a little higher
price than at the price named the day
before and was going up, and the one
who sent the message announced a pur-
chase of some.
got on the cars and went home to Bos-
ton at once. That was the old original
stock, which was afterwards incorpor-
ated on very favorable terms in the
later National company. Just think of
it, Mr. , just think of it, at
that time the stock was worth several
hundred and I could have bought a lot
of it at 35, but I didn’t!”

My memory is, that the basic patents
in telephony expired late in 1893 and
that about that time the paper with
which I was connected contained a dis-
cussion of that fact which I wrote and
a suggestion that with such expiry and
the opening of the main features of
the invention to general public use
there should be, as there had been as to
the sewing machine and other like in-
ventions, a material reduction in the ex-
pense of the purchase or use of such
instruments; that the main feature of
the system as it was then, an absolute
monopoly, would necessarily disappear.

That thought found lodgement and
several gentlemen who had been among
the most aggressive promoters of good
things for Grand Rapids began to can-
vass the proposition of a new telephone
system for this city. The idea contin-
ued to receive attention and in the lat-
ter part of 1894 the formal proposition
was brought before the Common Coun-
cil of Grand Rapids to grant a fran-
chise for a new telephone system here,
such franchise to be given to S. B.
Jenks (recently deceased) and others
thereafter to be associated with him.
As I remember it, that franchise was
completed in December, 1894, and the
following spring and summer more ac-
tive effort ensued which resulted later
in the formal organization of the Cit-
izens Telephone Company. The formal
meeting for such organization, as I now
recall, was June 10, 1895, a canvass was
started and sufficient funds to warrant
a continuance of the project were
pledged, in September the incorpora-
tion was formally perfected and the ed-
itor of the Tradesman and eleven of
his neighbors and friends were on the
first Board of Directors.

The first pole for the property was
set on the 7th of October of that year,

I was disturbed and-

en r

 

 

 

 

eS

 

 

 

 

October 29, 1913

MICHIGAN TRADESMAN 29

 

 

Rempis & Gallmeyer
Foundry Co.

Manufacturers of All Kinds of

 

 

Iron, Brass and Aluminum —

CASTINGS

Lawn and Park Settees, Vases, Roof Castings
Carriage Steps, Hitching Posts
Street and Sewer Castings, Also Building Casting

And Sole Manufacturers of the
Rempis Patent Oscillating Sleigh Knee
And the
Rempis Cement Block Machine

Write for Prices

Citizens Phone 1509 524 North Front Ave., N. W.

 

 

 

Cc. E. BELKNAP, President
J. F. HENDRIKSEN, Sec’y
H. P. BELKNAP, Treas.

BELKNAP
WAGON CO.

Commercial Auto Bodies
Larries and Drays
Milk and Bakery Wagons
Freight Trucks
Farm and Fruit Wagons

Sole Manufacturers of the

Belknap Patent Sleighs

and

Belknap Patent Orchard
Wagons

GRAND RAPIDS, MICH.

 

 

 

EAGLE
ConBias2eD

MILK

THE ORIGINAL.

  

Dee BRD

ich the; Sez peo
eacy! 8nd hie PREsenven Mik will hereafle im”
labey ning tional protection aga!”

: Car the signature.
, bat Zev”
A.

 
 

 

7

Bop Se c0-
h PENS CONDENSED MILK
EW YORK U.S:

ww“ —V

The World’s Leading Brand of Condensed Milk
Quality Fully Guaranteed
Attractive Advertising Matter for Dealers

BORDEN’S CONDENSED MILK CO.

Leaders of Quality

 

 

 

Established 1857 New York

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

30

MICHIGAN TRADESMAN

October 29, 1913

 

the big one seventy feet tall, which
stood near the intersection of Louis
and Campau streets. In 1896 the plant
was so far advanced that experimental
service began in April and actual ser-
vice for pay in the new Independent
plant was given the first of July, and
that day the Citizens Company had 832
phones in its Grand Rapids exchange and
was the first Independent telephone
plant in the United States with 600
or more phones in service. At that
time, as I remember it, the Bell ex-
change in this city, for some time the
largest per capita in the country, had
1,471 phones in service and there were
in the State of Michigan a little more
than 13,100 phones in the Michigan
Telephone and Telegraph Construction
Company's system, which included all
the service in the entire State; and that
was a part of, but not very largely or
generally, connected with the rest of the
National system of the Bell Company,
which then had, as I remember, 327,000
telephones in the entire country. If
these figures be accurate, it will be seen
that Michigan then had her share, and
this city more than her share of the
telephone service in the land.

[t undoubtedly would be tedious to
your readers to trace the changes since.
The retrospect does not require linger-
ing glimpses of the entire pathway. It
would scarcely be like myself, however,
to ignore one salient thought in such
a backward glance. As many _ years
had then elapsed since the first inaugu-
ration of telephone service in the coun-
try as have now elapsed from the birth
of the Citizens Company’s exchange in
this city, and by the figures Michigan

had a little over 13,000 telephones,
Grand Rapids 1,471, the entire country
less than 330,000; now there are almost
precisely 12,500 in the Citizens Grand
Rapids exchange; it has about 40,000
in the system in which it is financially
interested in Western Michigan; there
are approximately 260,000 instruments
in the telephone service of the State or
twenty times as many as there were
seventeen years ago, and almost as
many in Michigan alone as had been
put in service during the preceding
seventeen years in the entire country!
The limits of long distance service have
been extended almost indefinitely. The
quality of service given locally has been
almost immeasureably improved. There
are some of us who think the stimulus
of competition, the stimulus of a sec-
ond enlarged market for inventive
genius, the benefits of local interest in
development; have contributed not a
little to this wonderful increase of ser-
vice, of the usefulness of the telephone.

It is not necessary in such a retro-
more than hint at the
financial phases of the changes in the
industry. They are a matter of com-
mon knowledge and so general as to

spect to any

require no repetition. The mere sug-
carries its own
emphasis as to the importance of that
feature, both special and general.

in all of this development Grand
Rapids, as in other lines, has borne a

gestion of the topic

fair share of the labor and won a fair
share of the honors. In all of this de-
velopment there has been no warmer
considerate friend than
the Tradesman and its editor, and to
him among the other agencies active

advocate and

 

   

 

 

as producing such beneficial results un-
stinted praise, great credit, is due.
Ernest B. Fisher.

——_+ +>
The Boon of Good Health.
Written tor the Tradesman.

I wonder if it is ever possible for
us to appreciate the boon of good
health as we should, until our health
is gone, or at least gone for a time.
Good health is, indeed, a_ blessing;
and more to be desired than gold,
flashing gems and sumptuously equip-
ped automobiles. All that a man hath
will he give to get back his good
health.

When the doctor puts us on a diet
of thin toast and pale tea, how swee:
are the recollections of the days when
we consumed thick steaks smothered
in festive mushrooms, with never a
protest from digestive headquarters!
As we lie awake at night, with throb-
bing brows and thrumming nerves,
listening to the busy activities of
some little old time-piece, how pre-
cious is the memory of those other
nights when we could lie down any
old place, indoors or out under the
star-lit canopy, and quickly wrap our-
selves in the sweet mantle of uncon-
sciousness!

That man should never reckon him-
self poor who has a _ constitution
tough as whit leather. When the
works on the inside of a man are in
good order and running harmonious-
ly, he should be at peace with him-
self and the universe, for he’s a for-
tunate man. Anybody who can eat
like an animal and sleep like a baby
is thrice blessed.

 

 

(REG. U.S. PAT. OFF)

The Increased Karo Business in
Your Vicinity is Yours by Right

Center the big jump in Karo business right in your own store.
liberally, display it prominently. It pays you big profits and is easy to handle.

Karo sales are increasing rapidly—every day more and more
of this famous syrup is used by the American housewife for cook-
ing and table use.

Our extensive and forceful advertising is telling the facts about Karo, the great national syrup—its purity
Sy. and food value and the great saving it effects in the cost of the family living.

Your customers know the Karo label—they will take no substitute.
Karo, the syrup that is always pure and wholesome, and full net weight in every can.

CORN PRODUCTS REFINING CO.

NEW YORK, N. Y.

|

Good health is an asset. Prize it.
Guard it. The man who leaves his
office in the evening, having failed
to lock the safe, thus making it a bit
more convenient for the burglar to
rifle the stamp drawer and pocket the
currency wallet, is a careless man.
But the man who deliberately pours
poison into his system or over-drives
the subtle mechanism of nature just
to get high speeds and new records,
that man is a fool. Frank Fenwick.

+.
She Knew the Symptoms.

During an Episcopal convention in
Boston, one of the bishops had an
experience he will long remember. He
was a portly man, weighing over
three hundred pounds. One after-
noon while walking through Boston
Common he sat down on one of the
benches to rest. When he attempted
to get up, he failed in the effort. He
tried again and failed. About this
time a little girl, poorly clad, came
along and was attracted by the strug-
eles of the bishop. Stepping up to
him, she exclaimed:

“Don’t you want me to give you
a litte

The bishop gazed at her in amaz--
ment and exclaimed:

“Why, you can't help me.
too little.”

“No, [ am mot,’ she replied. |
have helped my pa get up many times
when he was drunker than you are.”

———__ooe

There are lines of advertised goods
that do not deserve the co-operation
of the retailer in selling them, but
don’t pull all such goods in that class.

You are

   
  
 
 
 
     

Stock Karo

   

2 POUNDS NET WEIGHT

Give them

 
  
 
 

(are us met Od

(Grsrat wHiT)

     
  
 

   
  

ur ivy
LUN SER aaues
y lake ate ee a a

 

 

 

 

 

reset

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

October 29; 1913

Real Life as Seen by the Collector.
Written for the Tradesman.

It is in a part of the city where
the houses are nearly all alike. The
exception may be a large building on
the corner which is both store and
dwelling. And the store, more likely
than not, is a grocery and_ saloon
combined. Children as well as adults
are seen coming and going with pitch-
ers, carrying home beer for all the
family.

There are no shade trees in the
yards or along the sides of the street,
or if there be trees they are but re-
cently planted, for the section is new
and was platted on purpose for resi-
dences for laboring people—foreign-
ers. In summer no lawns are visible.
Every available foot of ground is
planted to vegetables, even up to the
door of the cottage and on each side
of the walk or path which leads to
the street. Many of these cottages
have been purchased by their present
occupants, while others are rented.

The children’s playground is the
bare and often dusty street. Along
about sundown of a summer’s day
within the length of one block may be
seen from 100 to 150 children playing
in the street. And there is small dis-
parity in their sizes, for the older
and younger members of each family
are usually elsewhere. Mothers and
older sisters watch the play from the
vantage ground of the fence, yard
or porch, each one caring for little
ones too young to be allowed to min-
gle with the children in the street.

The collector sees many phases of

MICHIGAN TRADESMAN

life, but has little time to study or

meditate thereon.
“Good morning!

Pilkofski live here?”

“Hier, Bertol; komme sie hierine.”

Does Mr. Karl

A little tow headed boy comes from
another room in answer to his moth-
ers call.

“Gehen sie bie der hinterhans; Car-
lotta hier bringen.”

The boy disappears and in a min-
ute or two returns with a very intel-
ligent little girl somewhat his senior.
The mother jabbers at her a moment
and then the little girl addresses the
collector in a self-possessed manner:

“Please sir, my mother wants to
know what you want. She cannot
talk English.”

“Well, little girl, does Karl  Pil-
kofski live here?”

“That is my father. Did you want
to see him? He is at work. He is
not home.”

“Tam Dr. Klinke’s collector. I have
a bill for $4. When can your father
pay it?”

The little girl translates the mes-
sage and the mother tells her what to
tell the collector.

“My mother says he cannot pay
that this winter. My father he work
only three-quarter time now and not
every day. We can but pay our rent
and buy our coal and to eat. When
it comes spring and the works start
up full time she will pay the doctor.
Then you come.”

The collector has had time to in-
spect the room. The dinner is ready.
There is a coffee boiler on the stove,

a loaf of rye bread, a bowl of sugar
and a saucer with a bit of lard are
on the table. This is their dinner.
There is no linen or oil cloth on the
table. There are no pictures on the
walls; no toys or games or papers in
sight. No easy chairs. But this the
collector notes as he has noted else-
where among children of foreigners
in this country—the parents poor and
hardworking, some of them we look
upon as very ignorant, yet the chil-
dren seldom or never forget to say
“thank you,” good morning,” good
bye, ‘yes, sir, and “no sir.”

The collector concludes that this
family are not dead beats nor tran-
sients and that there is no use of try-
ing to compel them to pay the bill
at present. So he writes on the back
of the statement: ‘Poor, can’t pay
till spring” § Then they all _ say:
“Good bye,” and he leaves them feel-
ing grateful for a kindly extension of
time to pay the bill, and he believes
with renewed intention to do so.

E. E. Whitney.
———
Silence Best Policy.

Mrs. Newed—I am in an awiul fix,

mama.

Mrs. Eaglebeak—What is the mat-
>

 

ter:

Mrs. Newed—I went through
George’s pockets last night to hunt
for change as you advised me to.
and | found some letters which I gave
him to post last week, and now [| dare
not scold about the letters for fear
he'll scold about my going through
his pockets.

 

31

 

 

Lowest

Our catalogue is “the
world’s lowest market”
because we are the larg-
est buyers of general
merchandise in America.

And because our com-
paratively inexpensive
method of selling,
through a catalogue, re-
duces costs.

We sell to merchants
only.

Ask for current cata-
logue.

Butler Brothers

New York Chicago
St. Louis Minneapolis
Dallas

 

 

x

ay
’

 

 

 

MMSE

.Y

yw)

WW ty

STS tly
ees

 

QS

i)
‘
‘
ra

Ford Builds 300,000
Gasolene Cars a Year

A million cars of all makes now in use

 

They buy a hundred million gallons of
gasolene a year

 

Don’t you want some of this business?

You have the first chance at it—are you going to wait
till opportunity kicks your door open, or will
you get the gasolene trade through
the Bowser door?

 

Motorists look for the Red Bowser pump. The merchant

with a Bowser gets their trade.

A Bowser gives you all the profit there is in gasolene.

The “old way” wastes the profit.

Write us and we'll show you how to make money.

 

S. F. BOWSER & CO., Inc.
Home Plant and General Offices, Box 2089, Ft. Wayne, Ind., U.S.A

Engineers and Manufacturers of Oil Handling Devices
Sub Salesoffice: 201-202 Abbott Building, Philadelphia, Pa.
Salesoffices in all centers and representatives everywhere

ESTABLISHED 1885

Original Patentees and Manufacturers of Standard Self-Measuring, Hand and Power Driven Pumps, Large and Small Tanks, Gasolene and Oil Storage and Distributing Systems. Self-
Registering Pipe Line Measures, Oil Filtering and Circulating Systems, Dry Cleaner's Systems, Etc.

 

 

 

P

  

32

MICHIGAN TRADESMAN

October 29, 1918

 

THE VILLAGE KNOCKER.

 

The More He Knocks the Sorer He
Gets.
Written fur the Tradesman.

Next time I start in life I will look
over the ground very carefully before
I locate. The way I picked out Buffa-
lo Hump was I heard Pete Ruddy
telling Old Man Knowles that the
new town on the A. & T. was going
to be a hummer. So I played that
hunch and it happened I picked out
the best town west of the divide. I
couldn’t have done better if I had
spent a year looking around. All the
same it’s too important a matter to be
left a chance. Like choosing a wife.
Now, it happened I got the best
woman in the world, but it was just
luck. The reason I chose her was the
way that little curl clung to the back
of her neck, and even then I don’t
know as it would have been final un-
less it had been moonlight that night
coming home from the dance.

However, there’s lots of good towns
in the world and lots of good women.
In either case, if you treat them
right they'll treat you right, so long
as you don’t pick out a dead one.

Now, Buffalo Hump is the best
town in the whole United States, and
I can prove it by Lester in the bank
and Reeves, the land man, and Parker,
of the Mercantile company—we don’t
have to prove it, by ginger; we admit
it. And yet we have an anvil chorus
as well tuned as any place I know.
The most proficient of them are no
longer with us. Those two young fel-
lows from Chicago who bought out
the Leader stayed just one year. The
first two months they spent telling
us how they were going to liven up
this dead old burg; the next eight
they spent blaming the town for being
all wrong; the last two months they
weren't saying much—too busy to
keep ahead of the sheriff in the foot
race; they lost. They tried to play
the game according to Chicago rules,
or u they did catch on to a lecal
variation they worked it to death—
like the fellow who played the loo-
loo. The town was all right; we were
doing business at a profit before they
came, and we kept on doing business
at a profit after they left; they spent
fifteen thousand dollars in one year,
of which three thousand was their
own money, demonstrating that they
couldn’t do busines at a profit in Buf-
falo Hump. If they had spent the
first two months learning their terri-
tory instead of bragging about what
they were going to do to it, and the
next eight months trying to catch up
with Buffalo Hump, instead of trying
to make Buffalo Hump toe the Chi-
cago mark, they might have come out
better.

Henry Frost is a different sort.
He isn’t the boastful kind but the
wishful kind.
that he was afraid he made a mistake
in coming to Buffalo Hump. He

He was saying to me

used to make more as a clerk in Fair-
port than he made here running his
own store; that was the place for
business, he said, and he kind of
wished he had stayed there. It was
on the tip of my tongue to say he
was worth more as a clerk than he

was running his own store, but I
didn’t want to hurt his feelings. Be-
sides, when he gets a little more tired
I’m going to make him a proposition
that will be profitable for both of
us. I can make money for him and
he can make money for me right here
in Buffalo Hump. He’s a nice fellow
and everybody likes him; industrious
too, and all that; I’d trust him with
anything—except running a business
Now he thinks Fairport was a better
location than Buffalo Hump; it isn’t
a bit better; it isn’t as good. Only
he was better located there than he
is here. About a year after he comes
in with me I’m going to have him
singing a hymn about Buffalo Hump
being the best place in the world—
you see if I don’t. It’s no fair blam-
ing the town for his mistake.
Another one we’re going to lose,
that’s Ben Rigger. He has been talk-
ing about Quick Streak the last six
weeks. “This town is no good,” he
says. “You ought to see the way
they spend money in Quick Streak;
they think no more of tossing round
ten thousand dollars than we do of
ten cents.” He's going to get some
of that. He is going to Quick Streak,
but he isn’t going to get any of their
money. He has been rather too good
a spender here where there wasn't
much competition in that line. When
he gets to Quick Streak he will be in
competition with a fast bunch and
he will try to get rich by spending
more than the rest of them. I wish
I knew how to do that; it looks like
a nice, comfortable way of getting
rich. I sounded Lester about it for
curiosity: told him I had a chance to
pick up a little bank stock there. He
advised me against it; “there isn’t
more than one house in the town,”
he says, “that I’d take their paper
on rediscount; there isn’t what I call
a sound business concern there,” he
says. “I guess they’re all making
money fast,” he says, “and the bank
is earning about 25 per cent., accord-
ing to its last statement; but if you
want big returns on your money,”
he says, “why don’t you play poker
or something else conservative?”
Take the other side of it. I don't
know a merchant who is doing the
fair thing for the town but that the
town is doing the fair thing by him.
Except Henry Frost, perhaps, and
you may say that he has no more
right to expect good returns when
he’s in the wrong end of the store
than I would if I tried to move my
business out to Fairview avenue.
A fellow ought to look over the
whole field and make sure he has pick-
ed out the best opening he can find
in the best town he can reach. Then
he has got to study his market and
keep on studying it. The day I don’t
learn something new about Buffalo
Hump and Crack county I hope
someone will buy me out before the
business dies on me. It isn’t enough
to coax trade. You’ve got to court
your town. Shine up to it like you
did to your girl and give it a treat
now and then, but don’t be extrava-
gant, or if she’s a sensible girl she'll
let you spend your money and then
turn you down, and the same with a
town. Last of all, it may sound silly

an re re ee ee

but I believe it—if you want your
town to do the right thing by you,
you've got to feel, Oh well, sort of
daffy—you know the way you felt
about the girl. When a fellow says,
“That's the girl for me,” nine times
out of ten there’s nothing more to
it but hiring the minister and the two
hacks for the wedding party.

Everyone of the knockers is pound-
ing a sore thumb. The more he
knocks the sorer he gets. I don't
bar knocking entirely, not the right
sort. I saw somewhere that con-
structive criticism was when a fellow
saw a hole in the fence and came run-
ning with a board to fix it. A town
can stand all the constructive criticism
it can get. It can stand all the knock-
ing it gets, for that matter. It hurts
the knockers worse than it does the
town. I have seen lots of men drive
themselves out of town, but I never
saw one put the town to the bad
yet. But it does seem terrible fool-
ish to sit and pound a sore thumb all
day. When a man finds himself get-
ting into that condition he’d better
change his location as quick as pos-
sible. If I knew a better town than
}uffalo Hump I wouldn’t stay here. As
long as this is the best town I know,
I am going to say so and I don’t care
who knows it.

Sim Hooper says this town is noth-
ing but a hole. He’s going—one week
it’s one place and the next somewhere
else.- When he gets there he’ll find
that town is a hole too. Funny, if a
man fills a place it’s an opening; if he
doesn't it’s a hole. Wherever Sim
goes it will be a hole.

John S. Pardee.
—__2>+.____

Why Man Gets the Better Pay.

There is a most appreciable difference
between the salaries paid men_stenog-
raphers and those paid to women ste-
nographers. Why this marked dis-
crepancy should exist has for a long
time been the subject of much discus-
sion.

A prominent business man who hires
and fires many  stenographers every
year, expresses his views on the sub-
ject and, incidentally, seems to solve
the problem. He says:

“In the first place men stenographers
are far more reliable than the women.
They are at their desks on time in the
morning and if they have to work half
an hour or so overtime, they do so un-
complainingly.

“Women, as a general rule, do not
show this spirit of business interest.
Promptly at the hour of quitting for
the day they quit. To them an im-
portant business letter is a thing that
can hold over until tomorrow.

“Women do not enter into the spirit
of the business as eagerly as the men
do. To nine-tenths of them a _ steno-
graphic position means pin money and
theatre tickets. To the average man
it means food and advancement.

“A man takes keen interest in learn-
ing the business in which he is em-
ployed. The mastery of important de-
tails to him is absorbing, for it means
his ultimate advancement. He studies
the wants of his employer and con-
stantly keeps his eye on the man just
above him. Some day he hopes to step
into the shoes of the man higher up.

“A woman, however, generally keeps
her eyes on the clock. She covets the
job of the woman who holds a superior
position and is envious of her standing
with the firm. But if the woman who
has the better job were to die some day,
the stenographer would not assume her
responsibilities, for she has not studied
the business in its various details. She
simply has been content with remaining
a mere machine.

“The cares of the boss are dismissed
the moment she transcribes her last
shorthand note. She doesn’t stop to
figure out how she may advance the
interests of her employer; she doesn’t
concern herself with the business far-
ther than drawing her pay envelope.
That’s the most vital thing attached to
her position.

“Such differences in attention to busi-
ness are productive of but one result—
good salaries to the men and much low-
er ones to the women. Some of the
men I employ are not doing a bit more
work than some of the women I have
working for me, but they’re far more
valuable assets and I pay them accord-
ingly. Twenty-five dollars is a moder-
ate salary for a man stenographer; it’s
a great big one for a woman. Some
day the man will command a better po-
sition and an advance in salary. To
this end he’s studying his work and
familiarizing himself with routine and
methods. He gets acquainted with the
men who hold better jobs than his and
seeks an insight into the business.

“Many of my department heads and
lieutenants started with me as stenog-
raphers. They did not type our busi-
ness correspondence in a perfunctory
way. They studied the correspondence
and received a business education by
so doing. They have advanced with the
growth of the firm. I wish I could say
this much for many of the women in
my employ.

“T have a few women working for
me who really are business women.
Many more, however, who started in as
stenographers are still punching the
typewriter keys, and the prospects are
they will continue to do so until age
demands a change or until they are
married.

“The young woman who becomes a
stenographer should give as much at-
tention to learning the business as the
men do. She needs the money, or she
would not be a_ stenographer. She
should apply herself and put herself in
position for advancement. The day
may come when she will have to de-
pend solely upon the fruits of her la-
bors for a livelihood. Should that day
come she ought to be prepared to meet
the ordeal.

“If women made themselves as valu-
abie to their employers as the men do
the difference in salaries would not be
so extremely marked. We pay our men
stenographers more than we do our
women because they are worth the dif-
ference. They are dependable employes,
who, should occasion demand, could
step into the breach and fill an impor-
tant position. The women, on the con-
trary, are far less valuable to us. They
write shorthand and they operate a
typewriter satisfactorily, but outside of

that they are not valuable acquisi-
tions.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

ee ee ee ae ee ee ee.

Oe peewee ee ee

' av SV ace. tv

i ty Us '

ee en eRe

eee as

 

October 29, 1913

MICHIGAN TRADESMAN

33

 

 

 

 

 

 
  
  

|

i

ai

Ohe

 

 

Srrrryinn pl E

aay

 

 

 

reee
gaaa, Four

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

OME names have come to be regarded as synonymous with the articles they have invented or exploited.
Howe stands for the sewing machine. Edison stands for the incandescent lamp. Ford stands for the
motor car. Bissell stands for the carpet sweeper. Telfer stands for coffee, because he has devoted his life to
the development and exploitation of the four brands of coffee illustrated on this page and has brought them to
erfection which has given them a world wide reputation for excellence and uniformity. Telfer
merchants to place their coffee departments on a satisfactory and profitable basis. He will

ur coffee department is languishing and needs the exhilarating effect of brands which

a degree of p
has enabled many

do the same by you if yo
are repeaters and advertise themselves by bringing new customers constantly to the coffee counter.

See our salesmen or write us for samples and quotations.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Coffee
Co.

Detroit

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

34

MICHIGAN TRADESMAN

October 29, 1913

 

ASHPHALT SHINGLES.

 

They Meet the Demand for Orna-
mental Roofing.

It is worthy of note that prominent
architects, builders and property owners
generally are turning their attention to
ornamental roof coverings, and the
modern residence which does not have
a roof with color effect is considered
unfinished from an artistic standpoint.
Comparatively a few years ago but lit-
tle attention was given to ornamental
roofing.

Wood shingles for many years have
had the lead, but the supply of available
timber suitable for shingles has been
exhausted to a considerable extent and
the result is that a very inferior qual-
ity of wooden shingle is produced. It
is not our purpose in this article to be-
little the wood shingles or any other
class of roof covering only in so far
as the relative values of the different
coverings may be shown. Most of the
so-called high grade wood shingles are
manufactured on the Pacific Coast and
transcontinental freight
necessary for manufacturers
to kiln dry the shingles before shipping
East. This process must be damaging,
being led to believe that kiln dried lum-
ber in any form is intended only for

the excessive
makes it

interior work. The action of the ele-
this especially, is

severe and with wood shingles of this

ments, in climate

character there is a

toward rapid decay.

strong tendency

The heavy fire losses in this country
has awakened interest
among building inspectors and is influ-
encing, to a great extent, the drafting
of fire ordinances prohibiting the use of
highly coverings.
There is an immediate and increasing
demand for durable fire resisting mater-

considerable

combustible roof

ial to supersede the wood shingles and
a few manufacturers are

now makine shingles in dimensions and

progressive

appearance much like quarried slate. A
selected strong fiber wool felt is used as
a base and when saturated and _ heavily
coated with almost strictly pure asphalt,
which is then surfaced with crushed
slate or granite, we have a shingle that
is durable and Not
shingles of unsur-
passed quality, efficiency and _ reliability,
but they admit of the

handsome. alone

are these asphalt

production of
very handsome and attractive color ef-
fects. A dweiling may be extremely
modest in its general design and con-
struction, yet if the asphalt shingles in
colors are used for the roof they give
this house a certain distinguished air
of taste or refinement which is pleasing
and which is not obtainable with any
other kind of covering.

The given considerable
time to investigating the relative value
of residence coverings and the result
has shown as follows:

writer has

Quarried slate is very heavy and re-
quires special roof construction. It is
also expensive as to first cost.

The ordinary metal roofing causes a
great deal of trouble from rust which
is apt to take place on the lower sides
of the sheets where it is impossible to
reach, and the contraction
and expansion is certain to loosen and
weaken the joints.

inevitable

Copper comes the nearest to being a

renee va na a nanEn Nt nnEEEnD

perfect metallic roof-:covering, but for
general use its cost is prohibitive.

Tile is attractive, but the cost is ex-
cessive for medium priced dwellings,
and also requires special roof construc-
tion.

Sheet roofing laid in rolls is adapted
to certain kinds of construction, but
can never be popular for dwellings.

The subject of fire hazard is one of
especial importance. A great many
cities are extending their fire districts
to include all the corporate limits, re-
quiring roofs to be of a fire resisting
material. Fire insurance
consider the asphalt

companies
shingles one of

materials, and
covered with these
shingies the cost of insurance is reduced
accordingly.

the best fire resisting
where a roof is

In fact, rates on all class-
es of buildings are regulated in part by

—

the character of the roofing material,
wood shingles in particular being con-
sidered extra hazardous. Asphalt shin-
gles give a protection against fire which
is of inestimable value. The attention
of building owners in the rural districts
is especially called to the importance of
adopting some kind of a roof covering
for their buildngs which will
safety fron: burning embers in case of
neighborhood fire.

ensure

In most cases there
1s but little, 1f any, fire protection in the
way of apparatus for extinguishing
fires, hence the importance of guarding
against the use of highly inflammable
material for roof coverings.

The modern asphalt shingle is espec-
ially desirable to lay as it can be bent
to any form and yet is not weak in
any part. Their flexibility is due to
their construction, as the asphalt makes

 

them pliable and yet possesses a tough-
ness that will withstand the wear and
tear of service for many years. It is
this unsurpassed combination of quality
and merits which has gained for the
asphalt shingle its widely extended rep-
utation and patronage, and the demand
is constantly increasing.
John E. Bowen.
—_—_. + + —___

Common Sense the Secret of Success.

“There goes a man who will always
get a slice of our business so long as
I am here in my present capacity,’
said the purchasing agent for a large
jobbing house, nodding his head in
the direction of a departing sales-

man.
The man referred to possessed none
of the outward characteristics com

monly counted essential in a success-

JOHN E. BOWEN.

ful salesman. He was undersized, al-
Most insignificant in appearance. The
party addressed sized him up care-
fully, then turned to the purchasing
agent.
“Why?”
“Because he’s a good scout. He
doesn’t come in here as though he
owned the whole place, and bluster
and blow around about what he has
been doing. He knows every man
worth while in the trade in his terri-

he enquired.

tory and he knows just how to ap-
proach you. He usually has a good
story on tap—not a smutty one, but
a clean one with a point that you're
glad to listen to. H'e takes an inter-
,est in your personal affairs, but above
down to business and

all he gets

doesn’t waste any of your time.

“Tf some of the other fellows in his
line get around first you may be sure
there’s a good order held out for him.
It’s the same way all along the line,
too.”

Later on the writer, who had lis-
ened to the conversation, sought out
the traveling man and made bold to
enquire the secret of his success.

“There isn’t any secret,’ said he,
with a contagious laugh, “it’s just the
application of a little common sense
—some fellows call it psychology, but
I never was very strong on the olo-
gies. Here’s the way I size the situa-
tion up—and you’ll see at a glance
how simple it is. There are certain
things in which I take a greater in-
terest than in others. That is true
of every man. Whitman finds his
greatest enjoyment in getting out of
a week’s end and shooting rabbits.
There’s no use discussing trout fish-
ing with him, while if you mentioned
toting a gun all day for the sake
of knocking over a few cottontails
ta Walker, who is in the seventh
heaven of bliss when up to his hips
in a trout stream, he’d be just about
as interested as though you read to
him from the Koran. Wilkinson
likes to putter around in his back
yard and Nixon is a rabid baseball
fan. There isn’t a man in my ter-
ritory whose preferences in the mat-
ter of diversion I don't know. It
took time and a lot of hard study.
but it was worth it.

 

“Now I can drop into a place and
hit every fellow I meet right where
he lives. The first step in selling
goods is to get close to your pros-
pect, to interest him, to make your-

~self welcome the next time you call.

We are all pretty much alike. I like
to meet a fellow whose tastes run
in the same direction as mine or who
at least has sufficient sense to give
the impression that they do. I al-
ways put myself in the other fellow’s
place, to conduct myself just as I'd
like to have a man do if he called to
see me. When I’ve got him coming
my way I talk business. That’s all
there is to it—just applied common
sense.”
—__+++—____

Being Sociable With the Pig.

He was running for Congress and
found that there was a certain Irish-
man in his district who steadfastly
refused to accord him any support.
So it was with much surprise that
the colonel was advised by the Celt
just before election day that he had
concluded to give him his vote. “Glad
to hear that, Pat,” said the colonel.
“I rather thought you were against
me,” “Well, sir,” said Pat, “to tell
the truth, I was; and when ye stud
by me pigpen and talked that day for
two hours or more, ye didn’t budge
me a hair’s breadth. But, sir, after
ye was gone away I[ got to thinkin’
how ye reached yer hand over the
fince and scratched the pig on the
back until he laid down wid the pleas-
ure av it; it was thin I made up my
mind that whin a rale colonel was as
sociable as that I wasn’t the man to
vote ag’in him.”

— sss ———_

Strange to say, too many eye-openers

will close a man’s eyes.

 

“s,

nest

 

 

 

 

 

MICHIGAN TRADESMAN

 

October 29, 1913

 

 

 

 

 

 

WE MANUFACTURE

Freight Elevators, Lumber Lifts, Special Machinery, Boilers, Smoke Stacks, Fire Escapes
Patterns, Grey Iron Castings, Steam Forgings and Steam and
Hot Water Heating Systems

We Carry a Complete Line of Pipe Fittings, Mill and Factory Supplies
GENERAL REPAIR WORK A SPECIALTY

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ADOLPH LEITELT IRON WORKS 2 211-213 Erie St., Corner Mill Ave.
Ooo 166 gfouoer tc Lop tone tim vooeneroevya! t-e&c SUH tao sg cet ot oO MS Ss BAe e ee Pee eee ee ee 2 Eo BSS i

 

36 MICHIGAN TRADESMAN October 29, 191%

 

 

 

HIRTH-KRAUSE COMPANY

 

For Hard Wear For Women

le. ae “Ruth”

Rouge Rex ik
Shoes

RRA OSES SIS ae
SIS FSSISIVISS SE
Made for Men and Boys

&

For Dress and Business

 

 

 

A Shoe of Character

‘b

For Misses and
Children

 

 

Planet Line The Playmate | |
Welts Line

Comet Saturn | . Of Turns and
Jupiter Mars McKays

 

 

 

STORE AND OFFICES, GRAND RAPIDS, MICH.

Glove Brand Rubbers

Stand Pre-eminent for All Styles of Shoes
For All Kinds of Service

 

Tr are superior in quality, but this is greatly enhanced by the excellent fitting lasts on

which they are made. Regardless of the quality of a rubber, if it does not fit the shoe, it.
will not give satisfactory service. The frequently changing styles of footwear, however, are
quickly followed by Glove Brand Rubbers, so that an exact fit may be bod on the latest styles of

toes and heels if you carry this brand in stock.

We have Glove Rubbers in all the latest styles and in a variety of widths. We can fit any

shoe you have in stock, and orders will be taken care of the day they are received.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1%

 

 

 

October 29, 1913: MICHIGAN TRADESMAN

37

 

 

 

Thirty Years of Growth and Progress

 

1883

Leather, Findings, Hides and Furs
First Year’s Sales $38,621.00

bbe
1883-1899

 

Leather, Findings
Children’s Shoes and Rubbers

Annual Sales $231,824.00

EE
1899-1903

Jobbers of

Shoes, Rubbers and Findings
Annual Sales $318,680.00

bbe
1903-1910

SHOE FACTORY, ROCKFORD, MICH.

Jobbers of Shoes, Rubbers and Store Findings
Annual Sales $738,798.34

apohob
1910-1913
Tanners of Leather

Manufacturers of Shoes
Jobbers of Shoes, Rubbers, Store Supplies

Annual Sales: $1,100,000.00

Manufacturers of Shoes 9

2 OO =

We are old in experience, but young in ambition and
enthusiasm. Our ability to satisfactorily serve our cus-
tomers is greater than in any past year, and, fully appre-
ciating the loyalty of our many patrons without which this
growth would have been impossible, our desire and aim is

Oa) by more efficient service to merit their continued good will
and patronage.

q at

Hirth-Krause Company

Hide to Shoe
Tanners and Shoe Manufacturers

TANNERY, ROCKFORD, MICH. Grand Rapids, Michigan

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

38

MICHIGAN TRADESMAN

October 29, 1913

 

GOLDEN WORDS.
Talk by a Former Grand Rapids

Educator.*
I am very happy in being here this

evening. The delightful ride through
the gorgeous scenery of this lovely

autumn day; this precious half hour of
talk with old friends; this delicious ban-
quet; these earnest speeches on a theme
all deserve a better
return than I feel myself able to make.
] hope you share my regret that I have
so little to say worthy of the occasion.

always dear to me

 

Especially, when a few minutes ago you
saw how I forgot the names of so many
of you, you must have been fearful that
I would forget my speech. There I am
beyond the reach of fate for | have
no speech to forget—only a report of
some recent reading. However, I am
ashamed that I forget names so easily.
It is a very old failing of mine. You
know that the good Bock says that those
who gain the heavenly paradise have a
new name given them. That is begin-
ning to trouble me, as I remember that
when delightful
friends reach their earthly paradise and
have a new name given them I am so
liable to forget that name.

many of my _ dear

An after dinner speech ought to be
easy and simple and so I propose this
simple theme:
the Universe?
way?

Wha: is the purpose of
VW hat is it all about any-
Or, more directly, what is the
policy of the Universe? Is it to culti-
vate and exalt sentient life or to sup-
press it? The reading to which I refer
above would have it that it is to sup-
press conscious existence. It is rather
popular in astronomy just now to con-
tend that the millions of suns that we
see above us are uninhabited by beings
like ourselves; and, moreover, that they
never have been and never will be in-
habited. Also that the myriad million
dark bodies which circle around these
suns are not now, never have been, and
never will be, the

abode of conscious

life. Likewise that our sun and all! the
planets that move about it. except our
little earth, are not now. never have

been, and never will be, inhabited. As
for our earth, conscious life began upon
it only yesterday and will cease to-mor-
row. Already the sun of life upon our
earth has passed its meridian and is de-
clining to its setting. Life is of doubt-
ful utility. Consciousness is the mis-
take of the Universe This wholesale
destruction of life in our Universe (and
why “our’ Universe? I neither
part nor lot in such a dreary scene)—
this wholesale destruction of conscious
life seems the last effort of race suicide.
Gone are those fine sturdy canal dig-
gers on the planet Mars with which
Loweil presented us.

want

Gone the more
elegant celestial beings whom some have
imagined upon the planet Venus. Every-
where a dead and desolate waste.

Now why do these people say these
things? Simply because they want to.
They might as reasonably maintain the
direct contrary position—that every ce-
lestial body was meant to be inhabited
and was certain to be inhabited at some
time in the course of its
Neither statement has
value

existence.
any scientific
We simply know nothing about
it, using the word “know” in its strict

 

. Strong, of
Grand Rapids

*Address by Prof. E. A.
Ypsilanti, before Alumni
High School.

scientific sense. There is not an atom
of evidence to show that the policy of
the Universe is one of suppression of
conscious intelligence; to show that
while the Keeper of the Universe, en-
gaged in matters, had
turned His back for a celestial moment
upon this particular

more weighty
solar system, lying
a little to one side of the center of the
visible Universe, this little third mass of
mud and rock that we call the earth
left the stirrings of life on its surface
—a life that went on progressing toward
higher forms until, at last, it became
conscious, intelligent and purposeful
and began to investigate and shape to
its purposes the scheme of things in
All this is pure
gratuity, springing from a sickly fear

which it found itself.
of the appalling consequences of con-

scious existence. A wise and_ witty
Frenchman has written a book with a
The

Fear of Living, to trace to its origin

title which might be translated,

 

 

best possible world and needs no im-
provement”; and also the contention of
the pessimist, “This is the worst of all
worlds and cannot be improved,’ we
can at least be meliorists and _ say,
“Whatever the world is, at least here
we are; let us make the best of it.”
We have not merely a_ conceit of
progress. Progress is possible and real.

How is progress achieved? By tak-
ing thought; in a word, by education ;
the education of the home, of business,
of life; but especially by the education
of the schools. Here we are upon fa-
miliar ground and | need not enlarge,
merely calling attention to the fact that
it is by education that we gather up the
saving of the past and put it out at
usury in the present. Whatever is now
the
whatever has ever been done, thought

being dene anywhere in world—-
the
the
And now

or said—is held in solution by

schoo! to nourish and_ stimulate

National and community life.

E. A. STRONG.

and castigate this nerveless hesitation,
this dread of the future, which seems
to be the special disease of the time.
If life is not a good there is no good.
Even in pain, hardship, misery and sac-
rifice we may feel the rapture of the
strife, if we cannot discern hope in the
future. know that I ought to be
ashamed to say this—I who have had
a level and easy life with few serious
jolts, with small ambitions, and wanting
few things that I did not find within my
reach—in view of the helpless misery of
multitudes of my
seems a mockery for those who, like
myself, are dabbling in the pool of life
on a summer day to shout to the mul-
titude on the banks “Come in. Come

fellow beings. It

in, the water’s fine.” And yet that is

just my feeling. Individually and as a
race we are slowly solving the riddle
of existence.
tial Putting aside the con-

tention of the optimist, “This is the

We are making substan-

progress.

comes my main question—the only one
that 1 care about in what I have been
test of a
school? of good teaching? Simply this:

saying—what is the good
how it makes for progress in the indi-
When the kind-
ness of some Grand Rapids friends sent
me to Europe for my health in 1884 J
had a sort of left-handed appointment
to the American Committee to attend the
great International Conference on Edu-
cation of that vear in London. Among
the delegates to that Conference was a
Professor Stoy who had had
the preparatory for
teachers in connection with the Univer-
sity of Jena. He made of the
test of an educational system and of
teaching done under it, as consisting
solely in the kind of men and women
which it made or tended to make, and

vidual and in the race.

long
charge of school

much

gave some rules for applying this test.
I thoroughly believe in this as the final
and authoritative test of a good school,

as also in its applicability. Are the
schools of Grand Rapids better than
they were forty years ago under Mr.
Chesebro? Yes, if they make or tend
to make better men and women. And
in one respect they certainly do help,
with other forces, to make better peo-
ple. For they do assist in giving to
those who come under their influence a
broader, larger, fuller life—a life with
more and more varied experiences than
was possible forty years ago. The more
experiences the more life, and there is
no way of having more life but by hav-
ing more experiences. The quality of
these experiences—so far as they are
affected by the schools—we might ex-

 

amine and find at once encouragement,
warning and reproof in the effort; with,
I verily think, a considerable balance
in favor of the education of the present
day. But forty years ago the schools
were very near the people. The teacher
was a power—every teacher was a
power—in the community. He knew
every man, woman and child and en-
tered
way.

into their lives in a very real
Every home welcomed him and
eave him confidence and consideration.
He might be called the consulting engi-
neer in the girl and boy industry for
the home and the community. For
many years this relation was in a meas-
ure lost. The teacher taught subjects
children, and did not see in
and girls of the schoclroom

and women who were to be.

and
the
the
Now we

not
boys
men
are coming back to this old
relation and the school is getting nearer
the home and community life. And so
far as I know, this is nowhere more
true than in Grand Rapids.
>>>
The Value of a Name.

The value that is placed on the

names of long-established mercantil?

 

concerns is proven by the large num-
ber of re-organized and reconstructed
firms that continue to bear the names
of the original owners.
there remains

Even though
no other connection,
the name is considered a_ valuable
asset. |

This is true, not only because of the
advertised prestige of a long-estab-
lished brand, but also of the reputa-
tion for integrity, quality and square
dealing that has accrued to the pro-
ducer of the brand. A modern mer-
chant can find on his shelves dozens of
articles bearing names of men long
passed to their reward. The name
still lives and is a monument to the
memory of the man who bore it and
whose efforts perpetuated it.

Every modern merchant has the op-
portunity to build his name into a

monument. Every retail merchant
must make his name stand for the
best that can be given. Competition

with large concerns, whose name is
their trademark, compels every inde-
pendent retailer to make of his name
a valuable asset.

His name should mean _ quality,
service, honesty, courtesy, reciprocity
and square dealing. Ultimate success
is bound to attend the man who
places such construction on the value
of a name,

——

A salesman with a perpetual grouch
is a salesman who is a perpetual fail-
ure. If you can’t cheer up, get out
of business.

 

 

 

 

 

October 29, 19138 MICHIGAN TRADESMAN a9

 

 

 

 

a ai) Semi a Paes ee a See acer

 

 

 

ssduetdlenanamemmectnainatannen-ai sstask-cocete ce

ALLE Str EE eeK es CE goa

ia: gy

 

 

 

 

 

he , The Home of the

Hazeltine & Perkins Drug Co.

Corner of Oakes St. and Commerce Ave.
Three Hundred Feet from Main Entrance to Union Depot

me
the

nd

. We invite you to call and make yourself at home.

 

a eb We are also celebrating our anniversary, but ours is the Fortieth.
- We began business in 1873.

 

 

7 Hazeltine & Perkins Drug Co.
| Grand Rapids, Mich.

ail-
out

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

40

GRADUAL GROWTH.

 

Origin and Development of Whole-
sale Dry Goods Business.

The story of the growth of the whole-
sale dry goods business, though phenom-
enal, is only consistent with the wonder-
ful growth of the city of Grand Rapids.
At the time of the beginning of the job-
bing business, Grand Rapids was but a
village of a few hundred inhabitants
whose business amounted to almost
nothing.

As far back as 1870, Voigt, Herpol-
sheimer & Co. did a jobbing business
and later on used a separate building
for the wholesale department under the
managenient of John Snitzler, who con-
tinued in this capacity until 1909, when
Mr, Holden took charce. This firm
then incorporated under the name of
the Grand Rapids Dry Goods Co. and
for the past two years have occupied a
portion of the new Corl-Knott building
on Commerce avenue.

Then other jobbing sprang up. Tyler,
Graham & Co. were jobbers of notions,
gloves and mittens until they discon-
tinued in 1890. The Spring Dry Goods
Co. conducted a jobbing business from
1875 to 1902. In 1907 came the Grand
Rapids Notion Co., which made a spec-
ialty of small wares but has since added
piece goods to its line of merchandise.
Then, more recently, the Lowell Manu-

facturing Co., maker and wholesaler of ©

wrappers and house dresses, and the
Ideal Clothing Co., manufacturers of
shirts, overalls and pants.

The firm of Doornink & Steketee
opened for business in 1862. Jn 1872
Mr. Doornink sold his interest and in
1878, Paul Steketee, in partnership with
his sons, John P. and Peter P., estab-
lished the firm of Paul Steketee & Sons.
In addition to the retail business, they
jobbed dry goods in a small way.

During the lumbering industry good
sizes invoices for lumbermen’s supplies,
such as mackinaws, pants and_ socks
were jobbed to the Northern Michigan
towns.

Dn

From this and jobbing with a
few country merchants—some of whom
would drive to Grand Rapids for sup-
plies-—the business soon expanded until
more room was made by the jobbers
then doing business. In the very early
davs money in Michigan was scarce and
sometimes transactions were carried on
by “barter’—that is, hides, butter, eggs
and produce of all kinds were ex-
changed for manufactured articles and
merchandise.

Pav! Steketee & Sons a few years
later erected a new building on Fountain
street, between Ionia and Ottawa, and
in this the firm used one-half of the
first and all of the upper floors for
wholesale and the Monroe avenue fronts
were devoted to retail. The business
grew rapidly until five vears ago it
was iound necessary to seek larger
quarters and a more commodious build-
ing was erected on the corner of Ionia
and Fountain streets.

Two vears ago Peter P. Steketee died
and the five members who now com-
prise the firm are C Dosker. Paul J.
and Dan C. Steketee and the two sons
of Peter P., Paul F. and Harold, grand-
sons of Paul Steketee

This vear two more floors were added,
making a total of six floors and base-
ment for wholesale exclusively, under

MICHIGAN TRADESMAN

the management of Dan C. and Harold
Steketee.

There are few people to-day. who
reading over the eventful history of the
wholesale dry goods business of Grand
Rapids will be able to realize that from
so small a beginning has grown so large
a trade.

It might be interesting to know of
the success of Paul Steketee, the found-
er of the present firm of Pau! Steketee
& Sons. Those who are wont to talk
of “luck” deluding themselves with the
consolation that “there is no chance for
a poor man,’ may well stand silent in
the face of the facts in the history of
his life.

He started as a poor man. When a
boy of 14 he came to this country with
his father from the Netherlands and
located in Zeeland, Michigan. His ser-

 

father and mother, he learned the Dutch
virtues of honesty, frugality and in-
dustry—and this was his equipment for
business success.

What happened thirty years ago is of
little moment to the average man, and
yet coupled to the present, the past
takes on a meaning full of importance
to those who look to the future.

And so it is that what took place in
the early eighties accounts not only for
the achievements of 1912. but also fore-
cast the years to come, the newly en-

‘larged building at the corner of Ionia

and Fountain having become a necessity
to take care of the ever increasing busi-
ness. The wholesale department of to-
day, however, is but a tribute to the
founder of the concern. Its develop-
ment reflects only the prior develop-
ment of the man who had the nerve

DANIEL C. STEKETEE.

vices were needed at home and were
made available until, in 1848, he came
to Grand Rapids and engaged in all
kinds of labor and later in the em-
ploy of W. S. H. Welton and
John Kendall. In this newly chosen
occupation he was successful, and held
his position there eight years. In 1862,
he commenced husiness for himself in
company with John H. Docrnink, doing
a prosperous retail dry goods business
under the type of Doornink & Steketee.
It is interesting to learn the condition
under which this partnership began.

Paul Steketee had practically no
money, but Mr. Doornink had a stocls
of goods invoicing $1,100, and a small
amount of cash, for one-half of which
Steketee became his debtor, and on this
sum he was to pay interest at the rate
of 7 per cent.

From this it will be seen that Paul
Steketee did not wait for his father to
give him a “start.” From his Dutch

and ability to do things. Such a man

was Paul Steketee.

. It is here that the story of his life
and business career closes. But his
name ard his policies builded on the
noblest truths of life, have been taken
up by his sons and grandsons and now
stand symbolized by one of Western
Michigan’s greatest wholesale dry goods
concerns. Dan C. Steketee.
—_++>—_—_

Good Will as an Advertising Medium.
Written for the Tradesman.

Not so long ago I had the good
fortune to hear an extremely fresh
and stimulating address on a certain
phase of commercial advertising.

Although the speaker was given an
A-1 rating by the: President of our
Club in his introductory remarks, my
heart sank within me as I first be-
held our lecturer. In repose he was
just a little, old wizened man with
thin blond hair and deep blue eyes;

October 29, 1913

but when he fairly began to unwind
and the superb mechanism of his mind
began to work at high tension, that
little old advertising person was posi-
tively metamorphosed. The way he
grew on us, loomed up, waxed vast,
and fairly transfixed us with those lan-
cet-like eyes, what time he refreshed
us with vital and compelling ifleas
wrought out in the course of his own
extensive advertising experience—-
well, you know how it is with the
man who has something to say and is
fortunate enough to be able to say
it—that’s eloquence. And, take it
from me, that little old wizened ad-
vertising man was genuinely eloquent.

He had been talking of mediums—
the kinds, uses, limitations and pos-
sibiltities of them—when he suddenly
wheeled around, lowered his voice,
and said with tremendous emphasis:

“But after all, men, your best med-
ium is good will. What satisfied cus-
tomers voluntarily say about your
store to their friends and neighbors
and acquaintances is worth vastly
more to you than anything you can
say about it through any printed med-
ium. A printed announcement is a
cold, inanimate thing—a bit of white
paper spread over with so much
printers’ ink—but a satisfied customer
is a living personality.”

Laying aside all high-sounding
words, stripping off the frills, and
getting right down to fundamentals,
you've simply got to please your cus-
tomers if you hope to hold their
trade. Are you doing it? Your com-
petitors doubtless are vitally inter-
ested in developing merchandising
methods that will create more and
more satisfied customers

The acid test that should be applied
to every store policy is this, Does it
produce satisfied customers? And the
same is true of service, salesmanship,
merchandise, and everything else that
plays any part in your merchandising
scheme. The only sort of retailing
that pays nowadays is the kind of.
selling that brings about a satisfied
state of mind in the parties to whom
you sell.

Your sales rooms may be sump-
tuous in their appointments and fur-
nishing, your window and _ interior
trims beautiful to a degree, and your
merchandise all that you claim for
it; but if the people who patronize
your establishment aren’t satisfied
after they have bought, what’s the
use? Talk about your clever sales-
manship. Well I’ve seen a good bit
of salesmanship that was too ever-
lastingly clever—and you have too,
if you'll stop and think. No matter
how smart and resourceful the sales-
man is in a given instance, if the par-
ty who paid out real money for the
thing he finally selected isn’t thor-
oughly satisfied, that bit of salesman-
ship hasn’t helped the house. In the
long run it will prove to be a losing
piece of business.

Successful merchandising depends
absolutely on good will, and in order
to acquire good will you’ve simply
got to pay the price. Fair-dealing is
the price. Be just as square with the
people who visit your store as you
are with yourself and you'll get their
good will. Frank Fenwick.

 

 

 

 

 

 

_
oo

October 29, 1913 MICHIGAN TRADESMAN 41

 

 

 

adm |

et Rademaker-Dooge Grocer Co.

s : Z

 

 

 

Wholesale Grocers

o
QE os =

 

WE wish to thank our friends for the many

favors shown us in the past, and that it will
ever be our aim in the future, as in the past, to give
A our friends‘and customers quality and service. We

respectfully solicit a trial order.

 

 

 

28-30-32 Ellsworth Ave. | a Grand Rapids, Mich.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

i C. J. Litscher Electric Co.

- | 41-43 Market Ave. S. W.

| Grand Rapids, Michigan

it i BON

rE | N
O,

| Wholesale Electric Supplies

ae “Service is What Counts”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

    

MICHIGAN TRADESMAN

October 29, 1913

  

 

 

NATIONAL GROCER COMPANY
EXTENDS HEARTY CONGRATULATIONS
To MICHIGAN TRADESMAN on
THIS, ITS THIRTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF
SERVICE AND BENEFIT TO JOBBER AND
RETAILER, AND HOPES FOR ITS CON-

TINUED SERVICE AND PROSPERITY.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

913 Ooteer 26 8 MICHIGAN TRADESMAN 43

 

 

WE WANT THE RETAILER’S DOLLAR
AND WILL GIVE HIM HIS DOLLAR’S WORTH

   

 

 

 

~ NATIONAL GROCER COMPANY

Michigan’s Largest Grocery Jobbers
With Jobbing Houses at

) Detroit

Grand Rapids Traverse City
Jackson Lansing

| Bay City Saginaw Port Huron Cadillac
4 Escanaba Sault Ste. Marie

South Bend, Ind., and Decatur, Il.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

General Offices and Mills

29 to 35 West Larned St.

DETROIT, MICHIGAN

 

 

44

MICHIGAN TRADESMAN

October 29, 1913

 

REASONS FOR ITS SUCCESS.

 

Why the Tradesman is Both Unique
and Potent.

Thirty years! What memories imag-
ination doth garner from experiences,
happy and sad, strung like flashing gems
along the thread of time! Thirty years
of fruitful service in a green field!
Thirty years of the biggest and best
years in the history of civilization de-
voted by one man to one idea! It is
no light and inconsequential thing to
witness the sight of a masterful spirit
pursuing throvgh so long a period of
time and amid so many vicissitudes a
single well-defined course. It is good
for us to turn aside and observe this
thine that has come to pass—the growth
and development of the Michigan
Tradesman from modest beginnings to
its present stage of envied superiority
and admitted prestige.

Building on an Idea.

Tn the fall of 1883, upon an initial
investment, in so far as money is con-
cerned, of $1,700, Ernest A. Stowe be-
gan the publication of an unpretentious
little trade journal called then, as now,
the Michigan Tradesman. The event
was signalized by no visitble perturba-
{ion on the part of the great busy world.
Everything jog-trotted along precisely
as if nothing out of the ordinary had
happened. Cynics and croakers (for the
visible supply of such ilk was auite as
prolific in those days as now), on seeing
copies of that little publication before
the ink had fairly dried thereon, blithely
wagged their cynical heads and presaged
a time when Stowe’s trade paper ven-
ture would be one delicious little joke
to the favored few who knew about it;
for. of course, these sophisticated folk
had a hunch that it would pan out in-
gloriously. Hadn’t they themselves seen
scores and heard tell of hundreds of
stall class publications that had mod-
estly and inoffensively blossomed out
and, like delicate and inoffensive flow-
ers. more or less shortly thereafter
curled up and died? Of course Ernest
A. Stowe was a newspaper man with a
lot of practical information about the
publishing business gained from per-
sonal experience on a number of papers
run by other men; and, it must he con-
ceded by those who knew him, that
Stowe’s jaws were of that firm-set type
that bespeak staying qualities—“but
what’s the use?” remarked those sympa-
thetic apostles of doubt. “Stowe is bent
on having his little fling at the publish-
ing game and you couldn’t induce him
to listen to good advice. Just let him
amuse himself. He'll spend some hard-
earned coin in the school of experience.
He'll dull the edge of his too ardent
idealism by vigorously hacking away on
a cold and unresponsive public—and by
and by he'll automatically quit the game
—a wiser and a more sedate Stowe.”
And these interested, if not interesting,
on-lookers who thought they knew so
well, doubtless felt as if their gratuitous
pity for Stowe were a sort of a merit
that should be credited against some of
their personal peccadilloes.

Ah, me! How thickly interpolated
with unexpected things is the hook of
life! Just about the time we think
we've wrought out a copper-riveted,
error-proof theory, some pesky little
fact comes along and plays hob with

our splendid calculations. Ninety-nine
of our fellow beings we look at, look
through, sizc up and correctly appraise;
but the hundredth man makes us feel
as if we know almost nothing of human
nature and its endless possibilities.

By almost every rule of the game,
Ernest A. Stowe’s trade paper venture
was due to fail. But fail it didn’t. It
succeeded—not speedily and uproarous-
ly, mind you; bunt slowly, gradually, and
not without prodigious effort on the
part of the man back of it—the little
publication began to grow in size, in
circulation and in influence. Why? How
does it happen that Stowe’s Tradesman
continued to live and wax mighty when
hundreds of brilliantly edited, ably fi-
nanced publications have run their little
dav and then ceased to run? Class
publications of almost every conceivabie
type have appeared and from time to
time, are still forthcoming; but of all
trade journals, great and small, pub-
lished in this country, the Tradesman is
the only one that has been published
continuously during all of these years
—thirty of them—without change of
ownership, editorship or business policy
Gone are most of those festive news-
paper men of Grand Rapids who, three
decades ago, prognosticated the untime-
ly exit of the Tradesman; but the
Tradesman still goes to press on time
and more and more eagerly does the
Tradesman’s large and loyal reading
constituency look forward to its weekly
visit. And again I ask, Wherefore?

The answer to this enauiry—the secret
of this phenomenon—lies in the fact
that the Tradesman is built on an idea
—a clean-cut, distinctive, worth-while
idea. Back of the publication—-in the
ganglionic tissue of the man dominat-
ing the publication—there is, and has
been for thirty years and more—the
idea of a frank, practical, sinewy trade
paper, edited in the interest of mer-
chants in sundry lines. The complete
files of the Tradesman tell the story—
and it is a long one—of the struggles
of this idea to get itself adequately
bodied forth or materialized.

The Resulting Policy.

There are ideas and ideas, and every-
body that is anybody has oodlins of
them. Some ideas are as rosy as the
tints of dawn, and passing fair what
time we scan them through the gossamer
tissue of fragrant pipe-smoke; but they
are entirely too insubstantial, too eva-
nescent and precarious, to fare forth in
the sunlight. Other ideas that look at-
tractive and sound solid enough are de-
lusive and shifting and disappointing,
like the sands upon which unwise build-
ers have builded. Of all delicate and
fragile things, a mere idea is, at the
incipiency of it, the most delicate and
fragile. It is a mere thought, a wish,
an embryonic project-—and any one of
ten thousand fitful gusts may frustrate
it, obliterate it and carry the very debris
of it beyond the pale of remembered
things. There is no maternity estab-
lishment for the mothering of these elf-
ish brain-children which men call ideas.
lf the mind that conceives the intangible
and the unrealized doesn’t take the ini-
tiatve in nurturing and visualizing his
brain-child, then the idea is as if it
had never been. Vital ideas are the off-
spring of vigorous minds. Effete brains
do not enrich the world with wholesome

ideas, neither do weak, molluscous per-
sons incubate ideas that get anywhere.

After all, an idea isn’t nearly so im-
portant as the personality back of it.
But when you find a big, strong, mas-
terful personality, deliberately, patient-
ly and conscientiously hammering an
idea into a policy, you can safely con-
clude that there’s going to be some-
thing doing.

Any publication of whatsoever nature
should stand for something—something
positive, something different, something
worth while. The thing for which a
publication stands, or is supposed to
stand, constitutes its policy. And the
character of the policy should be re-
flected in its editorials and illustrated
and exemplified in its various depart-
ments. Seeking to please everybody,
many publications—and among the num-
ber, not a few trade periodicals—fail to
please anybody. When a paper gets too
broad in its scope to specialize on noth-
ing, it is entirely too broad for prac-
tical purposes; and when the spirit of
it becomes so gentle and sweet that it
can’t even rebuke the devil, it is too
mealy-mouthed for anything under the
canopy. A paper without a policy is
a publication sans character, sans in-
terest, sans everything.

It must be said to the credit of this
man Stowe that he gets out a publica-
tion that stands for something. Pick up
any copy of the Tradesman, look
through its pages carefully, and see if
yeu don’t find the unmistakable ear-
marks of policy—a_ succinct, definite,
clean-cut, consistent, year-in-and-year-
out policy.

IT am not sure that I can define the
policy of the Tradesman in set phrases,
but those of us who know the Trades-
man can feel the force of that policy.
And it is the continual presence of this
policy of the Tradesman that makes us
love the paper. This definite policy
inte which Stowe’s idea of a trade pub-
lication was hammered many years ago
is, you can readily see, a big and com-
plex thing. It includes many things
too diverse and elusive to be catalogued
here; but the following features of the
Tradesman policy stand out so clear and
distinct that even the casual and cursory
reader must necessarily be impressed
thereby.

1. The Tradesman is_ prodigiously
interested in helping its readers—men
now engaged in business enterprises—
solve their business problems and in-
crease the vearly net earnings of the
business. It wants to help develop
small shop keepers into larger dealers,
and larger dealers into bigger mer-
chants, and bigger merchants into larger
and finer men. Therefore it discusses
success from a thousand and one angles,
and sets forth and illustrates in a
thousand ways the underlying laws and
principles of business success. It has
consistently taught through all the thirty
years of its publication the fundamen-
tals of business efficiency. By means of
illustrations, biographical sketches, fea-
ture articles, special contributions, edi-
torial paragraphs and reported inter-
views—and all other and sundry of the
several modes of writing—the Trades-
man .seizes upon and emphasizes the
big and vital things in scientific mer-
chandising. For the sporadic, the ephem-
eral, and the questionable, the Trades-

man doesn’t care a rap, but it has a
veritable passion for the new, the stim-
ulating, and the substantial. Thus it
sketches the lives of big men who have
made good, describes clever business-
getting schemes that have won out
and bears down good and strong on the
everlasting virtues and amenities that
make for good will. Its pages are
filled with cleverly written articles; but
mere cleverness is subordinate to truth
and serviceableness. The Tradesman
seeks always to bring a practical mes-
sage, both to the man behind the coun-
ter and to the man at the executive
end of the business.

2. The Tradesman seeks to promote
the spirit of fraternity and co-opera-
tion between allied interests in our com-
mercial and industrial realms. Time
would fail me to tell about the various
reforms that have come about largely
through the aggressive agency of the
Tradesman. At times when belligerent
forces and factors of the commercial
world were flying at each others’ throats
and filling the earth with incriminations,
the Tradesman counseled peace, unity
and co-operation. It showed how the
good of the one was involved in the
weal of the many; so it leant itself
to the cause of organization.

3. Incidentally, the Tradesman has
taken positive delight in combating
greed, lawlessness and down-right cuss-
edness, whether municipal, corporate,
or private and petty. There be editors
who can dance a saraband on vital and
timely issues, and besport themselves
with such cleverness withal that no man
can, for the life of him, make out which
side of the fence ye editor is on. But
such is not the way of Ernest A. Stowe.
Stowe doesn’t claim infallibility, but
even Stowe’s bitterest enemies give him
credit for being positive, consistent and
everlastingly on the job. And _ the
Tradesman believes in playing the game
fair. It despises neither the small deal-
er for being a little merchandiser, nor
does it curry favor with the big corpor-
ation just because it is big and powerful.
It loathes and despises a mean, under-
handed trick in any man or set of men
that tries to put it over, and it doesn’t
hesitate to lift up its voice in clarion-
like protest. Whenever it sees a sordid
pestiferous head, this free-lance Trades-
man takes a whack at it. If you don’t
believe in the gospel of  fair-dealing,
you'll be as uncomfortable with the
Tradesman as the devil at a Christian
Endeavor prayer-meeting.

4. For another thing—and this is the
last feature of the Tradesman’s policy
that IT am going to mention in this ar-
ticle—the Tradesman is committed,
heart and soul, to the gospel of cheer-
fulness, good will and spunk—without
which no man can hope to get on ca-
ressing terms with the fickle goddess,
success. There is nothing morbid about
the Tradesman. Pessimism is alien to
its purpose. Mud-slinging it indulges
in not at all. The man who, for thirty
years, has edited its columns is clear-
eyed and red-blooded; and he has sur-
rounded himself with a staff of co-
laborers, correspondents and contribu-
tors who are endowed with mental
These co-labor-
ers are imbued with the
idea, and, loving Stowe for what he is,
most gladly and enthusiastically do they

health and awareness.
Tradesman

 

 

 

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TTC —

SpE TER BY

 

 

October 29, 1913

MICHIGAN TRADESMAN

45

 

 

 

 

A

 

 

 

The business of the Michigan Trust
Company is the safe handling of
money. We have at all times for
sale sound investments yielding from
5 per cent to 6 per cent. Send your

name for a circular

THE MICHIGAN TRUST CO.
Grand Rapids, Michigan

 

 

aN

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

46

MICHIGAN TRADESMAN

October 29, 1913

 

co-operate with him in the production
of the most unique and potent trade
publication in the world. And now for
thirty consecutive years, without hitch
or break or serious mishap, this pub-
lication has been going uninterruptedly
forward. Surely this anniversary oc-
casion is a fitting time to wish godspeed
to the man who makes the Tradesman.
Charles L. Garrison.
——— +2 >—__—__
How “G. B. C.” Stopped Mail Order
Buying.

Brookings, South Dakota, is just a
country town—no more fortunately
located than thousands of others.
The people who live in Brookings
and the surrounding territory are the
same every-day that you will find in
most rural communities.

And yet, Brookings is different
from the average country town. The
retailers average bigger sales to each
family in the territory than retailers
in other similarly located towns. You
don’t hear of any of them complain-
ing about mail order competition.
You don’t see any big boxes at the
freight depot addressed to farmers.

But it wasn’t always so. The mail
order houses at one time did a big
business with the farmers. The
freight depot always held a lot of
stuff shipped in from these concerns.

How did the change come about?

Simply by a concerted effort on
the part of a few of the local retail-
ers—at any rate, the beginning was
made by just seven men. Some of
these seven men were competitors,
but they forgot that for the time
being, because they realized that only
by working together would they be
able to solve the problem which con-
fronted them.

The first thing they did was to shake
hands and promise each other that
from then on they would not only
take no part in any “knocking of the
town,” but that whenever occasion
was found they would say a good
word for it.

Too many retailers are prone to
criticise—or rather find fault with—
their town and the people from whom
their trade must come.

The next step was to make a note
of every mail order shipment that
came to the freight depot and express
office. They explained the matter to
the railroad and express agents who,
of course, couldn’t prevent the names
on the shipping tags being copied.

Whenever the mail order buyers
would come into a store the retailer
would make it a point to show them
that he was able to give them as good
value as the mail order house, with-
out in any way referring to the fact
that he knew they bought from these
concerns, and in this way a consid-
erable number were “weaned away.”

With the more confirmed mail order
buyers, they adopted a more direct
method. Such people received a let-
ter calling attention to the fact that
the retailers knew that they were
sending money out of town for goods
which could be bought just as advan-
tageously in the local stores, and that
while they, of course, were free to
do as they pleased, they might at
some time find it necessary to apply
for credit or for other favors, which

under the circumstances most likely
would not be granted.

Other letters called attention to the
fact that the value of their farm de-
pended to a considerable extent upon
the prosperity and growth of their
home town, and that by purchasing
from the mail order houses they were
indirectly cutting down the value of
their own property.

With some, even more stringent
measures were taken. Some of the
retailers were directors in the banks,
and if a specially obstreperous farmer
made application for a loan he was
politely told that all the money avail-
able for loans was out and that they
were sorry they couldn't do anything
for him. He couldn't borrow. He
couldn’t sell anything in town, or if
he did sell he had to take less than
his neighbors.

For by this time the seven had add-
ed to their number, so that practical-
ly every business man of every line,
even the bankers, real estate men,
grain and stock buyers, was a mem-
ber of the “Get Busy Club,” and its
influence in the community counted
for a great deal.

The activities of this organization,
however, were not restricted to the
matter of making it difficult for the
mail order houses to do business in
the Brookings territory. If it had,
this story would not have been writ-
ten, for purely negative work never
succeeded in producing progress.

The association “got busy” and kept
busy improving the appearance of the
town. Conveniences of many kinds
were provided for visitors to the
town. It became known as a town
worth coming to and worth trading
in. The retailers carry larger and
better stocks than are shown in many
towns considerable larger. ©

The farmers were interested in the
plan to upbuild the community. Their
help and advice was sought—and—
as is always the case—was freely
given, for the farmer when approach-
ed in the proper spirit is just as amen-
able to reason as any other man, and
he can see just as far as “the other
fellow.”

As said before, Brookings is not
a profitable town for the mail order
houses, and they have ceased to both-
er the retailers, for they know that

when the retailers work together
along progressive merchandising

lines, mail order buying becomes an
exception, and they also know that
there are lots of places where their
advertising will bring them big re-
turns—so naturally, as good  mer-
chants, they put their efforts where it
counts. A. George Pederson.
—_~-++—___
Learning Golf.

A young woman entered a sporting
goods store one morning, and the
polite clerk went forward to meet her.

“I want,” she said, “to see some
golf clubs.”

“Certainly,” replied the clerk.
“About how many do you want?”

“Well, really,” she responded slow-
ly, “I scarcely know. You see, I am
just learning to play golf, and I do
not know much about it as yet. Why,
I don’t even know which end of the
caddie to use.”

How to Meet Mail Order Com-
petition.
Written for the Tradesman.

Customers blame the home mer-
chant for not selling as cheaply as
the outside houses, not taking into
consideration the fact that if treated
in the same manner as the customer
treats the mail order man the local
dealer could not only duplicate prices
with the distant city fellow, but actu-
ally undersell him.

In the first place the mail order
fellow gets his money for everything
he sells in advance, per contra, the
local man not only delivers the goods
before receiving pay, but oft times
gives credit of from one to three
months. How long is it supposable
that Sears, Roebuck & Co. would
stand did they deal with customers as
does the local man?

Nine times out of ten a man living
in the country does not give his local
dealer a chance to show him what
he can do. “Oh, you fellows make
two prices on everything you sell,’
jeers a customer. “Now I can send
to Chicago to one of the mail order
fellows and get 33 pounds of granu-
lated sugar for $1.00.” This is prob-
ably true, and the price is way below
wholesale rates. How does he do

this?
There are conditions attached to
every such offer as this. The cus-

tomer is required, in order to reap
the advantage of this cheap sugar,
to buy $10.00 worth of other goods
at the same time, and to pay in ad-
vance. Did the customer ever make
such a proposition to his local dealer?
There’s not one country merchant in
a dozen but what would be glad to
do the same thing, and beat the mail
order man by producing the goods
at time of payment.

It seems to me that a little educa-
tional stunt is necessary to open the
eyes of the deluded followers of the
mail order fellows. For instance,
why not make your customers the
offer to duplicate everything in the
mai] order book as to prices and save
the customer his freight? This can
be done, and if every live merchant
would work it up a few years would
see the mail order houses put out
of business.

The trade adjacent to every town
by right belongs to the local dealers
and is lost through neglect of proper
advertising and a placing of bargains
before the people. We must admit
that a great many customers appear
unreasonable in their fetish worship
of the man far away. Distance lends
enchantment to the view and will
doubtless continue to do so through
all time, yet more might be done by
the local man to save unto himself
the trade legitimately his if he would
go after it in a proper manner.

This berating a man or woman be-
cause he or she patronizes outside
dealers never won a customer, but
more times than otherwise drove two
or three away. Keep sweet, Mr. Mer-
chant, no matter what happens. A
dozen times a day you may have to
listen to remarks about prices that
do not please, yet these must be met
with a smiling good humor, for we
have all sorts of people to deal with,

from the man who knows all about
the immense profits you are making
to the woman with the rotten butter
who can get the top price for the
stuff in the next town, and knows she
never makes poor butter.

A country customer one day told
his dealer that a neighbor tried to
induce him to quit trading at home
and go in with him in sending for
everything abroad. “I can do much
better trading with the mail order
houses. You, John, are a fool to let
them rob you here at home.”

This was what the neighbor told
Brown’s customer, and the latter re-
fused to accept it. Brown had always
treated him right, had often carried
him for a week or a month and he
would not now desert the home man.

“Tell your neighbor that he hasn’t
even been in my store to buy any-
thing,’ retorted Brown. “How does
he know that he can do better in
Chicago?” The customer laughed,
saying, “He often sends his eggs here
by a neighbor; he usually wants the
cash which he sends to Chicago maif
order men for even his groceries.”

Brown simply passed it off with a
laugh. However, he felt the injustice
of the thing as any man of spirit
would. It is absolutely useless to
appeal to a sense of duty, to a sense
of justice. Nine men out of ten will
leok longer, more eagerly after sav-
ing a penny than they will to dealing
justly with others.

This is a selfish world. Men very
seldom do anything of a benevolent
nature without an ulterior object.
Haven’t you noticed when a man
comes to town with a load of produce
how anxious he is to get the top
price, and a 1-e-e-t-l-e more, for what
he has to sell? Turning about he
goes to the store and grumbles about
the high cost of living, groans in
spirit over the wicked merchant who
asks too much for what he has to
sell.

This is human nature. To meet
this sort the merchant must, by prov-
ing that he can save the man money
by trading at home, win him over.
It is hard work of course; any sort of
successful striving is hard, yet must
be endured if one would come out
at the top of the heap.

It is a sure thing that the mail or-
der people are not doing business for
philanthropic purposes. Meet them
on their own ground, Mr. Home Mer-
chant; meet them and fight this bat-
tle to the finish. There is nothing
harder in the world than holding
business men together for a purpose.
Don’t wait until there is a great or-
ganization formed to fight the other
fellow. Do the fighting yourself. Go
it alone. There are enough deter-
mined home merchants, if they take
a proper view of this subject, to set
the mail order men humming. Once
get them on the toboggan and _ vic-
tory is assured.

It may seem advice of a selfish
nature to suggest the downing of the
big fellows who deal from a distance,
yet what compunction has Sears,
Roebuck & Co., Montgomery Ward}
and the like eve rshown for you?

Old Timer.

 

 

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October 29, 1918

 

MICHIGAN TRADESMAN

47

 

 

 

 

 

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SSS

 

Elliott Button Attaching Machines are leased
and licensed for use only under our Maintenance
Agreement.

Applications for their use must be sent to and
approved by the Elliott Machine Co., Grand
Rapids, Michigan, before machine can be fur-
nished.

Any jobber can furnish these machines to
his customer upon application and the sending in
to the company of a signed lease.

Ask your jobber or write direct to the com-
pany for explanation of the conditions of the
maintenance agreement and the advantages of
our maintenance service which insures you the
use of a perfect working automatic button at-
taching machine every day in the week.

Detach, fill in and send to your jobber or direct
to the company the attached application blank.

ELLIOTT MACHINE CO.
GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN

APPLICATION BLANK

for use of Button Fastener Machines under Maintenance Agreement.

ELLIOTT MACHINE CO.,

Grand Rapids, Mich. city DATE

 

Gentlemen :—

THE UNDERSIGNED, doing business at No

OTREET

makes application to be
city STATE

Button Attaching Machines for
HOW MANY

Maintenance Agreement and agrees, if Application is approved by the Company, to sign
the proper Lease and License Agreement, assenting hereby to its conditions.

furnished with use under your

Regular

————$——— Mai Machines.
HOW MANY Maintenance

The undersigned is now using

The undersigned will surrender in exchange_____
Elliott Machines. HOW MANY STYLE

The undersigned has now on hand Coils of Wire with genuine Elliott Keys
attached as listed on back hereof. "OW MANY

You are directed to make delivery through

 

JOBBER'S NAME

 

CITY BTATE Yours truly,

(Signature)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

48

SSG Yo GUE SCARS RAS NTS TNT

ae

MICHIGAN TRADESMAN

October 29, 1913

 

THEN AND NOW.

 

Much Progress Made in the Confec-
tionery Business.

Locking back over thirty years and
noting all the changes that have taken
place in the city during that time;
taking into consideration its growth,
which has nearly doubled twice; re-
calling to memory the changes in the
different business houses and_ the
passing away of so many prominent
men during that time, together with
the great changes in our own line of
business, I cannot help but feel that
thirty years is a long time. Yet to
a person who is actively engaged in
business the time passes quickly and
thirty years seem almost like a dream.
Thirty years ago I was associated
with B. W. Putnam and my brother,
H. C. Brooks, in the Mills block, 63
‘and 65 Canal street, under the style
of Putnam & Brooks, with no com-
petition to speak of in the candy line
except outside our own city. This
combjnation continued without
change except moving into the Blod-
gett block on lonia street, until 1889,
when a dissolution took place, Mr.
Putnam buying the interest
and forming a stock company known
as the Putnam Candy Co., while the
writer formed an alliance with three

Brooks

of the traveling salesmen of the old
company under the style of A. E.
Brooks & Co., starting operations in
a small way in the rear of the Cody
block on Fulton street. Within a year
these quarters were found to be too
small and we rented the store next to
the Hazeltine & Perkins Co., on Ot-
tawa street, of George Kendall, tak-
ing a three year lease and renewing
the lease for one year, when we again
found it necessary to have more room
and leased the Gunn block on Ionia
street, being separated from our old
competitors only by a saloon. This
was found to be sufficient to keep us
good natured and on friendly terms,
although neither of us was ever in-
clined to settle any differences in sa-
loons or to frequent them for ‘any
other purpese. The Gunn block was
leased for five years and_ released
vearly for four consecutive years,
when we again found it advisable to
change, and in the meantime, having
purchased the lot at 116 and 118 South
Tonia street, decided to build on that
spot, erecting a building 50x100, five
stories and basement, concluding that
would be sufficient for all time. After
a few years we again found we need-
ed more room, and, having an oppor-
tunity to purchase the lot in the rear
on Commerce street secured that,
thinking we might be able to use it
to advantage, but the lot south of us
was more desirable and also in the
market, so we decided to take it in
and use it in connection with the old
one, utilizing the one in the rear for
a power house. We accordingly built
three stories and basement, 50x100,
which constitutes our present plant,
occupying 50,000 feet of floor space.
Even this is small compared with
many factories in the larger cities.
The personnel of our company has
changed about as many times as we
have moved, the old salesmen drop-
ping out one by one and their places

being taken later by others, but the
writer has always stuck to the ship,
as captain, which is composed to-day
of myself, and two sons, Marcus D.
and J. Winfield. To say that it has
always been smooth sailing would
hardly be correct, for when we first
started in 1889 we soon encountered
the worst panic we have ever seen,
but we weathered all the storms of
the nineties, although the clouds were
dark and threatening at times and
the profits for many years so small
that they were hardly noticeable. Not
until the nineteenth century had
passed, did we realize much more
than an ordinary 6 per cent. dividend.

Thirty years ago conditions in the
confectionery business were very dif-
ferent from what they are to-day.
Then price was about the only thing

 

view. The first party we called upon
—one of the largest in Chicago—re-
ceived us in a very affable manner and
readily assented to our proposition to
call a meeting and do what he could
to aid us, but before leaving we must
go out and take a drink with him—
which by the way, was of frequent oc-
currence with this particular party—
and though not accustomed to doing
anything of the kind myself, I thought
as long as I was with these other
gentlemen, 1 must tag along, which I
did. “What’l! you have, Brooks?”
“Nothing, thanks,” I said, “I don’t in-
dulge.” “Have a cigar then?’' “No,
thanks, I don’t smoke.” “What the
h—1l do you do?” to which I made no
response: but to make a long story
short, without giving further details,
a meeting was called. Nearly all the

A. E. BROOKS

to be considered and the goods were
usually made to fit the price. This
had a tendency to demoralize, owing
to the disposition on the part of some
of the larger manufacturers to use
adulterants to cheapen their products,
which could easily be done without
injury to looks by the use of terra
alba, a mineral] product resembling
the finest kind of pulverized sugar and
which could be bought in large quan-
tities as low as a cent a pound and
which could only be detected by close
inspection and analysis. On account
of this condition it was thought ad-
visable to seek a remedy and better
trade conditions, so at the request of
a couple of Cincinnati houses, repre-
sented by Jaccb Buss, of the P. Ech-
ert Co., and H. D. Smith, of H. D.
Smith & Co., the writer met these
parties in Chicago with this end in

Chicago houses were represented at
a meeting held a little later, to which
all the confectioners in the United
States were invited, at which an asso-
ciation was formed called the National
Association of Confectioners, which
had for its principal object the rais-
ing of the standard of confectionery
by using nothing but the highest grade
of materials and to prosecute any
parties, whether members or not, who
used harmful colors or injurious in-
gredients in their goods, thus fore-
stalling, so far as confectionery is
concerned, by many years the so-
called pure food law of 1906. The
National Confectioners’ Association,
through its officers and executive
committee-—-who have always’ been
men of character and _ ability—did
more than any other organization to
aid in the formation of same. To

say that the confectionery business
has kept pace with all the leading in-
dustries of the land I believe is put-
ting it mildly. Many of the factories
which were considered large thirty
years ago have quadrupled in size.
The new ones that have sprung up
can be counted by the hundreds and
the volume of business has so _ in-
creased as to render the figures ap-
palling. Tt would seem as though one
or two of the large factories which
turn out several tons daily ought to
be enough to supply the whole United
States, but the truth is, candy has
come to be almost a necessity. Many
people use it not only for an occa-
sional evening or afternoon party, but
in place of the customary dessert at
the table. Then, again, the kind and
variety has changed. Thirty years
ago hardly anything in the line of
chocolates was made. To-day there
are many large factories making hard-
ly anything else, and the variety is
unlimited. Even in our own factory
we use more than a hundred tons of
chocolate annually and have upwards
of a hundred varieties.

tT would not be doing the subject
justice if I did not allude briefly to
the manner of packing and distribut-
ing candy at the present time. Thirty
years ago everything was packed in
five pound boxes, with no fancy pack-
ages of half-pound, pounds, twos,
threes and fives daintily put up by
experts and tied with fancy ribbon—
a marvelous transformation from the
old stvle of packing, and one which is
not only pleasing to the eye, but is
much more sanitary and acceptable.
Speaking of sanitation leads me to
remark that the transformed style of
packing is not much more marked
than the changed conditions of clean-
liness in the factory, made compul-
sory by the pure food laws of the State
and Nation, and which should be
welcomed by every manufacturer in
the land.

I realize that this treatise is meager
for the length of time it covers and
upon which volumes might be writ-
ten instead of paragraphs, but my
time is limited and this work is out
of my line entirely.

I congratulate the Tradesman on
its growth, which, like the city and
our own business, has been gradual
and substantial for thirty vears and
also for its progressive spirit; for its
firm and decided stand for right prin-
ciples and, lastly, for its stand for
civic pride and betterment. Long
may it live and thrive and continue
to serve the business interests and

citizens of Grand Rapids and_ vi-
cinity! A. E. Brooks.
———_.-2-.——___
Why Not?

He was thinking of buying a stove.

“Well, my dear sir,” said the stove
dealer, “here is a stove that will save
half your coal bill.”

“That being the case,” said the cal-
culating customer, “if I take two of
them will it save the other half?”

Whereupon the dealer, saying that
it was never well to expect too much
for your money, turned the customers
over to a clerk and went out to lunch.

en “

 

——

Senet pe see

 

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gee ee pee

 

October 29, 1918

MICHIGAN TRADESMAN

49

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

@rooks

CHOCOLATES

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

With this issue of the Tradesman we have
been making Brooks’ Chocolates for twenty-four

years.

They have always been standard for quality.
Better ingredients, more beautiful packages, a
more delicious combination of fragrant coating,
fruit, nut and creamy centers cannot be obtained.

Our Christmas line is now ready for your in-
spection and for Beauty and Style it cannot be

A. E. Brooks G Co.

Grand Rapids, Mich.

excelled.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

50

MICHIGAN TRADESMAN

October 29, 1913

 

PSYCHOLOGY OF SHOPPING.

Fundamental Differences Between
Male and Female Shoppers.
Written for the Tradesman.

Shopping is instinctive with most
women, while the average man is na-
turally ‘anti-shop” in his inclinations.
The quest of an exceptional value in
a given commodity at a certain pric:
constitutes a sort of challenge to the
feminine mind, but visiting shop after
shop, looking over various lines of
merchandise and interviewing numer-
ous salespeople is a task from which
most men shrink. Being by constitu-
tion a better loser than womenfolk, a
man had rather buy where it is most
convenient, getting an article about
the value of which there is no ques-
tion

 

even if he has good ground for
suspecting that the price is a bit high.
But a woman rarely stops looking un-
til she is absolutely convinced that
she is getting the very best value ob-
tainable.
Motives Influencing Each.

Every separate sale of merchandise.
whether made to a man or a woman,
is, of course, susceptible of analysis:
and when so analyzed it will be found
that the sale was consummated be-
cause certain demands in the minds
satisfactorily
answered by the article of merchan

of the shopper were
dise sought and the manner of the
salesmanship of the person selling it.
But the motives that influence man in
his buying are not the same motives
that influence woman in her buying.

Man's buying is determined by the
following motives chiefly: 1. The
most convenient place. It is extreme-
ly difficult to get a man to walk sev-
eral squares out of his way—or even
a single square, for that matter—just
to visit a shop or store laying claim
to exceptional values in certain lines.
If the man knows of the claim, either
through newspaper announcements or
from the lips of others who have sub-
stantiated the claims, he'll frankly
grant the truth of it, but will hastily
add:
something just as good at Blinks, and
that’s right on my road to the office!”

“Oh, what's the use? I can get

And for the same reason it’s almost
impossible to coax a man down into
the alleged “no-ren:” basement where
prices are said to be amazingly cut
alleged reduction of
operating expenses.

owing to the
In the first place
man is naturally skeptical of all that
“no-rent” tommyrot; and in the second
place he doesn’t want to go down
coull
actually get a bargain. But any old
place is convenient for a woman to

into the basement even if he

shop, if there’s any tangible promise
of a bargain. 2. The place where he
is known. A man likes to be recog-
nized by a merchant, a floor-walker
or a salesman.
with the people he has traded with
worthy of
the name in every store catering to
men’s trade has his regular customers

He had rather trade

before. Every salesman

—men who actually call for him, and
not infrequently wait until he is a:
liberty to them. Man is
fundamentally a creature of habit, an1

wait on

it’s a lot easier to buy your shirts and
ties, your sox and your underwear,
from the clerk you've hitherto traded

with. He knows your peculiarities—
your little likes and dislikes—and this
helps like everything to simplify the
process of buying. You can get :t
over with so much quicker and pleas-
anter, if you can deal with the fellow
that always waits on you. But a
woman doesn’t hesitate to visit new
stores and shops; and she doesn’t care
a penny pickle whether she has ever
seen or heard tell of the salesperson
or not. She has something definite
in mind, and she’s going directly af-
ter it. 3. The store where he has a
credit account. If you buy a madras
shirt and half a dozen collars, and
hand the five-dallar — bill,
you've got to wait for your change.
It’s easier to charge it and send ’em
a check the first of the month. 4.
The shop to which he is attracted by
a window display. <A particular trim
—more often a particular commodity
in a given trim—attracts a man’s at-
tention and arouses his interest. If
he needs the article very badly, and
has the time and the price, he'll walk
in and call for it. His mind is pretty
much made up before he enters the
store. [f

clerk a

the commodity stands a
closer inspection and the clerk is any
part of a salesman, the sale is easily
consummated, and, like as not, a good
customer cinched. In stores and shops
catering to trade, the little
old display window is the one big,
winning advertisement insofar as men
are concerned. 5. The store where

men’s

men know absolutely they can get
reliable merchandise — not merely
familiar, nationally advertised brands
but tip-top, high grade wares backed
up by the firm’s own guarantee. Most
men have a holy horror of cheap and
shoddy merchandise.

compelled = by

Even if they are
circumstances over
which they have no control to buy
fewer articles, they would have thes*
articles good.

Now the fundamental law of the
masculine mind that underlies all
these motives that actuate the mas-
culine shopper is this: With man
There-
fore he wants to get through with it
just as quickly and easily as he can.
He doesn’t like it. It bores him. If
he didn’t positively have to shop, he
wouldn’t shop. Necessity drives him
into the marts of merchandisers. He
is essentially a money-maker, but he
isn't a cheerful shopper. On the

shopping is a necessary evil.

other hand, woman is a born shopper.
From the time she starts to the candy
shop on the corner at two years of
age, with a tight grip on her penny
or nickel—and with a very decided
idea of the kind and amount of sweets
she ought to get with that coin—until
she is too old and feeble to fare forth,
woman delights in chasing down, fer-
reting out, and fetching home trium-
If man is con-
stitutionally a money-maker, woman

phantly—her bargain.

is a born spender.
A Tip to the Wise.

In the light of this law of the mas-
culine mind—a law that, as we have
seen, underlies al] the motives actuat-
ing the masculine shopper in his buy-
ing—a decidedly practical suggestion
ought to come immediately to every
dealer soliciting masculine trade. And

that suggestion is this: Make it dead
easy for them to get in your store
just what they want. Simplify the
process. Cut out frills and furbelows.
If your beautiful system interferes
with sales, modify the system. Sub-
stitute something better for it. Ex-
tirpate it. Grease the skids and oil
the bearings. Make it the easiest and
simplest thing under the sun for them
to slide in and buy what they want
and then glide out into the fresh air.
Be frank and open and—essentially
masculine. Have a man’s store. Have
the chap who writes your newspaper
announcements master the psychology
of the masculine mind in the matter of
shopping. Have your window trim-
mer trim for men’s eyes. Let the
whole establishment be permeated
with a sort of frank, masculine, we-
make-it-easy-for-you-fellows atmos-
phere. And train your salesmen in the
art of selling to men.
Women Compare Values.

Frankly—though I who say it am
a man—women are better shoppers
than men. They do it more thorough-
ly—more scientifically. Before she
fares forth in quest of her commodity,
a woman seeks to inform herself as
thoroughly as she can. She has sev-
eral sources of information—in mat-
ters of wearing apparel for herself, she

- has her fashion journals. And in addi-

tion to this she reads the announce-
ments of the specialty shops and de-
partment stores. And then she ob-
serves what other admittedly stylish
women are wearing. And finally she
talks it over with her friends and
neighbors. She knows not only what’:
what, but she generally
beforehand the

where what’s-what
reasonable prices.
bnying a hat.

determines
stores and_ shops

may be had at

Suppose she is
She goes first to the
best and highest price place in the
city to verify her ideas on correct
styles. She wants to see the very
latest imported models, and try on a
number of them until she finds one
that seems to be just about what she
wants. Of course she asks for prices,
but she knows absolutely before she
entered the store that she isn’t going
to buy. Not yet, at any rate. She
proposes to look further. And look
further she does. The next store or
shop is not quite so high class, but
the merchandise is nevertheless good
and up to date. She hunts for some-
thing approximating the imported hat
that struck her fancy in the previous
establishment. She may, or she may
not, find it; but in either event she
doesn’t buy even though the price is
appreciably less. She is going to look
still further. The next place may be
a department store noted for its popu-
lar priced millinery, or it may be a
popular priced millinery  establish-
ment. This time she is looking for
untrimmed hats or ‘shapes.’ She
finds one, let us say, almost identical
to the imported hat of the first store.
The price of the trimmed hat, in the
swellest shop in town, was $45. This
shape will cost her $2.98. She can get
a fairly good feather for $4.98. The
velvet and trimming and other inci-
dentals will cost her, let us say, $3.25.
So the total cost of the hat will be
just $11.21—and lo! She has a bit of

. important fact:

headgear that almost duplicates the
fine imported model of $45. Of course
the materials aren’t quite as fine—and
that idea causes her a bit of mental
anguish—but to all intents and pur-
poses, the hat is just about as good
and serviceable as the higher priced
one—and see what she has saved! She
explains it all to her husband, and he
admits that she is a wonder. It took
her two or three days of work and
worry to save the difference, but there
was a lot of satisfaction in doing it.
And she doesn’t mind.

Note this fact particularly: She
visited at least three different estab-
lishments. She compared values. She
bought intelligently. And not for a
single instant during the entire pro-
cess did she lose sight of the idea that
she must get the most she could for
her money.

 

Another Practical Tip.

Stores and shops catering to wom-
en’s trade should not overlook this
Just because she is
eternally feminine, a woman must be
granted the privilege of looking. You
can't sell her the first time any more
than you can reverse the pull of the
law of gravitation. If you insist un-
duly, over-persuade and coax, or lose
your temper and act up, you'll perhaps
queer her for good and all; but, be-
lieve me, you'll not sell her. ‘Twould
be far better to let her have her
own way—which she'll have in any
event—and go out of your store feel-
ing friendly towards you. Just along
this line I know of one big concern,
whose customers are mostly women,
that has worked out a most elaborate
and fetching system of store courtesy.
The salespeople are trained to show
merchandise in the most winsome way,
and taught not to press sales too
strongly, and above all, never to lose
the saving grace of courtesy no mat-
ter what happens. And women leav-
ing that store are treated just as kind-
ly as if they had bought a large bill
of goods. And they are invited to
come back at any time and look fur-
ther. And this policy has made the
establishment one of the most popular
of its kind in the Middle West.

In the matter of salesmanship, ad-
vertising, window trimming, and the
development of a store policy, it’s
highly important that a dealer under-
stand a few simple—yet fundamental
and enormously important — traits
characteristic of the masculine and the
feminine mind. Frank Fenwick.

—_—__2+»—____
The Good-Night Message.

The patter of tiny feet was heard

from the head of the stairs. Mrs.

Kinterby raised her hand, warning
the others to silence.
“Hush!” she said softly. “The

children are going to deliver their
good-night message. It always gives
me a feeling of reverence to hear
them—they are so much nearer the
Creator than we are, and they speak
the love that is in their little hearts
never so fully as when the dark has
come. Listen!”

Then there was a moment of tense
silence. Then—

“Mamma,” came the message in a
shrill whisper. “Willie found a bed-
bug!”

 

we

|

 

 

13 | October 29, 1913 MICHIGAN TRADESMAN 51

 

 

 

 

id : ESTABLISHED 1853

| Capital and Surplus Resources
: $1,400,000.00 $9,000,000.00
: THE.

id DIRECTORS

ae

2 DIRECTORS
it. Willard Barnhart O f DD)
Joseph H. Martin pas od igaaai
tl , W. R. Shelby y
b- L. H. With John C. Holt
‘ W Wi i i Edward Lowe
i ei S ed ya Ni "4 | Frank Jewell
O- x
at W. D. Stevens Wm. Alden Smith

James F. Barnett

 

 

 

 

 

“ Clay H. Hollister
GRAND RAPIDS, MICH.
is WILLARD BARNHART, President
oe CLAY H. HOLLISTER, Vice President GEORGE F. MACKENZIE, Cashier
WILLIAM JUDSON, Vice President HERBERT A. WOODRUFF, Asst. Cashier

| eb
COMMERCIAL AND SAVINGS -

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

0 E ARE now showing for
: late fall and early winter
a wear an exceptionally attractive
a | line of Trimmed Hats for the
i general store trade. Prices $18,

$24, $30 and $36 per dozen.

Open orders solicited on con-
dition that customer keeps two-
thirds of the amount of total
shipment. AIl new up-to-date
merchandise trimmed in_ the

latest fashion. Orders filled

same day they are received.

 

 

 

a Corl, Knott & Company, Ltd.
s Manufacturers of Trimmed Hats

 

And Jobbers of High Class Millinery
Commerce and Island St. Grand Rapids, Mich

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

52

MICHIGAN TRADESMAN

October 29, 1913

 

STRONG AND STEADFAST.

 

Wonderful Growth and Prosperity of
Banking Interests.

The span of years between the
birthday and the thirtieth anniversary
of the Tradesman has witnessed tre-
mendous changes in all departments
of our city’s industrial life. In no
department have these changes been
more marked than in the business of
banking.

Thirty years ago the total assets of
all the banks of the city—+then five
in number—were a little less than
$8,009,000. Now they are $45,000,000
distributed among nine banks with
their branches and two trust com-
panies. Thirty years ago the com-
bined capital, surplus and undivided
profits of the five banks in the city
was two and one-half million dollars.
To-day the city’s financial institutions
have capital and surplus of about
seven millions. Deposits meantime
have grown from $5,000,000 in 1883
to $35,000,000 in 1913.

During this triple decade the banks
have not only paid reasonable divi-
dends to their stockholders and laid
by strong reserves of capital in sur-
plus account to strengthen themselves
against the time of storm, but they
have paid out to their depositors in
interest a very tidy running
doubtless into many millions of dol-
lars.

sum,

This constant stream of new wealth
turned back to the depositors by the
banks in interest has done much dur-
ing these thirtv years to promote the
happiness, contentment, thrift, com-
fort and prosperity of our citizens.

All these things have been accom-
plished without the loss
dollar te any bank

of a single
depositor. Not
once in all these thirty years—in fact,
not once in all the city’s history—has
there been a failure of an incorpor-
ated bank here.

This is a record of which Grand
Rapids may well be proud. !t speaks
volumes for the conservatism and sa-
gacity of the strong men who have
directed the affairs of the banks dur-
ing these years.

Thirty years ago but one of the five
banks existence
place of business. Now most of the
banks of the city are established in
elegant and commodious

then in owned its

homes. of
their own, planned not only with the
idea of facilitating the transaction of
business, but of affording convenien-
ces and privileges to the patron not
dreamed of in the old days.

IT well remember those strong men
who were leaders in finance at that
time. Such men as TD. A. Blodgett,
Thomas PD. Gilbert, James M. Bar-
nett E FP. and S. © Fuller, A. B.
Watson, Thomas Hefferan, Moses
Aldrich, Lewis H. Withey, Enos Put-
nam, Harvey J. Hollister, Edwin F.
Uhl, Tulias Houseman, James D. Rob-
inson, J. Frederick Baars, George W.
Gay, and others, whose names stood
as synonyms for probity and business
sagacity in their time.

We oi the present day, in response
to the needs of our growing city, are
adding story after story to the super-
structure of finance whose founda-
tions were laid by them so long ago.

That the foundations were laid strong
and deep and true is proven by the
fact that the superstructure has re-
mained stanch and steadfast through
every adverse wind and circumstance
and has grown constantly more stable
and secure with the passing of years.
Tribute should also be paid to the
fidelity and trustworthiness of the
working forces of the various banks
during these vears. To them has
been committed in large measure the
immediate custody and care of many
millions in cash and other assets.
Very rarely has any one been lax in
vigilance or unfaithful to his trust.
The attitude of bank patrons to-
ward the institutions entrusted with
the safe keeping of their money has
also been most gratifying. Such has
been their feeling of confidence and
their spirit of friendliness and co-
operation that even in times like 1893
and 1907 they remained calm and un-

Always Fair to Show All Sides of a
Question.
Written for the Tradesman.

Farm papers have made much of
the statement credited to the former
United States Secretary of Agricul-
ture that out of every dollars paid bv
the city consumer for farm products
the farmer gets only 50 cents.

The purpose of proclaiming this
fact (if it be indeed true) is to awak-
en the farmer to the dangers which
threaten him and to arouse him to
action in defending his rights. It is
also done to let him know that his
farm paper is watching out for his in-
terests in every possible way. It may
not be the intention to make him
believe that every man’s hand is
against him and that only by being
constantly on his guard can he pre-
vent being robbed by merchants and
other dealers. Such, however, is the

tendency of these representations.

 

 

WM. H. ANDERSON

disturbed, so far as their local rela-
tions were concerned, however un-
settled conditions might beceme else-
where. This has enabled our banks
to care for the needs of the city’s in-
dustries in times of panic the same as
under normal conditions.

It has been a pleasure to me during

all these years to observe the steady
advancement of the Tradesman influ-
ence and streneth until it has come
to be recognized as the foremost
trade journal in this section of the
United States and as an authority in
its field.
_ For this great achievement credit
must be given to the indomitable
pluck, energy and business foresight
of its founder and publisher during
all this period, Mr. E. A. Stowe.

Our city takes pride in its trade
paper and wishes the Tradesman
another thirty years of prosperity
under the same able management.

Wm. H. Anderson.

Many farmers already entertain such
opinions and the need is to modify
rather than augment them.

It is a mistake for any one to be
too truthful or credulous when trans-
acting business especially with strang-
ers.

With the only safe
way of dealing may be to look upon
every dealer with suspicion and gov-
ern themselves accordingly. And yet,
this supicious attitude of the farmer
is as often a detriment to him as a
benefit. To treat the local dealer
whom he has known for years, and
who is generally regarded as fair and
honorable, as his enemy does not
speak much for his intelligence or
common. sense.

some people

Many a dealer has
at heart his customer’s interests as
well as his own. The man who will
not believe it when it is a fact does
not receive the benefit which he
might receive.

As to whether the consumer pays

twice as much for produce as the
farmer receives is not so important
as it is to ascertain who, if any, gets
too much for his part in the neces-
sary work of transporting.

To say that there are too many
middlemen, or to say that the mid-
dlemen unnecessarily increase the cost
of goods to the ultimate purchaser
may be true in many cases, but to
say that all middlemen are unneces-
sary is evidence of a purpose to work
upon the ignorance or prejudice of
the class who are alleged to be losers
because of middlemen.

Any one who has a thorough under-
standing of all the processes and
changes which certain products un-
dergo before they are fit for human
consumption; who knows in what
small quantities many products are
purchased by consumers; who knows
how much labor and expense is re-
quired to take orders, sort, grade, di-
vide, weigh, measure, wrap, deliver,
collect payment, charge up accounts,
furnish statements, etc., will not won-
der at the increased cost.

The obligations of the agricultural
press to its patrons is not entirely ful-
filled when it warns them to beware
of those who would extort from them.
Instead of trying to win or retain
favor by siding with the narrow, pre-
judiced views which are the result
of ignorance, it should endeavor to
fully show both sides of any matter.
Thus the people might expend their
efforts in directions where they could
accomplish most, and not fight against
inevitable, natural and
conditions.

Every honorable dealer will not
only agree with farmer and consumer

reasonable

that it is wise and right to eliminate
every unnecessary middleman and re-
duce expenses to the lowest possible
figure, but he will stand ready to
co-operate with all who desire to do
so.

Over and over again the dealer who
is looking out for his customer’s in-
rebuff, is met with
counter argument or apparent indif-
ference when he suggests or tries to

terests gets a

explain how his customers can save
money in buying or can obtain more
for the products which they have to
sell. In time such a dealer learns to
reserve his suggestions and advice
for those who appear to appreciate
them.

If the farmer receives too little for
his products and the consumer pays
too much, wherever and whenever
this is not the fault of the individual
seller or purchaser, or in whatever
degree it is not their fault, it is to the
interest of the public to learn where-
in present methods are wrong and all
should endeavor to help better them.

E. E. Whitney.
——_+22>———_
Would Reverse It.

“Just think of that!” said Never-
spend, dropping his paper, “the rich-
est man in South America’ once
worked for thirty cents a day, but
died worth thirty-nine million dol-
arse

“Well,” volunteered Easygo, “I'd
rather work for thirty-nine million
dollars a day—and die worth thirty
cents, if you ask me!”

 

 

|
i,
[
|

 

 

 

 

 

gat

October 29, 1913 MICHIGAN TRADESMAN

53

 

 

SERVICE

 

 

 

 

The Test of Success

The highest type of business success is that which renders the Best Service Possible.

The Public Service Corporation of today which would avoid the unpleasant and profit-destroying enmity
of the people whom it serves, is that one which is employing the highest type of intelligence in the effort
to GIVE, as well as Receive.

This is the policy which has made possible the large success of

United Light & Railways Co.

In more than fifty cities and towns which this Company serves with Gas, Electricity, Street Railway,
Interurban Railway, or Heating conveniences, the people served are expressing their satisfaction with
this policy by a

Largely Increased Use

Of the modern facilities furnished. It is to this increased use of the products supplied by this Company

that UNITED LIGHT & RAILWAYS COMPANY owes its showing of

Largely Increased Earnings

Stockholders in UNITED LIGHT & RAILWAYS COMPANY are being benefited in proportion.
The market value of their holdings has suffered little shrinkage in the past year, when all securities have
lost more or less in market value. By reason of this fact more and more of the small savings of the thrifty
is being invested in the stocks and bonds of this Company.

On January 1, 1912, there were Five Hundred stockholders on the books of UNITED LIGHT &
RAILWAYS COMPANY. On September 30, 1913, the number had increased to MORE THAN
NINETEEN HUNDRED.

The First Preferred, 6°,, Cumulative Stock

Yields a return of 74%4% to the investor at present market quotations (around 80) and the Common Stock,
by reason of the surplus which the Company is accumulating and the bright prospects of future greater
earnings, is working to a higher price each day.

We have no hesitancy in recommending the purchase of both the Bonds and the First Preferred for im-
vestment, and consider the Common a most attractive purchase for one who has spare funds.

HOWE, CORRIGAN & COMPANY

INVESTMENTS

MICHIGAN TRUST BUILDING GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN

 

 

 

 

54

MICHIGAN TRADESMAN

October 29, 1913

 

DRUG STORE ETHICS.

 

Changes Which Are Contrary to
Basic Principles.

I acknowledge your letter of Sept.

19, asking me to contribute to the

thirtieth edition of the Michigan
Tradesman. I notice you have as-

signed to me the topic “Thirty Years
in the Drug Trade” and that you put
no limit upon the space that I may
seek to occupy in your paper for that
edition. I bow with respect to the
thirty years and can only say that I
regret ‘that the Tradesman has been
published only thirty years, and if 1
may be permitted I would change the
title of my contribution to “Forty
Years in the Drug Trade in Michi-
gan.” This would give me a better
starting point, because the four dec-
ades have seen a wonderful revolu-
tion, as well as evolution, in this
branch of commercial undertaking.
Forty years ago the retailer carried
on what could be strictly called a drug
business. The physician who traveled
through the towns and the country
districts visiting the sick carried with
him not to exceed twenty-four bottles
of medicine. Eight of the twenty-four
seidom Sixteen of. the
twenty-four were quite generally used
and eight of the sixteen were con-
stantly used. The eight preparations
referred to represented the basic rem-
edies for the treatment of disease as
known and prescribed for by physi-
cians at that time. The drug store
was a drug store and the phy-
treatment of the sick
man and relied en-
tirely upon the drug store for his sup-
plies and the drug store was governed
by this class of demands. Outside of
this the formulas found in Chase’s
receipt book, the formulas for con-
dition powders and the purchase of
crude material for coloring carpet
rags, prescriptions for liniments, ton-
ics, etc., for the ordinary known dis-

were used.

sician in

among beast

eases comprised the field of opera-
tions practically of the retail drug
dealer. Jn all this roots. barks and
then vradually powdered goods were
used and the old iron mortar and the
coffee mill for grinding were conspic-
uous.

I well remember about that time
that certain pharmacal houses in this
part of the country brought upon the
market many of the fundamental rem-
edies i; liquid form such as tinctures
and fluid extracts and the retail drug-
gist at that time thought that this
side of his business was not only rev-
olutionized, but that the consumer
would not get the true medical prop-
erties of the original drug. In place
of the old pill tile and the manipu-
lation of the mass came the coated
pill from the laboratories of the man-
ufacturing pharmacist and these were
looked upon with credulity. Grad-
ually from that time to this the crude
material passed out of the ordinary
sale over the counter except to for-
eigners who come to this country and
yet cling to the purchase of the crude
material for the first year or two of
their existence in the States. This
was the beginning from this side of
the drug business of the evolution
that has passed on to such an extent

that it is almost beyond the compre-
hension of man.

Four decades ago the patent med-
icine was a secret and but few of them
were known. They rapidly multiplied,
many of them being based upon first
class prescriptions written by eminent
men, only to be followed with a flood
of fake preparations which have been
the curse of the human race. Then
came the non-secret preparation
which had its day, but its existence,
as well as the development of public
opinion, made it necessary within the
last few years that every manufac-
turer of patents or pharmaceutical
preparations was practically obliged to
put upon the label the constituent and
component parts of each preparation.

As science has advanced in its re-
search and also in its comprehension
of and ability to compound two or
definite result,
preparations have been brought into

more articles for a

existence that in the largest propor-
tion have been considered useful not

that new preparation (with a name
that may be unpronounceable) that
they had or can have upon a basic
drug that under ordinary circumstan-
ces would accomplish the same and
final result. In other words, the ex-
treme multipleaton of preparations
has led to an increase of the risk in
the administration of the same. The
pure food and drug law originated by
Dr. Wiley and promoted by him
under the authority of the United
States Government has done a large
amouut of good in the use and abuse
of drugs. So far as fundamental drugs
are concerned or, more particularly
speaking, those elements which are
well defined in the knowledge of the
chemist and pharmacist, whether used
singly or in combination, there has
never been a time in the history of
our country when a customer could
buy as exactly what the label calls
for as he can at the present time.
This has not only been made pos-
of the

-

sible by the action Federal

 

LEE M. HUTCHINS.

only to the physician but to the ordi-
nary consumer who buys them di-
When these
are honestly worked out and properly
administered they

rectly over the counter.

have their good
offices in alleviating suffering, curing
disease and contributing a large part
to the average age of man. On the
other hand the abuse of a part of
these has brought about a large
amount of suffering and has led not
only the Federal Government but the
State Legislature to enact laws for
the control of the same. There is no
question but that the multiplication
of preparations has been carried to
such an extent that the proper admin-
istration of the same is a reasonable
question.

lt may be safe to say that the drug-
gist and the physician, also, are too
apt to accept a new preparation and
either sell or dispense the same with-
out having the same knowledge of

Government in its early work through
Dr. Wiley, but it has received the as-
sistance as well as the commendation
of the leading wholesale and retail
druggists throughout the country, as
wel] as the medical professors. He-
roic treatment, intelligently applied
in this field of operations, is an abso-
lute necessity. The drug business in
the United States through all these
manipulations has grown away from
the fundamental principles upon
which in the old country the apothe-
cary would be founded. A large in-
crease in ready-made, hand-me-down,
quick-sale preparations, both old and
new, have, in a way, separated the
physician and the retail drug man.
This has led the retail druggist to
fortify himself with pharmacal and
other lines of drug preparations that
were ready sale to the consumer.
Gradually, the ethical side of the
science of the business has faded away

and to-day the retail druggist
throughout the country is practically
a general merchant. Those of us who
have seen forty years of this evolu-
tion are very much surprised at the
extent to which it has grown and just
wonder whether medicine for the al-
leviation and the curing of disease is
eventually going to be sold as an
ordinary commodity. History bears
out the fact that wherever in a pro-
fession or a business that requires
scientific knowledge the ethics fade
away and the common people are
educated to believe that such things
are no more or less than a commod-
ity, they become commonplace and
the general public accepts them from
the hands of any man who has them
for sale. This must either occur on
account of the druggists throughout
our Nation becoming more or less
general merchants or a revolution
may possibly take place, brought
about by legislation whereby medi-
cines. strictly and_ scientifically so
termed will be sold exclusively by a
registered apothecary.

This essay is not intended as pes-
simistic, but there is possibly no busi-
ness that has changed so much in
thirty or forty years as the drug
business. In all lines where rapid
changes take place, we as the Amer-
ican people know that one extreme
or another will arrive and the great
hope of the drug business, both
wholesale and retail, is that there are
in both branches in existence and will
be for all the future men who have
not as yet ignored the ethical side;
who regard education not only from
the standpoint of necessary, but from
the necessity of intreest to the pub-
lic; that through all the changes must
come the provision of a legitimate
growth, scientific sale and administra-
tion of medicine for the alleviation
and the curing of disease. The scien-
tific research of chemists and pharma-
cists and the development of certain
preparations that are the combination,
of two or more articles have been
perfectly wonderful and will continue
to be so for all time to come. We all
honestly, however, decry the fact that
the business of retailing drugs as
well as wholesaling the same seems
to have necessitated attaching to it-
self general lines that are practically
in contradiction to the basic principles
of this branch of commercial life.

Lee M. Hutchins.
——_>++___.
Her Road to Heaven.

One day, shortly after George M.
Cohan began a recent engagement in
Chicago, and before the attaches of
the theater that bears his name there
had become used to seeing him at
close range, the famous author-actor

encountered an old colored woman
industriously scrubbing the marble

floor of the foyer, chanting the while
a doleful dirge-like air.

“Auntie,” commented the comedian,
“that’s a mournful tune you're sing-
ing.”

“Ves, sir,’ she answered, “I knows
it’s mo’nful, but by singin’ dat chune
an’ mindin’ ma own business I spects
to git to heaben.”

+> —___-

People have more aches and pains

in their intaginations than elsewhere.

 

———

 

 

fen A ee A eS A Se Oe ae Se ae

PrP Nt Pe KY

1t

He
ill

at

ns
it-
ly
les

ws
ine
Cts

ins

 

———

 

October 29, 1913

MICHIGAN TRADESMAN

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

will be filled with joy that will last for many years
if you get her a

Detroit Jewel Cabinet Gas Range

Of Course she can get along with her old stove or low-oven gas range--most mothers DO--but are
you going to let her do it any longer?

She Knows the many advantages of the Detroit Jewel. The high ovens that save the backaches--
the legs that are easy to sweep under--the oven thermometer that tells when the oven is just the right
heat--and the glass door that makes it so easy to get ALWAYS just the right brown. She knows about
the new self-lighters that do away with dirt and bother of matches, and the star-shaped Jewel burners
that give quick heat and save gas.

Yes, Mother Knows but most likely she never says a word, but just goes on doing her work the
HARDEST way and YOU never know the difference.

But You Ought To Know and you WILL when you get her a modern, up-to-date, CABINET
Gas Range that will make her work far easier, and that will bring a smile to her face every time she
steps into her kitchen.

Come Now, a real Cabinet Gas Range isn’t any too good for mother, And you can do it EASILY.
Club together if necessary—we’ll gladly make it easy for you with small monthly payments, AND
THINK HOW HAPPY MOTHER WILL BE—And you know you don’t HAVE to wait ‘till
Mother’s Birthday to surprise her. She’d be just as happy if you did it TOM ORROW. Better come
in and talk it over TODAY with

THE GAS COMPANY

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

56

MICHIGAN TRADESMAN October 29, 1913 \

 

service to their customers.

 

 

 

 
  
 
  
   

Th
“Get a Rec
Bene

Merchant

a

The “Get a Receipt” Plan |
Benefits Me Because:

 

1. I get a receipt for all goods sold, and
get all the money for those goods;

2 eee

2. It enables me to give quick service
to customers;

3. It gives me a positive control over
my business;

4. It tells me which is my most valuable
clerk;

5. It prevents misunderstandings with
customers and thereby increases
trade.

 

nat

}

Besides the merchant and clerk, the “Get a Receipt’ plan benefits The receipt issued by the Nat -
customers. Stores using the “Get a Receipt” plan can give quick tomers against mistakes; furnishes D

spend when sent to the store; preven

Write for more

THE NATIONAL CASH REGIS’

—

 

 

 

 

October 29, 1913 MICHIGAN TRADESMAN 37

    
 
 
 
 

The
Receipt” Plan
enefits

 

 

 

 

an | The “Get a Receipt” Plan ;
Benefits Me Because: i
and | 1. I get a receipt for having handled
, each transaction correctly ;
vice 2. Itenables me to wait on more cus-
tomers and establish a better selling
oo A record;
) ©
3. It proves my accuracy, honesty and ,
Edis ability ;
4. It prevents disputes with customers;
vith 5. It teaches me to place the correct
‘aSseS value on money and to handle it
| accordingly.
}
the Nat .nal Cash Register protects cus- This results in a satisfied trade. Every merchant can give better
irnishes proof of what servants and children service to his customers, increase the efficiency of his clerks, and get
re; prevents mistakes on charge accounts. more net profit for himself by using the “Get a Receipt” plan.
e for more information
I REGISTER COMPANY, Dayton, Ohio

 

 

 

i ct a 9 82

58

MODERN PROBLEMS

Which Confront the Average Retail
Merchant.

According to the latest census re-
port obtainable we learn that the
population of our cities is growing
four times as fast as the population
in the country districts. In other
words, our customers are increasing
four times more rapidly than our pro-
ducers. From the same source w®
learn that the standard of living is
continually rising. For instance, the
annual per capita consumption of
sugar in 1900 was sixty-five pounds
Krom
all points of the compass comes the
cry, “Onward to the city.” It’s city
in thi$ life and city after death, for
we are told that Heaven is a city.
All legislation in recent years slopes

and in 1910 eighty-five pounds.

toward the big cities. Freight rates
to the big cities is about one-third
what it is to the smaller towns. We
have parcel post inviting trade to the
big cities, etc. The saloon keeper is
almost as powerful in the governmen*
of cities as the lawyers are in con-
LTCSS.

3usiness organizations are springing
up all over the country and buttinz
into the game. Some of their repre-
sentatives have had the nerve to ap-
pear before that most sacred body
known as the judiciary committee
and demand laws to punish crooked-
ness whenever and wherever it shows
its head. These
even demanding a more economical
expenditure of public funds, better
educational facilities, sanitary regula-

organizations are

tions, etc. The excuse offered by
some of the business men for not
being more active in this work is want
of time. They are simply slaves to
custom. Ii they made one-fourth the
effort to get their necks out of the
yoke that the labor organizations have
to get their eight hour day, they
would: have ample time to devote to
their families and co-operate with
their neighbors to better things in
general. Many of the business men
are deceived by the lure of gold, de-
luded by the belief that happiness will
come to them if they can hand down
a large fortune for their children to
squander. The long hours and wor-
ries of the average retail merchant
would quickly kill the eight hour labor
When the retail merchant is
harassed by fierce c mpetition and
little or no profit, confused by free
deals and gift schemes, fleeced by
those from whom he buys and by
those to whom he sells, robbed by
dishonest and careless help, slandered
by enemies, troubled with bills pay-
able and the picture of failure always
staring him in the face, enervated by
close confinement, and so on and on

leader.

he gradually discovers that business
Under all
circumstances he must be cheerful.

is war, and war is hell.

If a frown should accidentally steal
o'er his careworn brow he loses trade.
He must make the churches, charity
workers and young people’s social
clubs believe that he is delighted to
buy their tickets, even if it takes the
last dollar in the till, All the cour-
age in this country is not confined to

our soldiers and sailors. There 3

MICHIGAN TRADESMAN

many an unknown hero selling calico
and sugar who is worthy to be class-
ed with those who conquered at York-
town, or helped to carry the old flag
to glory with Andrew Jackson.

The most perplexing problem the
retail merchant has to deal with ‘s
credits. You will find recorded ‘n
that great book of books, the Bible,
evidence, both undisputable and con-
clusive, that even before the days of
Moses many’ were giving goods to
man on a promise of future paymeni,
and notwithstanding the poet says
that “Man's inhumanity to man makes
countless millions mourn,” I am of
the opinion that those who live in
accord with the doctrine that “hon-
esty is the best policy” are in so
great a majority that man will con-
tinue to take a chance on the honesty
of his fellow man until Gabriel blows
the horn that calls us all to final judg-
ment.

lor the good of the business com-
munity there should be just as well
marked a distinction between the
honest man and the dead beat as
there is between the honest man and
the thief. The man who goes int?
your store at midnight and steals a
sack of flour does you no more dam-
age than the man who © goes into
your store at midday and buys a sack
of flour without intent to pay for it.
I have more respect even for a man
who takes my goods at the point of a
gun than I have for the man who gets
them with a lie on his tongue and
without intent to pay for them. He
takes chances on his life and liberty,
and the other fellow takes no chance.
For the protection of the public from
the man with the gun the govern-
ment pays milions each year for police
and detective service, but leaves the
business man absolutely at the mercy
of the man who takes his goods with-
out intent to pay for them.

The same cleavage that has always
divided humanity into rival camps is
still with us in the retail business iu
the form of gift schemes and free
deals. The manufacturer uses them
to bait the retailer and the retailer
in turn uses them to bait the con-
sumer. Under them we have two
prices, one for the big dealer, an-
other for the medium and small dealer
who makes about 90 per cent. of the
distribution.

A few years ago the tobacco trust
offered us an endless chain of valuable
premiums and got us all collecting
tags to get them, and in the mean-
while all the independent manufac-
turers of tobacco were either dead or
dying, and now instead of getting to-
bacco for 2 cents a pound, as we
should. we are paying 5 cents an
ounce for it, and the retailer gets no
reward for his labor. We know that
cift schemes and free deals put thou-
sands of retail merchants out of busi-
ness every year. That the business
man who resorts to them departs
from the fundamental principles of the
square deal and that they are relics
of dead and dying trust methods that
must go.

The influence that gift schemes and
free deals have had over the retail
merchant always reminds me of that
story in ancient mythology of the

siren who lived_on one of the islands
in the Mediterranean sea whose voice
was so sweet that the sailors who
heard her sing forgot their country
and died in an escstasy of delight.

One of the prime objects of our
association is to drive deception,
tricks and schemes out of the trade
and give the consumer the benefit of
the lowest possible price. We will
not be worthy of our mission if we
let up until the merchant who carries
a five or ten thousand dollar stock
can buy his goods at as low a price
as his big competitor in the big city
who carries a million dollar stock,
and after buying can sell them with-
out being compelled to resort to gifts
or tricks of any kind to protect him-
self against unfair competition.

I know it has become popular to
denounce all who have accumulate 1
wealth, and it is true that some men
have made fortunes by oppressing
labor, but why should every success-
ful man and industry become a target
because a few run sweat shops and
grind the faces of the poor? No more
than that you denounce every family
who happens to have a black sheep
among them. It’s the duty of our
government to detect and punish the
black sheep, but to let the rest of the
family alone. Don’t get alarmed whe
some bitter partisan growls because
his pet hobbies are not made a part
of the web and woof of this govern-
ment. Every good, practical idea
that any of these parties advance will
be absorbed by our government with-
in the next few years. The world
was not made in a day, but this coun-
try during its brief period of exist-
ence has done more for the uplift of
humanity than the combined nations
of the world did since the birth of
Christ. J. J. Ryan.

——_2+~>—____
Advice for Employers and Advice
for Clerks.

If you are a clerk in a retail store
do your level best for the man who
hires you. He pays you your wages
believing you will take proper care
of the people who patronize him. All
of his work, all of his investment,
will go for naught unless you take
care of these people and see to it
that they go away thoroughly satis-
fied.

If you get up in the morning and
do not feel right, don’t carry that
mood into the store with you. Re-
member that you are in that place
to deal pleasantly with people. Do
all you can to encourage them to
deal there—to get their permanent
trade, for your employer can not
make money on transient business—
he must have steady customers.

Back away from your own job for
a moment and consider what the
owner of a store does to get the
people into that store. He studies
over the right kind of goods to car-
ry. He sees that those goods are
properly displayed in the store. He
pays attention to window displays
because he knows that a good win-
dow display is a most effective ad-
vertisement. He inserts carefully
prepared advertising in the news-
papers of his town, or does other
kinds of advertising to arouse inter-

 

October 29, 1915

est. He arranges for a good delivery
system and does everything he can
to make the people of his town
understand that here is a store where
they can get the right goods at the
right prices.

The question is, what do you do
as a clerk, with those people after
your employer brings them into the
store? Do you step briskly forward
the moment a customer comes in,
and in a pleasant, cheerful tone, ask
what is wanted? Do you look so
neat and clean that the customer sees
in your reflection the general up-to-
dateness of the store itself? If so,
you are attending to your job prop-
erly and this article will echo your
sentiments.

But how about the clerk who is
not doing this? Does he appreciate
that the loss of one customer may
not mean much or seem much _ to
him, but that the loss of one customer
may mean the loss of many others to
the proprietor?

Tt isn’t the profit lost on that one
lost sale that counts so much—it’s
the loss of daily profits on daily sales
for maybe a period of years.

That’s what it means to your em-
ployer when you let one customer go
away dissatisfied.

Yours is a job of pleasing people,
and to please them you have to look
well just as much as you have to do
well. Your employer has a lot to
think about besides the mere selling
of goods. You have but one thing t
do, and that is to wait on customers.
Make it your business, therefore, tc
build up the trade for your employer
by waiting on his customers as he
would wait on them if he were to
meet each one in person.

If you are the proprietor of a re-
tail store, you use the best judgment
yeu have in picking out high-grade,
intelligent clerks. You realize that
you can not meet all your customers
race to face, and that your clerks are
your personal representatives in deal-
ing with the public.

You must appreciate the fact that
a clerk can spoil a sale or lose a
customer as readily as you can. You
must keep in mind also that the
clerk, generally due to his youth and
inexperience, is not as capable of
dealing satisfactory with the public
as you are yourself.

You must remember also that he
has not nearly the same incentive in
trying to do the best he can as you
have. You own the store. You have
your money invested in_ it. Your
business reputation is at stake, while
the clerk is merely working on a
salary.

Just as you impress on your clerks
the necessity of building up trade
for you, so you should be impressed
with the importance of building up
character and team play among your
clerks. Your ability to train them in
your business methods and to impart
to them your knowledge of  sales-
manship, will not show a profit un-
less you have some way of knowing
just which ones profit by your en-
couragement and advice.

—_++>___
Gossip is a cartridge fired from the
gun of idle curiosity.

 

(?

 

(?

 

 

 

Hart
Canned
Goods

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

MICHIGAN TRADESMAN

 

 

Ceresota
Flour

 

 

 

 

 

 

Judson Grocer Co.

The Pure Foods House
Grand Rapids, Michigan

 

 

 

 

Diamond
Crystal
Salt

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

s

se

 

 

Dwinell
Wright's
Coffee

 

 

 

 

 

 

' §9

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

te

th

60

 

 

MICHIGAN TRADESMAN

October 29, 1913

 

BANNER FRUIT SECTION.

Kent County to Again Take Her
Rightful Place.

The writer came to Grand Rapids
in September, 1864, and for some-
thing more than a year lived on Foun-
tain street, just east of the present
site of the Peninsular Club building.
In the spring of 1866 my father pur-
chased a small place on the hill out
West Bridge street and engaged in
fruit growing and market gardening.
While not very old I was of a sufh-
cient age to assist in the work and
from that time to the present day !
have been more or less actively en-
gaged in fruit growing.

On this little farm was an orchard
of apples and peaches planted by the
former owner, perhaps five or. six
years old, standing in the sod and
somewhat neglected. Fortunately,
the varieties were good and after a
year or two of careful cultivation this
orchard proved to be a very produc-
tive and profitable investment. It
contained about 200 apple trees and
400 or 500 peach trees. The market
at that time was entirely Jocal and
our crop was either sold to the local
grocery Men or, more often, peddled
from house to house. Of course, we
were not the only ones growing fruit
and very often the market was over-
supplied and the fruit, especially
peaches, went to waste. In 1874 or
1875 we shipped what I believe to be
the first car of peaches that ever left
this county. We loaded an ordinary
box car with probably 100 bushels of
Crawford peaches, setting the  bas-
kets directly upon the floor. My
father took this car of fruit to Sagi-
naw and sold them, establishing a new
industry and a new market. After
this nearly every year we shipped
more or less fruit, both by freight
and express to nearby towns and es-
tablished the custom of using the
bushel! basket. Previous to this
peaches everywhere were shipped in
crates or slatted boxes. The bushel
basket was for years after a distinc-
tive tarand Rapids package. Time
and again | have been on the Chicago
or Milwaukee markets when the only
baskets of this character were from
Grand Kapids, while to-day half the
packages used in the entire country
are the standard bushel.

\long about this time it began to
dawn on people's minds that fruit
growing was. profitable and more
orchards were planted. I very well
remember when in 1879 I planted my
first orchard. I bought a piece of
land, thirty acres, for $4,000, just the
bare land, no buildings or orchards.
I paid $1,000 down and = afterwards
borrowed the balance, $3,000, of the
late Isaac Phelps, paying him 10 per
cent. for the loan and glad to get it
at that. Upon this iand I planted
2,000 peach trees of various’ kinds.
Everybody said that I was crazy and
that the market would be over sup-
plicd. All kinds of dire results were
predicted. The orchard was a suc-
cess, and the first two or three crops
wiped out the mortgage and put some
buildings on the land. Soon. after
this planting orchards, especially
peaches, became an epidemic. Nearly

every farmer in the county having
anything like an elevated piece of
land planted peaches. Those who did
not have planted other fruits, apples,
plums, grapes or small fruit, and the
farmer in this county who did not
grow fruit was lonesome. Up to this
time we had had no organization; we
were all amateurs; nearly everybody
growing fruit treated the business as
a sort of side issue. Much of our
fruit was shipped out on consignment
and returns were often unsatisfactory.
However, this ccndition brought
about the formation of the Grand
Rapids Fruit Growers’ Association,
undoubtedly the largest and, I believe,
the most successful organization of
its kind in the country, notwithstand-
ing the fact that it had no corporate
charter or legal standing. Necessity
is the mother of invention and neces-
sity drew and held the growers to-
gether, and there grew up in Grand
Rapids the largest fruit market in the
world; a real market where the pro-
ducer brought his produce in the

weeks the transportation lines devoted
nearly all their men and equipment to
moving the fruit crop. It was perish-
able and could not wait. After this
a succession of hard winters, followed
by an epidemic of fruit tree diseases
and insect pest, discouraged many
growers. Orchards were neglected
and soon fell a prey to their enemies
and were soon destroyed and_ re-
moved, and to-day one may see bare
and in many cases badly gullied and
washed fields where once grew fine
productive orchards. The farmers,
however, who stuck to the business,
giving their orchards proper care,
have found them increasingly profit-
able.

There is no good reason why Kent
county should not be producing more
fruit to-day than ever before. It is
true conditions have changed. The
fruit grower of to-day must be a
specialist. Fruit cannot be grown in
the old careless manner; indeed, I
doubt whether the general farmer
from now on will be able to produce

 

ROBERT D. GRAHAM

morning and went home with his cash
in his pocket. We brought the buy-
ers here and they bought what their
markets demanded. These were
palmy days for the Kent county fruit
growers, with good crops and fairly
good prices.

1 remember one morning when we
had by actual count 120 outside buy-
ers on the market. The climax was
reached in 1902 when the following
statistics as to fruit actually mar-
keted here were taken by the
Grand Rapids Board of Trade:
Peaches, 1,706,000 bushels; pears, 7,400
apples, 174,000 bushels.
plums, 42,650 bushels; crab apples,
2,000 bushels; quince, 1,100 bushels;
cherries, 42,000 bushels; pie plant,
7,300 bushels; grapes, 125 tons; straw-
berries, 213,000 crates; raspberries,
92,000 crates; blackberries, 96,000
crates; gooseberries, 2,000 crates;
currants, 5,400 crates For several

bushels;

fruit for home consumption. It is a
serious question if he can afford to
do so. It is a business by itself and
gradually we must grow up a new
generation of men who will be pri-
marily fruit growers and not farmers,
and when that time comes’ Kent
county will again take its rightful
place as the banner fruit section. Our
splendid market, excellence and di-
versity of soils, elevation, immunity
from frosts, all combine to make this
the ideal location if we but meet the
changed conditions. T know of no
more pleasant and profitable occupa-
tion or one that will more surely and
quickly respond to intelligent effort.

We hear a great deal said about
over production. We have always
had the same talk, but the facts are
that when production reaches a point
at or above local consumption and an
outside market must be obtained, the
greater the supply the greater the op-

portunity to interest the buyers; in
fact, until we can furnish solid cars
and in large quantities, we cannot ex-
pect to command any _ considerable
outside trade. Buyers will go where
there is an adequate supply.

Robert D. Graham.

—__>~--s—__

Unfair Competition of Ignorance.

Hundreds of merchants, especially
grocers, have gone to wreck and ruin
because they did not understand how
to figure profits and mark certain re-
sult, or because they tried to produce
a certain results, or because they tried
to follow the competition of reckless
rivals who did not. For instance,
many a retail grocer buys an article
for 80 cents, and because the drum-
mer who sold it to him assured him
that if sold at a dollar he would make
25 per cent., concludes that such is the
way to figure. He may have conclud-
ed that it cost him 17 per cent. to do
business, but forgets that in the one
case the profit is based on the cost
price and in the other on the selling
price. Between the two ‘he actually
loses money and wonders why.

Much has been written on the sub-
ject without realizing that both state-
ments may be true and yet antagonis-
tic. It all depends on which basis the
percentage is figured; cost or selling
price. The Boston Credit Men’s As-
sociation has recognized this as so
prolific a source of commercial ship-
wreck that it has recently issued a
suggestion written by IF. W. Bourne,
chairman of its credit methods com-
mittee, in which the following solu-
tion is offered:

Why many fail in business. Be-
cause—they figure their profits incor-
rectly.

The right way; example: Expense
of doing business is 25 per cent. (Fig-
ured on gross sales; i. e, selling
price.) It is desired to make a profit
of 10 per cent. (Must be figured on
selling price.) Cost of an article is
$2. Find the selling price.

Solution: Selling price—expense,
profit, cost; rent, light, heat, wages,
advertising, insurance, freight, express,
delivery charges, telephone, interest
on capital invested, depreciation of
stock, bad debts, extraordinary ex-
penses; 100 per cent. equals selling
price; 35 per cent. equals expense 25
per cent., profit 10 per cent; 65 per
cent. (of selling price) equals cost; $2
will be 65 per cent. of selling price.
Divide $2 by 65 equals $3.08.

 

Answer: Selling price should be
made $3.08.
Proof: Expense, 25 per cent. of

$3.08, equals 77 cents; profit, 10 per
cent of $3.08, equals 31 cents; cost, 65
per cent. of $3.08, equals $2. Selling
price, 100 per cent., equals $3.08.

The wrong way: [Figuring it as 25
per cent. plus 10 per cent. or $2.70,
which is less than cost, $2; plus ex-
pense, 77 cents, $2.77. That’s why
they fail.

———-_<>--s— _—__-

It is not the size of a business that
makes it a success; it is the way it
is handled. You know of plenty of
men who have made money in small
stores. You may be doing it yourself.

——_o-2-2

But sometimes a bore talks to us

about ourselves; that is different.

!
\
i

 

 

be

of
per
65
ing

25

ex-
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hat

of
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self.

us

October 29, 1913

 

MICHIGAN TRADESMAN

' 61

 

 

 

 

 

ELECTRIC

LIGHT, HEAT and POWER

Serves the

HOME, MERCHANT and MANUFACTURER

Electric illumination denotes intelligence and progress -- it is the
refined and elevating form of lighting -- it is safe -- clean -- con-
venient and economical.

Electric Heat insures a clean, safe and convenient form of heat
for the home for emergency and for cooking. Commercially it
cannot be equalled for glue pots -- soldering irons and enameling
ovens.

Electric Power eliminates friction -- line shafting -- belts and
troublesome power plants. It insures constant speed at machines
thereby increasing the value of human labor -- increases output
at a reduced cost of operation.

THE POWER CO.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

62

 

MICHIGAN TRADESMAN

October 29, 1913

 

COERCION OR EDUCATION?

 

Conflicting Ideals of Trade Associa-
tion Leaders.

Despite the manifest fact that the
recent decision in the case of the
Southern Wholesale Grocers’ Asso-
ciation contempt case ended more
favorably to trade associations than
to the Government reformers, there
are some association leaders who
persist in the belief that it sound-
ed the death knell of every form of
practical association work. Those
who feel that way about it empha-
size, perhaps as strikingly as is pos-
sible, that prevailing association ethics
and methods are of two distinctly
different types, a conclusion which
ought to be taken into consideration
not only by organized trade, but by
governmental reformers.

For instance, the finding of the
court on which the conviction was
based was that certain acts of a

former administration were coercive
and in violation of the Sherman law.
Because there was a suspicion that
similar coercion might be construed
as still prevailing, in the absence of
any definite repudiation by the pres-
ent officers (in fact, because certain
letters had said that no change in
policy was to be noted), the convic-
tion followed; not because the acts
now done are in violation of the law.
In other words, the one thing which
the court held to be in violation of
the law and the former decree was
coercion. Otherwise the Association,
its aim and its practices were upheld.

There are some association leaders
who feel that no associated activity
can be effective unless there is in it
some form of implied threat. If they
are right, it is unquestionably true
that the courts will probably hold
such organizations to be illegal and
liable to dissolution. And probably
such associations might as well be
spared and superseded by others with

broader ideals and more rational
methods.
The Educational Association.

3ut there are associations which
are built on different bases; whose
ideals are based on evolutionary fun-
damentals and which conceive that
the manufacturers and others’ with
whom they do business are of a new
school. Coercion and intimidation on
the part of an association, or com-
pliances which arise from fear on the
part of those with whom the asso-
ciation deal, are of a past age. Some
associations are quite as_ effective
with the weapon of education, wield-
ed in a righteous cause on men with
broad-gauge business ideals, as ever
the instruments of savagery were and
infinitely more ethical and satisfac-
tory.

Wise business to-day—and
they are slowing growing wiser every
day—realize that satisfied customers
are their best asset. The business man
who persists in practicing methods
which give his customers dissatisfac-
tion is facing the past. It does not
always appear to him feasible or pos-
sible to comply with all their requests,
but asa rule when he can he is will-
ing to do so. If trade associations
find certain practices ruinous, or a

men

cause of friction, the courts have not
yet said they could not argue their
colleagues out of them. Judge Grubb
said it would be an unfortunate in-
terpretation of the Sherman law to
establish such a principle. The gro-
cery trade is full of instances where
persistent education has _ produced
gradual improvement in trade prac-
tices. Intimidation can point to few
instances of permanent accomplish-
ments, which came from sheer force
without the support of logic and
sound sense.

Price cutting and price questions
are not the sole questions for grocers’
associations to settle. Nor are ex-
clusive sales to jobbers, or refraining
from such unfair competitive practices
as deals and quantity prices. If the
power of association is nothing else,
it can convince the individual grocer
that the problems he regards as sole-
ly his own, are common to all, and
when that has been accomplished it
has probably crystallized enough trade
opinion to start the downfall of the
objectionable circumstance or prac-
tice. The courts have not yet de-
clared that it was illegal to have a
unified trade opinion back of an agi-
tation.

A Record of Reforms.
For instance, the National Whole-
sale Grocers’

Association has many

reforms to its credit, due solely to.

its strong exemplification of the wis-
dom of a certain course of action. It
has increased trade and
cash discounts by the power of ar-

negotiated

gument. It has largely persuaded
manufacturers that it is not altogether
fair trade or economical to sell 90
per cent. of an output through job-
bers and the rest to favorite retail-
ers. It has established in the minds
of most manufacturers that free deals
are neither desirable, satisfactory or
always safe or profitable, though it
is hardly to be expected that the
practice can be altogether wiped out.
{t had influenced shipping questions,
banking questions, pure food ques-
tions, without the exercise of “the
big stick.” It has even persuaded
hundreds of jobbers that it is foolish
to sell sugar at a loss and other ar-
ticles at less than the cost of doing
business. And it has educated hun-
dreds of grocers as to the correct and
safe way to figure his costs of doing
business.

These and scores of other things
have been influenced by associated
effort without the slightest efforts at
coercion. Agitation, applied to a log-
ical mind annoyed by a simple griev-
ance, with some suggestion as to a
solution, will ultimately create pub-
lic and trade opinion, — sufficiently
strong to crystalize into definite cor-
rection without the necessity of coer-
cion.

Undoubtedly, had the Clabaugh pro-
gramme been sustained, trade asso-
ciations would have been doomed.
But the court did not sustain those
contentions in any material degree.
Trade associations, which will take
an advanced stand in the line of
progress, will probably have many
and happy years of activity before
them.

NEARLY FIFTY YEARS AGO.

 

Merchants Who Patronized Mr. L. J.
Rindge in 1866.

Among the records left by the late
L. J. Rindge is a book containing a
list of the customers on whom he was
in the habit of calling in 1866—forty-
seven years ago. The list is so in-
teresting and brings back so many
memories of the olden times that the
Tradesman submits a copy herewith.
as follows:

Mill Point—J. H. Newcomb, John

Perham, H. W. Cleveland, Hiram
Read.
Grand Haven—H. Griffin & Co.,

Geo. D. Sanford, James E. Avery, H.
Brouwer & Bro., Barclay & Angell,
Sheldon & Slayton, Geo. Hubbard,
Stegeman & Bro., Ferry & Son, J.
Barnes, L. M. Smith.

Muskegon—Henry D. Baker, Geo.
Wheeler, Ryerson Hills & Co., Hub-
bard & Emlaw, L. G. Mason, H. J.
Slater, H. Richle, K. Mulder, Bullock
& Hall.

Pentwater—Wm. Webb, Richmond
& Bean, Hart Maxwell & Co., Eugene
Costigan, F. W. Ratzel.

Hollaud—Charles Nienhardt, J. Bin-
nekant, Jan Roost, H. D. Post, J.
Doesbury, Doornink Steketee & Bro.,
D. Wierman.

Friesland—John Boer.

Zeeland — J. Den Herder,
Snooks.

Wayland—T. D. Van Valkenbergh,
Niles & Thompson, Berry & Bro.

Newaygo—J. F. A. Raider, D. E.
Soper, S. K. Riblett, G. D. Graves,
D. T. Glaizer.

Big Rapids—B. E. Hutchinson, F.
H. Todd & Co., Shaffer & Montony,
E. P. Clark & Co., Charlie Gay, G.
W. Crawford.

Grandville—Haven & Boyce, Shoe-
maker & De Ruyter, J. Blake, F. A.
Jennison.

Salem—J. Castor, J. Burwip.

Greenville—James Belknap, J. M.
Fuller, E. Rutan, E. F. Grabill.

Lowell—C. R. Hine, C. M. Deven-
dorf, J. D. Morris, Lowell National
Bank, Wm. Pullen.

Middleville—Sanford & Parrish, M.
C. Swift, Dibble & Son, Withey &
Lewis, Summy Bros.

Lamont — Luther
Hedges, A. Cassell.

Eastmanville—E. Van Hiattern, G.
Eastman.

Berlin—Miner & Miller, R. S. Chap-
pell.

Lisbon—Spencer & Chapman, At-
herton & Bros., Chubb & Lockwood,
Hamilton & Haukins.

Brownville—W. S. Hale, Boyce &
Co.

Cedar Springs—W. S. Clark, Stiles
Bros. & Co.

Brimley—-Fairchild & Russell.

Cannonsburgh—Wm. Pullen, Mr.
Proven, A. K. Evarts, Ira Ellis, John
Mizner, W. J. Champion.

Laphamville—O. F. Hyde & Co.,
Brown Bro., Dr. Blakely, S. Abbey,
John Barker & Co., Geo. French, A.
L. Pickett.

Fallasburgh—S. S. Fallas.

Coopersville—W. S. Hovey, Mrs.
Streeter, W. H. Wilson, E. Brace, E.
F. Lillie.

Van

Bros., Miner

White River—Charley Rose, J. S.
Hunt & Co.

Courtland—Geo.
Hunt.

Ionia—S. K. Pierce & Co.

Mecosta—Orange Wheeler.

Saranac—N. Nourse, G. A. Cotton.

Staten—D. McGardner.

Lyons—A. L. Hosmer, A. McFar-
lan.

Smyrna—A. J. Ecker,
Hunt, C. A. Randall.

Chester—O. H. McLain.

Ashaland—Wm. Applegarth.

Grattan—W. L. Atkins, Palmer T
Stocking, Guy H. Atkins.

Plainfiedd—Thomas Eriant, C. M.
Mason, C. Pelton.

Hastings—Roberts & Striker, Julius
Russell & Co., Geo. M. Dewey.

Nevins—John M. Gentzlor.

Bass River—J. W. Barnard.

Duncan—Newton & Sammons.

Browne—Mr. Rucker.

Solon Centre—Edward Pryde.

Ada—C. D. Washburne, John De
Ruyter, E. M. Hall, Rans Beebe.

Pewamo—Tilas Storer.

Otisco—Panghorn Bros.

St. Johns—E. N. Payne.

Cascade—Johnson & Bro.,,
Brown.

Traverse City—Hannah Lay Co.

Nunica—Judge Hathaway, P. W.
Johnson, Mr. Brown, H. Temple, C.
W. Rose W. Thompson.

Muir—Wager & Hulsted, Roberts
& Co., Titus Staver.

Monterey Center—Ferguson & Co.,
Irvin Mills, F. L. Blake.

Hart—Huff & Chiney.

Casnovia—Whitney Bros. R. H.
Hopping, Hamilton & Hawkins.

Caledonia—Mr. March.

Benona—A. C. Smith, Thos. J. Bar-
ber.

Ravenna—Mr. Teeple.

Ponama—L. Martin & Co.

Dorr—Joseph Newman.

North Brownville—L. C.
James E. Tibbets.

Ensley—Ben Ensley.

Croton—B. E. Powers, John Butler,
T. G. Terry, G. & A. Truesdell.

Paris—E. M. Slickney.

Mears—J. F. Dayton.

Spoons Mills—John Spoon.

Saunders, J. G.

Randall &

Mr.

 

Parks,

—_+2.>____
How “Best Man” Came to Be Used.

The “best man” at a modern wed-
ding is a survival of those stirring
feudal times when the friends of tne
bridegroom undertook as a_ special
favor to frustrate all attempts made
by possible and probable rivals to
carry off the bride before the wedding
could take place.

In Sweden, weddings formerly were
solemnized under cover of darkness
on this account.

Behind the high altar of an ancient
church in Husaby, Gothland, a collec-
tion of long lances with sockets for
torches have been preserved and may
be seen by the curious.

These were served out to the
groomsmen on such occasions, both
for defense and illumination.

Naturally the groomsmen were the
bravest and best among his friends
whom the groom could induce to
serve him upon the occasion.

——
In the human race the fat man has
more than a slim chance.

 

 

   

ees sees aa =e rae aaa

13 October 29, 1913 MICHIGAN TRADESMAN 63

} Olde Fashion
~ Horehound Candy

‘(Double A’’ on Every Piece

 

IS

Je

d.

1p
ne
al
de
10
1g

Ss

 

ay Is good for young
he It stops the cough and cures the cold.

t Madeontyty Pytnam Factory National Candy Co.
. Grand Rapids, Michigan

 

 

64

MICHIGAN TRADESMAN

October 29, 1913

 

MORE THAN FIVE FOLD.

 

Growth and Development of the Fur-
niture Industry.

The writer well remembers when
the present prosperous proprietor of
the Tradesman was an enterprising
reporter on one of the local daily
papers, with naught to rely upon ex-
cept his industry, intelligence, perse-
verance. ambition and determination
to be a factor in the community which
he had chosen for his abode. No
journal could have had a more humble
beginning than this one, which to-day
is celebrating its thirtieth anniver-
sary. Its capital was pluck, honesty
and energy and they have proven in
this instance, as they always will, to
have yielded large financial returns.
I wish to extend to Mr. Ernest A.
Stowe my cordial and sincere con-
gratulations for the merited success
that has attended his thirty years of
effort and a wish that the future may
bring to him additional rewards, both
in financial returns and the continued
esteem of his fellow citizens.

During the lifetime of the Trades-
man Grand Rapids and Western
Michigan have experienced a growth
and develepment exceeding all that
has preceded it. Its manufacturing
industries have attained during this
period a worldwide reputation. Es-
pecially is this true of the furniture in-
dustry.

Of the half hundred furniture fac-
tories doing business in this city
to-day, only eight existed in 1883—
Nelson, Matter & Co., Berkey & Gay,
Phoenix Furniture Co., Grand Rapids
Chair Co., Widdicomb Furniture Co.,
Stow & Davis, Luce Furniture Co.,
and Sligh Furniture Co. The others
have come gradually. Nearly all of
them, like those above mentioned, are
the outgrowth of modest beginnings.
They have survived because they de-
served to. Many others, both before
1883 and since, have embarked in the
business and, after a brief struggle,
have been numbered withthe wrecks
that strew the highways of commerce.

The early establishment of furni-
ture manufacturing in Grand Rapids
was to meet the local demand of a
pioneer community and necessarily
consisted of the cheapest kind of
household necessities, such as wood
seat chairs, kitchen tables, washstands
and beds. No furniture of any im-
portance was shipped from this city
until in the sixties, and it was not
until the seventies that it assumed
great proportion. Grand Rapids first
attracted National attention at the
Centennial Exhibition of 1876 at
Philadelphia when the Phoenix Furni-
ture Co., Nelson, Matter & Co. and
Berkey & Gay Furniture Co. exhib-
ited bedroom suites worth from $1,000
to $1,500 each. These exhibits adver-
tised the industries to such an extent
that business rapidly increc‘ed, al-
though the country was at that time
passing through the severe panic of
1873. From 1879 to 1883 several new
furniture companies were organized
and the manufacture largely increased
for the styles that were prevalent at
that period. but which if they were
produced to-day could not be sold at
any price, the public taste having been

cultivated for more artistic designs.
During the recollections of the
writer the manufacture of high-grade
furniture has passed from _ Boston,
Mass., where it was one of their prin-
cipal industries forty years ago, to
New York City, Philadelphia, Roch-
ester, N. Y., Columbus, Ohio, Cincin-
nati, Louisville, Indianapolis and on
to this city, where it apparently has
found an abidng place and bids fair
to remain for several generations.
Very few citizens realize the vast
debt this community owes to the fore-
sight and business acumen of Wm. A.
and Julius Berkey, Geo. W. Gay, John
Mowatt, Wm. and John Widdicomb
for the permanent establishment here
of this industry, now employing an
army of ten thousand men. They
realized more than a generation ago
that the sure foundation upon which
to build was quality and this, largely
through their example and influence,
has been inculcated into the minds

 

preduct of Grand Rapids is acknowl-
edged to be the best exemplification
of the chaste and correct designs of
furniture made during the periods
when it had attained its highest per-
fection and than which nothing bet-
ter has ever been made.

The first buyer who came to Grand
Rapids was Samuel H. Burrell, of
Milwaukee, about 1872. Thirty years
ago the number had increased to
probably forty or fifty who came to
buy Grand Rapids goods exclusively,
as there were then no outside ex-
hibitors and no exposition buildings.
To-day the market is visited by nearly
1,500 buyers who come twice a year.
There are 275 outside manufacturers
who have permanent exhibits here in
exhibition buildings,
while all local manufacturers exhibit
on their own premises.

six enormous

The growth of an industry is lim-
There are
United

ited by its possibilities.
single manufacturies in the

CHAS. R. SLIGH

So that
throughout the length and breadth of
this land to-day the synonym of
Grand Rapids furniture is QUALITY.

Since 1876 Grand Rapids has led
all other American furniture manu-
facturers in the quality and design of
its workmanship. It has been the
work of its brain more than its
brawn upon which it has builded.

Thirty years ago the eight factories
above mentioned and three or four
others, who were then operating, but
have since passed away, were employ-
ing about 1,750 men and_ shipping
about two and a half million dollars’
worth of goods. To-day there are
ten thousand men employed, with a
product of fifteen millions.

The designs of those days were
crude and inartistic, while to-day the

and lives of their successors.

States in the steel and iron industries,
electrical] supplies, automobiles, agri-
cultural implements and possibly other
lines which employ more men than
the combined furniture industry of
Grand Rapids and it makes our ef-
forts sometimes look small, but to
have attaitied a position in one’s cho-
sen field that is conceded to be pre-
eminent is something, and in which
all furniture manufacturers of this
city take a pardonable pride.

Charles R. Sligh.
—_++.—__—_
Knowledge May Be Gained Without
Striving.

Written for the Tradesman.

“Be still and know.”’ The sentence
of which this quotation is a part may
be of far greater value of itself alone
than all that is here written. We

wish not to detract in the least from
its force in its original meaning: “Be
still, and know that I am God.”

To know this is of greater import-
ance than merely to gain knowledge.
How we may know God is a problem
we should all seek to solve. Various
are the means and mediums by whic
this may be attained. Various also
the methods taught by man, and many
of them worthy our careful attention.
In the text God points out one wav
to know Him. Elsewhere in His
Word he tells us other ways.

“Be still, and know.” In all the
walks of life we can apply this direc-
tion. Our ways of gaining knowledge
are much like our ways of gaining
material things. We go after them,
we expend force, we labor, we grasp.
we draw unto ourselves. But here is
another way to abtain knowledge:
“Be still”’—look, listen, think. Give
our minds a chance to assume a pass-
ive condition—a receptive attitude.

All nature will tell us of God if we
but stop our intense labor, our striv-
ing, our rushing, our seeking. If we
turn our minds away from pleasure,
from business, from care, from plans
for ourselves, our families or our
friends, we must still think, and the
great truths of life will come to us
as freely as do the sunshine, the air
and the warmth when we place our-
selves in position to receive them.

“Be still, and know.” We may cease
our asking, cease our puzzling, cease
straining to search out matters. Just
be still, like the camera plate, and re-
ceive the ineffaceable impression that
will fall upon or strike unto our
hearts.

But when can we be still? Where
and how can we find place and time
to be still? To some the opportuni-
ties seem but few, but if few they
should the more be prized and made
use of. To others there are abundant
opportunities. Some use them well;
some seek to avoid them

 

seem anxious
to be delivered from quiet moments.
It may be conscience uses these mo-
ments to remind them of past mis-
deeds; it may that unsatisfied desires
will not let them take peace in quiet
moments. Whatever it be, it is not
good for any one to be deprived of
times of quiet and meditation.

Would we know, “be still, and
know.” The experiences of life will
give forth lessons if we ponder them,
and fuller lessons after added experi-
ence and observation.

Where and when find time to “be
still, and know?“ One purpose of the
Sabbath day is that we may rest our
bodies, and another that we may “be
still’ in mind. No one has a right
to deprive us of the proper use of
the day. Guard it as you would guard
your liberties and independence.
Guard it because he who would rob
us of the Sabbath day would also
rob us of our freedom as individuals
and as a nation.

‘Be still,’ thus only can we come
into communion with the source of
all knowledge, and those who thus
commune shall continue to know—
shall increase in knowledge.

E. E. Whitney.

ee
The dead are soon forgotten—and
so are a lot of us who are alive.

 

 

 

 

: October 29, 19138 MICHIGAN TRADESMAN 65
aa Your self-interest demands that you learn
a. more about the

Grand Rapids Dry Goods Co.

The largest and most complete Exclusive Wholesale
: Dry Goods House in Western Michigan. We
i heartily invite you to pay us a visit and see for your-
self what class of merchandise we are displaying on
our seven floors. & B&B BKK HHS

 

will

ein

eri

be

} .

= OFFICERS DIRECTORS

He E. A. STOWE, President CHRISTIAN BERTSCH WILLIAM B. HOLDEN

ue GUY W. ROUSE, Vice President CHAS. W. GARFIELD ROBERT W. IRWIN
Ww. B. HOLDEN, Sec’y and Gen. Mgr. HEBER A. KNOTT W. M. LEMKE

Ww. M. LEMKE, Treas. and Asst. Mgr. GUY W. ROUSE E. A. STOWE

one

. Grand Rapids Dry Goods Co.

c 20 and 22 Commerce Ave. $ Grand Rapids, Michigan

y.

 

 

-and

 

 

 

 

 

66

MICHIGAN TRADESMAN

 

October 29, 1913

 

BUSINESS SUCCESS

 

Depends on the Ability to Handle
Men.
Written for the Tradesman.

As I understand it, the end of all
business is that of rendering service
for profit. We are all in business—
whether we are employers or whether
we are employes—whether we are
managers or whether we are being
managed and supervised in everything
we do. We are in business to suc-
ceed and we are working for a pat-
ronage and working for a profit—so
that the end of all business is the
rendering of service with the purpose
of making permanent, profitable cus-
tomers.

Very few men in business chart
themselves and their business proper-
ly at the very start. Too many man-
agers work along the rule of thumb—
by guess and by God fashion—and
then wake up some time to find the
balance on the wrong side. You can’t
run any business’ successfully—i10
matter how small or how large--
without a well defined plan at the out-
set. Planning is, in essence, the ex-
ercise of foresight. It consists in ad-
justing the relation of things before
they happen. In this sense, almost
every business step involves planning
in some degree.

Planning your “system” is a most
important step, because a properly
arranged system, one that fits the
business, is a great aid in securing
efficiency from all of your employes,
thus relieving the management some-
what from the necessity of handling
all the men.

One of the most important requis-
ites for business success is the ability
to handle men—and that means wom-
en, also. The man who handles only
one department of business fails to
realize one tremendous factor for the
acquisition of power until he reads
and studies about other departments.
Then he learns that through all de-
partments certain basic rules and
principles are running. He begins to
see where his department affects oth-
ers and where the others affect his.
He sees improvements that can be
made, economies that can be effected
and difficulties to inter-departmental
relations that can be ironed out—so
that he becomes a really prominen*
factor in the organization—by his
broadened vision. Each time he sug-
gests an economy, an improvement, 1
decrease of friction, the handling of
his own department is better, and his
own growth and confidence are in-
creased by the knowledge of his own
increasing power. When any man
becomes absorbed in finding new
ways for developing himself and his
work, it ceases to be monotomous
and becomes alive with interest.

The entire question of going ahead,
of growing in power and gaining suc-
cess in any line of business, is a ques-
tion of constantly acquiring and ab-
sorbing new information, gathering
new ideas, classified without detail,
so that they may be readily grasped
and easily used. All success in busi-
ness is limited. In institutions organ-
ized for business purposes the suc-
cess is limited by the ability of the
individuals who make up the brains

of that institution, and the measure
of individual successes of those var-
ious units. It is most
therefore, that any one engaged in

important,

any business should not only take care.

of it from a general managerial view-
point, but must take care of
particular detail or unit from the man

eacn

standpoint.

Hire the best men you can get—
to do your selling—if you are not
qualified to do the job yourself. But
don’t forget that the real success of
any enterprise is brought about
through the working together of th2
entire forces as one composite sales-
man; and if I can make no other im-
pression on readers than by bringing
out this one fact, then I shall think
this article has been worth while.

Your selling organization,  there-
fore, is the fence around your busi-

ness — the line limit of your
expansion — because no concern—
without regard to its executive
ability, its financial strength or

its shop production—is one with larg-
er than its sales force, and no sale
force is effective unless carefully or-
ganized and educated in the first place
and intelligently directed and force-
fully controlled thereafter. Your sell-
ing policies should be clearly defined
and then ably maintained. Remem-
ber that a salesman does not repre-
sent a company—he is the company,
so far as the buying public is concern
ed. A salesman is an animated ad-
vertisement and by its salesmen is a
company best known. Salesmen are
creators of good will or bad will. It
is important that the salesman be neat
and attractive. No matter how logic-
ally a salesman is able to talk the sell-
ing points of your product, if his ap-
pearance is repulsive he may never
get a chance to present them.

Truth is the watchword of modern
advertisements. The sales men should
know your product thoroughly and be
able to tell what he knows simply, un-
derstandably. An advertisement’s
value increases with its circulation in
fertile territory. The same is true
of the salesman, the more prospects
he turns into orders, the greater ‘his
value to the concern employing him.
Merely “taking orders” is not selling
goods — real salesmanship means
“making orders”—shortening the time
between the interview and the signed
order. It means convincing, convert-
ing, inspiring confidence and desire
and overcoming objections and pre-
judices. It is saying the right thing
and doing the right thing the right
way, at the right time. All salesmen
to be successful must mix brains with
talk. Get into the good graces of
your customer. Think more of his
purchase than of your order and re-
member that commercialism is really
humanized between confidence and
friendship. Salesmen should go deep
in studying their line. Learn more
about it than you will have to tell.
Don’t stop to think when | talking
about your product—do your thinking
beforehand. One immediate answer
to an objection is worth two that are
thought out later, because the delay-
ed response indicates that perhaps the
customers objection is wellfounded.
The quick, ready response proves

familiarity, and the man who is famil-
iar is usually positive. Remember
that a “talking point” means a “selling
point’—something that in some way
helps to shift the interest of the buy-
er toward the actual purchase. Know
the quality of your product so you
can back every statement with ample
proof. Know what your competitors
are doing and what they are claiming,
so you can intelligently meet their op-
position without knocking. Don’t cut
prices—this is demoralizing to the
customer—the salesman—the company
—and the trade generally—it’s poor
business and no printer who works
conscientiously to build up a perma-
nent trade can afford it. The best
salesmen are keen students of human
nature. They learn to size up a man
quickly. They go deep into studying
the types of men. There are many
kinds—too many in fact to enumer-
ate—so each salesman must work out
a system of classifying them in the
light of his own experience.

There are four important factors
in nearly every sale: price, quality,
service and presentation. The first
three are cards you must play and
how they are played rests with the
salesman. The last element, however,
presentation, is entirely within his
control and therein rests the final
test of his real order getting ability.

You must be on the job all the
time. Tell the truth. If you are
working for a concern where you are
not allowed to tell the truth—quit
the job. There is no pay envelope
fat enough to compensate dishonesty.
Be dependable and don’t forget your
promises. Remember names and
faces—this is most important for all
salesmen. Avoid personal intimacies
and chop the personal pronoun out of
your vocabulary. Don’t be a bore,
but still learn to hang on. Don’t say
a word that will bump the buyer off
the order track. Don’t fly off the
handle because the buyer does, and
every time you fail to sell a man,
leave him with a smile, but go out
and sit down and take a quiet think
all by yourself—because there has
been a reason for your failure—and
perhaps it wasn’t the price, either.

President Wilson says “The time
has come when we must recognize the
fact that the man who serves will be
the man who profits.”

H. A. Hawkins,

Salesmanager Ford Automobile Co.

—_2+22s—___
One Blessing at Least.

Casey had been ill more than a
week, when his wife, met Mrs. Murphy
on the street and the following con-
versation ensued:

“Mrs. Casey, and how is your hus-
band gettin’ along?” asked Mrs. Mur-
phy.

“Ah, indade, Pat. is a very sick
man,” said Mrs. Casey.

“Sure, and what is the matter with
him?” enquired Mrs. Murphy.
“'Tis the gangrene, the

tells us, Mrs. Murphy.”

“Ah, that’s bad,” said Mrs. Murphy;
“but let’s praise the Lord for the
color.”

doctor

——
Before accepting your predecessor’s

methods of doing things, be sure he

was a man in advance of his time.

Store Paper Worked While Owner
' Was IIL.
Written for the Tradesman.
A certain man came to see me about
three months ago with a bona-fide
tale of woe.

His name is A. J. Kaiser and he
lives in a Wisconsin town about twen™
ty miles from Madison. Encircling
the town where Mr. Kaiser lives is a
good farming community thickly set-
tled with German-Americans of a
particularly hard-headed type. Most
of them are pet customers of retail
mail order houses and this, added to
the fact that there are two other gen-
eral stores in the already overcrowd-
ed town, made Mr. Kaiser’s situation
decidedly precarious.

On numerous occasions Mr. Kaiser
pleaded with his competitors to start
a co-operative department store, but
in vain. When he came to see me he
was on his way to the office of a
celebrated surgeon and he had merely
stopped to give me notice of his in-
tentions to move from the town where
his store stands.

Mr. Kaiser is still a young man, but
his long residence in his home town
made it extremely advisable for him
to stay there if matters could+be ar-
ranged to his satisfaction, and I did
everything I possibly could to con-
vince him that better business. still
lay in his home territory.

He admitted that there was business
to be secured at Marshall, but de-
clared that he knew no way to get it:

I told Mr. Kaiser that I’d guarantee
results if he would experiment two
months with a store paper and I told
him so many stories of success with
these medium, that he finally fell in
with my suggestion.

We helped him build an eight page
newspaper, perhaps 8x11, constructed
for him an electrotype heading and
helped him write his editorials. All
this matter reached him only a few
days before his date of publication
and he had to work unusually hard to
get his paper out on schedule time.

I almost forgot to tell about his
trip to the surgeon. The diagnosis
showed that he had been suffering
from appendicitis for seven years and
that an operation was imperative. He
decided to get out the second copy
of his storepaper and then come to
Chicago for the operation.

Two days after his second store
paper appeared, he arrived in Chicago,
secured a promise of help on his third
issue which was to be published dur-
ing his convalescence, and _ betook
himself to the operating room.

The operation was successful, but
no more so than the store paper.

Mr. Kaiser is now rapidly recover-
ing and his last report informs me
that a miracle had been wrought and
that his business has been increased
one half by three issues of a little
eight page folder made out of ordinary
black ink and pulp paper.

Anderson Pace.
—__ e+e.

Don’t think the quiet times in the
store must necessarily be time wasted.
Make all your time count for the
advancement of the business in on2
way or another.

 

oO 6 eee ee ee eS NS SS eee eee Sos cha eee a rs cA

Wie a eee

1e

le

iS

October 29, 1913

MICHIGAN TRADESMAN

67

 

 

 

 

 

Citizens Telephone Co.

We cannot present figures for thirty years, but we
can present an unequaled record of growth for the
- past seventeen years, as follows:

 

 

Telephones in State Line

YEAR City Exchange Telephones 1 a OO
1896 832 None ae

| Michigan towns
1897 1976 1628

reached by us.
1898 2339 2028
1899 2915 5677 ae
1900 3347 20000 Use our
1901 3588 22000 Long Distance
1902 4523 24155 Lines
1903 5165 33069
1904 5605 49658
1905 6633 60708 Unequaled
1906 7823 80013 Service
1907 8874 95775
1908 9375 101205
1909 10010 103289 A Michigan company
owned, managed and

1910 11300 117576 operated by Michigan
1911 12070 123249 people for the benefit
1912 12476 228719 of Michigan people.

 

 

 

 

 

Citizens Telephone Co.

Grand Rapids, Michigan

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

68

 

MICHIGAN TRADESMAN

October 29, 1913

 

FROM THE FIRST.

 

Twenty-Eight Original Subscribers
of the Tradesman.

Twenty-eight of the original sub-
scribers of the Michigan Tradesman—
that is, those who have taken every
issue since No. 1—are still on the
subscription list, as follows:

Chas. H. Coy, Alden.

Amberg & Murphy, Battle Creek.

Adam Newell, Burnips Corners.

Drury & Kelly Co., Cadillac.

J. L. Norris, Casnovia.

F. H. Bitely, Casnovia.

E. S. Botsford, Dorr.

J. H. Voller, Evart.

R. D. McNaughton, Fruitport.

Wm. J. Clarke, Harbor Springs.

Walsh Drug Co., Holland.

Furber & Kidder, Hopkins.

F. B. Watkins, Hopkins.

L. M. Wolf, Hudsonville.

Rodenbaugh & Stevens, Mancelona.

Wisler & Co., Mancelona.

Thompson & Co., Newaygo.

A. Rogers, Ravenna.

M. V. Wilson, Sand Lake.

Milo Bolender, Sparta.

Mrs. Anna Mulder & Son, Spring
Lake.

O. P. DeWitt, St. Johns.

S. E. Wait & Sons, Traverse City.

Belknap Wagon Co., City.

F. C. Beard, City.

Wolbrink Bros., Ganges.

W. H. Hicks, Morley.

H. P. Nevins, Six Lakes.

In anticipation of the thirtieth anni-
versary edition the Tradesman wrote
each of these twenty-eight subscribers
a personal letter, calling attention to the
event, and the following very generous
letters have been received in reply
thereto:

O. P. DeWitt, St. Johns.

St. Johns, Oct. 3—In reply to yours
of Sept. 19, asking why I have taken
the Tradesman thirty years, I beg leave
to give you ten good reasons, as fol-
lows:

1. I never have refused to subscribe
for a business journal issued in Mich-
igan.

2. I consider the Tradesman a com-
pendium of value no merchant can do
without.

3. I have always found it accurate
in its reports and fearless in its inten-
tions.

4. No merchant can be without a
trade journal, no matter how small his
business.

5. No merchant can be too well post-
ed and the suggestions gained from
trade journals show their effect in his
business.

6. If I did not have the time and
could not get help, I would close my
store two hours each week and devote
the time to posting myself on trade
conditions from the different
which are easily procured.

7 As to cost, a merchant can get
two journals a week for the cost of
one cigar (he thinks nothing of smok-
ing).

8. In Mr. Stowe, the editor of the
Tradesman, the merchant has a friend
who is fearless, whether in favor or
against the merchant.

9. Should every merchant in Mich-
igan support the Tradesman he could
procure more information than at pres-

issues

ent, as the larger the subscription the
cheaper the paper can be issued and
more information given.

10. No man is a merchant who does
not take a trade journal and read the
same, that he may try to better his
conditions.

These ten reasons are why I am still
a subscriber and shall continue as long
as I can raise one dollar a year to pay
the subscription. I wish you thirty
years more of success and prosperity.

O. P. DeWitt.

 

S. E. Wait, Traverse City.

‘Traverse City, Oct. 2-—When I saw the
first number of the Michigan Trades-
man in 1883, I decided that here was a
paper that would supply a long-felt
want and was glad to subscribe for it.
Its editorials, price current and various
other departments have been a great
help to me, and when, in April, 1901,
I took my two sons in co-partnership
with me, we still considered that it wa.
just what we needed in our business
and have welcomed with pleasure its
weekly visits. Its tone is clean and en-
ergetic for the right. The—out of the
ordinary—selections on the front out-
side cover are choice and show the ele-
vated trend of the mind of the editor.
It has always been a great pleasure to
me to meet him. We wish the Mich-
igan Tradesman abundant
“Long may it wave!” S. E. Wait.

 

F. C. Beard, Grand Rapids.

Grand Rapids, Oct. 10—It is with
much pleasure on the eve of the thir-
tieth anniversary of the Michigan
Tradesman that I write you briefly to
assure you of the interest I have taken
in it since its first issue thirty years
ago. At that time you visited Morley
in the interest of the great journal that
was to be and talked so earnestly of the
great and good results that would come
to every grocer who subscribed for it,
that I—heing anxious for good results—
thought 1 would subscribe for it, which
I did. By the way, memory also re-
calls that all the grocers and general
dealers who were in business at Morley
at that time—with, I think, one excep-
tion—have passed out of life into the
Silent Land and are sleeping the sleep
that knows no waking, amid other slum-
berers who awaken not.

Well, soon after your departure with
my first subscription came the Michigan
Tradesman, beautifully adorned as a
bride for her husband, with a great
array of editorials, local news, State
news, business information and depend-
able quotations and, after a careful pe-
rusal of its contents, I came to the con-
clusion that it was a pretty good paper.
At that time I was also a subscriber for
a certain Chicago grocery journal,
which I welcomed to my store. But as
time passed by, I cut loose from my
Chicago attachment and clung to the
Michigan Tradesman and have been
clinging ever since, believing it to be the
best journal of its kind that can come
into a grocer’s hands. I have always
felt safe relying on any statement con-
tained therein or any business quota-
tions, knowing those in command to be
of sterling character, always standing
for the right, regardless of consequen-
ces and working for the benefit and up-
lifting of men—all men—though at

 

success.

times they could not see it. But, Friend
Stowe, long ago I awakened to the fact
that: you surely were making men better
morally. You have intertwined in your
reading matter brilliant and beautiful
thoughts which have taught men that
they could not live by bread alone; that
there was something better than a com-

mercial life, no matter how successful, _

for its pride and glory would decay with
all its accumulations. You have urged
a clean manhood, brotherly love, a help-
ing hand to the distressed, pure living
and to take Him for our helper and
friend, who, when all others have gone,
and all life’s interest is at an end, would
not forsake us, nor suffer us to perish
at the last. So the Michgan Tradesman
has been two-fold in its teaching—advo-
cating good business principles which
tend largely to success and good moral
living, which ensures a life beyond the
blue sky where cares and striving shall
cease.

The brilliant success you have
achieved you have earned and are de-
serving, because of your honorable meth-
ods and unstinting energy. In the early
days of the Tradesman sometimes your
sky was dark, later hopeful shadows fell,
but for many years you have lived in
the bright, warm sunshine of prosper-
ity.

Had I the time, I would like to write
you of the many changes that have come
into the grocery business, reviewing the
same. But when you have your fiftieth
anniversary, I will promise you a bril-
liant paper.

I wish you continued success, which
I know awaits you, and thanking you
for the business teaching which has
helped to make me a successful grocer
and especially for the good moral teach-
ing which has helped to make me a
better man. Frederick C. Beard.

Frederick C. Beard.

 

 

S. D. Thompson, Newaygo.
Newaygo, Oct. 10—In the year 1883
I was conducting a business in the vil-
lage of Newaygo. I am happy to say
that IT am still interested in the same
business in the same store that I was

occupying at that ime. Some will recol-

_ lect that a very disastrous fire occurred

in this village in 1883. It was only by
heroic work on the part of the citizens
that my store was saved. Mr. Stowe, of
Grand Rapids, at that time concluded to
start a trade paper. He did so and
called it the Michigan Tradesman. It
is the Michigan Tradesman still. It
has grown and grown thicker, bigger
and better ever since I took the first
copy. I have never missed a copy since
and I assure you that I have never been
sorry, for I am sure it is and always has
been the best trade paper published.
Stephen D. Thompson.

 

R. D. McNaughton, Fruitport.

Fruitport, Oct. 10—I+t is so long ago
since ! first subscribed for the Michigan
Tradesman that I have forgotten what
the circumstances were. J imagine it
was because you asked me to do so. You
knew it would be what I ought to have
in my business and it has been a regu-
lar weekly visitor ever since. I have
always found it advocating and work-
ing for the principles of true citizenship
and I hope and trust that you may con-
tinue to edit the Tradesman until it

reaches its fiftieth anniversary and over.
R. D. McNaughton.

 

H. P. Nevins, Six Lakes.

Six Lakes, Oct. 6—In the fall of the
year 1883 my brother and I were in
general retail trade in the village of Mo-
line, Allegan county. One day there
came into the store a young man who
introduced himself as E. A. Stowe, of
Grand Rapids. As I remember the man
he was a slight built, light complexioned
man, with very little resemblance to the
picture of him that now lies before me.
He said he had just started the publi-
cation of a trade paper in Grand Rap-
ids to be known as the Michigan Trades-
man. He gave us a copy, No. 1, Vol. 1,
and took a dollar for a year’s subscrip-
tion to the same. The copy was a four
page newspaper filled with business
news items and bits of useful informa-
tion; also price lists of most of the
kinds of goods which we handled. When
we went out of business, six years later.
I continued the subscription in my owa
name, and have not missed a copy since
No. 1 Although I am not a merchant
now, on account of its reliability and its
stand for the right upon all subjects, I
would miss the Tradesman more than
any other paper or journal I read. Suc-
cess and long life to the Michigan
Tradesman; also the same to its worthy
founder, X. A. Stowe! H. P. Nevins.

 

George H. Wolbrink, Allendale.

Allendale, Cct. 10—I was glad to re-
ceive your best wishes for myself and
wife on our fifty years of married life.
We have seen many ups and downs. I
opened a small store at Allendale. 16x24,
and did fairly well for a beginner. When
I used to go to Grand Rapids I would
hear of the Michigan Tradesman and
E. A. Stowe. I learned many good
things I will never forget from him and
his paper. The lessons learned from
the Tradesman J have transmitted to
my boys, now conducting a general
store at Ganges under the style of Wol-
brink Bros. J. J. and C. E. Wolbrink,
at Allendale, are doing a good business
and I must contess that my ups and
downs have been many. but I tell my
boys to watch the markets in the
Tradesman. Well, Mr. Stowe, I am
now spending my last days on a farm
and, on Sept. 15 I received 151 con-
gratulative cards, a good many from
the commercial travelers. I wish E. A.
Stowe and the Tradesman a long life.

George H. Wolbrink.

 

Rodenbaugh & Stevens, Mancelona.

Mancelona, Oct. 9—Permit us to con-
gratulate you on the thirty very success-
ful years through which you have passed
and to hope that the passing of each suc-
ceeding milestone will bring renewed
prosperity to your excellent pubiication.

It doesn’t seem possible that thirty
years have passed since we began tak-
ing the Tradesman, for we began with
No. 1, Vol. 1, and since that time have
oniy missed receiving one copy, which
was doubtless lost in the mails.

That the Tradesman has been a great
help to the retail trade of Michigan is
a fact that cannot be disputed. Coming
each week so bright and clean and each
number containing so many good things
of interest:to the retail merchant it has
certainly been a potent factor in the

 

 

 

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October 29, 1913 MICHIGAN TRADESMAN

69

 

 

 
   
     

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LA CEN OTR
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We Always Sell Good Shoes

ELLING good shoes has built our business from a small retail establishment in
1864 to its present proportions, and we do business in seventeen states.
@ This is the 30th Anniversary of this paper; next July will be our 50th.
@ We offer for your inspection in this, our 99th season, our Spring line,
every number of which is good, good in style, in price and profit :: :: 3: 3:00:

  

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SHOE i

  
   
   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

70

Sen OCCT YASUO

MICHIGAN TRADESMAN

   

October 29, 1913

 

uplift and advancement of the business
interests of its readers.

We look upon the Tradesman as we
do upon a friend who has proven him-
self to be tried and true. We _ take
other trade publications, but’ there
isn’t one that can quite take the place
of the Tradesman; in fact, we couldn’t
“keep house’ without it.

Allow us once again, Friend Stowe,
to say that we are truly glad of the suc-
cess you have achieved and to wish you
continued prosperity—-and a whole lot
of it. May the shadow of the Trades-
man never grow less.

Rodenbaugh & Stevens,
By 1. N. Rodenbaugh.

 

L. M. Wolf, Hudsonvilie.

Hudsonville, Oct. 10—On June 8,
1843, I dropped my carpenter's tools
and embarked on the uncertain sea of
mercantile business, hoping, of course,
to make a good showing in the contest
for myself and family. It was but
natural that I should seek out everything
that could give me help in this new en-
deavor of mine. One of the very first
things I did was to send for sample
copies of several trade journals, and
among them was the Tradesman. From
the number I selected the Tradesman
as my standby.

First, because it was published in the
city where I purchased the greater part
of my goods and I felt that the editor’s
ear was much nearer to the ground to
catch the changes in trade than mine
ever could be.

Second, I was favorably impressed by
the fearless manner in which the editor
went after frauds and the fearlessness
with which he exposed them and put
the merchant on his guard.

Third, Stowe’s universally good ad-

vice to the retail trade regarding their
stock and the proper manner in which
to handle it and care for it. That alone
has been worth much money to me.
His advice regarding mutual co-opera-
tion tended to encourage young mer-
chants and give them more confidence
in themselves and thus bring about much
better financial results. I am persuaded
to think that there would be less fail-
ures did a larger part of the merchants
read the Tradesman and pay attention
to Editor Stowe’s advice.
. | am happy and proud to say that in
the twenty-five years of my business
activity the best advice I have ever re-
ceived regarding the details of business
and the reliable markets came from the
Tradesman. JI have been often pleased
with the manner in which the Trades-
man went after fakers and exposed
them in such a manner that its readers
could not be hoodwinked by them.

I cannot understand how any mer-
chant, young or old, can be without
a trade paper. Granting the necessity
of such an auxiliary, I feel confident
that he makes no mistake in selecting
the Tradesman as the one to swear by.

I have never missed a copy of the
Tradesman since T started in business,
thirty years ago. I closed out my busi-
ness March 27, 1907, but some of the
habits I contracted when I was in busi-
ness have stuck to me like molasses in
a darkey’s hair. One of those habits
is the Tradesman habit. I still look for
it every week as earnestly and as eagerly
as the marriageable girl looks for her

sweetheart on Sunday nights. In it I
see what my brothers in trade are doing,
how the financial world is progressing,
where my time-tried friends, the drum-
mers, are and what they are doing. And,
best of all, what my friend of thirty
years, E. A. Stowe, is doing.

The Tradesman habit is one that 1!
cannot break, neither do I want to quit
it. I expect to take it as long as I
live and shall ever be delighted to tell
my younger friends in trade of the
benefits T have derived from it.

L. M. Wolf.

 

F. B. Watkins, Hopkins Station.

Hopkins, Oct. 10—I have been a sub-
scriber and a reader of the Tradesman
for thirty years. I read it and advise
my help to do likewise. The first issue
appeared to me as a most excellent me-
dium for retail merchants. In quality
it is unexcelled; in quantity A121. The
letter writer and window trimming col-
umns are most fitting to those who
want advice. The market quotations
are fresh, not stale and, last but not
least, the editor is alert and looking

overbalances his badness that I shall al-
ways admire both the Tradesman and
E. A. Stowe. May they both stay with
us long! Frank B. Watkins.

 

E. S. Botsford, Dorr.

Dorr, Sept. 30—I am enclosing my
check for $1, renewing my subscription
to the Tradesman, making my thirty-
first year as a subscriber to your worthy
journal. I have always been very much
interested in each issue of the Michigan
Tradesman, as there has been much of
value to every business man,

I am on my thirty-sixth year as a
business man in Dorr. That is, I term
myself as such in a small way, but the

longer I follow the mercantile business, .

the more I think there is much to learn
before I can reach the goal. I realize
that a man in business should give con-
siderable time in reading just such pa-
pers as the Tradesman.

I congratulate you, Brother Stowe, on
the good work and trust you may be
able to continue for a long time as
editor of the Tradesman.

E. S. Botsford.

 

 

    

E.W. Funnell Treas.

 

¢ Wm.Ms Morris Pres. )

G.A.Fuller Cor.Sec.

 

 

OFFICERS OF THE BAY CITY GROCERS’ AND BUTCHERS’
ASSOCIATION

for the interest of every merchant and
against any shyster who is after the
dealer who is seeking the best market
for his products. No one can get an
advertisement in the Tradesman who is
a deadbeat or a crook, if he knows it;
and, believe me, he is wise to most of
them. I asked the gentleman once if
the reference to his name by a certain
party was right. He answered, “No,
this party has no right to my name. He
is a crook,” which in a short time proved
true. He has also helped the writer in
many ways, once in putting one of the
fly-by-night butter and egg whelps in
the custody of the United States Court.
The party settled to the amount of about
$190. This was going some and was ap-
preciated by one of the fellows who was
looking for prices, not honesty. If at
this date we are offered a price above
the market, we look up the Tradesman
to see if the party has an advertisement
If not, we pass it up. Stowe’s editori-
als are sometimes very harsh, but they
are right from the shoulder, calling a
spade a spade, etc. I have always told
him that he used too much vitriol in
place of ink. One thing is certain—-
you can always tell where he stands,
no guess work. We all have our faults.
E. A. has his, but his goodness so far

J. L. Norris, Casnovia.

Casnovia, Oct. 10—-I have been a sub-
scriber to the Michigan Tradesman since
the first issue in 1883. The question
has been asked, how I came to subscribe
for the paper originally and why I have
been a continuous subscriber, not having
missed a renewal?

It is not always easy to render a per-
fectly satisfactory and clear reason for
all the things we do, but this is not
difficult.

When the Michigan Tradesman was
launched I was associated with my
father in business. The publisher called
on us and explained the aims and pur-
poses of his paper. This he did in a
quiet, forceful manner. My father,
whose intuition always stood him in
good stead, invited the man to his home,
that he might learn more of his pur-
poses. Being convinced the man was
able to make good, he became a sub-
scriber. His judgment was fully vin-
dicated. Each succeeding year the Mich-
igan ‘Tradesman was improved and be-
came more necessary. When I retired
from the mercantile business, I felt I
did not want to miss the weekly visit
of the Tradesman, and for the last
twelve years it has been a welcome vis-
itor. I do not feel my library table

would be complete without it. It keeps
us in touch with the people we used to
do business with and whom we do not
wish to forget.

These years have been eventful ones
for me. There have been many bright
days and some dark ones during that
time. The darkest day was when my
father was called to the great beyond
and I realized 1 could no more counsel
with him,

I sincerely trust the publisher may be
blessed with health and years, that he
may realize the fruition of his hopes,
and labors. When the places that knew
him, shall know him no more forever,
those he has so faithfully served will
know the monument he has _ builded,
will be more lasting than granite, and
the stone that marks his resting place
may well be inscribed, “Their works do
follow them,” J. L. Norris.

 

Milo Bolender, Sparta.

Sparta, Qct. 10—At this anniversary
time I desire to express my apprecia-
tion of the value of the Michigan
Tradesman. It has come as a welcome
weekly visitor to my desk for the past
thirty years. 1 began taking it in 1883,
with the very first issue, and have all
these years turned to its pages for mar-
ket reports, etc., with great confidence
as to their accuracy. In writing up the
issues of the day, the editorials have
always appealed to me because of the
straightforwardness, honesty and fair-
ness with which they were handled.

In thinking of the result of the work
of this paper I am reminded of the
scientist out on the Highiand Moor. He
was minutely examining a heather bell
under a microscope, when a shadow was
cast before him. Looking up he saw an
aged shepherd at his side. After a few
words of greeting, the scientist handed
him the lens and the flower. The old
man gazed, looked up and gazed again.
Then, with tears in his eyes, he said,
“T wish’t I co’ hae seen it sooner. I’ve
trodden on thousands o’ them.” So
the editor of this paper has always striv-
en to make his readers see, through his
great mind’s eye, people and things in
their true light.

Someone has said that “Living to help
others is the noblest motto of any age.”
I esteem it a privilege to be personally
acquainted with Mr. Stowe and can
only wish for him and his paper long
life and continued prosperity.

Milo Bolender.

 

W. J. Clarke, Harbor Springs.

Harbor Springs, Oct. 10—My name
appearing on the subscription list of the
Michigan Tradesman for the issue of
No. 1 of that journal in 1883, and con-
tinuing this subscription for over thirty
years, with the expectation to continue
until the Great Creator calls time up,
T feel some pleasure in recounting some
of the events incident to the progress
and success of that paper and its editor.

Western Michigan had no trade paper
until the inauguration of the Michigan
Tradesman, and what little commercial
information was obtained was furnished
through the local newspapers. The first

issue of the Tradesman was not a very
pretentious sheet, but it had the same
progressive spirit, the same fearless ex-
position of fraud, the same clear cut
expression of what is right and just

 

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October 29, 1913

MICHIGAN TRADESMAN

71

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our New Ready-to-Wear

Department

 

 

 

WE have started a Women’s and Children’s Apparel Depart-

ment with the purpose in view to impress upon our
customers one thing, viz: That no old or shop worn merchan-
dise will be permitted in our store. Only the very latest styles
will be shown, and to insure that this policy will be carefully
followed, we shall be extremely careful to have our manufac-

turer produce safe, salable styles from the very latest fabrics.

Co-operating with the management of our Ready-to-Wear
department and our manufacturer, will be our piece goods
buyers who will constantly keep them informed regarding the

latest fabrics shown.

We expect to run the Ready-to-Wear department in such

a manner as to gain the approval of the most particular buyers.

Drop us a line and we will have our representative call.

Crowley Brothers

Wholesale Dry Goods, Notions and F urnishings
103-113 Jefferson Ave.

DETROIT, MICHIGAN

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

72

MICHIGAN TRADESMAN

 

October 29, 1913

 

as it has to-day. Why? Because Stowe
was its editor. The same E. A. Stowe
who, as a young man, had the courage
to engage in an enterprise that appar-
ently lacked every element of success.
But Stowe did not sit down in the
meadow and wait for the cow to back
up and be milked. He went after the
cow. Thirty years ago the field in
Western Michigan for a trade paper
was very uninviting, but the ambition
of its editor was none the less on that
account. A tireless
work has not always been confined to
his own enrichment, he started out to
organize the retail dealers of the State
a short time after launching his paper.
The merchants in almost every town in
the State at that time were at swords’
points with each other, each regarding
the other as a cut-throat and a villian
of the deepest dye. Stowe’s work in
getting these merchants together in the
several towns throughout Western
Michigan, showing them the advantage
of co-operation in their business affairs
and in the upbuilding of their commun-
ities and in the organization of local

worker, whose

business men’s associations marked the
greatest step for progression in the af-
fairs of the business men of Michigan
in the history of the State. The for-
mation of these local business men’s as-
the
Association,

sociations resulted in establishing
Men’s
an institution of great benefit not only
to the retail merchants of the State, but
to the jobbing trade. and, incidentally,

Michigan Business

placing Grand Rapids on the map as a
jobbing center.

While trade journals in
the
Tradesman goes on forever.
of hewing straight to the line, let the
chips fall where they may, has made it
the best of its kind, not only in Mich-
igan, but in the United States. It is
not only a trade journal imparting the
latest and best information to the mer-
chant. manufacturer, banker and farmer,

Michigan
Michigan
Its policy

have come and gone,

but its spicy articles on things modern
make it a journal for the home in strong
comparison with many of the high priced
and exclusive magazines.

Thirty years is a long time—as busi-
ness is now conducted—to own, edit and
conduct the business policy of a paper
such as the Tradesman, without change
in ownership or management, and, no
doubt, there were times in this period,
when the carburetor failed to work prop-
erly or, perhaps, some tire trouble, but
the old machine never failed to make
connections.

lt matters little to Stowe whether his
friends are rich or poor, high or low.
His large heartedness is expressed and
his gifts bestowed without a string at-
tached or expectation of reward. I
have a personal recollection of an act
of charity by this same Stowe many
years ago and at a time when he did
not find it necessary to hire a helper
‘to clip coupons. A friend, formerly a
fellow printer in years gone by, had
become broken down in body and mind,
a physical and financial wreck. He had
wandered South, was without money or
friends and appealed to Mr. Stowe in
a very pathetic letter for assistance. He
asked for sufficient money to carry him
to the West coast and pay his expenses
in the hospital for a year, promising
that if he ever got well and able to

Mr.
Stowe sent him the money, but whether

work, he would repay the loan.

he got it back or not, the writer is un-
able to say. It is only an illustration of
the makeup of the man.

I was engaged in the mercantile busi-
ness for a quarter of a century, retiring
from that field of labor eight years ago
to devote my entire time to the banking
business, but 1 find the Michigan
Tradesman as welcome a visitor on my
desk to-day as it was over a quarter
of a century ago. Long may it con-
tinue to shed its light in the counting
room, the office and the home, and long
may its editor and owner enjoy the
fruitfulness and pleasure of his toil.

W. J. Clarke.

 

Furber & Kidder, Hopkins.
Hopkins, Oct. 10—Thirty years ago
we subscribed for the Michigan Trades-

TWO HATS A YEAR.

Now “She” Requires Five to Eight
Hats.

The millinery business, like all other
lines of industry, has undergone numer-
ous changes within the last thirty years.
These changes have come so gradually
that they have not been noticeable to
any extent. Many of the same prob-
lems that confronted the wholesaler and
retailer thirty years ago are with him
to-day, only in a more exaggerated
state, with a few new ones added to the
list.

It is safe to say that no business, be-
cause of its very nature, is subject to
as many sudden and radical changes as
is the millinery business, due largely to
the uncertainty of the Paris styles to-
gether with the whims of the fairer sex.

Perhaps the most important change

has been in the development of the

 

 

 

a

 

HEBER A. KNOTT

man because we needed

in our merchandising.
We read it with great pleasure and

profit for the twenty years we were

a trade paper

in the store and since engaging in the
banking business we have continued to
take it for its general merit and be-
cause it
welcosne.

We have always thought the Trades-
man was very near what such a paper
should be in standing for what was
right and just and vigilantly and vigor-
ously the rights and interests of its
patrons.

We hope for the continued success
of the Tradesman. Furber & Kidder.

had become so familiar and

———_++ +

An Irishman heard that when one
sense is underdeveloped the other is
overdeveloped. “I observe it, too,”
he said. “When one leg is shorter
the other one is longer.”

—_++ >
Be good, but also be good for some-
thing.

ready-to-wear hat. In these busy days
time to wait for
goods to be made to order; they much
prefer to find the article ready made,
whether it be a hat, suit, coat or gown,
and the house that carries the largest
and est selected stock if ready-to-
wears is sure to get the business.

Thirty years ago, to my best knowl-
edge, there were not to exceed thirty
wholesale millinery houses throughout
the country doing business in Michigan;
to-day, including the specialty houses,
there are more than one hundred and
all as hungry for business as a pack of
wolves.

customers have not

Those of us who were selling millin-
ery goods on the road in those earlier
days thought we had our troubles, es-
pecially in the way of competition, but
our salesmen to-day tell us that those
must have been grand old days of easy
competition, when every customer had
their order all written and all the sales-
man had to do was to copy it off in his

order book and mail it in to the house.

While I think the average traveling
salesman of to-day has the idea that
it was much easier to sell goods on
the road twenty-five to thirty years
ago, it is difficult to convince some of
the older men that this statement is
entirely true. The buying population
of Michigan has increased more than
100 per cent. during the past thirty
years and I venture to say that com-
petition has increased more than 300
per cent. for the corresponding time.
It is also true that the buying capacity
of the consumer has greatly increased,
due largely to better transportation fa-
cilities, rural free delivery, larger and
more commodious stores, improved
methods of displaying merchandise and
better newspaper and periodical service,
acquainting every purchaser, whether
in the city or country, with the latest
styles and fashions.

All of these things have had a ten-
dency to create in the mind of the con-
sumer a stronger demand for merchan-
dise. This is not only true of the mil-
linery business, but of all other lines
as well. Thirty years ago the average
woman was satisfied with two hats a
year, one for spring and one for winter.
The woman of to-day finds that she
requires all the way from five to eight
hats if she is strictly in it.

So while it may be truthfully said
that competition has steadily increased,
it is also true that the demand for more
and better merchandise has also in-
creased, suggesting that the wholesaler
at least, may be quite as well off to-day
as he was thirty vears ago,

Heber A.

—_——_++>—__
He Obeyed Orders.

Murphy was a new cavalry recruit
and was given one of the
horses in the troop.

“Remember,” said the sergeant, “no
one is allowed to dismount without
orders.”

Knott.

worst

Murphy was no sooner in the sad-
dle than the horse kicked and Mur-
phy went over his head.

“Murphy,” velled the sergeant,
when he discovered him lying breath-
less on the ground, “you dismount-
ed!”

“TL did.”

“Did you have orders?”

“T did.”

“From headquarters?”

“No, sor; from hindquarters.”

—_++.—____-
The Litigant’s Share.

A man walking along the street of
a village, stepped into a hole in the
sidewalk and broke his leg. He en-
gaged a famous lawyer, brought suit
against the village for one thousand
dollars and won the case.

After the claim was settled the law-
yer sent for his client and handed him
one dollar.

The man examined the dollar care-
fully. Then he looked up at the
lawyer and said: ‘“What’s the matter
with this dollars? Is it a counter-
feit?”’

—_++>—__—_

Next to the labor union, the sa-
loon is the chief enemy of the man
who labors. It takes his money, his
leisure time, his capability and his
health and gives him nothing desir-
able in return.

ee eee ease

 

1913 ; October 29, 1913

MICHIGAN TRADESMAN 73

se.
ing
hat
on
ars
of

: | Paul Steketee & Sons

300

Wholesale Dry Goods _ Established 1860

fa-
and
ved
and
vice,
ther
atest

 

ten-
con-
han-
mil-
lines
rage
its a
inter.
she
eight

 

 

said

ased,
more i

) in-
ssaler
o-day

ott.

A
ef

ty

_

-cruit
worst

t, “no
thout

> sad-
Mur-

 

 

 

 

geant, =
reath-
10unt-

 

HE newly enlarged and strictly modern building made
necessary in order to better take care of our fast in-
creasing business—a success due solely to keeping faith

with our patrons, giving for every dollar we receive its equiva-
lent in quality merchandise at right prices.

”

eet of
in the

Ie en- We urgently solicit your patronage. Prompt and efficient

ht suit :
yusand service assured.

ie law-
ed him

| PAUL STEKETEE & SONS

 

 

 

ounter-

a. | Fountain and Ionia Ave. Grand Rapids, Michigan

1e man
ey, his
ind his
, desir-

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

=f

74

MICHIGAN TRADESMAN

October 29, 1918

 

LOOKING BACKWARD.

 

Some Changes Which. Have Marked
the Shoe Trade.

Looking forward thirty years from
1883 seemed much longer than look-
ing backward to 1883 to-day. To the
busy, Time hath wings.

May 3, 1883, Mr. Frederick Hirth
and the writer formed a partnership
for the purpose of conducting a leath-
er and findings business and on that
date bought out Samuel Parks, who
was conducting a like business at 118
Canal street in Grand Rapids. At that
time Rindge, Bertsch & Co. was the
only wholesale shoe firm in the city.
A few years later Reeder, Palmer &
Co. opened a wholesale shoe and rub-
ber establishment on Pearl ‘street.
Mr. Keeder subsequently purchased
the interest of Mr. Palmer and moved
to Fulton street and thence to South
Tonia street, where he was afterwards
succeeded by the Grand Rapids Shoe
& Rubber Co.

Mr. Christian Bertsch withdrew
from the firm of Rindge, Bertsch &
Co. in 1894 and inaugurated the
wholesale shoe jobbing house on
Pearl street under the name of Her-
old, Bertsch & Co. Later on this firm
was consolidated with Wilhelm & Co.,
who began manufacturing men’s
shoes in 1895. In 1900, Rindge,
Kalmbach, Logie & Co., who suc-
ceeded Rindge, Bertsch & Co. in
1894, erected a building at the inter-
section of Ionia, Louis and Fulton
streets, which they now occupy, and
their old stand at the corner of Pearl
and Campau streets was then occupied
by Herold, Bertsch Shoe Co.

In the meantime, Hirth & Krause
moved to 12 and 14 Lyon street and
changed the firm name to’ Hirth,
Krause & Co., having added to their
general line of leather and findings,
children’s shoes and rubbers, and in
1899 they erected a new building at
16 and 18 South Jonia_ street and
added a full line of shoes.

At the present time there are en-
gaged in the wholesale shoe and rub-
ber business in Grand Rapids, the
following houses: Rindge, Kalmbach,
Logie & Co. Hirth-Krause Co.,
Herold-Bertsch Shoe Co. and the
Grand Rapids Shoe & Rubber Co.
The three former are manufacturers
of men’s and boys’ shoes, as well as
general jobbers of shoes and _ rub-
bers, and the latter are jobbers of
shoes and rubbers.

In 1883 the custom shoemaker still
had some of his old time glory left,
that of making shoes to measure. Kip
and calf leathers were still imported
from France and Germany, and from
this boots and shoes were made for
river men and others who believed
they were unable to get a comfort-
abie fit in ready made shoes.

We do not believe there is a single
other industry where the perfection
of the article has gone hand in hand
with economies to keep the price of
the article at a minimum to such an
extent as in the shoe and leather in-
dustry, in proof of which is the fact
that we take the raw material—hides
—gathered from all parts of the
globe, manufacture it into shoes, and
then in turn export the shoes. The

possibilty of this is due, first, to the
tanner—the tanning industry being
closely allied to the shoe industry—
who has drawn his raw material, both
hides and tanning materials, from all
parts of the world, from countries un-
civilized as well as_ civilized; and,
secondly, to the perfection of machin-
ery as applied to shoe making.

One great factor which to-day mili-
tates against this economy, however,
is Fashions demand for novelties
and freaks and the resultant changes
in styles which have become so fre-
quent and revolutionary during re-
cent vears. The effect has been that
the shoe merchant is required to
carry much larger stocks than he did
thirty years ago. At that time boots
were still worn to some extent. In
men's fine shoes, button, lace, con-
gress and buckle Alexis
Goodyear Welts were becom-
ing more popular, but the McKay

were in
vogue.

out-of-date styles should’ not be
tacked onto the staple lines, but
should be borne by the freaks which
cause them. Foot millinery should
pay the same relative profit that femi-
nine headgear pays.

We believe that the shoe trade has
less to fear from the’ mail
houses than most other lines of mer-
chandise. While the mail order busi-
ness is rapidly expanding, to be com-
fortably shod the individual foot has
to be fitted, and for this reason the
mail order house is largely. elimi-
nated from competition.

There is one thing that confronts
us all—the tanner, the shoe manufac-
turer, the shoe merchant and the con-
sumer alike—-and that is, higher prices
on shoes, based on the higher cost
of the raw material. The tanner has
exhausted his abilty to procure hides
from new sources, as every part of
the globe has been ransacked by him.

 

 

 

 

 

 

G. ADOLPH KRAUSE

sewed still had the lead. For women,
the button shoe held sway in fine
shoes and were mostly McKay sewed
or turned, there being comparatively
few welts. The coarser shoes were
sti!l pegged or nail fastened.

The many widths that are carried
to-day were not required at that time
and styles came in so slowly that it
was comparatively easy to work off
old styles without loss before the new
styles displaced them. To-day styles
are so revolutionary in their character
that they hardly cast their shadow be-
fore they disappear. These sudden
changes are deplored, being a menace
to the profitably conducted shoe busi-
ness and contributing to the present
high cost of living to an unnecessarily
large degree. One thing is certain:
the losses sustained in the sale of

Therefore, with an increasing popula-
tion and a decreasing supply of cat-
tle, leather goods must advance.

The Tradesman has always been a
welcome and useful paper to us. The
editorials are strong — sometimes
stronger than some of us would dic-
tate. The reading matter is instruc-
tive and entertaining. Its advertis-
ing matter is free from charlatan an-
nouncements. We have reason to
feel a kinship toward the Tradesman,
as we were born the same year,
Hirth & Krause, during the spring
seeding, the Tradesman after the har-
vest; but we don’t begrudge that,
for Mr. E. A. Stowe has been faith-
fully at work every day since, and we
trust that the Tradesman may con-
tinue under the present leadership for
many years to come,

order.

‘ingly light.

But, whatever changes time may
bring, let us cheerfully sing with the
shoemaker, of whom it is said:

He lustily sang while he hammered away,

‘Oh, who is as happy as I am to-day?

I save twenty soles while the parson
saves one,

And I always heel, when the doctor
heals none.”

G. Adolph Krause.

When He Would Speak Chinese.

When Richard Olney was Secretary
of State he frequently said that ap-
pointees to the Consular service
should speak the languages of the
countries to which they were accredit-
ed. When a certain breezy and en-
terprising politician, desirous of serv-
ing the Cleveland Administration as
Consul at one of the Chinese ports,
presented his papers to Mr. Olney,
the Secretary remarked:

“Are you aware, Mr. Blank, that I
never recommend to the President
the appointment of a Consul unless
he speaks the language of the country
to which he desires to go? Now I

‘suppose you do not talk Chinese?”

Whereupon the politician grinned
broadly. “If, Mr. Secretary,” said he
“you will ask me a question in Chinese
I shall be happy to answer it.”

He got the appointment.

—_+>.__

Frank Daniels’ Expensive Sunset.

In the early part of Frank Daniels’s
career he was one of a company tour-
ing the small towns, but business had
been very poor and meals correspond-
The only silver streak
in the cloud was that the house at
Ticonderoga had been entirely sold
out, and when any one looked long-
ingly at anything or expressed a de-
sire for a good “feed” the others
would say:

“Wait till we get*to Ticonderoga.”

They reached there just after dark,
and a beautiful rose flush filled the
Western sky.

“Ah me! “said Daniels to the stage-
driver, “the sun may set in other
places, but never as it does here. See
that sunset glow—”

“Sunset nothing,” growled the driv-
er; “that’s the new opry house burn-
ing down!”

—_~+-~-___
Worse and Worse.

A judge in a Western town had
declared that he would stop the carry-
ing of firearms on the street. Before
him appeared for trial a tough youth
charged with getting drunk and firing
his revolver in a crowded street. .

“Twenty dollars and costs,” said
the magistrate.

“But, your honor,” interposed coun-
sel for the prisoner, “my client did
not hit anybody.”

“Why, you admit that he fired
the gun?”

“Yes, but he fired it into the air,”
explained the lawyer.

“Twenty dollars and costs,” repeat-
ed the judge. “He might have shot
an angel.”

—~++.__
The Evening of Pay Day.

“I trust, boys,” smiled the Mormon
superintendent, after he had handed
each laborer his check for the week’s
work, “that you will find all your wives
at home, well and happy.”

“The same to you, sir,” replied one
of the gentile workmen.

’

 

 

October 29, 1913

MICHIGAN TRADESMAN

This Coupon Starts a Bargain Sale

 

for the retail merchant.

But this is only the start of the Plan.
who buys one of these bargain outfit packages must
the customer come back for additional purchases. Your come back to your store again. There is not enough

 

Put your name and address in the bargain sale coupon and send it in to us to- day.
As soon as we get it we will start the RICHARDSON PLAN working for you.
That means that the bargain-day crowd will come to your store.

out time and time again and is a proven winner. Dealers everywhere are enthusiastic.

The Richardson Plan

is one of the strongest sales promoting forces ever devised
It starts a bargain sale and makes

It has been tried

Every woman

i meee ;

ercerized
| Cotton Floss >
Out fit ‘ :

profit on the subsequent sale of Richardson’ s Mercerized floss in the package to finish the design and the colors
Cotton Floss is 100%. Each embroidery outfit package she needs are specified in Richardson numbers. You have
contains | Pillow Top, 1 Pillow Back, 1 Illustrated Easy Dia- just the colors she must have in your cabinet. Besides,
gram Lesson and 6 skeins of Richardson's Mercerized Cotton she needs hoops, needles, fringe, and other accessories.
Floss. If your customer bought each article separately, they

would probably cost her 60c. You sell these outfits at 25c The merit of this great sales force has been proven.
each. They cost you but $2.00 a dozen. It has beenthe ex- We have yet to find the dry goods merchant who will

i's ‘
RDSO! NS Neer "RIZED : j
COTTON FLOSS :

All for25¢ mY

pera Se*

 

lm

1-

QD Fl et

This is the
Cabinet

 
 
 
   
  
 

10 inches high
16% ins. wide
18 ins. deep

perience of thousands of merchants that these outfits sell
more readily than any other 25c article in the store.

son Plan work for you.

Send the Bargain Sale Coupon

Look at the small order in the coupon. It is

gain sale coupon.

RICHARDSON SILK COMPANY, Desk No. 87
305-9 W. Adams St., Chicago 906 Broadway, New York

not endorse it—once he gives it a trial. Let the Richard-

Reproduction Showing the

Attractive Package

 

 

 

Richardson Silk Co., Desk No. 87  °°,9,W, Adams St.. Chicago

Gentlemen:—Please ship at once via _ ..

906 Broz west New York

your special assortment in accordance with your introductory offer r be low:

If everything is not as represented the above
expense and we will receive full credit.

 

wegive large enough to start the Richardson Plan a i oun - nt Sell Profit
; : : oz. Pillow Top Outfits. .. $ 6.00 S$ 9.00 $ 3.00
Pe ia working for ~~ atone, The embroidered 1 doz. Library eo Outfits to match Pillow...... 2.75 4.20 1.45
a AnpsO pillow which we include is a clerk who works 8 1-3 gross R. M. C Merce me Cotton a Floss ---- $5.00 30.00 15.00
ructt = es | night and day. It:costs but $2.25 and never 1 Embroidered Pillow.. — ae 5.00 2.75
Sera ne stops working for you until somebody buys it erences ces eee ea nn nes woee 5.00 1.00
et ; Ce ean... 8. Dib eee uae: cK
ae elle Oe > for $5.00. Fill out the coupon and send it to 1 Cabinet for Floss (see illustration) ............. FREE
a rents us at once. Start the Plan working. Every 1 Slide for Motion Picture Show.............. . FREE
ag day that you haven't it working for you, BO ON nor onset nena en sess pees FREE
ite e Re ee 1 Catalog ............ Oe cues sy cule ec outa FREE
~ E profits are slipping away. Send in the bar-

 

$28.00 $51.20 23.20
wun may be creel | at your

UNSIG eo

 

 

 

 

WHOLESALE

bb

FLOUR, FEED, HAY, BAGS, TWINE _

Bakers’ Supphes and Machinery
Waxed Paper, Bread Wrappers

Dry Milk Powdered Egg Cooking Oil Compound

Everything for Bakers, Flour and Feed Dealers

ROY BAKER

Wm. Alden Smith Building

GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

76

MICHIGAN TRADESMAN

 

October 29, 1913

 

STORE SERVICE.

 

Most Vicious Problem Which Con-
fronts the Merchant.

The term “store service” furnishes
the keynote of the success of every
mercantile enterprise. On every hand
we hear it reiterated that the most
expensive commodity sold in the mod-
ern store to-day is service. Undoub-
tedly that is true of almost every
store except the typical co-operative
establishment. From the very begin-
ning of my mercantile career, my cus-
tomers have been carefully educated
to understand that service costs mon-
ey and that they must pay for it ‘f
they insist upon it, just as much as
they must pay for prunes, flour, sugar
or pickled fish.

It was fortunate for me that I start-
ed in business at a time when the
public was not demanding from the
storekeeper anything like the elabor-
ate service it now demands. This was
given me time to educate customers
to see that they can furnish the serv-
ice themselves and be very well paid
in direct saving for a little fore-
thought, system and inconvenience.

If the customers who really want
to practice frugality and cut the high
cost of living could be made to realize
how heavily they are assessed for this
item of service they would rise up in
revolt. In many cases the retailer’s

expense for service amounts
to 10 per cent. and in some cases 15
pet cent. He must add that to all

his other costs before he reaches the

actual

point of putting on a profit : Under
hte competitive system it is not a
juestion of whether the customer

wants this elaborate and costly serv-
ice—he must pay for it just the same,
whether he wants it or not: in fact,
whether he gets it or not. :

Those who do not want it and do
not get it are assessed for furnishing
it to those who demand and receive
most of it—for this high service cost
has intrenched itself in the whole com-
petitive system. The competitive re-
tailer is not to blame for this; he is
bound to give his so-called best cus-
tomers, his most extravagant custom-
ers and his most thoughtless custom-
ers what they demand in the way of
service, and he must make all his cus-
tomers foot the bill.

Here is the way in which this as-
sessment works out in actual practice:
The retailer finds out from his books
that his total service expense for a
given time totals a certain sum, and
that this sum is a certain percentage
on his sales for that period. Of course
this percentage has to be provided for
in fixing the prices on-all his goods.
It is unpractical, not to say impossible,
for him so to distribute this element
of cost that it shall be paid for only
by those who create it.

The customer
store once a week, buys a week’s sup-

who comes to the
ply at one time and takes the goods
away with him, without putting the
merchant to a cent of expense for de-
livery service, has to pay his percen-
tage for sending an auto delivery
wagon three or four times a day to
the house of the customer who de-

mands almost continuous delivery.

This is rather hard on the house-
wife who is making a constant fight
to keep down the high cost of living,
who carefully considers the expendi-
ture of every dime and nickel, and
who is as conscientious in the hand-
ling of the money her husband turns
over to her for household expenses
as she would be if it were a trust
fund. She does not want service—
at least not in the modern sense of
the term.

In the first place, she knows she can
buy much more closely by going to
the market herself and making her
selections in person than she could
by ordering over the telephone and
trusting to the storekeeper to make
the selections for her. Again, she is
willing to use forethought and study,
and to put herself to any reasonable
inconvenience in order to economize.

In short, she wants to furnish the
service herself—at least the main part

 

There is rot a retail dealer in food-
stuffs in America who does not know
that one of the biggest troubles of
the American people is the tendency
to live beyond their means and get
away from plain, practical, old-fash-
ioned thrift.

The competitive retailer has been
compelled to re-organize his price
system to provide for this tendency;
and, so far as I know, the co-operative
store is the only one that has not fall-
en into step with this tendency and
is in a postion to give to the prudent
and thrifty the fruits of their thrift.
If the co-operative store never did
any more than this it would amply
justify its existence and earn its right
to live.

To customers living within a radius
of three miles, of my store, I make
a daily delivery; to those living more
than three miles and less than eight
from the store, goods are delivered

ABRAHAM ROBERTS

of it—and get the benefit of her fore-
thought and her care in the form of
a reduction in the cost of her goods
to the amount of what she saves the
merchant in his service cost. But un-
der the competitive system of retail-
ing she has no chance in the world to
do this in most stores. The assess-
ment for the merchant's service ex-
pense—including all the frills demand-
ed by his most exacting customers—
has been spread upon all his goods
before the thrifty customer prices or
buys them.

No matter how glad the ordinary
retailer might be to give the prudent
and self-serving housewife the benefit
of her reduced demands of service,
he feels he cannot do this because it
would throw his whole pricing sys-
tem out of joint.

 

three times a week; those living out-
side this zone get a delivery three
times a month.

As my store has a very respectable
number of customers living as far as
fourteen miles distant from. it, with
competitive stores in their immediate
neighborhood, it would appear that
the advantages of this style of trading
must be something more than theoret-
ical. Most of these more remote cus-
tomers have been educated to buy the
bulk of their goods once a month and
to order in as large quanties as pos-
sible every time they purchase. This
practice not only effects a great re-
duction in the expense of delivering
the goods, but it also reduces the time
involved in taking the order.

Abraham Roberts.

What the Immigrant Does for His
Adopted Country.

I am the immigrant.

Since the dawn of creation my rest-
less feet have beaten new paths across
the earth.

My uneasy bark has tossed on all
seas.

My wanderlust was born of the
craving for more liberty, and a better
wage for the sweat of my face.

I looked towards the United States
with eyes kindled by the fire of ambi-
tion and heart quickened with new-
born hope.

I approached its gates with great
expectation.

I entered in with fine hope.

I have shouldered my burdens as
the American man-of-all-work.

I contribute 85 per cent. of all the
labor in the slaughtering and meat-
packing industries.

I do seven-tenths of the bituminous
coal mining.

I do 78 per cent. of all the work
in the woollen mills.

I contribute nine-tenths of all the
labor in the cotton mills.

I make nineteen-twentieths of all
the clothing.

I manufacture more than half the
shoes.

I build four-fifths of all the furni-
ture.

I make half of the collars, cuffs, and
shirts.

I turn
leather,

I make half the gloves.

I refine nearly nineteen-twentieths
of the sugar.

I make half of the tobacco and ci-
gars,

And yet, I am the great American
problem.

When I pour out my blood on your
altar of labor, and lay down my life
as a sacrifice to your god of toil, men
make no more comment than at the
fall of a sparrow.

But my brawn is woven into the
warp and woof of the fabric of your
National being.

My children shall be your children,
and your land shall be my land, be-
cause my sweat and my blood will
cement the foundations of the Ameri-
ca of to-morrow.

out four-fifths of all the

—_>++____
Make Sure of Quality.

Any article you are willing to admit
into your stock should have qualities
of merit and it should sell on those
qualities. It is ruinous policy ever
to represent an article as possessing
merit it does not in fact have. Al-
ways the best selling policy is a can-
did exposition of the real facts. If
the bald truth about a machine is not
enough to make it sell then you can-
not afford to carry it in stock under
any consideration.

Tie Bhyscant. Mickkes

A pompous physician who was in-
clined a criticise others was watching
a stone-mason build a fence for his
neighbor, and thought the mason was
using too much mortar. He said:

“Jim, mortar covers up a good many
mistakes, does it not?”

—_—__ + <.__—
Don’t be too polite to grab an op-
portunity.

 

913 October 29, 1913 MICHIGAN TRADESMAN 77

ee Made In Grand Rapids}

 

 

 

 

   
  

t- P|
Ss : ‘
i
: | There is One
he a
; + Kor You
a
N- FE your business is included in this list you will find one of our catalogues
of interest. We get out special books for many lines of trade. Whatever
at your business you are very sure of finding what you need in—
as
he
it-
us e i Even though you do not intend to buy at once this is a good time to send for the book that will give you
i information on store equipment for your particular business.
nls : ‘
he If you will write now, while you have it in mind, we will send the proper book by return mail.
he

 

 

 

 

r ciarsoe’ ==) Wilmarth Show Case Co.

Jewelry Store

ne a one 1542 Jefferson Ave.
: Millinery Store
° Hardware Store GRAND RAPIDS, MICH.
Department Store
ad ce ee New York—732 Broadway Chicago—233 W. Jackson Blvd.
Cnr ee tone y nC Boston—21 Columbia St. St. Louis—1118 Washington Ave.

Sporting Goods Store

he Ladies’ Furnishing Store

Pittsburgh— House Bldg. Minneapolis—Kasota Bldg.
Tampa--215 Tampa St. San Francisco—515 Market St.

hs et Maden Grand Rapids] —)

: FOSTER, STEVENS a CO.

He 157-159 Monroe iM N. W. 151 to 161 Louis St.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

: 1837 to 1913

‘ 76 Years Ago

r Mr. Wilder D. Foster laid the business foundation of the present mam-
: moth establishment of FOSTER, STEVENS & CO

‘ The present firm members, Mr. Wilder D. Stevens, Mr. Sidney F.

 

 

 

yt Stevens, Mr. Charles F. Rood were his nephews, and Mr. Charles C.
i Philbrick, who commenced work for Mr. Foster forty-five years ago as a
: clerk. The present partnership has been formed more than 33 years, and
all of the members are the best of friends. What business organization in

Grand Rapids can beat this record?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sal

78

MICHIGAN TRADESMAN

October 29, 1913

 

OLD AT FORTY,

 

Decrepit at Fifty and Dead at
Sixty.

The prodigality of nature and the
wastefulness of man have ever gone
hand-in-hand. If, twenty years ago,
some good angel could have stood
over the gas wells of Indiana with a
stop-cock, perhaps there would now
be some gas left for present and com-
ing generations. If forty years ago
Gifford Pinchott could have gotten
in some of his work in Michigan for-
ests, perhaps wood pulleys would not
now be made in Michigan from wood
brought across the continent. And
so you can go down the long list of
vast and seemingly inexhaustible ma-
terial resources of our country, and
see how they have been dissipated by
the wastefulness—or worse—of our
people.

But all the material resources of our
land sink into insignificance before her
greatest asset the American business
man, and it is to-day a fact that this,
our country’s greatest and most valu-
able resource, is being wasted and de-
stroyed with a recklessness beside
which the blowing of our gas wells
and the spoliation of our forests are
the picture of economy.

The average American business man
of to-day is old at forty, decrepit at
fifty, and dead at sixty. Prof. Osler
never said, as has been charged, that
a man at sixty ought to be chloro-
formed, but, so far as the American
business man is concerned it is not
necessary to chloroform him, for he
does the deadly work for himself.

But what is the remedy?

Again and again you see sage ad-
vice given to the business man of to-
day to the effect that he must tak
it easier—not work so hard—take more
vacations, and all that, but you know
and I know that in these days of keen
competition, the man that does not
keep up with the band wagon is
bound to fall by the roadside. Con-
ditions may some day change, so that
the business man can “take it easier,”
but it will not be in our day, and
what we want to do is to evolve a
plan by which the business man of
now can be enabled to do his work as
he must do it, to “stand the racket”
as he must stand it, to put up the
fight that he must put up, and still be
in the ring and on his feet when the
last gong sounds.

How can this be accomplished?

My prescription is two-fold, yet
simple, and, I believe, if properly ap-
plied, almost infallible.

It consists of suitable mental and
physical activity, absolutely uncon-
nected with money.

The average business man takes his
business home with him and eats it
He does not do
this because he thinks it is necessary

and sleeps with it.

or because he wants to, but because
he cannot help it. It sticks to him
like the Old Man of the Sea on Sin-
bad’s back, and like Banquo’s Ghost,
it will not down. Rest and inactivity
will not drive it away. A counter-
irritant is necessary. The strength of
the evictor required depends much
upon the obstinacy of the unwelcome
tenant. So-called “light reading” will

not often do it. The mind must be
applied, concentrated, absorbed with
sufficient force to absolutely expunge
the dollar sign, for the time being,
from the tablets of its memory.

The study of literature, the learn-
ing by heart of classic poetry, the
study of languages and the reading
of their literature, and, last but not
least, the study and practice of art
and music, offer the best antidote.
Looking at pictures and listening to
music are not always _ sufficiently
strenuous to supply the intellectual
catharic required, but where there ex-
ists any talent at all in either direc-
tion, the actual study and practice of
painting, music or drawing will be
found not only to sweep all business
cares from the brain, but to lay the
foundation for life-long satisfaction
and pleasure.

I once knew a business man who,
during a period of especial commercial
stress, learned to play the flute. He
found that cadenzas and_ balance
sheets could not co-exist in the same
brain. It was hard on his family and
neighbors, but it saved him from
nervous prostration and bankruptcy!

Nearly every business man. starts
off with a grammar school, a high
school or college education. But how
many of them retain any of it for
ten years? Many a man who in boy-
hood passed a hundred in geometry
could not cross Pons Asinorum. to-
day without getting both feet wet!
Education should be like a ratchet—
wind, up, but never let go! What is
our schooling for, if not to enable
us to cope with the problems of life
as they crowd upon us, and how can
it better serve its purpose than by
furnishing the weary brain of the busi-
ness man with those pleasant purga-
tive pellets of intellectual diversion,
which, by their gentle yet positive
action, shall periodically clear the
mind from all the accumulated dross
and residuum of commerce, and leave
it fresh and vigorous for renewed and
successful effort?

But mental and physical man are
so closely corelated, and so great is
the power of mind over matter, and
so strong the influence of matter up-
on mind, that it is not possible to
consider intelligently either element
in the human make-up without also
taking the other equally into the es-
timate, “The eye cannot say to the
hand, ‘I have no need of three,’” and
neither can the brain and the biceps
pass similar remarks in either direc-
tion, without trouble for the whole
organization.

Physical man was made to live the
life of a cowboy, and, while the limita-
tions of modern civilization, and the
exigencies of commercial life have
rendered it manifestly impossible for
the American business man to spend
ten to fifteen hours a day in the sad-
dle of a broncho and under the blue
sky, yet nature has never changed her
specifications one iota, and the needs
and limitations of the physical man
are the same to-day as in the days
of Abraham. How, then, is the situa-
tion to be met? Obviously one of
three things must happen:

1. We must close our factories, of-

fices, and get back, literally, to the
simple life of our remote ancestors, or
2. We must supply in some more

‘or less artificial or concentrated form
that which will cover the deficit, or.

3. We must suffer, as most of us
usually do.

The first alternative is impractic-
able, and the third most undesirable,
so we turn to the second, namely, the
securing by special means, and with-
out the abandonment of our ordinary
pursuits, of the physical results need-
ed to counterbalance the artificiality
of our environment.

The answer, of course, is “exer-
cise.”

Exercise is just as necessary to
physical well-being as food.

But there is exercise, and there is
exercise.

Weight-lifting and string-pulling in
the bathroom may build | muscle, but
they fall a long way short of building
health.

The surroundings are humdrum,
and the work, at best, is like Manta-
lini's mangle, a “demnition grind.”

Spend your noon hour in the gym-
nasium. Substitute the running track
and the medicine ball for the coffee
and sinkers, the club cocktail, or the
“ham-and,” and then wonder why
your brain is clearer, and your after-
noon work turned into a pleasure!

Get into your gym togs—get out
on the floor with a lot of clean,
healthy, athletic young fellows and
throw yourself around a while. They
may call you “Grandpa,” but train up
to it and show them what “Grandpa”
can do. Start the perspiration—sweat
out the mental and physical iniquity
—like Falstaff, “lard the lean earth”
as you toddle along in an heroic effort
to cover a quarter-mile in something
under ten minutes. Don’t overdo it,
but do it enough. If you find your-
self thinking of bills payable or re-
sale prices, get into the track of a
ten-pound medicine ball hurled by
some husky youngster, and you will be
surprised to see how quickly a much
more interesting thought will strike
you!

The objections to this course are
numerous and interesting.

“It is undignified!”

As between dignity and digestion—
well, take your choice.

“One may overdo and injure him-
self!”

Then better stop eating, also, for
over-eating has killed thousands.

“Tf T start, I must always keep it
up!”

What a horrible prospect. Your
mother taught you to eat, and you
had to keep it up every day since!

“Doctors sometimes advise against
ate

A prominent phyiscian told me once
that no man over 35 ought to indulge
in anything more strenuous than fish-
ing or croquet. He is now 48 and a
dyspeptic.

“T have not the time.”

Believe me, gentlemen and friends,
you have not the time to omit it.
Which is the more valuable asset,
unlimited credit at the bank, or a
constant reserve of health and nerv-
ous energy, placing the individual

where he can meet any strain or any
emergency, and know that when it is
over he will be none the worse for
wear?

The richest man in the world of-
fered a million dollars for a new
stomach, and then, if reports are true,
got one for a golf-ball!

And don’t say: “Oh, I am feeling
pretty well just now; the trouble |
had last year has yielded to treatment.
I guess I am all right for a while.”

Your balance of nervous energy in
the Bank of Hygiene is at least as
important as your deposit in the bank
of finance. It should never be allow-
ed to become depleted. Keep ahead
of the game, and then when some-
thing goes wrong, as something. most
assurdly will, when the cares of busi-
ness press with unusual _ severity;
when the ubiquitous microbe engages
your white corpuscles in a battle roy-
al for the control of the fortress,
all you need is an extra lap or two
on the track, or an extra slam or two
at the punching-bag, and the coun-
try is saved.

But someone—and I regret to say
that his name is Legion—replies:
“Yes, it’s all right; I realize the truth
and the necessity, and, just as soon
as this deal is finished, or that new
plant gets to running smoothly, or
that liability is canceled, or this little
pile grows bigger, I will, like Fal-
staff, ‘Stop fighting a-days and foining
a-nights, and begin to patch up my
old body for Heaven!’ ”

Forget it! When you talk like that
you are taking the absolutely hopeless
end of the worst hundred-to-one shot
that ever bankrupted a reckless gam-
bler!

Don’t you know, and don’t I know,
that while we spend our  toilsome
day and our sleepless nights camp-
ing on the trail of the elusive ko-
peck, the sheriff and the doctor, and
the undertaker are camping on our
trails, vying with each other as to
whose fence shall first be decorated
with our devoted hides?

Where one man wins out on this
desperate hazard, a thousand lose—
physically, mentally or financially—
or perhaps all three together; and
shall the American business man,
who, of all things, prides himself—
and justly—on his common _ sense,
stake life, liberty, and the pursuit of
happiness, wantonly, recklessly and—
worst of all—needlessly, on the ab-
surd hazard of such a wild and des-
perate game!

This is my case, gentlemen, and,
in presenting it, I feel that I hold a
brief, not only for that marvel of
the world, the American business
man, but for the American business
man’s wife, and the American busi-
ness man’s children to countless gen-
erations.

 

And if the time ever comes when we
are thoroughly awake to the exigen-
cies of this case, realize the impera-
tive need of mental and physical con-
servation, and turn but a small per-
centage of our thought and energy
into this work of self-preservation,
the American business man may be
depended upon to conquer, first, his
own weaknesses, and then—the world.

Willard Parker.

 

 

 

 

 

: October 29, 1918 a MICHIGAN TRADESMAN 79
:
74
| E. A. CLEMENTS H. M. LIESVELD
| President Sec’y-Treas.
| Globe Knitt! Mill
? obe Knitting Mulls
y ,

Grand Rapids Established 1897
it
: :
| Quality the Hall Mark of GLOBE
Underwear
:
: Fifteen years ago the Globe Mills commenced the manufacture of underwear. Fineness
d 4 of texture, comfort and durability were the points considered in the production of the first gar-
ie | ments made.
‘ As it became evident to a greater and greater number of people that the Globe underwear
: could always be depended upon to be fine and soft in fabric, to wash and wear well, and that the
u Globe underwear and the business grew apace so rapidly that the entire products of the mills was
_ contracted for months ahead by a number of the great firms of America.
: Globe underwear is made for the whole family and in a large range of styles and weights
4 from zephyr weight fineness to blizzard protection in heavy all wool fabrics, affording an oppor-
: tunity for satisfying individual taste and varying requirements.
- Ask your dealer to show you the Globe underwear.
si- *
ve Main Offices
: Corner Goodrich St. and Commerce Ave.
. Grand Rapids, Michigan
:
"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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et AE

80

MICHIGAN TRADESMAN

October 29, 1913

 

COMMON INTERESTS.

 

Bankers Should Lead
Education.

in Work of

It seems to me that of all people
the bankers
a celebration of peace. The banker

should be foremost in
knows better than anyone else how
many are the ties of interest that
bind the modern together
He knows better than anyone else
that war is not barbarous in
its cruelties but barbarous in its ig-

nations
only

norance of common interests.

One of the most persuasive books
of recent years is one entitled “The
Great Illusion,” and the illusion of
which it treats is the idea that any
people can possibly benefit itself by
forcibly conquering, impoverishing, or
even atinexing, another people. The
author shows that if it were possible
for a German army to capture Lon-
don, there is nothing it could do to
disturb the activities or prosperity of
its inhabitants that would not react
disastrously upon the people of Ger-
many. It might be able to loot the
Bank of England, but if the Bank of
England were looted there would be
panic throughout the world, and no-
where greater than in Berlin. An il-
lustration of this was afforded two
German warship
steamed into a port of Morocco, with
a remotely implied threat of war with
France, with the result that so much
French money was withdrawn from
Germany that the Imperial bank was
obliged to expand its loans by $200,-
000,000 within 30 days, and mean-
time the Berlin Stock Exchange was
in panic and German industries lost
hundreds of millions more. No na-
tion liveth to itself alone in the twen-
tieth century. There is a reservoir in
London, another in New York, an-
other in Montreal, and others else-
where, but they are all connected.
You can’t draw down the supply of
capital in one without affecting the
supply in all. You cannot burn up,
confiscate or destroy property any-
where that the whole civilized world
does not suffer loss. There isn’t a
remote district in Canada _ to-day
where money is not tight and enter-
prise in check because of the war in
the Balkan States.

It is often said of those of us who
are optimistic about peace that we fail
to take account of human nature and
that human nature is just the same
as it has been in the past. It may
be that in some respects human na-
ture has changed but little, but I am
sure the human kind has been learn-
ing something as the years have
passed, and that in this day of schools,
newspapers, and free speech the peo-
ple cannot be buncoed into war for
glory, and somebody's elses glory, as
easily as in the past. It used to be
that war was the common business
of mankind, but the energies of men
have been turned into another chan-
nel, This is the Economic Age, the
age of Industry and Commerce, an
age of hope and ambition for the
common man, when every man is

years ago when a

*Address by George £. Roberts before
the New York State Bankers Associa-
tion Convention at Ottawa, Canada, on
June 12, celebrating the completion of
one hundred years of peace between the
English-speaking Peoples.

striving to better his condition and
make the condition of his children bet-
ter than his own. The conditions are
not the same as of old; the interests
are not the same. It makes a lot
of difference with human nature if
when you are mad enough to burn
down a man’s house you find that
you own stock in the insurance com-
pany.

Wars are out of date when good-
will has become a commercial asset.
\Why, out in the Western orchards,
and I believe in Ontario, they won't

allow a man to pack his own apples.

for shipment, so anxious are they that
the distant stranger shall have a
square deal. If a sale of American
securities is made to a friendly people
with disappointing results the loss to
America far exceeds any possible
We simply cannot afford to
injure another people, by hook or
by crook.

Men have learned that as a plain
commercial proposition there is more
to gain by trading with a neighbor
than by killing him, or even by gov-
erning him; and for proof of the last
proposition see the experience of Eng-
land with her North American col-
onies.

And so the most preposterous thing
in Christendom to-day is the spec-
tacle of the so-called civilized nations
spending more than one-half of all
their revenues in preparation for de-
feuse against one another, each pro-
testing, and I believe honestly, that
it will never make an attack. Ger-
many, in addition to her regular ap-
propriations for military purposes,
now calls for a special contribution
from capital of $250,000,000; every
dollar needed by her industries, to be
expended upon fortresses and equip-
ment. And France, spurred on by the
action of Germany, levies new taxes
and floats new loans to maintain the
equilibrium.

At this opportune time Canada and
the United States hold up an inspir-
ing example to the world. Four thou-
sand miles of common frontier with-
out a fortress or a gun; 100 years of
peace, with every disagreement set-
tled by diplomacy or arbitration, and
without a dollar expended in prepara-
tion for war with each other. It is
worthy of celebration. We ought to
begin a year in advance and make it
a memorable year for our children
and for all the burdened children of
men.

But there is another and even larg-
er lesson to be drawn in this con-
nection, and the bankers again should
be the first to see it. The same com-
munity of interests that exists be-
tween nations extends through every
rank and class of society, and every
argument that makes for peace be-
tween nations makes for industrial
peace at home.

The banker knows better than any-
one else, because he is in a better po-
sition than others to observe, that all
classes in the community prosper or
suffer together, and that the real
gains of every class are not made at
the expense of another class, but by
increasing the sum total of the good
things wanted. He knows that the
fortunes made in industry or trade,

gain.

with rare exceptions, are taken from
nobody, but consist of new wealth
that did not exist before. When 1
was a boy at school I remember that
one of the pictures in my geography
was of the famous Victoria Bridge
over the St. Lawrence river at Mon-
treal, then one of the wonders of the
world. That bridge was sixteen feet
wide, carried one railway track and
had a load capacity of one ton to the
foot. It was torn down a dozen or
so years ago and a new one built
on the same piers. The new bridge
is sixty-seven feet wide, carries two
railway tracks and two roadways, and
has a !oad capacity of five tons to the
foot. The old steel work cost $3,-
000,000 and the new steel work cost
$1,500,000. And it was coincident
with this development in the steel
industry, and as part and feature of
it, that some of the greatest fortunes
in the world were made.

The bankers know, because the
facts are daily under their eyes, that
the interests of all classes are so in-
terwoven that there is, and can be, no
such thing as a “class struggle” in
the sense in which that term is used.
There are disagreements and _ there
are conflicting interests, but they are
within classes as much as_ between
classes. In the nature of things cap-
ital competes with capital rather than
with labor. The new capital that is
continually coming on the market is
always waging a war of extermina-
tion upon old capital in fixed invest-
ments, and outside of land values
nearly all of the capital that existed
in the United States fifty years ago
has been forced to the scrap heap
since.

Take a look over the so-called
struggle between capital and labor
for a moment. In all progressive
countries the supply of capital in-
creases faster than population. The
population of the United States in
1880 was 50,000,000; in 1910 it was. 90,-
000,000, or doubling in about thirty-
five years. The wealth of the United
States doubled between 1880 and
1900, twenty years.

Now what does it signify that cap-
ital increases faster than population?
Simply this: there is no way by
which capital can be put into use
except by employing labor. Every
dollar of new capital accumulated
creates a new demand for labor, and
if the two are increasing in the pro-
portion of 35 to 20 how will the equa-
tion work out?

When I was a boy I lived out West
where there was always a kind of
class struggle between corn on one
side and cattle and hogs on the other.
If there was a big crop of corn and
more than enough to go round for
feeding purposes, corn was cheap and
stock cattle and hogs brought a good
price. But if corn was short and
feeders were plentiful then the man
who owned corn had the whip hand
over the situation. The two were
complements of each other; they had
to be used together.

And so it is with capital and labor;
they must be used together, and with
the supply of capital increasing fast-
er than the supply of labor it is in-

evitable that labor shall steadily gain
a stronger position.

Every little while we have the sug-
gestion, and from wise men too, that
before things are settled labor will
have to be “liquidated.” I semember
of reading it after the panic of 1907,
and every year since. I read it in
January last, and then in another col-
umn of the same paper | read that the
largest employer of labor in the world
would on February 1st give the larg-
est advance to unskilled labor ever
granted by a single employer at one
time. And | do not doubt that the
United States Steel Corporation
granted that advance for the very
practical reason that its works were
full of orders and it wanted men. A
friend of mine who employed a great
many machinists told me a few years
ago that he had granted a voluntary
advance to his men. He said “I had
to do it; the automobile people were
taking all my best men.” “Why,” he
said, “those Detroit fellows had the
impudence to circulate hand-bills at
the door of my shop offering higher
wages than I was paying.’ Gentle-
men, labor will never be “liquidated”
as long as capital grows faster than
population. But if capital accumula-
tions fall off; if our earnings fall off
or our savings fall off; if we become
inefficient in production or wasteful in
expenditure—then there will be dan-
ger that everybody will be “liqui-
dated.”

And there is still another phase of
this. subject. It is sometimes said, as
a grievance, that capital substitutes
machinery for labor. So it does, but
what becomes of the products of ma-
chinery? Does it come home to you
that practically all of the vast expen-
ditures we see going on about us for
construction and equipment are for
the purpose of serving in some man-
ner the masses of the people—of sup-
plying something they want and’ can
afford to buy? There is no other em-
ployment for capital. It wouldn't
take many factories or railways or
very extensive terminals to supply
the wants of the rich! It is the wants
of the millions that keep the wheels
of business moving. And with capital
increasing faster than population, and
with this enormous increase in equip-
ment, together with the improvements
in methods and machinery, we have a
constantly increasing supply of com-
modities per head of population, and
the only way these commodities can
possibly be distributed is by such a
continual readiustment of wages and
prices as will enable the masses_ of
the people to buy them. There would
be congestion in every line of pro-
duction, and enterprise and industry
would choke down if the purchasing
power of the masses did ‘not constant-
ly increase

Tf anyone thinks this is mere the-
ory let him turn to the record. How
does it happen that the number of
horse-power employed by manutfac-
turing establishinents in the United
States increased 85 per cent. between
1900 and 1910, while the population
was increasing 21 per cent? How do
you explain that the railway tonnage
increased 80 per cent. and the con-
sumption of coal doubled in the same

 

 

1913

 

gain

sug-
that
will
nber
1907,
t in
col-
t the
orld
larg-
ever
one
the
ition
very
were
A
yreat
years
itary
had
were
7 he
| the
Is at
icher
sntle-
ated”
than
nula-
ll off
come
ful in
dan-
liqui-

se of
id, as
itutes
s, but
f ma-
Oo you
xpen-
as for
‘e for

man-
f sup-
d' can
+r em-
uldn’t
ys or
supply
wants
wheels
capital
n, and
equip-
‘ments
have a
| com-
n, and
es can
such a
es and
ses of
would
yf pro-
dustry
vhasing
nstant-

re the-

How
ber of
anufac-
United
etween
ulation
Tow do
‘onnage
1e con-
le same

October 29, 1918 MICHIGAN TRADESMAN

Progress of Thirty Years in Street Car Service

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How Grand Rapids people were transported from East and Sherman streets to Reed's Lake thirty years ago—5 cents extra fare

ll

 

Palatial car in which Grand Rapids people travel to-day

Pictures speak stronger than words as to the gradual growth and constant improvement in the service we give the public

GRAND RAPIDS RAILWAY CoO.

 

 

81

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

MICHIGAN TRADESMAN

October 29, 1913

 

period? Is any other explanation
possible than that the industries were
producing more goods per head of
population, the railways were distrib-
uting them to all parts of the coun-
try and the great body of the peo-
ple were buying and consuming them.

Prices have nothing to do with
these figures. The comparisons are
in figures of quantity.

What would you say if you knew
that the wheat crop would increase
annually from say five bushels per
capita in 1912 to six bushels per cap-
ita in 1913, and seven bushels per
capita in 1914, and eight bushels per
capita in 1915, and so on indefinitely,
and proportionately the same all over
the world? Do you think that any
combination could prevent the bene-
fits of this abundance from reaching
the masses? Something like this is
occurring all cver the industrial field,
and under such conditions you can no
more prevent the benefits of progress
from reaching the masses than you
can prevent the rivers from reaching
the sea.

How long would the rivers flow to
the sea if the waters were not taken
up by evaporation and again distrib-
uted over the land? And the laws
that sovern the distribution of mois-
ture are not more certain in their
operations than the laws that govern
the distribution of the benefits. of
progress.

The security and rise of the masses
happily does not depend upon the
generosity or forbearance or consid-
erate tavor of those who are above
them; they come up because they arc
Fesistless aiid everlasting forces that
work for the equality of men.

Now these facts and principles are
not new. Why do they count for
so little in the discussions of the day?
The newspapers, the political rostrum,
the Chautauqua platform, the pulpit,
the theater, the popular novel and all
the other agencies of agitation, are
working overtime on the ills of so-
ciety,—but with scarcely a word about
the great natural laws that underlie
and control the development of soci-
ety and by which all the progress. of
the vast has been made. There is
such a tempest on the surface that
the steady fiow of the current is un-
seen. But what would it be worth to
the progress and peace of society if
a knowledge of these common in-
terests could permeate all classes and
enter into their daily thinking?

What would it be worth to have it
fixed in the popular consciousness
that pregress it not by strife but by
efficiency, and that great ameliorating
influences are always at work.

Nine-tenths of the bitterness and
violence that accompanies our indus-
trial disputes are due to a feeling of
class injustice, te a belief that the or-
ganization of society is all wrone, and
that the many are constantly exploit-
ed by the few—something in the na-
ture of things impossible. No thought-
ful men can sce the symptoms of
widespread unrest and resentment
without a feeling of profound sorrow
that so much misunderstanding
should exist.

3ut terribly mistaken and misguid-

ed as the labor organizations at times
have been, J think we must recognize,
and be glad to recognize, that they
have also shown a very noble spirit
of brotherhood and self-sacrifice. It
is a class spirit, a class consciousness,
a class devotion, but it needs only
to be broadened and enlightened to
regenerate the world.

The wage-earners do what they do
because they want to better their
condition and the condition of their
fellows and of their children, and
they know no other way.

And if they have made mistakes,
have the leaders of society and indus-
try always been wiser? Have they
always known their own best. in-
terests? Have they
derstood that a man

always un-
works not

reason was? He said “England must
increase the efficiency of her people!”

“England must increase the efficien-
cy of her people!’’ That is the key-
note of a new civilization. :

In recent years we have become
very much concerned about increas-
ing the yield of our farms, and of
course the first thing to be done is to
secure more intelligent tillage. And
to that end inany of our railway com-
panies have established demonstra-
tion farms to show the methods and
results or scientific culture. They
employ lecturers and consulting ex-
perts to visit the farms and give in-
struction.

The agricultural implement com-
panies are doing the same thing.
The bankers’ associations are taking

 

 

 

The four daughters of William Frederick Blake, manager of the tea department of the
Judson Grocer Co.

 

 

only with his hands but with
his spirit, and have they appealed to
the spirit? Have any of us in fact,
had an adequate conception of how
the National wealth might be in-
creased by stimulating the ambitions
and capabilities of our people?

I was present at a luncheon in Chi-
cago several vears ago at which Sir
Edgar Speyer, of London, and the in-
ternational banking house, was the
guest of honor. It was the year of
the Lloyd-George budget, which had
received sharp criticism on the ground
that it was socialistic in tendency.
Sir Fdgar was good enough to make
us a little talk and to the surprise of
some of the party he approved of the
budget, ard what do you think his

up the same work. The annual con-
vention of the Iowa bankers this year
was held at the State Agricultural
College. Ali of this means real pro-
gress for it is on sound economic
lines. These business men have not
been resvonsible in any sense for the
waste places in the fields or the slov-
ently methods that have prevailed in
farming; but it is for the common
interest tha: the far:ns shall be more
productive and the farmers more
prosperous.

And so you aud | are not respon-
sible, in the seuse cf having caused
them, for many of ihe waste places
of society. for the indolence and im-
providence and inherited weakness
and vice that lower the efficiency of

so many of the population; or for the
fact that they bring children into the
world that they are not able to care
for; or for the fact that some men
are not so adaptable and resourceful
as others. We are not responsible,
I say, for those things, in the sense
of having caused them. But that is
not the point. We are not respon-
sible for the swamps we are preparing
to drain or the deserts we are pre-
paring to irrigate. Sir Edgar Speyer
touched the point when he said “Eng-
land must increase the efficiency of
her people.” We must develop the
capabilities of our people, not simply
as a means to an end, but as the very
end itself to which industry and Com-
merce and Institutions and Govern-
ment are all at last directed.

There are these two essentials to a
progressive people: There must be
constant gains in the individual ef-
fiency of the population, and there
1aust be constant accumulations of
new capital to finance the new ideas
and supply the new equipment that
progress requires. It used to be said
out West that a farmer wanted to buy
more land to grow more corn to feed
more hogs to buy more land, and so
on ad infinituin. And so gains in ef-
iciency and gains upon capital will
act and react upon each other indefi-
nitely, and for the common good. And
if the bankers have a better compre-
hension of these common interests
than any other class it is for them to
lead in the work of education.

—_2+>_
His Supposition Was Correct.

An old negro went into a drug store
in Richmond and said: “Boss, will
you please, suh, call de Colonel on
de telephone?”

“Yes,” and he called the Colonel.
The old darky said: “Colonel, dat ar
mule done stall right in the main
street right out here in front of de
store.

“Yaas, suh: T done _ tied strings
around his ears, but he didn’t budge.

“What’s dat? What’s dat? Yaas,
such, I built a fire under him, but it
didn’t do nuthin’ but scorch de har-
ness.

“Yaas, suh; yaas, such: I took de
things out, but he wouldn't budge.

“Yaas, suh; yaas, suh. What’s dat?

“No, suh; no, suh, Colonel, I didn’t
twist his tail.

“Yaas, suh; yaas, suh, another gem-
man twis’ his tail; he look like a
Northern gemman.

“What’s dat, Colonel? Yaas, suh,
dey tuk him to de hospital.

——~+-2.____
She Was Cautious.

A negro women in Savannah was
preparing to get married. For four
weeks before the ceremony she saved
her wages and immediately after the
wedding she hunted up her mistress
and asked her to take charge of th?
fund,

“Tll take it, of course,’ said the
puzzled woman, “but, Mandy, won't
you need money to spend on your
honeyinoon?”

“Miss May,” said the bride, “does
you think I’se goin’ to trust myself
wid a strange niggah an’ all dat mon-
ey on me?”

 

 

 

 

 

9, 1913 ; October 29, 1913 MICHIGAN TRADESMAN 83
or the
to the 4
» Care
. men 3
rceful ‘
isible, : @

sense
hat is :
spon- :
aring |
/ pre-
peyer ‘
‘Eng- ‘ e
cy of !
» the ‘
imply ;

very
Com- :
vern- : e
ba : Puts Flour into your house in clean, dirt-proof sacks.
il ef- :

ee We sew every sack and then tie them.
Is of

ideas | If a grocer tears a sack we take it back and give him a clean,

that |
- said | fresh one.
o buy \
| ce . No Lily White is ever dumped over in the grocery store if we can
na So Le
inef- ff prevent it.
| will ’

cl ; No Lily White is dumped from one sack to another in our mill.
, ANC :

npre- If a sack gets torn, the flour must be remilled.

rests

ee We have rapid automobile delivery service so no grocer need be

out of our flour more than an hour or two.

at. :

store

will

‘loon

lonel.

at ar

main

of de

rings

ige. 66 99

og The Flour the Best Cooks Use

ut it

har

k de Is always sanitary and uniform.

ge.

? : ' “ : C A

bl Our strict inspection service prevents errors.

ae Lily White is always right. There can be no trouble at your end
eo except through faulty manipulations or poor yeast.

suh, : ae

This we positively know and guarantee.
If this kind of service and quality appeals to you, let the grocer

was

four d have your order for Lily White.

aved 4

' the

tress

- V ity Milling C

e alley City Milling Company

ron't

your GRAND RAPIDS, MICH.

does

yself

peu This is a reproduction of one of the advertisements appearing in the daily papers, all of which help the retailer to sell Lily White Flour.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

sth
Bis Deas

terrae

84

MICHIGAN TRADESMAN

October 29, 1913

 

CONSISTENTLY COURAGEOUS.

 

Long Time Contributor Commends
Dominant Characteristics.

It goes without saying that a period-
ical, starting in a humble way and
under one management and ownership
steadily advancing in influence and
power for thirty years, must have many
good and sterling qualities. Particu-
larly is this true in the case of the
Michigan Tradesman, whose clientele
of readers always has been far above
the average in intelligence and :n con-
science and moral acumen.

If I were asked to name the most
admirable of all the excellent traits of
the Tradesman, | shonld not hesitate
a moment before replying. Its cour-
age at all times and under all circum-
stances is its most admirable and praise7
worthy trait, and the  characteristc
which, perhaps more than any other,
gives to this unique journal its peculiar
value. The Tradesman is and ever has
been a frank and fearless expression of
honest opinion, regardless of
quences. It has not hesitated nor side-
stepped on account of the malignity of
foes, nor has it truckled to the favor
of friends.

conse-

Since its very beginning, the periodi-
cal which he has builded has been in
a remarkable degree the outward and
visible sign of its editor’s inward and
spiritual genius. I have just been re-
reading a brochure published a year or
two ago and treating of the personality
of the man who founded the Michigan
Tradesman and has, with intimate
touch, framed its policies during the
three decades of its existence. As
might be expected, in that booklet many
things at once very complimentary and
very true are said regarding Mr. Stowe:
but—and it seems to me most surpris-
ing that this should be the case—no
mention is made of his dominant char-
acteristics, courage and_ fearlessness.
That he sturdily and steadily has mani-
fested these traits when he knew it
would cause him the loss of friends and
money, no one who has watched the
course of his journal can deny. Those
who differ with him most widely can
not fail to respect his bravery and out-
spokenness.

Perhaps on this occasion it will not
be out of place for me to indulge in
a few personal statements and reminis-
cences. No longer young in years, !
am in point of service one of the old
writers of the Tradesman—perhaps the
oldest member of its present regular
staff of contributors. I can sav mosi
heartily that, while Mr. Stowe is free
in expressing his own opinions, he is
willing and anxious to allow an equal
freedom to others.

His nolicy with his contributors is the
farthest possible removed from dictat-
ing the slant and color they shall give
their work. Indeed, sc zealous is he
in protectine the liberty of thought of
each writer, that I for one never have
been able to get out of him just what
kind of an article he likes best. He
says that if he were to tell contributors
what he liked, they would be apt to try
to write to please him, instead of ex-
pressing their own convictions.

This perfect freedom will seem all
the more remarkable to such of my

readers as are familiar with the extent
to which many papers, whose first
thought is their advertising receipts and
their subscription lists, hamper their
writers.

In all the sixteen and a half years
contributed to the
Tradesman, I never have received the

in which I have

slichtest intimation that my ideas and
opinions must be hent to conform to ed-
itorial views or to any factitious “policy
of the paper.” Mr. Stowe and I look
upon many subjects from widely vary-
ing points of view and I know he has
published many articles of mine with
which he could not possibly agree. In
the few instances in which he has re-
jected a piece of my work, only one
was because of any conflict of opinion.
In that I was setting forth a mercan-
tile teaching which he deemed errone-
ous. [| still hold that it really was not
so, but, although I happened to be in

 

for a Sunday in a town where he was
a stranger. He had a little conversa-
tion with one of the elders of the church
as to what he had better preach about.

“Shan’t I give you a stirring temper-
ance sermon?” he began, and already in
imagination he heard himself hurling
the thunderbolts of his eloquence in
scathing denunciation of the liquor evil.

The elder hesitated. “I hardly think
it would answer,’ he said. “There’s
Deacon Simpson, he’s a good man and a
most liberal supporter of the catse, but
he will take his little drop now and then.
He would be likely to take severe ex-
ceptions to such a sermon as you pro-
pose. Detter think of some other sub-
ject.”

Brother Parker had an extensive rep-
ertoire and mentioned a long list of
themes, but the politic old elder fore-
saw that with the roughshod treatment
which Brother Parker would be sure
to make of anv one of them, personal

ELLA M. ROGERS.

Grand Rapids at the time, I was unable
to make Mr. Stowe see the matter as
I did and that article had to go by the
board.

When Mr. Stowe was ill in the hos-
pital three years ago, I sent in an article
in which reference was made to the
nine-hour law for women, in a way
rather commendatory to that law. Mr.
Stuart, the acting editor, wrote me in
regard to it, saving that the remainder
of the article was all right, and, | gath-
ered, intended to suggest that if ] would
eliminate the objectionable portion, he
As I had in the
first place expressed the truth as I saw
it, I did not see fit to eliminate. After
Mr. Stowe came back to his desk, the
offending article was published intact—-
somewhat to my surprise.

A story is told of a preacher, Brother
Barker by name, whose special forte
was severe castigation of sins and
vices. Once he went to fill the pulpit

would use the article.

application and consequent hard feeling
and turmoil would be likely to ensue.

Finally he himself made a suggestion
“Brother Barker, can’t you just preach
against the Mormons? They haven't a
friend here.”

The Tradesman has never made it its
editorial practice, nor has it asked its
contributors “to against the
in order to keep everything
smooth and quiet, there were
things nearer home, needing censure
Flla M. Rogers.

preach
’

Mormons,’
when

and exposure.

—_—_>-+_____
The New Way.

“What will we put in the magazine
this month?”

“About forty pages concerning what
we had last month.”

"WVes.’

“And forty more about what we
will have next month.”

“And then?”

“That ought to be enough for this
month.”

Is This the Policy of Your Store?

1. This store will get a reasonable
profit over the cost of doing business
on everything it sells or it will stop
selling it.

1. This store realizes that its profits
are paid to it by its customers for the
service it renders them. Therefore,
we will give the best possible service
so that in time we may have the larg:
est possible profits.

3. As our customers will rely
largely upon our advice in the matter
of purchases, we will handle the goods
we honestly believe the best for
them, even though we could make
a little more money on a similar ar-
ticle.

4. We will not handle any line of
merchandise that clashes with this
policy. We are starting with the
highest grade goods this community
will now consume, and it will be our
policy to lead them upward, step by
step, to realize the higher economy
of the highest grade products.

5. When we need help we will
get the best to be had.
need a clerk we will get the best
salesman, regardless of whether he is
an uncle, or a brother, or a cousin.
We will pay them what they are
worth when we find them. .

When we

6. We will not guess about our
profits. We will make it our business
to know on the first of each month
whether we have made or lost money
during the previous month.

Y

7. We will set aside a certain pet-
centage on our sales for advertising.

._ We will apply our best thought to the

expenditure of that money. We wili
use it to tell the public interesting
things about our business, and things
interesting to them.

8. We will handle an advertised
line when we conscientiously believe
that it offers the best service and
use to our customers, and not before.

—_+- +
The Importance of Being Mr. Bryan.

The year after coming to Nebraska,
in 1888, I delivered fifty speeches
against the Republican candidate for
Governor, and in each one made it
clear why he should not be elected.

He was elected, however, by the
usual majority.

On the following St. Patrick’s Day
I was to make a short speech, and
Governor Thayer (whom I tried to
defeat) presided. It was a varied
programme, consisting of songs and
speeches and vaudeville numbers. It
was the first time I had been in the
presence of the Governor, and I won-
dered whether he felt any resentment
toward me for all the work I had
done against him.

At last my turn was reached. The
Governor, having been prompted by
another man, arose and said: “The
next person on the programme is VV.
J. Bryan,” and as I came forward he
stepped toward me, smiled and extend-
ed his hand. I felt greatly pleased
that he did not harbor any resent-
ment against me, and grasped his
hand warmly as he drew me toward
him and whispered: “Quick! Do you
speak, sing, or dance?”

He had never even heard of me.

Wm. J. Bryan.

 

 

October 29, 1913

ae MICHIGAN TRADESMAN 85

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

e?

le

me

its

he

ly a

ae

ke

a When you offer FAIRY SOAP to your customers you give them
. a real reason for trading with you, because it’s the best toilet soap a nickel
. will buy. There’s no way to make a purer, whiter, sweeter soap than
7 FAIRY, and it’s rea/ soap that gives satisfaction down to the last thin
a | wafer. You can always be sure of a steady sale for FAIRY because it

| pleases.

- | ‘) “Have you alittle ‘Fairy in your home?” §&

si 5 aS — oo}
" eP\ THE N.K.FAIRBANK COMPANY %
1ey sik a > . [ a Ine i V,
er - \ \

| = CHICAGO SZ
vill

‘ Har t Br and Canned i oods
ska, y

hes

for

o HIGHEST QUALITY

the

. Our products are packed at five plants in Michigan, in the finest fruit and vegetable belts

. in the Union, grown on lands close to the various plants; packed fresh from the fields

to and orchards, under highest sanitary conditions. Flavor, Texture, Color Superior.

ried

= Quality Guaranteed

the :

i The HART BRANDS are Trade Winners and Trade Makers
had

Vegetables:—Peas, Corn, Succotash, Stringless Beans, Pork and Beans, Pumpkin, Red Kidney

7 Beans, Tomatoes, Spinach, Beets.

ea Fruits:—Cherries, Strawberries, Red Raspberries, Black Raspberries, Plums, Pears, Peaches.

he

nd-

ise

. W. R. ROACH & CO., HART, MICH.
7 2 Factories at

‘ HART, KENT CITY, LEXINGTON, EDMORE, SCOTTVILLE.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

papas

ST eae

 

 

MICHIGAN TRADESMAN

October 29, 1913

 

IN THE TEA TRADE.

Changes the Past Thirty Years Have
Wrought.

To write a retrospective article on
the tea trade, showing the changes
which have occurred in the handling
and consumption of teas during the
past thirty years, is the job of an
historian.
took my
first lesson in a tea importing and

Thirty-two years ago I

jobbing house and the changes since
then
the purchasing and

have been very noticeable in
distribution, as
well as the quality, growth, firing and
transportation of teas. Prior to and
in the early eighties, very few, if any,
teas were directly imported by job-
their
brokers, representing the importers,
were notified by a jobber that at a
certain time he would be ready to draw

bers. TO meet requirements.

or test certain grades of teas, that all
samples submitted would be put into
blindly, and the tea
suitable for his

a pool, tested
selected as wants.
Then came the dickering for price and
final purchase. A great many teas
were brought to New York as ballast
from Japan and China, thrown into the
tea auction rooms and sold to the
bidder. The Suez
route, being the principal thorough-

highest Canal

fare for importations from the Far
Eas:. New York was the great Ameri-
can market for teas and the auction
salesrooms were busy places for large
from China,
Gradually the

changed andthe great American, Jap-
3ritish

cargoes of teas India

and Japan. system

anese and steamship lines

and the numerous transcontinental
railways absorbed to a great extent
the Far East trade until now the great
bulk of teas from China, Japan and
Pacific to San
Seattle and
there to be transported eastward by
rail and distributed at their respective
What the Panama Canal
will do for us in the next thirty years

Formosa cross the

Francisco, Vancouver,

destinations.

remains to be seen.

The old auction sales are of the
past and through the swiftly moving
transition of business methods, the
adoption of special brands by whole-
salers and the demand by
under pressure from the ultimate con-
sumer that they be enabled to pur-
chase the growth and
firing of tea for their year’s supply
without the necessity of buying it all
at one time, has changed the system
of purchasing teas to the placing of
direct import orders a year ahead for

retailers

same grade,

their standards for the ensuing year
and under their own brands, thus in-
suring a uniformity impossible in
street buying.

When the Tradesman first saw the
light, Ceylon and Java teas were prac-
tically
China, Japan and Oolong teas were
about all that were generally known
here, the quantity coming
from China, and with no regulations
as to purity or quality. On March 2,
1883, an “Act to prevent the importa-
tion. of adulterated and spurious teas”
was passed but was practically a dead
letter as no standard of quality was
enforced. Anything and everything
under the name of tea was allowed

unknown in this country.

greater

entry into the United States. Green
teas, such as Japans, were known as
Basket-Fired, Pan-Fired (or Regular)
and Sundried. Basket-Fired was
made up as attractive in style as pos-
sible by the liberal use of plumbago
and other ingredients while Pan-Fir-
ed was colored and polished by the
use of powdered soap stone and
Prussian Blue to give it a handsome.
glossy and leady style. “Sun-Dried”
was such only in name but was color-
ed to a less extent than Pan-Fired.
On March 2, 1897, Am act to pre-
vent the importation of impure and
because a_ law,
A Board
of Tea Experts was appointed by the

unwholesome tea”
known as the “Tea Act.”

 

Wm. Frederick Blake.

Secretary of the Treasury and a
adopted
which no teas were to be admitted
to the United States.
were appointed for the principal ports
whose duty it was to pass upon the
quality of tea importations, and so be-
zan the effort to raise the quality of
tea for consumption-in the United
States. Fighting against powerful in-
terests the result

standard of quality below

Examiners

aimed for was
principally
through the country wide influence of
the Wholesale

finally accomplished,

Grocers assisted by
such good trade publications as the
Michigan Tradesman, and in con-
formity with the operations of the
Pure Foods Act, and in 1911 the Sec-
retary of the Treasury issued an order
prohibiting the importation of any
tea from any country adulterated in
any way whatever. All coloring was
eliminated and in order to preserve
her trade with America, practically
the only country consuming her tea,
Japan joined hands with us and for-
bade, under heavy penalties, the col-
oring and adulteration of Japan grown
China took a different course
and attempted to force colored teas
into the United States, but they were
rejected and either re-exported within
a certain period or destroyed by U. S.
Government orders. The result of
China’s course was a decline of the
China Green tea trade with the Unit
ed States, which had held first place
as a consumer of Chinese Green tea.

teas.

This year the Tea Guild of Shaushing
has issued a proclamation to the Chi-
nese tea men urging them to take
more pains in the preparation of cur-
ing of Ping Suey tea and to get out

of the old rut under penalty of losing
their foreign trade.

Thirty years ago all teas were cured
by hand. To-day, following the adop-
tion of sanitary laws, but more es-
pecially to effect the production of
large quantities of finished teas at a
minimum cost, machine made teas are,
with the exception of China where
the manufacture is still carried on by
hand, the universal rule.

The production and consumption of
teas have more than doubled in the
last thirty years, the importations in-
to the United States last year being
more than one hundred million pounds
and the capita,
shows a corresponding increase. It

consumption, per

has become a popular summer bever-
age and, while America is a coffee
consuming country, more interest is
beine taken in teas as the American
people are becoming better educat-
ed as to the proper method of infus-
ing as well as to the tonic properties
of the leaf.

The old Irish lady who, years ago,
was asked what kind of tea she liked
the best and replied that she liked
“Oolong Tay the best because it tool
such an illegant grip o’ the second
wather” is dead and the woman 2f
the present day has learned that the
“second wather” is not to be used.

The great bulk of Japan teas im-
ported in the eighties were known as
Yamashiro (or Kobe) teas and Yoko-
hamas. The Shidzuoka Prefecture
was then undeveloped. Now Kobe
has dropped to third place and Shid-
zuoka lead all Japan teas in populari-
ty, being the most desired by Ameri-
can connoisseurs.

In 1869 the first Formosa Oolong
was shipped to America by John
Dodd. In 1883 307,000 half chests
were imported and in 1913 more than
600,000 half chests, showing the rapid
increase in Formosa teas.

The question is often asked,
“Which is the purest and best tea to
buy or use?” In answer I would say
that preference for any particular
kind of tea is solely a matter of taste.
Americans generally prefer the green,
light liquored, delicate teas of Japan:
Some prefer the fragrant teas from
Ceylon or Formosa and others the
strong pungent teas of China. One
thing is certain, all teas now imported
into the United States are tested by
Government experts and are abso-
lutely uncolored, pure and whole-
some. Wm. Frederick Blake.

See

Cut Glass in the General Store.
Written for the Tradesman.

In a live general store located in
a sleepy little town in Western [1li-
nois I found one day last fall, a line
of cut glass that would put many a
pretentious store to shame.

“How on earth do you sell all that
stuff?” I asked the proprietor.

“Jeople that can buy automobiles
can drink out of cut glass—if you
make ’em think so,’ was his answer.

There’s the whole recipe in a nut-
shell—make ’em think so. The mer-
chant who shows his trade an at-
tractive line of cut glass and shows
it right—who tells them he can get
anything in cut glass they want—who
“makes them think so,’ in short—

will handle a lot of his customers’
coin on sales of a line that pays
mighty interesting profits.

The investment required is really
not large. A good showing can be
made with thirty or forty pieces,
costing about as many dollars. This
would include bowls, nappies, com-
ports, jugs, tumblers and all the pop-
ular pieces. Forty dollars invested
in cut glass should bring the mer-
chant close to a hundred dollars
gross.

One of the essentials of success in
selling cut glass is a striking dis-
play. The stuff shows up gorgeously
in artificial light. Therefore, the
darkest coiner of the store should be
chosen for display and as many lights
brought to bear on it as posshible.

A deep glass showcase with wide
steps from bottom to top furnishes
a good setting—or a low table with
a center shelf will do.

The perfect background for a cut
glass display is made of mirrors.
Where these are not available, heavy
black cloth of a velvety texture is
very cftective.

Of course, one or two pieces should
be put in the window from time to
time. But the main display will be
most effective in the artificially light-
ed corner. Customers will gaze in
admiration at the sparkling show—
and admiration means sales at holi-
day time. C. W. Kaiser.

—_e 2s —_

Why He Was Safe in Selling.

While traveling in Scotland an
American saw a very fine shepherd
dog and tried to induce his owner
to sell him.

“Wad ye be takin’ him to America?”
enquired the Scot.

“Ves, indeed!” replied the Ameri-
can.

“T thought as muckle,” said the old
man. “I couldna pairt wi’ Nero.”

While they were talking an English
tourist came along and the owner
sold the dog to him for less than the
American offered.

“You told me you wouldn't sell that
dog,” said the latter after the pur-
chaser had departed with the collie.

“Ma na,’ said the Scot; “I said I
couldna pairt wl’ Nero’'ll be
back in a day or two, but he couldna
swim the Atlantic.”

him.

——_—_.. 2s —_—_
Not the Right Process.

A revival was held at a small color-
ed Baptist church in Southern Geor-
gia, At ome of the meetings “lie
evangelist, after an earnest but frut‘-
less exhortation, requested all of the
coneregation who wanted their souls
washed white as snow to stand up.
One old darkey remained sitting.

“Don’t yo’

>

want y’ soul washed
Brudder Jones?”

“Mah soul done been washed w’ite
as snow, pahson.”

“Whah wuz yo’ soul washed wiite
as snow, Brudder Jones?”
“Qver yander to de
chu’ch acrost de railroad.”
“Lawd God, Brudder Jones, yo’
soul wa’nt washed—hi’t were dry-

cleaned!”

wite as snow,

Methodis’

—_———_oe2es—_—_—_
Many a man gets the reputation
of being a “good fellow” when he is
going to the bad.

 

 

a ae

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

October 29, 1913 MICHIGAN TRADESMAN 87
lhe Vink IderC
Grand Rapids, Mich.
{
d
d
ld
he
if
be
Our Own Building and Facilities Are the Best Anywhere

he We Buy and Sell
the
: P Appl d Cabb
: Onions, Potatoes, Apples and Cabbage
ed
| Carlots or Less
a) Come to Headquarters for Your Supplies This Year.
. Cars Moving Now. Wire for Prices.
yo
Iry- e
Also Jobbers of Oranges, Lemons, Cranberries, Bananas
3 All Domestic and Tropical Fruits

 

 

CANADIAN CONDITIONS.

 

Rapid Strides Made by the Dominion
Merchants.

A story of National development may
be told in dry statistics. It may be nar-
rated in abstract phrases. Or it may
be vividly pictured by means of a few
concrete contrasts.

In the year 1882, a miller named J.
B. Preston, located at Pilot Mound,

Manitoba, lost his plant by fire. He
gave up the milling business, and

moved “further west” to Carnduff in
Southern Saskatchewan. Settlers were
few and far between, but Preston dis-
cerned possibilities in Carnduff. On
July 18, 1884, visiting his old home in
Pilot Mound, he purchased from Baird
Bros., wholesale and retail merchants,
a little voice of goods. The total
came to $105.30. Carted by ox-team
over several hundred miles of almost
trackless prairies, that little invoice of
goods stocked the first mercantile es-
tablishment in Southern Saskatchewan.

Of such were the beginnings of mer-
cantile empire in Canada’s prairie prov-
inces. Census statistics of the year 1881
show for that year in the territory of
Alberta a crop of winter wheat aggre-

gating eleven bushels. A little while
before that an Ontario man named
Francis Willcocks had sown a few

treasured grains, timidly, wondering if,
in that untested country, winter wheat
were a possibility. Since then the in-
dustry has grown to great proportions.

A. D. Kennelly, a Toronto man, rep-
resentative there of one of Canada’s
largest stove manufacturers, was among
the pioneers of merchandising in. the
prairie provinces. Trekking behind ox-
teams through the trackless wastes, he
beat the Canada Pacific Railway into
many sections of the Canadian West—
several years ahead of the rails in most
instances. Spartan nerve was demand-
ed of the drummer in the old Canadian
West; Spartan nerve that faced without
flinching the dangerous, almost impass-
able roads; the terrors of the drifting
snow that obscured the faint-marked
trail; the long hours stalled amid the
drifts when sleep meant death. The
continent wide railway had not yet
pierced the wilderness. Ox-carts trans-
ported hardware, provisions and cloth-
ing to the outlying settlements. Where
men congregated together in sufficient
numbers. little shacks sprang up where
merchandising went on in a primitive
way. Such were the beginnings of mer-
chandising in the Canadian West, a lit-
tle more than thirty years ago.

It was on October 21, 1880, that the
contract was signed for the building of
the Canadian Pacific Railroad, Canada’s
first transcontinental line. On Novem-
ber 7, 1885, the last spike was driven;
on June 28, 1886, the first through train
left Montreal for Vancouver. The
commercial traveler with his ox-cart,
the cross-roads storekeeper ministering
to the needs of his little settlement, had
already pioneered the way. To-day, the
drummer travels in his Pullman, or, if
he prefers, makes his trips in a motor
car. Not merely Winnipeg, but Calgary,
Edmonton, Regina, Saskatoon and other
Western cities, have their own whole-
sale houses, and are themselves growing
great industrially. The stores on their
wide streets vie with those of Eastern

nD eee ereet ) aneeeconelmainnadduanabaasateaninnaeiaels ananassae
0 : Sees

MICHIGAN TRADESMAN

Canada in handsome fronts, brilliant
displays, flaunting electric signs and
other evidences of mercantile progress.
Thus has Western Canada leapt from
the primitive to the advanced, in thirty
years.
Where.
was

Manitoba
in its infancy, and beyond only
scattered, sparsely populated territories
stretched away to the Rockies, there
are now three great and populous prov-
inces; and there will be within a few
years—three linking double-bands of
steel. The Canadian Pacific, whose
completion marked the beginning of
Western development, is being followed
in the transcontinental march by the
Grand Trunk Pacific and the Canadian
Northern. And the new mercantile and
commercial West, far from being prim-
itive, prides itself on being more go-
ahead than the East, more enterprising

thirty years ago,

 

and more progressive.

The creation of a new, populous West

 

ed at any possibility of their being
used for display. Round, old-fashioned
iron pillars guarded the door, equipped
with an old fashioned latch; in-
side, on old wood floor creaked
beneath the feet of the customer. Old
wooden counters ran down one side of
the store, and huge, strange-lettered
packages of bulk tea were piled even
to the windows, helping to shut out
the light. The scales were old fash-
ioned, but absolutely honest; the man
behind the scales, as thorough a gentle-
man as ever sold groceries, represent-
ed the last of half a dozen “big mer-
chants’ who had bulked large in the
public eye thirty years before. The very
fact that it was so quaint, so old-fash-
ioned, so unlike all its competitors, drew
attention to that old store; it held a
certain loyal band of old customers who
traded there because they had always
done so, and because they knew the old
fashioned grocer—and loved him.

WILLIAM EDWARD PARK.

is Canada’s great achievement of these
thirty years; and the creation of the
great mercantile West, a National fac-
tor that counted for little thirty years
ago, is one of its miracles. The pioneer
Western merchant began at the begin-
ning; but the present day Western mer-
chant, not content with beginning where
the Fasterner of to-day leaves off, takes
a quick run and a jump and begins—
in his own estimation at least—a mile
or so ahead.
Another Bit of Contrast.
Until a few years ago there stood on
the main street of one of the smaller
Ontario cities a store that always at-
tracted more than passing notice. The
store was fronted with old fashioned,
small-paned windows, flush with the
street. They were to let in the light—
no window flooring behind them hint-

When he died, the old fashioned store
was swept away—or rather, remodeled.
A new, plate glass front was put in;
new floors were laid; modern silent
scalesmen replaced the ancient counters.
The passing of that old store repre-
sented. in that particular city, a country
wide process that commenced a trifle
less than thirty years ago, and that,
steadily continuing, has built up
throughout the length and breadth of
Canada a New Merchandising.

In the old days of the weekly paper
the Old Merchant had advertising,
somewhat like this:

THE BOSTON GROCERY
John Smith, Proprietor
King Street
Groceries, Provisions,
Tea, Coffee, Liquors,
Salt Meats.

October 29, 1913

Your Patronage
Respectfully Solicited

Sut when the weekly paper became a
daily and his advertisement, to be at
all effective, and to be repeated, not fif-
ty-two, but three hundred and two times
a year, and when the cost of advertis-
ing began to climb, the Old Merchant
reluctantly ceased to advertise, deeming
the outlay too great.

One by one these Old Merchants
passed from the stage. For the first
ten years of the thirty that my friend
Stowe has been running the Michigan
Tradesman, there was little appreciable
change—-on the surface. Underneath,
the leaven But I can
remember, vividly, in my own Ontario
city, how, in the course of the last
twenty years, the old store fronts and
the old fashioned counters passed away.
At first the process was a slow one; the
innovators, with their fine plate glass
fronts and their glittering show cases
and tiled floors, were exceedingly con-
spicuous in their daring isolation. But
with a sudden rush at last their com-
petitors lined up with progress, until,’
at the end of the thirty years, the “old
timers” who still lingered on the stage
were just as conspicuous as the inno-
vators had been at the beginning. Often
the change came only when the Old
Merchant retired or died; but here and
there an Old Merchant shrewdly adapt-
ed himself to new and changed condi-
tions and eagerly led in the very van of
progress.

was working.

Merchandising—-the modern merchan-
dising of plate glass and silent salesmen,
oak finish and electric signs—is thus
a product of these thirty years.

So, too, is modern retail advertisng.
Thirty years ago the merchant adver-
tised, in a modest, quiet way. The
newspaper was an informal meeting
place between the man who wanted to
buy and the man who wanted to sell.
John Smith stated that he was a grocer
and handled teas, sugar, coffee, spices
and provisions. If James Jones read
the advertisement and wanted groceries
—or if James Jones wanted groceries
ana read the advertisements—naturally,
he went to John Smith, or to John
Smith’s competitor who also advertised.
The advertisement served merely to
link the man who wanted to buy and
the man who wanted to sell. For this
purpose an inch was ample space;
though often a merchant who liked the
local printer and wanted to help that
worthy would take two inches or three.
Oceasionally he doubled or tripled his
space to make some special announce-
ment regarding a large shipment of
goods just received. That, however,
was innovation, just like the first mod-
ern store fronts.

The Modern Merchandising

Here and there, in country places, re~
tail advertising in Canada is little ad-
vanced beyond that primitive stage.
But there is not a center of importance
where the modern ideas of salesman-
ship and service have not taken firm
hold. There are many merchants who
do not advertise; but those who do ad-
vertise. advertise skillfully and well.
Advertising has developed in Canada
through much the same stages as in the
United States. To the period of per-
functory formality succeeded the period
when advertising was used to announce

 

 

. : October 29, 1913 MICHIGAN TRADESMAN 89
: @

: Show Us the Maker || Martin Broom Rack

na (PATENTED)

a Who uses better materials and methods than we do

int : in the manufacture of leather and fabric gloves and 7 J . M ARTIN

ng gauntlets—we would like to find one. Escanaba, Mich.

nts i Profit for the glove counter depends on repeat sales

rst

A —quality makes repeats—HAWKEYE BRAND HIS broom rack displays 4

   

gan stands for quality. doz. brooms, 2 doz. large

ble brooms, | doz. toy brooms and 1

ath, doz. whisk. It can display 3

a doz. large brooms and 1 doz.

re whisk brooms if desired. It is

a so constructed it revolves with

vay. a light touch of the hand, mak-

the ing a very convenient rack. It

lass ‘ , is made to last. It is all iron ex-

ases : — cept the base, which is wood.

But vB oO. It occupies only two feet of floor

cane space, and being on casters, it

intil,’ Will send samples and prices of all can be moved about at will: it’s

“old arate you. Want io a practical display stand and a neat piece of store fixture.
oe They Fit the Hand Brooms placed in this rack will retain their shape always,
dften a

and will help materially in the sale of brooms.

e
ce Hawkeye Glove & Mitten Co. I am now shipping a few racks and will soon be in shape to take care
> alle

 

 

 

 

 

of all orders promptly, large or small. About December tst will furnish this
dapt- WATERLOO, IOWA rack with iron base—the price will remain the same. All racks are packed
ondi- : | : one in a box and bills out at fifty pounds. Price F, O. B. Escanaba, Mich.,
an of F. J. ERRETT, Sales Manager for Minnesota, Wisconsin, North and $7.00 or from the factory. Terms are 30 days net, 4% discount if paid in 10
South Dakota and Montana days. Awaiting your valued orders, I am yours for business,
chan- : : :
a 529 Boston Block, Minneapolis, Minn. T. J. MARTIN, Escanaba, Mich,
thus
rtisng.
rdver-
The x )
oe Cloth and Plush
ted to e A .
a A bile and C Rob
ae -  Qur Pride--- utomobile and Carriage Robes
ee RO OF BO
oceries ;
oceries Los
turally,
John e e
ete Fur and Imitation Fur Robes
ely oO
u and lay ~ PE thy ~
o this S6. — to 125
space ;
ked the
Ip that
r three. S R
ae teamer Kugs
nounce- .
nent of $4.50 to $12
lowever,
‘st mod- a
ng CS If you want something nice in this
aces, re~
ee line, we have it.
e stage.
iportance
alesman- ul
ken firm C B k C p
ants who ity a ery om any
io do ad- :
nd well Grand Rapids, Mich. SHERWOOD HALL CO., LTD.
1 Canada
as in the GRAND RAPIDS, MICH.
1 of per-
he period

 

 

 

 

announce

 

 

Senne oe gee

Soa eee DLL

Peg aga eects

90

“cut prices’ and “special bargains.”
Now, the ideals of quality and service
are uppermost. The advertiser chats
with his customer, talks to him this
week on one timely topic, that week on
another; emphasizes the importance of
purity and quality. and points out that
the securing of the best value is more
important than the paying of the small-
est price.

In husiness it is the human factor that
changes least of all. Humanity, fun-
damentally, is much the same through
all the centuries. All that is requisite
is that humanity keep pace with the
leaders of human thought. Many of
the Canadian merchants who were in
business thirty years ago are in business
still. I knew one store that has been
in the hands of the same family con-
tinuously for upwards of sixty years;
it has always catered to quality trade;
it has always kept a pace or two in ad-
vance of its competitors. The honesty
that made reputation thirty years ago
is just as much in evidence to-day.
Fundamentally, men have changed very
little; but they have adapted themselves
to new ideas, and, far from striving
to oppose the onrushing tide of prog-
ress, liave ridden to prosperity on the
crest of the wave. Medern store
fronts, scientific advertising, skillful
salesmanship behind the counter, the
preaching of quality and service in

place of the cutting of prices—these’

things represent ideas with which the
old fashioned merchants of other days
experimented and which by actual test
they have found profitable.
Contemporaneous with this progress
has been the growth of a better feeling
between :ndividual merchants. The day
when Smith regarded Watkins as an
enemy, just because he was a competi-
tor, has long since vanished. Now,
merchants meet in their local provin-
cia! and Dominion organizations and
work together for the common good.
The Retail Merchants’ Association of
Canada, with its provincial and_ local
ramifications, represents an earnest at-
tempt to provide a medium through
which merchants in all lines may act in
unison. The Ontario Retail Hardware
Association is one of a number of
streng provincial erganiaztions each de-
voted to # particular line of trade. Lo-
cal organization has gained some foot-
hold; and even where there is no for-
mal organization, a feeling of mutual
good will on the part of the mercantile
fraternity does much to fill the gap.

MICHIGAN TRADESMAN

This is not an attempt even to sketch
in outline the mercantile progress of
the past thirty years, but merely to in-
dicate the general lines of development
The period that has seen Vancouver the
gateway to the Pacific grow from a
few thousands of people to over’a hun-
dred thousand; that has seen Winnipeg
record a development as great; that has
dotted the prairies with new _ cities
where Indians pitched their tepees thir-

ty years ago—this period cannot be

sketched, even in outline. Nor can the
ereat industrial development of the Ca-
nadian East and the changed farming
conditions there be narrated in brief
space. Put the contrasted conditions of
thirty vears ago and to-day afford at
least a hint of the advance which Cana-
dian merchants have made.

For this advance credit must be given
‘o native good sense, plus growing com-
petition. The credit must be shared
with the trade press of Canada and the
United States. The latter exerted a
marked influence in shaping Canadian
mercantile methods, which, to a very
large extent. follow American [Iines.
The thirty years now closing have seen,
also, the development, particularly at
Toronto, of a Canadian trade press
whose influence with the mercantile fra-
ternity of Canada is hecoming more and
more potent as the years go by. The
influence of the well-edited and up-to-
date trade paper in disseminating new
ideas and high ideals among tradesmen
is incalculable.

For the future, there is promise in
Canada of steady and rapid develop-
ment. The West is full of yet un-
touched opportunities: while farmers
are turning keener eyes upon the possi-
bilities of the East. The outlook is
for growth, not merely in the newer
provinces but in older Canada as well.
and this growth and the prosperity
which naturally goes with it the mer-
chants of Canada will not merely share
but will materially assist to create.

William Edward Park.

Chatham. Ontario.

—_2+~-+>____
Over the Counter.

“Are these candies fresh, my pretty
one?” asked the youth with the sun-
set socks.

“They are fresh, but not in your
class,” answered the saleslady with
the Titian hair.

—__>>>___

Misdirected charity is the mother if
many hobos.

PLL ee :
on eee seem P AT ld

CARRIACES WAGONS.

 

2%

  
 

 

October 29, 1913

 

AIL

Va

National Grocer Company

 

wi ee Eee oe

Musselman Grocer Co.
Grand Rapids. Distributers

 

At “Purity Patent” Mills

The Millers Are Expert Bread-makers

They have originated and always kept up
the high standard of quality in Purity Patent -
Flour by knowing how to make good bread.
Every single sack that leaves the mill is
guaranteed. & & & KB BD KR G&

EW PLANT

 

 

 

 

 

We are now located in our new plant at
Grand Rapids, corner Scribner avenue and
G.R. & I. R.R., close to all freight houses
with minimum haul! for all deliveries. Our
Elevator, Flour, Feed and Hay warehouses
have side track delivery. We carry a full
line of Badger Dairy and Horse Feeds,
Dried Brewer Grains, Beet Pulp, Oil Meal, ¢
Cotton Seed Meal, Bran, Middlings, Etc.

YOURS FOR BUSINESS

Grand Rapids Grain & Milling Co.

L. FRED PEABODY, Manager |

 

 

 

 

“SUN-BEAM”

THE LINE OF QUALITY

You are absolutely safe in stocking “Sun-Beam’
goods. We manufacture the famous line of “Sun-Beam”
HARNESS, COLLARS and FUR COATS, all of which
are ready sellers. We are also jobbers for Blankets, Robes,
Saddlery Hardware, Trunks, Suit Cases, Implements, and
we feel sure that it will more than pay you to send us a
trial order. Send to-day for catalogue of line desired.

Mail orders given prompt attention.

BROWN & SEHLER. CO.

GRAND RAPIDS, MICH.

 

 

 

 

13
*
P|
oo
-
m”’
m”
ich
es,
ind
sa
——a

 

October 29, 1913

Household Paint Specialties Sell the

Year Round.

It is quite a common mistake with
many merchants and managers to
look upon paint goods as a strictly
seasonable line on which active busi-
ness is confined to the spring clean-
ing season, with perhaps a little spurt
in the fall. It is true that with heavy
paints in bulk or large cans, used for
exterior work on_ houses, barns,
fences, etc., the consumption is great.
est in the old-fashioned spring paint-
ing time. Even on this class of paints,
however, there is a growing sale in
the fall months and a more steady
demand throughout the year.

With the class of goods sold in re-
tail stores catering to household trade
it is different. Small cans runnine
from quarter-pints to quarts and con-
taining such material as floor and var-
nish stains, enamel paints, prepared
paints, floor finishes, wall paints, wire
screen paints, bath tub enamels, gold
and aluminum paints, stovepipe and
iron enamels, floor paints, furniture
polishes, etc., are used almost entire-
ly for indoor work about the home
and for what might be termed odd-
jobs.

A woman, or a man, is just as like-
ly to spend a few spare hours enamel-
ing a chair or a table, gilding a picture
frame or staining a floor on a rainy
summer afternoon or a stormy win-
ter day, as in the height of the spring
season—almost more so, because peo-
ple like to spend the bright spring an‘
fall days outdoors enjoying
selves.

With many dealers “paint is paint”

them-

MICHIGAN TRADESMAN

and they have neglected to analyze
the paint end of their business and
to study its specialized features. Don’t
consider it as merely “paint” but as
merchandise—something to be sold
at a profit. There was a time when
no paint was sold in a store except in
the shape of bulk materials such as
white lead, dry colors, and pigments.
linseed oil, turpentine, dryers and
varnishes, which could only be made
into useable paint by an experienced,
practical painter, requiring much la-
bor and causing considerable muss.

Then came the time when “mixed
paint” or house paint was put up in
cans for use after some mixing and
stirring with oil or turpentine. The
use of such paints was confined to
outdoor use on buildings and required
the services of a practical painter, or
at least a workman, for their applica-
tion.

It is only within recent years that
paint goods have been merchandised
for sale to and use by the general
public, the consumer, the individual
man or woman. Such goods are put
up in small, handy packages and ready
for immediate use without any prep-
mechanical skill on the
part of the user.

aration or

Such merchandised paint specialties
are handled and sold by many retail
household trade,
but there has been a disposition to

stores catering to

stock and to
give it but little attention except dur-

treat it as seasonable

ing a few weeks in the spring fixing-
up or cleaning season and perhaps for
a short period in the fall.

Package household paint specialties

should be treated as staple goods and
given proper attention twelve months
in the year. The stock should be
kept full and complete at all times
and the goods prominently displayed
in a regular location. It is a misiake
to feature this class of goods for a
short season and then shove the stock
away out of sight as you would lawn
mowers in
July.

sition.

January or oil heaters in
It is an entirely different propo-

While package paint specialties sell

briskly at the season when wire
SErEens and doors, lawn IMOWEFS, Par-
den hose and sprinklers, ice cream

freezers, etc., are in good demand, the

goods should not be classed with
these others the sale of which is natur-
ally confined to one short season.
In midsummer the man of the house
will often spend a holiday, or a Sun-
day afternoon, fixing-up some furni-
ture or wood-work about his home.
whether it be cottage,
apartment.
industrious, home loving people—men

bungalow or
There are many thrifty,

and women—who like to do this sort
of work both as a matter of economy
and as a pastime. Everybody doesn't
go to the ball game, play golf or idle
at the seashore just because the
weather is a bit warm.

Even at the Christmas holiday sea-
son there is sale for gold and alum'-
num paints for Christmas tree and
other decorations. Many a_ person
will buy a can of stain or enamel to
put a finishing touch on some ar-
ticle they have made with their own
hands as a gift for a friend.

There are thousands of people in

ee ee

91

the United States in moderate circum-
stances, owning their own homes, wh»
are constantly “tinkering” as _ they
call it, about the house to keep things
in good condition, damage
and wear and to improve appearances.
They are proud of their homes, like

prevent

to have things looking right and will
buy dozens of cans of paint special-
ties throughout the year.

trade has
formed a habit of treating many lines

The house furnishing

as strictly seasonable and, unfortu-

nately for the sales and profit ac-

counts, paints and varnishes have
heen quite generally classed as spring
and fall goods. Considering that the
exclusive paint stores manage to do
a pretty steady business right through
appear that the
dealer in household goods can do the

thing if he will

the year it would

same keep up his
stock and give the line proper atten-
tion at all times.

In many stores the selling is regu-
lated by the buying; it has become 1
custom to buy package paints only
once or twice a year and as a con

sequence the business often suffers
because sales are lost owing to a cer-
tain article, color or size being “out
of stock” in what is considered to be
an off-season.

Keep up your stock; display it at-
tractively and constantly in a_ per-

manent location in charge of com-

petent salespeople. Give the public
a fair chance to buy such goods when

they want them and you will find an

increase in your paint sales and a
more steady business from January
to December. Frank E. Cornell.

 

 

our safe-keeping.

Main Office:

consideration,

 

 

atism yet progression.

Ottawa Ave., Facing Monroe

BANK STABILITY

Strong, patient and prudent men guide the strength of the Kent State Bank.
A well seasoned management and skilled employes reason out the plan upon which this bank operates.

Cautious capitalists, discreet business men and careful investors are putting their banking affairs into

cee! Inexperienced women and persons of small means entrust their only resources to our
conservative judgment.

The solid bulwark of able men, associated as depositors and in the management of this bank, makes it
an ideal treasury for commercial accounts and investments.

Prudent people are daily learning the advantages of doing business with this bank.

KENT STATE BANK

Monroe Ave. Office:

Branches for the Convenience of Patrons

Bridge St. Branch, Cor. Bridge and Scribner
East End Branch, Cor. Wealthy and Charles

Leonard St. Branch, Cor. Leonard and Broadway
Plainfield Ave. Branch, Cor. Plainfield and Coit

 

The development of the Kent State Bank has been marked by a strict adherence to methods of conserv-
That it has builded well is evidenced by the strength of its position in the banking
world and its far reaching influence in the commercial life of this city and state.
ties, it invites the accounts of banks, corporations and individuals, extending to each every courtesy and

Resources Eight Million Dollars

THE LARGEST STATE AND SAVINGS BANK IN WESTERN MICHIGAN

With its unexcelled facili-

215 Monroe Ave.

 

 

 

 

i
i

SOLE NaS

PORES DR eR EE

AhaasautguaTia NaLae Rec

SS

MICHIGAN TRADESMAN

October 29, 1913

 

THEN AND NOW.

 

Thirty Years’ Experience in the
Grocery Business.

You asked me to write on thirty
years in the grocery business. Upon
casting my thoughts backwards I find
that it was thirty-seven years ago that,
as a boy, I entered the mercantile ranks,
and I can vividly remember the first
large package I attempted to wrap up.
I found it quite a task, although I fi-
nally accomplished it and in time be-
came an adept at putting up packages.
This reminds me of the change in ways
of doing up groceries. At that time
all ordinary groceries were put up in
common brown or straw paper, whereas
now only bags and fiber paper are
used. I believe that the manufacture of
brown paper has been discontinued.

My first job was in a general store.
We handled almost everything, but
from the first I favored the grocery
department, regardless of the fact that
I now and then had to sprout potatoes
and do other jobs not particularly at-
tractive. It is hard to tell why I was
attracted to the grocery department,
unless it was that there was always
something doing. I was particularly
fortunate during my first year in hav-
ing so good an instructor as David
Miller, who will be remembered by the
older residents of Grand Rapids as
one of the leading grocers in the city
many years ago.

There have been many changes in
the grocery business during this period.
One that is brought to my mind most
forcibly is in reference to fruits. When
I first entered the business, nearly all
oranges were imported from Italy, all
raisins from Spain and Portugal and
prunes from Turkey and France. Now
very few of these are imported. Cali-
fornia not only supplies us with raisins,
prunes and a great many oranges and
lemons, but is now exporting very
largely each year. Soon after Cali-
fornia began to produce raisins, the
raisin seeder was invented, and now
nearly all raisins are seeded and put
in attractive cartons, which I think is
a very great improvement.

Another remarkable change is the
rapid growth of the cereal industry.
Formerly cereals were sold in bulk and
there were very few kinds. Of recent
years brands have multiplied very rap-
idly. Manufacturers now put their
cereals in attractive cartons and this
class of goods is a large factor in the
grocery business.

I am also impressed by the great
strides made in canned goods. In the
early days but few goods were canned.
Now nearly every kind of fruit and
vegetable, as well as meat and fish, is
put into cans and they are so carefully
put up and attractively labeled that the
canned food department has grown to
wonderful proportions. Canned milk,
especially, has increased in volume
faster than almost any item I can
think of. It is but a few years ago that
the jobber, when he placed an order
for twenty-five cases, thought he was
givine a good sized order. Now, a car-
load a month is an ordinary business.

There is also a great change in the
mode of handling molasses and syrup.
Formerly it was sold in bulk from bar-
rels. Now at least 90 per cent is sold

in cans, which is a much more con-
venient and cleanly way for the gro-
ceryman to handle it.

The delivery of goods in those days
was not as expensive a feature as it
is to-day. A great many people pre-
ferred to carry home their groceries,
whereas now everything has to be de-
livered. The telephone has revolutionized
the business somewhat. In the early
days more people went to the grocery
store and, as a rule, bought groceries
in larger quantities. Now it is sO easy
for the housekeeper to go to the tele-
phone and order what she wants for
the next meal and expect to have it
delivered at once.

I have been impressed by the notable
improvement in the appearance of gro-
cery stores during recent years. They
are more attractive and appear cleaner.
Food is taken care of in a more sanitary
manner. One great factor in the im-
provement has been the packing of so
many items in cartons and containers,
which are more sanitary and can be
more attractively displayed.

After putting in so many years in the
business—first as a retailer and later as
a jobber—and I can truly say that they
have been happy years, I am still firmly
of the opinion that the grocery business
is a good one. One is not likely to get
rich at it, but there is a chance for
good healthy work and plenty of it. I
sometimes hear a grocer say that the
business “isn’t what it used to be” and
there is no chance to succeed at the
present time. I want to say that I do
not agree with that. I firmly believe
that there is just as good a chance at
the present time for the man who is
industrious and honest; studies the in-
terests of his customers; who keeps his
store clean and his stock in good con-
dition as there ever was and I know
of many good grocers who are demon-
strating this every day.

Edward D. Winchester.
—_22>——
The Trouble Which Preceded the

Boonetown Way.
Written for the Tradesman.

Harvey, the veteran salesman for
Clough, Clough & Sons, slung down
his grip and prepared for a game of
rum with the other boys who had
clambered aboard the train at Boone-
town.
some town,”
said Stacy, of the firm of Downy &
Peters, gazing through the window
at the receding view of the town.
“Never saw so little haggling about
prices and discounts. No knockers
either—just like a happy family, the
firms of Boonetown.”

“By gravy, that is

Harvey smiled grimly. He knew
why the men of Boonetown were so
friendly and why business worries
were less there than in many a town
along the line.

In the beginning it had been the
old, old story—a couple of general
stores, a scattering of smaller shops
and each man individually bent upon
securing business as best he knew
how.

Then Egglestein, of Chicago, had
opened the Globe and how the fur
did fly. The townsfolk woke to the
fact that prices in Boonetown were
lower than anywhere within many
miles. The country folks woke up

to the fact and the merchants of
Boonetown enjoyed a tremendous
business. People came from far and
near for the bargains that were of-
fered.

First the hardware store closed its
doors. Then the Dickinson grocery
moved out.

There was plenty of glory, perhaps,
in the fight that waged so merrily,
but as Terry, who ran the big red
brick store on the main corner, re-
marked to his wife one night, as he
wearily mopped his forehead, prepar-
ing for bed:

“Wife, if this thing of throat cut-
ting and price slashing goes on much
longer, we can all put on Santa Claus
suits and pass ourselves off for the
patron saint. Surely there is noth-
ing left but to give the goods away.
I have long forgotten that there is
a profit side to a ledger.”

Traveling men who came into
Boonetown had to scrap for every
cent’s worth of business secured.
Prices were fought, unheard of dis-
counts were demanded and, when a
bill of goods was sold, it was pure
luck if it was paid on time.

Stores heretofore entitled to good
credit were looked upon warily by
the wholesale houses. Terms were
shortened and where Boonetown
business was once eagerly sought,

drummers now avoided the place as

far as possible.

It was no uncommon thing to see
the Globe fill up a window with
shoes worth $3.50 per pair and offer
a dozen pairs of socks with each
pair, or to see a range sold with $10
worth of granite ware thrown in.
One woman came into Terry’s store
and wanted to buy a suit. She was
shown a “bargain,” but declared that
unless a corset and a pair of gloves
were added to the deal she would
go elsewhere, as she could get the
presents all right.

Now, Egglestein was no philan-
thropist. He found that his price
slashing had grappled him by the
throat and was looming up in such
dread manner as to ruin him. He
had started something he could not
control. If little were given, more
was demanded and the merchants
finally got to the state where they
never spoke in passing.

One evening Durham’s _ store
burned to the ground and ugly ru-
mors were rife that “some one” was
at the bottom of it. Boonetown had
been a very good outlet for the
wholesale houses of Germania, the
metropolis of that section, and the
heads of several of the big concerns
finally got together and had long
talks with the travelers who made
the town and finally old man Clough
boarded the train and with Harvey
and Haggerty, a lawyer of ability,
went to Boonetown.

It was pretty hard sledding at
first. The trio tried to get the mer-
chants together to talk matters overt
But each was jealous, suspicious and
afraid of the others. Finally a meet-

ing was called and the only man to
attend was Egglestein.

The other merchants nodded wise-
ly. But Egglestein was wise. He
had had enough of the warfare. A

full realization of where he stood
had dawned upon him and he went
personally with the others to the
stores in town and, after long talks
and arguments, all the Boonetown
merchants assembled that evening at
the Gault House.

It was about the toughest task
Haggerty and Clough had ever
tackled and Harvey afterward admit-
ted he had thought himself a handler
of men and conditions, but he had
to hand the bacon to his boss.

Facts and figures were gone Over.
For a period of more than six
months the merchants showed they
had been operating at a loss. Eg-
glestein came out frankly and stated
he had started the thing and was
willing to do all in his power to
place matters on an equal basis.

A few resolutions were adopted
and an association called the Boone-
town Business Club was formed.
Another meeting was arranged for
an early date. Each merchant
pledged himself to abolish price cut-
ting.

From that day on things bright-
ened. Each merchant secured living
prices, made a profit and was not
afraid of the “man up the street.”
It was a stiff lesson, a hard exper-
ience and one which left a scar for
many a month afterwards, but, when
the smoke had cleared, the lesson had
its effect.

To-day in Boonetown
will take orders for any amount
cheerfully. Folks don’t beat about
the bush and run from store to store
for concessions which they realize
cannot be secured.

Each merchant is boosting the
town and each feels the increase in
business and, better still, faces a
good fat bank account, for the deadly
warfare of unfair competition is
eliminated and any question affect-
ing general trade conditions in the
town is threshed out and settled at
meetings of the club.

No wonder Harvey smiled at Sta-
cy’s words. When one knew the in-
side facts it was no cause for won-
der that “Boonetown Way” was
given all credit for it was now the
right way. Hugh King Harris.

travelers

—_—___++2>—_—_
Didn’t Quite Understand.

A man got into a cab at the Rich-
mond railway station and said: “Drive
me to a haberdasher’s.”

“Vaas, suh,” said the driver, whip-
ped up his horse, and drove a block;
then, leaning over to address his pas
senger said: “’Scuse me, boss, but
whar d’you say wanter go?”

“To a haberdasher’s.”

“Vans, sun: yaas, sup. After an-
other block there was the same per-
formance: “’Scuse me, boss, but
whar d’you say you wanter go?”

“To a haberdasher’s,’ was the im-
patient reply.

Then came the final appeal:

“Now, look a-here, boss; I be’n
drivin’ in dis town twenty year, an’
I ain’t never give nobody way yit.
Now you jes til dis nigger whar tis
you wanter go.”

oes"
When a man’s head begins to sweil
he discovers that most of his old
friends are fools.

 

 

 

ip-
ok;
as

ut

well
old

ai nsec Rs Ba

October 29, 1913

MICHIGAN TRADESMAN

93

 

Knowing vs. Guessing

   

THE SAFE WAY

This is the cheese cutter that makes it possible for you to make a profit
on cheese instead of selling it at a loss, because you don’t have to guess at
the size piece of cheese you cut. Saves you from losing by overweight.

If you want something handsome, something that will draw the trade,
get in touch with us.

QUALITY? No one questions the High Quality of the SAFE Cheese
Cutter. All who have tried it are well pleased and we know you would be.

Put your finger on the leak. Don't give away profits on cheese,

The best for ten years and the best to-day.

A matchless cutter at a matchless price.
necessary,

The only inducement for you to buy the SAFE is to better yourself.
May we tell you more about it? Write for prices.

Computing Cheese Cutter Company

Anderson, Ind.

Made a little better than

*) Nobody knows what's
| ina Paper Bas

* BUT everybody who
g, sees the

| | JFRANKLIN CARTON Uy )
KNOWS IT CONTAINS CLEAN SUGAR

The Sales Value of the Franklin Carton

Paper bags filled with sugar have no sales value; you
might as well have cans of peaches without labels. You
wouldn't think of filling your shelves with peaches in plain,
unlabled tin cans. No. Notas long as you can have those
cans put up with beautiful lithographed labels showing the
fruit in its natural colors. Don’t go to the trouble of putting
sugar in paper bags, losing time, cost of bags, cost of twine,
and overweight, when you can buy FRANKLIN SUGAR

in CARTONS, ready to sell, nothing to do but hand it out
to customers.

     
   
 

 
       

aU
SUGAR
. of

 

 

 

You can buy Franklin Carton Sugar in the original containers
of 24, 48, 60 and 120 Ibs., according to grade.

THE FRANKLIN SUGAR REFINING CO.
PHILADELPHIA

‘““Your customers know FRANKLIN CARTON SUGAR
is CLEAN sugar,”’

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Woodhouse Co.

5 and 7 Ionia Ave., S. W.

‘b

Exclusively
Wholesale

Cigars, ‘Tobaccos
and
Cigarettes

JOHN T. WOODHOUSE
President
CHAS A. STELLMANN

P. C. PAYETTE
Vice President

Sec’y & Mer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

ee aS

 

+
%
Hy

ees

 

 

94

MICHIGAN TRADESMAN

October 29, 1913

 

FOURTH LARGEST INDUSTRY.

 

Michigan Manufacturers Use $30,000,-
000 Worth of Lumber.

Thirty years ago Michigan was ac-
knowledged the “king” of the fourth
largest industry in the United States—
the lumber business. Michigan, Penn-
sylvania, Wisconsin and New York—
the four great pine States—were then
furnishing almost one-half of the entire
lumber cut of the country and Michigan
was producing 23 per cent. of the total
lumber cut.

The lumber business, therefore, is in-
teresting to all Michigan people; not
only on account of its past importance,
but because of the great amount of
wealth and resulting industries that it
has brought to this State. As evidence
ot the importance of our present wood
working industries which have followed
in the wake of the lumber business,
the State reports show that these are
now annually using $30,000,000 worth
ot lumber.

In 1883, thirty years ago, the saw-
mills of Michigan were in their prime.
lumber
operations of that time it is well to visit
one of the old lumber towns and see
the abandoned mill sites and docks.
Muskegon, for example, had forty-five
700,000,000 feet of
lumber a year, while to-day there is
but one mill in that city and this mill
is kept running largely on logs snagged

To realize the extent of the

sawmills. cutting

from the bottom of the Muskegon river;
logs that the old time lumber kings
didn’t think worth rescuing. And thus
a great change has come in the lumber
business of Michigan.

It was less than half a century ago
that the State and Federal governments
were giving away large tracts of tim-
ber land to railroads for rights of way
and as bonuses to induce them to fur-
nish Michigan with transportation fa-
cilities.

The grant to the Grand Rapids &

Indiana Railroad extended from Fort
Wayne to Mackinaw. The present
Grand Trunk Railroad was awarded

lands on the condition that it woul
build tracks from Port Huron to Grand
Haven. In the Upper Peninsula, in or-
der to induce railroads to cross timber
tracts, land grants were given to sev-
eral railroads, which lands afterwards
were sold to the Michigan Land and
Iron Co. This company now owns 320,-
G00 acres of these railroad lands.

Another example is that of the Cleve-
land-Cliffs Iron Co., of Cleveland, which
owns 890,000 acres of swamp land -in
the Upper Ceninsula, purchased from
the railroad which acquired that vast
tract from the State.

Then, as the railroads and the har-
bors opened up the country, timber
lands began to have value. Since then
this value has increased steadily. The
height of the Michigan lumber business
existed from 1880 to 1890. Muskegon
then had about forty-five sawmills, fed
by logs brought as far as 200 miles up
the Muskegon river; Whitehall had
eight mills; Pentwater had four; Lud-
ington had eight; Manistee had twenty-
five; Saginaw had about forty and
Grand Rapids about eight.

To-day it is almost impossible to
realize that thirty years ago last Aug-
ust, the citizens of Grand Rapids saw

Fe cece a Tae

90,000,000 feet of jammed up
against the Grand Trunk bridge. The
bridge gave way under the great force
of the jam and a solid mass of logs,
about fifteen feet deep, a quarter of
a mile wide and two miles long bore
on down the river. Under the impact
three railroad bridges gave
way, while the logs were swept on miles
down the river, causing a great loss to
the mill owners who had to recover
their logs and have them sent back to
Grand Rapids by railroad.

logs

of logs

Some of the owners of these logs
were A. B, Long & Son, C. C. Com-
stock, Robinson & Letellier, I. L. Quim-
by, H. L. Withey, R. W. Butterfield
and the Grand Rapids Chair Co.

To-day the men who design bridges
over the river in Grand Rapids are
not hampered in their work by the ne-
cessity of preparing their structures to
withstand log jams.

To compare lumber prices of thirty

 

times what the Michigan men bought it
for it is easy to see that many Wol-
verine business men profited enormously
through their foresight and astuteness.

The yearly sawmill output in Mich-
igan is now declining about 200,000,000
feet a year. Wide awake Iumbermen
understand that in fifteen years the
bulk of the standing timber in Mich-
igan will have all been cut.

As illustrative of how the byproducts
in Michigan’s present lumber business
are not wasted it is interesting to note
the development of wood distillation.
All of the small trees and tops of the
larger trees that cannot be used for
lumber are brought into the Michigan
hardwood distillation plants. Lumber
companies of this State pay more than
a million dollars a year for this “refuse”
alone. Wood alcohol, charcoal, and
tars are obtained through this process.

The stumps of the Norway pine are
now quite extensively used by a process

ROBERT D. COIT.

years ago with those of to-day in de-
tail would be an exceedingly difficult
matter, inasmuch as the system of grad-
ing has been materially changed. In a
general way it may be said that we
are to-day paying $20 a thousand for
lumber which thirty years ago would
have been burnt up as refuse.

White pine stumpage was then sell-
ing from $2 to $5 a thousand feet. To-
day it is worth $12 to $18.

Right in the heyday of Michigan’s
lumber industry—thirty years ago—be-
gan an exodus of Michigan lumbermen
to the South and West. Some of the
money these men made in Michigan was
invested in pine lands of the South,
where timber was sold as low as 25
cents a thousand and big tracts of tim-
ber lands at $1.25 an acre. As this tim-
ber is now worth twenty or twenty-five

of. soft wood distillation for producing
turpentine and resin. The paper mills
and excelsior plants also use whatever
wood pulp can be obtained. The de-
cline of the Michigan output of lumber
has forced many of the Michigan paper
mills to go to Canada for their raw
material.

A crop of trees cannot be grown in
the time it takes a corn crop to mature,
and the question arises as to what fu-
ture generations will do for lumber.

The Government has realized that the
standing timber of the country is a
diminishing National resource. For this
reason the United States Bureau of
Corporations under Secretary Redfield
has expended some $60,000 to compile
records of the standing timber of the
United States. This Bureau declares
that the total amount of standing tim-

ber on the continental United States is
about 2,800 billion feet. The present
annual drain upon the supply of saw
timber is about 50 billion feet. At this
rate the timber now standing—without
allowing either for new growth or for
any increase in the rate of consumption
—will last only about fifty-five years.

Of the 2,800 billion feet of timber in
this country, it is interesting to note
that the Government itself owns about
one-fifth, or 600 billion feet. Thus it
is apparent that private interests have
only enough timber to last forty-four
years.

With the supply less by far than it
has been in years and the demand grow-
ing larger every year, because of the
constantly increasing population of the
country, it is certain that timber values
will continue to enhance.

There is to-day no type of property
more staple in price than timber lands
and, consequently, there is no security
upon which money can be loaned with
great safety. This is a fact recognized
generally by Michigan bankers and lum-
berman. Robert H. Coit.

———_+++____ ;
COMING CONVENTIONS TO BE HELD
IN MICHIGAN.

November.

Michigan Association of Commercial
Secretaries, Bay City, 6-7.

Michigan Retail Implement and Vehicle
ee Association, Grand Rapids,

National Baptist Congress, Grand Rap-
ids, 11-12-13.

Michigan State Sunday School
ciation, Benton Harbor, 12-13-14.
: een Bee Keepers’ Association, De-
roit.
ope C. A. Boys Conference, Saginaw,

“ov.

Asso-

: December.

Michigan State Grange, Flint.

Michigan Knights of the Grip, Grand
Rapids.

Michigan Branch of the National Bee
Keepers’ Association, Detroit.

January.

Michigan Hardwood Lumber Dealers’
Association, Detroit, 4-6.

West Michigan State Poultry Associa-
tion, Grand Rapids, 6-9.

Modern Maccabees of the United
States, Bay City, 11-15.
Retail Walk-Over Association. Grand

Rapids.

Michigan: Poultry Breeders’ Associa-
tion, Detroit, 26-Feb. 2.

February.

Michigan Dairyman’s
Grand Rapids, 10-14.

Retail Grocers and General Merchants
Association, Grand Rapids.

Michigan Association of County Drain
Commissioners, Grand Rapids.

Michigan Retail Hardware Dealers’ As-
sociation, Kalamazoo, 17-20.

Association,

March.
Michigan ASsociation of Master Plumb-
ers, Grand Rapids.
United Brotherhood of Carpenters and
Joiners, Saginaw.
April.
State Bowling Tournament, Detroit.
Michigan Cost Congress. Saginaw.’

May.
Michigan Congregational Conference,
Grand Rapids.
Michigan Letter Carriers’ Association,
Detroit, :
Degree of Honor, Flint.

June.

Michigan Dental Society, Detroit.

Knights of Columbus of Michigan, De-
troit, 10.

National Association Chiefs of Police,
Grand Rapids.

B. P. O. E., Petoskey.

G. A. R., Jackson.

Michigan State Bankers’
Alpena.

Michigan Unincorporated Bankers’ As-
sociation. Alpena.

Association,

'uly.
Michigan State Barbers’ Association,
Flint ‘

Michigan Retail Jewelers’ Association,
Grand Rapids.

Michigan Association of Police Chiefs,
Sheriffs and Prosecuting Attorneys, Al-
pena.

August.
Tribe of Ben Hur, Lansing.
Michigan Postmasters’ Association,

Grand Rapids.

Fifth Michigan Veteran Volunteer In-
fantry Association, Saginaw,

September.

International Association for the Pre-
vention of Smoke, Grand Rapids.

Michigan Association of County Super-
intendents of the Poor, Grand Rapids.

Michigan Assocation of Local Fire In-
surance Agents, Grand Rapids.

October.
Order Eastern Star, Grand Rapids.

 

in

 

October 29, 1913

 

Made in
Grand Rapids

the favorite complexion
aid of dainty women the
counrty over.

Miss
Violet
Mac Millan

SEMPRE GIOVINE

PRONOUNCED SEM-PRAY JO-VE-NAY
MEANING “ALWAYS YOUNG’”’

Don’t classify SEMPRE GIOVINE with cosmetics
or face creams. It is a blend of natural harmonious
oils and cannot harm even the tenderest face.

Besides Sempre Giovine, the Marietta Stanley
laboratories prepare Egyptian Face Powder, (made in
three shades), and Egyptian Rouge, a dry rouge for
any complexion, that blends so perfectly and natur-
ally that it defies detection.

Write for liberal offer
to dealers

Marietta Stanley Co.

GRAND RAPIDS, MICH.

 

37 Turner Avenue

MICHIGAN TRADESMAN

95

 

    
 

 

 

The Best Quality--The Best Price

+

SOLVAY COKE
SCULLY HARD COAL

BLOCK WOOD BLUE JACKET
HARD MAPLE SOFT COAL
FLOORING POCAHONTAS
CUTTINGS SMOKELESS

SCRANTON HARD COAL
GAS HOUSE COKE

ms

A. B. KNOWLSON CO.

156 MONROE AVE.

 

 

 

 

 

Grand Rapids

We Have the Most Complete Line of Flour
and Feed in Western Michigan

NEW PERFECTION the Trade Winning Flour
is Manufactured by Us

State Agents for Sucrene Dairy Feed
We Manufacture Scratch Feed and Chick Feed
Buckwheat Flour and Self-rising Pancake Flours
Dried Beet Pulp in Car Lots or Ton Lots
Grain and Feed of All Kinds

Watson-Higgins Milling Co.

Michigan

 

 

 

 

 

         
    
     
        
     
      
    
    

      

 

MICHIGAN TRADESMAN

October 29, 1913

 

  

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WON HIS WIFE

 

Through the Burglary at Bridgewalt’s
Store.
Written for the Tradesman.

it all came about from the burglary
at Bridgewalt's store.

Perry Norland had been sweet oa
old Bridgewalt’s daughter Esther for
lo! these many meons.  Bridgewait
was a lumberman in a small way, own-
ing a large store in the woods settle-
ment of Racketville, from which he
furnished the mast of his help with
their pay at three prices.

The man ought to have made good,
in fact, should by now, after years vi
striving in the mercantile and lumber
business, have a small fortune laid
by. On the contrary, howover, the
old man was hard up as the saying
goes; forever putting off his creditors,
using all sorts of makeshiits to get
on in the world and keep free of the
bankrupt court.

Nobody would have the kardihood
to accuse Felix Bridgewalt with dis-
honesty, in fact, he was a deacon in
the Baptist church, and held his head
high among the very best citizens o7
the county.

“No,” bluntly said the merchant-
lumberman when Perry Norland came
to woo the pretty Miss Esther, “you
can’t have Esther. She’s too nice 2
girl to throw herself away on a com-
mon northwoods surveyor. Go about
your business and don’t bother me.’

Naturally the young man thus ad-
dressed was wroth over the treatment
he received. He of course went to
Esther, determined to let her settle
the matter as best suited her own
heart.

“Papa is so abrupt,’’ declared the
girl with a very sober countenance.
“I don’t believe he means all that,
although he wants me to receive old
Josiah Winzle as a iriend. [I know
what that means. Josiah is one of
papa's heaviest creditors, and _ has
money to burn and all that, but, all
the same, 1 don’t like him.”

“Tt’s money, money with your fath-
er!” exclaimed the hotheaded young
surveyor. “One would think that he
was poor and wanted to make a re-
coup of his fortunes by selling his
daughter to the richest bidder.”

“Well, papa isn't rich by any means

”

“Isn’t he the biggest timber-owner
in this neck of the woods?” asked
the young man, his face white with
feeling. Without waiting for an an-
swer he went on: “I know he is; but
you, Esther, will not let him seil
you-——”’

“What a question, Perry!” with a
forced laugh. “I shall remain true to
you till the earth ceases to roll.
Will that satisfy you, boy?”

Would it satisfy? Well, not exact-
ly. Perry suggested an elopement to
which Fsther would not listen. Her
mother was dead and she was mistress
ot her father’s home. She remem-

bered the promise she had made to
that mother to stand by her parent,
obeying him in everything. Since,
however, marriage was not directly re-
ferred to the girl did not consider her-
self bouud to marry anybody to please
the father.

Perry Norland went his way, dis-
gruntled and angry with himself and
the rest of mankind, and with one
womankind in particular. If it was
money that entered into the scaie
Perry might have told the facts in his
own case and perhaps won out, for
he was not quite the poor backwoods
surveyor Bridgewalt imagined.

The youngster had learned the sur-
veyor’s trade at school, had practiced
it in field and forest before he fell
into possession of a rich uncle’s in-
terest in a big tract of pine up in
the north woods. This at the time
was not valued as highly as at a later
date, although shrewd Perry  be-
lieved it would in time make him a
rich man.

Too proud to mention his good luck
to either Esther or her money-loving
faiher, Perry Norland continued his
surveying, allowing the world to look
upon him as what he appeared to be
—a poor wage-earner of the woods.

And then came the burglary of
Bridgewalt’s store.

One dark rainy night the building
was entered, the burglars boring a
piece out of the floor, through which
they entered the store and made off
with some goods and all the money
the safe contained.

Mr. Bridgewalt at once made his
loss known. His creditors flocked
down upon him like buzzards upon a
dead carcass. With sober counte-
nance he met them every one with
the story of the burglary. There was
the hole in the floor to show for the
truth of his story, the broken safe
door and other evidences of a night
foray by burglars.

“There was five thousand dollars in
the safe.”

This was Bridgewalt’s declaration,
and with it he had expected to meet
the most pressing needs of his cred-
itors. Unfortunate Mr. Bridgewalt!
Soon after this Perry Norland went
again to see the merchant-lumberman.
{fe said not a word about Esther, but
seemed all absorbed in the burglary.
The young man made close scrutiny
of the interior of the store, fully cor-
roborating the opinion of the owner
that the burglars were old timers at
the business.

“You seem quite interested in look-
ing into this thing, Perry,’’ remarked
Lbridgewalt, encountering the young
man as he came out to the walk be-
fore the store.

“And I am_ interested,” acknowl-
edged Norland. “What reward have
you offered, Mr. Bridgewalt?”

“None whatever. This robbery
straps me of ready cash. My credit-
ors are crowding me; I very much
fear this will be my ruin.”

“What if I find the robber and get
back your money?”

“Oh” laughine, “in that case 1
might be willing to pay a goodly
sum—”

“See here, Mr. Bridgewalt,” laying
a hand on the merchant’s shoulder.
“If I find your money and the crim-
inal may I have Esther?”

“Well, yes, I suppose so,” and the
other laughed again. “Of course '
know you are in for a big disappoint-
ment, Perry, but—”’

“T accept thé task, sir.”

 

 

Thereafter the young surveyor, who
happened to be temporarily out of a
job, set about hunting the burglars
of the Bridgewalt store. He said
nothing to Esther of his intentions.
He noted that old Josiah Winzle put
in an appearance about this time and
hung about the home of the Bridge-
walts with annoying pertinacity.

Perry learned also, from the girl,
that Winzle was one of her father’s
principal creditors, and that since the
burglary he was urging his suit more
persistently than before. In fact the
merchant had finally urged his daugh-
ter to marry the old Chicago million-
aire as the easiest way out of the
troubie.

“But you won't do it, Esther?” said
Perry.

“Not if I can help it, boy,” declared
the girl.

“Wait,” and the young man told
her of the promise he had exacted
from her father. “And,” concluded
Perry, “I shall run the burgiars to
earth as sure as you are born.”

The young surveyor hung about the
store, watching the clerks, making
friends with the book-keeper, and
feeling his way, hopeful of finding
some clew to the perpetrators of the
deed. in fact, in less than three
weeks after the event of the robbery
Perry found some tools hidden away
in an outhouse, among them a large
bit and brace.

From this find the young fellow
went on,:‘secretly, carefully, hopefully
until one night he ran upon a clew
that Jed to the most startling results.
He tracked a man at midnight across
the fields to the woods, to a small
sugar shanty, saw him dig away some
leaves, disclosing a hidden metal box.
This the man lifted from its conceal-
ment and opened.

The contents proved interesting—a
package of bank notes, considerable
gold and silver. “Six thovsand! and
all mine; the creditors can go hang!”

And then, with a startled cry, the
night-prowler came to his feet with the
hand of Perry Norland clutching his
shoulder.

“Caught, you old scamp!” from the
surveyor. “A nice little job you have
put up, old man!”

{t was then that Felix Bridgewalt
cringed in abject terror before the
young fellow who had caught him in
his villainy. The merchant-lumber-
man, cowering and whining, made a
full confession. It was he who had
bored the holes through the floor and
rovbed the sate.

“I wanted the money, Perry,”
writhed the old fellow at the last.
“T could see no way out only this. i
ami of course ruined now, unless—’

“Unless I keep my mouth shut,”
completed the other. “Well, that de-
pends. TI mistrusted you all along,
Mr. Bridgewalt. I have watched you
for two weeks, night and day. You
are now booked for the penitentiary
if I say the word. On one condition
only will I consent to overlook this
rascality.”

“Tell it quick, Perry. You want
my daughter—”

“Hold!” sharply interrupting. “I
wanted the daughter of an honorable
business man. Now—’”

    
 
   
   
  
 
  
 
  
  
 
  
  
 
 
  
  
  
  
 
  
  
  
  
  
  
    
  
 
  
    
 
  
  
 
  
 
  
  
  
 
    
   
 
  
 
  
   
 
   
 
 
  
 
  
   
  
   
  
  
 
  
   
 
  
  
    

“Ah, of course,” groaned the old
merchant. “I understand. Esther, as
the daughter of a burglar is no mate
for an honest man however poor.
Keep this from her, Perry. I'd soon-
er die than have that girl know—”

“On one condition, sir, and only
one,” returned the young man sternly.

“Name it.”

“That you use every dollar of this
money in paying your creditors.”

Groaning inwardly the old man
made the promise. He dared not
break it either. Besides his own good
name to retain untarnished was that
ot his daughter. Secretly Bridgewalt
hoped that Esther weuld marry the
rich Chicagoan. With his secret for-
ever kept by young Norland he might
yet hold up his head in the business
world.

Two days later Perry called at the
house oi the merchant-lumberman.
He was shown receipts from several
creditors in the sum of six thousand
dollars. This satisfied young Norland,
after which he expressed a wish to
see Miss Esther.

“She isn’t at home; gone East on
a visit. She leit this for you,” and
Bridgewalt went to his desk, produc-
ing a letter which he gave to his call-
er. Somewhat puzzled the young
man opened the letter. What he read
quite astonished him.

“Mr. Norland,” ran the note, “I
know all. I was in the woods that
night when you caught my father in
the act of counting stolen money! It
was 2 shock to me, such an one I am
still weak from its effects. Papa of
late—since the hurglary— has been
given to going out nights. I knew
something worried him. I spied upon
his movements fearing he meant bod-
ily injury to himself, and that is how
I happened near and saw your ex-
posure of his awful guilt.

“T dared not meet you again. Papa
has given me leave of absence not
suspecting what I have discovered. J
am the most miserable wretch living.
I heard what you said, and know of
your magnanimity. I may never re-
turn. I don’t wish to ever see any of
my old time friends again. Please
forgive me, Mr. Norland, and try and
forget what I am—-the daughter of a
burglar!”

“What does she say, Perry?”

“The heavy voice of Bridgewalt
rumbled in Norland’s ear. He tossed
the letter over, demanding hoarsely
where Esther had betaken herself.

“To Detroit. we have friends there,
the Bakers,’ giving street and num-
ber.

Norland whirled out of the presence
of the merchant, seeking the nearest
stable. He procured a livery and
drove to the nearest railway station,
distant over forty miles. Forty-eight
hours later he found himself in the
City of the Straits.

Norland lost no time in consulting
a directory, after which he was
whirled in a hack to the home of the
Bakers.

“Not here,” said the head of the
house. ‘She was here an hour only,
this morning. I think she went across
the river; she has cousins in Canada.’

To the dock rushed Norland in hot
pursuit of his lady love. Like one of

  

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Object Lesson

   

Just a Simple

 

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MICHIGAN TRADESMAN

 
     

Without Words

A Story

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

October 29, 1913

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MICHIGAN TRADESMAN

 

October 29, 1913

 

the ancient knight errants he was de-
termined to not let grass grow under
his feet until he had found and made
his peace with Miss Bridgewalt.

Arrived in Canada the search led
him the length of Canada West—then
so called—to a small hamlet to where
the girl had betaken herself in the
hope of hiding completely.

Norland found the object of his
search at the end of nearly a week,
found and demanded of her an ex-
planation of her flight. Confused and
humiliated Esther Bridgewalt ac-
knowledged that it was what she had
heard him say to her father that night
in the woods that decided her to flee.

“What did I say?” in a puzzled tone.

“That you wanted the daughter of
an honest business man.”

“Well—’

“And I am the daughter of burg-
lar!”

“Holy smoke, Esther, say no more.
We'll keep that secret,’ cried the
young surveyor, taking his girl in his
arms, kissing her. They all do that
you know.

Norland conducted Esther back to
Detroit, to the home of the Bakers,
where a quiet wedding was held, after
which the young couple returned to
the big woods from whence they had
come.

Little more need be said since Nor-
land had got the girl for a wife he
long had sought. The secret of the
burglary never leaked out. Felix
Bridgewalt has for many long years
been gathered to his fathers; Perry
and Esther are grandparents now,
hale, hearty, well-to-do and happy.
After such a lapse of time it seemed
no harm for gray-haired Perry Nor-
land to tell the story of how he won
his wife, and those of us who listened
agreed with him on that score.

Old Timer.
—_2+>—___

The world contains very many dif-
ferent kinds of people, but some of the
distinctions are more marked than
others. There are men who never
have any opinion, but wait to find out
what other people think on every
subject of importance. Such persons
never get to be leaders. They are the
weaklings of society. A species in
marked contrast is that made up of
men who are so overwhelmingly im-
bued with a belief in their own judg-
ment that they have opinions on all
subjects, express them violently and
refuse to alter them even in the light
of most convincing argument. They
are the men who are unpleasant com-
panions and who are digging a pit
for their own undoing. Nothing but
absurd egotism combined with dense
ignorance shuts a man so up in him-
self that he cannot see anything out-
side. He will never get increase ot
knowledge until he recognizes that
he may be wrong, so that he finds it
worth while to search for the truth
of his own convictions. If he dis-
covers that he is right, let him stick
to it, but he must not take it for
granted that his belief is correct just
because it is his own.
made by the wisest, and the part of
good judgment is to make  as-
surance sure so far as possible before
taking action.

Mistakes are.

MEN OF MARK.

 

A. E. Gregory, Sundry Buyer Judson
Grocer Co.

Nature’s variations are inexhaust-
ible. No two flowers, no two men
are made exactly alike. The mold
having been once employed is laid
aside forever. Man’s guardianship
and development of his nobler at-
tributes and traits of character are
rewarded in various manner. The
greatest reward is evinced by his ap-
preciation of himself. Another less
essential, though at times greatly
appreciated, recognition is the seal
of approval given by his fellow men
and co-workers. In political and so-
cial life not all who receive this
token of regard are worthy, but re-

 

garding the industries of the coun-
try as an entirety and taking the
action of the various organized sec-
tional bodies, it may be said that
their expressed preferences are built
upon the solid foundation of estab-
lished worth and merit.

In such light may be regarded the
election of Arthur E. Gregory to the
office of President of the Michigan
Wholesale Grocers’ Association. The
position ic one of honor and dignity
and is bestowed by those prominent
in association fields upon individual
members from time to time as in-
dicative of the appreciation in which
they are held. Were this office of
other character, did it carry with it
a pecuniary reward in large or small
degree, the significance of the selec-
tion of one of the members to act as
presiding officer would be lost. While
the office is without salary it is not
without attraction, and anyone who
has been singled out and set apart
in this manner may justly feel proud
of the confidence the Association re-
poses in his unusual executive ability.

The selection of the present in-
cumbent of this high office illustrates
the singleness of purpose with which
the presiding officers of the Associa-
tion are chosen. It is not deemed
necessary to have as chief of the As-
sociation a man with a line of forty
yards behind him or one who has
amassed a great fortune. It is the
desire to secure that man who has
Association ideals and principles so
completely assimilated as to form a
part of his being and on this hypothe-
sis no mistake was made when Mr.
Gregory was selected as President.

the high school.

Arthur E. Gregory was born on a
farm in Cuyahoga county, Ohio,
August 5, 1862. His antecedents
were Scotch-Irish on his father’s side
and German on his mother's side. He
was the second child in a family of
eight. He lived where he was born
until 18 years of age. when the fam-
ily removed to Grand Rapids. Here
Arthur attended the public school,
graduating from the high school on
the English course in 1880. He then
worked three years as a clerk for
Phil Graham, one of the pioneer gro-
cers on South Division avenue. For
three years thereafter he filled an
office position at the car shops of the
G. R. & I. Railway. In 1886 he en-
tered the employ of Cody, Ball &
Co. as porter. He was shortly after-
ward promoted to the position of
assistant shipping clerk and has con-
tinued in the employ of the house
and its successors ever since. He is
now a stockholder and director of
the Judson Grocer Co. and buys the
sundries for that house.

Mr. Gregory was married Sept. 5.
1887, to Miss Jennie Dennis. They

- have two children—a daughter, Mat-

tie Mae, who is now Mrs. J. K. Hil-
ton, and a boy, Raymond G., 15 years
old who is now on his first year in
The family reside
in their own home at 1219 Cass ave-
nut. They have a summer home on
Smith’s Bayou, on Spring Lake,
where Mr. Gregory maintains a
motor boat. Mr. Gregory is an at-
tendant at the South Congregational
church, of which organization his
wife is a member. He is a member
of South End Lodge, No. 250, I. O.
O. F., having passed through all the
chairs. He is also a member of Cow-
an Lodge, No. 89, K. P., having
passed through all the chairs of that
organization also.

Mr. Gregory insists that he has
only one hobby, which is base ball.
In addition to his liking for good
sport, he certainly has a positive
love for his work. He is one of the
most faithful of the many faithful
men the Judson house has succeeded
in enlisting under this standard and,
because he is always good natured,
as well as thoroughly dependable,
and easily makes and retains friends,
he has made himself valuable to him-
self and to his house. as well.

—_+2 > ——_
Mesh Bags and Vanity Cases.
Written for the Tradesman.

“Mesh bags,” said the jewelry buy-
er, “you ask me whether mesh bags
are selling? Why, this is the best
year they have ever seen—and that
goes for vanity cases, too!”

And then he gave me the details.

During the last year or so the
feminine consumer has suddenly tired
of the bulky handbag and has turned
instead to the daintier mesh bag and
its corollary, the vanity case. The
maid or matron who doesn't possess
one to-day will be a customer soon,
for she doesn’t feel dressed up with-
out it.

Part of this sudden popularity is
undoubtedly due to the big reduc-
tions in price that have been made of
late. Exact copies of sterling silver
models can now be bought for a

quarter the price of the originals, and
great advances have been made in
the production of popular priced
bags.

While the larger cities have taken
up the mesh bag and vanity case
craze months ago, there are many
smaller towns in which the merchant
who shows a line of these goods will
find his trade just keyed up to the
buying point. It’s a safe prediction
that there are a good many towns
right here in the Middle West where
mesh bags are going to be a hard
line to keep in stock this fall.

As. holiday merchandise these
goods are of course pretty nearly
ideal. They are so popular that the
demand is sure to be constant. The
prices suit the requirements of the
great majority of purchasers. And
the goods are suitable gifts for every-
one from the boy’s first sweetheart
to the white haired grandmother.

A fine assortment of mesh bags and
vanity cases can be installed for a
comparatively small sum. It is hard
to quote exact amounts where condi-
tions differ so widely in different
stores. But a fairly comprehensive
showing can be made in the class of
goods that retail from $1.50 to $5.00,
on an investment of say $25.00.

The best way to show the goods
is to spread them out in a broad show
case, on a background of black vel-
vet. This'reduces handling to a min-
imum and gives the goods the con-
trast best adapted to their shape and
color. In addition to a good show-
ing in the store, they should of
course be advertised, both through
printers ink and in the show window.
Finally it’s a line that will stand a
fancy profit—and the profit is pretty
nearly net, at that. C. W. Kaiser.

—_+--—___

It may be a song to an old tune, but
it is certainly in place to remind
stoekeepers in rural districts that
now is the time to pay particular at-
tention to farmers. Their money 1s
in hand from harvests, or coming in,
and they will have to spend some of
it. Where is it going, to you or
some distant city where there is a
catalogue house? It will stay at
home if you take care to let the farm-
ers know what you keep and at what
prices. It is only a question of car-
rying the war into the outlying sec-
tions. Go and call upon them, or at
least telephone them and _ suggest
something you think will attract their
notice. Do not think they are too
far away, or that there is no use.
Persistent labor always produces re-
sults, sometimes greater, sometimes
less. Keeping eternally at it is the
price of success.

——_2-.——____
A Humane Mayor.

The mayor of a little commune in
the Pyrenees has just issued the fol-
lowing decree: “Whereas the young
people of the commune are wont to
meet and dance every Sunday after
mass, and the noise they make fright-
ens the cocks, hens, and other animals
of the village, and whereas the result
is prejudicial to agriculture; we here-
by prohibt dancing within the bounds
of the commune during the hours in
which the domestic animals take their
repose.”

 

 

 

  

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in
ol-
ng

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ht-
als
ult
re-
ids

eir

October 29, 1913

MICHIGAN TRADESMAN

 

‘House of Quality

Bananas
Oranges
Lemons
Grape Fruit

Almeria Grapes
Sweet Potatoes
Cranberries

Dates

Figs

Nuts

A. CASABIANCA & SON

GRAND RAPIDS, MICH.
Western Michigan’s Largest Mail Order House

 

 

 

 

N view of your possible requirements for the services
of a competent auctioneer, I bring myself to your
notice, submitting the names of the firms for whom I
have conducted sales during the past year, and respect-
fully ask your careful consideration of the same.

I have been engaged in making sales for the past ten
years, and have never failed to produce satisfactory and
profitable results. Should you honor me with your con-
fidence, I offer you positive assurance of my ability to
demonstrate to you that an auction sale conducted upon
my methods, will yield you prompt and profitable returns.

Following is a list of the names of the firms for whom
I have sold during the past year, and the amount of their
respective stocks:

Geneiva Watch & Optical Co., Los Angeles, Cal. $100,000

E. C. Flemming & Co., Los Angeles, Cal. - - - 62,000
Raphael & Fisher, Evansville, Ind. - - - - - 40,000
George Emery, Hutchingson, Kansas - - - - 20,000
H. Iverson & Co., Corsicana, Texas - - - - 40,000
S. A. Fess, Kearney, Neb. - - - - - - - - 35,000
S. W. Williams, Lapeer, Mich. - - - - - - 20,000

Hutchingson China Store, Hutchingson, Kansas 15,000

At the present time I am closing out a $20,000 stock
of dry goods for Homer N. Beach of Howell, Michigan.

If you have a stock of jewelry, dry goods, crockery
and furniture that you wish to dispose of, either write or
wire me for an early date.

THOMAS J. FAUSSETT, Auctioneer.
Howell, Michigan.

 

 

 

 

 

HAUSER-OWEN-AMES COMPANY
BUILDING CONTRACTORS

GRAND RAPIDS, MICH.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

100

MICHIGAN TRADESMAN

October 29, 1913

 

PROSPECTIVE CUSTOMERS.

 

Distinctive Lines Along Which They
May Be Developed.
Written for the Tradesman.

Into every retail place of business
there come many people who have
not decided in advance just exactly
what they want. They may have de-
cided to buy a certain kind of article,
and one for a certain use or purpose,
but they have left the brand until
they have a chance to see the goods,
to find out what they cost or what
they look like.

This offers a certain disadvantage
due to the fact that it is easier to
get people to your store to buy a
certain brand when they do not care
what brand they have and are willing
te drop into any store and take pretty
nearly any kind of goods.

{f you push a certain line of goods,
the people who know and like and
want that line will come to you. The
people who do not know that line,
who like some other line or who have
no preference, will not come to you
readily unless you can convert them
to the idea that ycurs is the best line
cr brand.

This makes it desirable that the
store do its best to create demand for
specific lines rather than indefinite de-
sires for goods. It makes it desir-
able that the advertising keep away
from generalities and be specific
about specific lines. It is not enough
to say that the best of certain goods
are to be had at your store, Say
rather, that So-and-So’s are the best
and that you have them.

There must be definite inipressions
created regarding certain goods. The
reader of the advertising must he
made to want a certain brand and to
want it badly enough so that its
name and its place of sale will be re-
membered after the advertisement is
read and the paper thrown down.

Whether you or your selling force
go outside of the store to drum up
business or not, demand can be de-

veloped, increased and concentrated’

on your store by work that while per-
haps very nearly akin to advertising
is still a part of salesmanship.

Finding the people who want to
buy and making them want to buy
your goods is not selling, but it is
so important a step in working up
to the selling point that something
regarding it ought to come into any
complete consideration of the various
phases of salesmanship.

One way of getting in touch with
the possible prospective purchasers of
the goods you sell is by standing in
with the manufacturer who is adver-
tising such of those goods as are
standard and staple.

The maker who is carrying on a
general advertising campaign is havy-
ing enquiries from your town and he
is referring those enquirers to local
dealers. Why not show the people
behind the advertising that you are
carrying a good stock of their goods
and that you are prepared to supply
the consumer demand for them, and
get them to refer enquiries to you
instead of simply to “Any dealer.”

Where it is the manufacturer’s pol-
icy to make his sales only through the

A aE rt ORB nl aI thee i Aare

retail dealer, why not be that dealer?

It pays well to carry these widely
advertised lines of goods and to keep
their makers on your side. The more
enquiries there are referred to you,
the more sales you will make of those
goods and the more people who per-
haps are not your regular customers
will become visitors to your store.
Whether this kind of work is sales-
manship or not, there is no doubt but
that salesmanship is what is needed
to make these new visitors into regu-
lar customers.

Of course no retailer can carry all
of the advertised goods in his lines,
but it is a wise dealer who ties up to
as many lines and to as many special-
ties as he can do justice to, and then
insists upon the manufacturer help-
ing him in every possible way.

The manufacturer will not be dis-
posed to help the man who will not
help himself, and the dealer who
simply takes the names sent to him
and tiles them away in his desk or
in the waste basket without doing
any more than making a mental note
of the matter will find that he is not
profiting by the operation,

And this is where salesmanship
comes in. With the names of a num-
ber of people who have been suffi-
ciently interested in certain goods in
your steck to write to the manufac-
turer asking for samples or for de-

tails or catalogues, you can develop

an appreciable number of buyers by
your salesmanship.

One way, and the slowest and
most uncertain, is to wait until the
person who has enquired comes into
your store to see the goods or merely
happens in on other business, and
then call attention to the fact that
you have such and such an article in
stock and would like to make a sale.

A better way is to send a clerk
right up to the house of the enquirer
with samples of the goods, if they
are guods that can be taken out in
that way, and with literature or pho-
tographs of them if not. Let this
clerk say that the manufacturer re-
quested you to show this person the
goods to give him or her a chance to
order. Where the enauiry was a bona
nde one, this will produce a sale and
probably result in a regular customer
for your store. Where it was merely
an idle enquiry, this method may turn
it into a real sale. In any event the
manufacturer who knows that you are
looking out for his interests in that
way will be ready to co-operate with
you at any time in the way of furnish-
ing any possible advertising or dis-
play matter for your own use.

A gocd many people come into your
store every week, every day in fact,
who do not come in to-buy. They
ccme in for one accommodation or
another or they happen in with ac-
quaintances.

A slot machine will offer some at-
traction to these people and act in a
way to induce them to buy, and that
is more than some kinds of clerks
will do. A clerk who never tries to
make a sale until the visitor first
tries to make a purchase is less a
salesman than a good slot machine
would be.

It should be a part of the sales-
man’s business to try to interest peo-
ple in goods whether they came in
with a predisposed interest or not. It
requires effort to do this. It is less
simple than encouraging actual buy-
ers to enlarge their purchases. But
there is no difficulty in a good sales-
man doing it and doing it without
giving offense,

There should be attractive displays
which the visitor will naturally stop
to examine. The salesman, without
appearing to be hovering over and
watching for a chance to pounce upon
the casual visitor, should always be
near enough to be able to enter into
conversation about the goods dis-
played just as soon as the visitor
takes note of them.

Conversation about the goods may
will be facilitated by the offer of a
sample, if sampleable, or of advertis-
ing matter, and by a comment upon
the novelty, quality, purity or ‘other
excellence or advantage of which the
stock is a particular example. Of
course there should be no urging to
buy and no boring of the visitor or
he or she will never again come in on
anything less than a strictly business
errand.

The salesman who gets into the
habit of trying to make customers out
of visitors will soon be surprised to
see how easily it is done and with
what profitable results.

It is very poor business to hurry
people out of the store. Loafing in
any store should not be encouraged
but there is a difference between
loafers and people who simply are
not hurried. Anyone with money in
pocket is likely to feel impelled to
part with more of it if encouraged to
remain and look over the stock.

Salesmanship is in many instances
so simple a thing that one must al-
most go out of his way to avoid prac-
tising it. Too many clerks and em-
ployes look upon the term, salesman-
ship, as representative of something
technical and complicated, something
beyond their ability, or beyond the
needs of their position. Salesmanship
is of course nothing but the ability
to self goods and like every other
kind of work it is usually much easier
to do when done right than when
done wrong.

Salesmanship involves showing a
personal interest in the customer.
The machine clerk is not a satisfac-
tory person to buy from. He may

hand out what the customer asks for

and he imay return the right change
and express himself with a “thank
you!” but the customer does not feel
served or waited upon, only relieved
of a certain amount of money for
which certain goods have been given
in exchange.

We all know the difference between
the hotel dining room waiter who
brings us just what we ask for and
makes no mistakes, and the one who
takes a personal interest in our com-
fort and convenience. It is this differ-
ence, which is really salesmanship, that
has developed the tipping evil. Certain
emploves gave good service and we
were anxious to show appreciation of
it. Then we went further and when

the service was not good, we tried to
make it good with a tip, and thus far
the result has been far from satisfac-
tory.

Well, it is the same way with the
salesman in the store, though thank
heaven, we have not yet reached the
point where the tipping of clerks has
become a custom.

People just naturally buy more
where they are treated well, even in
instances where that treatment  in-
volves no encouragement to buy and
no more salesmanship than is includ-
ed in personal interest.

It is a part of the work of the sales-
man to find out from the customers
the names of people or families who
might be induced to become custom-
ers, persons who habitually perhaps
patronize some other dealer, or who
are newcofers in town.

The mailing list which is such an
important and valuable adjunct to the
advertising done by the store ought
to be the care of the people behind
the counters to the extent of adding
to it or correcting it whenever pos-
sible.

Every name mentioned in the store
ought to be listened to by the clerk
with a view to helping that list to
grow along the right lines.

In this connection the proprietor
and the clerks may well keep this
mailing list in mind outside of the
store as well as inside of it and ait
will pay the employer to supply him-
self and every’ clerk with a vest
pocket memorandum in which can be
entered at any time an addition or
change that should be made in the
list. Names and addresses come up
everywhere in the course of ordinary
conversation and no one can remem-
ber them or remember to write them
down by and bye. The time to make
a memorandum of anything is while
it is fresh in mind.

Tt is well to remember that while
the pest office officials cannot add
names to a mailing list, still they
can check off names of people who
have changed addresses or moved
away, thus enabling the advertiser to
cut out the deadwood which is acon-
tinual, useless expense as long as it
is left on the list.

A salesman can do a good deal
outside of the store to help its busi-
ness and this begins with being a de-
cent sort of person so that the store
will have the reputation of employing
help that is of good character.

The individual who is really inter-
ested in the success of the business
with which he is connected does not
hesitate to talk shop outside of busi-
ness hours and to boost his employ-
er’s game in all proper ways and
places.

Of course there are some things
one might better not tell outside of
the store. Telling tales out of school
is not proper or profitable business,
but this does not mean that it is not

good work to refer to particular lines’

of attractive goods and recommend
them among one’s friends outside of
the store with a view to interesting
them,

This is a form of salesmanship that
perhaps is more properly classified
with advertising. It is personal ad-

   

13

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October 29, 19138 MICHIGAN TRADESMAN

101

 

 

Established 1885

Alfred J. Brown Seed Co.

Growers, Merchants and Importers

 

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General Warehouse and Offices, Cor. Ottawa Ave. and Louis St.

Grass, Agricultural and Garden

Seeds

Grand Rapids - « Michigan

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

102

vertising and it pays the store. It
pays de-
velops in him a greater interest in the

the employe because it

business which is plainly seen by his
employer. It makes a man _ worth
more to himself and to the business.

You know clerks who are all the
time “knocking” the store or its man-
agement when they are outside among
the employes of other stores

When that sort of thing gets found
out by the men they work for and by
other men for whom they perhaps
would like to work, it kills their
chances all along the line.

There must be a constant develop-
ment of new trade for any store or
it will soon find its annual receipts
going down hill. There is a constant
loss of old customers, no matter how
well the store is run. People do die
and move away. Their places must
be iilled and if the business is to in-
crease, still other customers must be
added.

While we count upon the various
forms of advertising to increase the
business, still salesmanship is most
important. The salesman should
count himself a part of the concern
and its ups and downs should be as
much in his mind as if he owned part
of the business.

If every employe in a store makes
it his or her business to add a new
customer whenever there is a chance
for it, there will be results come from
the work and every customer added,
if treated right, will help to add more.
Thus salesmanship which makes
pleased customers sends those cus-
tomers out to work for the advantage
of the business. Frank Farrington.

—__2 2+ >_—_

How the Retailer Fooled Him.

In the central part of Illinois there
is a retailer who operates a general
store. He is in many respects 4
good merchant, but he has the same
failing that so many retailers have
and which prevents them from mak-
ing the success that would otherwise
be theirs.

Some years ago he decided to add
a line of house furnishings, such as
tin and enameled ware, crockery and
glass. He was induced to this deci-
sion by the booklets which he had
read and which formed a part of the
advertising campaign conducted by a
wholesale house that sold only by
catalague. So naturally he bought
his opening stock from this house
and was well satisfied with the values
he secured. His trade was growing,
and his customers were pleased with
the goods he sold to them.

One day a traveling salesman call-
ed on him with a line of enameled
ware. He represented a manufactur-
ing concern located a hundred miles
or so from the retailer’s town.

The traveling salesman knew that
he was buying from a mail order
wholesaler the moment he saw the
trademark on the goods displayed on
the tables, and he recognized the
name of the house. But he didn't
start in to tell the retailer that he
was losing profits by securing his
stock from such a concern instead of
from a manufacturer. He was too
good a salesman for that. He didnt
even ask what the retailer paid for the

MICHIGAN TRADESMAN

3erlin kettle which happened to be
standing on the counter near which
he and the retailer were talking. He
knew what the wholesale price was.
But as they talked along he brought
out a similar kettle, mentioned the
careful manner in which the enamel-
ing was done, the heavy “base,” the
welding of the “ears” for the handle,
and some of the other points of his
kettle—and named a price which was
30 cents less per dozen than he knew
the retailer had paid.

The salesman was a real salesman.
He didn’t try to run down the line
the retailer had bought. He didn’t
try to argue against the method of
selling which the wholesaler employ-
ed. He simply showed his kettle,
explained its various attractive feat-
ures and then named a price which
he knew would be low enough to in-
terest the retailer.

That 30 cents caused the retailer
to change his source of supply. He
stopped buying enameled ware from
the wholesale house. He stopped
buying his glassware and crockery
from the wholesale house.

He jumped to the conclusion, be-
cause of this lower price on the one
article which the salesman showed
to him, that the wholesale house was
robbing him, was taking an unduly
large profit, and he has been damn-
ing it ever since.

He was wrong—absolutely wrong.

The Berlin kettle was a bait, and
he swallowed it, hook, sinker, line
and all.

As a matter of fact, he isn’t making
any more money out of his house-
furnishing department than he did
before. He doesn’t buy to better ad-
vantage, on the whole. He can’t sell
his goods any cheaper. His profits
are no larger.

To be sure, he isn’t any worse off.
He simply traded one good horse for
one just as good.

For the argument of the wholesale
house which does not employ travel-
ing salesmen, that by not paying sal-
aries and commission and expenses,
it can and does sell cheaper than the
house which sells through traveling
salesmen, is false. It cannot and does
not sell any cheaper. Its values are
no better; its prices are no lower
than those of any well conducted con-
cern that employs the other method.

It may make a little more profit
for itself, but is that any reason
why a retailer who knows his job
should prefer it in his buying?

There must, however, be some rea-
son why these firms have built up
such large enterprises—and there is.

The reason is their successful ap-
peal to ignorance and prejudice. An
ignorant man always prejudges the
case. He doesn’t stop to think, and
if he does, he hasn’t full information
on which to base his ‘decision. He
has been told that the expense of
traveling men is cut off by the cata-
logue, but he doesn’t stop to con-
sider the fact that the catalogue and
other advertising material, the large
force of advertising employes
which must be hired and paid, in or-
der to prepare and send out this ad-
ditional material, cost money, and
that this immense amount must be
added to the selling expense, just as

well as the expense of the traveling
salesman.

And he doesn’t stop to think of the
great assistance which the efficient
traveling salesman can render him,
in suggesting new plans for attract-
ing new trade, in telling him how
such-and-such a retailer in a neigh-
boring town increased his business,
and in hundreds of other ways.

All this he loses when he shuts the
traveling salesman out, and thus he
actually places a handicap on his owa
opportunities.

There is no better friend of the
retailer than the traveling salesman.
He will go out of his way to do the
retailer a favor by which additional
profits may be realized. He will help
him build up his business every time
the retailer will give him a chance.

— +2 >__
Only Misfit Shoemen Tolerate Mis-
fit Rubbers.
Written for the Tradesman.

The public is not so much concern-
ed with the price of a rubber being
5 or 10 cents, more or less, as they
are concerned with the wearing qual-
ity of the article. However painstak-
ing a rubber manufacturer may be in
producing a quality of which he may
justly be proud, its wearing quality
can be destroyed by the misfit man
in the shoe store. It is true that even
a painstaking shoe man may be
thwarted by a woman who buys a
rubber that is fitted to a particular
shoe and who persists in wearing the
rubber over some other shoe of en-
tirely different shape. The fact that
a rubber, however well constructed,

October 29, 1913

cannot give satisfactory wear unless
worn over the shoe to which it was
fitted (or one identically the same)
should be made known to the wearer:

The duty of the shoe man is, first,
that he shall have in his stock rub-
bers that have the different shaped
toes as well as the proper height
heels to fit the different varieties of
shoes that he has on sale. If he per-
sists in fitting one and the same style
of rubber over all shoes he is a mis-
fit shoeman. A shoe having a full
ball, but a narrow toe cannot be fitted
with a rubber that was made on a
last with straight lines. Neither can
a high heeled shoe be fitted with a
medium heeled rubber with satisfac-
tory results.

Women admire a well fitting rubber
as well as they admire a well fitting
shoe, aside from the fact that a well
fitted rubber gives much better sery-
ice.

The rubber department in a shoe
store is of sufficient magnitude that
it behooves a retailer to give it the
same care and attention he does his
shoe stock. Unsatisfactory
service casts a reflection
whole shoe department.
fore essential that the dealer
shall carry the different styles of toes
and heels in stock in several widths.

Starting with a good quality ot
rubber, and the shoe properly fitted,
will insure satisfactory service to the
consumer for which he is willing to
pay a profit. It isn’t so much the
price as it is the service that counts
with the consumer.

G. Adolph Krause.

rubber
upon your
It is there-
shoe

 

The Michigan People

 

Michigan’s Largest Rubber House
: and
Only Specialty Shoe House

Compliments and felicitates

Mr. E. A. Stowe

on the Success and Excellence of

The Michigan Tradesman

the Best Advertising Medium in
this Central District
for Michigan Distributors.

 

Hood Rubbers will make you glad.

Get our catalogues.

Grand RapidsShoe & Rubber

Grand Rapids

 

 

  

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October 29, 1913

 

 

 

 

MICHIGAN TRADESMAN

 

 

 
   

 

 

 

Corner Fort Street West and M.C. R.R. Take Fort Street Car. Five Minutes Ride from City Hall

 

 

 

LEE & CADY

Wholesale Grocers

DETROIT
KALAMAZOO

SAGINAW
BAY CITY

103

 

 

 

 

 

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104

MICHIGAN TRADESMAN

October 29, 1913

 

FORTY YEARS AGO.

 

How Fruits and Produce Were
Handled Then.

I came to Grand Rapids in the fall
of 1875 when it had a population of
16,000 people. At that time there
were three produce houses in Grand
Rapids—O. W. Blain, who occupied
a store on Ottawa street, just south
of Monroe street, W. F. Warner,
who was handling butter and eggs
and was in a basement in the Led-
yard block. and Davis & Green, who
had the store at 122 Monroe street,
in the Gilbert block, which firm we
succeeded, purchasing their business.

My brother, Edward A. Moseley,
was associated with me and we were
partners together until August 28,
1906, when Edward A. Moseley died.
We did business at 122 Monroe street
for ten years. We then moved to the
Gilbert building, on Ottawa _ street,
where we did business for eighteen
rent to the Gilberts
for twenty-six years. We erected our
present buildings and moved our of-
fice to Pleasant street in 1902. In
1876 the leading wholesale grocers
were Freeman, Hawkins & Co., Cody
& Olney and John Caulfield. Wil-
liam Sears & Company, cracker man-

years, paying

ufacturers, had a retail bakery, crack-
er and oyster store on Monroe street

where the Boston Store is now.

Among the leading retail grocers
doing business on Monroe. street
were: Horton & Stuart, who occu-

pied the store at 120 Monroe street
William Bemis
pied the store in the Bemis block;
& Moore had a at the
corner of Monroe and lonia streets,
where the Grand Rapids Savings
3ank is now; Voorheis & Co. were
in the Messmore building; Steward
Brothers occupied the store adjoin-
ing Rice & Moore and Brummeler
& Brink occupied the store at 124
Monroe street, adjoining us on the
south.

On Canal street, some of the lead-
ing grocers were: George W. Thayer,
A. Rasch, Philip Kusterer, Mike
Caulfield. On West street
there were Parmenter & Furman,
Rademaker & Konkle and Charles
Pettersch and Arnott & Arnott.
Philip Graham and B. S. Harris were
on South Division street, and on East
Fulton street was A. Buys. None of
these houses are in business to-day.
Charles Pettersch was succeeded by
son, Herman, and A. Buys was suc-
ceeded by his son, Jacob.

odjoining us; occu-

Rice store

3ridge

Of these retail merchants those
living to-day are Mr. Horton, Mr.
Brummeler, Mr. Parmenter, Mr.
Rademaker, Mr. Caulfield, Mr. Har-

ris and Mr. Buys.

There are very few firms in the
wholesale business to-day doing busi-
ness under the same firm name with-
out any change in the name that
were in business in 1876, and very
few retailers. Of the wholesale
houses, Foster, Stevens & Co. and
Moseley Brothers are the only ones
that I recall.

But few grocerymen are in busi-
ness to-day on Monroe avenue. In
the 70’s, there were eleven grocery
stores on Monroe street and about

the same number on Canal street.

F. Van Driele & Co., retailers of
flour and feed, who were then on
the corner of Monroe street and
Ionia street, where the Peoples Sav-
ings Bank is now, are in the flour
and feed business to-day.

In those days, we had no tele-
phones and when a_= groceryman
wanted anything, he came with his
horse and wagon, selected his goods
and took them home. There were
no rejections or returning of goods.
We made few deliveries except when
a party wanted a wagon load. There
was no public market. There were
few gardeners and not many vege-
tables were grown. The farm produce
was peddled around to the stores and
sold. When fruit became more plen-

ty, the farmers would congregate

 

for goods. We sold many to the
wholesale grocers and large quanti-
ties were shipped to the Northern
trade and lumber camps. The North
at that time produced very little of
what they consumed, so large quanti-
ties of goods had to be shipped to
the Northern towns.

We received the first bananas
brought to Grand Rapids by express.
They came from New York and sold
from $5 to $6 per bunch. Five bunch-
es were as many as the trade would
take at a time. Bananas were more
of a curiosity at that time than an
article of food, while to-day hun-
dreds of thousands of bunches are
consumed.

Pineapples were shipped by express
from New York. The varieties seem-
ed to be of a kind that would not

TIMOTHY F. MOSELEY.

with their loads at the head of Mon-
roe street.
In the 70’s, Mr. Dias. of Gaines,

and Bloomer Brothers, of Sparta,
were about the only peach growers.

We had no telephones or type-
writers. We were always at the store
early and worked until 11 o'clock at
night writing letters, soliciting busi-
ness and cleaning up the work of the
day. Buying was largely done by
mail. as telegrams were not used as
freely as they are to-day.

We handled large quantities of
sun-dried apples. The large general
merchants at Middleville, Hastings,
Nashville, Charlotte, Eaton Rapids,
St. Johns, Howell, Ovid and Owosso
often had carloads of dried apples
for sale that they had bought from
farmers in their section in exchange

keep over night, while the pineapples
being shipped at the present time
appear to have long keeping quali-
ties.

Oysters in the 70’s were used ex-
tensively. They were canned in Bal-
timore and shipped here in hermeti-
cally sealed cans, instead of in bulk,
which gave them a much finer flavor.
In 1876 I attended the Centennial
Exposition at Philadelphia. From
Philadelphia I went to Baltimore
and made arrangements with L. W.
Counselman & Co. to handle their
brand of oysters in Michigan, with
price and the fill of can guaranteed
to meet any brand of goods of the
same quality and fill, D. D. Mal-
lory & Co., of Baltimore, with a
branch house in Detroit and an agent
in Grand Rapids, and some other

Baltimore oyster houses were fur-
nishing Michigan with oysters. Up-
on our making kn-wn that we were

going to handle oysters we were in- -

formed by some dealers that it was
out of our line and that if we han-
dled oysters they would make the
price so low as to put us out of
business. That looked like fun
ahead. Oysters, when we commenced
handling. were selling for 32c per can
for Standards and 42c per can for
Selects by the case to the trade.
Every Monday morning Detroit par-
ties cut the price 2c per can and con-
tinued to do so until the Standards
were selling at 14c per can and the
Selects at 24c per can wholesale. Our
shippers were furnishing us the same
full can of oysters at 14c, and we
continued to do business and we al-
ways had plenty of stock with which
to fill our orders. At one time, just
before Christmas, we had _ heavy
snows so the railroads were block-
aded and our Baltimore friends ex-
pressed us a carload of oysters at an
cost of $5

extra per case, so we
would not have to disappoint our
customers. We are afraid the trade

did not appreciate the efforts and ex-
pense of the oyster packers to supply
them with goods. We continued to
handle oysters for twenty years until
oysters were shipped here in bulk
and canned in the West. The fill of
can was then made according to the
price the party wanted to pay and we
were unable to meet the competition
with Baltimore canned oysters. Oys-
ters in wholesale lots are a very hard
product to handle. When the weath-
er is warm the trade do not want
them at any price and when it is cold
they are eager for them. One year,
just before Thanksgiving, the weath-
er turned suddenly cola and every-
oysters. We had 200
cases come in by express one after-
noon, all of which weie sold imme-
diately to the trade in the city and
shipped to points [

one wanted

North as far as
Traverse City and Petoskey.
Among the stock of
chased from Davis
carload of apples. One of our first
customers to purchase goods was
Heman N. Moore, of Rice & Moore,
grocerymen. With a hatchet I tried
to open some of the barrels to show
him the fruit. As I had never opened
a barrel of apples, I did not make
much progress. Mr. Moore suggest-
ed that he take the hatchet ana very
soon he had the heads out of the bar-
rels. As soon as Mr. Moore left, I
took the hatchet and opened and
headed barrels until I was able when
the next customer called to show the
fruit promptly. I have always made
it a point to know myself how the

goods

& Green

pur-
was a

details belonging to the _ business
should be done.
There was also in the Davis &

Green stock a carload of marrowfat
and pea beans that had been left by
a grower to sell on commission. The
market being dull, the grower was
unable to sell them. They were of
extra fine quality, which indicated
they had had a perfect season for
curing beans. We soli the pea beans
to the trade at 70c per bushel and

the marrowfats at 80c per bushel,

pea ei ee

   

, 1913

 

fur-
Up-

were

e in- °

was
han-

the
it of

fun
nced
r can
1 for
rade.
par-
con-
lards
1 the
Our
same
1 we
e al-
vhich
. just
leavy
lock-
5 ex-
at an
O we

our
trade
d ex-
upply
ed to
until
bulk
All of
o the
id we
tition
Oys-
hard
‘eath-
want
; cold
year,
reath-
very-
1 200
after-
mme-
, and
ar as

pur-
vas a
first
was
[oore,
tried
show
pened
make
yoest-
| very
e bar-
eft, I
| and
when
w the
made
v the
siness

vis &
owfat
sft by
. The
- was
‘re of
icated
n for
beans
1 and
ushel,

   

 

October 29, 1913

MICHIGAN TRADESMAN

105

 

 

There’s Always Room
At the Top

No matter how crowded the marts of trade, how various the
demands for recognition, how vigorous the efforts put forth to
secure patronage, there is always room for the man who has
perfected himself in the principle of “making good."’ When we
first embarked in the milling business, some forty years ago, and
offered the VOIGT PRODUCTS, viz:

Voigt’s Crescent Flour
Voigt’s Spring Wheat Flour
Voigt’s Royal Pat. Flour
Voigt’s Whole Wheat Flour (Flouroigt) ee
Voigt’s Graham Flour and
Voigt’s Bran, Middlings, Corn Meal, Etc.

We did so with the full understanding that the route to success
lay through the channel of square dealing—giving the best value
Since then we have been fighting it
out along these lines, with the result our products have grown
in popularity, and our business increased in a degree

Highly Satisfactory

at the least possible cost.

Grand Rapids Brush Co.

Grand Rapids, Mich.

Manufacturers of
Solid Back Toilet Brushes
and
Leather Back Horse

Voigt Milling Co., Grand Rapids, Mich. Brushes

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
 

 

 

 

2835-45 Sheffield Ave.

Foley & Company in Michigan and Northwest Ohio for near-
ly thirty years. When he first sold this line in Michigan, he
covered only a part of the State. Later he has covered the important
points in the entire State, and Southeastern Michigan and North-
western Ohio closely, having three men to assist him in his territory.
He was born in Bristol, New York, in July, 1863, his forebears,
who were of English and Scotch descent, having moved to Western
New York from Massachusetts about 1780.

His birth and training in early life instilled in the mind of this
man an honesty of intent and purpose which he has carried out all
through his life, and which has assisted him in the development of a
popularity and confidence among the merchants of Michigan. He has
built up the largest volume of medicine business sold by any one man
in Michigan, and has, himself, prospered with his firm. being now one
of the stockholders of the Company.

Mr. Simmons is able to promise this year a better distribution of
advertising matter than ever before, and wider newspaper publicity.
His best sellers are:

M* K. B. SIMMONS of Saline, Michigan, has represented

FOLEY’S HONEY AND TAR COMPOUND

(A great lung and throat remedy that contains no opiates)

FOLEY KIDNEY PILLS

(Tonic in action, quick in results, contain no habit forming drugs)

FOLEY CATHARTIC TABLETS

(A new principle in Cathartics. Keep stomach sweet, liver active, bowels regular.)

FOLEY & COMPANY

SOLE DISTRIBUTORS
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

106

 

MICHIGAN TRADESMAN

October 29, 1913

 

which showed the bean market in
1876 was at a low ebb.

We purchased three cars of beans
in the “70’s in Ionia county, and when
we received them in Grand Rapids,
we found that in order to sell them
they would have to be handpicked.
As we had no mills for milling them
or facilities for handpicking them, we
made arrangements with a number of
families in town to handpick them
and we had the beans carted to their
residences. We have had some sea-
sons when we have had low priced
beans. I remember one year we had
22,000 bushels piled in our warehouse
that cost from 55 to 75c per bushel
handpicked, including bags.

We have had years when potatoes
have sold for very little money. One
season we bought at a station north
of Grand Rapids potatoes at 6c per
bushel loaded. One party bought
and loaded us a number of cars. He
refused to be to the trouble of weigh-
ing them, and insisted on our un-
loading the cars at Grand Rapids,
weighing them and paying him for
the potatoes at the “outweight.’ This
was during the winter time.

In the spring of 1877 butter was
very scarce. It was the custom of
the country merchants to hold jars
of butter until spring, then work it
into rolls and wrap them in cloth and

ship in barrels or tubs made from.

sawing sugar barrels in two. Once
when butter was scarce and selling
at 33c per pound, we had a barrel
of butter consigned to us to be sold.
It was from an Orange merchant
who wrote he had more butter to be
shipped, provided the butter brought
a good price. The butter was strong
enough to stand alone. A Canal
street merchant came in soon after
the butter arrived looking for butter
and before he had time to fully ex-
amine it another groceryman appear-
ed. Being fearful the other merchant
might get ahead of him, he said he
would take it before fully examining
it. The consequences were the Canal
street meichant had butter to sell
for months to come. We made re-
turns to the Orange merchant at 33c
and told him we could sell more
butter if he had any more to ship,
but we never received any more con-
signments from him. We learned
afterwards that he did not expect
more than 12 to 15c for the butter
and thought we were “working a
flim-flam” on him.

In the year of 1870 there was a
great scarcity of early potatoes, just
after the old potatoes were out of
market, and we had 1,500 barrels ar-
rive one tainy afternoon. The mar-
ket was bare. We had ten draymen
hauling potatoes in the rain deliver-
ing ten to twenty barrels to each
of the leading grocerymen, and we
sold that afternoon 300 barrels at $5
a barrel, taking in $1,500 in cash from
small grocerymen who came_ with
their wagons and hauled them home
in the rain.

New firms frequently engaged in
business and their existence was from
a month to a year or more. One
young man, who married a_ wife
whose father was well-to-do, started
business with his father-in-law for

partner. He was going to show us
how to do business. He lost $2,000
within a month and his father-in-law
thought it was time for his son-in-
law to seek other pastures.

Years ago the railroads used to
handle freight and move cars much
more promptly and_ satisfactorily
than they do at the present time. We
used to be able to have a car go to
a point fifty miles north of Grand
Rapids. get a load of potatoes, have
it returned to Grand Rapids and un-
loaded in three days. The cars
would make two round trips a week.
To-day it takes about three days
after a car is ordered to a _ point
north for the railroads to get a car
switched and into the train and mov-
ing and there appear to be delays all
along the road and at the loading
stations. A car is now often ten to
twelve days getting to points north
and getting back to Grand Rapids
and two to four days being switched.

There is a great deal said at the
present time about lowering the
freight rates. We do not think we

want lower freight rates. What we
wish is better service. If higher
freight rates would give us better

service we would advocate an ad-
vance of freight rates of from 5
to 10 per cent. It is the consum-
ers in the end who would have
to pay the advance, but the advance
would be so small that no consumer
would know there was an advance.
For example, the freight on a car of
potatoes from Sand Lake to Grand
Rapids is 6c per hundred pounds.
A 10 per cent. advance would be
about 4 mills on a bushel of potatoes.
The freight rate to New York City
is 29c. Ten per cent. advance would
be less than 2c per bushel. This
same rate applies to beans, apples
and some other farm products.

If I remember right, a freight car
is said to move at an average of 22
miles a day. If the railroad com-
panies can be compelled to furnish
cars immediately when ordered and
motive power to move the cars and
move a loaded car 200 miles every 24
hours, every shipper and consumer
of farm produce could afford to pay
10 per cent higher freight rates. It
is the consumer who has to pay a
large percentage of the loss on goods
while in transit. If a car of produce
through slow railway movement
reaches destination in bad condition.
the cost of the goods spoiled has to
be added to the cost of those that
are merchantable and the consumer
has to pay the bill. It is the slow
movement of goods by railroads that
is responsible, to a great extent, for
the high cost of living. When a car
of apples or potatoes is fifteen days
on the road when it should not be
more than four days and 25 per cent.
decay in transit, the 75 per cent. has
to pay for the whole car and the
consumer has to pay the loss. There
are no dealers who can stand these
losses themselves and continue to do
business. The losses have to be added
to the cost of the goods and the pub-
lic have to pay the advance. We do
not want the railroads to be forced
to accept lower freight rates, but they
should be compelled to furnish cars

immediately when ordered and move
a loaded freight car 200 miles in
twenty-four hours.

Railroads should be required to
furnish cars immediately within three
days after being ordered or be made
to pay for the losses caused by the
decline in the price of the goods
while waiting for cars to load. Rail-
roads should move cars to destina-
tion without delay or be made to pay
for the decline in the value of the
goods while in transit caused by the
delay of the railroad in not deliver-
ing goods on time. Give the rail-
roads a 10 per cent. advance in rates,
if necessary, in order to enable them
to furnish better and _ satisfactory
service. Timothy F. Moseley.

—_~++.___

The real test of merit is found in
“results.” All boasting ends where re-
sults fail. You bring results sufficient
to support your claims and you pass
muster.

 

Vv, N
AONORBILT

   

SHOES ©

THE LINE THAT SATISFIES

 

 

THE QUICK AND
EASY WAY

To raise money, reduce
stock or close out your
business is by an AUCTION
sale. The man who can
get the high $ is E. D.
Collar, Ionia, Mich.

Terms reasonable.

Write or phone.

 

 

 

139-141 Monroe St

7 Roth Phonos
GRAND RAPIDS. MICH

 

 

The New
Stationery
House

Indoor Base Balls

In stock to retail at 10c, 25c,
00c, $1.00. Better order a few.

Inks
In stock for immediate delivery
the complete lines manufactured
by
Diamond Ink Co.
Carters Ink Co.

Stafford Ink Co.
Powell Ink Co.

Shipped at once and dated De-
cember Ist.

Will P. Canaan Co.

Grand Rapids, Mich.

 

 

Cor. Oakes and Ellsworth

 

Stock up on

Guns and Ammunition

Be prepared for

Hunting Season

We carry

Remington and U. M. C.
Fire Arms and Ammunition

Winchester
Fire Arms and Ammunition

Stevens’ Guns

Michigan Hardware Company

Exclusively Wholesale

GRAND RAPIDS, MICH.

 

 

-m
ita tends Ne oS

 

—w ey CD

 

 

 

October 29, 1913

Bankers and Banking Conditions

Thirty Years Ago.

(Continued from page 15.)

Avery, 8; L. H. Withey & Co., 8; J. C.
Clark, 8; L. Atkinson, 6; J. P. Moran, 5;
Julius Berkey, 5; J. Mohrhamrd, 5;
Elizabeth Avery, 5; Mrs. Eugene Boise.
5; Amanda Rathbone, 5; Elizabeth De-

Lano, 5; Grace DeLano, 5; Virginia F.
Burford, 4; Rose M. Burford, 4; Peter
Doran, 3; Fred M. Champlin, 3; A

Wickham, 3; Ellie S. McConnell, 3; Julia
Pickering, Bay City, 8; Lizzie Pickering,
Bay City, 3; Mary I. Ramsey, 2; Wm.
H. Ramsey, Jr. 2; Wm. McBain, Jr.,
2; J. C. Widoe, 2; F. W. Curtiss, 2: Isa-
belle Chesebro, 2; Harriet S. Nash, 2;
J. Marsten Nelson, 2; M. B. Nelson, 2;
Ella B. Shaw, 2; Mrs. Wm. B. Harter,
fonia, 2; C. H. Mills, Muskegon, 67; Mary
H. Cummings, 1; . G. Champlin, 1;
Sarah A. Ranney, 1; Spruille Burford,
Jr., 1; Josephine Burford, 1; C. T. Hills,
Muskegon, 65; F. J. Parkhurst, Cold-
water, 20; A. S. White. Hart, 20; Thos.
D. Bradfield, Delaware, Minn., 20; Fran-
cis S. Platt, Auburn, N. Y., 20; Robert
Dick, New York, 18; D. W. Comstock,
Grand Rapids township, 15; M. H. Mc-
Coy, Grandville. 15; John Payne, Hamil-

ton, IN. Y¥-; 10: . EF. Avery, Geneva,
N. Y., 8; James Willetts, Philadelphia,
Pa., 7; A. P. Willetts, Mancelona, 6;
Mrs. Wm. B. Harter, Ionia, 2; LS

Pierce, 35; G. C. Peirce, 20; Wm. Sears,
30; Annie B. Avery, 30; Lucy A. Gould,
30; IL. H. Withey, trustee, 30; E. E. D.
Hull, Chicago, 30; Estate of Amos Rath-
bone, 30; A. D. Rathbone, 25; Fred D.
Mills, 25; Alice M. Rishop, 25; F. W.
Morris, 25; G. C. Kimball, 25; W. Barn-
hart, 25; Susan M. Ball, 25; O. K. Pear-
sall, 25; M. Larrabee, 24; A. B. Leet, 23;
T. Stewart White, 20; S. B. Jenks, 20;
James Blair, 20; Emma L. Chamberlin,
20; Cora M. Peirce, 20; N. Fred Avery,
20. Total, 3,000. :
Grand Rapids Savings.

Betsy B. Allen, 25; H. G. Allen, 20;
BE. Anderson, 10; T. H. Anderson, non-
resident, 10; N. Fred Avery, 42; Phila
EK. Bliss, Troy, Wis., 13%; James Blair,
20; R. A. Barnard, Guardian, 12%; S. S.
Bailey, 24; H. S. Bailey, 5; Delia G.
Bailey, 5; L. Buell, 25; S. S. Buck,
Paris, 9; A. Brewer, Gaines, 10; A. X.
Cary, 60; A. X. Cary, administrator es-
tate of R. M. Collins, 50; Annah M.
Clark. 6; Eunice M. Clark, non-resident,
5; C. Chandler, 10; Louisa H. Chandler,
2; M. S. Crosby, 4%; Mary E. Crosby, 5;
G. M. Edison,, Walker, 10; W. E. Foot,
%; Lora V. Foot, %; T. Foot, 5; Eliza
s. Fletcher, executrix, 10; Harriet E.
Garfield, Paris, 51; B. A. Harlan, Wash-
ington, D. C., 7; Sarah M. Huntley, 2%;
G. S. Levett, Washington, D. C., 30; J.
F. Letellier, 40; . F. Martindale, Al-
pine, 30; Christine C. Mangold, 271%:
H. C. Mann. 4; N. W. Northrup, 5;
FE. S. Pierce, 50; N. I. Packard, Sturgis,
7%; Isaac Phelps, 37; N. Pierson, Three
Rivers, 60; T. W. Porter, 5; J. D. Rob-
inson, 35; D. B. Shedd, 144; H. C. Smith,
6%; J. M. Stanly, 12%; W. R. Smith,
Paris, 5; L. R. Sanford, 2%; Eliza M
Smith, Cooperstown, N. Y., 20; Julia M.
Sterling, non-resident. 20; Hannah Sow-
erby, Rockford, 2%; C. G. Swensberg,
29; A. Hosford Smith, 3; W. D. Tolford,
11%; W. D. Tolford ,trustee, 17%; Eliza-
beth S. Van Wagener, non-resident, 10;
Caroline Walker, Berlin, 26%; C. :
Wright, 10; I. M. Weston. 4; G. H.
White, 20; Wm. Widdicomb, 51%; Phebe
Waterman, Lowell, 5.

————>
Bank Statements Indicate Improved

Business Conditions.

The bank statements, showing con-
ditions at the close of business Oc-
tober 21, are encouraging, reflecting
For

a year the loans and discounts have

an improved business situation.

been. sliding downward, indicating
curtailment and liquidation, but since
August 9 there has been an expansion
of approximately $700,000 and the to-
tal now is the highest on record. The
bonds and mortgages have not chang-
ed much in two and a half months,
and approximately $150,000 more is
invested now than a year ago. The
cash and cash items show a per cent.

of 20.6 to the total deposits, compared

Oct. 21, 1913
22.807,702.39
9,258,393.92
6,918,214.76
2,541,991.58
12,659,910.28
17,142,005.34
3,591,064.92
33,646,953.92

Loans and discounts
Bonds and mortages
Cash and cash items
Surplus and profits
Commercial deposits
Certificates and savings
Due to banks

Total deposits

MICHIGAN TRADESMAN 107

with 20.71 in August and 21.05 a
year ago. The surplus and profits
show a gain of $166,920, since No-
vember 26, a year ago, or at the rate
of about 6 per cent. for the year above
the dividend and interest deductions.
The commercial deposits show gain.
both as compared with August 8 and
Nov. 26 a year ago. Each recurring
statement this year has shown a
shrinkage in the certificates and sav-
ings, but the statement just issued
shows a gain of $17,000 since August
9, which may indicate that the tide
has again turned upward. The
shrinkage has been due largely to the
withdrawal of savings deposits and
certificates for investment in high
grade stocks and bonds at the bar-
gain prices that have prevailed in re-
cent months. The total deposits
show some shrinkage, but two months
ago the banks carried $165,000 of
State money and a year ago they had
$175,000, while now they have none.
Excluding the State money a better
total is shown than either in August
or in November last. Comparisons
in detail can be made from the an-
nexed table.

 

The statement just issued is the
fifth and will probably be the last
for the year, and it comes earlier than
usual. The last statement a year ago
was of Nov. 26. In 1911 it was De-
cember 6 and the year before Novem-
ber 10. Coming five weeks earlier
than last year comparisons cannot be
absolutely exact, but the figures are
close enough for ordinary purposes.

 

Herbert E. Johnson, for three years
past National Bank Examiner, has
been elected President of the Kala-
maoo City Savings Bank in place of
Mayor A. B. Connable, who was
elected to succeed S. B. Monroe re-
signed, and who did not want to
serve. Mr. Johnson began life as a
newspaper man. He was on the Mus-
kegon papers several years ago, and
then came to this city to take a re-
portorial position on one of the city
papers. He “did” the business beat
and it was here that he got his first
insight into banking, compiling the
statements for comparison and keep-
ing track of bank clearings. From
the business beat he shifted to the
political, and then into politics. He
was private secretary to Governor
Bliss for two years, then an examiner
in the State Banking Department, and
from that shifted to the National
Banking Department. He has become
thoroughly competent in banking and,
as he was in his newspaper work, he
is careful, conscientious and reliable.
He has resigned as bank examiner to
accept his new position and will make
his home in Kalamazoo.

Aug. 9, 1913
22,097.913.70
9,281,615.37
6,972,997.71
2.382,567.43
12,494,483.53
17,125,020.30
3,606,870.10
33,659,317.83

Nov. 26, 1912
22,369,258.53
9,099,615.58
7,106,291.09
2,375,071.36
12,493,291.38
17,499,106.64
3,278,679.66
33,745,098.46

 

 

Grand Rapids Oil Co.

Michigan Branch of

Independent Refining
Co., Lid.

OIL CITY, PA.

 

All products of Petroleum, Waxes.
Petrolatum, Fuel Oil, Ete.

OIL HEATERS

 

Grand Rapids, Mich.

 

 

 

in Latte

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
   
   

     
  

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The Williams Bros. (o.

of Detroit

 

Fi

 

Ba RL ALINE IRL Te RB

ei BAR a

 

108

MICHIGAN TRADESMAN

 

October 29, 1913

 

 

 

 

  
   

= —
= =—
=- —
= —
= =

—_
SASS AN Vou

A
wi(e

  

OMMERCIAL TRAVELE

      
  
 

=—
= =
~ =
= .
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Grand Council of Michigan U. C. T.

Grand Counselor—E. A. Welch, Kala-
mazoo.

Past Grand Counselor—John Q. Adams,
Battle Creek.

Grand Junior Counselor—M. S. Brown,
Saginaw.

Grand Secretary—Fred C. Richter,
Traverse City.

Grand Treasurer—Henry E. Perry, De-
t

roit.
Grand Conductor—W. S. Lawton, Grand

Rapids.
Grand Page—F. J. Moutier, Detroit.
Hach, Jr.,

Grand Sentinel—John A.
Coldwater.

Grand Chaplain—T. J. Hanlon, Jackson.
Grand Executive Committee—John_ D.
Martin, Grand Rapids; Angus G. Mc-

Eachron, Detroit; James E._ Burtless,
Marquette; L. P. Thompkins, Jackson.

 

Michigan Knights of the Grip.
President—Frank L. Day, Jackson.
Secretary and Treasurer—Wm. J. Dev-
ereaux, Port Huron.

Directors—H. P. Goppelt. Saginaw; J.
Q. Adams, Battle Creek; John D. Mar-
tin, Grand Rapids.

 

Michigan Division, T. P. A.
President—Fred H. Locke. :
First Vice-President—C. M. Emerson.
Second Vice-President—H. C.| Cornelius.
Secretary and Treasurer—Clyde E.

Brown.
Board of Directors—Chas. E. York, E.

C. Leavenworth, W. E. Crowell, L. P.
Hadden, A. B. Allport, D. G. McLaren,
J. W. Putnam.

 

Milwaukee Traveler Finds Salesman’s
Life No Sinecure.

“You ask me for some hints to the
young men on how to become a sales-
man,” said an experienced traveling
man of “Probably I
could tell a few practical things of

Milwaukee.

value to the young man; however, i
think that what he may possibly need
most is to know that the salesman’s
job is no sinecure, and that there are
hardships, many hardships to be en-
dured by the salesman. I will illus-
trate my point by a personal experi-
ence that is absolutely true, however
grotesque it may seem. I think T
shall not have missed the point if I
give the impression that the man who
sells goods must always be prepared to
meet hardships. We must be optimistic
and loaded with enthusiasm, but we
must realize that at the same time most
salesmen learn to assimilate tribula-
tions tremendously well. Seldom do
you see a red-blooded salesman in a
police court; he either sells the mer-
chant who called him a liar twice as
much goods as the merchant
going to take, or settles the trouble

was

on the spot by going the merchant one
better.

“The setting of my little tale is in
the West, around Ainsworth, Nebras-
ka: the time is only three years ago.
I was selling baking powder and next
day was going to a town thirty-five
miles distant. A woodenware sales-
man and I would pair up; well, we
couldn’t get a driver and so we chang-
ed off driving. After an all day drive
we came to our first town. We both
came back to our carriage nursing a
splendid grouch, for both had drawn

a blank. Of course, you’ve got to
get the business just the same, so we
drove on. We were told the town
was four miles north and thirteen
miles west, and that it was impossible
to miss the road. We drove on as
fast as possible, as dusk was coming
on and made good time until the
team suddenly stopped short. We
got out and discovered a wire fence
in front of us. There was no road;
our troubles began.

“The next best thing to do was to

go on. We took down the fence and
went on. After driving several hours,

we stopped; we had surely covered
nineteen miles and in what we thought
the right direction. We were lost and
admitted it. But there was no use of
stopping; we drove on several miles
over the grass.
gods!—a light afar off. We came up
to the house, I alighted and was rap-
ping at the door when a perfect lion
of a dog rushed at me; I never ran
so fast in my life, but I was just fast
enough to miss the ferocious charge
he made on the carriage into which
I had made a flying leap. I'll bet I
ran two rods in nothing.

“‘Now,’ said I to my partner with
half desperate humor, ‘I rapped once;
so it is your turn.’

“He said he would. He drove the
horses up to the door and rapped on
it with the whip. Our hearts whacked
when no one responded. We decided
the occupants were afraid or no one
was home, and my pal said he would
put the horses in the barn. I object-
ed, but told him if he insisted, ‘let me
get into a tree for I’ve a hunch that
as soon as you get to the barn a win-
dow will fly open and you'll be a tar-
get: they can shoot straight, too,’

“My pal agreed with me and we
drove on quickly, for I’ve been shot at
before while on just such a retreat.

“A few hours and the team
stopped short as bronchos will when
they get tired. I got so uncomfort-
ably chilly we decided to make another
try to find a house. My partner walk-
ed to the top of a hill to get a look
at the country. A few minutes after
he called back to drive had
sighted a house.

more

up; he

“We rumbled down over the rough
meadow; we found the building to be
an abandoned old barn, just about
ready to fall down. It didn’t, to be
sure, look as inviting as the Waldorf
Astoria, but it didn’t take long for
us to decide to make this our night’s
lodging place if no one objected.
While he unhitched I made ready our
entrance by knocking off several
boards nailed across the door. An-
other thrill! Hardly had I loosed the
first board when a ferocious coyote

Finally we saw—ye.

bounced against me from inside and
shot into the darkness yelping. He
appeared on the verge of eating me
up for routing him from his palace so
rudely but I guess was glad to escape
unhurt; at least he did all he could
to get out of the way while making
the threat.

“We lay down behind the horses
on hay to sleep but were soon awak-
ened by the revengeful coyote that
off and on during the night made
threatening sallies to the barn door;
he would stick his head into the door-
way and let out a string of excruciat-
ing yelps that would even annoy the
horses and then disappear. Coming
on morning he continued his concert
on a nearby hill. Also coming on
morning I commenced to think the
place wholly undesirable. A monster
owl hooted angrily from his rafter
perch because he was afraid to fly
out. A few minutes later we discov-
ered a big black bull calmly examin-
ing our carriage. He had been in the
other end of the barn and separated
from us by a small partition. His
sense of fitness was not at all satis-
fied by the sight of a buggy near his
lordship’s abode and he commenced
to bellow. When he came over to
the barn he was very ferocious but
we managed to keep him out, though
he nearly tore the barn down; after
tipping over the carriage he went off
for breakfast. Between the coyote,
the bull and owl we got little sleep,
that is certain. We hitched up and
drove off in any direction; we were in
a strange country but the sunshine
was arelief. After a few hours driv-
ing we met a cowboy who told us we
were thirty-four miles from town in-
stead of nineteen as we were when we
started out the day before. Evidntlv
we had been lost. My pal suggested
that we never make the trip again and
I was so utterly awestruck by his
meekness of utterance I wouldn’t
speak to him for a week. I certainly
wouldn’t take such a trip again even
if | got an order at its end, or as !
felt then, several barrels of orders.
We reached to town at sunset and
slept a day and a night before we
regained our equilibrium. It seems
amusing to me now but was a hard
trial, as hard a one as the many others
I have endured since.”

—_—_ ++ 2>____

Is it a blow to spiritualism when a

inan strikes a happy medium?

 

HOTEL CODY

EUROPEAN
GRAND RAPIDS, MICH.

Best Beds That Money Can Buy

 

 

G. J. Johnson Cigar Co.

s.c. W. El Portana
Evening Press Exemplar

These Be Our Leaders

 

 

OFFICE OUTFITTERS

LOOSE LEAF SPECIALISTS

 

237-239 Pearl St. (near the bridge), Grand Rapids, Mich,

 

We are manufacturers of

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Grand Rapids, Mich.

 

 

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October 29, 1913

 

 

 

 

  
   

Gabby Gleanings From Grand Rapids.
Grand Rapids, Oct. 27—Much has
een said of late about discriminating
or or against individuals and to this
‘nd anti-rebate laws have been passed
and recently a ruling was promul-
gated, making it illegal for telephone
companies to charge one subscriber
in advance unless they charge all. If
this law holds good on a larger scale,
why is it not as essential in smaller
ways? It may not be generally known
to the public, but it is a fact, never-
theless, that we have a large number
of hotels which feed a certain num-
ber of guests at, say 35 cents for.a
meal and charge traveling men 59
cents. As a rule, the man who buys
his grub at 30 per cent. discount
eats twice as much and gets the same
teed as the one who pays full price.
lurthermore, as a rule, the land-
lord loses money on his 35 cent meal
and, in order to make him even, he
has to cheapen in proportion the meal
for which the traveling salesman is
expected to pay full price. We do
not know whether this discrimination
has ever come before the Railroad
Commission or whether it is embodied
in any of the recent acts passed by
our Legislature, but think it is high
time it was legislated against and
everybody made to pay the same
Fifty cents isn’t much, but it
comes twenty-one times per week.
Anyway, it is the principle of the
thing that we object to.

price.

When the zephyrs blew donw from
the Upper Peninsula recently, they
failed to waft the intelligence to Past
Grand Counselor John A. Hoffman.
of Kalamazoo, that an elaborately
prepared “blowout” to be given in
Cloverland had been postponed. As
a result, our brother loaded with
oratorical pyrotechnics, journeyed
across the State to participate in the
festivities of the occasion, only to find
no one at the train to meet him. On
investigation it developed that the
witty nom de plume editor of “Zeph-
yrs from the Upper Peninsula,’
whose duty it was as Senior Counsel-
or of his order, to notify all expecte.!
visiting guests, was found guilty of
dereliction of duty and had not noti-
lied this particular gentleman. We
have no authentic information as to
how they settled the matter, but pre-
sume Ura Donald has fixed it up satis-
factorily. Were he in Grand Rapids
it would cost him some suppers.

Will Sawyer has purchased a new
home on Kellogg avenue and is put-
ting in his spare time laying hard-
wood floors.

Frank Ewins, member of No. 133
and now conducting a _ prosperous
veneral store at Grant, was a Grand
KNapids visitor last week.

The regular meeting of the Boost-
er’s committee will be held next Sat-
urday afternoon at 15 South Toni.
avenue.

M. W. Palmer, formerly of the Ho-
tel Cody, Grand Rapids, but more
recently with Appalachian Hotel, of
Knoxville, Tenn., has assumed the
management of the Hotel Fordney, a:
Saginaw, W. S. One of the first
moves he made was not only to throw
the roller towel into the lake, but to
smash up all fixtures pertaining there-

to. Mr. Palmer also believes chat a
picture here and there is appreciated
by the weary traveler and, in accord-
ance therewith, has beautiful oil
paintings in the lobbies, both in the
first and second floors, as well as
cheerful pictures in the sleeping
Hotels of this kind mertc
the best patronage of all the traveling
men.

roonis.

In times gone by “ye scribe’ used
to meet Bro. H. V. Ripperger at Jack-
son and ride in on the same train
with him, but for the last few weeks
we have missed this pleasure. On
enquiry, we find that instead of com-
ing to Grand Rapids he takes the
train for Detroit where, we under-
stand, there is some attraction which he
is not yet ready to make known. We
are surprised that he should run away
from the lovely girls here at home.

The extension from Coloma _ to
Watervliet on the electric line is now
completed and cars are running ou
hourly schedule to Watervliet from
Benton Harbor.

We hope Bill Granger's sore foot
will be well by next Saturday night,
so he can be initiated. Come, Bill, be
game. Are you sure you are not
mistaken and it is a case of “cold
feet” instead of sore feet!

It beats the band how Bro. Gold-
stein, living on the other side of the
State, keeps tab so closely on doings
over on our side. This is especially
surprising since the resort season is
over at Watervliet and the resorters
have all gone to their peaceful homes.

It is reported that some of our boys
had some jolly good time at the Odd
Fellow’s convention in Kalamazoo
last week. Who said they shouldn’t?

R. J. Alten, member of Council No.
131 and now living at Lansing, spent
Sunday with Paul J. Racine, 13 Dia-
mond avenue, S. E.

Don’t forget the regular meeting of
Council No. 131 next Saturday night,
Nov. 1, at Herald hall. The various
committees advise us they have sev-
eral matters to present, among them
being a report by the executive com-
mittee, containing some definite in-
formation regarding new council
chambers for our Council. As _ this
is a matter in which every member
is deeply interested, it ought to en-
sure a good attendance.

We are glad to report that Homer
Bradfield’s little girl, Gladys, who has
been quarantined for scarlet fever, is
rapidly recovering. The officer will
raise the quarantine in two weeks.

Mrs. A. E. Crandall, who has been
sick for some time, is convalescing.
Mr. Crandall is a traveling representa-
tive for the Worden Grocer Co.

Fred Gray and Claude Young par-
ticipated in their regular game of crib-

‘ bage en route to Charlotte last week

and we understand sugar lost.
Here is a rich one on our Northern
friend, Bro. Burtless, of Marquette
Council, No. 186: Jim is one of the
members of the grand executive com-
mittee and also district deputy for the
Northern councils and, in his home
town occupies one side of a double
house, the other side being vacant
nearly all suthmer. No, dear reader,
it was not because Bro. Burtless lived
there that one side was vacant. It

 

MICHIGAN TRADESMAN

just happened that way. Well, last
July a letter was written to Jim, per-
taining to U. C. T. business and, in
some way the letter was put in th:
box belonging to the vacant side. Re-
cently a tenant moved in—now that
proves they had nothing against Jim
—and the first mail taken from the
box brought forth the letter which
was immediately sent over to where
it should be, a little bit belated but
still of value.

Which reminds us of the time we
carried our wife’s letter in our fall
overcoat pocket in the wardrobe all
winter.

Everything is in top notch order at
the Hotel Vincert, Saginaw, under
the management of Conrad Gottlei-
ber.

Flow about our U. C. ©: drill team?
We think it is about time for you to
show up for drill practice. You have
but four months before the annual
meeting, when we will have visitors
and will want to show you off. Why
not get a move on you and get out
Saturday night? Captain Wm. H.
Jennings, Jr., will be there with bells
on and swing you into line.

The following is a complete list of
traveling salesmen who will be affect-
ed by the income tax:

Landlord Tainor,. of the Sebring
House, at Bangor, now has steam
heat in his hotel, which is an added
improvement. We would = advise
however, the abolishing of those dis-
ease spreading roller towels and the
installing of some individual toweis
in their place, which would be another
much needed improvement. You
know it is a State law now and pretty
soon there will be some one calliny
around to see that it is lived up to.

Did you see Fred Beardsley step
to the music at the recent dancing
parity? Fred promises us that he and
Mrs. Beardsley are going to be reg-
ular attendants.

The doctor has put Bro. John D.
Martin on a buttermilk diet. We
should worry.

Charles when he
smokes a pipe it will be a real pipe
—a meerschaum, not a corn cob.

Perkins says

The new Hotel Melhrtens, of this
city, is rapidly nearing completion
and, when done, will be one of the
best equipped hotels in the city. It
will have ninety-four rooms, fireproot
and strictly modern in every detail.
We understand it will open to the
public about January 1, at which time
we will write a little more specifically
regarding it.

That place of meeting ought to en-
sure a full committee.

We are getting anxious to hear from
Assessment No. 119. Not that we are
desirous of paying out our money.
but it gives us something to write
about.

The members of the U. C. T. foot-
ball team are requested to meet at
3rubaker’s studio next Saturday
morning at 6:15, for the purpose of
having their pictures taken. Part of
the proceeds from the sale of these
photos will be used for building a
new U. C. T. temple.

Mrs. Geo. Hooper, mother of Mrs.

109

F. N. Luther, was buried last Satur
day afternoon. Mr. Luther is a mem-
ber of Council No. 131 and last year
was President of the Gideon organ-
ization.

At last Ann Arbor has a real com-
mercial man’s hotel. The Whitney
has recently opened up under new
management and everything is done
for the convenience and comfort of
the commercial traveler. The writer
stopped there one whole day and
can recommend it in every detail. It
is on the American plan and not a
thing is overlooked in making it one
of the best hotels in the State. When
in Ann Arbor, stop with “Hildy” and
you will say he is O. K. Mr. Helden-
brandt is his real name and he hails
from Newark, Ohio, where he has
had much experience in the hotel
business. We hold up our right hand
and solemnly swear we receive noth-
ing for inserting this, but we feel
it our duty to recognize and make
note of merit at all times.

Fred Beardsley and family will re-
move into permanent headquarters
at 226 Benjamin avenue next week,
Mr. Beardsley having purchased a
handsome new residence there. Some-
one asked Fred when he was going
to have a house warming and he
evidently misunderstood the question,
for he replied he had bargained for
a half ton of Pocahontas coal and ex-
pected to start a fire soon after mov-
ing in, if this weather keeps up.

Bromide: Oh, we will have lots of
nice weather yet.

Only seventeen days more before
the next dancing party.

At Herald hall, Saturday evening,
Nov. 15.

Roller towels are still in evidence.

This is too nice a day to write.
We are going for a walk. Au revoir.

Later: Assessment No. 119 is now
due and payable.

In the eloquent words of our es-
teemed brother, Guy Pfander—sub-
scribe for the Tradesman.

Allen F. Rockwell.
—_2e<- ——

Merry Musings From Muskegon.

Muskegon, Oct. 27—L. B. Heeres
has purchased the building occupied
by Walter Van Arkel, at 48 Mason
avenue, and will remodel same and
occupy it as a drug store. Mr. Van
Arkel will move his: stock to 150 Ap-
ple street.

We discovered two traveling men
on our trip last week of the kind that
is fast becoming obsolete. One came
into a store on his first visit to the
town. He first informed all present
that he was very well informed on
all leading questions, also filled the
air with profane and obscene lan-
guage. Next he tried to put out the
fire by spitting large quantities of
tobacco juice into and on the stove
and finally wound up by informing
the proprietor that he was not hand-
ling a good quality of goods. He went
The other
fellow said everything he could think

away without an order.

of against his competitors and, with-
out any cause, belitiled their wares.
Such fellows might have been all right
in their time, but both made the
wrong impression on the merchant.

KE. P. Monroe.

  

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110

MICHIGAN TRADESMAN

October 29, 1913

 

BAKERS’ OVENS.

 

Ancient Devices Used Until Fifty
Years Ago.

Counting the years may or may not
be a profitable occupation. It is not,
however, a habit with me, so that ‘t
was somewhat of a shock to receive
a letter from my good friend Stowe.
reminding me that thirty years ago
I was with him in the work of his
estimable paper, the Tradesman, and
suggesting that for “sentimental rea-
sons” at least, an article from me on
“Thirty Years in the Bake Oven Busi-
ness” would interest us both. Appar-
ently, the reader was not considered.

At the outset I must disclaim the
honors of so long a service in an in-
dustry which I believe has been of
the greatest benefit to mankind and
with which I am proud to be identi-
fied. True, ovens as well as their
product, have been my “staff of life”
for nearly a quarter of a century, and
the way is thickly strewn with mem-
ories. They crowd upon us, we veter-
ans, but in restrospect the lines are
softened; the harsh details of battles
fought and won; of hard gained ad-
vance up the slopes of achievement;
so that the “road behind lies fair” and
gives us courage to go on.

In no other industry, I believe, has
the keen competition which exists in
every commercial pursuit wrought
more good than it has in the manu-
facture of bakers’ ovens and, I might
say, bakers’ machinery generally. No
matter how many brilliant ideas have
proven impracticable in actual use,
nor how many fond hopes of strug-
gling inventors has gone glimmering,
the fact remains that improvement
has followed improvement, to the end
that in this year of grace, any baker,
regardless of his needs, may easily
supply himself with a bake oven
which he can use economically in the
production of the high class of goods
demanded by a sophisticated public.

And so, the devices that extend
from the farmer's tools at the plant-
ing of grain to the latest in bakery
equipment, are real achievements,
tending to the elevation of every
form of labor involved, and to the
production of bakery goods by nearly
ideal processes, judged from the
standard of health and hygiene.

We oven men claim no more than
our share in the general progress of
the trade, though believing our prob-
lem to be the most difficult.

A retrospective view of the pro-
gress calls to mind historical faccs
that may interest the younger gener-
ation and awaken old memories in the
minds of their predecessors. I am
indebted to the writings of some of
the latter for those facts which an-
tedate my experience. I went into
the oven business shortly after the
period conceded by our baker histor-
ians to be the line of demarcation be-
tween the old methods and _ those
which have developed into our pres-
ent practices.

When one considers that the Greek,
Egyptian, Carthaginian and Roman
bakers of three thousand and four
thousand years ago used a kind of
oven which remained the predominant
type until as late as the middle of the

nineteenth century, the inventions
and improvements of the last fifty
years are truly remarkable. The early
pioneers merely were laying the foun-
dation for later progress. Thus, the
side furnace oven, the reel oven and
the under-heated continuous bake
oven date back to the sixties and sev-
enties. At some later period, about
the time that I became interested in
the industry, the prevailing type of
“improved” portable ovens was the
light sheet iron with many baking
surfaces, no insulation, and with
neither tile nor fire brick baking
chambers.

Among the first practical, demon-
strated improvements was the mov-
able brick oven, the idea of the late
Joseph Middleby, who applied sand
filled insulation for retaining heat.

be included in the sanitary develop-
ment.

Scientifically, the oven of to-day has
little in common with its prototypes.
Heat regulation or temperature con-
trol, methods of firing and illumina-
tion and many other features mari
the difference. It is good to know
that these scientific developments
have not only lightened the labor of
the baker, but have standardized the
quality of his product and helped to
establish a system which cannot but
be more profitable than the hit and
miss methods of his ancestors.

I cannot bring this article to a
more graceful close than by acknowl-
edging the debt which oven makers
generally owe to the editors of the
trade papers, of which my old friend,
Mr. E. A. Stowe, of the Tradesman,

ee  ———————E—EeEeEeEeE

 

JAMES IRWIN MARSHALL.

Aside from the opportunity offered
by the scarcely satisfactory portable
ovens of the time, the baker was tied
to his location by his immovable
brick oven. Naturally, as soon as
the Middleby idea was developed, the
ovens which he built were hailed as
almost revolutionary. At least they
freed the baker from the progress-
retarding. permanent brick ovens.
They were not a substitute for the
old brick ovens, they supplanted
them.

The most interesting features of
the oven question to those outside
of the trade, is the remarkable devel-
opment of sanitary features, a subject
with which all bakers are thoroughly
familiar. Front or rear firing; the
attractive, cleanly appearance of the
porcelain enamel exteriors and con-
struction which eliminates the gath-
ering of dust, dirt and rubbish; easily
accessible inner chambers, all could

is so worthy a representative. This
expression is not called forth from a
feeling of long friendship or any other
“sentimental reason.” It is a debt
gratefully and cheerfully acknowledg-

ed, not only by myself but, I believe,

by my worthy friends, my competitors
in the business.
James Irwin Marshall.

—_—_s.2s——
One of the Twenty-Eight Original
Subscribers.

Alden, Oct. 25—We have taken the
Tradesman from the first issue, vol-
ume one, number one, and never miss-
ed a number. I remember well the ap-
pearance of the Tradesman in it's
original form, it being published in
the style of a weekly newspaper and
not in the magazine form, as we now
receive it.

My father, R. W. Coy, who was
one of your first subscribers, was a
constant reader of the Tradesman up
to the time of his death, which oc-
curred in January, 1896, and I have
continued the subscription ever since.

The Tradesman, during its thirty
years of publication, has wielded a
powerful influence for the betterment
and broadening of the merchants of
Michigan and has valiantly fought
their battles for them.

Its editorials are uplifting and in
championing the cause of right and
justice and denouncing wrong and
graft are absolutely fearless.

It contains between its two covers
more solid meat than any trade jour-
nal that I know of. No merchant
can read it with his eyes open and
not secure a fund of useful informa-
tion that will be beneficial, both to
himself and his business.

The thirty year history of the
Tradesman is one of successful
achievement—a record you nay well
be proud of.

I assure you that it is a welcome
weekly visitor to my office and home
and that it may add another epoch
of thirty years of continued success
to its history is my hearty wish.

Charles H. Coy.

—_+2>—___—_
Fifty Years in One Family.

The Hillsdale Standard was estab-
lished by the late H. B. Rowlson in
1846. Hr was actively engaged in
the business for forty-nine years
until he died in 1895. His son, S.
Clark Rowlson, of this city, was con-
nected with the paper for forty years
and was active in the management
from 1883, when he was admitted as
a partner, until 1886, when he sold
the paper. The Standard was, there-
fore, identified with a single family
for fifty consecutive years.

22s

His Satanic majesty never begs any-
body to give him his due. Neverthe-
less he gets it.

 

Klingman’s Sample Furniture Co.

The Largest Exclusive Retailers of
Furniture in America

Where quality is first consideration and where you get the best
for the price usually charged for the inferiors elsewhere.

Don't hesitate to write us. You will get just as fair treatment
as though you were here personally,

 

 

Opposite Morton House

 

Corner Ionia, Fountain and Division Sts.

Grand Rapids, Michigan

 

 

 

 

 

was
as 2
n up
1 oc-
have
since.
hirty
ed a
ment
ts of
sucht

nd in
t and
| and

‘overs

jour-
‘chant
n and
orma-
th to

f the
-essful
y well

‘lcome
home
epoch

1uccess

sh.

Coy.

y.
estab-
son in
eed in
years
Son, ©.
as con-
y years
gement
tted as
ne sold
, there-
family

og any-
>verthe-

 

SRN TR DNC ino UR UN ~~ aug inka ieRaR nang mane

October 29, 1913

‘C. W.MILLS PAPER CO.

DISTRIBUTING JOBBERS FOR WESTERN MICHIGAN
SEASONABLE GOODS

Cotton Gloves and Mittens, Jersey Gloves, Leather Faced Gauntlets and
Mittens, Canvas Gauntlets, Oyster Pails, Oyster Display Cabinets, Lard
Pails and Cans, Straw Cuffs, Meerschaum, Briar, Cob and Clay PIPES,
Purses, Harmonicas, Combs.

HOLIDAY GOODS—Aluminum Salt and Pepper Sets, Puff Boxes, Card
Trays, Scoops, Spoons, Etc.

We have a large line of Fancy and Plain Box Papers, Paper Garlands,
Wreaths, Bells and Crosses, Fancy Decorated Crepe Papers, Plain Crepe
Papers all shades, Decorated and Plain Crepe Paper Napkins, Paper Doilies

and Nut Cups.

OUR REGULAR LINE
All kinds Wrapping Papers, Cordage, Paper Bags, Brooms, Baskets, Wooden-
ware, Clothes Lines and Pins, Envelopes, Stationery, Inks, Pens and Pencils.
Weare sole manufacturers of Workman's Guaranteed Water Proof Shoe
Grease (the season is now on for it.) Get the original of

C. W. MILLS PAPER CO., 204-206 Ellsworth Ave. Grand Rapids, Mich.

 

 

S. A. MORMAN & CO.

70 Ionia Ave., N. W.
GRAND RAPIDS, MICH.

All Kinds of Brick and
Builders’ Supplies

LIME, CEMENT AND SEWER PIPE

 

 

 

“AMERICAN BEAUTY” Display Case No. 412—one

of more than one hundred models of Show Case,
Shelving and Display Fixtures designed by the Grand
Rapids Show Case Company for displaying all kinds

of goods, and adopted by the most progressive stores of America.

GRAND RAPIDS SHOW CASE CO., Grand Rapids, Michigan
The Largest Show Case and Store Equipment Plant in the World
Show Rooms and Factories: New York, Grand Rapids, Chicago, Boston, Portland

 

MICHIGAN TRADESMAN

Newaygo
Portland Cement
Company

‘b

Makers of
High Grade Portland
Cement

“b

Sales Office Michigan Trust Building
Grand Rapids, Michigan

Citizens Tel. 2674 Bell Tel. Main 180

111

 

 

 

 

 

H. Eikenhout & Sons
Jobbers of Roofing Material

GRAND RAPIDS, MICH.

We carry a large stock of roofings, roofing materials
and building papers.

 

 

TRY

IHE BARLOW WAY

 

In Billing Your Goods
In Shipping Your Goods
In Tracing Your Goods

 

 

Our Billing System is compara-
tively new. Is simple. Saves
time, saves mistakes. Use your
regular typewriter. Use the car-
bon copy or your sales book. Send
for free sample and description.

 

 

BARLOW BROS.

GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN

 

 

 

 

 

 

112

 

 

 

MICHIGAN TRADESMAN October 29, 1913

 

 

 

 

 

 

Are You Speculating?

When you buy your full season order of shoes to be made
up six months before the retail season opens you are speculating
in shoe futures.

Neither you nor the manufacturer can determine the styles
that will sell or those that will ‘‘go dead’? on your shelves. The
retail season opens. Your stock is broken up and you can’t fill in
sizes when you want them.

You can’t get the utmost out of your Shoe Department by
sending your patrons away without their sizes or by carrying shoes
they DON’T WANT.

The best way to make money on shoes is to have the styles and
sizes the people want—WHEN THEY WANT THEM.
6

We have built up the largest shoe manufacturing business in
the world simply by making ‘“‘Star Brand” shoes better than other
shoes sold at the same prices and by filling all orders promptly.

As retailer you should adopt the same plan. It will cut down
your investment and increase your Profits. It will eliminate your
odds and ends and give you a clean, fresh stock all the time.

We carry an open stock of $2,500,000.00—over 750 styles—a
style and size for every need.

Write for catalogue No. 25 or a salesman with a complete line.
Our 160 salesmen cover the country from ocean to ocean.

“Star Brand Shoes Are Better”

Roberts, Johnson & Rand

MANUFACTURERS Branch of International Shoe Co. ST. LOUIS

 

 

 

 

 

 

    

a

 

 

 

 

  
  
   
   
     

 

    
    
     
 
 

 

 

  

 

  

October 29, 1913

News Items From the Soo.

Sault Ste. Marie, Oct. 27—-Mr. Hammes,
who has charge of the Newberry State
ilospital Farm. had on exhibition last
week in the postoffice window at New-
berry a second growth of ripe _ rasp-
berries for the season. The unique dis-
play has attracted much attention. Mr.
Hammes states that a number of the
bushes were fairly well loaded with ripe
fruit.

The Pittsburg Steamship Co. is laying
up some of its barges now, so the fleet
will not be as large from now on. The
boats will lay up at the various ports
and probably be all through within the
next three or four weeks. The company
has had one of the best seasons in the
history of the business. The boats have
run without any mishaps, there having
been no strikes of any account, with the
exception of the fool strike in the copper
country and, so far as the lake earriers
were concerned, it was only of about one
day’s duration, so that it did not affect
the carrying capacity.

The Soo canal has carried more freight
this season than the Suez, Manchester
and all the famous canals of Germany
taken together. The average through
the Soo canal has been more than 10,-
000,000 tons per month since navigation

ovened and it is expected to exceed
75,000,000 tons for the season. These
figures make traffic on other artificial
waterways look somewhat insignificant,
as the great lakes carry more freight
than any other body of water less in
size than the open ocean and the most

important stream of trade on the lakes
‘s to pass through the Soo canal.
The Soo has the tabernacle fad at
present. The various churches combined
in putting up a large tabernacle with
a capacity of seating between two and
three thousand people. While it is only
a temporary affair it is something un-
usual in this part of the country and
from the interest taken in the matter
it is expected that the Soo will be trans-
formed into a good city such as it never
was before. R. E. Johnson and party
have been engaged to conduct the serv-
ices and great results are looked for.
A number of the Knights of the Grip
are still waiting for the South Shore
to cash up on the rebate coupons they
have been accumulating, pending the de-
cision handed down by the courts. They

are unable to understand why the pay-
ment is not forthcoming. as the earn-
ings of the South Shore have been in-
creasing and the road made a_ good
showing for the past month, in spite of

the loss of business caused by strikes.
The gross earnings for August were re-

ported at $354,788, as compared with
$313,881 for the same month last year.
The net revenue was $97,245 or $7,000

MICHIGAN TRADESMAN

better than for the corresponding month
a year ago. The result is attributed to
the steady development of the agricul-
tural districts traversed by the road and

it seems strange that the road is able
to keep from paying the rebate slips
which should have been taken care of

iong ago.

Many of the Sooites are to enjoy two
Thanksgiving dinners this year. Numer-
ous citizens went over to the Canadian
side and had their Thanksgiving dinner
last Monday. At Port Arthur the people
were able to take a sleigh ride for the

first time on Canadian Thanksgiving.
There was eight inches of snow.

There were numerous candidates for
the office of weights and measures at
the Soo last week but Captain Chas.
Ripley was the successful applicant, as

the Board of Supervisors have appointed
him sealer. The Captain is well known
throughout Chippewa county and he will
make an efficient officer.

The Chippewa County Fair Association
has decided to move the fair grounds
from its present location about three
miles from the city to the grounds near

Algonquin accessible by the street cars
and more convenient in every ways It

is expected that the move will add much
to the interest in the fair and afford a
larger number an opportunity of attend-
rie.

The jewelry store of Patterson sBroth-
ers, west end branch, was entered by
burglars last week and about ten watches
and a number a stick pins were taken.
The burglars gained access by a window
in the Pack of the store and had little
trouble in making their escape. There
is no clue as yet to the perpetrators.

The hunters of the Upper Peninsula
are busily engaged in making arrange-
ments for the usual deer season, while
the partridge and ducks have been com-
ing in in great numbers for the past
two weeks. Notwithstanding the gener-
ous supply of game, the high cost of
living has not been reduced to any great
extent and the price of meat is still at
par, but it is hoped that with the veni-
son season so near at hand the price
of meat will come down.

W. G. Tapert.
> -e ____

Chirpings From the Crickets.

Sattle Creek, Oct. 27—John Hall, traveler
for the independent packers out of Chicago
and formerly living in Jackson, has moved

his family to this city.
ty near the
here he can

Battle Creek is pret-
eenter of his territory and living
be home often. We hope Mr. and
Mrs. Hall will like Battle Creek and _ trust
Mr. Hall will wear a U. C. T. button before
the winter is past.

I met Bro. Rockwell,
writing to the

the gentleman who is
Tradesman for the boys of

No. 151, in Jackson last week. Bro. Rockwell
is writing some good letters and we hope he
can continue to send the Tradesman a letter
right along. Mr. Rockwell and myself both
mentioned in our last letter the appointment
of Mr. Osborne, of Owosso, as hotel inspector.
Guess we both thought there was work for
him to do.

Our old
facts of a

pioneer,
joke he

Geo. Steele,
pulled off on
At the time I got George’s letter, the joke
was being read by the Tradesman readers,
which goes to show that the Associated Press,
or the United Press Service, has nothing on us
when it comes to printing timely topies on

sent me _ the
Norm Riste.

time—sometimes.,

Bro. Rupurt L. Greenman was confined to
his home in this city a few days last week.
On the job again, O. K.

Bro, Herb W. Ireland turned down a_ prof-
itable job last week. This proposition would
have made it necessary for Mr. and Mrs.
Ireland to move to Detroit. They have just

finished their new home and did not want to
break up and leave a pretty home and _ con-
genial neighbors, friends and acquaintances. We
are all glad Bro. Herb and the Mrs. are going
to stay with us and we know, before the week
is gone, Herb will land the position he has in
mind.

Leo Hoag, who has been associated with the
Geo. M. Graham Grocery Co., at Athens, for
several years, is critically ill at YPparkville.
Leo was popular with all the boys who called
at this store and assisted George with some
of the buying. Mr. and Mrs. Graham have
been very kind during Leo’s sickness and have
shown a marked personal interest In his. wel-
fare. We who know Leo so well wish him a
speedy recovery, but we fear that is impossible.

The public was shown through the new annex

to the Post Tavern Saturday afternoon. It
truly is beautiful and you could easily believe
you were in a swell Broadway hotel. Fact
is, it is furnished and finished more elabor-
ately than many of New York City's good
hotels. We congratulate this eity on the fact
that it has a citizen such as C. W. Post, who

is spending so much money in his home town,
or, at least, in the city where he is making
A. We also wish to congratulate Mr. Post
for selecting such a classy little city as Battle

Creek to build up a fortune and his good
judgment in the way he has spent his money

locally. We are proud to know you were once
a traveling man and the beautiful tavern iar
bears your name is a monument to your econ-
fidence in the future of Battle Creek and your
ideas of what a traveler wants and Is willing
to pay for, but rarely gets, a ctean, cozy
stopping place with a well stocked table and
A No. 1 service. The Tavern was one of the
first hotels in Michigan to put into’ service
individual towels.

Stevens Trupiano, fruit dealer in Marshall,
has gone to Italy to spend the winter. Hts
business is in charge of his sons,

The owner of the Hotel La Vern ts putting

 

113

nice new heavy blankets on his neds and
otherwise adding to the comforts of his house.
He is on the way to the individual towel.

Gur Secretary, Geo, Steele, paid me a com-
pliment on my ‘Tradesman letters the other
evening. He told me, as smart a man as

he is, he couldn’t send
We thank you, George.

in a better letter.

I hope, George, you
Read the Tradesman. Guy Pfander.
so? >

Jaunty Jottings From Jackson.
Jackson, Oct. 27—A_ store within a
Was opened to the public by the L. H.
Co. last Saturday at 1:30 p. m.

store
Field
Just as stated,

a complete store in their basement for eco-
nomical buyers who appreciate, with a moder-
ate price, quality and reliability. It is such
concerns as the L. H. Field Co. that keep
Jackson ever forging ahead and well abreast
with the spirit of the times.

Last week’s Chirpings of the Crickets paid

some attention to one of our dafly newspapers.
Back of comments about a certain failure of
a large industrial concern, but hardly to be
classified as a true industrial failure, our good
brother Pfander sees M. C. doings as prompt-
ing the ‘‘harpings.’’ Nothing of the kind,
looking at it from our viewpoint, but having
heard the Kalamazoo fellows talk of Battle
Creek as a suburb, we wonder if the criticism
is not from a spirit of loyalty to its own.
Speaking of loyalty, a certain remark was
made by a business man the other day in
one of our neighboring cities that a large
percentage of the groceries needed for our
State institutipns were purchased out of the
State. If this is true, some of the large busi-
ness corporations of certain other states may
consistently sing, ‘‘Michigan, My Michigan.’’
Burns, of Burns & Spies, Main street
Adrian, was laid up for a few days
last week. Perhaps the assurance that comes
from a well-established and substantial bust-

James

grocers,

ness makes it easier for either Mr. Burns or
Mr. Spies to stop for a few days. It was
about twelve years ago when they were work-
ing hard for what they have now attained.

Both clerked in local stores until they thought

the time had come to make the venture. Strict
attention to business, the merchandising of
high-class goods, backed up by a_ thorough

knowledge of the business and the giving of
best possible service, have put them far away
from the price cutter and brought them a
class of trade that knows what is the best
and wants it.

E. <A. Elliott, manager of C. Elliott & Co.,
Detroit, spent a day last weex In Ann Arbor,
visiting the trade.

Charles Lamb has associated himself with
C. King & Co., grocers, Ypsilanti. This {ts

oldest

Michigan

high
Charles

one of the
Southern
large and
composes of

establisnments in
always enjoyed a
business. The norm Its
King and John Lamb,
Spurgeon.

grocery
and has

class

 

 

HOTEL PANTLIND

 

 

 

 

 

FUROPEAN PLAN

 

Reasonable Rates
Located in the Center of the City

CAFE THE FINEST

Music During Meals.
Table D’Hote.
Luncheon served every day from 12 to 2 p. m.
90 cents.

Table D’Hote Dinner served every Sunday (only)
from 5:30 to 8 p.m. 75 cents.

 

 

 

 

Chinese Dishes a Specialty

 

 

MORTON HOUSE

 

 

“Grill” in the State.

Location Center of

 

AMERICAN PLAN

“Ye Olden Grill’

In connection with Hotel is the finest

Rates Reasonable

and all Theatres

Both under management
of

J, BOYD PANTLIND

Service the best.

Shopping District

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

114

MICHIGAN TRADESMAN

October 29, 1913

 

SPECIAL PRICE CURRENT

 

12

 

Scrapple, 5c pkgs.
Sure Shot, 5c 1-6 gro. 5
Yankee Girl Scrap, 20z. 5
Pan Handle Scrp 4%gr. 5
Peachy Scrap, 5c .... 5
Union Workman 2% 6

Smoking
7 oz.

All Leaf, 2% &
BB, 3% oz. .....

Banner, 40c
Belwood, Mixture, 10c
Big Chief, 2% oz. .. 6
Big Chief, 16 oz. ....

Bull Durham, 5c ..... 5
Bull Durham, 10c ... 11
Bull Durham, 15c ... 17
Bull Durham, 8 oz. .. 3
Bull Durham, 16 oz. .. 6
Buck Horn, 5c ...... 5
Buck Horn, 10c ...... 11
Briar Pipe, oc ......- 6
Briar Pipe, 10c ..... 12
Black Swan, 5c ...... 5
Black Swan, 14 oz. .. 3
Bob White, 5c ...... 6
Brotherhood, 5c ...... 6
Brotherhood, 10c .... 11
Brotherhood, 16 oz. .. 5
(Carnival, 5c .......-.. 5
Carnival, %4 OZ. ......

Carnival, 16 oz. ......

Cigar Clip’g. Johnson
Cigar Clip’g. Seymour
Identity, 3 & 16 oz.
Darby Cigar Cuttings 4
Continental Cubes, 10c
Corn Cake, 14 oz. .... 2
Corn Cake, 7 oz. .... 1
Corn Cake, 5c ........ a
Cream, 50c pails 4
Cuban Star, 5c foil .. 5
Cuban Star, 16 oz pails 3
Chins, 100 ......-.... 10
Dills Best, 133 oz. ....
Dills Best, 34% oz.
Dills Best, 16 oz.
Dixie Kid, 5¢ ......
Duke’s Mix., 5c ...... 5
Duke’s Mix, l0c ....
Duke’s Cameo, 5
Prim: SC ............
EP, F. A. 4 oz.
F. F. A. 7 oz.
Fashion, 5c ......
Fashion, 16 oz.
Five Bros., 5c 5
Five Bros., 10c ...... 10
Five cent cut Plug..
F O B loc 11

 

  

Four Roses, 10c ......
Full Dress, 1% oz. 72
Gilad Hand, 6c ...... 48
Gold Block, 10c ..... 12 00
Gold Star, 50c pail .. 4 70
Gail & Ax Navy, 5c 5 76
Growler, SC .........- 42
Growler, 10c ......... 94
Growier, 20c ........ 1 85
Giant, OC .....-..-..- 5 16
Giant, 40c ............ 3 96
Hand Made, 2% oz. . 50
Mazel Nut, 5c ........ 5 76
Honey Dew, 10c .... 12 00
Pumtane, Se .......-.. 38
Ay OC... see. 6 10
I X L, in pails -. @ 90
Just Suits, 6c ........ 6 00
Just Suits, i6c ...... 12 00
Kiln Dried, 25c ...... 2 45
King Bird, 7 oz. ...... 2 16
Kine Bird, 10c ...... 11 52
King Bird, 5c ........ 5 76
ia Purke, 5c ........ 5 16
Little Giant, 1 Ib. .... 28
Lucky Strike, 10c .... 96
Le Redo, 3 oz. .... 10 80
Le Redo, 8 & 16 oz. 3
Myrtle Navy, l0c .... 11 52
Myrtle Navy, 5c ...... 5 76
Maryland Club, 5c . 50
Mayflower, 5c ........ 5 76
Mayflower, 10c ....... 95
Mayflower, 20c ....... 1 92
Nigger Hair, 5c ...... 6 00
Nigger Hair, 10c .... 10 70
Nigger Head, 5c .... 5 40
Nigger Head, 10c .... 10 56
Noon Hour, 5c ....... 48
Old Colony, 1-12 gro. 11 52
Old Mill, bc .......... 5 76
Old English Curve 1%o0z. 96
Old Crop Se .......... 5 76
Oid Crop, 2oc ........ 20
P. 8., 8 oz. 30 ib. cs. 19
P. 8S., 3 oz., per gro. 5 70
Pat Hand, 1 oz. ...... 3
Patterson Seal, 1% oz. 48
Patterson Seal, 3 oz. .. 96
Patterson Seal, 16 oz. 5 00
Peerless, 5c .........- 76
Peerless, 10c cloth .. 11 52
Peerless, 10c paper ..10 80
Peerless, 20c ........ 2 04
Peerless, 40c ......... 4 08
Frieza, 2 2To. ch. .... 5 76
Piow Boy, 5¢ ....-... 5 76
Plow Boy, 10c ...... 11 40
Plow Boy, 14 z. ...... 4 70
Pedro, 10c ........-- 11 93
Pride of Virginia, 1% 77
AIOE, OC .....-- 2s ee 5 76

13

 

Pilot, 7 oz. doz. .... 1 05
Pilot, 14 oz. doz. .... 2 10
Prince Albert, 5c .... 48
Prince Albert, 10c .... 96
Prince Albert, 8 oz. .. 3 84

Prince Albert, 16 oz. .. 7 44
Queen Quality, 5c .... 48
Rob Roy, 5c foil .... 5 76
Rob Roy, 10c gross ..10 52
Rob Roy, 25c doz. .... 2 10
Rob Roy, 50c doz. .... 4 10
S. & M., 5c gross .... 5 76
S. & M., 14 oz., doz. .. 3 20
Soldier Boy, 5c gross 5 76
Soldier Boy, 10c .... 10 50

Soldier Boy, 1 th. .... 4 75
Sweet Caporal, 1 oz. .. 60
Sweet Lotus, 5c ...... 6 00
Sweet Lotus, 10c .... 12 00

Sweet Lotus, per dz. 4 35
Sweet Rose, 2% oz. .. 30
Sweet Tip Top, 5c .. 50
Sweet Tip Top, 10c .. 1 00
Sweet Tips, %4 gro. .. 10 08
Sun Cured, 10c ....... 98
Summer Time, 5c .... 5 76
Summer Time, 7 oz. .. 1 65
Summer Time, 14 oz. 3 50
Standard, 5c foil 5 76
Standard, 10c paper .. 8 64

Seal N. C., 1% cut plug 70
Seal N. C. 1% Gran. 63
Three Feathers, 1 0z. 48
Three Feathers, 10c 11 52
Three Feathers and
Pipe combination .. 2 25
Tom & Jerry, 14 oz. .. 3 60

Tom & Jerry, 7 oz. .. 1 80
Tom & Jerry, 3 oz. .... 76
Trout Line, 5c .....- 5 90
Trout Line, 19c ...... 11 00
Turkish, Patrol, 2-9 5 76
Tuxedo, 1 oz. bags .. 48
Tuxedo, 2 oz. tins .. 96
Tuxedo, 20c ....--...- 1 90
Tuxedo, 80c tins .... 7 45
Twin Oaks, 10c ...... 96
Union Leader, 50c .... 5 10
Union Leader, 25c .. 2 60
Union Leader, 10c .. 11 52
Union Leader, 5c ..... 6 00
Union Workman, 1% 5 76
Uncle Sam, 10c ..... 10 80
Uncle Sam, 8 oz. .... 2 25
U. S. Marine, 5c .... 5 76
Van Bibper, 2 oz. tin 88
Velvet, 5c pouch .... 48
Velvet, 10c tin ..... 5.55 98
Velvet, 8 oz. tin 3 84
Velvet, 16 oz. can .... 7 68
Velvet, combination es 5 75
War Path, 5c ....-.-- 6 00
War Path, 20c ........ 1 60
Wave Line, 3 0Z. .... 40
Wave Line, 16 oz. .... 40
Way up, 2% OZ. ....-. 5 75
Way up, 16 oz. pails .. 31
Wild Wruit, 5c ........ 5 76
Wild Fruit, 10c ..... 11 52
Yum Yum, 5c .-..---- 6 00
Yum Yum, 10c -.... 11 52

Yum Yum, 1 Ib., doz. 4 80

TWINE
Cotton, 3 ply ..-...-. 25
Cotton 4 gly .......-. 25
Jute, 2 ply .....-.... 14
Igemp, 6 ply ...-.-.--. 13
Flax, medium ........ 24
Wool, 1 tb. bales ... 9%
VINEGAR
White Wine, 40 grain 8%

White Wine, 80 grain 11l¢
White Wine, 100 grain 13
Oakland Vinegar & Pickle
Co’s Brands.
Highland apple cider ..18
Oakland apple cider ..13
State Seal sugar .... 11
Oakland white pickling 10
Packages free.

 

WICKING
No. 0, per gross ...... 30
No. 1, per gross .... 40
No. 2, per gross .... 50
No. 3, per gross .... 75
WOODENWARE
Baskets
BUSReIS .| 3... see 1 00
Bushels, wide band .. 1 15
MATKCt oo. acs ae ese 40
Splint, large ........ 3 50
Splint, medium ...... 3 00
Splint, smail .......... 2 75

Willow, Clothes, large 8 25
Willow, Clothes, small 6 75
Willow, Clothes, me’m 7 50

Butter Pates

Ovals
% %h., 250 in crate .... 35
% %b., 250 in crate .... 35
1 Th., 250 in crate ..... 40
2 th., 250 in crate ..... 50
3 th., 250 in crate ...... 70
5 Ib., 250 in crate ..... 90
Wire End
1 ib., 250 in erate .. ..35
2 Ib., 250 in crate .... 45
3 lb., 250 in crate .... 55
5 Ib., 250 in crate .... 65
Churns

Barrel, 5 gal., each .. 2 40
Barrel 10 gal., each ..2 55
Clothes Pins

Round Head

14

4% inch, 5 gross ...... 65
Cartons, 20 2% doz. bxs 70
Egg Crates and Fillers
Humpty Dumpty, 12 dz. 20
No. 1 complete 40
No. 2, complete ........ 28

Case No. 2, fillers, 15
sets 3
Case, medium, 12 sets 1 15

 

Peete ere eee r eens

Faucets
Cork lined, 3 in. ...... 70
Cork lined, 9 in. ...... 80
Cork lined, 10 in. ...... 90
Mop Sticks
Trojan spring ...... a. 90
Eclipse patent spring 85
No. 1 common ........ 80

No. 2 pat. brush holder 85
Ideal No. 7
12lb. cotton mop heads 1 45

Pails

2-hoop Standard 2 00
2-hoop Standard 2 25
3-wire Cable ........ 2 30
MIDIS  5..5-4-2 2-222. .s 2 40
10 qt. Galvanized .... 1 70
12 qt. Galvanized .... 1 90
14 qt. Galvanized .... 2 10

Toothpicks
Birch, 100 packages .. 2 00
Ideal

Traps
Mouse, wood, 2 holes 22
Mouse, wood, 4 holes 45
Mouse, wood, 6 holes 70
Mouse, tin, 5 holes .... 65
Rat, wood ........-... 80
Rat, spring .......... 75
Tubs
20-in .Standard, No. 1 8 00
18-in. Standard, No. 2 7 00
16-in. Standard, No. 3 6 00
20-in. Cable, No. 1 .. 8 00
18-in. Cable, No. 2 .... 7 00
16-in. Cable, No. 3 .... 6 0¢
Wo. 1 fibre ...-..... 10 °25
No. 2 Fibre .....----- 9 25
No. 3 Wire .......--- 8 25
Large Galvanized .. 5 75
Medium Galvanized .. 5 00
Small Galvanized .... 4 25
Washboards
Banner Globe ........ 2 50
Brass, Simele ....... 8 25
Glass, Single ....... 3 25
Single Acme ......... 3 15
Double Peerless ...... 3 75
Single Peerless ...... 3 25
Northern Queen 3 25
Double Duplex ...... 3 00
Good Enough ....... 3 25
mgversal 22.0. ..2 050. 3 15
Window Cleaners
12 in. ....-353. el. ee 1 65
241M ee ees 1 85
16 im. ...3.... 272s... 8 2 30
Wood Bowls
3 i. Butter ....:... 1 50
15 im. Butter .....-.. 2 06
7 in. Sutter ........ 3 75
19 im. © amber .. 2.3... 6 00

Assorted, 13-15-17 .... 3 00
Assorted, 15-17-19 .... 4 25

WRAPPING PAPER

Common Straw 2
Fibre Manila, white .. 3

Fibre Manila, colored 4
No. 1 Manila ......... 4
Cream Manila ........ 3
Butchers’ Manila 2%

Wax Butter, short ent 10°
Wax Butter, full count 15
Wax Butter, rolls .... 12

YEAST CAKE

MaeIC, 3 GOZ. ...:..; 115
Sunlight, 3 doz. ...... 1 00
Sunlight, 1% doz. .... 50
Yeast Foam, 3 doz. .. 1 15
Yeast Foam, 1% doz. 58

AXLE GREASE

 

1 lb. boxes, per gross 9 00
3 lb. boxes, per gross 24 00

BAKING POWDER
Royal

10c sixe .. 90
\%tb cans 1 85
6 oz. cans 1 90
th. cans 2 50
%tb cans 3 75
1b cans 4 80
3Ib cans 13 00
5Ib cans 21 50

 

15

16

17

 

CIGARS
Johnson Cigar Co.’s Brand

 

     
 

 

S. C. W., 1,000 lots .... 31
Hl Portana ............ 33
Evening Press ....... - 382
Exemplar ..... a wies 6 os Oo
Worden Grocer Co. Brand
Ben Hur
Perfection ............. 35
Perfection Extras ..... 35
MUONGTeS 4... cs ee ss 35
Londres Grand ......... 35
Standard ............ 5 30
PUPtANOS 22.....0....: 35
Panatellas, Finas ...... 35
Panatellas, Bock ...... 35
Jockey Club .......... - 35
Old Master Coffee
Ola Master ........... 31
San Marto cle =
Pilot 62.
TEA

Royal Garden, %, %

and 2 Ib, oo... 6s. 40

THE BOUR CoO.,
TOLEDO. O.

COFFEE
: Roasted
Dwinnell-Wright Co’s B’ds

 

White House, 1 tb ........
White House, 21tb

Excelsior, Blend, 1Ib .....
Excelsior, Blend, 2tb ......
Tip Top, Blend, 1b
Royal Blend .....:...
Royal High Grade ..
Superior Blend ....... cece
Boston Combination .......

Distributed by Judson
Grocer Co., Grand Rapids;
Lee & Cady, Detroit; Sy-
mons Bros. & Co., Sagi-
naw; Brown, Davis & War-
ner, Jackson; Godsmark,
Durand & Ey
Creek; Fielbach Co.,
ledo.

  

 

Apex Hams..... Secs ce
Apex Bacon ...........
Apex ibard ............
Excelsior Hams .......
Excelsior Bacon .......
Silver Star Lard ......
Silver Star Lard ......
Family Pork ..........
Fat Back Pork .......
Prices quoted upon appli-

cation, Hammond, Standish
& Co., Detroit, Mich.

SAFES

 

Full line of fire and bur-
glar proof safes kent in
stock by the Tradesman
Company. Thirty-five sizes
and styles on hand at all
times—twice as many safes
as are carried by any other
house in the State. If you
are unable to visit Grand
Rapids and inspect the line
personally, write for quo-
tations.

 

Cleanser

Guaranteed to
equal the
best 1@c kinds

80 - CANS - $2.8¢@

SOAP
Lautz Bros.’ & Co.
Acme,~30 bars, 75 tbs. 4 00
Acme, 25 bars, 75 tbs. 4 00
Acme, 25 bars, 70 tbs. 3 80
Acme, 100 cakes ......3 00
Big Master, 100 blocks 4 00
German Mottled ......3 15
German Mottled, 6 bx. 8 15
German Mottled, 10 bx. 3 lo
German Mottled, 25 bx. 3 05
Marseilles, 100 cakes ..6 00
Marseilles, 100 cks. 5c 4 00
Marseilles, 100 ck toil 4 00
Marseilles, % box toil 2 10

Proctor & Gamble Co.

MONOX Ce oc. | 3 00
Ivory, 6102 ........0.. 4 00
Ivory, 10 oz, ......... 6 75

Geile sess cee fcc c es). 3 35

Tradesman Co.’s Brand
Black Hawk, one box 2 50
Black Hawk, five bxs 2 40
Black Hawk, ten bxs 2 25

A. B. Wrisley
Good Cheer ........... 4 00
Old Country .......... 2 40

Soap Powders
Snow Boy, 24s family

SIZ ocd 3 75
Snow Boy, 60 5s ...... 2 40
Snow Boy, 100 5¢ .... 3 75
Gold Dust, 24 large .. 4 50
Gold Dust, 100 5c ..... 4 00
Kirkoline, 24 4tb. .... 2 80
Heamnine ..  ......... 3 75
Soapine ....../........ 4 00
Baubitt’s 1776 ....... - 8 75
Roseine ....... ce seee - 3 50
AEMOur's ........, --5 3 a0
Wisdom ............. % 30

Soap Compounds
Johnson’s Fine ...... 5 10
Johnson’s XXX ,..... 4
Rub-No-More ........
Nine O'clock ......... 3 30

Scouring
Enoch Morgan’s Sons

Sapolio, gross lots ....9 60

Sapolio, half gro. lots 4 85
Sapolio, single boxes 2 40
Sapolio, hand .......

- 2 40
Scourine Manufacturing Co.
Scourine, 50 cakes ....1 80
Scourine, 100 cakes ...3 50

 

Conservative Investors Patronize
Tradesman Advertisers

 

 

 

Churches
Schools

Lodge Halls

for the merits of our school furniture,
and materials used and moderate prices, win.

We Manufacture

Public Seating

Exclusively

We furnish churches of all denominations, designing and
building to harmonize with the general architectural
scheme—from the most elaborate carved furniture for the cathedral to the
modest seating of a chapel.

The fact that we have furnished a large majority of the city
and district schools throughout the country. speaks volumes
Excellence of design. construction

We specialize Lodge. Hall and Assembly Seating.
Our long experience has given us a knowledge of re-
quirements and how to meet them. Many styles in stock and built to order
including the more inexpensive portable chairs. veneer assembly chairs, and
luxurious upholstered opera chairs,

Write Dept. Y.

American Seating Company

ft

 

GRAND RAPIDS

 

215 Wabash Ave.

NEW YORK BOSTON

CHICAGO, ILL.

PHILADELPHIA

 

 

 

oe

ane
> 02 02 Co 69 me 69 Oo mm
oMMtHOOwMO
S SSss

onmo anaes

ic 4 00

bom
So
o

nd
‘al
he

ty
es
on

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e-
Tr,
ad

 

 

 

October 29, 1913

MICHIGAN TRADESMAN

BUSINESS-WANTS DEPARTMENT

115

Advertisements inserted under this head for two cents a word the first insertion and one cent a word for each subsequent

continuous insertion. No charge less than 2

cents.

Cash must accompany all orders.

 

 

BUSINESS CHANCES.

 

Free for six months, my special offer
to introduce my magazine ‘Investing
for profit.” It is worth $10 a copy to
anyone who has_ been getting poorer
while the rich, richer. It demonstrates
the real earning power of money and
shows how anyone, no matter how poor,
ean acquire riches. Investing For Profit
is the only progressive financial journal
published. It shows how $100 grows to
>2,200. Write now and I’H send ‘it six
months free. H lL. Barber, 433, 28 W.
Jackson Blvd., Chicago. 448

For Sale or Rent—Hotel, partly fur-
nished. Good location. Reason, advanc-
ing years. Address John &. Evans,
Allegan, Mich. 577

For Sale-—A small stock of fancy
goods, notions, art goods, veilings, jew-
elry, shell goods, ete. Also a complete
line of store fixtures, cash carrier, cases,
ete. Cheap. Act quick. Going out of
business. Address No. 576, care Michi-
gan Tradesman. 576

For Sale—Clean stock general —
chandise, good location Missouri town.
Good business, light expense. Business
zrowing. $10,000 cash will handle. Ad-
dress Geo. D. Wisely, Blairstown, aa

alo

 

 

 

mer -

 

An excellent location for grocery or
general store. Address A. M. Grosvenor,
Casselton, N. D. 574

 

For vale—McCray ice box, overhead
icer, as good as they make, and is in
first-class condition. Bought in 1908.
Sectional. Can be shipped any place.
Two retail windows in front with mir-

ror. between. Size 8x12x11. Address
Pinnell’s Market, Charleston, Til. 53

$20,000 merchandise, 50¢e on the dollar,

$30,000 exchange, tow n, farms. Write
1315 Lawndale Ave., Kansas City, ae
vb

 

Confectionery for sale, only ~confec-
tionery and cafe in good Missouri town,
2,000 inhabitants; business good; can
give part time if desired, terms to suit;
place el aha diag Address S. B. Robin-
son, rant City, Mo. 570

 

 

 

Re ene for sale at one of the best
railroad junction points in Illinois; finely
equipped; cheap rent; profits average
from $2,500 to $3,000 per year; owner
will sacrifice for $2,600. For particulars
write Frank P. Cleveland, 2161 Adams
Express Bldg., Chicago, Illinois. 569
For Sale—Good clean stock of hard-
ware, groceries, crockery and paint; well
established for fourteen years. Invoice
about $8,000; doing a business of $40,000
to $45,009 yearly. Store well located,
city of 6,009; brick building 24x 118 feet,
two-story and basement; rents for $50
per month. Owner wishes to retire. Ad-
dress E,. Ww. Port, Portage, Wis. 568
For Sale—

 

Good will and cash business
im a city of 15,000. Carry fancy goods,
hair goods, art needle work and sup-
plies, ladies’ furnishings, beauty shop
and toilet articles. Rich city and coun-
try. Fine chance for lady. Invoice about
$1,800. Rent $25 in good location. My
health is fine but I cannot run a store
in Kansas and live in Arkansas. <Ad-
dress No. 567, care Michigan Tradesman.
567

business men,
others fine
1,000, near

 

Can furnish retired
clerks, book-keepers and
farms, 5 acres and up to
railway stations and good markets
cheaply and on easy payments. Write
for particulars to Stephenson Land &
I Oconto, Wis. 549

lumber Co.,

Drug Salesmen Wanted—In a few
states we have openings for experienced,
iirst-class men to sell to physicians and
druggists. Unusual high commission
paid. Permanent position for good men.
Hfensel penne Works, Dept. 11, Sioux
City, Iowa 556

A» farm ie Oklahoma, 730 acres fine
hottom land. No overflow, grows alfalfa
and corn. Big bargain. Black land.
“ture investment. W. P. Poland, Ard-
more, Okla. | 555

For Sale—Harness shop, Landis sew-
ing machine and Singer shoe machine.
All small tools and other goods. Cheap,
must sell. G. E. Anderson, Evart, 333

53

For ‘Sale—Ola. establishe d stock Of zen-
eral hardware, furniture and implements,
located in as good agricultural and fruit
country as lies outdoors; will inventory
about $3,000. This is a bargain and will
He sold on any reasonable terms. _Ad-
dress Jas. Sharp, Grant, Mich. 550

 

 

 

For Sale—Farm bargains near Fruit-
port, Mich., 40 acres improved, others
with stock; cheap. terms; write for de-
scription. L. Dwelle,

Box 438, Fruitport,
Mich. a 559

For Sale—Bakery and confectionery
store, yood fountain lunch business;
city of 5,500. Must sell at once. Cheap.
Address Clark Potter, Three Rivers,
Mich. 565

Muskegon Co.,

For Rent—Store with basement, 35x100,
modern throughout, steam heat, located
on principal retail street, suitable for
any business. Sam Grossman, South
Bend, _Ind. 544

For Sale—Groc ery stock and _ bakery.
Old established business. Located in city
of 25,000 people in Northern Indiana.
Did $68, 000 business last year. Reasou
for selling, want to retire. Address No.
d48, care Michigan Tradesman. 548

For Sale—Four lamp inverted burner,
Yale special, gasoline, hollow wire light-
ing system, nearly new. For particulars
write to G. B. Nichols, 1315 Portage SE.,
Kalamazoo, Mich. 543

 

 

Merchants! Do you want to sell out?
Have an auction. Guarantee you no loss.
Address L. H. Gallaghar Auctioneer,
384 Indiana Ave., Toledo, Ohio. 557

For Sale—Profitable tin and furnace
business in live Iowa city of 2,000. One-
man shop, 20x56, with bench room -ur
two. Modern front brick building, on
public square; living rooms overhead.
Excellent location. Building cost $4,000
to erect, but will sacrifice both building
and property with good will for $4,000.
Stock at invoice and tools at actual
value. Want to sell on account of wife’s
health. Address Wm. Lamprecht, Box
482, Marengo, Iowa. 539

 

For Sale—A good general merchandise
business in a good farming community,
at Richfield Center, Ohio. Must be sold
to settle an estate. Address F. J. Bick,
R. iB, D., Sylvania, O. 538

‘Will sell my well located drug store
for $1,000, $500 cash, balance on easy
payments to. suit purchaser. Address
Max, care Tradesman. 536

For Sale—First-class— “restaurant and
lunch room, centrally located and dome
a very fine business. Will bear investi-
gation. Address No. 527, care Trades-
man. 527

$3.500 to $4,000 general dry goods stock
for sale. Good reliable proposition. Full

particulars. Address 353 Franklin, Val-
paraiso, Ind. 534

 

Partner Wanted—It_ ‘you are looking
for an investment with or without active
part, in safe established profitable man-
ufacturing business, we can offer you an
opportunity seldom equalled. Selling or
executive ability preferred. Bank and
mercantile references given and required.
Don’t answer unless you can qualify
with $5,000 or more. 217 North Los
Angeles St.. Los Angeles. Cali. 519

“Salesmen Wanted—We have several
open territories for entervrising men of
good selling ability to represent us. Young
men with experience in retail stores and
a fair knowledge of the methods used in
the conduct of a general store business
are especially qualified to succeed in our
line. Those men who would improve their
condition and inerease then earnings
should write for particulars to the Sales
Department of The Simple Account Sales
Book Co., Fremont, Ohio. 562

If you want spot cash for your stock
of merchandise, address R. E. Thompson,
lle, Okla. 561
Sale—$10, 000 stock dry goods,
men’s furnishings Central Michi-
Cash business. Ad-

 

shoes, m1
gan population 2500.
dress 532 care Michigan Tradesman.

53

 

For Sale—A clean stock of general
merchandise. Best brands of all kinds.
Will invoice $8,000 to $10,000. Good lo-
cation in Central Iowa. Thirteen years
in business. Other business demands
my attention. Write Box 54, Malcolm,
Towa. 529

‘Wanted—To purchase Rexall drug
store. Spot cash $5,000 to $10,000. Books,
stationery and wall paper in connection
preferred. No soda fountain. Address
No. 528, care Tradesman. 528

For Sale—Store building, clean stock
shoes, with repair shop in connection.
Doing good business for seven years.
Must change climate on account of ill
health. Address No. 535, care Trades-
man. 535

For Sale Cheap—Restaurant, billiard,
pool, bowling alleys combined; fine loca-
to doing good _ business; have other

 

business, can’t look after both; a snap,

don’t wait. C. C. Jackson, Algonac,

Mich. _ a c a 517
Wanted—To buy. potatoes, cabbage,

hay in ecarlots. New choice picked beans
and honey in any amounts. Jos. Weiler.
Olney. Ill. 495

Wanted To Exchange—48) acres of
Cass county, Minnesota land for mer-
chandise. Lake Region Land Co., Pine
River. Minn. 542

300d house and a store to exchange
for stock of merchandise. Wm. Sweet,
Cedar, Mich. 487

Look Here Merchants! You ean col-
lect all your old given up accounts your-
self by our new plan. Enclose stamp for
sample and full particulars. Pekin Book
Co., Detroit, Mich. 512

 

  

For Sale—Up-to-date bakery and bot-
tling works with the business. For par-
ticulars write Henry Bogardus, Osawa-
tomie, Kan. 541

For Sale—A good stock ‘of clothing,
consisting of men’s, boys’ and youths’
suits, overcoats and pants. Also a stock
of ladies’ ready-to-wear goods, compris-
ing suits. coats, dresses, ete. Also a
stock of carpets and rugs and linoleums.
I will sell all of the above goods at a
bargain, as I am going out of business.
Address H. N. Beach, Howell, Mich. 7

5

To Exchange—For stock of general
merchandise, equities of $1,500 to $6,000
in well rented residence property in
Western Michigan city of 10,000 popula-
tion. Address Exchange, care Trades-
man.

For Sale—Two saw mills “complete. 15
and 25 M. Cap. Plenty ore, pine timber.
A bargain in each. W. R. serene, a
Grande, Oregon.

1 pay cash for stocks or part aaa
of merchandise. Must be cheap.
Kaufer, Milwaukee, Wis. 92

If you wish to buy, sell or excnange any
legitimate business of any kind, anywnere,
consult our Business Chance Department.
Its operation is national in scope and
offers unexcelled services to the seller,
as well as the buyer. Advantageous ex-
changes for other properties are often
arranged. In writing, state fully your
wants. The Varland System, oo
Bank, St. Paul, Minn.

Safes Opened—wW. L. Slocum, sate ex-
pert and locksmith. 97 Monroe Ave.,
Grand Rapids. Mich. 144

FREE FOR SIX MONTHS—MY SPEC-
IAL offer to introduce my magazine “IN-
VESTING FOR PROFIT.” It is worth
$10 a copy to anyone who has been get-
ting poorer while the rich, richer. It
demonstrates the REAL earning power of
money, and shows how anyone, no matter
how poor, CAN acquire riches. INVEST-
ING FOR PROFIT is the only progres-
sive financial journal published. It shows
how $100 grows to $2,200. Write NOW
and I'll send it six months free. HA .E.
Barber, 4338, 28 W. Jackson Blvd., Chi-
cago. 448

Cash for. your business or pruyerty. I
bring buyers and sellers together. No
matter where located, if you want to buy,
sell or exchange any kind of business or
property, write me. Established 1881.
Frank P. Cleveland, Real Estate Expert,
1261 Adams Express Bldg., Chicago, Ls

326

 

 

 

 

~ Merchants” Please Take Notice! We
have clients of grocery stocks, general
stocks, dry goods stocks, hardware stocks,
drug stocks. We have on our list also a
few good farms to exchange for such
stocks. Also city property. If you wish
to sell or exchange your business write
us. G. R. Business Exchange, 540 House-
man Bldg., Grand Rapids, Mich. 859

Henry Noring, Reedsburg, Wis., ex-
pert merchandise auctioneer and author
of The Secret of Successful Auctioneer-
ing, closes out or reduces stocks of mer-
chandise. Write for dates and —

Wante d—Man with capital to join
with me in purchasing timber. Can se-
cure Oregon pine timber at right price;
500,000,000 feet tn one bunch, also small-
er tracts. A rare opportunity to make
money. Address W. R. Kivette, Box
207, La Grande, Oregon. 463

First-class bakery and restaurant, with
reputation of eighteen years. Modern
two-story brick building, 30x140 feet.
Best location seaport city of 85,000 on
Lake Superior. Doing good business, no
wagon, all counter trade. Have best

class of people boarding with me. Have
So opposition in catering. Will invoice
$5, 600, part cash, balance to suit. Give

good lease to right party. Chas. Schober,
27 E. Superior St., Duluth. Minn. 493

Will pay cash for stock of shoes and

rubbers. Address M. J. O., care —
man.
' For Sale Cheap—One good 8x - x “

refrigerator. Guaranteed condition. Bur-
meister & Son, Sturgis, Mich. 429
Meat market and grocery for sale; do-
ing good business; fixtures in first-class
condition; groceries all staple; worth
about $1,800. Address Hagerman Meat
Market. Hagerman, N. M. 497

HELP WANTED.

 

o

Wanted—Salesmen calling upon hard-
ware and implement dealers to handle
our cream separators as a sideline, on
commission basis. Simplest disc ma-
chine on the market prices enable
dealers to compete with mail order
houses. State rights will be given re-
linble parties. The Milwaukee Siaracae
Co., 267 Sixth St., Milwaukee, Wis.

70

via
Wanted—At once an experienced clerk
for general store one who can handle
German trade and take charge of ad-
vertising preferred. W. A. Hauck, Sea-
forth, Minn. 533

Wanted—Clerk for general store. Must
be sober and industrious and have some
previous experience. References required.
Address Store, care Tradesman. 242
Wanted—Sober industrious grocery-
man. Must have experience, give ref-
erences Salary $60 start with, good
chance for advancement to right party.
E. A. Phillips, Anacortes, Wash. 507

SITUATIONS WANTED.

 

 

 

Wanted—Position as clerk in grocery
store by a young man. Have had six
years’ experience. Speak German. Can
furnish references. Address J. H. Klot-
te nbe ‘rg, Danforth, Il. 579

W: anted Position—First-class clerk,
seven years’ experience in general lines,
wishes to make change. Best references.
Small town preferred. Address Clerk,
care Tradesman. 578

Wanted—Position by experienced trav-
eling salesman, any line but drugs, with
house of good reputation. Must be Mich-
igan territory. References. Address No.
554, care Tradesman. 554

Wanted—Position by experienced hard-
ware and grocery clerk. Have had ex-
perience in farm implements. Address
No. 521, care Michigan Tradesman. 521

 

Don’t

 

To accumulate $500.00 or $1,000.00 before making
an investment.

You Can Buy $100.00 Bonds

That are a part of exactly the same issue as
those of larger denomination and can

Keep Your Savings Earning 6%

Let us submit you details and offerings.

HOWE, CORRIGAN & CO.

INVESTMENT SECURITIES
Fifth Floor Mich. Trust Bldg.

(As far as you can go to the right of the elevator.)

Wait

 

 

 

nine:

!
i
:
Z

Phage DARN ny yc PERL

116

MICHIGAN TRADESMAN

October 29, 1913

 

Wafted Down From Grand Traverse
Bay.

Oct. 27—-Traverse City held its reg-
ular meeting last Saturday night, with
Senior Counselor W. F. Murphy pre-
siding. Chas. E. Taylor was added
to our number, making our member-
ship now 131. Everything seemed to
work off serenely and from all reports
we will have the pleasure of initiat-
ing a large class at Cadillac next
Saturday afternoon. A number of
the brothers besides the officers ex-
pressed their willingness to visit
Cadillac and try and show the
Cadillac brothers that we appreciate
their actions. Remember we _ will
leave here on the G. R. & I. at 10:25
a. m., returning in the evening.

In reference to the mention given
Wallie Wendell and me by the “Kean
Observer” will say that I really have
no serious objection to the item, but
would appreciate that hereafter his
name would not be used in the same
article with mine. Not that I care
a damn, but it looks like hell. We
have referencé to the item in last
week’s Tradesman.

If Herman Hoffman would refrain
from wearing his glasses while per-
forming his duties, we think he could
use the word “orphan” instead of
“off-spring.” Really the boys would
appreciate it and it would also be in
accordance with the ritual. Kindly
refer to Webster as to the meaning
of the two above words, Brother
Hoffman.

The committee arranged for an
oyster supper after the meeting,
which was highly appreciated.

Jay Smith, who at one time was
a resident of our city but now a mer-
chant of Buckley, is also director of
the Buckley orchestra. Jay is giving
special lessons on the cello.

The “O-U-Fido-Klub” met last Fri-
day evening at the Richter home,
which was in the nature of a surprise
party. Gameg were played and lunch
was served. Everybody seemed to
have a good time. Owing to the
party being held in the writer’s home
modesty will not allow us to dwell on
the subject in length.

Only eight more weeks until Christ-
mas!

Compliments are due Cadillac
Council, No. 143, Detroit, for the
classy U. C. T. volunteer buttons its
members are wearing who have en-
listed in the Grand Commercial
Army. Cadillac Council is one of the
best in the State and seems to take
the initiative in almost everything
that is pulled off. The button is oval
in shape, blue and white in color,
with the following wording, “Cadillac
U. C. T. volunteer 1st. Regt. Battalion
143.” Cadillac Council has an en-
listment of fifty-five now in the Grand
Commercial Army, the highest record
in the State, to our knowledge.

Duncan Kay, of Detroit, who rep-
resents the H. D. Smith Co., of Cin-
cinnati, as well as a number of large
manufacturers in the confectionery

ing jobbing centers in several states.
Mr. Kay made friends wherever he
went and will be greatly missed.
Quoting John Straub, President of
the S. B. & A. Candy Co.: “Mr. Kay
was always a good feeler, being per-
fectly sober in his habits. With a
pleasant word for everybody, he made
a host of friends.” He is survived by
several brothers in Detroit and a sis-
ter in New York. Mr. Kay was only
sick for a short time, having arrived
last Tuesday, but the dreaded disease.
pneumonia, had its work pretty well
under way before he arrived here.
Interment will be made at Galt, Cana-
da.

W. G. Wyman, favored the boys at
the Council with a box of Osborn
division smokes, ten centers, too, if
you please. Thanks, we are glad
you're married.

I. K. Jacobs, manager of the local
branch of the National Cash Register
Co., is attending a meeting in Grand
Rapids this week, therefore was un-
able to attend our meeting.

Herb. Griffeth, while not in a posi-
tion to attend our last meeting, re-
membered us with a donation of two
gallons of choice oysters, which the
Council highly appreciated. Thanks,
Herb, come again.

Some of the hotels do not seem to
appreciate the importance of  tele-
phonic and telegraphic messages
which are sent in their care for their
patrons. We have in mind a certain
hotel which received a message for
one of the boys at 5 o'clock in the
morning, but the clerk reported that
he was not in the house, notwith-
standing that the brother’s name was
on the register and he upstairs in bed.
It happened to be a sick message and
the brother, being unaware of the
message being there, took the morn-
ing train after breakfast to another
town, at which place his firm located
him, and he was obliged to pay $7
auto hire to get back to the town to
catch the train for home. He pre-
sented these facts to the landlord
upon his next visit, besides having
written him in the meantime, but
got little or no satisfaction out of
him. Also they do not appear to pay
much attention to returning letters
to the senders while the return plain-
ly states five days return.

Reports come to us that the Sham-
rock Hotel, of Copemish, is deserving
of worthy mention for the service it
is handing the boys under the man-
agement of C. A. Spears and wife.
There is no bunch of fellows who
appreciate the right kind of treatment
more than the boys on the road and
they are always willing to speak the
right word at the right time. it
seems that the Spears people are the
right people in the right place.

Our membeship in Michigan now
aggregates 2,692. With all the coun-
cils working hard, we should easily
reach the 3,000 mark before the close
of our fiscal year. If one of every
ten of our members would secure an

the volunteers and get busy and se-
cure the fountain pen.

Think of it! Traverse City now
thinks it will reach the 151 mark be-
fore the close of our year to enable
us to send another representative to
the Grand Council meeting. Well.
here’s hoping we do. We are all
boosting.

We might suggest to Homer Linea,
of Petoskey, that he have his coat
pocket porcelain lined if he continues
to carry kittens in his pockets, for
some of them are not city broke.
Well, Homer fixed matters up pretty
well, for he purchased a large quan-
tity of perfume.

C. L. Moody, of Auto City Coun-
cil, Lansing, was seen in these parts
last week and was in his usually happy
frame of mind, boosting for the
U. C. T. Mere members like Brother
Moody would do no harm.

Ray Thacker was out this week re-
newing old acquaintances and making
new ones in the interests of the John
T. Beadle Co. Ray says it seems good
to cover the old territory.

Have you joined the Grand Com-
mercial Army of Volunteers?

If not, why not?

Be a booster. Fred C. Richter.

The Tradesman thinks that Mr.
Richter should be more specific in his
article about the negligent hotel-
keeper by mentioning the name of
the hotel, so that the traveling men
who have occasion to visit that hotel
hereafter may fully understand how
little attention is given to their tele-
grams. The Tradesman believes it
is only fair that this should be done
and that any time the hotel keeper
or clerk goes out of his way to serve
a traveling patron, that should be re-
corded to his credit. The Tradesman
has suffered serious loss from the
Hotel Tuller, of Detroit, in the care-

less handling of mail and when it was
suggested that the least the hotel
could do to make amends for this
neglect, the suggestion was treated
with scorn and derision. Any man
who stops at the Hotel Tuller would
do well to have his mail sent some-
where else if he expects to get it
promptly and have it treated with due
respect.

—__2-.____-

R. Roach & Co. have
been awarded a judgment of $29,880
against the receivers of the Pere Mar-
quette Railroad in the Oceana Circuit
Court. The case involved the burn-
ing of the old Slaght ware house with
valuable contents on August 10, 1912.
The Roach company claimed that the
fire was caused by sparks from a Pere
Marquette locomotive which was en-
gaged in putting back on a sidetrack
a derailed car.

ae WwW.

 

BUSINESS CHANCES.

Wanted—To buy printing press and
type, large enough for a six column
newspaper. Address No. 583, care Trades-
man. 583

~ Merchandise Sales Conductors. We are
busy holding special sales all over Mich-
igan. Stocks reduced or closed out en-
tirely at a profit. Write for terms and
open date. A. E. Greene, 116 Dwight
Bldg., Jackson, Mich. 58l

For Sale—Variety ‘store. and | “poultry,
butter, eggs, cream business, one-half
cash, balance easy payments. Consider: 1-
tion $1,500. Manzke & Sons Co., Bowling
Green, Mo. 582
Hotel Wanted—Practical hotel family
would take a long lease of furnished
hotel in good town, must be leading com-
mercial $2 per day hotel. Give details
in first letter. W. S. Hull, Lincoln, Ml.
ae 566

For Sale—A stock of ~ general mer-
chandise, clean and _ practically new,
bought right and well suited to this
trade. Stock will invoice $3,500.  Lib-
eral discount for casn. Address Burdi-
son & Baldwin, Mosc ow, Tenn. 564

$10,000 required to swing safest “store,
clothing, dry goods, shoes, ladies’ ready-
made. Business established 35 years.
Moneymaker. Town 3,000 richest farm-
ing section Central Mic higan. | Bumper
crops. Immediate possession. Good rea-
sons. If a hustler answer. Address
No. 563, care Tradesman. 563

Physician—Location wanted in good
town, would buy small outfit. Physician,
care Michigan Tradesman. 580

 

 

COFFEES ROASTED
McLaughlin’s XXXX
McLaughlin’s XXXX sold
to retailers only. Mail ae

orders’ direct to W.
McLaughlan & Co., Siege
CRACK ERS
National Biscuit Company

Brands

Butter ;
Boxes
Excelsior Butters ..... 8

NBC Square Butters .. 6%
Seymour Round - 6%
Soda
NBC Sodas .......... 6%
Premium Sodas 1%
Select Sodas 8%

Saratoga Flakes ...... 13
SAIMINCS ........6-55.. 13

Oyster ae
NBC Picnic Oysters .. 6%
Gem Oysters ...... cos Oe
Shell

Sweet Goods
Cans and boxes
Animals .......... see a8
Atlantics Also Asstd. . 12
Avena Fruit Cakes ... 12
Bonnie Doon Cookies. .10
Bonnie Lassies ...... 10
Brittle Fingers ...... 10
Cameo Biscuit Choc.
(cans)

Cameo Biscuit Asstd.
(CARS) ....... cacccee ae
Cartwheels Asstd. .... 8%
Cecelia Biscuit 16
Chocolate Bar (cans) 18

Cocoanut Macaroons .. 18
Cocnut Honey Fingers 12
Cocnt Honey Jumbles 12
Coffee Cakes Iced ... 12
Eventide Fingers .... 16
Family Cookies ....... 8%
Fig Cakes Asstd. .... 12
Frosted Creams 8%
Frosted Ginger Cookies 8%
Fruit Lunch Iced .... 10
Ginger Gems Plain .... 8%

Ginger Gems Iced .... 9%
Graham Crackers .... 8
Ginger Snaps Family .. 3%
Ginger Snaps NBC

Round cco 8.
Household Cookies. <5 28
Household Cks. Iced .. 9
Hippodrome Bar ..... 12
Honey Jumbles ...... 12
Imperiale. ...:......0... 3”
Jubilee Mixed
Lady Fingers Sponge . 3
Leap Year Jumbles .. 18
Lemon Biscuit Square 8%
Lemon Wafers ...... 17
TlOMONA c6scesccccssce SUH
Mace Cakes ........0. 8
Mary Ann ........... 8%
Marshmallow Cfe. Ck. 13
Marshmallow Walnuts 18
MICGOrA occ accceccss ss
Mottled Squares .... 1
NBC Honey Cakes ... 12
Oatmeal Crackers .... 8
Orange Gems ........ 8%
Penny Assorted ....... 7
Peanut Gems .........
Pineapple Cakes ..... 16
Raisin Gems ......... 11
Reveres Asstd. ....... 16
Spiced Ginger Cakes ..9
Spiced Ginger Cakes

HOAd ic ccceoe cesses AO
Sugar Ringers

Bremners Btr Wafs.
Cameo Biscuit
Cheese Sandwich
Chocolate Wafers
Excelsior Butters .
Fig Newton ..........
Five O’Clock Tea Bact.
Gineer Snanse NR
Graham Crackers “Red

Label 10e size ...... 1

Lemon Snaps ........
Oysterettes

Premium Sodas

Royal Toast
Saratoga Flakes
Social Tea Biscuit ..
S. S. Butter Crackers
Uneeda Biscuit
Uneeda Ginger Wafer
Vanilla Wafers 1
Water Thin Biscuit ..
Zu Zu Ginger Snaps ..
Zwieback

Other Package Goods
Barnum’s Animals
Chocolate Tokens ....
Butter Crackers eed

Family roe are
Soda Crackers NBC

Family Package
Fruit Cake

vu

1 ov

00
Oe
ov
an

In Special Tin Packages

Festino
Nabisco 25c
Nabisco, 10c

Bent’s Water Crackers i

50

40

FLAVORING EXTRACTS

Jennings D C Brand

Terpeneless Extract Lemon

No. 1 F box, per doz.
No. 2 F box, per doz.
No. 4 F box, per doz. 1

75
9n
75

No. 3 Taper, per doz. 1 75
2 oz. Flat, F M per dz. 1 5n

Jennings D C Brand
Extract Mexican Vanilla

No. 1 F Box, per doz.
No. 2 F Box, per doz. 1
chi 4 F Box, per doz. 2
No. 3 Taper, per doz. 2
2 oz. Flat F M per dz. 2

Chocolate Drops ...... 17
Chocolate Drop Cen-

which would seem an easy matter to COTS we seeeeeeeceees

Sugar Crim cece
Sultana Fruit’ Biscuit “146
16 Triumph Cakes .......
Vanilla Wafers ...... 17
Choc. Honey Fingers. 16 Waverley ..... ce. 00
Choc. Rosettes (cans) 20 In-er-Seal_ Trade Mark
Cracknels ..--++-sece- 18 Goods
Cocoanut Taffy Bar .. 18 per doz.
Cocoanut Drops ...... 13 Baronet Biscuit ......$1 00

line calling on the jobbing trade, died
at the Park Place Hotel last Friday
afternoon. Mr. Kay was about 60
years of age, the greater portion of
his life having been spent on the
road covering a number of our lead-

applicant, we could reach this mark.

do, for some of the good workers
will always come across with a nice
bunch to their credit each year. Join

 

TS RSE LASS RUA AMIS IT Bar

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

‘The Ideal Clothing Co.

Manufacturers of

Overalls, Work Shirts and Cotton Pants

Grand Rapids, Michigan

\ yee.
f Gy A ~ ee
"4 Nl
Wa

 

 

Buy our line of work-
clothesformenand boys |)
and you can show values
that cannot be equaled |||
elsewhere. +: x: wt:

FITTING
WEARING

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The

 

 

Home
‘of the
The
Cigar of
High
Degree

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

° : We have acquired 66 feet more frontage on the
Wher e Sanitation south side of this building, on which we will soon
is Featured

erect a new building, three stories in front and five
stories in the rear.

G. J. Johnson Cigar Co.

 

 

Grand Rapids,
Michigan