oy GRAND RAPID PUBLIC LIBRA LAWN COS SPEED = SON eTEELG PIAS PRESET i ar Sn aro ae oz We R We Size ~ soe a) ey YY, rN OD Cw CCE a CH (CRBC GN aa) TNC SO Z Ss J 4 cn Ds (A “ po By J, 1] Z / (= Lo eae a aS Va A ey ZZ 2 Oy ep AUNS SAGES WAESe. .- c- eof PUBLISHED WEEKLY S(O NG en TRADESMAN COMPANY, PUBLISHERSR <= Ne : CO L : SP IGs SS] SOE SSS SS LO ES SR YIN SS: a Ny 1 Thirty-Fourth Year GRAND RAPIDS, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 24, 1917 Number 1740 Al Man’s Praver Teach me that sixty minutes make an hour, sixteen ounces one pound, and one hun- dred cents one dollar. Help me to live so that I can lie down at night with a clear conscience, without a gun under my pillow, and unhaunted by the faces of those to whom I have brought pain. Grant, I beseech Thee, that I may earn my meal ticket on the square, and in doing so may not stick the gaff where it does not belong. Deafen me to the jingle of tainted money and the rustle of unholy skirts. Blind me to the faults of the other fellow, but reveal to me my own. Guide me so that each night when I look across the dinner table at my wife, who has been a blessing to me, I will have nothing to conceal. PAIIAIAAADAAAA AAA IAA AAA AAAI AAA AAA AAAI AAA AS AAASAAAI AAAS AA ASA ASAIAASAAAAIAAASISAIAASIAN Keep me young enough to laugh with my children and to lose myself in their play. ‘ And then when comes the smell of flowers and the tread of soft steps and the crushing of the hearse’s wheels in the gravel out in front of my place, make the ceremony short and the epitaph simple: HERE LIES A MAN BRAID IAA AAA IIIA IAAI IAAI AAAI AAA AAAI AAA ASA AA AAS SAASIAA ISA AAASAI SISA AAD AAA AAA AAA AIAA AIA AAASAA SISA SIAAAISAASAASASAISISASISAAIASAAY, Fancy shelled Pop Corn ——$$—= IN PACKAGES ——————— Clean Sweet THAT WILL POP Corn ../g\ Snowball , Santa . sZt: Claus rand, LAL Ve Brand, packed 5 De P| packed o ; NG ‘| 100 10-02. 40 1-lb ag. g pkgs. | pkgs 211 50 10-02. Retails Soot esp sci c| Retails at 10c uf at 5c. PACKED BY THE: ALBERT DICKINSON CO. CHICAGO, ILL. Branches: DETROIT NEW YORK MINNEAPOLIS BUFFALO BOSTON FRANKLIN “SUGAR TALKS" TO GROCERS “Wouldst Thou Have picnic. Tt bee Do Not Squander Savings, for That’s the Stuff Profits Are Made of” This wise word of advise by Benjamin Franklin is as good to-day as it was in his time. The grocer who sells sugar in the old fashioned way, in paper bags, neglects the saving of time and work and the saving of overweight that HE COULD POSITIVE- LY SAVE by selling FRANKIN PACKAGE SUGAR. The neat cartons and cotton bags are ready to hand to customers—no weighing, no tying, no bother with bag or scoop, no cost of bags or twine, no loss by overweight. It’s the EASIEST and the only PROFITABLE way to sell sugar. FRANKLIN PACKAGE SUGAR IS GUARANTEED FULL WEIGHT, AND MADE FROM SUGAR CANE Original containers hold 24, 48, 60 and 120 Ibs. THE FRANKLIN SUGAR REFINING CO., Philadelphia Let.us help you with your Cheese Business We can furnish you with Fancy June Made New Yorks The Tasty Kind Fall Made Michigan Soft and Creamy Fall Made Wisconsins A good line of Imported and Domestic Cheese at reasonable prices Judson Grocer Co. The Pure Foods House GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN DUTCH MASTERS SECONDS Will stimulate your trade Handled by all jobbers G. J. JOHNSON CIGAR CO., Makers GRAND RAPIDS a” A oan” > ig 2 “ad *s €s 2 wy a 2 4 as $i a * ae ‘y+. * \3 @ sa mY +. % 4 li + ® oe Fe .., 4 By sa s ame y a 2 Fi 4 ° 4 4 , | <7 Q > , av » 2 > : > o s % ry _ |} ‘i | @ 4 » me _> - 4 ae | . \ w A S “ > é A é a a aL | a 7 i} 5 i’ ~ >» ‘74> LBRO es (i i = SiN 57 9) ? GRAND RAPID PUBLIC LIBRARY ADESMAN Thirty-Fourth Year SPECIAL FEATURES. e 2. Detroit Detonations. 4. News of the Business World. 5. Grocery and Proauce Market. 6. Men of Mark. 8. Editorial 10. Government vs. Business. 12. Financial. 15. Bankruptcy Matters. 16. Queen of the Antiites (Concluded). 22. Dry Goods. 26. Automobiles and Accessories. 28. Butter, Eggs and Provisions. 30. The Man Who Sells. 32. Stock Taking. 34. Shoes. 36. Hardware. 40. The Commercial Traveler. 42. Drugs. 43. Drug Price Current. 44. Grocery Price Current. 46. Special Price Current. 47. Business Wants. REPEATING HISTORY. In the game of hide and seek now . being carried on in the Atlantic Ocean between the German raider and _ the British and French naval vessels, the honors are clearly with the German ship. It is self-evident that the raider has already caused so much damage that if she is now sunk she will go down to history as one of the Kaiser’s most profitable investments. Not only is the destruction of vessels so great that it is admitted from London to-day that it will be severely felt, but the indirect consequences of the disturbance of traf- fic are certain to be extremely costly. Until the raider is located there must be anxiety and delay in every part of the ocean. As the raider is reported to have been last seen ten days ago, she may turn up three thousand miles away to-morrow. Coal she has in plenty as the result of her captures. Indeed, there is nothing to prevent her imitating the Confederate cruiser Shenandoah and going around Cape Horn to strike at the rich cargo ships of the Pacific—even at the munition ships plying between our Pacific Coast ports and Vladivostok —unless she should accidentally run into a British or Japanese cruiser. The Moewe got safely back to her home port, and it is possible that her successor may strive to follow her example. The Greif, it will be remembered, was not so fortunate, and was sunk on her way out. Indeed, we shall have to wait until the end of the war to hear how many ships tried to run the gauntlet before we can judge how efficient the blockade has been. In such an ocean game of hare and hounds the odds favor the hare, as the Confederate cruisers showed. What had been expected was, however, that the wireless would so alter the situation as to make it infinitely harder for the hare to double on the pursuers. It was thought that as it only takes a few sec- onds to send out an S. O. S. call any captured ship unless entirely surprised could send a hasty warning even if she had to haul down her flag immediately thereafter. The Moewe on several oc- casions got alongside of her victims by strategy and then threatened to sink the prizes if the wireless sputtered 4 single GRAND RAPIDS, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 24, 1917 syllable. In such cruiser warfare every ruse is allowable and there is no more reason to take exception to this Ger- man’s sailing under the British flag or hoisting a flag of distress than there was to attack Captain Semmes for reg- ularly resorting to these same practices. We should have no reason to complain -if this were happening right at our doors, for this cruiser appears to be doing what the submarines cannot ex- cept in sight of land—safeguarding the lives of the captured crews in the his- toric fashion of sending them into port in a captured ship, precisely as the Con- federates used to. Whatever the fate of the present raider, her career will again hearten the Germans and _ encourage many of them to think that they can really drive England to the wall by the use of their sea-power. Fantastic as this seems, they are at least entitled to say that in this war, as many English writers admit, the palm for initiative, daring and enterprise at sea belongs to them and not to the English, despite all their centuries of naval tradition. —E—EEE EE It is not uncommon for the war equipment of a nation to be made in another country, and Krupp’s prod- uct has been known and used the world over these many years, but it does grate on the sensibilities of a patriotic American to be informed that the Secretary of the Navy has awarded to Hatfield’s, Limited, of Sheffield, England, a contract for 4,000 14-inch shells and 3,500 16-inch shells. The reason given is that the price is much below any that could be secur- ed in the United States. All works in this country that are capable of turning out arms and munitions have been crowded to the limit these many months, prices of material have dou- bled or more, and cost of product has been high. These facts may be given as the reason for the high figures de- manded by our manufacturers but al- ways there has been a controversy be- tween our munitions makers and the Government in regard to prices. It is a bit strange however that a coun- try engaged in war and presumably. requiring every effort of its mills to turn out product must be making shells for a country at peace. The presumption is that these shells will be carefully inspected by American experts. eet Among the queer articles taken by burglars who broke open a showcase in a drug store of San Francisco, were a dozen bottles of flea powder. With that the burglars ought to be able to flee from justice. a Your show window tells a_ story every day to the passing public. If that story is one that inclines them to buy, well and good. If not, it is your own fault. . daily bread. ABANDON BRUTAL POLICY. Doubtless many persons are as tired of hearing Germany called the unjust as the Athenians were of ‘hearing Aris- tides called the just; but there are times when one has no right to stop hearken- ing to a cry of injustice simply hecause it makes him tired. The latest outgiving concerning the Belgian deportations is of a kind so impressive and so authori- tative that it must command attention after all that has come and gone. We refer to Cardinal Mercier’s crushing reply to the letter in which Governor- General Von Bissing defends the de- portations. With what brutal disregard of the actual situation of the men sent into foreign servitude these deportations have been carried out, the great Cardinal makes clear not only by his general as- sertions but by two instances, typical of “abundant examples” that might be given One of these we here repro- duce: On November 21 recruiting began in the commune of Kersbeek-Miscom. From the 1,325 inhabitants of this com- mune the recruiters took away alto- gether, without any distinction of social position or profession, farmers’ sons, men who were supporting aged and in- firm parents, fathers of families who left wives and families in misery, each of them as necessary to his family as its Two families found them- selves deprived each of four sons at Among ninety-four deportees there were only two unemployed. Once. Is there any man with a spark of humanity and sense of justice who will not echo the Cardinal’s concluding re- mark that the authorities of the German Empire may “think of our undeserved sorrows, of the reprobation of the civil- ized world, of the judgment of history, and of the chastisement of God,” and thus be led to abandon this brutal policy? ISLANDS NOT NEEDED. By the acquisition of the Danish West Indies the sovereignty of the United States is extended over a ter- ritory a little less than half the area of Greater New York with a popu- lation of about 30,000. In the broken land bridge which sweeps from Flori- da and Yucatan to the mouth of the Orinoco enclosing the Caribbean Sea, the heavy piers, Cuba, Haiti, and Porto Rico, begin to taper off into the causeway of the lesser Antilles precisely in the group of the Virgin Islands of which the Danish Islands are a part. The military reasons for our purchase of the islands are nega- tive. It is not that the United States needs them for naval stations, with Porto Rico only a stone’s throw away. The fear is that with these islands on the market some other Power might step in. And since Great Britain and France are already well established Number 1740 on the Caribbean, the implication is Germany, of course. To the perialist vision, no doubt, the acquisi- of the Danish islands will be a for- ward step in a process that can only Im- end with Trinidad and the South American mainland. When it conres to conjuring up a menace for the Panama Canal, the British in Bar- bados or the French in Guadalupe and Martinique will serve the pur- pose. Historically, the departure of Dan- ish sovereignty from the West Indies has only a_ sentimental value. It means the retirement of the Norse- man from the New World, which he was the first of white men to reach. It is more than nine hundred years since Leif the Lucky and Vinland. If Viking enterprise never followed up that first landfall five hundred years before Columbus, it was be- cause Europe itself offered a nearer and infinitely richer prize for the Northmen. Even the pleasant shores of Vinland could not compare with Britain, Northern France, Sicily, Rus- sia, Constantinople. When the age of American discovery opened, the energy of the North was_ largely spent or absorbed in the life of the new nations of the Old World. The islands which Denmark has now sold are not the remnants of a period of discovery. They were acquired in the hundrum way of purchase and for commercial reasons, St. Thomas, in 1671, St. John in 1684, and Santa Cruz, the largest of the group, in 733. Denmark’s trade with the is- lands has less than $200,000 a year, and $25,000,000 is for her an ex- cellent bargain. been house cleaning must commend themselves and it might Occasional overhauling and as well happen in a state as anywhere else. Some one in Pennsyl- vania as the result of research has dis- covered that there are about a thousand laws on its statute books which are ob- solete and useless. They are being tab- ulated and classified and it is proposed to repeal them by wholesale. Wherever there is any bit of good remaining in them or any necessity for any particular provision the attempt will be made to make legislation meeting the requirements. Then, too, there are a good many unrepealed laws on the books which have been decided unconstitution- al by the court and so inoperative and ineffective. All these are to be wiped out and to that extent the fegal situation clarified. Probably like conditions could be found prevailing in almost every state in the Union, certainly all of the older ones and the example which Penn- sylvania sets is a good one to follow. a general Isn’t it a shame that the highest praise a man ever gets comes out at his funeral? MICHIGAN TRADESMAN January 24, 1917 DETROIT DETONATIONS. Cogent Criticisms From Michigan’s Metropolis. Detroit, Jan. 22—We this week con- fine our literary efforts to the doings of the local U. C. T. Next to a ton of hard coal for $8, the most difficult thing to procure is a news note of Cadillac from its Sec- retary, Howard Jickling. “Recognition night,” held in honor of Grand Counselor Moutier by De- troit Council last Saturday night, brought out an unusually large crowd, all of whom were repaid many fold for their efforts. Fred Moutier has been a member of the Council for twenty years and holds a record for continuous attendance that is unsur- passed by few if any. He has not missed a meeting for sixteen years, with the exception of one, and that was caused by his visit to a neighbor- ing council in the usual routine of U. C. T. duties imposed by his office, the highest honor to be held in the State. As a mark of the high esteem in which he is held by the local Coun- cil, Mr. Moutier was presented with a handsome loving cup. The esteem and love for this grand old man of the United Commercial Travelers is not confined to any one council, however, as was demonstrated by the remarks of visiting members at the meeting. Lunch was served and a general good time was evidently enjoyed by all present. Even A. G. MacEachron, of Cadillac Council, smiled occasionally, Lou Burch, of Cadillac Council, has been endorsed by both Detroit coun- cils for Treasurer of the Grand Coun. cil and an organized effort will be made to elect him to that office at the Grand Council meeting to be held in Bay City next June. His execu- tive ability, acquired through years of service to the organization and as a member of the State Legislature, peculiarly fits him for the work of that office. Ind‘rectly, we learn that another traveler was initiated into Cadillac Council at the last meeting. Let the secrecy continue, we Say. L. H. Hart, of Detroit, Charles Hemstead, of Algonac, and Fred R. Smith, 121 Avondale avenue, Toledo, members of Detroit Council, are re- ported convalescent after sieges of illness. Mr. Smith suffered the loss of his right leg through blood po‘son- ing and has been fitted with an arti- ficial limb. He expects to be back on the road in a short time. Cadillac Council is making prepara- tions to bring back its unusual quota of prizes and honorary ment‘ons from Bay City next June. A Grand Coun- cil meeting minus Cadillac is hke a home without any children. A kindly offer to U. C. T. members has been made by G. J. Munsell, mem- ber of Detroit Council and advertis- ing manager for the Pathfinder Pub- lishing Co., wherein he agrees to print free of charge requests for positions. Grand Counselor Moutier an- nounces the selection of the follow- ing Committee on Jurisprudence: Samuel Rindskoff, chairman; A. G. MacEachron and J. A. Murray, of Detroit. Mr. Moutier expects criti- cism in this selection because of the fact that all members have been se- lected from Detroit. His idea, which appears highly plausible in keeping the appointees in one city, is because of the importance of the committee and the fact they will be enabled to hold meetings from time to time that will be a decided advantage over the old custom: of meeting yearly with the Grand Council and being com- pelled to rush their business through. The Finance Committee appointed by the Grand Counselor is as follows: A. W. Stevenson, Muskegon; R. A. Pringle, Jackson; and C. R. Dye, Bat- tle Creek. Apparently, the Grand Counselor does not believe in the old axiom, “Never say Dye.” Local legislative committees have been appointed by both Detroit coun- cils with the idea of calling on mem- bers of the Legislature to urge a modification of the Henry law, so it can be handled under one department and to eliminate some of the objec- tionable features, thereby gaining the co-operation of all departments. Mr. Cunningham, of the State labor de- partment, is lending his support to the movement. Grand Counselor Moutier reports at the last meetings of Kalamazoo Council, eight were elected to mem- bership, five initiated and one re- instated. The six names added to the roster made the membership and number of the Council coincide, 156. Detroit Council, however, passed Council No. 9 at its first meeting. The new robes used by the officers of Cadillac Council are the finest that money could buy. A logical result, quoth we, in lieu of the fact that Cadillac Council nestles serenely in the heart of Wayne county. The committee to have charge of the campaign of Lou Burch is com- posed ot A. G, MacEachron, M. J. Howarn and Cliff Starkweather. To further ensure the election of said candidate, Detonations will also oc- cupy the trenches. Detroit Council had intended leas- ing the Detroit opera house one night during the latter part of February, but voted at the last meeting to defer it until after Lent. Whereupon Mike Howarn—visitor jand proud of his papal lineage or adherence to it— arose and asked when Detroit Council started keeping Lent. Dear reader, the doctor says rest and quiet will restore this impetuous Turk to nor- mal health. Henry Bishopric, representative of the Mastic Wall Board & Roof Co., of Cincinnati, was initiated into De- troit Council at the last meeting and Ed. Sovereen, representative for A. Krolik & Co., was transferred from Saginaw Council. Then, again, perhaps, the Secretary of Cad‘llac Council doesn’t believe it pays to advertise. That’s why the National Cash Register Co., National Biscuit Co., Victrola Co., Armour & Company and hundreds of others find so much difficulty keeping pace with their expenses. Frank Ferris, Senior Counselor of Cadillac Council, is laying plans for the June meeting in Bay City which will give the natives of that village something to comment on for the following eleven months. Visiting members of the United Commercial Travelers are assured a welcome at either of the council meet- ings held in Elks Temple every sec- ond and third Saturday nights. Like- wise, they will find considerable doing of much moment. If we had our way, we would be pleased to make some of the coal brokers bit the dust. James M. Goldstein. —___— ooo Result of an Official Trip to Lansing. Petoskey, Jan. 22—The retail mer- chants of M chigan will be interested to know that our State Secretary, Mr. 3othwell, and myself have just re- turned from a trip to Lansing, where we completed incorporating our State organization. We also had a very pleasant interview with the new Pure Food Commissioner, Fred L. Wood- worth, and extended him an invita- tion to appear on our programme, which he is glad to accept, as he was anx ous to meet the merchants of Michigan. We also held some con- versation with him relative to good appointments and a iudicious enforce- ment of our laws. Mr. Woodworth left an excellent impression on us both and he had many kind words to say for the re- tail merchants. I believe he will make an excellent commissioner, as_ he seems to be endowed with broad and liberal views of the work he is un- dertaking. It is to our interest that the laws be well enforced, without fear or favor, by good deputies who are able to distinguish the difference between willful and accidental viola~ tion of our pure food laws; and with a man like Mr. Woodworth in this position, I see no reason why our Association should not work in per- fect harmony with this department. From Lansing we went to Battle Creek and completed our State pro- gramme which will appear in the Tradesman next week, together with a write-up, and we ask you to be on the look out for it. We have some excellent speakers and a great deal of work to do and any suggestions you can make to our officers will be gratefully received. The merchants of Kalamazoo are making, possibly, the most extensive arrangements for our convention ever undertaken by any Association; in fact, it is beyond the comprehension of a person who has not gone over their work with them. They are making plans for a large attendance and I do not wish to see them dis- appointed, so let me urge all our lo- cal associations to send full delega- tions this year. Every progress.ve merchant who does not belong to an association should plan to attend, as we have something for you all that will benefit your business. Kalamazoo is well supplied with several good, reasonable priced hotels and restaurants, but I believe it would be well if you would write ahead, tell- ing Mr. L. A. Kline, local Secretary, about what you want in the way of reservations and he will secure them for you. John A. Lake, President R. G. and G. M. Assox ciation. Accompanying the above letter was a note to the editor of the Tradesman containing the following interesting information: “Enclosed you will find a_ short letter which I wish you would run in the Tradesman of this week. Mr. Bothwell will have the programme in your hands in time to be printed next week and I will furnish you with a write-up to go with it. I believe that we have the best programme ever presented by our Association to the merchants of Michigan, and I would like to hear any comments you have to make when you see it. “Mr. Bothwell and myself held two meetings last week one here and the other at Harbor Springs. At the lat- ter place we were exceedingly suc- cessful in establishing a credit rating system. They had a fine supper and it was one of the most congenial crowds it has ever been my lot to as- sociate with. I believe this will be a great thing for Harbor Springs, as their method of extending credit has been one of the loosest propositions I have ever known. I wish Mr. Both- well would get over his modesty and keep you people better informed of what he is doing, as you have so of- ten requested.” John A. Lake. —_—_—_o-2- Juvenile Villa Bandits. Graphic newspaper accounts of the raids of Villa, moving picture scenarios and juvenile literature of a sort, have recently borne fruit among a group of small lads living in a suburb of Cincinnan. “The Villa Bandits,” self-styled were composed of some half-dozen boys, all under 14 years of age, who were thoroughly organized, having a duly-elected “chief,” a place of rendezvoux, and a carefully-prepared schedule. Several members of the organiza- tion admitted before officers of the Juvenile Court, that they had turned in false fire alarms, broken windows and “swiped” milk bottles from porches. A note-book fulf of ad- dresses which “Villa” the bandit leader, said were places they planned to raid, was part of the evidence. Two of the boys were sent to the Boys’ farm at Glendale, Ohio, and the rest placed on probation. But the owners and proprietors of moving picture houses running lurid films and publishers of literature that encour- ages juvenile lawlessness and de- linquency and lax home discipline, which allows young children to come and go and do as they please, were ‘ not rebuked. ——— +2 Problem For Mel Trotter. An old lady who is now 87 years of age recently propounded the fol- lowing problem to her son: “Sometimes when I feel blue and wish I could go to my reward in heaven, I wonder—after spending a hundred years in heaven—if I should become as tired of living there as I am tired of this earth, what I can do then. When I am tired of this earth, I have heaven to look forward to; but, supposing I should tire of heaven, what then?” We recommend the purchase of Hackett Motor Car Company Stock at ten dollars ($10) per share. This stock should pay large dividends and will greatly increase in its mar- ket value. Michigan Motor Securities Co. 533-36 Michigan Trust Co. Bldg. Bell M 2442 Citz. 5288 Grand Rapids, Michigan * a, 7 We “3 4y@ 7? v* , 4 WY wea 2% ¢ > 4a fio a s 4 » . 7 aw +4 ? ¥ ” ie er ad? Pi baw a »> Ot (> ae, o li a ee day” January 24, 1917 MICHIGAN TRADESMAN 3 Why Not Tax Luxuries Instead of note of modern economics as well as Sturdy Champion of the Rights of ment bureaus a club to use over the ie ty Necessities? oes. Sol i h Merchants. head of the insured at a time when Detroit, Jan. 22—A deficit in rev- hoe Mine afte oe If for no other reason, the Michigan he is peculiarly susceptible to false enue, over $200,000,000 is facing the pore ie. let them consider this. Un- Tradesman, published in Grand Rap- statements and misleading insinua- 4p? Pig ene tae me der the present tariff act, importa- ids by E. A. Stowe, deserves the sup- tions and enables them to coerce the crease the duties on necessities like ‘08 of plumages, like paradise and port of every business man in the insured to accept less than the face sugar, wool, coffee, rubber, etc., etc. egy Cee te ee State for the valuable information value of his claim. If any merchant o : Why not raise the tax on imported apparently je a a of them, how- ‘recently published regarding insur- has a policy containing the word e ‘luxuries? In 1915, according to the ever, in this country. View the ance policies, their many technical ‘concurrent,’ it would be well for him Commerce Reports, there were gorgeous window displays and the phrases, and the successful fight it to have it eliminated at once.” wea a” PO T ABSOLUTELY PURE a Advertising that has encircled the globe for generations a. has taught women everywhere that ROYAL BAKING brought into the United States im- portations of precious and semi-pre- cious stones amounting to $15,000,000, paying an average duty of 17 per cent. In 1916 $24,000,000 came to our shores. To this add gold and silver manufac- tures to the tune of $3,000,000. This is a free country. If people with surplus moneys want to spend them on these foreign luxuries, let them do so. But let them pay for it. Put duties of 100 and 200 per cent. on luxuries. stylish headgear of fashion’s throngs on the principal streets of any of our cities. The newspapers recently an- nounced the sentence in a Federal Court of a ship’s steward for smug- gling in $50,000 worth. If women are going to have these plumages, let them come in through the regular legitimate channels, and let them pay revenue to Government. Being ex- cessive luxury, let them, too, pay ex- cessive revenues. made against unfair adjusters who are wont to take advantage of these tech- nicalities as against the better inter- ests of their clients and eventually the companies they represent. The State Insurance Commission has taken cognizance of the Trades- man’s fight and in one case, at least, an adjuster will be refused a license And in a succeeding issue we find: in the work which has been done by the repre- sentatives of view of wretched adjustment companies in this State, it is a matter of self preservation for policyholder to see that another rider is immedi- ately added to his policies, reading as follows: every imported This will not A searching survey of the luxury should he again apply for one in this “It is a condition of this contract deter the well-to-do from buying imports, like silks, furs, costly fabrics, State. between the insurer and insured that, them. It will only increase thé in- ete. ducements to have them. No luxury etc., will soon show our worrying legislators how this $200,000,000 defi- The following advice, given in an in the event of fire, the loss be ad- was ever taxed out of existence. In- cit can very easily be made up by editorial in a recent issue of the justed by an officer or employe of the creased taxation only enhances its those best able to pay it. Tradesman, is worthy of careful instrer and not by an adjustment value in the eyes of its purblind de- “And from him that hath not, shall thought and investigation of policies company. votees. Meanwhile, Government, which means you and I, will derive revenue, and the overwhelming bur- den on the shoulders of the wage- earner and the salaried man to make a living will be somewhat relieved. here are other articles of idle luxury. Take ostrich feathers. If women must have :this costly means of decoration to enhance their na- tural charms, let them pay for it. In 1911 $7,000,000 of crude feathers were imported from South Africa, paying a duty of but 20 per cent. Why should not such a luxury pay 100, 200, even 500 per cent? “To him that hath shall be given!” Why should be taken even the little that he hath!” Why pile everything on the back of the unresisting consumer, poor and inarticulate? Let the legislators shift somewhat the load now straining the wincing shoulder of the galled jade! For once let’s play that happy little game, pass- ing the economic buck, in the back- yard of the well-to-do, yclept hard- to-do. Let’s apportion the economic bur- den more equitably, and we'll all be happier! Hands off the necessities! Make up the Federal deficit, through increased taxes on imported luxuries. by the insured: “Many insurance agents are writing policies and putting on the riders the words, ‘Other concurrent insurance permitted.’ This is not a good thing for the insured to permit. He should not tolerate the use of the word ‘con- current’ for good and sufficient rea- sons. The main reason is that all of the policies taken out by the insured are not always written by the same agent and the forms naturally vary, possibly only in the case of a single “These riders can be obtained free of charge by applying to the Michi- gan Tradesman. “Merchants who prepare and have printed their own forms should in- clude this paragraph in the printed portion., “Merchants everywhere should see to it that this rider is attached to their policies by the agents without a day’s delay—Dry Goods Optimist. oo It is necessary for a business man the poor perpetually pay? If the B. M. Briggs word, but enough, under the circum- to take some chances, but it is neces- Ses oe - < » AVL. SSs. : : peers ae East here | oad ee stances, so that the forms are not sary to use some judgment in taking ires and pastimes, why not let him co . : : ae . a? es : Charity gives itself rich and covet. Concurrent. This gives the unscrupu- them. Don’t take the attitude that ‘ ‘ c yY = s : d D . Enlightened self-interest is the key- ousness hoards itself poor. lous adjusters employed by adjust- business is a gamble. ROYA BA POWDER is absolutely pure. KIN WDE G R Wherever there is a grocery store there are also many women who will buy ROYAL BAKING POWDER more often and use it with more satisfaction than any other brand. Contains No Alum—No Phosphate ae. Fee Oy POWD MICHIGAN TRADESMAN January 24, 1917 SST pars ms 4 OF 2s eeu ( a v ’ «. & 4 qr “Ap w s ‘e * © > “ ? ee 4 4 > & Jus dy) icd January 24, 1917 MICHIGAN TRADESMAN Review of the Grand Rapids Produce Market. Apples—Baldwins, Wolf Rivers and Tallmans, $3.50@4; Greenings, $3.50@ fo 3.75; Hubbardstons, $3.75@4.25; Spys, $56. Bananas — Medium, $1.50; Jumbo, $1.75; Extra Jumbo, Jumbo, $2.50 up. Beets—$1.25 per bu. Brussel’s Sprouts—20c per qt. 3utter—The market is very much lower, both for creamery and dairy. Local dealers hold fancy creamery at 36c and cold storage creamery at 34c. Local dealers pay 30c for No. 1 in jars and 24c for packing stock. Cabbage—$6.50 per 100 Ibs. Carrots—75c per bu. Celery—20c per bunch for small; 30c for large; box (83%4@4 doz.), $1.60@ 5, Cocoanuts—$6 per sack containing 100 Cranberries—$6 per bbl. for Early Black from Cape Cod; $7 per bbl. for late Howes. Eggs—Receipts of fresh are in- creasing some, but the market is very sensitive on account of the extreme high prices. The slight increase in the receipts occurring within the last few days caused a break of 4c per dozen in the price of fresh stock in the Eastern markets. The prices for the next week or two depend entirely upon the receipts. The high prices have curtailed the demand some, and it will not take much of an increase in the arrivals to cause prices to de- cline. An increase in receipts and a decline in price are both likely to come pretty soon. Local dealers pay 40c for fresh, holding at 42c case count and 48c candled. Cold storage candled are held at 38c for April and May, 34c for first, 32c for seconds and 30c for dirties. Figs—Package, $1.10 per box; layers, $1.50 per 10 Ib. box. Grape Fruit—$3.75@4 per box for Florida. Green Onions—Shalotts, 60c per doz. bunches. Honey—18c per lb. for white clover and 16c for dark. Lemons—California are selling at $3.75 for choice and $4 for fancy. Lettuce—14@15c per lb. for hot house leaf; $3 per bu. for Southern head; $4 per crate for Iceburg from Califor- nia. Maple Sugar—1l7c per Ib. for pure. Maple Syrup—$1.40 per gal. for pure. Mushrooms—75@80c per Ib. Nuts—Almonds, 18c per lb.; filberts, 16c per b.; pecans, 15c per lb.; walnuts, 16c for Grenoble, 15'%4c for Naples; 19c for California in sack lots. 2; Extreme Extra Onions—Home grown $6.50 per 100 Ib. sack for red or yellow. Spanish range as follows: Small crate, $2.25; 14 crate, $4; large crate, $6.75. Oranges—Pineapples Floridas, $3.25; California- Navals, $2.75@3. Oysters—-Standard, $1.40 per Selects, $1.65 per gal.; New Counts, $1.90 per gal. Shell $8.50 per bbl. Peppers—Southern commands $4 per 6 basket crate. Pop Corn—$2 per bu. for ear, 544@ 6c per lb. for shelled. Potatoes—The market is not so strong as a week ago and a few warm days are expected to send the price downward. Local dealers are still holding at $2 per bu. Country buyers are paying around $1.75. Poultry—Local dealers pay as follows, live weight; old fowls, light, 18@19c; medium, 17@18c; heavy (6 lbs.), 16@ 1%c; springs, 18@19c; turkeys, 22@25c; geese, 18@20c; ducks, 19@20c. Dressed fowls average 3c above these quotations. gal.; York oysters, Radishes—35c per doz. bunches for small. Ruta Bagas — Canadian $2.25 per 100 lb. sack. Squash—$3 per bbl. for Hubbard. Sweet Potatoes—Kiln dried Delaware Jerseys, $2 per hamper. Tangarines—$5 per box for either 106s or 196s. Tomatoes—$2.50 per 10 Ib. basket. Turnips—$2.25 per bbl. ——_2+2>—_—__ command Some members of the Michigan fed- eration of labor take except ons to Claude O. Taylor of Grand Rapids, President of the organization above named, accepting money for campaign purposes from the State wet cam- paign committee in the fight against prohibition. Campaign expense state- ments filed with the Wayne county clerk by the wet committee showed $8.681.01 was paid to Taylor for “can- vassing votes.” Although the con- stitution and by-laws forbid officers using their official positions for po- litical purposes, Taylor found no dif- ficulty in absorbing nearly nine thou- sand dollars of wet money. The methods of union labor leaders are peculiar to say the least. —_—_--2 Olin J] Baker has sold a half interest in his stock of photographers’ supplies to Paul R. Coster, of Holland, and the business will be continued at the same location, 33 Fountain street, under the style of the Baker-Coster Photo Co. >.> The Stiles Construction Co. has been organized to manufacture and sell garages and other buildings, with an authorized capital: stock of $50,000, of which amount $25,000 has been subscribed and paid in in cash. The Grocery Market. Sugar—The market is in statu quo. Refined is steady on the basis of 634c for granulated. Raws have shown a little more firmness. Coffee—-The spot situation does not improve, which fact some circles at- tribute to the large supplies in the in- terior, accumulated from direct imports from Brazil and other producing sec- tions. The roasters are inclined. more- over, to pursue a waiting policy because of the belief that Santos will give way before long. sentiment, even the sinking of vessels in Brazil waters not having much stim- ulating effect. Milds are quiet and steady in sympathy with Brazil. Ship- pers in Maracaibo are still firm in their ideas on talk of a short crop and pcor Futures have not helped quality. Canned Fruits—Apples are unchanged and dull. California canned goods show no particular change and no active business. Canned Vegetables—Two outstanding features of the canned goods situation during the week have been the activity in future corn and the lack of interest on the part of the trade in futures of any description. Tomatoes have ad- vanced to $1.15, although they were sold at $1.10 earlier in the week on the basis of standard No. 3s, f. 0. b. factory. There has been a strong effort made on the part of canners to get the prices of spots up to $1.40 f. 0. b. factory, but only one or two small sales were thade at that figure. Most of the business has been done at $1.35, but there has been only a limited volume all told. The lack of interest on the part of the trade here is accounted for in some quarters on the theory that dealers generally have bought a little too freely, and that they are now concerned more in distributing what they have on hand rather than enter into new purchases. Canned Fish—-There has been no special activity in any department, al- though there is a general strengthening of values in evidence. Sardines are largely nominal. Salmon is firm, but the offerings continue light. Dried Fruits—Very little attempt has been made to do business in dried fruit during the week, as there have been so many surrounding conditions make it difficult. One very serious factor is the congestion on the railroads. Fortunate- ly, there is not much demand for prunes, as everyone seems to be well supplied; but on the Coast the market continues strong, prices ranging up from 6%c ac- cording to size and seller. Raisins are a little easier on the spot but with no demand. This is due to the fact that shipments are gradually creeping in that have been a long time on the road and all of which should have been in before the holidays. There is no local demand for either peaches or apricots but the market continues strong based upon ad- vices from the Coast. Rice—The market is very quiet, the trade being inclined to hold off now that pressing requirements have been filled by the arrivals from the South. The dullness in part may be due to the fact that some of the grocers take inven- tories at the first of February. Inci- dentally, the deadlock in the South where the millers are fighting the farmer 5 for lower prices on rough rice, encour- ages the belief that some readjustment in prices may ultimately occur, although on the other hand the strength in food- stuffs this theory. generally makes against Cheese—The market is firm at an ad- vance of %c. The consumptive demand is increasing somewhat and, as stocks are considerably lighter than usual at this season, a slight increase in the de- mand will probably put up prices. No radical change is looked for. Salt Fish—-No change has occurred in All grades of desirable mackerel are firm on a con- tinued high basis. The demand _ for mackerel is quiet. Cod, hake and had- mackerel during the week. dock are unchanged from last week, being still scarce and high. Provisions—Smoked meats are un- changed and in the usual normal con- sumptive demand. Pure and compound lard are both steady and in light demand at unchanged prices. Dried beef, bar- reled pork and light demand and unchanged. canned meats are in 0 Boycott That Got Toledo Grocers in Bad. The association action which has gct- ten a lot of retail indicted, appears to have been an at- tempt on the part of the retailers’ asso- ciation to prevent jobbers from selling grocers of Toledo directly to a local consumers’ buying exchange, and if the facts as stated in Toledo dispatches are backed up by evidence, it looks as though the associa- tion men are in bad. For instance, it appears that an asso- ciation of employes of the Doehler Die Casting Co., of Toledo, was formed for the purpose of buying goods of job- bers over the retailers’ heads. It is charged that the officers and directors of the Grocers and Butchers’ Associa- tion met Dec. 4 and adopted a resolu- tion their Secretary, A. G. Weinandy, to warn the wholesalers not to sell to the Doehler Co.’s employes’ organization. directing Eleven wholesale grocers were called into a secret meeting of the officers and directors of the retail organization. At this meeting it is said the wholesalers promised not to sell to the Doehler organization. The wholesalers were told, it is charged, that if they did sell to the Doehler employes all members of the grocers and butchers’ organiza- tion would refuse to buy from them. The Doehler concern established a Toledo branch about three years ago and employs about six hundred men. Hot furnished the men at cost, 20 cents. Supplies for these were purchased from local wholesalers at wholesale rates. The idea of a co-oper- ative grocery, where all employes could meals are buy their supplies at wholesale rates, plus the cost of handling, then took form. It was a big success for the Doehler employes, but not for the local grocers, for the price was cut on every- thing. Jobbers furnished the stock. Following the retailers’ meeting of Dec. 4, it is charged that a number of jobbers actually were boycotted on this account. The grocers deny that they have done anything illegal. MEN OF MARK. Lieutenant Colonel Harding, Gov- ernor of the Canal Zone. Enterprise, Miss., the land of the magnolia, was Chester Harding’s birth- His father, a civil engineer at the hub of the world, f for its brains and beans, had been persuaded by business assurances to settle in the South and there, in 1866, Col. Harding was born. At Tuscaloosa, Ala., where the family had taken up its residence, the early schooling and the later prep- place. tamous MICHIGAN TRADESMAN engineer at the end of that period and enrolled him as a citizen. The writer is tempted here to push back the curtain of silence and to give in detail some of the many civilities which that hospitable city extended to her new-coming citizen. It will be no betrayal of trust, however, to say that his evenings were not passed in solitude and that his days were brightened by the recollection of them. The world, loving a lover, looked and smiled ap- proval, and long before the wedding journey began the Queen City of the Lieutenent Colonel Harding as aration for college took place and he was graduated, at the age of 18, at the University of Alabama, in 1884. For a year after his university train- ing he turned his attention to such work as generally.falls to the novice in a civil engineer’s office, learning the letters of the alphabet of his art, and in June, 1885, he put this work by to enter the United States Military Academy at West Point. Those who know only by hearsay what even a little of life at this famous military academy is are well aware that, for the mastery of the subject matter and the accomplished acquirement of the minutest, practical detail, that Academy has no superior in the world, and that, when the course there is done, the grad- uate knows what he is expected to know. Completing the regular course in June, 1889, Mr. Harding was sent to the En- School at Willard’s Point for technical study in civil and military en- gineering, where he remained for two years and a half, finishing the course in 1892. His training over, he had “the world before him,” with the Government to “choose his place of rest” and Chicago received him, first as Assistant Engineer in charge of that district. For two years he was a Citizen of the interocean metropolis and St. Louis, envious as ever of her rival, claimed the young gineering he looked seventeen years ago. Mississippi was the location of another Eden, with no flaming swords barring the entrance of a single gateway. Miss Krum, the daughter of a well and wide- ly known lawyer of St. Louis was the sharer of this new Paradise, and when the St. Louis tarrying was over, Col. Harding, with wife and _ household goods, reported for duty at Washington, D. C., at the office of Chief of Engi- neers. Four months was the length of stay at the National Capital, when he was ordered to West Point as Instructor of Civil and Military Engineering. The wer with Spain was declared and his services were needed at Newport, R. I. He reported promptly and found himself under Major Lockwood’s im- mediate orders in charge of torpedo defenses at Narragansett Bay. At the end of three months he was back again at his old position at West Point. In the fall of 1898 he received his promo- tion to a Captaincy, a rank. which re- lieved him of duty at the Academy and brought him to Grand Rapids in Feb- ruary, 1899, as Captain of the Corps of Engineers in charge of the Govern- ment works in the Grand Rapids dis- trict. It would be an easy and a pleasing task to say something of the apprecia- tion of Col. Harding and his services by the citizens of Grand Rapids during lis residence in this city; and since the Tradesman has no intention to put into type. what Col. Harding would not will- ingly read himself to his friends, it believes itself justified in saying that the citizens of Grand Rapids feund no fault with the Government that sent Col. Harding asnong them; that tlic dis- trict over which he had jurisdiction has never been more acceptably or 2ffixently served inan it was during iis residence here. Ta che late fall of 1900 Col. Harding was transferred to Washington, waere he was raised to the rank of Major and placed in charge of all public buildings in the Drstric: of Columbia. He re- mained im this position about ten years, acquitting himself with such signal abil- ity that he was raised to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. When Gen. Goe- thals was selecting his staff to build the Panama Canal, he invited Col. Harding to join him as Engineer of Maintenance during the construction of the Canal. He immediately removed to Gatum Dam, where he has since maintained his residence, although his duties took him almost daily along the entire line of the Canal from Cristobel to Balboa. He readily fell in with the spirit and Governor Harding as he looks to-day. mastered the details of the great under- taking and proved so valuable an asso- ciate and assistant to the Grant Build- er whose name and fame are linked with the Panama Canal for all time to come that when Gen. Goethals relinquished his position as Governor of the Canal Zone—which includes the management of the Canal as well—the War Depart- ment, recognizing the merit of the man who stood next to the one first in com- mand for so many trying years, natur- ally conferred the highest title in con- nection with the undertaking upon Col. January 24, 1917 Harding. That he will discharge the duties devolving upon him with credit to all concerned goes without saying. He has never failed to discharge every duty with credit to himself and with satisfaction to the War Department and the public. Col, Harding’s family life has been an ideal one. Three children have join- ed the family circle—two sons and a daughter—now grown to manhood and womanhood. Mrs. Harding and the children have been in the habit of spend- ing the heated term at their summer home in Massachusetts. Col. Harding is a man of few words, in keeping with the traditions of the War Department. On one occasion, while stationed at Grand Rapids, he was invited to a banquet given in behalf of a popular movement then on foot to make Grand River a navigable stream from Grand Rapids to Lake Michigan. A prominent member of the Michigan delegation in Congress, addressing the representative of the War Department, somewhat pompously enquired of Capt. Harding: “What, in your opinion, is the greatest obstacle to this vast improvement?” “The proximity of the bottom of the ” was river to the surface of the water,’ the prompt reply. Thorough preliminary equipment, careful study of the needs and possi- bilities of his land and constructiv: common sense, rather than scintillat ing genius, constitute the equipment which has made Col. Harding the man he is, Possessing, apparently, an extraordinarily clear understandin& of the proper relationship which should exist between a government and a people, he does not allow idea! ism to run away with his knowlédge ¥ adr” “ ‘ Ne 4 +% 2? > ve 7 4° tr ep €e ‘ ae & a sada? * o'¥ v7 we “ ” 4a- >>> x s ~ 4 4 > . > ae =4 | 21g i ’ We | iv? e f 4 > “Hs a ; i « i ~ i 0 by jij» j a Ds; ¢ a a ¢ s wre 1? \ ; aa fi to 4 vd a ‘e t ¥ a . « » © 4 a a J hy fas ae, Si- ve at he ly, n& ch nt al- ge a4? : + <4 , > ve 7 <7 » €e ‘ a. & a sgqn? K « - 'o ee . » « ° | ae =4 @ * 1 Wy bie e | 4 > Bankruptcy Proceedings in South- western Michigan. St. Joseph, Jan. 13—In the matter of Charles E. Gray, bankrupt of Kalamazoo the final meeting of creditors was held at the referee’s office, and the trustee’s final report and account approved and allowed. Certain expenses of administra- tion were allowed and ordered paid. The final order of distribution was. entered, directing payment of a final dividend of 14.45 per cent. The trustee was auth- orized not to interpose objections to the bankrupt’s discharge. Creditors having been directed to show cause why a cer- tificate should not be made recommend- ing the discharge of the bankrupt and no cause having been shown, it was determined that such favorable certificate be made. The final meeting of creditors was then adjourned without day. Jan. 15—In the matter of Maurice L. Pratt, bankrupt, garage and livery, Otse- go, the trustee filed his first report, show- ing no assets above the bankrupt’s statu- tory exemptions except accounts receiv- able for which he had received an offer of $85 and cash of $29.02. From the present indications there will not be any funds upon which to declare dividends to creditors. Jan. 16—In the matter of Adolph Speyer. bankrupt, cloaks and suits, Kalamazoo, the trustee filed his final report and ac- counts, showing total receipts of $12,267.54 and disbursements of $7,469.98, leaving a balance on hand of $4,797.61, with request that the final meeting of creditors be called for the purpose of paying certain administration expenses and the declara- tion and payment of a final dividend. Two dividends of 10 per cent. have been de- elared and a final dividend of about 12 per cent. will be paid. Jan. 17—In the matter of Charles J. and Louis Rasak, and Rasak Brothers, a copartnership, bankrupt of Dowagiac. the adjourned first meeting of creditors was held and the trustee’s first report, show- ing no assets above the statutory ex- emptions, was considered. The bankrupts were directed to deposit with the trustee the sum of $50 for the purpose of paying the actual administration expenses. Upon the depositing of such funds the final meeting of creditors will be called for the purpose of closing the estate. Jan. 18—In the matter of John Crowley and the Wogeman City Bakery, bank- rupt, of Dowagiac, the first meeting of creditors was held at the latter place and George Fields, of Dowagiac, was unanimously elected trustee, his bond be- ing fixed at $500. George Moore, Ben Salf and J. W. Brechner, of Dowagiac, were appointed appraisers. At the re- quest of the bankrupt, John Crowley and by a unanimous vote of the creditors present and represented the trustee upon the filing of the inventory and report of appraisers was directed to sell the assets of the bankrupt estate at private sale. The bankrupt was sworn and examined by the referee and attorneys present and the meeting afterwards adjourned for thirty days. Jan. 19—In the matter of Mrs. J. C. Neuman, bankrupt, general dealer, at Dorr, the first meeting of creditors was held at Allegan, and Walter Brooks, of Grand Rapids, was_ elected trustee, his bond being fixed at $900. The bankrupt was sworn and_ examined, whereupon the meeting was adjourned for thirty days. The sale of the assets of the bankrupt estate was held by the receiver at the store of the bankrupt and the stock, furniture, fixtures and accounts receivable sold to M. F. Powers, of Grand Rapids, for $972.50, subject to confirma- tion by the District Judge. Jan. 20—In the matter of Elizabeth Hare, bankrupt, women’s furnishings, Kalamazoo, an order was made, closing the estate and recommending the dis- charge of the bankrupt. The record book and files were returned to the clerk’s office. —_——_>22>——_ After a man has posed as a cynic for a few years he begins to think too little of his neighbors and too much of himself. MICHIGAN TRADESMAN New Way to Settle With Dead-Beats. If you happen to have money owing you from a proverbial dead-beat and he doesn’t pay up or profess any abil- ity to do so, why, just become his fi- nancial backer and lo, the bill is paid. At least, that’s the way the grocers of Iowa are working out the bad debt problem, and according to the report of Secretary Judd of the Des Moines Chamber of Commerce, it is a great success. There’s nothing new about the idea, except in the way it is worked out as a some-what novel proposition under the name “Morris Bank” plan. The whole idea rests on the assumption that men are “dead-beats” because they can’t raise the money to eman- cipate themselves and if they could put debt on the same basis as the business man does they really possess enough of the spirit of fairness to make a good attempt. So much for the debtor; from the standpoint of the creditor, it is no worse to be an endorser on notes, the proceeds of which you are using, than to be a creditor without the money at all. As an illustration of the way the nlan works, Mr. Judd cites the follow- ing: “A man who owes seven or eight merchants a matter of $150 in small accounts and who can only pay a mat- ter of three dollars a week, can pay it at one place and not of necessity have to dodge six or seven of them until payday again. In this way the merchants get their money and the debtor’s mind is free to do better work for his employer. Statistics show us that very few of the borrow- ers fail to make their payments and if one should, it is prorated and the merchants will have to pay the bank the balance. “There are very few business men but what will agree to go security on these old accounts. They are dead as it is and it is merely giving them an opportunity to have the use of this money, and it also gives the indi- vidual an opportunity to pay fifteen or twenty merchants at the rate of four or five dollars a week, where if it was necessary for him to call sep- arately and settle these accounts they would probably never be paid.” Mr. Judd also states that the As- sociation runs advertising regularly in the Des Moines daily papers, head- ed, “Pay Your Bills.” This advertis- ing copy is written by an expert who continually hammers home the fact that the dead-beat is the most despis- ed of mortals and urging people to pay their accounts promptly. The Association started the cam- paign by sending out a letter enclos- ing the form of a notice which em- players were requested to hang up in their establishments, as follows: Rule 1. For Employes. The employes of this firm must pay their bills. Please do not allow any informa- tion of this character to be filed against you by the Retail merchants Bureau. This Rule Must Be Observed. Note—To observe this rule the Re- tail Merchants Bureau will gladly as- sist any worthy employe to settle his accounts. According to Mr. Judd, he received replies from more than 800 firms of the city, who agreed to post the rule and insist that the help observe it. At the present time about 1,800 busi- ness houses are using the notice. ———o-o The Future of Chem'stry in America. Germany has made great advances in chemistry. Some think that this is due to her system of education, and probably this is partly true. Some think that it is due to the far-sighted wisdom of public men. This, too, is probably partly true, but the real suc- cess of chemistry in Germany, in my own opinion, has been due to its greater popular appreciation, His- torians have long since dropped the idea that kings and rulers in general amount to very much in the progress of a nation, and have adopted the broader conception that progress ulti- mately is in the people of a nation, their developing thoughts, their ap- preciation of the world that is about them. The lesson to us in the United States is this—that if we wish chem- istry to become a more potent fac- tor in the industrial growth of our country we must take such steps as are necessary to bring about a popu- lar appreciation of its value. Uni- versities will help, Government aid will help, but these, too, depend upon popular appreciation both in their beginning and jn their execution; af- ter all, they are mere incidents to fundamental active causes. Create a demand for universities and uni- versities will rise, as it were, over night; create a demand for govern- mental interest and governmental in- terest will come quickly and effective- ly, but demand is born of popular ap- preciation.—Metallurgical and Chem- ical Engineering. —_—_+->—____ Dasheen Growing Gains in States. Dasheen in its growing cultivation promises to become a valuable mem- ber of the domestic vegetable group that furnishes starchy foods like po- tatoes. It has been mentioned here- tofore as on trial by the Department of Agriculture after importation from Trinidad. Although a tropical growth it is adaptable as far North as South Carolina and is produced successfully in the warmer parts of Florida. It is a good shipper and is finding its 7 way to Northern markets on potato rates. The edible portion is large central corm with several tubers much small- er in size attached to and around the corm. It contains a smaller propor- tion of water than the potato, its nearest domestic rival, and more pro- tein, starch and sugar. It is prepar- ed like the potato to eat, or may be made into flour. Tender shoots from the corm are like asparagus and form a good substitute. Planted in February in Southern Florida and as late as early April in South Carolina the dasheen may be dug for home use Sept. 15 and the main crop may be harvested after the last of October... The clumps of tubers are left on the surface to dry and the tops and small roots are broken off and the dasheens are then placed in storage. a The sin of gluttony is common and therefore much condoned, but like every other violation of Nature’s laws has a penalty. Fat inefficiency, slug- gish mentality, the reddened nose, the pimpled face, certain of the chronic skin eruptions, and much fatigue and nervousness are due to the abuse of the digestive apparatus. Rich, indi- gestible foods in large quantities, highly seasoned to. stimulate the jaded palate, are forced into a body already rebellious from repletion. Ex- ercise is largely limited to walking to and from the table and bodily deteri- proceeds rapidly. Many an dyspeptic, suddenly dragged hand of circumstance oration overfed by the stern from a life of physical ease and plenty and forced to work out of doors sud- denly discovers that his semi-invalid- ism has gone, that a chronic skin de- rangement of many years standing has disappeared and that a new vigor and zest of life has been given him. —_+-.—___ People are warned against the use of ordinary chemical disinfectants, either in infantile paralysis or any other disease. Disinfectants are of no use. If people will wash their hands’ and keep their fingers out of their mouths, pay attention to the cleanliness of noses, throats, mouths and teeth in themselves and _ their children, they will do more to pre- vent all infectious diseases than can be done by the use of chemical disin- fectants. The Park-American Hotel KALAMAZOO Will reserve rooms for Grocers’ Convention, February 19 to 24 European Plan $1 Up With Private Bath $1.50 Up ERNEST McLEAN, Manager MICHIGAN TRADESMAN January 24, 1917 (Unlike any other paper.) Each Issue Complete In Itself. DEVOTED TO THE BEST INTERESTS OF BUSINESS MEN. Published Weekly by TRADESMAN COMPANY, Grand Rapids, Mich. Subscription Price. Two dollars per year, if paid strictly in advance. Three dollars per year, if not paid in advance. Canadian subscriptions, $3.04 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; issues five years or more old, $1. Entered at the Grand Rapids Postoffice as Second Class Matter. E. A. STOWE, Editor. January 24, 1917 INAUGURATE A BIG ISSUE. There is something tremendously interesting in an evolutionary sense in the action of the National Whole- sale Grocers’ Association, referred to elsewhere in this week’s paper, in ap- pealing to the Federal Trade Com- mission to declare the favoritism en- joyed by chain stores to be “unfair trading” under the Sherman, Clayton and Federal Trade Commission acts. It is the first time the wholesalers have actually taken the field for the protection of their “little brothers,” the independent retailers, and the way they have approached it tends to indicate that they mean business. The Wholesalers’ Association is well known as conservative in its ac- tions, and, while its members have long realized that the life of the wholesaler is inseparably linked to the independent retailer rather than the chain store, they have not felt legally safe in assailing the system as an organization. Even now, they do not do it in the questionable way so many other associations have—as instance, the Toledo retailers, refer- red to in another column—but they merely bring certain facts to the Fed- eral Trade Commission with an argu- ment that the operation of chain stores upsets fair competition and tends unmistakably to the develop- ment of a “trust” in the grocery trade. Having done which, the As- sociation states that it leaves the case with the Commission for action. It is not presumable, however, that the Association will allow the matter to die, in case there should be large and commodious pigeon-holes in the official desk of the Trade Commission. Jobbers know too well how vital is the issue they have raised and it is probable more will be heard of it, even if the Commission does not act. If chain stores are to be tolerated equality of competition is impossible and the jobber and his customer are hampered, if not doomed. If the economic law were the sole factor in the case the latter fate would be certain. In fact, in this issue is involved the whole principle of anti-trust legisla- tion. For instance, it is logical to say that if one retail store is a legiti- mate enterprise ten or a hundred or a thousand or ten thousand under one ownership or management are legiti- mate. Why not? But, on the other hand, it cannot be denied that chains of stores concentrate managements into fewer hands, and every time a chain store displaces an independent, monopoly is just that much furthered. With half of Philadelphia already fed through stores under less than a dozen managements, it is conceivable that a complete monopoly might re- sult there as anywhere else. Chain stores have been increasing astonishingly within the past five years. True, they have not displaced the independent altogether, but hun- dreds have gone to the wall and the others have commenced fleeing for shelter into buying exchanges. And both chains and buying exchanges menace the jobber, because if such great buyers can secure goods di- rect from the manufacturer at the price the jobber pays for them, what is the fate of the jobber? Fortunate- ly, it is doubtful if they ultimately can do so at any controlling econo- my, but they are doing it enough to make the jobber realize his danger. Nor is this all, for they are alike a problem to the manufacturer. Most manufacturers would prefer to rely on the jobber for distribution—do rely on him for 85 or 90 per cent. of their distribution—because they have long since discovered that direct trading with the 350,000 retail grocers of the country is more expensive than with 3,000 jobbers, who really ac- complish the same efficient distribu- tion, if not better. These are not mat- ters of individual opinion, but of gen- eral consensus of experience, even with some manufacturers who deal direct for other reasons. And yet, from the standpoint of a manufacturer, the chain systems are acquiring a magnitude of outlet which makes it highly imprudent for him to refuse to sell them. In Philadel- phia the chain stores are, if anything, more attractive as an outlet for a manufacturer than the jobbers and their satelite independent retailers. In fact, one large manufacturer who recently went into that market with his product openly elected to use the chain stores, buying exchanges and less than a quarter of the jobbers, the others being, in his opinion, un- necessary to accomplish his purpose. It would appear, therefore—and this is provable by ample facts—that the chain store is a menace to the manu- facturer, the jobber and the inde- pendent retailer alike. Yet, it is le- gitimate in itself and a logical evolu- tion from the principle of quantity price. If a manufacturer will sell a large quantity at a lower price than a small lot, the chain store can own its goods more cheaply than the in- dependent with one store and can sell them in unfair competition with that independent, And when the re- tailer is driven out of existence, what shall become of the jobber? Instead of 3,000 jobbers in the country and 350,000 independent retailers it is conceivable that we might have half a million small chain stores and less than a hundred managements, or one, for that matter. It is undeniable, therefore, that the chain stores, despite their legitimacy, are a “monopoly in the making.” SOWING THE WIND. The Tradesman has had its attention called to the fa.t that two or three fire insurance companies refuse to eliminate the word “concurrent” from théir policy forms, notwithstanding the fact that the retention of this word on riders fre- quently renders the policies invalid. One State agent, located at an interior city, wrote a local agent in the Western part of the State that the rider used by his company was enacted by the Legislature and could not be changed except by special legislation. Of course, the State agent was mistaken in making this state- ment. The Standard form was enacted and vitalized by the Legislature, but the riders are creations of shrewd in- surance experts who undertake to word them so as to nullify the effect of the Standard form, so far as it is possible to do so. As a matter of fact these riders have become a fetish with some companies, which will fight hard to retain the illegal and nullifying features they have depended upon so long to protect them in securing favorable set- tlements with their policyholders in the event of loss. One or two companies have also de- clined to permit their agents to accept policies in which this paragraph is in- cluded in the rider: “It is a condition of this contract between the insurer and insured that, in the event of fire, the loss be adjusted by an officer or employe of the insurer and not by an adjustment company.” This action is due, of course, to the fact that the general manager of the company has a piece of the hog; in other words, has stock in some adjustment company which has been given to him outright in exchange for his influence in diverting adjustments to the bureau, instead of dealing directly with policy holders, as every insurance company should do. The company solicits busi- ness, through its local representatives, on the plea that it will give its customers a square deal by indemnifying them against loss in the event of fire. Yet as soon as a loss occurs, the company immediately changes front, farms the adjustment of the loss out to a concern whose only stock in trade is cajolery, bribery, bluff, bluster, intimidation and fraud. This is not in keeping with the letter and spirit of the insurance policy and must be abolished. A singular disclosure in connection with this subject is that, in some cases, it has been found that mutual companies voluntarily place the adjustment of losses in the hands of adjustment bu- reaus owned by the general managers of board companies. This practice is so at variance with the precepts and fundamentals of mutual insurance that the Tradesman is unable to reconcile, this action with good business principles. A WORKING BACK TO NORMAL. It has been foreseen fora long time that when present foreign trade con- ditions were changed it would be necessary to work back to a normal basis of competition with other coun- tries if we were to hold our expand- ed foreign business. That this pro- cess may be a gradual one instead of a result of sudden change is now thought probable. In that case it would begin with alteration of con- ditions in some industries such as seems to be starting in the munitions trade as indicated by recent events, and would spread more or less steadi- ly to others, The information avail- able here as to the advance orders booked in various lines shows that nothing sweeping is likely to occur for a good while, but as these ad- vance orders are exhausted or lessen- ed there may be a tolerably steady attempt abroad to depend more and more on home output and not to buy from us as long as we demand the prices which now prevail. The agita- tion in some of the countries which buy most largely from us against in- creasing their imports and the general suggestion that importations be cut wherever possible shows how the situation is taking shape in their minds. Eventually this trend of events will necessitate readjustment of wages and prices here if the Unit- ed States is to retain its trade on any- thing like its present footing. The policy adopted by bankers as to in- dustrial loans will also, it is expect- ed, have an important influence in effecting such a readjustment. Al- though prices in various lines are still on the increase, the indications seem to point to growing realization on the part of leading producers throughout the country of the neces- sity for readjusting the situation with a view to getting into a stronger competitive position as foreign de- mand for some classes of goods be- gins to fall off more and more steadi- ly. eee eee Among the larger business facts the traffic of the railroads calls for careful study from this time on. It looks as if the companies were mak- ing headway in relieving the blockade. Accordingly one gets from several of the leading roads, notably those of the Northwest, rather strong state- ments as to increase in traffic. The St. Paul reports operations 25 to 30 per cent. greater than last year at this time, the Burlington 16 per cent. increase and the Northwestern a gain of 35 per cent. as indicated by load- ings. Even though the business of the country declines somewhat, the roads are likely to make a large show- ing for some weeks or months yet. From the standpoint of the stock- holder there is a serious qualifying fact in such an increase in cost as to have arrested the gain in the net earn- ings which was shown for many months. A break-up of the blockade will diminish costs to some extent, but the evil of higher wages and higher prices for materials, as against the impossibility of getting higher freight rates still stands and there is no assurance of its removal in the near future. The demand for small bills is so great that the Secretary of the Treas- ury has decided to issue one and two dollar greenbacks, none having been printed since 1885. This will be done by conversion of the greenbacks of larger denominations. Don’t: be proud of the sharp retort that silences the other fellow. It is better to keep a friend than to shut one up. € ay t af NG as ° < . * oe 4 ve .. 5 48 4 s seeder Ke 9 % ? { kp wv Las { 4 > A lip 4 + * « | » | « ye > } ae " ia j at, < - o ‘ o 7? Fm di bs > a Bg at T® < > e* cy > a a LF] te ‘ ) € ate? t af SZ Taye > ey te 4 er. * |, ay 4 s seder Ke » 7¥ _ <. oi | ae ae wv | @ x * a » it 7 ~- | ig (pe January 24, 1917 PLAY UP ST. VALENTINE DAY. In recent years there has been a growing tendency among retailers to make advertising use of every holiday or festival of any significance. Christ- mas, of course, as the great gift sea- son of the year, has always figured largely in the merchant’s programme. No other holiday in the entire calen- dar carries with it such a weight of business-getting possibilities. It is possible, however, to make each festal day an item in the adver- tising programme. A ‘good many merchants, for instance, put on spe- cial Easter windows the week before Good Friday. This is a comparative innovation in most places; yet it in- dicates the tendency. Especially in the winter months it is desirable to take advantage of any holiday or feast day. Of these, one of the most conspicuous is St. Valen- tine’s day. While not a legal holiday as is Washington’s birthday a little latter, it is, like Christmas, although to a lesser extent, surrounded by a great mass of popular tradition. St. Valentine’s day is the great day for young lovers. Every lady ex- pects a valentine—perhaps a score of them, Every young man looks for some responsive recognition. Years ago the typical valentine was a crude, vulgar cartoon retailing for one cent; with occasional variations into a more expensive and more sentimental ar- ticle that called for a higher price. Now the tendency is toward gifts. These gifts are sometimes quite ex- pensive. They represent business op- portunities for the wide-awake mer- chant. There is hardly a retail business which to-day does not share to some extent in the Christmas gift trade. The only difference in the St. Valen- tine gift trade is, that it is practically confined to young lovers and to juveniles. Of course it is as a drop in the bucket compared with the Christmas trade. Yet it represents a possible livening up of a rather quiet month. It is a peg on which to hang some effective advertising. And it represents good possibilities of development. Good merchandising consists very largely in recognizing and developing just such possibilities. The one line that is sure of a sale is the valentine itself. There are comic valentines, and sentimental val- entines. They make a good display, in the window or inside the store, and fit most logically into the drug or stationery departments of the gen- eral store. In this connection the stationery department can be played up to advantage. Outside valentines themselves, there are gift possibilities. The pop- ular line for this purpose is confec- tionery. The astute young man who wants to make a good impression ac- companies his sentimental valentine with an assortment of the best choco- lates in a fancy box. The merchant who handles a good grade of confec- tionery will often find it good business to secure a supply of gift boxes and put up some of his own stock, for gift purposes. This is a line of par- ticular interest to the general mer- chant, grocer and druggist, MICHIGAN TRADESMAN Even where there are no specific ¥4 NOTHING THE MATTER. lines handled, the day has its adver- tising possibilities for any merchant. For a week or two ahead, a lot of peo- ple, particularly young people, are thinking about the day and what it will bring them. It is always good advertising to hitch up your window displays with something that has the favorable attention of a lot of peo- ple. Any merchant, therefore, can with propriety put on a Valentine window. A few comic or sentimental valen- tines can be bulletined in the win- dow; they will attract attention and appeal to the seasonable mood. In the accompanying display, show lines suitable for gifts. Urge in yovr show cards the gift idea. The immediate sales may be only a little better than an ordinary display of the same lines would produce; but the valentine-gift idea will help to educate people to link up this day with the idea of gift giving. For instance, a furniture dealer at this season puts on display some of his finest pieces. In his accompany- ing show cards he puts forth the idea: “Give your wife and home this valen- tine.” The ‘valentine’ shown may be a $200 furniture suite, or a $50 set of dining room chairs or a compara- tively small item; but the man who sees the display is reached by two lines of appeal, Here is furniture he would like to buy for his own sake; and here is a seasonable occasion for buying it. A double appeal is al- ways stronger than a single appeal. Any merchant can readily discover in his own stock similar possibilities. The hardware man can suggest a line of electrical goods, or a new range, or a complete line of kitchen utensils, aluminum, etc. The point is to link up the early February win- dow displays with the topic that is in most people’s minds.—St. Valen- tine. ver | The Tradesman has ascertained that many Michigan merchants hold in- surance policies in the Grocers’ Cash Deposit Mutual Fire Insurance Co., of Huntington, Penn. This) company is not authorized to do business in Michigan. Any policy holder of this company who suffers a loss would have to go to Pennsyvania to prose- cute his claim, unless the company paid the claim voluntarily. The Tradesman has asked the company to make a statement as to its methods in settling losses and will present same to its readers as soon as re- ceived. That many negroes have not heeded Booker T. Washington’s advice to be proud of their negro blood and not at- tempt to be like white people, is shown by the announcement that a negro wom- an has made $500,000 selling stuff adver- tised to take the kink out of the hair ef negroes and to make it grow. The woman has announced her intention to build a house near the estate of John D. Rockefeller in Tarrytown, but she may be expecting to make some more money by being paid a large price for land already purchased in that neighbor- hood. tion. be lower than production during 1916; Is there anything the matter with the motor industry? If so, what is it? An automobile man says that while the fundamental factors, espe- cially on the demand side, were never brighter, there are several disturb- ing elements on the side of produc- Production during 1917 will not it will probably be higher: but it seems likely to fall below the quanti- ty “projected.” The manufacturer of the finished car must contract in ad- vance with innumerable accessory manufacturers—makers of speedom- eters, tires, rims, lights, cogs, bolts, what-not. In many cases automobile manufacturers have met with extreme difficulty in making these contracts. These difficulties have not surrounded merely the price; there has been diffi- culty in actually getting the material at any price. The “projected” pro- ductions (the productions originally planned, and upon which orders for parts are based) are in most instances far above production during the past year. But manufacturers of parts are in many instances booked to capacity for months ahead; the raw steel mak- ers, on whom they in turn depend, are also booked to capacity for months ahead. They are prevented from enlarging their capacity by the shortage of labor, for one thing. The inability of an automobile maker to obtain ever a sufficient number of a certain kind of bolt may tie up his production all along the line. In ad- dition to this, several new models have gone wrong, One company re- cently had 20,000 new models thrown back on its hands. Many automobile factories have facilities for assem- bling, practically none for dissem- bling. It may cost an automobile factory more to repair a car than to build a new one. aa ceeeereneeeaetnarenemee Sometime ago educational require- ments for entering upon the study of medicine were considerably advanced. That was for the benefit of the profes- sion and particularly those who at times must have the attention of a physician. The preliminary preparation is an im- portant part of any technical education. It would be better, of course, if every doctor, lawyer, minister, etc., had a col- lege education before entering upon special study. It gives a breadth and a foundation which is invaluable. At a recent meeting of the Association of American Law Schools held in Chicago the president of that organization made a strong plea for higher standards in preparation for legal study. His argu- ment is certainly sound and his recom- mendations ought to become effective. The Supreme Court by its decision announced last week tightens the rules ond regulations of the temperance cause and puts a crimp in the business or social ambitions of those who wish to sell or use spiritous liquors. West Vir- ginia’s prohibition amendment -prohibits citizens from receiving liquor for use in their homes shipped by common car- riers in interstate commerce. The claim was that, for example, anyone wishing to give a dinner could provide wine at their home or buy whisky for their personal use and have it shipped as other goods are. By a vote of 7 to 2 the court declares that this statute is constitutional. It says that Congress did not intend to forbid the individual use of liquor but that it can exercise power over interstate commerce. In other words a West Virginian can not be prohibited from drinking intoxicat- ing liquor, but he can be prohibited from getting it in his own state, which comes very near amounting to the same thing. Fakes are perpetrated on unsuspect- ing people everywhere. Down in Geor- gia a man picked up considerable money by pretending to find diamond rings. Just as a person was passing he would pretend to “find” a ring. He would call attention to its sparkle and say that the owner, of course, would give a handsome reward. Unfortunately, he was leaving town in a few hours and could not hunt up the owner. If the other party would give him a_ small sum he would turn over the valuable ring to him and he could collect the reward. He got from 50 cents to $5 for his “finds” and disposed of rings worth 15 or 20 cents apiece. regrets to note that several trade journals are still carrying advertising announcements of the Brenard Company, of Iowa City, Iowa. This concern has been repeatedly exposed as fradulent by the Tradesman. Its methods are not good. Its practices are not above criticism. The contract it makes with its customers is sufficient to warn careful merchants from having anything to do with it. The char- acter of some of its employes is suf- ficient cause for extreme caution. New England rum used to be the best article of trade with the natives of Africa. The remark has been made many times that we sent a cargo of rum with every missionary to darkest Africa, but that is not so any longer. Wrist watches and cheap jewelry are more popular with the natives. The wrist watches on leather straps are in great demand, the dusky denizens of Africa believing they are dressed up when they wear a wrist watch. And scme of them wear little else. Advertising is the life of trade and a millionaire manufacturer of tobasco sauce who died recently in New Orleans, believed in advertising after death. He committed suicide, but left a note to his wife, in which he directed her as fol- lows: “I want our ‘green heart’ trade mark conspicuously displayed on my tomb, preferably made of a stone slab.” . The Housewives’ League of Cincin- nati is going to celebrate its seventh anniversary by having a _ banquet in which the potato will be boycotted. The members of the league have voted to eliminate potatoes from their own tables at home, and they will not find any on the menu of their annual dinner. ceereeeceeeaaeeaeecneeicenies Do you omit the price from some of the goods you show or from some of your advertisements because you are forgetful, or because your prices are high? It’s a mistake in either case. qeeeeeennemenanmnene Most of the world’s heroes dwell between the covers of novels. 10 GOVERNMENT VS. BUSINESS. Mutual and Reciprocal Relations They Should Sustain.* I can not imagine anyone enter- taining you on the relation of govern- ment to big business, although the Government has been entertaining big business for some years past and big business has been entertaining the Government. This subject was sug- gested to me by the committee and I want to thank the committee for this invitation to be present. It is a real honor to have the opportunity of addressing an audience like this. You do not get that opportunity very often. It is also a pleasure to attempt to discuss such a question as this before this kind of a gathering. This age in which we live is a furious and fast one. We sat here and turned our heads to the left when we started and before we finished the first course, they were passing around the proof of the photograph they took of us. I heard someone say that nowadays you have to run twice as fast as you can to stay where you are and twice as fast as that to get ahead. Tackling this subject before you fellows makes me think of the re- mark of the fellow who came home and saw his wife trying to pound a nail with a flat iron. She missed the nail and hit her finger, and he said, “Be careful, my dear, you can’t pound a nail with that. Use your head.” It seems to me, gentlemen, that I get the cue from that story that the Government in recent years has been using its head about this ques- tion. At one time we had combina- tions galore, as you know, and there were all kinds of unfair methods used in competition. There was a great growth in various parts of the country of absolute monopolies, the using by the Government of no head in the growth, until the demand came all over the country that the thing be stopped. This has all happened in your life time. Finally, the demand went over the country that something must be done. These combinations were growing so that something had to be done to protect the people. It seems to me that the only real object and end that real government can have is to secure the greatest good for the greatest number and I believe our Government tries to do that. In this particular case it has been very lifficult. It has been a hard road to travel. I know that it got so, up to a few years ago, when the busi- ness man said, “Tell me what I can do. I don’t know what is legal and what is not: if you will only tell me what I can do, I will be satisfied, but I don’t like to try to make a living only to wake up some morning and find myself in jail for something that is illegal.” So we find the pendulum swinging back again. Once there was no restriction, then the demand came for restrictions and the Sherman law was enacted in 1890. That law stated what is unlawful, but it has taken *Response by Hon. Clyde L. Webster, Ex-U. §. District Attorney, at annual banquet Michigan Wholesale Grocers’ As- sociation at Detroit. MICHIGAN many years to determine the meaning of that language. That is one of the rocky roads mentioned. It has been the cause of a great deal of litigation. Finally, good has come out of all that and the business man of to-day understands better what he can and what he can not do. I finally believe that the feeling is swinging back again and that it is now not quite so much government interference—a lit- tle more freedom to the business man, a little less restriction—so that in our brief life time we have seen the pen- dulum go around the circuit. Government is simply a matter of experiment and ever since the first civilized country started trying to have a government it has been a mat- ter of experiment, but we learn by experiment and by experience. I be- lieve that the history of the Sherman law and the Clayton law has finally taught us what not to do, at least, and pretty well what to do. The Sherman law itself is not very different from the laws which were enacted prior thereto, yes, centuries prior thereto; and I find on studying this question that it is as old as the hills; that years and years ago laws were enacted to prevent monopolies and combinations in restraint of trade. This law that was enacted on July 2, 1890, declared that every contract, combination in the form of trust or otherwise, or conspiracy in restraint of trade or commerce among the sev- eral states or with foreign nations was illegal. For the first ten years after the Sherman anti-trust law was passed there was hardly anything done, but then they started and there have been a great many prosecutions under each administration since, down to the present administration, where again there has been very little prose- cution under this act. The result of all this prosecution can be summed up in this way, that the area of uncer- tainty in the law has been greatly narrowed and that its scope and effect has been pretty clearly defined. The school of literal interpretation has been eliminated and a reasonable and more definite interpretation has been adopted. The ordinary agreement of purchase and sale do not violate the first sec- tion of the Sherman act, even though they may operate to restrain trade or commerce and is not illegal. Every contract, combination in the form of trust, or conspiracy, the direct object and effect of which is to control prices, restrict output, restrain from competi- tion, or exclude and evict, imposes an undue restraint upon trade and com- merce, and is in violation of the first section of the act. Size alone does not constitute monopoly. The attainment of normal methods of business development is not a violation of the law; but by means of the stockholdings whereby the control of commerce among the states in any particular line of indus- try, especially those who are concern- ed in such efforts because they are engaged in monopolizing, or attempt- ing to monopolize interstate com- merce, is a direct violation of the act. It seems to me that the report of TRADESMAN the Commission, as summed up thor- oughly, states the result of all this litigation which has taken place under the Sherman anti-trust law. I believe to-day that, having served under both Republican and Democratic adminis- trations and having served under both Attorney-Generals, I am _ convinced of this, that the matter is not the politics or the administration, but that the Government is sincerely attempt- ing to help the business man of to- day and not harm him; and that both administrations, and both Republican and Democratic Attorney-Generals desire to prevent and stop the illegal and unfair methods of competition and to give free reign to fair and honest competition in every line and to assist the business man in every way possible; but to oppose him when he comes to the illegal methods. I believe that that is the policy of the Government to-day. I believe, al- so, that from the part of the business man who at first did not use his head any more than the Government that to-day the business man is the same way. I believe that the large ma- jority of the business men of the country to-day are fundamentally honest. that they want to do the square thing; that they want to do what is right. They want to make a fair profit in their business, but no one can question but that they want to do business right and on the square, and you have got to admit that even of your competitors, to-day. This is a condition that did not exist some years ago. The square man to- day is certainly on the top, and the crooked man is not liked by anyone. He has no friends in any community or in any business. All that the square man of to-day wants to know it, “What can I do that is right? Don’t leave me in doubt about it. If you will tell me what is illegal, I will keep away from it. I have not been able in the past to find out what I can do and what I can not do.” Locally, during the administrations that I have been in the office, this law was brought into force in three cases. The first case I will mention, because I think it was of least concern to the Government. That was the Kellogg Toasted Corn Flakes case. There are present here representatives of the Kellogg Toasted Corn Flakes Co. I have no quarrel with them and I do not believe they have with me. I did not have much of a quarrel with their company, at least after they changed attorneys. I did have a little trouble with their first attorney, but when they secured another attorney who knew the law, I had no further trouble whatever. I might say here, that the law, as regards their case, seems to be absolutely clear, and that is this, that you can not fix the resale price of an article that you manufacture and sell. Whether I agree with that, or you do, is another question. I have my doubts about it at times. I cite the Gillette Razor Co., the Eastman Co. and other concerns where they have spent millions of dollars in ad- vertising. I can see where they might have an interest after the article is 1917 January 24, sold, but if I sell you that glass, and you pay me for it, you can throw it away or give it away, but I have no right to tell you what to do with it after I sell it to you. That was the foundation for a long series of cases. They have decided it from every angle. It applies to every kind of an article that is manufactured and sold. Legally, you can not sell an article that you manufacture to a jobber and compel him to sell to anyone at a certain price that you fix. Mr. Kellogg had a container for his product upon which there was a pat- ent. On this container was printed the language that this package could not be sold for less than 10 cents. They fixed the price to the jobber, retailer and consumer. That, as I say, is an absolute violation of the law and can not be done. Their first attorney was a patent attorney from Kalamazoo. He could only see the patent feature and, there- fore, to his eyes, because of this pat- ent they had the absolute right to fix the price of the contents all over the country. After fighting the case for some time (in the first place he de- murred to the bill), I filed what is called an expediting certificate. After an argument before the Circuit Court of Appeals, who denied his motion and sustained the Government, he prepared to appeal to the Supreme Court. At this point Mr. Kellogg changed attorneys and Mr. Bucking- ham, of Chicago, one of the best law- yers and one who has had as much experience along this line as any at- torney in the United States, came on here immediately, dropped the appeal and consented to the decree of the Court. There was never really any fight. A consent decree was entered and they have been selling ever since the same as anyone does, and I was informed to-night that they like it better, that is, selling the article for so much money, and that is the end’ of the transaction, so far as they are concerned, The second case was much worse. That was the case of the Master Horseshoers’ Trust. You would not think that horseshoers would get into a trust arrangement, and yet one of the worst was the Master Horse- shoers’ Trust. They had a trust and held meetings like you have here. All their proceedings were taken down stenographically. They had contracts all typewritten and signed, so that it was an easy matter to prove what took place. They had an absolute agreement between everyone controll- ing the sale, output and price through- out the country, and prevented any- one from putting even a calk on his own horse. It had to be bought from the master horseshoer and put on by the master horseshoer. This was in direct violation of the law. They had their contracts and when any manu- facturer kicked on the proceedings (I found proceedings where the manu- facturer appeared at the meeting with his Own attorney, and when this at- torney advised them that this was in direct violation of the Sherman law they just laughed at him), he was forced to do as they said or get out «? yt dee 4* > 4 |e ¢p % y e a ? 4 a TFN ee ‘ ) re! a aie? a Na Ve ~~? « > ” * 4 Vy > | . «¢ 4 | 4 \ f ast ¥ ’ ei , ’ S. q pf a7 > “ * x > id ® ’ a a- ae yt den 4< > 4 i Ve & | ¢ r e Ri ° 4 a Lit ie ‘ > January 24, 1917 of business. If the client dared to follow his attorney’s advice (I found two or three manufacturers in the country who were sweating blood), every other manufacturer was putting him out of business because he did not enter the combination. Such a combination could not win out in court. The worst one of all was the Bath Tub Trust case. You have all heard of it, probably because it was the worst. It was a “peach.” That was a real combination in restraint of trade._ They used to put enamel on bath tubs and such ware by pounding it on with a hammer. It had to be hot and the man pounding it on had to stand close to the furnace. It was a hard job. Finally, as time went on, they put the hammer on the end of a long stick. Then the man could hammer the enamel on and stay farther away from the heat. Then a man invented an automatic hammer whereby he could get 75 feet from the tub and automatically pound the enamel on the iron ware and get it on much better. Because of this patent, they formed a combination that extended all over the United States and absolutely fixed the prices of enamel ware throughout the country. They had a large, com- plete and forceful organization and they did enforce it. If a manufac- turer, jobber, wholesaler or retailer dared to oppose it, they were put out of business. There were fifty-six de- fendants in this case. After the first trial was over, two of the defendants MICHIGAN TRADESMAN could have gotten out, but Trial Judge Angel would not dismiss the case except as to these two. They, however, would not accept this. “We want to be vindicated by a jury,” they said. So they stayed in and were con- victed with the others. In the end it cost them a large sum of money. The first trial was fought by at- torneys from all over the United States. The jury disagreed. The first trial lasted six weeks. It was just at this time that I was appointed and I had to go over large books of evi- dence, and it was some job. Judge Session tried the second case in a little over a week. The argu- ment for dismissal of the defendants, instead of covering over three days, was about fifteen minutes. The case went to the jury and all the defend- ants were convicted and paid over $60,000. The case itself, which is what I mentioned, is an illustration of what you can not do, a clear illustration of a violation of the Sherman law which should be enforced. Theirs was a combination of the rankest kind, employing the rankest methods to en- force it. They were put out of busi- ness, and I say that they ought to be. I believe that the status of the thing to-night is this, that the busi- ness man and our Government are to- gether; that they want to prevent be- ing done what is wrong, and I believe further that there will be in the future less and less prosecution, less and less law on the subject, and more regula- tion. I believe that the business men of the country would like it better if the matter could be regulated to pre- vent unfair practices, with but as little prosecution as possible throughout the country. ——_+2.—___ Sidelights on Celery City and Envi- rons. Kalamazoo, Jan. 22—At the regular meeting of Kalamazoo Council, held Jan. 13, we had the honor of having with us Grand Counselor F._ J). Moutier, who commended the Coun- cil on the splendid work the officers are doing and the enthusiam which prevails among the members. Five new members were initiated and we have eight more to take the work at the next meeting. When the Kalamazoo National guardsmen return home from the Mexican border, there will be a pub- lic demonstration planned and carried out by the Chamber of Commerce. This was decided upon at the meeting of the Chamber of Commerce direc- tors. The details of the celebration have not been worked out as yet, but a patriotic programme will be ar- ranged and the entire city will par- ticipate in the affairs of the occasion. Arrangements were completed for a meeting of the Detroit-Chicago *avedway Associjation in this city some time in February at a session of the Chamber of Commerce good roads comm‘ttee. The meeting will bring good roads enthusiasts to Kala- mazoo from Detroit, Ann Arbor, Bat- tle Creek, Chicago and other points directly concerned in the construc- tion of the proposed paved way. The Limousine Top Co. held its annual meeting Wednesday after- noon. The past year has been a re- markably successful one from every standpoint and the outlook for the future is even brighter. While no defin‘te action has been taken, the question of erecting a new plant is being seriously considered. The ad- ditional room is needed. il We wish to thank Frank Saville for the following item: “Readers of the Tradesman per- haps noticed that included among the names of those present at the Worden Grocer Company annual roundup last week that Clyde James, of the Kala- mazoo branch, was present. Certain one who were in a position to know say that Clyde remained over until the next day to return to Kalamazoo. Now Clyde says that the reason for his bandaged and bruised condition is the fault of a wreckless auto driver running into him on the Gull road near Richland. We don’t wish to in- fer that Clyde’s memory or his alibi is poor, but we can form our own conclusions.” George Freeman, manager of the Hygenic Baking Co., of this city, had the misfortune to get the fingers o his right hand into a cog wheel of the bread mixer a few weeks ago. He is improving nicely. George is a very optimistic fellow and says he had thought some of having his fingers trimmed anyhow, as it only makes him more efficient in punching holes in the doughnuts. Castner Bros., successors to C. D. Fiansburg, are making a few altera- tions in their store, preparatory to repainting and decorating same. A very pleasant and businesslike meeting was held at the Retail Gro- cers and Meat Dealers’ Association rooms last Monday evening prepara- tory to the State convention of the Association, which meets in Kala- mazoo Feb. 19 to 24, after which a fine oyster supper was spread for those attending. Herbert Betke, grocer and butcher of Parsons street, is closing out his stock and will move on his farm southeast of the city. We join in ex- tending Herb. the best success in his new venture. W. S. Cook. —_>-.—___ One can’t expect mummers to keep mum. Barney Langeler has worked in this institution continuously for over forty-five years. Barney says— It’s a big job to ship all the orders we receive each day, but it certainly pays, and I am sure a part of our big increase each year is due to the fact that we ship orders so promptly. WoRDEN THE PROMPT SHIPPERS ROCER ( OMPANY GRAND RAPIDS— KALAMAZOO January 24, 1917 12 MICHIGAN TRADESMAN AM z ae N Le : : oe 2 rag You employ a plumber when | 5 : F I N AN Cc mM : { your plumbing is defective, a law- CE aS " — Ta . yer when you have legal difficul- et Or Re ties. You do it because of training ames experience. The same _ reasoning Advertising the Banking Business— Farm Book-keeping. A number of bankers have stated that their mail continuously contains advice as to advertising ready-made plans with promises of “pulling’ copy. This is probably the experience of nine out of ten bankers. The advice to advertise is good and articles in the banking jour- nals offer many excellent suggestions. The idea that it is unnecessary and un- dignified for a bank to advertise has been pushed off the bridge by the train of progress. Publicity, judicious edu- cational banking publicity is now recog- nized as a necessity and no bank which desires to grow can afford to ignore this avenue of business building. The people have been educated to look for business pointers in the advertising columns of the publications they read and are, to a very large extent, gov- erned as to the medium of their business transactions by these advertisements. This applies to all business, banking included. Specious arguments are used by ad- vertising agencies and those sellling financial advertising ideas as to why the banker should let an outsider do his work. Of course, this is a legitimate way of business getting, but are these arguments sound and are the statements facts? This is open to doubt. Long distance service too often results in copy which is defective, because local condi- tions and local sentiment is not under- stood or taken into consideration. An advertisement that would be a “cracker- jack” for one bank would fall flat in the territory served by another. is a great deal of merit in the idea ad- vanced by J. N. Kuhl, President of the Alton Savings Bank of Alton, Ia., that every bank can write its own advertise- ments better than an outsider. If a bank official would put on paper the line of talk he gives to a client in the office of the bank, newspaper adver- tising copy would be turned out that could not be beat, because it would be straightforward and on a level with the public with which the bank does busi- ness. The average layman knows but little about the machinery of banks, therefore the advertising should be educational. Who is better equipped to educate the man than those whose duty it is to see that this machinery is working smoothly? The more this knowledge is spread before the people, the more confidence they have in the bank, and the man who keeps his money at home is soon convinced the bank is the best place for it; that every check he draws is a receipt for every payment made. Bank advertising should be contin- uous. In time it will build business be- yond the expectation of the advertiser There, if the copy is instructive and changed at least once a week. Good advertise- ments with simplified published state- ment reports will do the business. Another word as to farm credits and farmer book-keeping. The preparation by the banks and merchants—co-operat- ing—of a farmer credit rate sheet would tend to stabilize the business of the agriculturist as nothing else would. Its purpose is to‘list assets and liabilities in the same way a merchant’s rate sheet is used and, in addition, will reveal the system of farming by which the money is to be earned with which to pay off the indebtedness. The annual invest- ment of farm capital is governed by the same principle as other investments —not to invest all the capital in one crop. The division of farm capital into food and feed crops to support the family and stock, and crops for market, is both a sensible and safe division of the capital invested. The only way to educate the farmer along business lines is to insist on the use of the credit rate sheet before extending either store or banking credit. Much good is being done by bankers in stabilizing general business, but no work is more important and far reach- ing than the proper education of the farmer. One result of the war has been to check a continuous outflow to foreign countries of the savings of foreigners working in this country. This is shown by Government figures as to postal sav- ings. There are now more than 660,- 000 postal savings depositors who have deposited in excess of $108,500,000. The net gain in November was $4,250,000, twice that of November, 1915, and in five months since July 1 was $22,500,000 or more than the gain for the entire year ended June 1, 1915. At this rate the gain for the current year ending June 30, 1917, will probably be $54,- 000,000. This spirit of thrift is also reflected in the reports of savings banks all over the country and shows there is a fair proportion of our population fore- handed enough to put aside a portion of surplus earnings. It is not enough, and those who are to-day receiving larger wages than ever before, more than enough to off set the high cost of living, should put a portion of this surplus in the savings banks. Once cultivated, the savings habit be- comes a sort of second nature. Not long ago a Grand Rapids man employed on a salary suggested to his wife that every time either of them walked down or up town, they would put the amount they would have spent for car fare into a pocket bank until full, and then into a Christmas club savings book. The result is the pocket bank has been open- ed twice and payments on a $25 Christ- should cause you to appoint this company your executor. It has had more than a quarter of a century’s experience. Send for blank form of Will and booklet on Descent and Distribution of Property. THE MICHIGAN TRUST Co. OF GRAND RAPIDS Audits made of books of corporations, firms and individuals. GRAND RAPIDS NATIONAL CITY BANK CITY TRUST & SAVINGS BANK ASSOCIATED / i i ' I i ih 3 K , CAMPAU SQUARE The convenient banks for out of town people. Located at the very center of the city. Handy to the street cars—the interurbans—the hotels—the shopping district. On account of our location—our large transit facilities—our safe deposit vaults and our complete service covering the entire field of banking, our institutions must be the ultimate choice of out of town bankers and individuals. Combined Capital and Surplus............ see. eeeeee $ 1,778,700.00 Combined Total Deposits. ..........0ceeeeeeeeesceeees 8,577,800.00 Combined Total Resources .........+++:essees cece eres 11,503,300.00 GRAND RAPIDS NATIONAL CITY BANK CITY TRUST & SAVINGS BANK 5 a 4 Po a ¢.1, oo Ss “4° > Ay a ¢ s & i» | de => 4 Po a ¢.1, ” Ss * ? ar » ! Ka a? t s \ ge 4 V¢ ’ € : ° * ‘ _? <7 > " ¥ % s ¢ ’ Ce ae I de => January 24, 1917 mas bank book have been paid up for two months. This started the young man of the family. He has not only a $25 Christmas club book paid up to date, but has also started a regular sav- ings account, putting aside odd pennies received in change, saved car fare, ete. There is no doubt this young man, who works in a store Saturdays and some times in the afternoons after leaving high school, will have a snug sum to his credit upon reaching the age of 21. It is altogether probable that he will not only not touch that nest egg, but will continue to add to it, thus laying the foundation of a successful business career, for he will carry into business the same ideas of economy, whether he works for others or for himself, thus increasing his value to himself and to the community. As has been wisely stated, the country bank—as distinguished from the big institutions in large cities—is the “the indestructible unit in a sys- tem of free banks.” The Federal Re- serve system, as administered by the Federal Reserve Board, especially that portion of regulation regarding reserves, penalizes these independent banks. A country bank should be preserved as a community institution and its independence maintained. whether it be a State or National bank. This independence is vital to the self expansion of those who en- gage in business activities surround- ing it. A reasonable profit is neces- sary to enable that bank to properly serve its patrons. These profits arise from its schedule of prices for the services performed, and no outside institution should have the power to compel exorbitant charges or to im- pose rules which would so cut prof- its as to render the best service to the community impossible. The Federal Reserve banks, by entering the open mart for business, create a competi- tion not in spirit with the law pro- viding for the organization of these Federal Reserve institutions, which should be banks for banks only. Then, again, when the Reserve Board steps in and arbitrarily, by a par clearance, deprives the country bank of a source of revenue, the Federal Reserve banks invade the rights of the country banks. Does not this ad- ministration of the Federal Reserve law really transform member banks into Federal Reserve branches? There should be no rules or laws, out- side of general banking restrictions, which would interfere with the inde- pendent management of the local bank. Its officers and directors are men vitally interested in the com- munity the bank serves. They are in close touch with its business develop- ment and problems and with the business affairs and needs of the members of the community. In nine times out of ten the local bank, in- stead of being a Shylock grabbing for its pound of flesh, is a disinterest- ed counselor and a material, benef- icent help, receiving, in return for its services, reasonable remuneration the customer willingly and gladly pays. The power of the Federal Re- serve Board should be curbed by ad- ditional legislation and _ collection charges and the disposition of sur- MICHIGAN TRADESMAN plus reserves should be left as far as possible to follow the natural laws of use and locality. Paul Leake. —_++.—__ Opposed to Reinstatement of Coun- try Check Charges. The National Wholesale Dry Goods Association has issued an appeal to its members to oppose the passage of the Kitchin bill providing for the reinstatement of exchange charges on country checks. The bill is now before the Banking and Currency Committee of the House. The Association says in its appeal: “Representatives of some of the banking interests are said to be in Washington now for the purpose of urging the enactment of this or a similar measure. You will recall that this Association was very influ- ential in causing the Federal Reserve Board to make effective the provi- sions of the Federal Reserve act re- lative to the collection of checks at par. “It is suggested that you protest against the reinstatement of exchange charges on country checks, addressing your protest to your Congressman, to the members of the House Com- mittee on Banking and Currency and to Hon. Charles S. Hamlin, Governor of the Federal Reserve Board, Wash- ington.” —__..> England’s Awakening. This war has wakened England. It has made the workingman work at full-tilt for the first time in his life. He has been willing to do it, because the product served a national purpose instead of the profit of another per- son. He has been physically able to do it, because an increased wage gave him better food. He has discovered how to do it, because the pressure of necessity has unlocked brain cells which in ordinary times would have required a term of education to co- ordinate. The war has turned the middle-class home inside out and freed the respectable unemployed into usefulness. It has given new and more active forms of employment to women caught in domestic service and the parasitic trades of “refined” dress- making, millinery and candy manu- facture. Finally the war has given a career to upper-class Englishmen. For the first time in their lives they feel they have found something active to do through noble sacrifice. The sigh of relief that went up at the dis- covery that life was at last worth living, if only because of its brevity, was echoed in the poetry of officers as it drifted back from the trenches. —Century. —_+-.—_____ A Great Thing. “This boy scout movement is a great thing to teach boys patriotism.” “T suppose it is, but it makes it awful hard to find a boy that’s got time to split kindling wood for his mother.” OFFICE OUSFFITTERS LOOSE LEAF SPECIALISTS 237-239 Pearl St. (near the bridge) Grand Rapids, Mich. ELI CROSS Grower of Flowers And Potted Plants WHOLESALE AND RETAIL 150 Monroe Ave. Grand Rapids 13 OLD NATIONAL BANK GRAND RAPIDS. MICH. LOGAN & BRYAN STOCKS, BONDS and GRAIN Grand Rapids, Office 305 GODFREY BUILDING Citizens 5235 Bell Main 235 Members New York Stock Exchange Boston Stock Exchange Chicago Stock Exchange New York Cotton Exchange New York Coffee Exchange New York Produce Exchange New Orleans Cotton Exchange Chicago Board of Trade Minneapolis Chamber of Commerce Winnipeg Grain Exchange Kansas City Board of Trade Private wires coast to coast Correspondence solicited 177 MONROE AVE. Complete Banking Service Travelers’ Cheques Letters of Credit Foreign Drafts Safety Deposit Vaults Savings Department Commercial Department Our 3% Per Cent Savings Certificates are a desirable investment Our Rate the Lowest Our Service the Best United Automobile Insurance Exchange Home Office—737-741 Michigan Trust Bldg., Grand Rapids Detroit Office—524 Penobscot Bldg. INSURANCE AT COST because every dollar not used to pay losses and expenses is returned to you Veit Manufacturing Co. Manufacturer of Bank, Library, Office and Public Building Furniture Cabinet Work, High Grade Trim, Store Furniture Bronze Work, Marble & Tile Grand Rapids, Michigan THE PREFERRED LIFE INSURANCE CO. Of America offers OLD LINE INSURANCE AT LOWEST NET COST What are you worth to your family? Let us protect you for that sum. THE PREFERRED LIFE INSURANCE CO. of America, Grand Rapids, Mich. WM. H. ANDERSON, President L. Z. CAUKIN, Cashier Fourth National Bank United States Depositary Savings Deposits Commercial Deposits 3 Per Cent Interest Paid on Savings Deposits Compounded Semi-Annually 1 3% Per Cent Interest Paid on Certificates of Deposit Left One Year Capital Stock and Surplus $580,000 JOHN W. BLODGETT, Vice President J. C, BISHOP, Assistant Cashier 14 MICHIGAN TRADESMAN January 24, 1917 Is There Such a Thing as a Jinx? Cincinnati, Jan. 22—The writer has a friend who is developing a peeve at the Cosmic order, because, as he puts it, his “Jinx is working over- time.” And he is not an ignorant, uneducated man, but a man of gen- uine culture and ability above the average. He is now in his early forties, and fully realizes that it is now up to him to make good. He has absolutely no bad habits, and he is quick, apt and intelligent. But he insists that he is pursued by a jinx— one of those stealthy, lynx-eyed, pus- sy-footed, untiring jinxes, which are supposed to camp on a fellow’s trail until they ultimately get on his nerves or—get his goat. There is little profit in a purely academic discussion, but honestly isn’t it strange how adverse things happen sometimes, just one after an- other? Some days are that way at the store—complaints, accidents, poor buys and rotten sales—why do they come bunched? The English lan- guage is extremely rich in words and phrases Synonymous with, and ex- pressive of, the untoward. Words, phrases and idioms embodying the idea of the adverse have been im- ported into our language from many widely separated sources. Why so much smoke if there isn’t a little fire? Superstitious negroes of the South often claim that they are hoo-dooed, but my friend would be highly in- sulted if anybody charged him with being superstitious. At the same time he declares that he has a jinx. Of course he isn’t sincere about it —and all that jinx-talk is merely a sort of safety-valve. His saving sense of humor keeps him from becoming pessimistic and bitter; but he surely has had a nerve-wracking series ot jolts. He is competent, but a more unlucky man would be difficult to find. He is willing, but all the gods that be have conspired to sift him,test him, and try his very soul. He em- barks on the most promising enter- prises, but they terminate disastrous- ly. He has met so many reverses he has about decided that the best way for him to go forward is to turn around and back up. Prior to the outbreak of the great war, he quit the concern he had been with for years and started into busi- ness for himself. His line was ad- vertising novelties, and he had bought stocks to the limit of his rather lim- ited capital. Being an experienced advertising man, and knowing his lines, he launched his business and got going in less time than he had anticipated. He sold his goods with- out difficulty, and sold them at a fair profit. He was congratulating him- self on having taken the plunge, when all at once the unexpected happened, and the great war was on. Almost instantly his business stopped stock still: he couldn’t get any more stocks of advertising novelties. Such goods came from Austria, and the British embargo on Austrian shipping put an end to their importation. His little business automatically ceased. He can’t revive it again until the war is over, for American manufacturers do not appear to go in very strongly for advertising novelties. They may in course of time, but they are not do- ing so now. With his own promising little busi- ness gone to the discard, my unlucky friend applied for a position, and presently got one—position as sales manager of a concern making wood working machinery, The salary was a good one, the prospects were love- ly. The new sales manager was rap- idly making good. And then the un- expected happened: through no fault of his own, and without the slightest warning, he lost his job. For a long time this concern had been irying to induce another man to come into the irm—a young, energetic and _ re- sourceful fellow, who was in a posi- tion to put some capital into the busi- ness. He was slated for the job of sales manager. Hitherto he had not seen his way clear to accept the prof- fered position; but one day he tele- phoned the president that he had de- cided to accept the proposition. They were glad to get him, and anxious to have his capital; and,—but wasn’t that tough on my friend? His next position was that of first assistant to the branch manager of a big film-producing company with headquarters in the East. It was a fine job and carried a lot of responsi- bility. My friend plunged into it with a mad desire either to make good or blow out a mental cylinder-head. There was no task too arduous for him. He literally wore himself thin doing things a man cannot ordinarily do. And he made a prodigious hit with his new boss. And then, one day there appeared in the manager’s office a young fellow from the East. In his hand he held a scrap of paper with a dozen (maybe only half a dozen) lines of neatly typed instruc- tions from the big chief, whose bold autograph appeared at the end. The communication instructed the branch manager to take on the bearer, Mr. So-and-so, as assistant manager. The younger man had a pull, or the big chief thought the job was as’ yet un- claimed,—anyhow the _ instructions were unequivocal, and explanations wouldn’t explain: the new man wenr on, and my friend went out. Tough, wasn’t it? Wait, this isn’t all. After the lapse of several months, my friend connected up with anoth- er position. This time promoting the stock of a big, newly-organized au- tomobile company. It was a fine proposition, and my friend was hope- ful. It was good stock, and he is a good salesman. And he was going to it with fine prospects of making good. And then the jinx. And this time the strangest and most unex- pected of all things happened: the president of the company suddenly took it into his head to commit sui- cide. This, of course, disorganized things instantly. The stock was im- mediately withdrawn from the market pending the settling up of the affairs of the president. That left my friend precisely in Othello’s position—his occupation gone. Just now he has no position. He is looking for one—and, as he is a high class man, I am sure he will find something before many weeks. But will it last? He says it can’t, if that pesky jinx continues on his trail. Frank Fenwick. —_ - _ If you have an iron will don’t le it get rusty. known as 101 Michigan Trust Bldg. Francis Smith Bldg. - Allen G. Thurman & Co. announce the admission to the firm of Louis A. Geistert. The firm will hereafter be Thurman, Geistert & Co. 503 G. R. Savings Bank Bldg. © - Grand Rapids, Mich. - Grand Rapids, Mich. - Muskegon, Mich. THE BANK WHERE YOU FEEL AT HOME WE WILL APPRECIATE YOUR ACCOUNT TRY US! Kent State Bank Main Office Fountain St. Facing Monroe Grand Rapids, Mich. Capital - - - - $500,000 Surplus and Profits - $500,000 * Resources 9 Million Dollars 1 Per Cent. 3% Paid on Certificates Largest State and Savings Bank in Western Michigan We Recommend Citizens ‘Telephone Company First Mortgage 5% Gold Bonds TAX EXEMPT Price 100 and Interest, Yielding 5% Write for Descriptive Circular Hower Snow CorriGAn & BERTLES INVESTMENT BANKERS GRAND RAPIDS SAVINGS BANK BLDG. GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN. The only way in which you can be assured that your property will be distributed as you per- sonally desire is by having your will drawn and a responsible executor named fo carry out its provisions. This Trust Company is especial- ly chartered by the State to act as executor under will Ask for booklet on “Descent and Distribution of Property’’ and Blank Form of Will [RAND Rarins TRust [OMPANY MANAGED BY MEN YOU KNOW OTTAWA AT FOUNTAIN. BOTH PHONES 4391 “¢ 4% ~ 4“ Tee "< r ® 4A ~ «° January 24, 1917 MICHIGAN TRADESMAN 15 BANKRUPTCY MATTERS. Proceedings in the Western District of Michigan. Grand Rapids, Jan. 5—In the matter of Henry Vander Ploeg, bankrupt, a peti- tion in bankruptcy has been filed and adjudication made, and the matter re- ferred to Referee Corwin. The schedules show liabilities amounting to $6,179.71, and 17c is the amount of the assets. The following is a list of the creditors of the above named bankrupt. Secured Creditors. Jennie Dubbink, Paonia, Colo. reer Jennie Boone, Zeeland ............ 207.06 Holland City State Bank, Holland 268.70 First State Bank of Holland ese. 545.52 Unsecured Creditors. Mrs. G. H. Dubbink, Holland ....$272.48 Henry Plakke, Holland ........... 210.12 Bert Naberhuis, Holland ......... 73.08 John S. Brower, Holland .......... 88.09 Mrs. John Brower, Holland ........ 276.99 Klass Kolvoord, Hamilton Henrietta Kollen, Holland Mary Kollen, Holland ............ 70. John W. Beardslee, Sr., Holland .. 70.72 C. J. lokker, Holland ............. 15.16 Peter Semelink, Vriesland ........ 70.04 Gerrit Meengs, Holland ........... 71.74 H. Vander Ploeg, Chicago ........ 74.12 Mrs. N. Westerloo,, City -......... 105.06 Henry Tellman, Putneyville, New NMOPKy OMY oe ae cee 141.44 Martin Tromp, Hollana ....... teas OL. ae First State Bank of Holland ..... 122.89 J. A. Olson Manufacturing Co., ChicgsO 1s eee ee ee 7.48 David C. Cook Pub. Co., Chicago .. 78.67 Butler Brothers, Chicago ......... 7.89 MacMillen Co., Chicago os wees oes 97.72 American Bible €o.. Chicarze ...... 30.80 P. F. Vollad & Co., Chicago ...... 27.14 L. E. Waterman & Co., New York 17.34 Blanch Lyman Art Shop, Chicago 6.38 A. H. Vilas Co., Chicago ......... 41.12 John C. Moore, Rochester ........ 9.51 Scholl Portrait Frame Co., New MORK Coe ee oe e es cca as Association Press, New York ..... M. & H. Stationery Co., Brooklyn 20.40 Weis Manufacturing Co., Monroe 67.02 Weimann & Meunch, Milwaukee .. 138.15 AS. Klein @Co., Chicazo ........%. 6.53 American Book Co., Chicago ...... 27.31 Conklin Pen Manufacturing Co., OlGGO: Go. acc ee cic a ce cs 19.50 World Book Co., Yonkers-on-Hudson 9.78 Joseph Dixon Crucible Co., Jersey CUGY eo ol eon eee coe ee ae 40.74 F. S. Webster Co., Chicago ...... 22.04 Taber Prang Co., Springfield, WEARS es wages a 1.1 Ginn & Co., Chicago .............. 111. 50 American Sunday School Union, PRIA AOIDNIS ce coe aces sos oe 8.57 West Publishing Co., St. Paul .... 2.25 Garden City Engraving Co., Chicago 4.90 Guyahoga Picture Frame Co., CIOVGIONG oy ese cece ccs ces woes (22.82 G. A. Hartman, Chicago .......... 5.37 Will BP. Canaan, City ..:....-..- oe | (8.19 .. & Brust, Clty oc. ts. e. 72.45 Board of Publication, New York 140.90 Bradner Smith & Co., Chicago .... 4.79 H. R. Pattengill, Lansing ......... 7.30 Century Co., New, YeX .......... 48 D. C. Heath & Co., Chicago ...... 27.61 Allyn & Bacon, Chicago .......... 18.63 Dennison Manufacturing Co., Chi- CHO eee coe cates 20.51 Presbyterian Board of Pub., Chicago 77.67 A. L. Burt & Co., New Y York .. 9.11 Longmans, Green & Co., New York 32.13 F. H. Revell & Co., Chicago cence) 20a Curtiss & Cameron, Boston ...... 2.35 M. A. Donahue & Co., Chicago .... 3.20 Martin & Co., Chicago .......... -92 A. C. McClurg & Co., Chicago .... 22.57 B ieeins: City ..2..............- 6.33 W. A, Wilde Co., Chicago ........ 1.69 Barse & Hopkins ............... aa 2.43 Pittsburg Plate Glass Co., Pitts- OU oa ere acg ns nical ce ss 14.40 Oxford University Press, New York 48.33 Saalfield Pub. Co., Akron ........ 28.03 Thos. Nelson Sons, New York .... 96.62 B. Sevensma, City_............. «+. 51.63 G. R. Stationery Co., City ....... 419.36 De Grontwet, Holland ............. 129.76 Fris Book & News Depot, Holland 17.26 Mayer Schoettle & Schrairer Co., Amn (AQDOR 206... cokes cow wee 4.17 De Voe Reynolds Co., Chicago .... 3.14 Cc. M. Barnes Wilcox Co., Chicago 30.05 A. Flannagan Co., Chicago ........ 87 Sharpe Partridge Co., Chicago .... 28.40 Funk & Wagnalls Co., New York .. 44 Otto P. Kramer, Vioinnd ....... sae 29.07 Witness & Sabbath Reading, ew MOM ooh ccc ea eevee ces 34.00 Johnson Gordon Co., Chicago ...... 3.03 Holtzman Brothers, New York .. 4.52 Hope Pub. Co., Holland ........ se 20.00 G. H. Hospers, Ontario, N. Y. .... 24.74 Gibson Art Co., Cincinnati. ........ 9.89 Hazeltine & Perkins Drug Co., Grand Rapids ..........cesee- 5.27 Charles Scribners Sons, New York 8.84 F. M. Hulswit, Grand Rapids .... David Forbes, ‘Grand Rapids ...<.. 1.36 Diekema, Kollen & Tencate, Holland 11.65 Third Reform Church, Holland .. 42.84 Holland City Bank, Holland ...... 69.50 Minnie Vander Ploeg, Holland ... 56.25 Paul F. Scheulke, Holland ...... a 38.67 John B. Nykerk, Holland .......... 69.60 H. J. Kollen, Hollano ........... -. 34.58 Martin Tromp, Holland .......... - 34.58 Bert Slagh,, Holland ............. Derk Meengs, Holland ............ 137.90 Teunis Prins, Holland ......:..... 209.28 Albert H. Meyer, Holland ........ 62.56 Gysbert Blom, Holland ........... 55.58 John Kleinheskel, Holland ........ 34.45 January 6—Henry H. Hutchins, of this city, has filed his voluntary petition in bankruptcy. Adjudication has been made and the matter referred to Referee Cor- win. The schedules of the bankrupt re- veal the fact that the only assets are 50 cents, cash on hand; while the liabili- ties are $353.78, including $292.73 due on open accounts. Following is a list of the creditors of the bankrupt: Unsecured Creditors. H, Baert, Grand Rapids $ 11.00 H. Southwick, Grand Rapids 32.50 Dr. O. J. Loftquist, Grand Rapids 32.00 Dr. F. C. Kinsey, Grand Rapids 19.50 Dr. H. C. Wolfe, Grand Rapids .. 20.00 Ira Rosenberger, Grand Rapids .... 6.50 G. R. Grocer & Meat Dealers ProUsetive ASSN. ............ 6% 42.50 S. Harkema, Grand Rapids ........ 3.35 Huge & Backart Coal Co., Grand Dr. G. Dr. G. ADIOS so ee ie ccs we Ray Sprague, Grand Rapids .. M. N. Parris, Grand Rapids Menter Company, Grand Rapids .. 8.00 G. R. Loan Co., Grand Rapids .... 60.00 Jan. 12—Jonas A Church, Greenville, has filed a voluntary petition in bank- ruptey. Adjudication has been made and the matter referred to Referee Corwin. The schedules of the bankrupt reveal the fact that the assets consist of $3,392.48, including $750 claimed as exempt, and also $1,729.48 due on open accounts. The liabilities consist of $2,775 secured claims, and $8,974.55 in unsecured claims. —_~+ +. Clever Cincinnati Crook. A well-groomed, prosperous-look- ing “gentleman” with carefully-con- cealed crook proclivities, recently put one over of a different sort on a lead- ing Cincinnati hotel. When he registered at the office he demanded a good, outside room with bath, and intimated that he didn’t mind the cost. He ordered up ex- pensive cigars and drinks, tipped the bell-hops generously, and appeared to be fairly rolling in wealth, to use a favorite phrase with “city editors.” In the course of a few days he phoned down to the office that he was leaving for Los Angeles and asked them to send a boy over to the rail- road ticket office and buy him one first-class ticket with Pullman reser- vations, and add same to his bill. And this was done, and the ticket was sent up to him. Some time later the fellow went over to the ticket office and told the clerk that he had changed his mind about going to Los Angeles, and ask- ed for a ticket to St. Louis instead. His request was granted, and the dif- ference of $40 was handed to him. And then the hotel suddenly missed its prosperous-looking guest, who had gone away without the slight formality of settling his account. Hotel people throughout the coun- try should be on the outlook for this guy, or others who may imitate him in pulling off this strictly new and up-to-date stunt. ——_~-- > War Brings Overalls Vogue for Women. Overalls for women! That is the latest trick of Dame Fashion. The style is set by the women munitions workers of Europe, and now a great American company which has special- ized in overalls for men only an- nounces it will soon be turning out hundreds of thousands of this gar- ment for the fair sex. The materials will be chambray, soft cotton, khaki and black sateen, in stripes, checks, white and blue— very dainty and attractive. Many big firms have started to clothe their women workers in the biturcated gar- ment—and the women and girls like them. Advanced Gem Motor Car Corporation stock set aside at $7.50 has been sold. New price furnished on request. The Gem is a going concern in that it 1s prepared to deliver cars. It has a contract by which it received 1,000 chassis the first year---no experimental stage, no materials problem It is sure of a demand, as it builds both delivery cars and pleasure cars, and is selling lower than any other car using the same con- struction. Grand Rapids was selected for the fac- tory site because nowhere else are conditions so good for the class of car we build, and no- where else can be secured so good a class of wood-workers for making high-class delivery bodies. “Write us for detailed information. DEVEL & SAWALL, Inc. 405-6-7 Murray Bldg. Grand Rapids, Mich 16 MICHIGAN TRADESMAN January 24, 1917 QUEEN OF THE ANTILLES. The Enchanted Semi-Tropical Island of Jamaica. (Concluded from Jan. 10) As we climbed upward and over the gashed and jagged heights we en- countered passing clouds and views, whereupon the brilliant green of the tropic foliage would darken against the gray background of mist and cloud; then the suddenly emerging sun would lighten up the wondrous green, covered with sparkling rain drops, whiten the flying clouds chas- ing shadows across far-stretching valleys, filled with plantations and crude huts and villages where scat- tered peasants live and the swollen mountain rivers roaring over the rock and pouring into deep ravines —hurrying down the distant slopes toward the sea—all producing a most thrilling scene from our mountain viewpoint. Between breaks in the hills charming bits of landscape are formed in matchless pictures. The air is delightful and exhilarating; the silence of the hills is golden; the beauty inspiring. One was also impressed with the awful waste of power and inclined to conjure over the possibilities of industrial force that might be evolved from the direction of rushing waters to a myriad wheel of industry, filling all the land with dynamic kilowats. We enjoyed for many hurrying hours these changing enchant'ng views of interior Jamaica at its best. In the descent of the Southern slopes we arrived at the famous Castleton gardens, situated in the Wag Water Valley, about twenty miles from Kingston and about 450 feet above the sea. These extensive gardens form a wondrous labyrinth of trees and plants and shrubs and flowers from all parts of the tropics. There is a fine bathing pool in the river and one of the finest and most enormous clusters of bamboo in all the West Indies. Descending the hills over the cir- cling road, we obtain changing views of fertile valleys below, the distant city of Kingston white and green and the emerald sea flashing beyond tthe far horizon. As we approach our journey’s end, we realize that we have passed through one of the most beau- tiful tropic countries in the world and received impressions of grandeur and glory that can never be forgotten or described. It was a wierd and wonderful change from the curving arched highway over the radiant hills to the quiet drive through the broad _ level sizzling streets of the interesting old capital city of Kingston to the famous Myrtle: Bank Hotel, located on the palm fringed sea beach, where our hungry party were welcomed as guests. The hotel is a great, quaint, solid, oc- tagonal looking building, its three and four stories built within spacious verandas and piazzas, broad and deep. Its main facade faces Harbour street toward the city and its Southerly side faces an attractive marine park extending to Kingston harbor, one of the finest in the world, consisting of a great bay, separated from the blue Carribean flashing in the distance, by a long narrow neck of land almost enclosing it. The Myrtle Bank, like the Titch- field, is under American management and is modern and up-to-date in every essential respect. Across the brilliant bay is old Port Royal—redolent with the traditions of a century that is past, the storied scenes of pirates and buccaneers, memories of England’s heroic Ad- miral Nelson and the daring knight- ed and benighted old pirate, Sir Henry -Morgan, with its quaint old church and relic ruins of private rendezvous. Few tourists realize, as they wander aimlessly through the meager old ruins of old Port Royal, that in 1692 it was the fairest and wealthiest city which the English had then built in the New World, renowned for its docks and warehouses and _ stately streets, all of which were turned into roofing that was extensively used in reconstruction after the great fire some years ago, but which is being rapidly replaced by roofs of cement. It is a place “where one moves slowly.” Even an American gradually comes into low-speed, with emergen- cy brake on as he travels through its hot white streets. In the glaring sun one cannot move rapidly—in the shade one doesn’t care to move at all. Kingston is purely a commercial city. The business section was re- built after the destructive fire of 1882. Then the unexpected earthquake of 1907 set the buildings all awry or crumbled them completely, as though a forty-two centimeter shell had struck. The main buildings now are noted for stability, rather than im- posing or beautiful structure. The aim seems to have been to make them earthquake proof and everlasting— George Clapperton a mass of ruins, and 1,500 of its in- habitants buried by an earthquake of terrible violence which at the same time laid waste the entire flourishing colony of Jamaica in three minutes’ time. Its scattered ruins afford but slight trace of its former greatness and vanished glory. After the de- struction of Port Royal Kingston came into existence across the bay on the mainland, Kingston is conven- tionally described as “a city with a noble background of mountains and sloping gently toward the sea,” a rather sweeping and easy generaliza- tion. It is an interesting tropic city, but quite inferior as a capital city. This is not surprising in view of the character and history of the popula- tion of Jamaica, 95 per cent. of which is colored and noted for lack of ener- gy, enterprise and initiative. The wonder is that so important a capital city has been built and maintained at all. It is sometimes called the “tin roofed city,” from the corrugated iron hence the comparatively low structure and absence of sky scrapers. King street is the principal and, perhaps, the finest business street. It is the Broadway of Kingston. At the foot stands a fine statute of Sir Charles Met- calf, removed from old Spanish Town, where it originally stood, and on the Park, at the other end, is a statute of Queen Victoria. The wide, spa- cious colonnades in front of the build- ings enable one to walk nearly the whole length of the business section protected from old Sol’s aggressive rays. Like most of the coastal tropic cities the heat is intense in places ex- posed to the direct rays of the sun, but wherever there is protection from their direct force the moving sea air has a delicious coolness, conducive to loitering and inactivity, in which respect there is marked contrast with our American cities. Hence sun- stroke is practically unknown. In the evening and early morning, if one is disposed to test it, the temperature is delightful. At all times the at- mosphere is washed to crystalline pur- ity, through which one looks admir- ingly at soft shining snow-clouds drifting and floating in “a concave ocean of azure and gold,” to borrow a most attractive and descriptive phrase. The city itself is not beauti- ful, not impressive, not charming as Havana or San Juan; not of ‘such historic interest as many other West Indian cities, but it has an individual- ity that one feels impressively. Kingston, with its surrounding crescent rampart of mountains and hills, decked in green and gray, spat- tered with iridescent colors and the sparkling blue sea at its feet, is not typical of Jamaican beauty and grandeur. Back among the cool groves of its picturesque hills and valleys and along its magnificent shores, is the match- less beauty and inspiring grandeur, viewable from 2,000 miles of wonder- ful roads and sea shore which has given it classification as one of the three most beautiful islands in the world. The streets of Kingston are well paved and the population well served by electric cars, autos and horse cabs. Cab rates fixed at a dime by ordinance tempt the visitor to avoid walking. The business part is within a small compass. The streets run at right angles, are comparatively free from noise and uncrowded. The tempera- ture and consequent enervation are not conducive to crowds. Unlike all other cities in the West Indies, the streets are comparatively deserted in the evening. There is no promenad- ing as in other island towns. Loiter- ing seems to be a sort of recreation. The life and gayety of Havana is not there—open cafes and restaurants are conspicuously absent. Kingston has a fine assortment of slums. Its population presents all shades of color and varieties of garb. Joseph’s celebrated dresscoat would here be commonplace. Extreme pov- erty prevails among the greater por- tion of the native population, but the equable climate and bountiful nature, providing varied nature foods in tree and plant and shrub and vine and root, prevent intense suffering from cold and hunger. The natives live mostly in the open air, houses being essential only for shelter and sleep. Kingston is the center of the com- mercial professional and official life of the island. The great majority of the British inhabitants of Jamaica live there. The white population of the island, mostly British, constitutes, about 5 per cent. of the census enu- meration. The remaining 95 per cent. are “black” and “colored.” It is in- tensely interesting to watch the peo- ple, who seem happy, cheerful and cordial, taking life as it comes un- troubled by to-morrow. King street and Harbour street are the principal commercial streets and there are located the principal stores and shops which are most extensive- ly advertised in diverse ways, from which there seems no escape for the tourist. These stores and shops are spacious and packed with varied stocks, the trade being for the most part in substantial English wares and 4~ a+ t ¢ , es « ¢€ y t a « > I « % » ‘ a” * > gy : ne \ ¢ “ 4 <* 7 > 4° Te AC >a @ ‘’ € Sy « 4 hy January 24, 1917 MICHIGAN TRADESMAN 1 eae Money-Making Opportunity One of the World’s Grasp this Opportunity to Tremendous Demand Leading Industries Share in the Profits of the Enormous Profits American Motor Truck Company of Detroit, Michigan «a am Biggest field for large, quick profits in the Motor Truck Industry. No other line of business has ever made such giant strides and no other line of - securities has ever offered such money-making possibilities to both Large and Small Investors. : THE MOTOR TRUCK is a recognized commercial necessity—It 2 has come to stay. Notwithstanding the fact that the Industry is only in 2 its infancy it has assumed overwhelming proportions. THE DEMAND IS EVER IN EXCESS of the supply ONE HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS will be paid by Motor Companies this year BUY SHARES NOW and secure a free common stock bonus. The Company is now offeriag for sale a limited . amount of its7 per cent cu- * mulative preferred stock and is the estimate of conserva- tive authority. ACT NOW each subscriber receives a eueniiiee ose ae gp BpR eto siespnessfh j i Sagi AEES DR acs b onus of common stock, eae eee a i car valued of 4 haa GU) shareholders Capacity 114, 2, 314, 5 Tons All shares fully paid and non-assessable. INVEST in the AMERICAN MOTOR TRUCK COMPANY stock. Get in on the ground floor, and watch your investment grow Join forces with a Company with a brilliant future and managed by men of ability and experience $500 invested in a certain Motor Truck Company is to-day earning $3,000 per year. Don’t delay—it is the EARLY investor that gets the BIGGEST profits. Descriptive circular on request. Bank references American Motor Truck Company 404-405 Scherer Building Office Open Evenings Until 9 O’Clock | Detroit, Michigan —w—Z— O00 TEE Ttwt—KCT iit ttt tin A 1g MICHIGAN TRADESMAN January 24, 1917 fabrics. They are attractive to vis- itors who seem to furnish most of the patronage on account of the excel- lent quality and cheapness of the goods. The attendants are or seem to Americans slow going, but courte- ous, and especially trained as sales- men. Concentration and conservation of effort seem to be characteristic. These stores are wide open from 8 a. m. to 4 p. m. every week day ex- cept Wednesday when they close at 2 p. m. and Saturday at 6 p. m. Few die from overwork or nervous prostra- tion. Longevity is at a premium. One of the most fetching business cards of the great British stores of Kingston is the general advertise- ment of the furnishing of a suit of clothes, tailor made from finest Eng- lish fabrics, in four hours at prices fabulously low. The shrewd British tradesman seems to regard that card as a most adroit and irresistible ap- peal to the susceptibilities of the aver- age American on foreign soil. It nev- er seems to occur to his trading mind that the aforesaid average American might prefer a fairly respectable “fit” and a garment on which the buttons would stick, and in which the seams would stay put, even though it re- quired five mortal hours in the mak- ing. Kingston contains some substantial English churches, a fine catholic ca- thedral, numerous statutes of kings and queens and other more or less heroic and historic figures, good schools, substantial public buildings, an attractive theater obtained after five years of argument and discussion, a peculiar and unique variety of open air movies, canopied by a great sky filled with stars, in wondrous moon- light, the pictures peculiarly adapted to the colored patrons. But the chief attraction of Kingston is the Myrtle Bank. It is located di- rectly across the bay from the ancient center of Port Royal, heretofore im- mortalized in this narrative, and is the rendezvous for modern raiders and free-booters from all over the world. Everything in Jamaica worth while radiates from the Myrtle Bank. As stated, it is wup-to-date—that is American. There one revels in fifty- seven varieties of sea food from ac- tual taste—the only simon-pure “planters’ punch”—and sees all the people. So we stopped there, not on account of the price, but to main- tain inviolate our reputation. The harbor of Kingston is among the largest and finest in the world. This matchless harbor resembles some-what an inland salted lake with a narrow opening between the penin- sula along its Southern side and the mainland. It is a magnificent body of blue flashing water, fringed with stately lonely looking coconut palms and mangrove bushes. This beauti- ful harbor on one side and the tower- ing green mountains behind detract from the appearances of the capital city itself. Nearly all the attractive points in Jamaica are easily accessible from Kingston by rail or auto. Kingston contains the headquarters of the Ja- maica Government Railway, which runs Westerly to old Spanish Town, twelve miles distant, whence one branch runs Northerly through the hills to the Northern coast at An- nota Bay, thence Easterly along the coast to Port Antonia. The other branch runs Westerly and Northerly through the island to Montego Bay on the Northeastern coast. Both branches pass through great scenic country. The most attractive trips, however, are by open auto over the 2,000 miles of excellent roads that cover the entire island. While the various trips are commonly charac- teristic of Jamaica, its grandeur and beauty and life, each one possesses especial interest and charm, so that a month may be spent most delight- fully in touring the island in this way. It will be sufficient to briefly de- scribe a couple of trips which give one a fair conception of the topogra- phy and interest and charm of Ja- maica. On a delightful afternoon we drove from Kingston to Old Spanish Town through low-lying mangrove covered lands and fertile banana fields of low- er St. Catherine Province. In this level region the rainfall is deficient and the fields are in part watered by irrigation from the mountain streams. On the way we passed some of the most unique and picturesque trees on the island and the government prison farm, attractively laid out and highly cultivated by picturesque groups of negroes clad in calico two piece garments marked with a distinguish- ing broad arrow. It seemed to us that a distinguishing anchor would be less suggestive. Spanish Town, the ancient capital and oldest town in Jamaica, is locat- ed on the banks of the Rio Cobre (Copper River). It was founded in 1560 by Spanish settlers and called St. Jago de la Vega. Although it still has a population of 7,000, it has the appearance of a deserted town in the long slow process of disintegra- tion and decay. It is a quiet, funereal sort of place of great historic interest, and there is abundant evidence of the former importance and glory of this “city of the dead.” One sees few people on its quiet streets and one wonders how its pop- ulation makes any kind of a living. There is very little commerce and but one industry, it being the center of a great banana and sugar parish, and appears to be the residence of the families of many of the hands em- ployed on the surrounding plantations and estates. It was the original Eng- lish capital of Jamaica. The governor lived there, the legislature met there, the supreme court sat there and the great cathedral was there. The old king’s house the old assembly rooms, the old court house and other state buildings still remain, interesting and picturesque—deserted relics of van- ished glory. They surround a public square, in the midst of which is a little park filled with tropical trees and shrubs, corresponding in appear- ance with the empty, neglected, old buildings. Perhaps the most strik- ing object in the square is the statue of Lord Rodney (by Bacon) in Roman attire, holding a truncheon solemnly in his extended right hand, standing under an octagonal pavilion with Corinthian adornment, sur- rounded by a sort of Sybils temple. Lord Rodney must have been of some importance in his day, but he is a lonely looking figure now, amidst the quiet, unadmiring black population. - His majestic figure, posing for heed- less posterity as a work of art, com- mands more than ‘passing interest from the tourist. The old governor’s house or king’s house, as it is called—massive, empty and forlorn—is attractive in its silent eloquence relative to the grand days of long ago. As one saunters through its stately corridors, its great silent halls and spacious rooms still con- taining pieces of massive hand-made old mahogany furniture, one is im- pressed with the thought of the proud and noble occupants of former cen- turies. The governor and his noble retinue, who in their pride and majesty essayed the mighty task of directing the destiny of the little outlying colony of the Isle of Sunshine, glori- fied themselves; but the humble un- appreciative colonists finally came to the conclusion that the governing business was overdone and that they would take a hand in it themselves, and so things changed and the great house became silent and deserted as the government passed out of its great halls and became vested in the governed. The public offices are now in Kingston. The massive old ovens and kettles, the cement bathing pools that would do credit to a modern gymnasium, attest the magnitude and extent of the great life in king’s house, the foundations of which were laid in 1523. A short distance away stands the grand old cathedral, formerly a Spanish Red Cross church of St. Peter, which, with later additions, be- came the great English cathedral of Jamaica, where still live the remains of many connected with the history of the island, and contains many tablets and monuments of historic value dating back to 1660. One wan- ders with strange fascination through the lonely streets of old Spanish Town in an atmosphere of desertion. It contains a few people of the pro- fessional planter and official class, a few merchants with unattractive stores, but most of the scattered in- habitants are simple, easy going, smil- ing black folk. As our auto stopped while we went into a little shop to purchase a few old relics of Spanish days, these childish people, men, women and chil- dren, crowded about us in their eager curiosity to see the visitors and to watch for an opportunity to do some trivial service for a chance penny. We spent several delightful hours in this strangely quiet old capital, doz- ing in the bright tropical sunshine and dreaming of former greatness and the glorious days that are dead. From Spanish Town a delightful drive extends along the charming banks of the Rio Cobre river to the quaint village of Bog Walk. The great gorge and magnificent scenery along the way makes it one of the famous beauty spots of Jamaica. It is the wondrous beauty and grandeur and charming variety of nature in this crumpled up island that attracts and inspires the visitor. One of the most interesting and characteristic sights for the traveler along the great white roads of Ja- maica is the natives tramping in groups between the inland hills and the city, bearing on their heads bas- kets and bundles filled with closely packed products of soil and tree to the market places and their little purchases back to their humble homes. Most of these tireless jolly pedestrains are women and girls— barefooted, broad backed, with sway- ing hips and figure straight and lithe and strong. One approaches a figure moving ahead, having the appearance of a sturdy young woman straight as an arrow with brisk, swinging step, but a passing glimpse of a face old and wrinkled as her native hills sug- gests the age of Methusaleh; but it has been suggested that Methusaleh wasn’t so old after all, considering the pace he had to go. These simple, ill-clad but cheerful black folks trudge merrily along all day in the journey from their homes in the distant hills, perhaps ten to twenty-five miles, to the town market place, where they remain over night, sell their loads at retail, tramp wearily back the next day with the few shillings obtained in cheap goods or the small coin of the realm. One sees an_ occasional donkey carrying a man on its back or drawing him in a cart or, perhaps, a family rides haughtily by their less fortunate neighbors. The men ap- pear to ride in state, while the women walk over the king’s highway. En- quiry as to the reason for this distinc- tion, brought the suggestive reply, “Women, dey fraid to ride.” The trip from Kingston to New- castle by auto is one of the grandest and most exciting in Jamaica. New- castle is an old military contonment, perched about 4,000 feet above the sea, twenty miles from Kingston, es- tablished by Sir Chas. Metcalf, Bart, which is short for Baronet. We made the trip on a delightful Sunday after- noon. We drove through Hope Gardens, a few miles from the city, at the foot of the green hills in the Liguanen Plain, They contain bo- tanical groups, an experimental sta- tion, extensive nurseries and wonder- ful assortments of ornamental tropical trees and plants such as_ cocoa, citrous fruits, rubber, nutmeg, vanilla and various other varieties, also ex- tensive collections of orchids, palms and crotons. The young plants and trees are supplied to planters at very low prices, about a penny apiece. Ad- joining these attractive gardens is the government farm school, where young men and boys may obtain knowledge and training in all branches of trop- ical agriculture. The grounds are attractive and contain a number of substantial buildings. From the foot- hills the ascent is made over an old military road in a distance of about ten miles. This famous old road ap- pears to have been modeled after a streak of chain-lightning on a pre- cipitous bank of towering clouds. It is a rock road which zig zags along the sides of perpendicular mountains, twisting into spirals over rocky bluffs, towering in the sky in dizzy grades along the edges of cavernous preci- pices yawning below, verdure covered Cal | i } ‘ i > s y 4 A 7 we. of | { > bs Ve v + Cal | i } ¢ : ’ > ‘ x i 4 og e ae | { s bs v< ’ . . v . Ney amr Vv » ~ = ' v > dr [iw “| ¥ , ° Fe

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