; ; ; eT nee reese eereeeeee eee 5 —EE——— Ea — : eo SS aera es eee 2am Gp ne eR He . . we nn PRET Ice ne = ra re : a j nee NOTICE TO.READER. When you finish reading this magazine & one cent stamp on this notice, hand same to any tal employee and i it will a ? or sailors at the front. No wrapping, no address. AS SSNS Y > NED oo an ) GW, : Cg Ee) so Wee SF Oe were. NaN fre WO NC eye PINS . SS: 1 SES ES ay es ( are ‘3 ORE ON MG i bs) (See p hes WS We, week Z | Wp A ay ; Se Kd NY CUS ~ ay iS “ oe sip es eC 7 Y ae 2% Ee iN ‘ Fn Cig em \apece we WA es ma & LAG 5) es oe GF AS) ‘ ay) aN EN Ns STON as SNES (Ee ZR ee on Lilo IE 5 NACE: ND) NS aS Se : - ApBMAREEREac Sa i a) eee. CST AE ons | | LZ Lally a KG my) EK ePUBL LISHED WEEKLY Le. SPY EN REC eK FS wt S) oN © Vie ZF We ~>\{ (Rea seni 1°.) Pr q ss 2 cs, ae Ny he s oe XG MS ( 9G) y GS KES See SEO AK HLEST. 1883 4 Giceza TRADESMAN COMPANY, See ye Se chao 1883 aot OX PX ALES sf i CS SOR ESS CLETUS ( | : Thirty-Sixth Year GRAND RAPIDS, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 23, 1918 Number 1831 ' RE iE EI ke gee ee a eae Die elie lhe whi wh wth eh ch dhol he wh eh eh ey oh ch hhh hp eh ch wh eh + + h ca wi wh lh La toinisinkinicinininicinickiedird te hb bbb bb Laban ih The March of Freedom a dé We are pressing on to battle, Over land and over sea, For Jehovah has commanded: ‘Go and set my people!” _And the flag of truth which leads us Shall in glory float unfurled O’er the parliament of nations In a federated world. Chorus. Onward, then, brave sons of freedom! Strike, till all mankind be free! Seal the despot’s doom forever, Lest we would his bondmen be! i‘ Ah A db 4 * * *« x « « *« * *« * *« t *« x *« : i : be : : ; x 5 God has said that Right shall triumph, ie And no earthly power can stay x The fulfillment of His judgments ¥ And the sweep of Freedom’s day; t For the tyrant’s throne will crumble : t : * 2 : = % : ‘As God’s fiery steel shall smite, x > »* : hehehe ah And proud Justice spring, eternal, From the riven chains of Might. 4 Outraged by a bloody monarch, Comes our brothers’ pleading cry, And we're hast’ning to their rescue, Lest the cause of Freedom die. Ne’er again shall human kinsmen Feel Oppression’s cruel rod, For no man shall be man’s master In the Commonwealth of God. Lo, our conquering host advances, And the earth’s foundations shake To the tread of Freedom’s millions, Who the despot’s hold shail break; And to tyranny’s defiance , . Our avenging swords reply, : Justice shall prevail forever, Wrong forevermore shall die. 4 BRIAR OCALA CLL ULLAL ULL UOC UUUO LUO OOUUEOC UO O CU OO LOO OOOO COLOR CKO Howard N. Fuller. ICID ISI ORO LS ag EVERYWHERE Fleischmann’s Yeast is recognized as the standard yeast for baking. It is uniform. It is reliable. It is economical. It makes good conservation bread and rolis and consequently makes satisfied cus- tomers who will come back to your coun- ter again and again. THE FLEISCHMANN COMPANY ‘““Fleischmann’s Yeast”’ SEEDS WANTED ALSIKE CLOVER MAMMOTH CLOVER, RED CLOVER SPRING RYE, ROSEN RYE RED ROCK WHEAT, FIELD PEAS The Albert Dickinson Company SEED MERCHANTS CHICAGO, ce: ILLINOIS IT STANDS ALONE Doing More Than “Our Bit” The new Government food regu- lations require that all whole wheat flours shail contain 95 per cent. of the wheat berry. Shredded Wheat Biscuit is 100 per cent. of the whole wheat. Every particle of the wheat berry is found in Shredded Wheat, in- cluding the outer bran coat. And here’s something to remem- ber—there may be some question about the digestibility of bread made of whole wheat flours, but no question about Shredded Wheat Biscuit. - It is the most thorough- ly cooked cereal product in the world. | The Shredded Wheat Company, Niagara Falls, N. Y. The Government Has Decreed That the Nation’s “Christmas Shopping” must be spread over three months, September, October and November, in order to avoid the usual congestion of traffic, the necessity of engaging extra store help and of keeping the stores open at night. Of course every merchant will cheerfully comply with the Govern- ment’s wish, but in order to do so he must have the goods to supply his trade RIGHT NOW ONLY FIVE WEEKS REMAIN in which to transact the business of the best Holiday Season you ever had. ARE YOU READY? In case you have not made your purchases we would invite you to visit our store and inspect our great display of DOLLS, TOYS, GAMES, BOOKS AND CHRISTMAS GIFT GOODS SUCH AS IVORY GRAINED CELLULOID Toilet Sets Combs and Brushes’ Dresser Trays Hand- Mirrors Photo Frames Puff Boxes Hair Receivers Clothes Brushes Manicure . Pieces Military Sets Perfume Bottles Buffers Pin Cushions Crumb Sets Infant Sets Tourist Sets Clocks Work Boxes Five, Ten and Twenty Cent Manicure Pieces on cards for guick selling. CUT GLASS This beautiful and useful line makes the finest presents known for the price as they are only made in the most useful articles and are most ESSENTIAL in every home. Prices are about the same as last year and year before. NO ADVANCES TO SPEAK OF IN THIS GREAT LINE. Sugar and Creams Footed Comports Salad Bowls Bon Bons Sweet Pea Vases -Candle Sticks Celery Trays Sandwich Trays Syrup Jugs Mayonaise Bowls Vases Water Pitchers Flower Baskets Spoon Trays Fern Dishes Water Sets Ice Cream Sets Tumblers Goblets Sherbets Hair Receivers Puff Boxes Vinegars Salts and Peppers CLOCKS Eight Day. Clocks Wall Clocks Mantel Clocks Regulators STATIONERY Five, Ten and Fancy Box Papers Note Paper Twenty Cent Ink Writing Paper Spelling Books and Pencil Tablets THERMOS BOTTLES The Universal Vacuum Bottles either in open stock or Alarm Clocks Fancy Case Clocks “The Holiday Assortment” put up in Holiday style, sure _ sellers at a good profit. PRESENTATION GOODS In Mahogany, Brass, Nickel, Silver and Leather Smoking Sets - Ash Trays Jewel Cases Cigar Jars Umbrella Stands Crumb: Sets Candle Sticks Book Ends Jardinieres ~ Shaving Sets Photo Frames Necklaces Serving Trays Nut Sets French Mirrors - Pocket Knives Card Cases Men’s Purses Ladies Bags Waste Paper- Music Rolls Knitting Bags Baskets Tie Racks Collar Boxes Ink Stands Plateaux Pictures Electric Lamps Vanity Boxes Casseroles Desk Sets Candle Lamps Match Holders Order from our catalogue if you can not come in person. Mail orders | are. given careful attention and we SHIP PROMPTLY ASK US FOR CATALOGUE if you do not have one. A postal card will bring it. H. Leonard & Sons Wholesalers’ and Manufacturers’ Agents. No connection with any retail store or department. GRAND RAPIDS, .. MICHIGAN Thirty-Sixth Year GRAND RAPIDS, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 23, 1918 Number 1831 MICHIGAN TRADESMAN (Unlike any other paper.) Each Issue Complete In Itself. DEVOTED TO THE BEST INTERESTS OF BUSINESS MEN. Published Weekly by TRADESMAN COMPANY Grand Rapids B. A. STOWE, Editor 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 vears or more old. $1. Entered at the Postoffice of Grand Rapids under Act of March 3, 1879, NO TAX REDUCTION IN SIGHT. No great surprise was created by the decision of Congressional leaders that Congress adjourn on October 29 until November 12. The arrangement was plainly enough designed to give Congressmen a change to go to their home districts during the final week before election day. Necessarily, this decision postpones to a _ still later date the enactment of the War Reve- nue Bill; but the failure to pass that measure in advance of the Liberty Loan campaign removed the principal argument for speedy action, stated by the Administration. It had already become evident that the Senate could hardly in any case report back the bill before election day, and as the war situation stands at present, the possibility. of an- earlier peace than had been expected when the House bill was framed would undoubtedly have caused still more deliberate ac- tion by the Senate. It does not follow that an immedi- ate and very drastic cut would be made in the taxes, even supporting the end of the war to be unmistak- ably in sight. “Demobilization,” after any prolonged war, is apt to be for a considerable time nearly as costly a process as either mobilization or ac- tive prosecution of hostilities. In ad- dition to this, it has always been the habit of the United States Govern- ment to make extensive provision, not only for meeting the largely increased interest on the war indebtedness, but for beginning retirement of the debt itself. In the Government fiscal year which ended with June, 1865, or bare- ly two months after the surrender of Gen. Lee, the War Department’s ex- penditure had reached $1,030,600,000. It was reduced to $283,154,000 in the ensuing twelvemonth; yet the revenue from taxes, which had been $327,283,- 000 in the fiscal year 1865, was $557,- 817,000 in the fiscal year 1866. Even in our brief war with Spain, although the War Department’s outlay was cut from $229,841,000 in the--fiscal year 1898 to $134,774,000 in the fiscal year 1899, ordinary revenue increased from $405,321,000 to $515,960,000. To a largeg extent, no doubt, the increased post- bellum revenue resulted on each oct casion from the greater productive- ness of the taxes under peace condi- | tions, and on each occasion also, Con- gress promptly remitted some of the more burdensome taxes. But the pol- icy was unmistakably one of meeting as soon as possible the war bill, and thereby establishing on a sound basis the public credit. GOOD STRONG LANGUAGE. The resolution offered in the Sen- ate by McCumber and sent to the Foreign Relations Committee has some good strong language in it. It is against any armistice or suspension of hostilities before the Imperial Government disbands its armies an surrenders everything in use for war purposes “to the United States an her Allies,” and consents unreservedly to the principles of reparation ‘‘de- clared as terms of peace by our AI- lies.” It must also pay “in damages the cost of rebuilding the towns and cities that it has destroyed, restore fertility to the lands it has devastated, repay every dollar and the value of all property exacted from the people of invaded territory,’ make “proper compensation and allowance’ for every crime committed in violation of “laws of warfare and humanity,” and return to France not only Alsace and Lorraine but the indemnity ex- acted after the war of 1870-71. How long would it take for all that and what would be left of Germany when it was done? Senator Lodge in his speech on the armistice proposition, was hardly less severe in*»his judgment of the offender, but perhaps more practical about the penalty to be exacted. In his judgment there is but one right course. That would be to put “her in such a position as to physically guarantee that she can not break out upon the world again,” or again “en- ter upon a war of world conquest.” Not only should she be put in a posi- tion “where she never can break out upon the world again,” but be com- pelled to “make full reparation,” be- cause the Senator firmly believes that there is “such a thing in this world as retributive justice and punitive justice.’ As to a league to enforce peace there is one in existence now in the Alliance, and he believes that when Germany is beaten, “as she must be beaten, the world will have peace.” The North Dakota Senator and the Massachusetts Senator are not so far apart, although the latter is less spe- cific. Both use plain strong language to which there will be a general re- sponse, goods being offered in EFFECT OF WAR PRESSURE. Indications are not lacking of more eloth, Knit fzoods and other merchandise. Peace ‘talk, Liberty loan work, and the | spread of influenza, have tended to ¢ contract business, especially with many of the smaller jobbers and those who deal with the retail trade almost exclusively. There is still a very substantial volume of business going on with the Government and in many places it is believed that the top of the demand and the peak of production for war are witnessed. Selling agents for mills are doing what they can to supply their regular customers with standard goods but that is small in many cases. Instead of selling goods, they are being al- lotted to preferred customers up to the limit of the merchandise coming forward. The mills have been better disposed toward considering business for next year where there is an even chance that Government calls will not come forward to disturb plans. Cotton goods sellers have begun to show more disposition to accept or- ders for convertibles, print cloths, and other merchandise that must be put into work to ensure a satisfactory de- livery. The most important matter con- fronting merchants now is a thorough realization of the necessity for re-~ stricting commercial credit demands upon banks and other financial insti- tutions. Such credits must be diverted to other purposes than the expansion of trade or to maintain trade on its normal scale. Moreover, merchants of broad financial connections con- stantly urge that publicity be given to the need for making proper provision for taxes and loans for next year by the mercantile community every- where. This can be best done, they say, by confining trade to less than normal volume, even where oppor- tunities are offered to expand. now being NO UNDERWEAR SELLING. The peace talk is evidently showing itself in the knit goods trade with continued afloat throughout the underwear market that the Gov- ernment is going to dispose of con- rumors siderable quantities of lghtweight underwear. In several quarters of the market talk is heard that the Government has large surpluses of balbriggans and othér summer under- wear and that they are going to dis- pose of them to the civilian trade. However, in official quarters it is re- ported that there is no truth to this statement and that while the Govern- ment is fairly well provided for it is not considering selling at this time. The order of the Patriotic Division of the War Industries Board regard- ing the curtailing of the production of silk merchandise to 50 per cent. of the average production for 1915, 1916 1918, and is being discussed in the silk hosiery trade. At this writing there is not much light and 1917, beginning Dec. 1, continuing for six months, on the subject and in the absence of more data little is being done. Silk hosiery is in demand and while the production is not up to normal it is more than 50 per cent. so the order will mean a cut which will most likely be felt. Business as a whole continues at a satisfactory rate, with becoming harder and harder to locate. merchandise Even the production of cotton goods is not keeping up with the demand and while there is no big difference between the output and the call still the situation is holding very firm. Whatever the method of her with- drawal, it becomes daily clearer that withdraw from the war Turkey must Isolated, starved, without military supplies, their armies shat- very soon. tered, the Turks can not possibly hold out much longer. It is not question of terms, but a matter of ab- now a solute surrender. However, one very serious obstacle stands between the Turks and peace—the German cruiser Goeben, which recently has’ been backed up by the Russian Black Sea fleet, now in German hands. Will the Teutons fall back tamely with their ships to Odessa, as the Allied navy sails up the Dardanelles, through the Sea of Marmora and into the Golden Horn? Or will they—perhaps aided and abetted therein by such extremists as Enver Pasha—turn their guns on Constantinople wantonly trans- form that lovely city into a heap of smoking ruins? What their course will be depends largely on their negotia- tions with the Entente for a genera} cessation of hostilities. If these gotiations fall through, no one can tell how terrible the vengeance they may wreak on the Ottoman capital before they weigh anchor and leave. and He- Inability to deliver on account of National epidemic is an unavoidable cause of delay the buyers who have been threatening to cancel high priced goods delayed in delivery from the cause stated are apt to have con- siderable difficulty in upholding their claims in any law court. and ee Recovery of the great textile dis- tricts in France and Belgium are heartening the importers in this coun- try whose business went to pieces four years ago. Lille, Coutrai, Rou- baix and other names now in the war news have a fond sound to dry goods men in this country, MICHIGAN TRADESMAN October 23, 1918 EVERY GERMAN A BRUTE. No Difference Between Kaiser and People. The above words of the British Foreign Secretary, Mr. Balfour, tell the whole story. They go straight to the heart of the foolish, worse than foolish, the fatal assumption that the German government and the Ger- man people are two different entities. They are one—one in savagery, one in greed, one in purpose to crush and plunder their peaceable neighbors, one in perjured hypocrisy, one in coldly calculated determination to wade through havoc and slaughter to a world made over by Huns for Huns alone to live in or dominate. A mere technical military defeat of ruthless barbarians such as these will not-do. The iron must enter into their very souls before they will under- stand. The wreck and ruin they have wrought upon others must be brought straight home to them, must leave its blackened, blighting trail across and far beyond their own thresholds be- fore their dull, sodden senses will grasp the fact that the philosophy with which their learned criminals have saturated their minds for half a century is a philosophy of ruin and of hell itself, and that the ruin and hell let loose fall not on somebody else alone, but with redoubled in- tensity upon themselves as well. Back in Germany they do not know what war is. They have not seen it. They only measure the horrors France and Belgium have endured in terms of trainloads of plunder their own murdering, ravishing hordes of Hun brigands have sent back to dec- orate the homes of Hun peasants and shopkeepers and the palaces of Hun Crown Princes and junker “nobility.” They measure it by the forlorn herds of men, women and little children driven back among them at the point of the bayonet to be hewers of wood and drawers of water for Hun mas- ters. They measure it by the toll of millions of money stolen for their benefit from French and_ Belgian banks, communities and individuals. “Brutes they were when they brought on the war,” said Mr. Bal- four, “and brutes they remain.” And brutes they will remain until their concept of what war means is measured in other than these inven- tories of plunder. It is a war of edu- cation against them. If this war means anything it means the teaching of the German people that war is ghastly, stricken ruin, not for others alone, but for themselves as_ well. There is but one way to bring this bitter lesson home to them and that -is by object lessons the dullest brute among them can understand. When the logical deductions of their spec- tacled Hun apostles of rapine and slaughter are read in the light of their own blazing cities, in the crash of their own dynamited historical monu- ments, in the ruthless waste and ruin of their own countryside, then, and not until then, will they know in a way they will not speedily forget just what the war they so exultingly plot- ted and launched upon a peaceful world really means, Not a bit of use in trying to reach their understanding in any other way. They have no conscience. They have no honor. They must be shown. They must see with their own eyes and suffer in their own persons. A peace that falls short of bringing this lesson in all its awful significance home, not alone to the German rulers, but to the German people themselves, will be a peace that would be a last- ing wrong to the civilized world. It would but cauterize a foul putrescence when the health of all humanity makes the sternest surgery imperative. The Hun must be shown—North American Review. —— +++ Save Prune Stones For Carbon. Be it ever so humble, the prune is a patriotic food. Depending on their size, between two and three hundred prune stones will furnish enough car- bon for one gas mask. The carbon acts as an air filter and is the sol- diers’ protection against the deadliest German poison gas. Sources from which suitable carbon can be secured are extremely limited in amount and the Food Administra- tion points out that prune stones, which make an excellent quality of carbon, must not be wasted. In addi- tion to prune stones, peach stones, apricot pits, olive pits, date seeds, cherry pits and plum pits, Brazil nuts, hickory nut, walnut and _ butternut shells furnish material for gas mask carbon. No other pits or shells should be substituted. Take your collection of dried pits and shells to the nearest Red Cross station, thereby making a definite con- tribution to the safety of America’s soldiers overseas. Butter, Poultry, Beans and Potatoes. Buffalo, Oct. 23—Creamery butter extras, 58@59c; firsts, 57¢c; common, 55@56c; dairy, common to choice, 40 @50c; packing stock, 38@9c. Cheese—No. 1, new, fancy, choice, 28c; old, 28@s80c. Eggs—New laid, 68@73c for fancy and 55@60c for choice; storage can- dled, 45@47c. Poultry (live)—Olid cox, 24@25c; fowls, 34@38c; chicks, 34@B8c; ducks, 34@B5c. Beans—Medium, $10@f11 per hun- dred lIbs.; Peas, $10@11 per hundred Ibs.; Marrow, $11.50@i12 per hundred Ibs. Potatoes—New, $2@2.25 per hun- dred Ibs. Rea & Witzig. —_——_—_2-2.._____ For the Buyer. : Two principles guide me in my buying transactions, which I believe are responsible largely for the lack of dead stock on my shelves, No salesman ever under any cir- cumstances knows what I am really interested in and I will not permit him to talk me into buying anything. I want to see the goods and hear the prices. The quality and salability are matters for me alone. I prefer to buy in the large cities where the opportunities are greater and I like to go in the dull rather than in busy seasons because then bargains are more apt to be about. : wa G. G. Albert. Eggs, 31¢c; Gabby Gleanings From Grand Rapids. Grand Rapids, Oct. 22—The request, which amounts to an order, recently sent out by the United States Fuel Administration to the effect that all street cars and interurbans eliminate the heating of their cars as a fuel saving measure, “except in extreme cold weather and then only enough to take off the chill,” is positively un- wise and dangerous to the public health. Coming! at this time, when the Spanish influenza is so prevalent, thus endangering the health of women and children, many of whom are com- pelled to travel on our interurbans, it is particularly an unwise request. Those who travel know full well the dangers attendant upon poorly-heated depots, hotels, street cars and steam coaches, even when those in control are unhampered in their efforts to have the proper amount of heat. What will be the result if this recent edict of the Fuel Administration is carried out? Far be it from us to criticize in any measure the efforts of our fuel and food administration in the proper exercise of their respective duties, but, on the other hand, we do not thing we would be performing a patriotic duty if we did not call atten- tion to what appears to us an order endangering the health of the travel- ing public, and especially now when the full services of every man, woman and child are so greatly needed. De- structive criticism is positvely con- temptible and unpatriotic, but criti- cism of a constructive character we believe is welcome by all loyal pa- triotic Americans. Mrs. Lucile Scott, of South Bend, Ind., is visiting her many friends in Grand Rapids, where she is taking a much-needed rest from her arduous duties as general manager of I. Eu- gene Scott. Nov. 5 is the date when every red blooded American traveling salesman should exercise his God-given right of franchise. If you can not be here in person on that date, then for the love of Mike exercise your right to the absent voters’ law—a right for which you fought and for which, if you did not have it, you would sob your heads off. Don’t hang back on election day and then go out on the road with no voter’s tag fastened to your button and tell folks what a red blooded patriotic American you are. If you don’t vote, be consistent and keep your mouth closed about your Americanism. B. A. Herdson, of Milwaukee, Wis., visited friends in Grand Rapids on his way to Jackson on business. “Doc” hasn’t lost any of his agreeable and gentlemanly ways since he went up to live among the Badgers. One of our traveling salesmen had an unusual experience recently at the La Vern Hotel, in Battle Creek. The night being somewhat chilly and growing colder, and he himself threat- ened with a cold, he asked for an extra blanket, and was impudently informed by the management that they had no extra coverings. If they are hooked up this way in the mild weather of October, what will they do when the cold blasts of December are on? In his traveling experience of fifteen years, he says he never was refused sufficient covering to keep him warm before. We think this particular hotel a mighty good one to keep away from in the coming cold weather. The gentleman in question went over to the Post Tavern, where he was provided with all the blankets he deemed necessary to keep him warm. The downright impudence and inde- pendence of some of the hotels in Bat- tle Creek since they have been able to fill up their rooms from the canton- ment should be remembered by the traveling salesmen upon whom they depended for their livelihood before © the war began, and upon whom they doubtless will want to depend again after the war is over. 2 A gentleman who signs his name C. H. Ibershoff sends the following communication to the Outlock: The other day, while traveling through Michigan, I fell into conversation with a fellow-passenger. We _ hap- pened to be discussing the recently enacted prohibition law of the State when the conductor, who was close enough to overhear us, joined in our conversation. Being a man of experi- ence, his testimony as to the remark- able change wrought by the Michigan dry law will no doubt prove interest- ing to many of your readers and may possibly be used as an argument to hasten the advent of prohibition in other states of the Union, not to men- tion foreign countries. “I have some- times had,” the conductor informed us, “as many as one hundred and fifty drunks on my train. There have been times when we had literally a solid row of broken windows in one car. Frequently I have had to act the part of a prize-fighter, since there was nothing for me to do but to sail into the more violent drunks and subdue them. On such occasions I have often had the welcome assistance of commercial travelers. For me the dry law has indeed proved a blessing, for it has transformed my job into a gentleman’s job.” And as he spoke his words had the unmistakable ring of truth and personal gratitude. On account of the influenza procla- mation sent out by Governor Sleeper, the U. C. T. series of dancing parties for the season of 1918 and 1919 has been declared off. Those in a posi- tion to judge estimate that the dura- tion of this State-wide ban may be sixty and possibly ninety days, and, should this prove the case, a series of ten dances would extend into the warm months of May and June. The committee expected to have the clos- ing orders on account of fuel to-con- tend with, but this, together with the present indefinite period of closing all public meetings, makes the possibility of bringing a series of ten parties to a satisfactory conclusion too uncer- tain. The committee, however, will not disband, but will bide its time and hold special dancing parties during the winter months whenever the oc- casion seems appropriate. Those who have purchased tickets and paid for them will have their money refunded. We- assure the large number of patrons of these famous dancing par- ties that they will be given an oppor- tunity to participate in several of them during the season, but at no definite periods and only in such numbers and on such. dates as will comply with the best interest of the country and. the conservation of the public wel- fare. D. F. Helmer. —_>+.—__. Tact in the Reception Room. “When I go to a man’s office I usually resent having the employe in charge ask me outright what my busi- ness is, and I don’t believe that I am alone in this prejudice,” said an ex- ecutive who visits many offices. “But I can not help admitting that the at- tendant in a bank I called at last week got the information from me without any trouble, by tactfully say- ing, ‘Mr, Winston is busy, but if you will tell me your name and what you would like to see him about I will tell him you are here.’ “Had he asked me point blank: ‘What do you want to see Mr. Win- ston about?’ he might have received an ungraciots response from me. As I waited I heard the attendant repeat the remark to others, and he got his information every time.” 8° BLD. Clarence. Pe FO OKO KS ORO eee Ss" Oo. A A tO RH Ut Oe COR cS > rt ODO te DH Se HD et Se me ce wf €¢ +S & SS Oo S OO Sf oF om eet leet COCCI October 23, 1918 PATRIOTS AND PROFITEERS. Does Food Speculation Imply Moral Obliquity ? ~Something more than half a century ago a man noted for his silence ut- tered two words. They saved a na- tion, and now seem destined to save the world. They are in everyone’s thoughts and on everyone’s lips—un- conditional surrender! But it makes a difference as to whether they are spoken comfortably from an easy chair by an autumn fireside, or ac- companied by appropriate curses from between the gritted teeth of an Amer- ican doughboy facing a nest of ma- chine guns, Perhaps patriotism has to be visual- ized to a certain extent to make it come home with full force. There is a considerable stretch of land and sea between the Ourcq and Oklahoma, which may explain why the Senator from that State is so insistent that the 1919 wheat crop shall be sold at not less than $2.50 a bushel. The plea for this higher priced wheat is made on the ground that it is necessary in order to stimulate production. Pro- ducers throughout the country have been coddled and pampered by high prices through some grotesque fear that otherwise they would sulk be- hind their own barn doors and:‘refuse to do their duty to the land, to them- selves and to the Nation. Those who make this specious plea in their behalt seem to lose sight of the fact that they are condemning the entire agri- cultural community as slackers; that they are marking the patriotism of the farmers.as a purchasable commodity, There is one tremendous impulse throughout the length and breadth of this land. It is that the war shall be settled on terms of unconditional sur- render. It expresses itself in a hun- dred ways. A mere request from the Administration for a gasless Sunday has been self-enforced with all the rigor of an imperial edict. Wilful waste of food brings swift condemna- tion in its wake, not necessarily by the legal authorities but by those present. With such a feeling rampant throughout the country, with the Na- tion’s heartstrings stirred as they never have been before, and with a unity of purpose without a precedent in all the ages, can it be possible that the American farmer has to be bribed into doing his duty? ~ Anyone, anywhere, will do anything for a soldier, and yet, such is the queer psychology of the race that if it is only a question of skinning one’s neighbor, provided that neighbor does not wear a uniform, even some of our most patriotic citizens will only stop their profiteering within the limits of the law. There have been some curi- ous expositions of this, happenings that would cause the offenders to re- sent with all their might any direct charges that they were unpatriotic. The Food Administration, for in- stance, has the power to license the sale of foodstuffs except on the part of producers and the smaller retailers. Dried apricots happen to be one of the items that were left unlicensed because as a rule they do not form a” large enough tonnage to make it See eee eters eer eet ne ean ere MICHIGAN TRADESMAN worth while. This year they hap- pened to he a larger crop than usual and were thrust into a position ot greater importance because of the fact that dried peaches were a short crop and the Government required such a large percentage of them as to leave a comparatively small quan- tity for commercial use. Straightway apricots were seized upon for specula- tive purposes and the price run up to almost double the opening price. When taken to task for it these spec- ulators, for such they were, defended themselves on the ground that apri- cots were not licensed—that they were strictly within their legal rights! The immorality of speculating in foodstuffs in wartime did not seem to occur to them. Perhaps it is too much to expect of human nature to refuse to make money when it is so easy to do so. This suggests thoughts on the high prices of milk and of butter, cheese and eggs, and, incidentally, on the inevitable working of the law of sup- ply and demand and the unsound doc- trine of price fixing. These dairy products have been undergoing a period of inflation that has brought joy to the farmers and woe to the consumers. The farmers, the shippers, and, in fact, all who have had a hand in the distribution of these commodi- ties, except those whose profits are rigidly regulated, have, to a mere on- looker, been profiteering. They may have been within the law, but they have been “putting it over” just the same. Patriotism with them is like their religion—something not to be mixed with business, The foundation upon which these high prices are supposed to be reared is the high cost of feed, whereas, as a matter of fact, feed is cheap. Even corn is 50c a bushel cheaper than it was during the summer, for the new corn crop ranks among the largest, and on the basis of quality is actually much larger than the record crop of last year. Barley is a large crop and as it can not be used for malting there is all the more for feed. By Govern- ment edict millfeed is cheap in order to facilitate the milling of flour. Hence, why the high price of milk and of butter, cheese and eggs? The Government has requisitioned the greater part of the storage butter in the warehouses and on this theory the price of fresh, or unstored, butter has soared. But one of the subdivi- sions of the law of supply and demand is that high prices curtail consump- tion, and this is precisely what has happened. When the housewife found herself paying 60@70 cents per pound for creamery butter she paused, even though she could afford it, and turned to nut butter at half the price. Lots of housewives’ husbands have been introduced to nut butter without knowing it and when they have dis- covered it have concluded that it was not worth doubling the price to be undeceived. In fact, most of them have been delighted to find that the thing could be done—that a substitute could be found at half the cost. The result’ ‘of all this was that the sale of creamery butter stopped short and the wholesale price dropped 5c a pound with a thud that could be heard from one end of the trade to the other. Within the past fortnight there _have been occasions when all the nor- mal market influences pointed to a decline, in the face of which the price advanced a cent a pound. It was a deliberate effort on the part of deal- ers to gradually work the price back again to the height from which it had dropped. It did not succeed. That there has been inflation in this branch of food purveying can not be denied and yet the perpetrators would be genuinely shocked if their patri- otism were called into question. Salmon packers by some curious combination of circumstances are per- mitted to charge the commercial buy- er from 20 to 40 per cent. more than the Government pays them. Either they are selling the Government at a loss, notwithstanding that the Gov- ernment says they are being allowed a reasonable profit, or else they are charging the trade an unreasonable profit. Selling expenses to the trade can not by any calculation absorb the difference, for if they did it could well be made a subject of special in. vestigation by the appropriate Gov- ernment agency to determine who is taking profits without rendering serv- ice in accordance with the general principles laid down by the Food Ad- ministration, One of the large can- ning companies last year felicitated itself on the splendid showing of its balance sheet until one of its directors, with more conscience than the rest, declared that they ought to be ashamed to make so much money in war times! From the producer’s. standpoint there is no question that a higher level of prices is in order than those prevailing before the war. The causes are understood by everybody. But there has been a tremendous amount of added profit that has had no justi- fication other than that it was possible to fool the public. It has extended all along the line from the producer to the retailer and the chances are that the consumer himself was putting it over on someone else in his own line of business. It would be hard to reckon this as moral obliquity—it is just human nature, for when it comes to that are not the French shopkeepers themselves putting it all over our boys just because they can get away with it? While, as for the Germans, it is well known that prof- iteering has been rampant all through the war—but who cares for Germans —not even their own kind, for the disciples of Nietzsche have no souls! Visitors Unwelcome No youngster will voluntarily “take more than one mouthful of anything he doesn’t like even when he gets it in a predatory way. The boy in the picture seems to be well pleased with results so far and apparently is going further into this Jell-O matter. Which reminds us that some _ beautiful Jell-O advertising matter awaits delivery free to any grocer who will write to us asking for it. THE GENESEE PURE FOOD COMPANY Le Roy, N. Y, a ; a 3 3 3 MICHIGAN TRADESMAN October 23, 1918 Movements of Merchants. Cedar Springs—George Harper suc- ceeds Ray Bradley in the restaurant and cigar business. Alma—Fred Dazelle has sold his store building, bakery and restaurant to Paige Throop, who will continue the business. Hanover—The Hanover State Bank has been incorporated with an auth- orized capital stock of $20,000, all of which has been subscribed. Alma—Jay J. Swarthout, grocer on East Superior street, has sold his stock and fixtures to Lillian M. Swart- hout, who has taken possession. Detroit—The Central Woodward Lunch Co. has been organized with an authorized capital stock of $1,000, all of which has been subscribed and paid in in cash. Detroit—The Woodward Tire & Repair Co. has been incorporated with an authorized capitalization of $75,000, all of which has been sub- scribed and 50,000 paid in in prop- erty. St. Johns—A. Caldecourt, proprietor of the Steel Hotel, is changing to the European plan. The cafe will be lo- cated down stairs and will be opened to the public as soon as the new fix- tures are installed. Kalamazoo—George Powell, of the Edwards & Chamberlin Hardware Co., has been elected chairman of the Re- tail Dealers’ Division of the Chamber of Commerce, to succeed R. Glenn Hathaway, recently resigned. Fremont—A. C. Brink & Son will close their grocery store until May 1. The senior partner will spend the winter in Florida. The junior partner, Ray Brink, is in the draft and will qualify himself for a shipbuilder. Ludington—Harold Miller, who has been employed by Koudelka & Cota, has joined his brother, Erwin Miller. in the conduct of the grocery at 509 South Washington avenue, formerly owned by Alstrom & Anderson. The business will be known as Miller’s grocery. Fremont—Lieut. Darrel D. Alton, Jr., son of D. D. Alton, the Fremonm: druggist. is making splendid progress in the Aviation Division of Govern- ment Service, having been recently appointed head instructor in Theoret- ical Bombing. His address is Elling- ton Field, Houston, Texas. Lansing—Richard S. Budd has re- moved his stock of sewing machines and supplies to the newly remodeled store at 216 South Washington street, adding all kinds of musical instru- ments, victrola records, sheet music, etc., to his stock. The business will be conducted under the style of the. Budd Music House, Big Rapids—Dudley L. Thompson succeeds S. S. Smith in the grocery business. Flint—Hamady Bros., grocers and meat dealers at 432 North Saginaw street, have merged their business in- to a stock company under the same style and will conduct a wholesale and retail grocery and meat business, with an authorized capital stock of $65,000, all of which has been sub- scribed and paid in, $27,141.55 in cash and $37,858.45 in property. Jackson—Many Jackson merchants have been the victims of a bogus check agent during the last week and his operations thus far have _ netted him many hundreds of dollars. The man went under a number of as- sumed names and conducted a but- ter and egg business in Jackson as a camouflage for his operations. He has departed from the city and the worthless checks which he passed out are now coming home. Checks for sums varying from $25 to $100 were passed by him. Manufacturing Matters. Detroit—The Zenith Carburetor Co. will build an addition to its plant to cost $75,000, a permit having been obtained. Ecorse—The Ecorse Salt Co. has been incorporated with an authorized capital stock of $100,000, all of which has been subscribed and paid .in in property. Detroit—The Wolf Sanitary Wiping Cloth Co. has been organized with a capital stock of $20,000, the stock- holders being Edward and Jennie Wolf and Ruth Ackerman. Detroit—The W. M. B. Machine Co. has been incorporated with an auth- orized capital stock of $15,000, of which amount $9,000 has been sub- scribed and $1,200 paid in in cash. Detroit—The Willoughby Welding Corporation has been organized with an authorized capital stock of $10,000, of which amount $5,000 has been sub- scribed, $400 paid in in cash and $660 in property. Detroit—The Munro Dental Labor. atory Corporation has been incorpo- rated with an authorized capital stock of $10,000, of which amount $5,000 has been subscribed and $1,000 paid in in cash. Menominee—The Menominee River Sugar Co. begun operations a few days ago and will continue without interruption, day and night, for the next ninety days. A force of 150 men are working the day hours and an equal number makes up the night - shift. Beets have been arriving in goodly quantity. The 1918 crop is said to be about equal to that of 1917. SR ST Albion—The Ventilated Mattress Co., of Chicago, has purchased the plant of the National Spring & Wire Co. and will install machinery at once. to enable it to complete a large Gov- ernment contract. Cheboygan—The Cheboygan Elec- tric Light and Power Co., which has been engaged for nearly two years in the construction of the large concrete dam at Black River, reports that the work is nearing completion. Sturgis—The American Pharmacal Co. has been organized to manufac- ture and sell pharmaceutical and med- icinal preparations, with an author- ized capital stock of $2,000, of which amount $500 has been subscribed and paid in in cash, Kalamazoo—The new plant of the Limousine Top Co. is nearly ready for occupancy. It is in every way an excellent structure and will take care of the present needs of the company. The factory site is so arranged that it will be possible to make enlarge- ments to the buildings. Port Huron—The Mueller Metals Co., which is engaged in war work exclusively, has just received another big contract from the War Depart- ment. This one is for 750,000 shells and 1,000,000 fuses. The company now employes more than 1,200 work- ers, and 300 to 400 probably will be added within the next few weeks. Holly—E. H. Coville has been ap- pointed receiver of the Patterson Manufacturing Co., which was organ- ized in 1909 as the successor of the Holly Wagon Co., manufacturer of wagons, trucks, sleighs and imple- ments. For some time the concern has been busy on war orders, some $2,000 worth being on the books. Those petitioning for the receivership are E. H. Coville, W. T. Wilson, R. J. Waddell and R. Day Patterson. Kalamazoo—The Reed Manufactur- ing Co. and Traction Motors Cor- poration, both of this city, are mem- bers of the American Tractor Associa- tion, which was formed in Chicago last week. This organization, which includes thirty-five concerns, was framed to protect the interests of manufacturers of tractors and to take up with the War Industries Board the problems of future production. The two Kalamazoo concerns have been engaged for three years in experi- mental work exclusively and are now in a position to market their respec- tive types of machines. —_~+-.—__—_ Standardized baggage rules and rates will be made effective by all rail- roads December 1, the railroad ad- ministration announces. No change will be made in the excess baggage rate, with the free allowance of 150 pounds, the maximum weight per piece, nor the maximum dimensions of baggage. A convenience for com- mercial travelers will be the privilege of checking baggage to a point short: of the final destination. Ce C. L. Bennett, dealer in general merchandise and postmaster. at Thompsonville, in renewing his sub- scription to the Tradesman says: “I don’t want to miss a copy. It is like a weekly visit with an old friend.” Washington (Grocers Indicted For Coercion. Declaring it has reason to believe that officers and members of the Washington Retail Grocers and Mer- chants Association, Seattle, are “wrongfully and unlawfully engaged in a combination or conspiracy among themselves’ to suppress free competi- tion in the sale of coffee, the Federal Trade Commission, “in the interest of the public,” to-day issued formal com- plaint against the organization. At the same time, complaints were served on five Seattle wholesalers al- leging efforts to suppress free com- petition by forcing retailers to main- tain standard resale prices, and re- fusing to sell to dealers who insist upon reselling at their own prices. The complaint against the Associa- tion, which embraces a majority of wholesale and retail coffee dealers in the State, alleges that for more than two years past it has “induced, coerced and compelled’ wholesale coffee dealers throughout Washington to adopt and maintain a system of fixing certain specified standard prices at which their coffees shall be re- sold by dealers. The conspiracy, the Commission alleges, “was calculated and designed to and did exclude wholesale dealers from free, open and untrammeled competition in inter- state commerce in the sale of their coffee within Washington.” Among the “means and methods” employed, the Commission alleges the following: 1. Refusing to sell coffee to deal- ers who refuse to resell at the speci- fied standard resale prices fixed by the Association. 2. Publication of articles in the Northwestern Merchant, Association organ, urging retailers to boycott wholesalers from other states who re- fused to maintain the specified stand- ard resale prices enforced by the Washington Association; and 3. Boycotting coffee dealers en- gaged in interstate commerce who are not members of the Association and who refuse to maintain the specified standard resale prices. The Association and five wholesale firms named were cited to appear be- fore the commission in Washington, Dec. 5. —_—_~+ + ____ Frank Sibley has engaged in gen- eral trade at Wiley’s Corners, 6% miles south of Scottville. The dry goods stock was furnished by the Grand Rapids Notion Co. The gro- ceries were supplied by the Judson Grocer Company and Rademaker- Dooge Grocer Co. ——_s- 3 T. R. White, dealer in general mer- chandise at Solon, renews his sub- scription to the Tradesman as follows: “You bet I am against the Kaiser every time. Enclosed please find check for $4 for two years in advance. Long live the Tradesman and E. A. Stowe.” ———-- The sweater trade is adapting itself to the new conservation rules that the War Industries Board has laid down and it will be but a question of time before “conservation sweaters” make their appearance. --: 4 RRA cpu Sruad o nh Se OU} oa wr ag fF kr 1. = * A. Ti ee of TA October 23, 1918 MICHIGAN TRADESMAN = — = spl Bor 1 BITS, eh CES= (SZ Review of the Grand Rapids Produce Market. Apples—Pound Sweet, $2 per bu.; Strawberry, $1.50@1.75; 20 oz. Pippin, $1.50; Hubbardstons, $1.25; Baldwin, $1.50; Northern Spys, $1.75; Wagners, $1.50; Mackintoshes, $2; Grimes Gold- en, 1.50. Bananas—$7 per 100 lbs. Beets—85c per bu. Butter—Distribution for the past week or so has been unusually light, due in some measure at least to the prevalence of influenza. A good many holders are anxious to sell and the pressure to move the stock is leading to further concessions in price, re- sulting in a decline of 2c lb. on cream- ery grades. Local dealers hold fancy creamery at 55c in tubs and 5%c in prints. They pay 44c for No. 1 dairy in jars and sell at 46c. They pay 33c for packing stock. Cabbage—$3.25 per crate or $1 per bu. Carrots—75c per bu. Celery—30c per bunch. Celery Cabbage—$1.50 per doz. Crab Apples—$1.75@2 for late va- rieties. Cucumbers — Indiana hot house, $1.50 per doz. Eggs—Finer qualities of well can- dled and graded stock are wanted rather beyond the supply and tend in sellers’ favor. Storage eggs in good demand and firm. Local dealers pay 47c per dozen, loss off, including cases, delivered. Cold storage oper- ators are putting out their stocks on the basis of 45c for candled. Egg Plant—$1.75 per dozen. Grape Fruit—$5.50 per box for all sizes Floridas. Grapes—Home_ grown _ stock is practically all marketed. California Emperors, $3.50 per 4 basket crate. Green Onions—18@20c per dozen. Peppers—$1.75 per bu. and $2 for red. Honey—35c per lb. for white clov- er and 30c for dark. Lemons—California have advanced to $10 for choice and $10.50 for fancy,. on account of the flu. Stock is very scarce. Lettuce—Head, $1.75 per bu.; hot house leaf, 14c per Ib. Onions—$1.50@1.75 per 100 Ib. sack for either Red or Yellow. Oranges—California Valencias, $15 per box. Pears—Keefers, $1.50@1.75. Pickling Stock—Small white onions,. $2 per % bu. Potatoes—Home grown command: $2 per 100 lb. sack. Radishes—Hot house, 25c per dozen: bunches. Squash—Hubbard, $2.75 per 100 lbs.. for green ¢ Sweet Potatoes—$2 per 50 lb. ham- per and $5 per bbl. for Virginia. —_>+->___ The Grocery Market. Sugar—The withdrawal of the do- mestic canning and preserving allow- ance provision acts to still further cur- tail the demand for refined sugar and the market here yesterday presented an exceedintgly dull appearance. Inter- est in developments in the Eastern beet campaign are watched with much interest, especially in view of the with- drawal of cane supplies from the Mid- dle West territory at a date much earlier than last year. In the terri- tory supplied by Michigan, Ohio and Indiana factories demand exceeds pro- duction. However, the weather the past week has been extremely fine and beets are being delivered to the fac-~ tories in liberal volume and are test- ing very satisfactorily as to sugar content. Therefore it should be only a question of a few more days before all factories in this district are in op- eration and production should then make rapid strides toward catching up with the demand. At least, until production reaches more liberal pro- portions, the Sugar Distributing Com- mittee is accepting from time to time only a limited amount of business, which is apportioned in _ specific quantities to the various producers and their representatives. Conse- quently it is impossible to confirm orders faster than as authorized by the Sugar Distributing Committee. Michigan’s output of beet sugar this year will be more than double that of last year. The big crop, however, will not aid the Michigan sugar con- sumer as to the quantity to be sup- plied to him. There will be some ben- efit from the fact that the local winter and spring supply will not have to contend with long-haul transportation problems, but otherwise Michigan’s sugar is in the country-wide pot. The sugar committee of the Federal Food Administration has allotted Michi- gan’s sugar to a territory comprising all the Lower Peninsula of the State, Ohio, the Buffalo and Pittsburgh wholesale districts, the parts of West Virginia and Virginia west of the eightieth meridian and the cities of Northern Kentucky. In fact Michi- gan will have to do more in supplying outside territory than she did last year. The country’s crop of beet sugar is 10 per cent. less than last year, the yield in which, in turn, was 10 per cent. under that of two years ago. The losses were in California and other western states, where ‘weather conditions were adverse. No matter what happens, even the coming of peace, the country can expect little transport improvement in the sugar rationing for some time. If peace were declared to-day the world’s sugar supply would not get back to normal for possibly two or three years after that happy event. Germany, Austria, Russia, Bel- gium and France produced, before the war, nearly one-half the world’s sup- ply of sugar. The Russian supply is gone, the factories largely destroyed and business absolutely disorganized. The French production is wiped out —practically all of France’s sugar was produced in thé region invaded by Germany, and Germany has destroyed the factories. Even some of the French sugar lands may possibly re- quire five years to bring back to cul- tivation, if work were begun now. Belgium’s factories are ruins, her lands are waste. Italy produced nearly enough sugar for her own needs, and practically every pound of it was raised in territory now occupied by Austria. The Austrians, too, have destroyed the factories. The United States, Cuba, Porto Rico and Hawaii constitute the principal source of the other half of the world’s — sugar, with Java and the Phillipines raising some. We lack the ships to get the Japanese and Philippine sugar—Java is so glutted that manufactured sugar there costs only three cents a pound. We have been compelled thus, with limited shipping facilities, to supply the deficiency in ally countries. Eng- land, before the war, used 94 pounds per capita a year, France 50 and Italy 20. England now is on a 16-pound ration, France 11 and Italy 5, while we went from a normal of 84 pounds to 44 pounds—still far larger than that of any of our Allies. Of the 44 pounds 20 is used in manufacturing and 24 is the annual per capita allot- ment for domestic use. France, Bel- gium and Italy will have to rebuild their factories, and Russia will have to rebuild and re-organize business conditions before normal sugar pro- duction can come about. We will have to increase shipping facilities to Javanese, Philippine and Hawaiian sugar as before the war. So, considering everything, even peace will not restore us to our former sugar resources for at least two years. Tea—Javas of the medium and lower grades receive a fair share ot attention, and a larger business could be done in Formosas if stocks were more plentiful. The trade is waiting for the increased supplies of the lat- ter which are expected to begin to come forward at any time now. Japan and China green teas are extremely scarce here as yet and command very full prices. Ceylons sell fairly well in small lots, but not much demand for Indias is in evidence. Mail advices just to hand from Calcutta reflect a firm market there, with demand com- ing almost entirely from the native element. It was added that indica- tions were that consumption of tea in India and up the Persian Gulf is increasing steadily if not rapidly. Canned Vegetables—Tomatoes are still being held at $2.10 for Standard No. 3 Marylands and there are few being offered at any lower price. Corn is held at $1.75 for Southern and: at about. $1.45@1.50 for Western. 5 Canned Fish—Until the new salmon arrives there is little or nothing avail- able on the local market. Sardines are held at full maximum prices with a light trade. Dried Fruits—If there is anything more that can happen to the dried fruit market the trade is wondering what it can be. As a matter of fact it might almost be said that there is not any dried fruit market. Any members of the trade, except the packers themselves, who have relied on the dried fruit business this year as a means of profit have been bitter- ly disappointed. Growers have seen a good part of their paper profits van- ish into thin air, although along with the packers they have found an active demand for such part of their output as was not damaged by the rain. Brokers and jobbers, however, have been hard hit and _ particularly the former. There has really been no business for them. Many of them have put in an awful lot of hard work for which they are to have no returns. The packers and growers have been able to sell to the Government which does not require the intervention of brokers, but with commercial trading reduced to a minimum there has been no source of profit for the brokers and many of them have not been able to get back their expenses. A few operators who have been speculative- ly inclined have managed to make some money out of apricots which were not licensed and thus offered some speculative opportunities as sub- stitutes for peaches. But with prunes, peaches and raisins damaged by rain there is not much left that resembles an old time market. Sugar Syrups—Little business is being done as supplies coming out of the refineries are abnormally small. Demand continues good and promptly absorbs whatever is offered at the fixed prices. Molasses—Not much stock of any sort is coming forward and most of that is already under engagement. Prices are nominal but the market has a firm undertone. Corn Syrup—There continues a free movement of all grades into con- sumption with little obtainable for immediate delivery. Prices are steady. Rice—There is no let up in the ¢de- mand, which becomes more urgent as the small stocks dif$tributers have been able to secure become exhausted. Any grade would be taken almost without reference to price, but dealers are unable to promise, much less offer, anything for delivery in the near fu- ture as the mills are not in a position to accept new orders and have so far been able to deliver little, if anything, on those booked as far back as August. Flour—The market same congested and overstocked con- dition as has prevailed for the past month. No relief is in sight» and, while many believe that the worst is probably over, it is the consensus of opinion that recovery is going to be slow. Receipts continue fairly liberal and while they are small for this time of the year, still they add to the general over-supply. presents the REALM OF THE RETAILER. Some Things Seen Last Saturday Afternoon. For some months, whenever I pass- ed through Grant on my Saturday afternoon trips among the trade, I noted just South of town a big pile of hardwood sawdust. On more than One occasion I dropped a hint in Grant that some one could make a pretty penny by purchasing that pile of sawdust, converting it into ashes, leaching the ashes and converting the result into potash, which is readily marketable at $250 per ton. I was pleased to note last Saturday that the sawdust pile had disappeared. The Newaygo Portland Cement Co. is now a large producer of potash, which is a by-product of the factory and which was formerly permitted to go to waste. Such utilization of waste materials is in keeping with the spirit of the age. Fremont was in the throes of the last day of the Fourth Liberty loan and it was next to impossible to se- cure a long audience with any business man. No town of my acquaintance works harder and more determinedly than Fremont to put Liberty loans across as they should be handled. 1 was pleased to note that both of the mutual insurance companies which are making Fremont famous all over the State made liberal subscriptions to the Fourth loan. I was told that Andrew Gerber, President of the Old State Bank, actually lost twenty-five pounds in weight, working for the success of the campaign. Hesperia has waited long and pa- tiently for the Grand Rapids & Lud- ington Railway project to materialize. It will probably never see the realiza- tion of its hopes, so far as a steam road is concerned, but as soon as the war is over and financial matters settle down to the old channels, the right of way will probably be utilized by the present owner, the Michigan Railway Company, in the construction of a fine interurban line which will be worth more to Fremont, Hesperia and other Way points than any steam line could possibly be. Hesperia has some hardwood saw- dust piles in the immediate neighbor- hood which ought to afford some one a handsome profit. I arrived at Shelby about 2:30 p. m. and was surprised to find the bank and stores closed for an hour. En- quiry revealed the fact that the sus- pension of business was due to the unanimous desire of the community to pay homage to the memory of a dead soldier whose funeral was held that afternoon. It struck me that this “was a very graceful tribute for busi- ness men of Shelby to pay one of our Nation’s defenders. At Hart I found Tom Welsh and his estimable wife pleasantly located in a fine store with steel ceiling and other accessories not always to be found even in a metropolitan estab- lishment. Tom seems to have im- bibed the spirit of the town to that extent that he is now regarded as one of the permanent features of the place. At Pentwater I made a brief call on E. A. Wright, who has conducted a MICHIGAN TRADESMAN drug store even longer than I have published the Tradesman. Lack of help has forced Mr. Wright to part company with his soda fountain and he and his faithful wife undertake to handle the drug trade naturally tribu- tary to the store. They have hit upon a thoughtful expedient which might well be followed by other merchants in the same line of business. As soon as a customer shows any disposition to cough or sneeze they quietly sprin- kle a little sulphur on top of the stove. This precludes the possibility of contagion and produces a happy effect on the person afflicted. On every main road in Oceana county farmers were marketing their apples as rapidly as teams and auto- mobiles permitted. The large loads rushing to market presented a hand- some appearance and the banks at Shelby, Hart and Pentwater were all crowded with farmers, cashing the checks they had received for their fruit, making deposits of surplus monies and making payments on their Liberty bond subscriptions. I have had some severe criticism to offer in the past regarding the Stearns Hotel, at Ludington, under a forme: management. I thought then the criticism was merited and I think now it had a beneficial effect, because many of the faults I so severely con- demned have been remedied. The physical condition of the hotel has been improved by the use of paint, kalsomine and elbow grease. The dining room has been greatly im- proved, both as to menu, cookery and service. The head waitress and her assitants take their orders, fill them promptly and satisfactorily and then retire to another part of the room until summoned. They do not act upon the assumption that it is a part of their duties to watch the diners, make fun of their manners, comment on their garments or seek to entertain the guests at conversation. This shows careful training by a skilled hand in the managerial office. There are still some decidedly weak points in the housekeeping arrangements and the extreme youth and inexperience of the clerk behind the counter—hard as he may try to please—do not contribute to the efficiency of that department. The present landlord is certainly do- ing his best to rescue the hotel from the run-down condition into which it was permitted to lapse. I ought to have made his acquaintance, so as to have mentioned his name in this con- nection, but I do not even know what he looks like. His work speaks for itself, however. That is the main thing in hotel keeping. In this connection I am disposed to repeat what I think every reader of the Tradesman already knows—that it is impossible for any landlord to entertain the editor of the Tradesman without his paying the regular price for the accommodations furnished. I have never accepted a courtesy from a hotel or transportation company. in my life—and I never will. This policy, steadfastly adhered to for nearly forty years, has given me great satisfaction and enabled me to record pleasant or unpleasant words concerning the ho- tels I happen to patronize without be- ing accused of sinister motives or ulterior objects. All I ask is that -I get what I pay for, which is all any reasonable man should insist upon. If I ever permitted any landlord to frank my hotel bill I would naturally feel that I was estopped from passing judgment on the merits or demerits of his house, which would be an in- tolerable position for any man to as- sume who loves independence and freedom of action as much as I do. Judging by the reports I received from Ludington merchants, the city is enjoying a run of good business, due to the steady demand for labor at remunerative prices. _It is a pleasure to enter Ludington from any angle, because it was laid out with due regard for future genera- tions. Its streets are broad and spa- cious and its residence lots are wide, so that crowding is rendered unneces- sary. Its more recent school build- ings are models of construction, its library is unique in appearance and appointment and the location of the town on the lake gives it ample op- portunity for artistic development. There is room in Ludington for a city of 50,000 people. E. A. Stowe. New Millinery Effects. With the approach of cooler weath- er many hats trimmed with fur of some kind are making their appear- ance in local millinery circles. Mole, monkey, beaver, nutria, seal, and nat- ural and dyed squirrel are all in use, according to the bulletin of the Retail Millinery Association of America, and the trimmings consist of edgings, bandings, ornaments — some _ with touches of gold or silver cloth or tinsel—quills, fancies, and balls. Imi- tation fur is also being used. Al- though real fur is costly, some of the milliners are using it for entire crown or brims. Fur combined with satin, duvetyn, or velvet in bright colors is also popular here for mil- linery purposes. The bulletin says that skating sets also are being seen here in angora, beaver cloth, and duvetyn. These sets usually consist of a collapsible turban, some with cuff effects, and a long scarf of the same material. This, as a rule, is thrown around the neck and finished off with a fringed edge of self material or of wool or chenille. The trimmings on the turbans are hand-embroidered flowers of chenille, wool, angora, or silk floss. Blue, beaver, sand, rose, brown, and taupe are the shades seen most. ——_> ++ No Parleying With Liars. Our enemy, the Kaiser, is an adept at both blustering and whining. He has not got enough yet of his own kind of medicine. Trust him not. What Germany needs is a far bigger dose of punishment than they ‘have yet had. Don’t let them throw up the sponge until they are permanently knocked out. No parleying with liars, murderers, and thieves. The place for criminals is in prison, where they can do least harm to society. Unless We want to face another conflict, worse if possible, the mailed fist and shining sword must be shattered past hope of return—spurlos versenkt, in fact. Edward H. Cleveland. October 23, 1918 After Adulterated Olive Oil. Food inspectors have been instruct- ed by the officials in charge of the en- forcement of the Federal Food and Drugs Act to inspect interstate ship- ments of olive oil, in order to prevent the sale in interstate commerce of cheaper vegetable oils under the name of olive oil. Very little olive oil is now being imported, say the officials, and the domestic olive oil is not suffi- cient to supply the demand. The ab- normally high price of genuine olive oil has tempted unscrupulous dealers to mix cheaper vegetable oils with a little genuine olive oil and to sell the mixture labeled as olive oil. Cotton- seed oil, corn oil and soy-bean oil are the principal substitutes used. Several seizures have been made and a number of prosecutions are now pending in the Federal courts as the result of finding in interstate commerce products labeled “olive oil,” which upon analysis were found to consist largely of cottonseed oil. Cottonseed, corn and soy-bean oils are palatable oils which are not in- jurious to health and there is no ob- jection to their sale as food when properly labeled, say the officials. Their sale as olive oil, however, is a fraud, and their shipment in inter- state or foreign commerce labeled as olive oil is a violation of the Federal Food and Drugs Act. The sale of cottonseed, corn or soy-bean oils un- der the name of olive oil is also a violation of the laws of most states. State and city food inspectors are co- operating with the Federal food in- spectors in stopping this form of adulteration. State Food Inspectors recently found a quantity of alleged olive oil in the hands of Malick & Azkoul, 234 Ellsworth avenue, Grand Rapids, that was not olive oil at all, but cotton-- seed oil. This oil was purchased from S. F. Zaloom & Co., 21 Washington street, New York, who claim to be olive oil importers of long standing. The spurious oil is still in the hands of their Grand Rapids customers, who have been refused permission to re- turn it. Under the circumstances, they refuse to pay for the oil. ——— ++ Problem for Jewelers. The prohibition on the use of plat- inum, iridium, or palladium, ogether with scraps of these metals or com- pounds in which they are used, in the alteration or repair of ornaments or articles of jewelry has raised an in- teresting question in the jewelry trade. It is this: Suppose a woman insists on having a platinum ring enlarged. Obviously platinum can not be used for the purpose. If white gold is used—this metal being a compound of yellow gold and nickel that very closely resembles platinum when properly mixed—must the tiny bit used for repairing be stamped with the carat of fineness under the regu- lations of the gold stamping law, and thus lead to belief on the part of some person who may later examine the ring that it is not made of platinum at all? The best answer seems to be that the woman should wait until after the war to have the job done. t 4 Pe tt ee se eae ® soetoeas — - ee eee eee October 23, 1918 Our Business Is To Destroy the Germans. Germany, realizing the inevitable, proposes peace by negotiation. Peace by negotiation? Do not dis- turb me. I am thinking: Of flaming Louvain and its bloody shambles; Of the 897 civilians shot or bayonet- ed in the streets of Brabant, Belgium; Of Dinant, France, and its 606 in- habitants ranging from 3 weeks to 77 years murdered by the gentle ex- ponents of Kultur. Peace by negotiation? ing: Of the Canadian soldier crucified on the barn door in Flanders; Of the Canadian officers and men turned into maniacs by the first gas attack at Ypres in 1915; Of the young Italian officers with throats cut, and hanging on hooks in the butchers’ shops in Venetia. I am think- I am think- Peace by negotiation? ing: Of Belgian babies skewered on bayonets midst the cheers of march- ing Germans; Of the bones of murdered little ones whitening the plains of Poland. “There are no children in Poland under six years of age,” says Pad- erewski; Or Italian boys and girls forced to march before the German troops in order that the Allies would not dare fire. Peace by negotiation? ing: : Of gentle-eyed Edith Cavell facing, with superb courage, a Prussian fir- ing-squad in the light of the early dawn; Of sturdy Captain Fryatt, who dared resist a submarine, murdered as a rare edition of frightfulness; Of the bomb dropped from the Hun airplane into the English school room, and the twenty-five mangled little forms scattered amidst the ruins. Peace by negotiation? I am think- ing: Of the bodies of white-robed American women and babes from the stricken Lusitania washing up on the Irish coast; Of peaceful neutrals weltering in their blood on the deck of the cross- Channel Steamer Sussex; Of captured crews set adrift at sea to perish without food or water. Peace by negotiation? I am think- ing: Of Red Cross hospitals bombarded from the air; Of a dozen hospital ships torpedoed in the dark, and the cries of drowning Red Cross nurses; Of the Russian prisoner who had tuberculosis placed with other prison- ers affected with bronchial troubles, in order that the latter might contract the white plague. Peace by negotiation? I am think- I am think- ing: Of the All-Highest’s boastful philosophy: “It is my business to decide if there shall be war. There is only one law and that is my law.” “Our might shall create a new law in Europe... It is Germany that strikes. When she has conquered Se ene ee eee ne ees MICHIGAN TRADESMAN new dominions for her genius, then the priesthood of all gods will praise the God of War.” “America had better look out—lI shall stand no nonsense from America after this war.” Peace by negotiation? Has the Christ of Nazareth who knouted the moneychangers from the temple struck hands in partnership with the arch-fiend of Hell? Until then: America be deaf! Fix bayonets, forward, march! “OUR BUSINESS IS TO KILL HUNS.’—Fletcher W. Stites in N. A. Review. —_+-+-.—___ To speak of what three months of the Foch offensive have accomplished in terms of miles and towns and pris- oners and guns is to enumerate the symptoms of a case which may be better described in the statement that the patient is dead. In the three months since July 18—we may say really in the twenty-four hours after early dawn of July 18—German mili- tarism perished. German armies may keep up the fight, and the liberation of the occupied cities and peoples may be hastened. or slackened, but the German army has been defeated and the liberation of Europe is an ac- complished fact. The thunderbolt of French and Americans whom Foch hurled out of the forest of Villers- Cotterets on July 18 smote the buckle of German Imperial power, and that mighty girth was loosened. Mittel- europa, Asia Minor, Brest-Litovsk, Flanders andthe arrow pointed at the heart of England became a memory overnight. But even these splendid achievements must yield in ultimate significance for the peace of the world to the fact that in these marvellous three months the Allies have met in battle the German army equal in num- bers and armament, and have driven it back in defeat. The prestige of the German army was the foundation ot German dreams of world domination and the prestige of the German army has been destroyed. ——_+2 2. In the past week the disturbing factors recently in evidence continued to affect business in its various as- pects. No one, however, grudged the efforts for the Liberty loan to which everything was subordinated in the whirlwind finish. In the smaller cities and towns, from reports received, business in many lines was virtually abandoned in order that quotas might be exceeded as a matter of local pride. The grip epidemic, which kept on extending in scope and virulence, took away another stimulus from busi- ness. Reports from mills and factories showed a lessening of production due to the epidemic. But there is no cause for complaint on the score of collec- tions. These continue to be good and afford a gauge as to the care that is being taken to do a safe business. Overbuying and speculation in goods have become rather unpopular because of the danger attending them, to say nothing of the difficulty in borrowing money to conduct such operations. ——_o-2-2 The loafer seldom labors under a mistake—or anything else for that matter. HOOVER Tells Us Confidence The results of true success in life and in business are ex- pressed in the word confi- dence. : The confidence of our fel- low men and more especially those with whom we do busi- ness should mean more to us than any other one thing in the world. What a goal to strive for and what a prize when once attained? We are more than just proud of the confidence placed in this institution by its many customers and friends; of the confidence placed in its prod- ucts by the thousands of house- wives of this great common- wealth, If it were not for this con- fidence the fame and name of Quaker Brand Food Products could not have survived and grown in favor as they have for nearly half a century. WORDEN (;ROCER COMPANY GRAND RAPIDS—KALAMAZOO “Food Will Win the War” MICHIGAN TRADESMAN October 23, 1918 THE GREAT OPPORTUNITY. The United States is confronted now with the greatest opportunity that any nation has ever had in the history of the world.’ It is not con- ceivable that this should be neglected, evaded or mistakenly employed, in view of the plain road to peace and future safety. It compelled our inter- position in the war of European na- tions in April, 1917, the part we have already taken in rescuing the Allies from the peril, and the power we have gained as a decisive factor in what it has brought about. Failing to meet this opportunity to the full would bring inconceivable disaster, which it is our plain duty to avert and will be our glory to have averted. What the Allies have accomplished in the las‘ four months, and what they could never have achieved without our past support and our present help, is all at stake. We have got the upper hand in the fight for free government and the rights of people and of nations, and have only to go on with vigor and faith in our principles to bring abso- lute victory that never can be turned back. Austria Hungary, tired almost to its death, saw that, and it has been forced upon the conviction of the ruling power of Germany, the home victims of whose despotism are stunned almost to helplessness. Their forces that trampled upon Belgium and carried slaughter, robbery and diabolical cruelty into France, are now being driven back, and will before long be thrust over the line where they will be dependent upon their own exhausted resources and de- spondent people, instead of upon stolen goods and the lashed service of captured victims. Winter will be soon coming on without relief for them and with severer suffering and depression than they have yet felt. They may still be assailed with de- structive weapons from overhead, and against weak points on the surface, with lessening energy for resistance, while the enemies they have made are gaining. It is no wonder that they are using all their ingenuity and their demonstrated capacity for de- ception and false pretense, to escape what threatens to be decisive of their fate in the next few months. They are crying out for armistice and a consideration of peace terms which will save them from the consequences of their abominable crimes. They are submitting this appeal to the United States, which of all na- tions in the world should treat it with scorn and contempt. It is the fundamental doctrine of its political existence, the principles upon which its institutions are based and the se- curity of its national life, that this Teutonic power has treated with scorn and contempt and sought to destroy. It is for the defense and vindication of these principles of gov- ernment that we joined in the conflict at such sacrifice and cost, and turned the tide of war toward their triumph. Shall we stop now, even. to listen to cries of alarm and appeals for escape from punishment on the part of the criminals who have brought so much suffering, destruction and distress up- on others? They have sought from outside of their regular band an offi- cial leader, originally opposed to their criminal proceeding, to plead for them and act as the instrument of their new design for escaping the penalty of their crimes. They hope thereby to check the preparations for growing strength, to paralyze the liberty loan of America for its support, and to stop the swelling tide that is ready to sweep over the barrier they have held so long and seek still to main- tain for protection from the hand of justice. It is no wonder that the Kaiser and his chief minions at Berlin are willing to have the mild Max of Baden, instead of a ruthless Prus- sian, act as their instrument to plead for an armistice and a conference on possible terms of peace, in the hope of escaping the inevitable. It is quite in keeping with their habits of thought and action, to assume that such a bold trick would deceive the simple Allies whose trusting qualities brought such a terrible experience upon them. But they have learned the lesson of that experience, and above all the United States is in a position to appreciate its significance to the utmost. Is it likely to halt after all its preparation and expense and vigorous action to accomplish a result that will be worth the cost, because the power against which it has been compelled to act is suffering fright and crying out to be saved? The Allies with its help have brought about a situation that brings a decisive victory in sight, with all the means of establishing a peace that is worth its cost and will spread freedom and justice in government throughout the civilized world and help to civilize the barbarous. Is this to be stopped to listen to any such cry as is raised at Berlin? The idea is preposterous. The situation that has been brought about must be car- ried to its culmination. The friends of peace and not its enemies will pre- scribe the terms on which it is to be restored, and establish the means of its preservation. It is to be feared that the little knowledge which is a dangerous'‘thing is doing harm in the present epi- demic. Panic, it is generally under- stood, increases one’s liability to dis- ease, hence we should be optimistic and stick our heads in the sand to escape danger. Now, it is true that in some diseases panic, or great fear, does harm by lowering our vitality. Dr. Koch pointed out during a cholera epidemic that fear upsets the digestive organs, preventing the stomach from secreting the acid juice which destroys cholera germs; which helped to ex- plain why some persons had the cholera and died, while others escaped entirely. But the influenza germs do not invade the stomach. They breed and multiply in the nose and throat, and fear or panic have nothing to do with the matter. It is in our army camps, where our fearless soldiers are congregated, that the greatest ravages have occurred; and in civilian life, too, it is in the most vigorous period of life, from fifteen to forty, that the liability is greatest. VANISHED DREAM OF EMPIRE. Not since Napoleon retreated, baf- fled from under the walls of Acre has there been shattered a dream of East- ern conquest more grandiose than now recedes from the German vision with the defeat and surrender of Bul- garia and the near collapse of Aus- tria. Long years of plotting and plan- ning, of propaganda, of negotiation open and secret, of purchased alli- ances, of huge expenditures, military and industrial, of four years of des- perate war at last, fought in the confident belief that it would repay a thousandfold all this gigantic ef- fort—after all this spending of gold and blood Germany sees its febrile structure of Mittel Europa lying broken beyond repair in the battle ruck of Macedonia and Mesopotamia. Napoleon, after subduing Egypt, planned to conquer Syria, Arabia and Turkey and return to France by way of Constantinople and Macedonia. Never, while master of Europe, did he entirely abandon his dream of an Eastern empire. Europe, he said, was too small. Only the vast stretches and populous cities of Asia could measure up to the demands of his imagination and his genius. Almost at the last we find him negotiating with the czar for a joint expedition to shatter the power of the Turk and loose French and Russian armies on the plains of Asia Minor. Even at St. Helena he believed Russia would pursue the vision he had conjured up before the eyes of his one-time ally. The German militarists were the heirs of this dream in this century. They saw an easier path to conquest, and perhaps to richer spoils, through Central Europe to Persia and India than could be hewn through Western Europe. To strike for the English Channel meant all Western Europe in arms against them, but the road to Asia was already Germany’s through Austria-Hungary and might perhaps be gained by negotiation and alliances through the Balkans and Turkey. ,Beyond, England was to be dealt with, but the German plan of conquest and penetration is to go as far as one weapon will take you and then use another. Pan Germanism always has had a com- mercial salesman, a steamship line or a railroad construction company in its van. When these encountered obstacles too great to be surmounted the Krupp guns could be brought up from the rear, Thus equipped for whatever style of warfare might be met Pan-Ger- manism started out on its construc- tion of a Mittel Europa empire. It was to consist of an unbroken tier of states from the Baltic Sea to the Persian Gulf—Germany, Austria- Hungary, Bulgaria, Serbia, Turkey. Held together by the Bagdad Rail- road, which was to be both a mili- tary and a commercial highway, this vast political structure, buttressed by trade and Krupps, was to dominate Central Europe and Asia Minor, flank England in Egypt and Persia, put a German mercantile marine on the Arabian Sea, draw India into its com- mercial and ultimately into its polit- ical system and. forever divide the Western World from the East, which was to be made a German depend- ency. How nearly this. amazing project came to reality, the world, absorbed in the drama of the Western fronts, has hardly yet sensed. The Bagdad Railroad was almost a reality. The Turkish alliance was a reality, with German organization at work all through the Ottoman military estab- lishment. Serbia was overrun and Bulgaria held in bond. The great spearhead aimed at India and the East was slowly advancing, dividing the West from the Orient. And then a British army, following almost in the footsteps of Napoleon, pushed eastward from Egypt, as he had done, and struck at the Turkish flank in Mesopotamia. And an Allied army that had stood almost inactive at Saloniki suddenly struck through Macedonia at the backbone of the Mittel Europa structure and broke it. Bulgaria crumpled, and. Turkey, cut off from her allies in Europe and as- sailed. by the British forces in Asia, was at once rendered impotent. Al- most at a blow, Mittel Europa fell, and becomes now but a disembodied spirit of empire as thin as the gos- samer of Napoleon’s dream that van- ished in the cannon smoke of Acre. THE SITUATION IN WOOLENS. Those who are interested in the wool situation have been receiving conflicting statements recently. None of these is authoritative but there has been just enough of plausibility about them to unsettle men’s minds and leave them wondering what the actual conditions are. Early in the past week one announcement was made to the effect that there was no chance of any wool being released for civilian uses. Later on it was asserted that the chances seemed good for extra imports from Argentina and Aus- tralasia, and that wool might be re- leased. The National Association of Woolen and Worsted Spinners evi- dently thinks wool will be forthcom- ing and has appointed a committee to confer on the subject at Washington with the powers that be. It appears that spinners and mill men, who used their own wool in Government con- tracts, are getting back similar amounts from the military authorities. But there is complaint that, although the poundage is the same while in the grease, the scoured product is less. This is said to be due to the extra dirt which domestic wool growers have sold with their clip. The goods market does not call for special notice at the: present, the transactions in the primary markets being negligible. While there is no complaint of a lack of fabrics for the next lightweight season, a general feeling of confidence is growing that there will be plenty of wool available for goods for next fall. The early termination of the war, now almost assured, is likely to make this a certainty before the end of the year. Even the man who makes nothing but. mistakes is in the manufacturing business, cic 4 creates eT i as aia at Al ae snot cae. on To See ee cine aarae Se eaiens: _ a aerate te eT gil i ait ator sanent a A soir caesarean rane sey October 23, 1918 MICHIGAN TRADESMAN 9 Hoa ete Stal- E E_. GES Q R. K. L. R. K. L. : - te. eS = = 7. = 3 z r OF THE a : [REVIEW or" SHOE MARKET | § Scour Victory Shoe “Stall & oun Co 7 > ‘ 2g RY W Lie ba Od po WE ‘ez J Ai A $4.00 Welt Tan and Black. Heavy enough for any work—Light enough for semi-dress. S vant. Michigan Retail Shoe Dealers’ Associa- on. President—J. E. Wilson, Detroit. Vice-Presidents — Harry Woodworth, Lansing; James H. Fox, Grand Rapids; Charles Webber, Kalamazoo; A. E. Kel- logg, Traverse City. d Secretary-Treasurer—C. J’. Paige, Sag- inaw. The New Government Shoe Regula- tions. Written for the Tradesman. On Oct. 2, new regulations supple- mentary to those effective Oct. 1, were issued by the War Industries Board. From time to time during the weeks of deliberation in which the various points covered by the new regulations were being discussed with shoe manu- facturers, wholesalers, and retailers, it was intimated that the new rules would draw the lines far tighter than the old; so shoemen were prepared, in a measure, for the new rules when they appeared in their official and final form. That they are drastic all will agree. That they will put up to both shoe manufacturers and retail shoe dealers a whole bunch of new, different, and delicate problems, none will deny. But that the difficulties occasioned by the new rulings will be met in the spirit of patriotic loyalty by the great rank and file of the brotherhood composing the American shoe industry, is a fore- gone conclusion. The new regulations are too numer- ous to be here reproduced, but there is to be, according to the new wartime programme, a still more drastic cur- tailment in the matter of colors. “All women’s and misses’ boots, both leather and fabric, including the out- sole facings and trimmings, shoulc be restricted to black, dark browr (the color recently adopted) and white, the white leather to be in buck and side buck only. Patent leather should not be used in women’s boots.” So also in low shoes for women and misses the three allowable colors are black, dark brown and white. And the same ruling applies to men’s shoes, and to shoes for boys’, youths’ and little gents’. All shoes are to be divided into four classes, namely: Class C—Service Shoes and Semi-dress Shoes, Class B—Stylish and Serviceable Shoes of Best Type for Business and Dress, Class A—Shoes of Finer Material and Superior Shoemaking, and Class Xt— Military, Lumbermen, Custom and Other Special Types of Shoes. (AlI- though it is not specifically so in- dicated, the assumption is that or- thopedic shoes of special construction and shoes made to measure for de- formed feet, would naturally come in this class). All shoes are to be stamp- ed with a serial. number indicating the class to which they belong; and while _ anybody connected with the War In- the retail price remains uncontrolled, the maximum and minimum prices at which they retail has been fixed by the War Industries Board. These prices are as follows: Class C Men’s and Women’s, from $3.00 to $5.50. Class B Men’s and Women’s, from $6.00 to $8.00. Class A Men’s and Women’s, from $9.00 to $12.00. The new regulations, to be sure, do not apply to the present stocks of retail dealers bought to sell for more than $12 the pair, but are “effective on all orders booked after Oct. 15.” In other words, this price schedule is to go into effect in the fall and winter of next year. But as seems inevitable in all such cases, the newspapers got an entirely wrong steer and came out with blackfaced headlines an- nouncing that the price of shoes re- tailing from $15 and $20 and upwards the pair, were to be reduced to $12 a pair; and carrying, in some _ in- stances, the implication that the con- sumer would henceforth be able to buy a better pair of shoes at $12 than he had been getting at $15 or $20 or whatever other price the profiteering shoe dealer might have asked. It is exceedingly unfortunate that Made of vegetable tanned upper leather, gain inso!e, first grade outsole with a rubber slip sole. A shoe for every wear. No. 8733—Dark Chocolate Blucher Welt, D and E, Sizes 5 toll. Price....... $4.00 No. 8734—Black Blucher Welt, D and E, SizesStoil. Price.........-.-.-+.+. 4.00 ORDER TO-DAY—SHIPMENT AT ONCE. j Rindge, Kalmbach, Logie Company Grand Rapids, Mich. : R. K. L BLACK KEDS Ready to Ship 7539—Black Vici Kid. Imitation Tip, whole quarter, one-half Leather I ouis Heel, S.S. McKay, 3-8, B.C, DandE ...-.-. $4.00 7552—Black Vici Kid, Imitation Tip, three- quarter Fox, one-half Leather Louis Heel, S.S. McKay (a Dressy Shoe) 3-7, eT ee ik 4.00 7575—Black Vici Kid, Imitatioa Tip, Circle Vamp and Heel, Foxing, one-half Leather Louis Heel, S.S. McKay. An extra good shoe. Cincinnati make, 3-7, B and C widths only..-....-----.----- 400 7536—Black Vici Kid, 8 inch, Polish, Military heel, 3% Fox, Imitation Tip, Welt, 3-7, De I a ag he i vs eve ee cece thee 4.50 7553—Black Vici Kid, Polish. 3% Fox, Plain Toe, S.S. McKay, Military Heel, 3-7, a ae. 400 These black kid dress shoes now in big de- mand are on the floor. R. K. L. dustries Board should have been felt called upon to turn these new regula- tions over to the newspapers at this time—and especially that the informa- tion should have been given in such a way as to permit of its being garbled by the newspapers, for it has undoubtedly done a great deal of harm to shoe dealers. It arouses false hopes in patrons of shoe stores, and also creates the impression that profiteer- ing has been going on among shoe dealers; whereas the facts are that there is no industry in the country freerer from profiteering than the great American shoe industry. Never- theless this sensational story necessi- tates a lot of explanation. In a recent statement given out by John O’Conner, president of the Na- tional Shoe Retailers’ Association, he says: “The present stocks of shoes held by retail shoe merchants will not be influenced in any way by this new Government ruling at this time. Shoe manufacturers are now engaged in the manufacture of spring shoes, 95 per cent. of which are low shoes and which very rarely sell for more than $12. Accordingly this new order will not be felt by the public very prob- ably until the fall of 1919, when high shoes will again be in demand. “The papers,” continues Mr. O’Con- ner, “also stated that the public would HIRTH-KRAUSE CO. Hide to Shoe. Grand Rapids, Michigan 10 MICHIGAN TRADESMAN October 23, 1918 receive almost the same grade of ma- terial and workmanship for $12 for which they heretofore paid $18 and $20. This assertion casts undue re- flection on the general shoe business, inferring that there may be consider- able profiteering in the present retail sale of shoes. “The people should not be led to believe that they can soon be able to purchase for $12, the same quality and workmanship that they are now buying for $18 and- $20. It is an im- possibility — commercially and me- chanically. The $18 and $20 shoes will vanish from the market—they will not be obtainable.” The writer would suggest that re- tail shoe dealers clip or copy this clear and authoritative utterance of president O’Conner and pass it on to the editor of his local paper or papers. There can be no doubt that the mis- understanding of the War Industries Board’s regulations are widely mis- construed and greatly garbled. It is up to the local dealer or dealers to correct any false impressions that may have gotten abroad in his community. Of course the idea underlying these regulations is economy—to save shoe material, man power, and money pow- er. To reduce the number of styles now in vogue, and so release man power for other and more vital in- dustries; also to reduce the capital of shoe manufacturers and retail shoe dealers, and thus realize additional capital for investment in War Savings stamps and Liberty bonds. All this is entirely in keeping with our Government’s determination to win the war no matter what it costs. In this paramount aim it is safe to assume that retail shoe dealers every- where will lend their heartiest co- operation. It may occasion some special merchandising - activities to clear the present stocks of shoes, but the writer believes that retail shoe dealers will be equal to the demands of the situation. They will do their part. Of late there has not been much talk of the so-called Liberty Shoe. But styles, colors, and prices will be restricted; so instead of a Liberty Shoe, we have a Liberty Plan. Cid McKay. —_+22___ Ocean Salt Made By Electricity. Successful experiments have been made in Norway for extracting salt from ocean water by means of elec- tricity, and two salt factories will be started for this purpose in the near future. The capital for the factories is estimated at $5,360,000. Each will produce about 50,000 tons of salt per year at the start but they will be so built that the production may be doubled if necessary. Besides the salt, different by-products will be made. —_2+>___ Red Fox In More Demand. One of the recent developments of the raw fur business has been the in- creased demand for red foxes on the part of the manufacturing trade. This article, which usually is a “late start- er,’ now promises to be a lot better than it was expected to be a month or six weeks ago, and good prices are being paid for it, Believes We Should Have Continuous Expositions. Grand Rapids, Oct. 22—I beg to apologize for not answering your let- ter of Sept. 24 in regard to the West Michigan fair. I had put this one side, as | have been obliged to do with several matters of late on ac- count of being away a few days and the extraordinary duties that are upon me from the fact that business is very large at present. As I am one of the directors of the West Michigan fair, I always hesitate to say anything about the fair itself. I am peculiarly impressed with the fact that Grand Rapids is not as pro- gressive as it ought to be, and whether it is from the lack of keeping up to date on all such things as fairs, or particularly those things that bring the country merchant to Grand Rap- ids, I am at a loss to know. When I go to a thriving city that abounds in manufacturing enterprises, then I conclude that manufacturing is the thing for a city, and when I go to some other locality and find that Merchants’ weeks, State fairs and conventions seem to thrive and bring throngs to the city, then I am at a loss to know which one would be my choice. Personally, I believe that county and state fairs are things of the past and that cities like Detroit and Grand Rapids should have continuous exposi- tions. I believe that Grand Rapids should have a building in which not only the manufacturers, but the wholesalers, together with assemblers and distributors of certain special lines, should have space, and that they should all contribute to the annual rental, or in other words the annual expense of such an undertaking, and that it should be kept open the entire year and also be kept in the best pos- sible shape from the standpoint of ex- hibition, cleanliness, etc., that could possibly be attained. Then not only the citizens of the city, but especially the Board of Trade, should invite visitors to our city to visit such a place, free of any admission charge. My company is not at all dependent upon a State fair and, in fact, we do not profit by it except in an indirect way for the gen- eral interest of Grand Rapids, if there is such a thing as its being a benefit to the city at large. We ceased relying upon such efforts a long time ago and of late years, in order to be successful in our special undertakings, as you know, created a plan of our own and we work the plan—and the plan works. Grand Rap- ids lacks something to create enthu- siasm and a more rapid expansion, but I am not wise enough to say what that something is, but I am very sure that State fairs and county fairs are practically things of the past. Lee M. Hutchins, Mnegr. Hazeltine & Perkins Drug Co. ——_—_2---____ Harvest Days. Written for the Tradesman. I love the days when the corn is ripe And arrayed o’er the stubble field The sentinel shocks in their golden stripe Stand guard o’er the harvests’ yield. I always thought they secrets told To the ears within their care That the kernels knew, as their husks unfold Just why they were sheltered there. The purpose of man’s toil they were The goal for which he wrought, And out from a seeming sepulchre New life the corn-field brought. Each pregnant planted grain—resigned Surrendered self to be Transformed—e’en though in earth con- fined— To a larger liberty. To-day war gods their harvest take In the battles of the earth But the dying live, and somehow make More life with greater worth. : : ‘Chartes -A: “Heath. oa -- Unless a man is polite to his wife he is not polite. If you never handled the BERTSCH SHOES FOR MEN you have missed a wenderful opportunity at profit and business building. We are in an era of change. Many people who paid cheerfully a price several years ago fo get “this’’ or “that’’ make of shoe are utterly unable to pay the price to which many lines have advanced. Here the BERTSCH dealer gets his opportunity. He knows that the comfort and service of the BERTSCH SHOE will appeal to the most exacting, as well as save him quite a sum on his original investment. Capitalize this opportunity of doing your customers a real service by having at hand a Comfortable—Stylish— Service-Giving Shoe, at a price they can afford to pay through—the sale of the BERTSCH SHOE FOR MEN. Herold-Bertsch Shoe Co. Manufacturers of Serviceable Footwear GRAND RAPIDS, MICH. Hood 4 Buckle Delaware Don't miss this chance All Rubber Black 4 Buckle Gaiter @ $2.95 Four buckle goods are rare and hard to get this season. Here is an opportunity while they last. . Grand RapidsShoe ® Rubber The Michigan People Grand Rapids aaa ragerestommnanita RGR mln —aermmenen aes AeA ese ciacgs te Sees October 23, 1918 MICHIGAN TRADESMAN il AFTER THE WAR. This Nation Can Feed and Clothe the World. The post-war problems in many lines of business are already receiving such consideration and attention that we are justified in believing the old adage “in time of peace prepare for war” has been superseded by the new adage “in time of war prepare for peace.” The war demand for certain chemicals has in many instances caused such an abnormal increase in their production that even now care- ful consideration is being given to their possible utilization in the post- war period. One of the biggest problems of all is presented by the king of chemicals, sulphuric acid. It has long been a truism of the chemical industry that the prosperity of any nation could be measured in terms of its consumption of sulphuric acid. From a normal pre-war production of 4,000,000 tons a year we have, at great effort and by the expenditure of millions of dollars, brought our production to over 9,000,- 000 tons at the present time, and be- fore the snow flies it is predicted we will be producing at the rate of more than 10,000,000 tons per year. The largest part of this increase in produc- tion has been used to supply this vitally necessary ingredient for the manufacture of powder and a long list of modern high explosives; and the fact is, the production of most of our explosives is directly dependent upon the supply of sulphuric acid. It is no wonder, therefore, that the increase in the production of this acid has been a matter of National im- portance and effort, and our constant- ly increasing army and armament de- mands a still further increase in pro- duction. But when the war shall cease and the production of munitions shall revert to a pre-war basis, we shall be face to face with a problem of astounding magnitude — finding a proper outlet for some 6,000,000 tons of sulphuric acid per year. Millions of dollars with compara- tively little amortization have been in- vested in new plants and equipment which-do not lend themselves to other lines of manufacture, and we are obliged to choose. whether we will junk this vast expenditure of time, money and energy, and absorb a tre- mendous loss at the end of the war, or whether we will convert it into one of our greatest National assets which will not only show us satisfac- tory profits, but which, with our large merchant marine now building will offer.a boon to civilization through- out the world. It is impossible to store sulphuric acid in any but the most relatively small quantities, and a manufacturing outlet must therefore be found or developed which can use the large daily production. Any business which can handle on comparatively short notice some 6,000,000 tons annually of this acid must possess at least two character- istics: First, it must manufacture an article of which sulphuric acid is a chief ingredient; and second, on ac- count of the tremendous tonnage, the -- article must be of relatively low sell- ing price, it must possess a wide field of distribution with the necessary dis- tributing machinery, it must be an absolute necessity, and it should show the eventual purchaser an attractive profit on his investment. Of all industries, the manufacture of fertilizer offers, perhaps, the best field for satisfying all these condi- tions. The lowest grade of fertilizer is acid phosphate, a compound con- taining approximately half phosphate rock, of which we have inexhaustible supplies in Florida, Tennessee and other fields, and the other half con- sisting of sulphuric acid. Should our excess production of at least 6,000,000 tons of acid be thus utilized, it would produce 12,000,000 tons of acid phos- phate, which is sufficient for the pro- duction of at least 18,000,000 tons of complete high-grade fertilizer. The current production of all grades of fertilizer is perhaps approximately 7:000,000 tons per year, so that we may be confronted with the problem of making and using two and a half tons additional fertilizer for every ton now produced. Practically all of our Eastern States strongly advocate the use of fertilizer, and their various agri- cultural colleges and experiment sta- tions are conducting a keen campaign for an increase in the amount used per acre. The Central States in the great Middle West are only beginning to assist their once virgin soil by the use of artificial manures, and even in our great Western Wheat Belt the favorable effects of fertilizers, used experimentally, in forcing maturity has been well noted, as compared to neighboring fields where the drought has done considerable damage to un- fertilized wheat. This country has the acreage to ab- sorb this possible extra production of fertilizer and we may be forced, on’ account of the large supply of free sulphuric acid available after the war, to use this fertilizer on our large Western grain fields, and thus bring our yield per acre to figures which compare more favorably with the European yield. The average yield of wheat in the United States, as com- pared with various European coun- tries for corresponding yearly periods, is not only lower than in any of the other representative countries except- ing Russia, but what is even more to the point, the increase in yield per acre in the United States during the last twenty-five years was shockingly small and inconsiderable when com- pared with the European countries. The increase in the German yield has been ascribed to the effect of fertilizer used, and, as is well known, the Ger- mans have always applied more fer- tilizer per acre than most of the other European countries. The Southern cotton states are real- ly the big fertilizer consumers of the country, and in 1914 these ten States consumed 4,911,000 tons, representing an increase of about 50 per cent. dur- ing this five year period of about 10 per cent. While the two States of South Carolina and Georgia used practically as many tons of fertilizer as the. remaining eight Southern cot- ton states together, it is still a known fact that even these two states using a maximum percentage do not apply as much fertilizer as they could with increasing profit to themselves. Again, if the cultivated land in Texas, Arkansas and Oklahoma were treated with only 200 pounds of fer- tilizer per acre, it would require 5,298,000 tons of fertilizer per year to take care of this moderate require- ment of these three states. With the greatest fertilizer-consuming states in the country still able to use additional plant food with increasing profit to themselves; with three states in our great Southwest able to consume over 5,000,000 tons of fertilizer if applied only at the rate of 200 pounds per acre (an absurdly small application); and with the unfertilized wheat fields in our great Middle West capable of at least equaling the yield of any country on earth, if properly fed and cared for, it may well be possible that America will literally feed and clothe the world in the very near future, and although this may be forced upon her by our enforced overproduction of sulphuric acid for normal times, may we nevertheless handle this proposi- tion with the enthusiasm and energy which it deserves so that Germany will discover, not only, as has been so aptly said that “we can make any- thing from Christmas toys that will run to dyes and armies that will not,” but that in so doing we have not over- looked our vast agricultural possibili- ties, and that we have taken our place as leaders of the world in the production of those agricultural prod- AUN HAT is why MAYER HONORBILT SHOES build permanent and profitable trade for thousands of dealers who have handled them for years. nn MAYER HONORBILT SHOES have a name, a reputation, a _it easy for the dealer to sell them. ucts so necessary for the health, maintenance and happiness of human- ity. Raymond W, Tunnell. —————-o-o————— - Production of Attar of Roses. In favorable seasons the production of attar of roses in Bulgaria, the prin- cipal source of this perfume, amount- ed to about 11,000 pounds a year. This year the production is expected to reach only about 6,600 pounds. The cold weather, with snow and frost, had an unfavorable effect on the rose gerdens. As the leaves of this year’s were of poorer quality, 300 pounds of them were required for the manufacture of one ounce of oil, as against 185 to 200 pounds last year. crop There are a lot of skins in the leath- er business. Fire Insurance On all kinds of stock and building written by us at a discount of twenty-five per cent from the board rate with an additional discount of five per cent if paid inside of twenty days from the date of policy. For the best merchants in the state. No Membership Fee Charges Our Responsibility Over $2,000,000 Michigan Shoe Dealers Mutual Fire Insurance Company Fremont, Mich. Write us for further information. prestige, that make NUNS UAE Milwaukee, Wis. 12 MICHIGAN TRADESMAN October 23, 1918 = aS Co 2 SS = — a5 = 3 t > = se = = om _ = FINANCIAL | | die fa 2 ? : Se GRAND RAPIDS 6. ae cm = ; \ iit ESTABLISHED 1853 A ] ~~ 4 = yt Sy" eee ‘ 4 A Good Bank for You to Be in Touch With Unfortunate Attitude Assumed By ments on Liberty bonds. His daugh- Vigilance Committees. Written for the Tradesman. People of the United States—yes, the world—owe a great debt of grati- tude to the business men of our coun- try who, laying aside their own busi- ness affairs often at a great sacrifice of time and money, have devoted their energies to the Fourth Liberty loan. There are instances where their zeal overran the bounds of discretion and some times of decency. One instance came to the attention of the writer. The proprietor of a store in a small country town desired to subscribe for $1,000 of the Fourth Liberty loan and entered his subscription early with a financial institution. Subsequently he was taken ill and was compelled to go to a hospital, where an operation was performed and where, it is stated, he now lies at the point of death with cancer. The responsibility of the busi- ness fell upon the shoulders of his son, a mere boy. The institution was asked to hold the subscription in abey- ance until it was seen how heavy the expenses in connection with the elder man’s illness would be. They proved so large it was necessary to cancel the thousand dollar subscription, but with the assurance that some subscrip- tion would be made. The financial in- stitution wrote a sympathetic letter, telling the boy not to worry. The local Liberty Loan committee in the country town wrote the young man a letter, saying if the family did not subscribe its members would be pub- lished as slackers. This course was evidently taken without proper investi- gation. The poor boy wrote the finan- cial institution with which his father had been doing business for years, apologizing for not _— subscribing through it and in the letter said he had received the communication threatening publication; that he had taken a hundred dollar bond; that his mother and sister were sick abed and that the hospital had written that his father was suffering from cancer and that nothing further could be done for him. This sandbagging method on the part of the Liberty Loan work- ers was little in accord with the spirit of liberty for which our boys are con- tending in Europe. There is no doubt that the intention of the Liberty Loan committee was good, but “Hell is paved with good intentions.” Another instance was told the writer recently. ~It was of an old man owning a small farm. When he failed to subscribe his little home was paint- ed yellow in the night. Investigation showed he was. working for neighbor- ing farmers for $35 per month and had no other means for meeting pay- ter, a school teacher with a very small salary, had to use the money she would otherwise have devoted to the purchase of a Liberty bond, to repaint her father’s house. In these and other instances a spirit of merci- less autocracy crops out repugnant to the letter and the spirit of the consti- tution of the United States and decid- edly opposite the Liberty loving sense of real Americans. There is much that should claim the most earnest attention of fair minded men in this whirlpool of the world’s affairs and it is up to bankers and other business men who should be leaders of public thought to take cognizance of it. Many things are predicted to come out of the war, one-of which is a new “social era.” There seems to be an idea afloat that “labor” is to attain a new position—that the laboring man is to come into “his own.” What is “his own?” Will he become a cap- italist and cease to work? Do not men of wealth labor for long hours, in addition to carrying heavy burdens? Are not their sons in the army and the navy? Are they not paying a great portion of the cost of this war? Where, then, is this “aristocracy of wealth?” What, then, would be the change, according to those who make predictions of impending changes? Will there be an aristocracy of labor? There is danger ahead from two sources—autocracy of labor and bureaucracy in government. The pres- ent governmental assumption of authority is only another form of un- bridled socialism, but to accomplish it the people must be idealized and hu- man nature changed. This is illustrat- ed in-the story of two Irishmen. Dennis: “I say, Pat, if you had two houses, you would give me one?” Pat: ‘Sure, Dennis: “If you had two teams of horses and two cows you would give me one of each?” Pat: “Sure thing.” Dennis: “And if you had two pigs you ie Pat: “Hiold on there. Not by a sight. I’ve got pigs.” The worlds experience has been that when affluence comes in at the door socialism flies out of the window. What we need is a democracy in which every man will be regarded by every other man on the merits of his efforts and character. There is no need for a new social era as regards opportunity and ownership. We need only to change ourselves and quit hat- ing a man because he is very rich or looking with contempt upon a very poor man because he is very poor. Capital $800,000 Surplus and Undivided Profits: $1,066,366.66 Resources: $13,533,633.28 Let Us Serve You OFFICERS: Willard Barnhart, Chairman of the Board. Clay H. Hollister, President G. F. Mackenzie, Vice President William Judson, Vice President. and Cashier. Carroll F. Sweet, Vice President. H.A. Woodruff, Assistant Cashier. H. Van Aalderen, Assistant Cashier. Fire Insurance that Really Insures The first consideration in buying your fire insurance is SAFETY. You want your protection from a company which really protects you, not from a company which can be wiped out of existence by heavy losses, as some companies have been. Our Company is so organized that it CAN NOT lose heavily in any one fire. Its invariable policy is to accept only a limited amount of insurance on any one building, in any one block in any one town. Our Company divides its profits equally with its policy holders, thus reducing your premiums about one-third under the regular old line charge for fire insurance. MICHIGAN BANKERS AND MERCHANTS’ MUTUAL FIRE INSURANCE CO. Wm. N. Senf, Secretary FREMONT, MICHIGAN Fourth National Bank United States Depositary Savings Deposits Commercial Deposits = od Per Cent Interest Paid on Savings Deposits Compounded Semi-Annually I 3% Per Cent Interest Paid on Certificates of Deposit Left One Year Capital Stock and Surplus $580,000 LAVANT Z. CAUKIN, Vice President ALVAST. EDISON, Ass’t Cashier WM. H. ANDERSON. President J. CLINTON BISHOP, Cashier 1 he Se i [ontmeenenree ena, Ee SiiNnahneseos a asset av rman NES Tae October 23, 1918 The very last thing on earth we want is some legislative hocus pocus that will set up an aristocracy of the poor in the place of an aristocracy of the rich it proposes to destroy. There is —and will continue to be—a large op- portunity to spread the practice of the’ Golden Rule, business. both socially and in Holders of telephone securities will be pleased to learn that a “mutually satisfactory agreement” with Post- master General Burleson is announced by President Vail upon the relations between the Government and the tele- phone and telegraph systems of the country. For the owners are provided payment of interest and _ existing amortization charges on all obliga- tions of the Bell system in public hands, including the convertible 6 per cent. bonds of August 1 last, “divi- dends at the existing rate” on out- standing stock in public hands, and payment of any charges or interest or other costs on new securities or cap- ital issued in discharging or extend- ing present obligations. License and rental contracts are to be continued and all taxes are to be paid by the Government. Extensions made to meet abnormal conditions shall be appraised by the Interstate Commerce Commission at the end of the term of control and their appraised value shall be paid in annual 5 per cent. install- ments; those made with money fur- nished by the Government and with the approval of the system shall be paid for in like installments after the term of control. A similar announce- ment of agreement with the Western Union has been made. The Govern- ment is to pay the interest on the outstanding bonds, dividends and in- terest due on stocks and bonds of subsidiary companies, all taxes and operating charges on the property and eight millions a year in addition, “thus assuring the present rate of dividends on the stock.” The com- pany will loan without interest $1,- 600,000 toward financing approved ad- ditions or extensions, and further sums required therefor to be furnished by the Government; if new securities have to be issued by the company, the Government is to pay the interest, dividends or such other costs of such as may be issued in exchange, dis- charge or renewal of existing obliga- tions. This is a sharp contrast to the situation between the Government and the railroads, the proposed contrast being so unsatisfactory to the holders of railroad securities that a judicial ruling or interpretation of the act creating Government control is being asked for. Paul Leake. _———- 2S Convincing. A fancy basket of neat design, tied with a nice white ribbon, was the only object in the window of one bank. The basket was overflowing with new quarters, half dollars and other glittering coins. This placard told its story: “Perhaps you believe in putting all your eggs in one basket—perhaps you don’t. Whatever your method may be don’t forget to have a ‘nest egg.’ Our savings accounts set well and hatch fine interest.” MICHIGAN TRADESMAN 13 STOVE RESTRICTIONS. Retrenchment Promulgated By War Industries Board. The retrenchment in the use of iron and steel is still being extended to every industry which the War Indus- tries Board can reach. The most im- portant item this week is the restric- tion which has been imposed upon the oil stove industry. The Conservation Division of the War Industries Board has worked out a programme which it says will save at least 25 per cent. in the quantity of iron and steel used, as well as between 40,000 and 50,000 Ibs. of aluminum. The regulations provide for the elimination of 339 sizes and styles of oil stoves, heaters and ovens and of 127 sizes and styles of gasoline stoves and heaters. The saving in aluminum will result through the substitution of zine for aluminum for name plates . The finish of all stoves or heaters will hereafter be plain Japan or Japan enamel or vitreous enamel, without nickel trim, and the use of nickel is to be eliminated. Use of brass in the manufacture of stoves or heaters is to be confined to the burner parts. The schedule of the types which may still be manufactured provides for only four styles of kerosene-oil cooking stoves. There will be a small one-burner size in one style, employ- ing the minimum of steel; a two-burn- er size in one style, without built-in oven; a three-burner size in one style, without built-in oven; or one size of range stove with built-in oven but not both, and a four-burner size m one style without built-in oven. There will be only one model of warming shelves, one for the three-burner stove and one for the four-burner stove. All splasher backs, sub-base pans and re- movable drip pans will be eliminated. Only one style of gasolene cooking stove, in the one, two and three-burner sizes of the Junior design will be al- lowed. There will also be only one style of kerosene-oil heaters, in three sizes. The founts will be made of steel, lead, zinc-coated or galvanized except the burner parts of the fount where brass is necessary. The portable oil stove oven will be limited to one style in two sizes, and all doors will be made of steel, or with glass panels, but not in both de- signs by any one manufacturer. The doors also may be made either of the drop or swing type, but only one to be made by each manufacturer. Each manufacturer also is to limit his out- put of kerosene water heaters and of gasolene water heaters to one size of each. To enforce this restriction in oil stove manufacture the Priorities Divi- sion of the War Industries Board has ordered a curtailment during the six months begun October 1 of 50 per cent. of the production for the corre~ sponding six months of 1917-18. It also “urges that the production of gasolene stoves shall cease forthwith.” More Curtailments. Besides this the: Priorities Division has ordered the following additional curtailments: Electric heating appliances, includ- ing electric stoves and ranges: Effec- HE naming of the Grand Rapids Trust Company as Executor and Trustee means that you will bring to the settlement and management of your estate the combined judgment and busi- ness ability of its officers and directors. The most competent individual has only his own experience and knowl- edge to qualify him. This Company offers your estate the collective knowl- edge and experience of its officials. ASK FOR BOOKLET ON “DESCENT AND DISTRIBUTION OF PROPER- TY” AND BLANK FORM OF WILL. FFRAND RAPIDS [RUST [,OMPANY OTTAWA AT FOUNTAIN BOTH PHONES 4391 Safe Deposit Boxes at Three {Dollars Per Year and Upward SET GRAND RAPIDS NATIONAL CITY BANK CITY TRUST & SAVINGS BANK ASSOCIATED 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 .......sseeeeees $ 1,724,300.00 Combined Total Deposits ....-...--seeceereece 10,168,700.00 Combined Total Resources ........--sseeeeeece 13, 157,100.00 GRAND RAPIDS NATIONAL CITY BANK CITY TRUST & SAVINGS BANK 14 MICHIGAN TRADESMAN October 23, 1918 tive October 1 and for six months thereafter, curtailed to 50 per cent. of six months’ production during 1917. Roadmaking Machinery: Six months from October 1 no roadmaking ma- chinery or any part thereof shall be manufactured, except: (1) repair parts, (2) for work on railroads and other public utilities, (3) for roads repaired by the United States Govern- ment, the several states, counties and municipalities, and (4) for new con- struction by the United States Gov- ernment, either directly or indirectly. Sewing Machines: Effective Octo- ber 1 and for six months thereafter: Curtailed to 50 per cent. of six months’ production during 1917. Saddlery and Harness: Effective October 1, that no light or fancy har- ness or saddlery be produced, provid- ed that no restriction is made in the production of heavy saddlery and har- ness for use by the United States and the Allies, or agricultural or in- dustrial use. Metal Stamps, Metal Stencils, Rub- ber Stamps, Metal Tags or Badges for Industrial Purposes: Effective Octo- ber 1 and for six months thereafter, curtailed to 75 per cent. of six months’ production during 1917. Pocket Knife Industry: Consump- tion of iron and steel reduced during the last four months of 1918 to a basis of not exceeding 70 per cent. of four-twelfths the 1917 consump- tion. Bicycle and Motorcycle Industry: Consumption of materiails reduced during the last four months of 1918 to a basis of not exceeding three-fourths of four-twelfths of its 1917 consump- tion. Composition Roofing, Rag-Felt Floor Covering and Building Board Industries: In so far as it manufac- tures composition roofing made of rag felt or asbestos or combinations there- of, or building board or building paper made of wood pulp, waste paper, gypsum or cement, or combinations thereof, to confine its distribution of same to the United States Govern- ment and the Allies, to constructions licensed or authorized by the War In- dustries Board and to structures in which its use may be allowed by per- mit of the War Industries Board, and to repairs and replacements; and in so far as it manufactures floor coverings made of bituminous rag felt, or felts thereof, for and during the period from October 1 to December 31, to reduce its consumption of materials to a basis of not exceeding 40 per cent. of three-twelfths of its 1917 consumption, and to reserve from general disposition sufficient to take care of Government requirements. €lock-Watch and Clock Industry: To reduce its consumption during the last four months of 1918 of iron, steel, brass and copper to a basis of not exceeding 70 per cent. of four-twelfths of its 1917 consumption. Boiler and Radiator Manufacturing Industry: To reduce its consumption of iron and steel to a basis of not exceeding 40 per cent. of four-twelfths of its 1917 consumption and to fur- nish its products for no uses other than to orders placed by the United States Government or the Allies, or direct agencies of the same, for use in buildings constructed under permits by the War Industries Board or pur- suant to permit of the War Industries Board, and in repair and replacement of existing heating and _ radiating equipment. Preference Ratings. The Priorities Division of the War Industries Board has announced that it will issue special priorities certifi- cates to give preference ratings, under special conditions, to the following industries: 1. The gas range, water heater, room heater, hot plates and gas appli- ances industry. 2. The metal beds, cots, couches and bunks, and metal springs for beds, cots, couches and bunks industry. 3. The wire-bound box industry. 4. The black galvanized and enam- eled ware and tin-plate household utensils industry. This is to enable these industries to supply essential needs, but at the same time conserve materials. To ob- tain the certificate the manufacturer must file with the Priorities Division a statement of stocks on hand, in storage, or in transit, owned by such manufacturer; his 1917 consumption of materials and output of product; and quantities of materials needed to balance stocks to manufacture re- duced outputs ordered. The manu- facturers must pledge themselves also to observe the regulations summar- ized in last week’s Hardware Age as to curtailments, economies and sub- stitution of materials; to devote products to essential uses, and not to furnish products for resale to dealers without obtaining a similar pledge from them. The Senate Finance Committee is still at work on its difficult task of revising the House war tax bill. It seems doubtful whether there can be a report on the measure to the Senate before the adjournment over Election Day. —_.-..—_ Let The Turkeys Grow. The turkey is still a wild bird. All the efforts of the farmer and breeder have failed to domesticate this wan- derer into a barnyard dependent that puts on fat at the whim of the owner. A chicken will put feed into fat at al- most any age and at any time the crop is kept filled with the right kind of feed. The young turkey, however, is a long-legged, bug hunter until the win- ter thatch of feathers is put on and nature suggests that it is time to store up a reserve for rigorous weather. Turkeys will put on weight rapidly and economically at that season and raisers should take advantage of it. This, too, is the season when fields provide plenty of feed that would otherwise go to waste and, in the case of weed seeds, would do damage to future crops. Niow when we have need for every ounce of food that can be put into form for human consumption, whether ground, by mills or gizzards, it is the soundest economy to let the young turkeys live through the fall bug-and- seed-hunting season. A young gobbler that weighs ten pounds in October will weigh twelve or thirteen, sixty days later if given a little extra feed along toward the end of that period. A hen turkey in the same time will fill out from seven pounds to nine or ten. Such satisfac- tory gains can be made at no other time in the bird’s life. It is the season when nature is preparing for winter. The turkey hasn’t learned to depend on the farmer’s grain bins. The U. S. Food Administration suggests that in order to take ad- vantage of this favorable season for putting on gains that no young tur- key hens weighing less than six pounds dressed should be marketed. Young gobblers should be of sufficient size to dress at least eight pounds be- fore being sold. Let the turkeys de- velop and grow fat. Kent State Bank Main Office Ottawa Ave. Facing Monroe Grand Rapids, Mich. Capital - - - - $500,000 Surplus and Profits - $700,000 Resources 10 Million Dollars 3 Ys Per Cent. Paid on Certificates of Deposit The Home for Savings Attention, Drafted Men! This institution is qualified and equip- ped to look after your financial and busi- ness interests with the maximum of effi- ciency and at the minimum of cost. In these matters its specialized service, under a voluntary deed of trust, will be of im- mense assistance to you. You are invited to Come in and Talk it Over or send for our representative. THE MICHIGAN TRUST Go. OF GRAND RAPIDS Audits made of books of municipalities, corporations, firms and individuals. Safe Deposit Vaults on ground floor, easy of access. Boxes to rent at moderate rates. ~ Assets $2,700,000.00 CLAUDE HAMILTON Vice-Pres. @ MERCHANTS LIFE INSURANCE CoMPANY Offices—Grand Rapids, Mich. Insurance in Force $57,000,000.00 Has an unexcelled reputation for its Service to Policyholders $3,666, 161.58 Paid Policy Holders Since Organization RELL 8. WILSON WM. A. WATTS Sec’y JOHN A. McKELLAR President CLAY H. HOLLISTER Vice-Pres. Treas. SURPLUS TO POLICY HOLDERS $479,058.61 epi ma cm owas oe memati ame Sta asuemaasttt eanien | October 23, 1918 MICHIGAN TRADESMAN “The Owners of Swift & Company” (Now Over 22,000) Perhaps it has not occurred to you that you can participate in Swift & Company’s profits,—and also share its risks,—by becoming a co-partner in the business. It is not a close corporation. You can do this by buying Swift & Company shares, which are bought and sold on the Chicago and Boston stock exchanges, There are now over 22,000 shareholders of Swift & Company, 3,500 of whom are employes of the Company. These 22,000 shareholders include 7,800 women. Cash dividends have been paid regularly for thirty years. The rate at present is 8 per cent. The capital stock is all one kind, namely, common stock—there is no preferred stock, and this common stock represents actual values. There is no ““water,” nor have good will, trade marks, or patents been capitalized. This statement is made solely for your information and not for the purpose of booming Swift & Company stock. We welcome, however, live stock producers, retailers, and consumers as co-partners. We particularly like to have for shareholders the people with whom we do business. This leads to a better mutual understanding. Year Book of interesting and instructive facts sent on request. Address Swift & Company, Union Stock Yards, Chicago, Illinois Swift & Company, U.S. A. 15 16 MICHIGAN TRADESMAN October 23, 1918 f Test of Bravery in Peace or War. A little woman—nothing about her that you would notice; not even good-looking; simply dressed, but with an air of general refinement, came into the “Hostess House” at one of the embarkation camps the other day and asked the women there to find her husband; she gave his name, rank, and organization with in- telligent precision, and then sat down to wait while the orderly went in search of him. Let me tell the story as nearly as I can in the words of the woman who told it to me: “Aiter a long time I saw the orderly coming back, and something in his face told me that he was bringing bad news. I hurried out to meet him. ““What luck?’ I asked. ““He’s gone. That unit went out early this morning.’ “Somehow it seemed harder than usual; although we have had plenty or such cases, you don’t get used to them. I hardly could bear the news myself. It seemed as if I just couldn't go back and tell that little woman that her journey had been in vain. What should I say to her, and how would she take it? Perhaps it would be easier if she fainted and made a scene. I felt in my heart that she would not, and it only made it harder. “At last I screwed up my courage and went to her. I think she read the truth in my face, although I tried to smile. ““Gone!’ she said. Her lips tight- ened until they were almost white. “She looked past me for a minute or two with eyes far away. Then I could see her pull herself together, and as I took her hand in both of mine she looked straight up at me and smiled—it was a wan little smile —as she said: ““T wasn’t quite prepared for this. Somehow I felt that they couldn’t send him away without at least a word.’ “She struggled a little within her- self, and then went on: “While I have been waiting I have seen these other women who have been bearing the same kind of news. That little Italian woman crying over there hasn’t seen her son in months. She came all the way from Western Pennsylvania, and, like me, was too late. But I am better off than she— I saw my husband yesterday for twenty minutes.’ ““Stay a little while,’ I said, ‘and let me get you a cup of tea.’ ““You are very kind; but I must hurry back; I have left a two-months- old baby.’ ““With your mother?’ ““Oh, no. At the hospital. I knew they would know how to take care of my baby there. I haven’t any relatives.’ ” Brave! How much more courage does it take to go over the top? “Be strong and of good courage.” Over and over these words come to me as day after day I see the boys, the flower of our land, going by on the trains—all of them headed for the deadly business Over There. And almost always I think of the mothers and what it means to them. And then I think of what it has been meaning all these four years and more to the mothers of France and England, Italy and Serbia—yes, and Germany, too! The bravery of the battlefield— who may dare to underrate it?—is sending back to us the tales of hero- ism; of unflinching nerve and deter- mination, impelled by consciousness of the holiest cause that ever sent men out to war. But back home the women are going about their daily tasks—with new ones added—with faces cheerful and hearts courage- ous. “I did not mind it so much in the summer,” one woman said to me. “I could go out and walk, and there were many ways to keep busy, with daylight almost up to bedtime. But now that the cold weather and the long evenings are coming: Last winter we sat together by the open fire in the evenings. It seems as if I could not stand it. But of course I will. That’s the job we women have.” I have heard so few women com- plain. They just bear up and, as the English say, “carry on.” There was one woman whom I met not long ago, whose manner was full of gloom. She acted as if the end of the world was half a day away, and nobody was really interested in it but herself. Her oldest boy was just a few days short of the draft age, but she was anticipating the time when .he might be summoned, hurried away inexorably in a horribly brief space of time, and killed—beyond a doubt he would be killed! She has everything of a material sort that heart could wish, and nothing serious ever has happened to her or any member of her family. But sorrow sat upon her as you might expect it to sit upon those who— wear gold stars on their sleeves. What is it, I wonder, that makes the difference? Temperament? Per- haps. Account for it as you will; I know very well that the influence of the spirit that women are showing now, be it brave or weak, has been working in their homes from the be- ginning of those homes and has left indelible impress there. There are instances, no doubt, in which some great shock or bereavement brings out strong qualities of character that have been ijatent; and there are in- stances in which persons who have seemed strong and self-reliant go to pieces under stress. i But, generally speaking the woman who in normal times has borne with composure, cheerfulness, and un- selfish courage the day-to-day bur- dens and trials of home life; who has kept the tone of her family spirit high; whose smile sent the menfolks away in the morning cheerful for the day’s duty and welcomed them back in the evening, is she who stands up bravely under the strains and deprivations of these dreadful days —sending her men forth cheerily to battle and keeping up the courage of the home while they are gone. The whole family, at home or abroad, takes its spirit-color from the mother. Time is too precious now to “in- dulge your grief.” That indulgence is a luxury none of us can afford. Do you remember what Mrs. Jame- son said about “indulging grief’’? “How idle to talk of indulging grief! Talk of indulging the rack, or rheumatism! Who ever indulged grief that truly felt it? To endure is hard enough.” The wonderful women of Belgium and France are not “indulging grief.” Heaven knows they have a right to— those women who have lost husband and all the sons, but go right on with what they have to do, toiling, helping, sacrificing to the uttermost in complete absorption of unselfish- ness, To fight the good fight one must have the spirit.not only of those who with thrill of battle go singing “over the top,” but of those who keep sweet and sunny and unselfish in the quieter times of ordinary home life. It reflects in the character of those who grow up in the home, equips them for the supreme test of life, and helps the woman herself bear the Uttermost when that comes knocking at the door of her heart. Prudence Bradish. —_——o-————_ Concerning Sugar Substitutes. Written for the Tradesman. The people of the United States no less than those of Canada and European countries had the white sugar habit fastened upon them to a surprising extent, and that is the reason our present sugar regulations seem drastic. But two pounds of white sugar per person as a monthly allowance should entail absolutely no sacrifnrce or hardship whatever, provided one uses any of the many excellent substitutes as to the form in which one takes one’s sweets. Some one has recently called at- tention to the fact that our ancestors in the middle ages never had tasted sugar. They ate honey; but chiefly their sweets were derived from fruits. Naturally those fruits were most highly prized which abounded in sugar. Our colonial ancestors got along very nicely on a pitifully small allowance of white sugar. They knew how to treasure their loaf sugar, and use it sparingly, saving it mostly for tea parties and special occasions. Honey, maple sugar and_ syrup, corn syrup, and fruits rich in sweet- ness, are the principle substitutes for white sugar. And, moreover, there is this to be said about them, they are nature’s products. Racial habits or pre-dispositions acquired through centuries are not easily out- grown; and so it may very well be that our bodies are better adapted to taking sugar in some such form as honey, maple or corn syrup, dried fruits and the like, than through the extravagant use of white sugar in its present granulated form, Statistics prove that weasa Nation used white sugar extravagantly and wastefully; that the average person consumed more sugar than was: good for him. Small children were delib- erately taught to eat candy and con- fections to the detriment both of their teeth and their stomachs. This abnormal and excessive craving for sweets, begun in babyhood, was car- ried on through childhood to ma- turity. You have no doubt seen peo- ple pouring into a cup of coffee or tea from two to five spoonfuls of sugar—generous spoonfuls at that. Perhaps not all this sugar was dis- solved, but the undissolved portion was, of course, lost. And even at that, the beverage thus oversweet- ened must have been a nauseating portion to any but an abnormal ap- petite. And it is the American patriot (?) of abnormal sugar requirements who is yelping so loud because of the present sugar card system. He in- sists that two ponuds per month is not enough. He is dead wrong. Two pounds is ‘sufficient. Pieced out by the sugar substitutes above referred to, two pounds is an abundance; and anybody who thinks he is being abused and required to make a per- sonal sacrifice because his allowance of white sugar is thus cut, doesn’t know the first principles of dietetics. For the grocer or dealer in delica- tessen products, the present sugar shortage supplies a good opportunity for pushing nature’s sugar substi- tutes. In order to make these splen- did foods popular, there should be some sort of an educational pro- gramme. It would be better if it could be general—conducted through the magazines; but if not, it can be managed locally by the dealers of the various communities, and by those dealers who are most interested in the matter. People can easily be taught the honey habit. Undoubtedly the sugar shortage occasioned by the war has greatly stimulated the bee industry, and choice honey in in- creasing quantities is going to be produced. The increased production of maple sugar and syrups have been commented upon in these columns. Concerns making corn syrup are turning out the biggest outputs of which they are capable. Frank Fenwick. Se acenageeoeoe sa pe SPR: LBS HORN 2 et RN ORE OPES OBE AAR RR RES Si October 23, 1918 MICHIGAN TRADESMAN WV | © A Great Principle Established HE Federal Trade Commission has ruled that an advertised offer to sell a specified commodity below its cost to the advertiser, on condition of the purchase of other articles therewith, is an unfair method of competition. This great victory for the principle of fair prices was gained in a proceeding brought and carried to a successful conclusion by the organized retail grocers. We take pleasure in publicly acknowledging their achievement in the interest of the whole business world, and we congratulate them upon it. It will have far-reaching results. If selling below cost, under ordinary conditions, is unfair, so also is selling be- low cost plus selling expense. For the vice in each case is the selling at a loss. The only difference is the amount of the loss. And we see no escape from the further conclusion that, under ordinary conditions, it is unfair to sell at less than a living profit. The difference is again only one of degree. Such sales are unfair to the merchant’s competitors and they are unfair to the manufacturer, whose products are cheapened in the eyes of the public and ren- dered unprofitable to handle. And this leads inevitably to the final conclusion that the manufacturer in an : open line, who has no monopoly, whose product, selling in a competitive mar- ket, must necessarily be priced to the public at a reasonable figure, should be ; permitted to name a fair resale price and to refuse to sell to dealers who will not observe it. We are now engaged in a suit, not yet decided at this writing, to determine whether a manufacturer may so refuse to sell to dealers who ask unfair prices. Whether we shall win or lose, we do not know. We hope we shall win. But, in any event, we are certain that the ultimate thing for which we are all con- - tending---the right of a manufacturer to protect himself and his distributors from unfair price-cutting---will eventually find recognition in the law. And the victory of the grocers marks the longest advance yet made toward that result. Again we congratulate them. 2 ESTABLISHED 1806 NEW YORK 18 October 23, 1918 = — = = Michigan Poultry, Butter and Egg Asso- ciation. President—J. W. Lyons, Jackson. eee Hurley, De- roit. Secretary and Treasurer—D. A. Bent- ley, Saginaw. Executive Committee—F. A. Johnson, Detroit; H. L. Williams, Howell; C. J. Chandler, Detrcit. Poultry Policy Recommended By Administration. A circular addressed to farmers by the poultry and egg section of the U. S. Food Administration sets forth that owing to compliance with Gov- ernment efforts to secure increased production a very large crop of chick- ens is now found in the Central West, South, North and Northwest, while there is, at the same time, a shortage of labor, shortage of transportation facilities, shortage of freezing space due to the great demands for space to freeze meats for the soldiers and Allied countries abroad. In order to prevent waste under these circum- stances the Administration asks farm- ers to give a patriotic co-operation in carrying out the following sugges- tions: 1. Market only well matured birds, leaving the others on the farm to grow and increase the supply of poultry flesh. 2. As, from now to December, most of the old hens are moulting, unattractive in appearance and under weight, only those birds should be marketed that are full feathered, the others being. held until after Dec. 1. 3. Hold as many birds as practic- able on the farms until after Jan. 1, to relieve the freezer situation. 4. Keep all pullets for egg produc- tion this winter and next spring. 5. East of the Mississippi market turkeys intended for Thanksgiving from November 10 to November 16; west of the Mississippi from Novem- ber 8 to 14, holding the rest until December 7. Usually a large percentage of the turkeys reaching the market too late for Thanksgiving must be placed in cold storage, and room for this is this year declared to be unavailable. * Turkey Bulletin To Buyers. The administration regards as wasteful the selling of young turkeys before they attain a good size and requests licensed dealers buying from farmers to observe certain sugges- tions. The Administration evidently appreciates the fact that in fixing dates differences must be made in different sections and, therefore, in these suggestions dates are left blank, to be filled in by the local authori- ties or co-operating associations in different sections so as to carry out the general purposes. The sugges- tions are: 1. That from October—to Novem- ber—dealers refrain from buying hen turkeys under 8 lbs. or young toms under 12 lbs., live weight. 2. That licensees purchase no tur- keys for Thanksgiving markets east of Pittsburgh and Buffalo after No- vember —. 3. That turkeys for points east of Pittsburgh and Buffalo be loaded and ready for shipment nct later than No- vember —. 4. That no turkeys be dressed when atmospheric temperature iS above 40 degrees, unless the licensee is equipped with refrigerator to chill immediately after dressing. 5. As in former years many tur- keys arriving in markets after Thanks- giving demand is supplied have had to be frozen, and as a large proportion of the freezer space is needed by the Government for freezing meats, the Administration discourages the selling and dressing of turkeys after Thanks- giving demand has been supplied, until December —. Encouraging Poultry Dressers. The Food Administration has asked the Federal Labor Bureau to co-oper- ate in an effort to impress upon poultry dressers the importance of their work as an element in supplying our armies and Allies with food. It has been requested that speakers be sent to poultry and egg packing plants to address the dressers, during the noon hour, on this subject and upon the need of continuous work in their departments. In appreciation of such service a plan has been devised as follows: Women dressers who work forty- eight hours a week or more, and men dressers who work forty-eight hours a week or more, during October, will receive a sleeve band bearing the U. S. Food Administration emblem. An apron, bearing the Food Admin- istration emblem will be given for the same service continued during the balance of October and November. The same weekly service continued up to Christmas will be awarded with a printed and signed certificate from the Food Administration bearing wit- ness of their patriotic service. 22> Milk Canners To Save Tin. Canners of evaporated and con- densed milk, at a conference with officials of the Food Administration, agreed to lend their influence in the conservation of tin plate. Evaporated and condensed milk, which heretofore has been put up in four sizes, namely 6, 12, 14 and 15 ounce cans, will, when the supply of tin plate now on hand is exhausted, market their product in only 14 and 15 ounce cans. HARNESS U8, OWN, MAKE Hand or Machine Made Out of No. 1 Oak leather. We guarantee them absolutely satisfactory. If your dealer does not handle them, write direct to us. SHERWOOD HALL CO., LTD. Ionia Ave. and Louis St. Grand Rapids, Michigay, Special Sales John L. Lynch Sales Co. No. 28 So Ionia Ave. Grand Rapids, Michigan Attention Merchants! Insure with the Grand Rapids Merchants Mutual Fire Insurance Co. We will insure you at 25% less that Stock Company rates. Watson-HigsinsMlg.Co. GRAND RAPIDS. MICH. _ Merchant Millers A we No membership fee charged. Products sold by We give you 30 days to pay your Merchants premium and do not discriminate. We are organized to Insure Build- Brand Recommended ings, Stocks, etc., any where in the by Merchants State of Michigan. Since our organization we have e saved our members Thousands of Dollars, and can do, proportionally, NewPerfection Flour Dollars, and can Packed In SAXOLIN Paper-lined Cotton, Sanitary Sacks Home Office. Grand Rapids SERVICE PIOWATY QUALITY Largest Produce and Fruit Dealers in Michigan Cranberries—Cranberries—Cranberries [Eatmor| Brand—Highest Quality M. Piowaty & Sons of Michigan MAIN OFFICE, GRAND RAPIDS, MICH. Branches: Saginaw, Bay City, Muskegon, Lansing, Jackson, Battle Creek, Kalamazoo, Mich., South Bend and Elkhart, Ind. We Sell | . We Buy | ( We Store We are always in the market to buy FRESH EGGS and fresh made DAIRY BUTTER and PACKING STOCK. Shippers will find it to their interests to communicate with us when seeking an outlet. We also offer you our new modern facilities for the storing of such products for your own account. Write us for rate schedules covering storage charges, etc. SELL Egg Cases and Egg Case material of all kinds. Get our quotations. KENT STORAGE COMPANY, Grand Rapids, Michigan E. P. MILLER, President F. H. HALLOCK, Vice Pres. FRANK T. MILLER, Sec. and Treas Miller Michigan Potato Co. WHOLESALE PRODUCE SHIPPERS Potatoes, Apples, Onions Correspondence Solicited Wm. Alden Smith Bldg. Grand Rapids, Mich. CIDER APPLES Why cannot you make a market for Cider Apples in your neighborhood? Forty thousand pounds Cider Apples for a good carload. For further information, write WM. W. VAUGHAN COMPANY, 209 Beecher Avenue, Detroit, Michigan. ~ 6 i, October 23, 1918 Opposes Vinegar Made From Cores and Parings. Saginaw, Oct. 21—Y'ou ask if we think the State law should be amend- ed so that cider vinegar made from cores and peelings of apples can be manuiactured and sold in this State, providing the package containing the same is properly labeled? In reply, will state that vinegar manufactured from dried cores and skins of apples can not be classed as cider vinegar, for it is not manu- factured from the cider of the apple. All the liquid of this class of vinegar is artificial The process is simply to soak out the sugar contents and from this residue you secure the quantity of alcohol to oxidize into acetic acid. Vinegar manufactured from raw material of this class should not be classed along with the family of cider vinegars. It does not con- tain the quantity of phosphates which are so essential in good vine- gars for the upbuilding of sinew in the human body. In our opinion there is but one kind of vinegar in the world which has a perfect right to be called vinegar, and that is the one manufactured strictly from the fresh juice of apples. No doubt you have been conver- sant with the conditions of the mar- kets from the year 1915 up to the present. This company gave a great deal of its time and was put to a very large expense in a monetary way to assist in securing a clean-up on the spurious vinegars being dis- tributed on the markets in Michigan. The vinegar in question at that time was being marketed here and could be sold at a great deal less per gallon than the pure cider variety, and at the same time it was~ branded as pure cider vinegar, and we suffered a great monetary loss considering the condition and concluded to fight. The result was a general clean-up, not only by the State Food Department, but the Federal also. Do not believe anyone in this department will for some time to come forget the condi- tions we put up to them and the assistance we gave in cleaning up this class of goods. What we could not understand at the time was why this department would allow the mar- kets to get in such deplorable condi- ‘tions and then have a manufacturer of the line to go to them and request they get busy. After the good re- sults were obtained we cautioned both the departments and absolutely demanded they keep in close touch with the situation; if not, the condi- tion would return’ and, in our opin- ion, we are getting some of it in this State at the present time. As a mat- ter of fact, it has been presented to us that in reality would warrant our making a charge against the depart- ment. I note you state that Mr. Wood- worth stated he would not prosecute anyone who sold vinegar made from cores and skins of apples, providing it was labeled according to the Fed- eral law. The Food Commissioner of the State of Michigan has no authority to modify or amend a law which has been put upon the statutes books by the representatives of the people and until this law has been amended Mr. Woodworth should see that the law is strictly complied with in every phrase by all manufacturers. We are confident this condition has come up to him within the last three weeks regarding vinegars being dis- tributed in this State which do not comply with the law. Analysis of such vinegars have been made by one of the best research chemists in the United States. In other words, any action of the Commissioner to disregard the law would be a dis- crimination against manufacturers of vinegar in this State. They have re- peatedly stated that dried cores and skins of apples vinegar could not be sold within the borders of this State. If they permit this sold by outside manufacturers where will the manu- . publicity in your publication. MICHIGAN TRADESMAN facturers of vinegar inside of the State fall for the reason it can be sold at a much less price than cider vinegar at all times. In our own opinion we will state frankly we would prohibit its sale | and believe it should be done also by the Federal authorities, or if per- mitted to be sold, to eliminate en- tirely the use of the words “cider, apple or orchard product” from the label. If they permitted the sale of this class of vinegar we are confident there are manufacturers who would secure the services of chemists who would doctor the goods in such a way so as to be able to brand and market goods as cider vinegar, and it would be most impossible to de- tect the adulteration. John A. Cimmerer, President Oakland Vinegar & Pickle Co. —_———-—$—-o Early Meeting of Michigan Dairy- men’s Association. Bay City, Oct. 22—At the recent meeting of the Board of Directors of the Michigan Dairymen’s Association it was decided to hold our conven- tion this year at Lansing in the Cap- ital Building on December 3, 4 and 5. This convention will consist of a convention of all the allied associa- tions. These allied associations will hold joint meetings as well as in- dividual meetings at this time and it now looks as though we might have a very large gathering, in fact, the largest convention which has ever been held in Michigan. The object of holding our meeting in December this year is to avoid the bad snow storms and the extreme cold weather which we have had to contend with in past years. This year there will be no exhibits of machinery. This change has been made to conserve the use of the rail- roads during this busy season of the year. It is simply a war measure and after the war it is the intention of the Board of Directors to again hold exhibits of machinery as heretofore. In order to defray the expenses of this convention, a programme with advertising matter is being published. Will you kindly give this matter We as- sure you that anything which you can do to bring these facts before the dairy public will be greatly appre- ciated by us. M. Seidel, Sec’y Michigan Dairymen’s Assn. ——__.22-__- Heavy Cheese Shortage. Holdings of American cheese in 530 houses on October 1, 1918, were 42,218,276 lIbs., according to the re- ports of Bureau of Markets. In 470 houses holding this year were 38,249,- 787 lbs. compared with 89,082,290 Ibs. October 1, 1917, a decrease this year of 57.1 per cent. This is a very heavy shortage and judging from recent re- ports it will be even more marked by November 1. Other varieties of cheese show less marked reductions and some an in- crease. Holdings of Swiss in 8:1 houses were 926,057 lbs. October 1 against 841,808 lbs. October 1, 1917, an increase of 10 per cent. Camouflage. “What will we do? The Germans continue to bomb our hospitals.” “There’s only one thing to do and that is to disguise our hospitals like fortresses.” APPLE BARRELS Get our prices for prompt or fall shipment. Reed & Cheney Company Grand Rapids, Michigan Dees a ok ake ka ae setae alan aa 19 COLEMAN &rand) Terpeneless LEMON and Pure High Grade VANILLA EXTRACTS Made only by FOOTE & JENKS Jackson, Mich. The ‘Little Gem’ Battery Egg Tester Write for catalogue and prices. We have the best. S. J. Fish Egg Tester Co, Jackson, Mich. Knox Sparkling Gelatine A quick profit maker A steady seller Well advertised Each package makes FOUR PINTS of jelly Rea & Witzig Produce Commission Merchants 104-106 West Market St. Buffalo, N. Y. Established 1873 United Seates Food Administration License Number G-17614 Shipments of live Poultry wanted at all times, and ship- pers will find this a good mar- ket. Fresh Eggs in good demand at market prices. Fancy creamery butter and good dairy selling at full quota- tions. Common selling well. Send for our weekly price cur- rent or wire for special quota- tions. Refer you to the People’s Bank of Buffalo, all Commercial Agen-. cies and to hundreds of shippers everywhere. Onions, Apples and Potatoes Car Lots or Less We Are Headquarters Correspondence Solicited Vinkemulder Company GRAND RAPIDS -: MICHIGAN FREIMANN & CO., Successors to “‘Northern Mich. Hide, Wool and Fur Co.” BUYERS OF HIDES, WOOL, FUR, TALLOW, METAL, RUBBER, OLD PAPER, GINSENG, BEESWAX AND IRON WRITE FOR OUR PRICE LISTS BEFORE YOU SHIP. Branch Office: 267 Grove St., Milwaukee, Wis. 730-732 East Front Street TRAVERSE CITY, MICHIGAN WE BUY AND SELL Beans, Potatoes, Onions, Apples, Clover Seed, Timothy Seed, Field Seeds, Eggs. When you have goods for sale or wish to purchase WRITE, WIRE OR TELEPHONE US. Both Telephones 1217 Moseley Brothers, G®4ND, RAPIDS. MICH. MOORE'S LAXATIVE COLD TABLETS The best known treatment for COLD ‘and GRIPPE contains BROMIDE OF QUININE, retailing 25 tablets for 25 cents. Right now is the time to get in your winter supply. We can furnish you with a full line of Proprietary Medicines as well as a com- plete line of staple drugs. We specialize on Grocery Drug Sundries and have made a study of the needs in this line of General and Grocery stores, we can therefor give the best of satisfaction and service. THE MOORE COMPANY TEMPERANCE, MICH. 20 MICHIGAN TRADESMAN October 23, 1918 EY ES a Fé A 2 SHEET ANCHORS OF SUCCESS. Ideas and Methods Which Determine Leadership. This is not a story that deals with any element of luck. Success is a strictly hand-made product, the direct result of well-laid plans and intelli- gent effort, backed by an intense de- sire to make good. Luck is at best but a camouflage for laziness or in- efficiency, and there is no indication of either in the following history of a successful firm. Whenever a bunch of keen Ameri- can business men start out to make a success of any undertaking, and want success badly enough to put their whole fund of energy and abil- ity behind it, there can hardly be any question as to the final outcome, No power on earth can keep them from achieving their full measure of suc- cess, This is, in brief, the story of the success of a store, which for con- venience sake, we will call Blank Brothers Company (name omitted by special‘ request of the brothers) throughout the eighteen years that have marked its growth from a hum- ble beginning to a prominent place on the front row among the most pro- gressive and successful stores of the country. Right from the very beginning the members of the firm set out to attain success and to build up a large busi- ness. Observation had taught them that the most successful firms were those that knew every detail of their business, so right from the beginning “system” was the eternal watchword of their business. Each year has brought an improvement in their sys- tem until to-day they have the most systematic management and accurate accounting system to be found in any retail store. Their methods of correct account- ing begin with the buying and do not stop until the annual prefit and loss statement is issued at the close of the year. There is a purchasing order made out in triplicate for every arti- cle ordered, whether it is ordered by mail, telephone or handed direct to the wholesaler’s salesman. When -any items are ordered a purchasing order is made out, putting in the date of the purchase, the name of the firm, the terms, the order number, the shipping instructions and an item- ized list of all articles ordered along with the prices. This order is then signed by the member of the firm who does the buying, and if the goods are being ordered direct from the wholesaler’s representative, the representative also signs this order. One copy is given to the wholesaler’s representative, the second copy is handed to the stockkeeper and the third copy goes to the bookkeeper. ~ When the goods arrive the stock- keeper takes his copy and checks the goods to see that they are all there and in the quantities ordered. If the goods are received as ordered he O.K.’s his copy and hands it to the bookkeeper. Should the goods not correspond in’ every way to the order the wholesaler is immediately notified, but if they are O.K. the bookkeeper goes over the extensions and sees that the invoice received for them corresponds with the orig- inal order; if so, the invoice is O.K’ed. Now this may seem a lot of work, but I- was told that during the first year this firm used this method, they kept a strict account of the money they saved through keeping a record of every purchase to see if it would really pay them to do it, and found that in a year’s time it had saved them over $400. Goods were sold to them, for instance, at one price and then billed to them at a higher price, but by keeping a record of every purchase and then checking the invoice with the copy of the order they found all such errors and thereby saved themselves over $400. Sometimes a salesman anxious to se- cure the trade of the merchant will offer him a special price on a staple article in order to get an order for other goods from him—in most in- stances he will also put a higher price on the balance of the order to make up for the lower price on the staple, so that the total is often greater. In other cases he will make a certain price and bill it at another thinking that the grocer will have forgotten the price made him by the time the goods arrive, which is very often the case. Blank Bros. Co. do not take any chances, however. The price is entered on the purchasing order and that is what they pay. As soon as the invoice is O.K.’ed by the bookkeeper it is entered on the “invoice record.” Here the date of the invoice is recorded, the name of the firm from which the goods were purchased, the gross amount of the invoice, the date due, the dis- count date, and the terms, and then when the bill is paid the amount of the discount is likewise entered with the date paid and the net amount. From this “invoice record” they know at the close of each day their full amount of accounts payable. A record is made of every sale, cash or charge. Each clerk carries a sales book and is required to make a sales slip for every transaction, no matter what the size. All cash is handled by a cashier. A multiple drawer register is used so that each clerk’s sales are kept separate. Un- der this method the firm knows which of their clerks are the most valuable. Through their accounting system Blank Bros. Co. knows what their average percentage of mark-on is. A form is provided for entering the name of each article, its cost price, and the retail price, generally fig- ured at a mark-on of 20 per cent., 20 per cent. being their average per- centage of mark-on. There are two extra columns provided on this form, one headed “Gains” and the other “Loss.” When the price at which the article sells is more than the price which is obtained by the 20 per cent. mark-on, the difference between the two is entered in the column headed “Gains,” but when the price at which the article is sold is less than the figure obtained by adding 20 per cent., the difference is entered in the “Loss” column. These two columns are totaled at the close of each day and they endeavor to have the “gains” balance the “losses” in order to keep their average percent- age at 20 per cent. But should the losses be greater than the gains the goods are gone over and a slight in- made in the price of any goods which will stand it. Through this method the firm has had no trouble in keeping their per- centage of gross profits above the 20 per cent. mark. Their accounting further provides them with a record of sales, both cash and charge for each business day, their total amount of accounts receivable each day, their bank balance, an itemized expense ac- count, etc. Blank Bros. Co. has made a very successful fight against the increas- ing cost of doing business. Through their itemized account of all expenses they are able to keep an eye on every item of expense and to know jusi about what each division of the store expense should run each month in order to keep their costs averaging 15 per cent. When they find a cer- tain division of their expense mount- ing up above its allotted percentage they begin to investigate. One of the biggest factors in keeping the cost of operation at a low point has been their very systematic management. Every bit of the work connected with the store is divided and each clerk has his separate work to do and knows that the firm looks to him for that particular work being done and done well. Everything is arranged in the store so that the trade can be taken care of in the least possible time. All goods for which there is crease The United Agency System of Improved Credit Service Unirep A\GENcY ACCURATE - RELIABLE UP-TO-DATE CREDIT INFORMATION GENERAL RATING BOOKS now ready containing 1,750,000 names—fully rated—no blanks— EIGHT POINTS of vital credit information on each name. Superior Special Reporting Service Further details by addressing GENERAL OFFICES CHICAGO, = ILLINOIS The Book That Takes the Risk Out of Buying For many years ‘“‘“OUR DRUMMER” with its net guaranteed prices has been famous for taking the risk out of retail buying. This is more than ever the case now in these unusual times. It not only makes buying se- cure from the price stand- point, but it removes uncer- tainty in the way of getting goods. Back of the prices in this book are huge open stocks of the merchandise it - advertises. Butler Brothers Exclusive Wholesalers of General Merchandise New York Chicago St. Louis Minneapolis Dallas We are manufacturers of TRIMMED AND UNTRIMMED HATS for Ladies, Misses and Children, especially adapted to the general store trade. Trial order solicited. 7 CORL, KNOTT & CO.. Ltd. Corner Commerce Ave. and Island St. Grand Rapids, Mich. 139-141 Monroe St eT OTS oer. 0 eee | Gunther Bldg. - 1018-24 S. Wabash Avenue AQAA SOMETHING PRACTICAL Have You Seen It? OFFICE OUTFITTERS LOOSE LEAF SPECIALISTS 237-239 rea, «ves ‘+ orvdge Grand Rapids, Mich, E 2 = : A Non-Breakable Doll = = You will profit by showing this BABY DOLL in your HOLIDAY E DISPLAY, = These Dolls—dressed complete—to retail for 50c to $1.50. = Call and see them, or will be glad to submit samples. = - : - : = | Quality Merchandise—Right Prices—Prompt Service : PAUL STEKETEE & SONS = WHOLESALE DRY GOODS GRAND RAPIDS, MICH. = UCC eu SE ST ET ermsonr ti tin mrmmrtios amas ey s ooicnann October 28, 1918 a big demand and which will not be injured by it are tied up during quiet hours in convenient packages ready for sale. Small items are watched very closely. Here is where a great many grocers allow waste to creep in, but this firm watches the little items of expense just as closely as the larger items. They see to it that nothing ‘is wasted—lights which are unnecessary are turned off just as soon as through with, sacks and wrapping paper are used so as to eliminate all loss, goods which are not moving are taken off the shelf and a special effort made to dispose of them. In fact, they watch for everything that may hinder them from a profit. These are minor details, but it doesn’t require many such practical details to add materially to the net profits of the store. When the war came on and with it the higher costs of doing business there arose-a tendency to do away with all unnecessary ‘expense in order to keep prices as low as possi- ble. The Government called upon every business man to do his “bit” to help win the war. The Blank Bros. Co. delivery service had always been en expensive of their busi- ness, but with the war they made a change. First they mapped out a schedule for delivery routes, making two deliveries each day, one in the forenoon and one in the afternoon to the four sections of the town. This saved them in gasoline alone more than $300 the first year. Following this they made a charge of 5c for de- making feature MICHIGAN TRADESMAN livery on every order that amounted to less than $1. Later they replaced two of their clerks who were called into the ser- vice of their country with girls. This was their first experience with girls as clerks, but their experience proved so satisfactory that they later added two more to their staff and found that they were equal in every way to men clerks. The girls have proven very efficient salespersons and have also taken a greater interest in see- ing the store kept attractive than was ever exhibited by men clerks. While this firm paid their girls a high wage for women workers they were able at the same time to cut labor costs considerably. This store is constantly fighting for more business and with the ex- ception of one year their business has made a very substantial increase every year since they began. They attribute a large measure of their success to advertising. A good slice of newspaper space is used by the store each week, and that space is filled with good copy each time it appears. Usually this space is used to present to the public seasonable and. special articles. They believe a few articles well presented—that is a full description of the article along with the price—is more effective than an endless string of, goods without any description. One of the features used in their fight for more business and the one to which they credit a great share of their success has been their Wednes- day and Saturday specials. The arti- cles selected for these sales are arti- cles which they have been able to purchase at a low figure either through buying in quantity or articles which they have been able to pur- chase cheap because the jobber has been overloaded. These articles, however, must be up to standard quality, as no article is presented to the public unless it is of good quality and will give satisfaction. This ac- counts for their special sales grow- ing more popular each week. Peo- ple have come to know that any arti- cle advertised will be all that the firm claims for it and so have no fear of getting something inferior. Thus their advertisements continue to draw and to hold trade. This is one of the secrets of successful merchan- dising. Price may induce people to come to your store once, but if the article purchased is not up to stand- ard and has not given satisfaction or the goods were misrepresented in the advertisement, your advertising loses its pulling power. The public once deceived loses confidence and public confidence is a mighty hard thing to regain if once lost. Before the war this firm used a great many stunts to promote sales, such as solicitors, openings, demon- strations, etc., but with the coming of the war they eliminated these features and to-day they depend very largely upon their salesforce to in- crease their sales. Bonuses are of- fered to the clerks making the larg- est number of sales, the largest amount of sales, etc. Goods ‘which they wish to have pushed are given 21 a prominent place in the store and the salespersons put their selling ef- forts behind those goods with the result that sales have increased and profits have been maintained. Walter Engard. IAM A GERMAN. At last I cast my mask aside And bare the hate I used ‘o hide. Now to myself I can be true And do the deeds I love to do. Iam a German. The stolid kindly man is dead; A ruthless beast is born instead. The bars are down—the beast is free To roam at will on land and sea. Iam a German. I love to send the good ships down And see the helpless children drown. And when the mothers scream in pain I laugh at struggles all in vain. Iam a German, The poison gas and liquid fire Have satisfied my heart’s desire. It’s sweet to see men reel and choke And fight against the deadly smoke. I am a German. And sometimes in a sheltered place, I spy a baby’s dimpled face. Ah! then, I feel a fiendish joy, And kill it quick, if it’s a boy. Iam a German. I poison wells so more may die; No pity lives in such as I. The simple homes I burn at night, And in this pillage find delight. I am a German. The sick and wounded feel my hand, And when I see a Red Cross band I straightway set upon their track, Because I know they ean’t strike back. I am a German. I rape and ravish, rend and tear; With hideous noises fill the air. The loudest screams of pain and fear Are sweetest music to my ear. Iam a German. There is no law of God or man, But I will break it if I can. I only live to maim and kill, And while I live I always will. I am a German. Kenneth Graham Duffield, in Hardware Age. SERVICE advantage to do this. QUALITY TIME THAT TRIES MEN’S SOULS Great men hold the world stage to-day. Trenches and transports, dugouts and destroyers, battleships and battleplanes are filled with them. Men of brilliant courage and men of quiet heroism; men of brains and men of brawn: men from every walk of life—all moulded into greatness by a fire of devotion which is bringing victory nearer every day. We are supplying our soldiers and sailors with a large portion of our output. We are, there- fore, caring for our domestic trade with great difficulty, but with your co-operation we will continue to supply our customers with limited quantities of staple goods to enable them to keep their stccks in such condition as to meet the requirements of their customers. We again urge our customers to visit this market frequently so as to keep in close touch with market conditions and the trend of all branches of the dry goods trade. It will be greatly to your GRAND RAPIDS DRY GOODS CO. | Exclusively Wholesale Grand Rapids, Michigan QUALITY SERVICE MICHIGAN TRADESMAN i October 23, 1918 utiti(( — — — = — | STOVES ~ — —_ — = Michigan Retall Hardware Association. President—John C. Fischer, Ann Arbor. ee ‘W. Leedle, Mar- shall. ore J. Scott, Marine ty Treasurer—William Moore, Detroit. Some Experiences Competing With Mail Order Stoves. Written for the Tradesman. It is not often that the small town merchant welcomes the mail order catalogue in his community, and it is still rarer that a merchant gives that catalogue a place of honor in his store. But a number of years ago I ran across a merchant in a thriving little village of 500 people who, far from trying to escape mail order competi- tion, seemed actually to court it— with profit. One day a customer came into Brown’s store—I’ll cali him Brown— and enquired his price on a coal heater with oven. The stove Brown feat- ured retailed at $44 in those days. “Why,” exclaimed the prospect, “I can get the same thing from Blank & Company in Chicago for $28.59.” “How much does Blank’s stove weigh?” “T don’t know, but—” “T’ll look it up. And we'll have a look at my stove, which is as cheap and of much better quality than the one Blank & Company are offering at $28.59.” “Here are the figures. The cata- logue stove, weighing 350 pounds, at $28.59 costs eight cents a pound, or a shade more. My stove which I of- fer at $44 weighs 555 lbs. costs prac- tically the same per pound. So when it comes to the cost, there’s really very little difference. “But a heavier stove had advan- tages which you of course appreci- ate. heat much longer, and will therefore warm a room more uniformly than a light stove, without keeping it going at full capacity all the time. Then, the heavier stove is more durable. The light stove looks pretty much the same, but the heavier stove will more than outlast two of this light article.” He told of one which he had in- stalled many years before and which was still in use, and had cost on'y twenty-five cents for repairs. “Then,” he added, “I’m right here to set the stove up in your house, get it started, and see that it works.” “T guess you’re right, after all,” conceded the customer; and the deal was closed. That was a typical instance of the -olicy of meeting the out-of-town competition squarely. _Met squarely like this, mail order competition is not difficult to defeat. As you understand, it holds the - Of course the mail order dealer is bound to get some sales. On P. T. Barnum’s showing that a sucker is born every minute, the only wonder is that the number of mail order sales is not larger. But this competition can’t be met by just sitting behind the counter and waiting for the customer to come and buy. The hardware dealer must be aggressive, even to the point of going out and canvassing at times, and certainly to the point of adver- tising constantly. Thus, a merchant in a town of 12,000 people heard of a prospect who was thinking of buying a stove from a mail order house. He got right on his wheel and went out to see the _man personally. The man had been attracted by an artistic illustration of a cheap grade stove and had practi- cally made up his mind to buy. The dealer gave him a talk on quality, hinted at the trouble he would have in putting the stove up, played on his loyalty to home industries, and final- ly sold him a better grade of stove. In another instance the prospect had actually secured the stove from the mail order house on approval. He had trouble putting it up, and then it proved defective. The dealer in- duced him to send it back and de- mand a refund; and sold one of his own stoves to replace it. An important point to remember is that the stove in the catalogue looks strikingly attractive. Hence, it will pay the dealer to keep the stoves in his store spick and span, and to give them a good share of advertising and window display. Much can be done to offset the ef- forts of the mail order firms by keep- ing in close touch with your com- munity, Try to get a line on every stove prospect before he has a chance to write away to the mail order house. The more aggressive the local dealer is along these lines, the less will the mail order dealer cut in- to the local man’s business. To begin with, a liberal amount of advertising is desirable. This in- cludes frequent window displays, demonstrations at the season when they will do the most good, an attrac- tively kept stove department, and the distribution of advertising literature wherever possible. One firm went so far as to copy the mail order method in toto, and issued a catalogue of sixteen pages 9x 12. This catalogue was written from the standpoint of the local retail mer- chant, and contained full information on how to order. This catalogue was _sent out to a large mailing list, and produced good results. In addition to stoves, other lines were listed and illustrated. Under present conditions, however, the ordinary retail merchant as a rule cannot undertake anything very ex- tensive in this line. The difficulty is, not so much the high cost of putting out a catalogue, as the constant in- crease in prices, price changes being so frequent as to render a catalogue obsolete in a very short time. But while the catalogue may be im- practicable, the mailing list is a great help. It will pay any retailer to keep a mailing list of stove prospects. He can get in touch with them in various ways—through his advertising, or as AGRICULTURAL LIME BUILDING LIME Write for Prices A. B. Knowlson Co. 203-207 Powers’ Theatre Bidg., Grand Rapids, Mich. NG " Ask about our way BARLOW BROS. Grand Rapids, Mich. Mr. Merchant: Do you wish to reduce your stock, or do you want to get out of business? Stevens & Company Sales People Men who know how to raise money for you. Call us up or write. Telephone 2636. Barnhart Bldg. GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN SIDNEY ELEVATORS Will reduce handling expense and speed up work—will make money for you. Easily installed. Plans and instructions sent with each elevator. Write stating requirements, giving kind machine and size platform wanted, as well as height. We will quote a money saving price. Sidney Elevator Mnfg. Co., Sidney, Ohio Signs of the Times Are Electric Signs Progressive merchants and manufac- turers now realize the value of Electric Advertising. We furnish you with sketches, prices and operating cost for the asking. THE POWER CO. Beli M 797 Citizens 4261 Sand Lime Brick Nothing as Durable No as Fireproof Makes a Beautiful No Painting No Cost for Repairs Fire Proof Weather Proof Warm in Winter Cool in Summer Brick is Everlasting Grande Brick Co., Grand Rapids So. Mich. Brick Co., Kalamazoo Saginaw Brick Co., Saginaw Jackson-Lansing Brick Co. Rives Junction Michigan Hardware Co. Exclusively Wholesale ~ Grand Rapids, Mich. - Foster, Stevens & Co. Wholesale Hardware es 157-159 Monroe Ave. :: Grand Rapids, Mich. 151 to 161 Louis N. W. ‘rarsiibsanaviacm nas Rcanat fp ie ia SSSA RN oan Sets October 23, 1918 prospects come under the notice of © himself or his staff, or in many other ways. One merchant distributes small souvenirs in return for the names and addresses of stove pros- pects. The fall fair brings another merchant in touch with many new prospects. The great thing is to get their addresses down in black and white. Then follow them up systemati- cally. A good starter is a personal letter calling attention to your line of stoves and ranges, and inviting the prospect to call and see what you have, Some special inducement may be offered to get the prospect inside the store. One merchant offers a booklet of gummed labels for pre- serves Another has a little cook- book which he distributes. Then, there is always the demonstration to draw people to the store at certain seasons. If at first there is no response to the invitation, follow it up with more advertising literature—circulars, spe- cial offers, booklets and other adver- tising matter. A good follow-up system of this sort will enable the local retailer to ho'd the business of his community, to the almost entire exclusion of out- of-town competition. Victor Lauriston. —_2--_ Effect of the Grip On Coal Condi- tions. The influenza epidemic has had the same effect on the anthracite trade as a cold wave or a snow storm—it has increased consumption and at« the same time has slowed down produc- tron and distribution. According to Saward’s Weekly the heating of homes in which there are sick people is not wholly responsible for the in- creased consumption, for on cool days fires are lighted as a preventive meas- ure in many residences and apart- ments in which coal would not be burned until later in the season if the fear of catching the grip had not made people take extra pains to avoid it. This early use of coal fires, it goes on, has caused the pressure upon re- tail dealers to increase somewhat, but not nearly to the same extent as would be the case in normal years, when the public was less forehanded in the matter of fuel supply. Emer- gency calls are very few. The fact that some people are still without coal is to be explained usually by their insistence on having particular sizes or grades. —_—_—_»--o____- A New Way To Announce a Sale. Customers of a hardware merchant in a small Missouri town could not get into his store one Thursday re- cently, On the door was this placard: Closed for the day Gone to market for bargains Come in tomorrow Because of this unusual notice, the merchant’s “stunt” was talked about. On Friday and Saturday he did a record business. ——_+2++—_____ You may t’p the soda clerk a wink, but you can’t tip a Pullman porter that way. MICHIGAN TRADESMAN MADE TO PAY THE PENALTY. The Business Houses Heavily Pen- alized By Prescott. Lansing, Oct. 22—Three Michigan concerns felt the teeth in the Food Administration law last week. Fred E. Hamlin, a Decatur grocer, was be- fore the food court and admitted tak- ing excessive profits in flour and sell- ing flour without substitutes. He was ordered to close his place for the week beginning Oct. 21 and post the follow- ing sign on the front door: CLOSED BY ORDER OF THE UNITED STATES FOOD ADMINISTRATION. The Jamestown Co-operative Ele- vator Co. was directed to close its plant for a week, or in lieu thereof contribute $100 to the Red Cross for selling wheat flour without the proper amount of authorized substitutes. P. H. Fahey, of Hubbardston, pleaded guilty to profiteering when be made an affidavit that flour costing $8.25 and $8.35 per barrel, was sold by him at $1.25 per t-8 barrel sack. The official penalty order putting him cn the unfair list says: ‘In view of this acknowledged vio- lation on your part, it has been de- termined to impose the following pen- alty: Next Monday morning, Oct. 21, you will be placed upon the unfair list, which means that your source of supply on all staple food commodi- ties will be notified not to sell you any goods whatever during the period of the war. We are, however, going to extend to you the privilege of choosing between two alternative pen- -Ities to dispose of what goods you have on hand. You may close your place of business for three days, be- ginning Oct. 21, during which period there must be placed on the door of your place of business a sign reading as follows: ‘Closed by Order of the United States Food Administration,” or you may make a contribution to the Red Cross organization of your county of $50 in lieu of the three days’ closing order.” New Sugar Alignment. Lansing, Oct. 22—-Under the latest sugar sale ruling the Food Adminis- tration now allows Michigan grocers to sell to housewives and other con- sumers in two sales their monthly al- lotment of two pounds of sugar per person per household; that is, the housewife may purchase anytime be- tween the first and the fifteenth of the month, one-half her legal monthly al- lowance of sugar and again any time between the sixteenth and the thir- tieth of the month may purchase the balance of the family’s monthly ration. This rule supersedes the old two and five pound sales rule and the subse- quent week’s supply sales rule. This is a direct easement to the grocers to whom the item of labor, weighing and wrapping has in the aggregate been very considerable. Saving Will Be Enormous. Approximately 200,000,000 pounds of sugar will be saved by the ruling. Many people were’ unconsciously breaking the regulation regarding the distribution of sugar by purchasing their sugar on the basis of one- half pound per ~capita per week. On the new basis of four weeks to the month there would be only forty- eight weeks to the year, or three hundred and thirty-six days. This leaves twenty-nine days or practically another month during which sugar has been consumed on a basis of two pounds per capita. With a population of 100,000,000 people this represents an annual saving of 200,000,000 pounds. : No More Canning Sugar. All County Food Administrators re- ceived telegrams Saturday advising them to discontinue issuing canning certificates at the close of business on Saturday, Oct. 19, but in order to take care of those certificates which were issued on Friday and Saturday the instructions permits the mer- chants to sell sugar on all outstanding certificates Monday and Tuesday, Oct. 21 and 22, but no sugar can be sold by any Michigan retailer after Oct. 22 on any canning certificates no matter when issued. Warning to the Public. Lansing, Oct. 22—Agents in many places are canvassing from door to door with publications purporting to be issued by the Government, repre- senting that they have Government sanction. They are charging as high as $4.75 for the publication. The Food Administration has been requested to warn people in Michigan that no such publications have been authorized by the Government. The publications issued by the Govern- ment are always given away or sold at cost, or in the case of certain school text books prepared by the Food Administration, sold under con- tract with the publisher to charge the price fixed by competition, ranging from twenty cents to half a dollar. Anyone who engages in a_ scheme such as above described is guilty of false representation if no more. All such cases should be reported to the Department of Justice for action. —_-- > Boomlets From Bay City. Bay City, Oct. 22—Webb Bros., clothing and shoes, Caro, have closed out their stock and retired from busi- ness. G, R. Fisher, Metamora, has bought the Miller Bros. stock of general mer- chandise, at Farmer’s Creek, and will continue the business there. There is now only one railway sta- tion at Lapeer—the Grand Trunk—the Michigan Central station having been closed by the powers that be. It is claimed that $8,000 per year will be saved by this change. R. M. Gordon, for several years local freight agent at Bay City, has engaged in the general merchandise business at Sterling with Oscal Vogel under the firm name Vogel & Gordon, succeeding M. A. Vogel, who was one of the pioneer general merchants of Sterling. Grand Counselor Ballamy visited Detroit Council, No. 9, last Saturday evening and reports that candidates were initiated and it was an enjoyable meeting, Many conflicting reports have been circulated regarding the proposed change and restriction in the manufac- ture of shoes to be made by the War Industries Board. Upon investiga- tion by the shoe manufacturers, it has been discovered that the require- ments will not be as difficult to meet as,has been reported. Several changes have been made regarding ornaments and fancy top facings; also several classes of shoes will be made without pull straps. Apparently the object of the War Board is to eliminate non- essentials in the construction of shoes. The only colors which will be permit- ted are black, dark brown and white. No shoes will be made higher than eight inches, except lumberman’s boots and riding boots, which have been placed in a special class to be known as class “X.” All shoes will be divided into three classes, A, B and C, excepting the specials referred to as class The minimum retail price has been fixed at $3 and the maximum price at $12 for these three classes. J. H. Belknap. For Handy Goods. A huge, outspread hand forms the background of the window of an of- fice supply house. At the tip of each finger of the hand is an office record form. Other office devices are scat- tered about. in the window. A _ sign above the hand reads: “Everything at your fingers’ ends.” Van Dervoort Hardware Co. LANSING, MICH. Buy Bankrupt and Surplus Stocks of Hardware— Implements— Plumbing and Heating Goods. We can still fill orders for everything offered on this page last week at same price except 5c per square advance on Roofing Nov. 1st. We have accumulated from several small factories who have gone out of business and sold their equipment to us a lot of good Tools and Supplies, some just as good as new that we offer subject to prior sale. 1 James Engine Lathe at, $375.00. 14 ft. Bed, 18 in. Swing. with Chuck, Face Plate and 150 lbs. Tools. This Lathe is about 25 years old but has never seen hard service and is in first class condition. 1 Small Star Thread Cutting Lathe, at $110.00. With Chuck. Compound Rest, Foot Power, Counter Shaft and some tools. Is worth on to-day’s market over $250.00 and has been used less than 3 months in a garage. 1 Small Wood Turning Lathe, $10.00. 1 Pattern Maker’s Lathe, $25.00. 1 20 inch Back Geared Silver Drill Press, $90.00. Almost new, never done 3 solid months’ work, having been in a shop for several years where it was only used a few minutes a day. 1 20 inch Barnes Drill Press, $75.00. $10.00 Chuck to fit same, $5.00 extra. While this drill has seen considerable service it has been well taken care of and is in good condition. Drill Presses are very scarce at the present time, fac- tories away behind on their orders. 15 H. P. Westinghouse Electric Motor, 110 AC, $95.00. In first class running con- dition. 1 3 H. P. Westinghouse Electric Motor, T10 AC, $80.00. Thoroughly overhauled and made good as new. 1% H. P. DC Electric Motor Rebuilt and in A-1 condition, $30.00. 1% H. P. 110 AC Electric Motor, new, $37.50. 1% H. P. 110 Ac Electric Motor, new, $27.00. 1 Beach Sewing Machine Motcr, new, $13.50. 1 Power Hack Saw, $10.00. brand brand brand 1 Heavy Lever Punch to handle 1 inch holes, $20.00. 1 Light Bench Punch, % inch capacity, $7.00. 1 Lever Iron Shear to handle 1 inch round, $20.00. 1 30 in. P. S. & W. Squaring Shears, $25. A few good Tinner’s Tools, at % Price. 1 Nearly new Solid Steel Anvil. 12c. 1 Defiance Universal Wood Worker, con- sisting of Band Saw, Planer and Circle Saw, intended for country wagon shops, can be adapted to most any wood work. Practically new with several extra saws, $125.00. 3 Emery Stands. $5.00 to $15.00 1 Nearly new Root Bros. Lawn Mower Sharpener, worth $25.00, for $10.00. 16H. P. Peerless Air Comvressor. $90.09. 1 4 H. P. Novo Hopper Cooled Engine, used 90 days, $90.00. 13 H. P. New Way Engine, $60 00. Several 14% and 2 Rebuilt Engines, $25.00 to $35.00. 112 H. P. Acme Kerosene Engine, $390.00. Has Webster Oscillating Magneto and Clutch Pulley, actually used onlv 2 weeks and replaced with a larger engine. 18 H. P. Acme Kerosene Engine, mount- ed on steel truck. with portable steel saw table, $225.00. Only used about 60 days and in first-class condition. 8 Second Hand Forges, $5.00 to $15 00. 1 Nearly new Blacksmith Blower, $10.00. 2 Back Pressure Blowers, at %4 price. 1 6 inch Centrifugal Pump at 14 price. 200 Good Second Hand Pulleys at % price. These are from 8 to 60 in, good as new. A few badly worn Wood Pulleys that will still do a lot of work at \% price. 400 ft. Good second hand Shafting. 100 Good second hand Hangers, nearly all Dodge, from 1 to 2 7-16 inch. 500 ft. Good second hand Leather Belt, from 1 to 5 inch at about % price. 30 ft. 15 in. 6 ply Red Canvas Belt in first- elass condition for $24.00. 27 ft. 14 in. 5 ply Red Canvas Belt, badly worn, for $6.00. 600 ft. Nearly new Wall % price. 200 Pieces 1 inch Second hand Pipe, 4% foot long, 5c foot. 1 36 in. x 8 ft. Pressure Tank, used some but good as new, $150.00. 1 42 in. x 10 ft. Pressure Tank. used one year, now tests over 20 Ib., holds over 850 gal. A-1 for storage, $150.00. 5 Second Hand Safes, from 1,000 to 7,000 ibs., at about % price. 1 Small Paper Baler, $8.75. 1 Large Paper Baler, $14.00. Some Scales, Trucks, Oil Tanks, Drills. Reamers, Taps and a lot of other small tools not yet. listed. %x4 or Radiation -at -VanDervoort Hardware Co. Lansing, Michigan = — = — mee eee 100¢4 pocentedy — = — — HE COMMERCIAL TRAVE RESERVATION A Hotel to which aman Lal) ee ae Mal iPr tig October 23, 1918 CODY HOTEL GRAND RAPIDS $1 without bath RATES § $1 Fo tre with bath CAFETERIA IN CONNECTION Grand Council of Michigan U. C. T. an Counselor—W. T. Ballamy, Bay y. Grand Junior Counselor—C. C. Stark- weather, Detroit. Grand Past Counselor—John A. Hach, Coldwater. Grand Secretary—M. Heuman, Jackson. Grand Treasurer—Lou J. Burch, De- troit. oan — Conductor—H. D. Ranney, Sag- . Grand Page—A. W. Stevenson, Mus- egon. Grand Sentinel—H. D. Bullen, Lansing. Grand Chaplain—J. H. Belknap, Bay Price-Cutting Is Peanut Salesmanship. The price-cutter is worse than a criminal. He is a fool. He not only pulls down the stand- ing of his goods; he not only pulls down his competitors; he pulls down himself and his whole trade. He scuttles the ship in which he himself is afloat. Nothing is so easy as to cut prices; and nothing is so hard as to get them back when once they have been pulled down. Any child can throw a glass of water on the floor, but all the wisest scientists in the world can’t pick that water up. ‘Who gets the benefit of price- cutting? Nobody. The man who sells makes no net profits; and the man who buys soon finds himself getting an inferior arti- cle. No manufacturer can permanently keep up the standard of his goods if the price is persistently cut. Pretty soon he is compelled to use cheaper materials, and to cut down the wages of his workers. The man who cuts prices puts up the sign: “This way to the junk heap!” He admits his own failure as a salesman. He admits he has been de- feated according to the Marquis of Queensbury rules of business. Hie ad- mits he can not win by fighting fair. He brands himself as a hitter-be- low-the-belt. If the business world were dom- inated by price-cutters, there would be no business at all. Price-cutting, in fact, is not busi- ness any more than smalipox is health. Whenever you see this sign on a price-cutter’s store—‘Going Out of Business’—you may be sure it is a lie. How can he go out of business when he never was in? Herbert N. Casson. —_»++>—__ Tit For Tat. An Irishman paid a visit to China. He was quick tempered and it was not long before he had high words with a native who spoke very broken English. Seizing a dish from a stall close at hand, Pat let fly with it, and the China- man’s head was cut. Being brought be- fore the English consul, he was asked why he had insulted the native. “Sure,” replied Pat, “he spoke broken English, and I just gave him broken China in return. _ The New Murray Hill Hotel at Sault Ste. Marie. A Quality Cigar Dornbos Single Binder One Way to Havana Sold by All Jobbers Peter Dornbos Cigar Manufacturer 16 and 18 Fulton St., W. Grand Rapids a Michigan HOTEL HERKIMER GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN European Plan, 75c Up Attractive Rates to Permanent Guests Popular Priced Lunch ltoom COURTESY SERVICE VALUE OCCIDENTAL HOTEL FIRE PROOF CENTRALLY LOCATED Rates $1.00 and up EDWARD R, SWETT, Mgr. Muskegon 2 Michigan Beach’s Restaurant 41 North Ionia Ave. Near Monroe GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN Good Food Prompt Service Reasonable Prices What More Can You Ask? LADIES SPECIALLY INVITED $3.50 $3.50 To Chicago Monday, Wednesday, Friday From Chicago Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday Nights. Boat car leaves Muskegon Interurban Station 7:30 P. M. Your Freight Business Solicited. Following Morning Delivery. Tickets sold to all points. Goodrich GOODRICH Muskegon City Office Interurban 127 Pearl - Station —: | LIN 2 156 Ottawa Theater | ei wy ER 3 Ave. N.W. Bldg. Bell Phone 596 Citz. Phone 61366 Joseph P. Lynch Sales Co. Special Sale Experts Expert Advertising —Expert Merchandising 44 So. Ionia Ave. Grand Rapids, Mich. Automobile Insurance * *7.2:0"te necessity. If you —_ with an ‘‘old line’’ company you pay 7 more than we charge. nsult us for rates INTER-INSURANCE EXCHANGE MICHIGAN AUTOMOBILE OWNERS 221 Houseman Bldg., Grand Rapids, Mich. MORTON HOUSE GRAND RAPIDS De a 75c Per Day Se $1.00 Per Day _. $1.50 and $2.00 Per Day, Two persons in a room 50c per day extra. Special rates by the week. 5O Roomeaat............. BO Ropme et.......-..... 50 Roomsat .........-.. Follow the Natural Impulse Mean TELEPHONE NT EY Telephone Citizens Long Distance Lines Con- nect With Practically Every City, Village, Hamlet and Cross Roads in Michigan. Also Points Outside. USE CITIZENS SERVICE Se Oetober. 23; 1918 UPPER PENINSULA. Recent News of the Cloverland of Michigan. Sault Ste. Marie, Oct. 22—Manis- tique is to have a new co-operative mercantile association, which has re- cently been organized by the farmers around Manistique for the purpose of selling their produce direct to the big city markets. The following directors have been chosen: Del. Smith, Paul Wehner, Chas. Lausten, Angus Mc- Eachern, Curtis Blosser, Ed. Weh- ner, Ed. Mercure. The officers are as follows: Del. Smith, President; Paul Wehner, Vice-President; Chas. Lanston, Secretary and Treasurer. The Belvidere Hotel, one of the old landmarks of the Soo, has recently undergone new management. George Coleman, well-known hotel man, and Jack Baines, one of the best chefs in Cloverland, have had the place re- decorated throughout and had the building put into first-class condition. They have added a new waiting room on the first floor for the comfort of the ladies. The place is still the head- quarters for the various stages which drive throughout the country. The new managers are both hustlers and will, undoubtedly, make a success of the. new venture. Manistique lost one of her esteemed citizens and ‘veteran hotel men in the death of John Shunk last week. Mr. Shunk for a number of years was pro- prietor of the ‘American Hotel and later took charge of the Hiawatha Hotel until’ a couple of years ago, when his health commenced to fail and he left the hotel in charge of his son, August, while he himself went to his farm in Manistique township. Hie stayed there until a couple of weeks ago, when his condition became crit- ical and he was taken to Battle Creek, where he remained until the end came. He is survived by a wife and two children. Roy Gooch, manager of the grocery department of the Peoples Store, ar Manistique, received a telegram from Camp Custer, stating that his brother, William Gooch, had died at the train- ing camp. The board of supervisors made no mistake when they secured the serv- ices of cotinty agent E. L. Kunze, as shown from the report submitted to the board of supervisors last week. He certainly is a live wire and is on the job all the time. He has accom- plished much during the past year in agricultural pursuit, co-operation among the farmers, offering sugges- tions and arranging demonstrations instructive to farmers. throughout Cloverland. Not only does he con- fine his efforts to agricultural pur- suits, but he is instrumental in help- ing the farmers secure farm labor, getting the proper drainage and stand- ardizing the planting of grain. Mr. Kunze is a man of varied judgment and has proved himself a valuable as- set in this community. He is to be congratuated upon the success so far achieved. The many friends of our esteemed citizen and ex-Governor, Chase S. Osborn, were surprised to hear of his signing up with the Salvation Army at New York, whence he expects to sail soon for France. The ex-Gov- ernor is still in the pink of condition and, undoubtedly will be of great value in his new vocation. The field is large and the services greatly need- ed. He always stood for something that was good, no matter what it cost. E. F. Martin, of the firm of Martin & Wheeler, at Trout Lake, was a business visitor here last week. O. W. Smith, of Trout Lake, was in the Soo attending the supervisor’s meeting last week. J. J. Hruska, popular butcher of Manistique, was re-appointed poor MICHIGAN TRADESMAN commissioner by the board of super- visors last week. Goetzville farmers are setting the record on white turnips. Jacob Grouber brought one in last week weighing 1334 pounds and is solid through and through. It is 18 inches in circumference. “The wise doctor may not know what is the matter with the patient— but he knows enough not to say so.” William G. Tapert. 22. Late News From Michigan’s Metrop- olis. Detroit, Oct. 22—Retailers of shoes have by no means thrown themselves into a panic over the recent Govern- ment regulations covering the styles and prices of shoes. On the other hand, they are optimistic, and see great benefits when the regulations are once in actual operation. It is their attitude that people are going to wear shoes, that if they don’t buy one style, they will another, and that they are going to buy what their pocketbook can best afford. If. $12 is the highest price, thousands will pay that price, and so on right down the line. They have not given much thought to the matter of merchandising pres- ent stocks over $12. Those who have them will naturally keep up the prices for a while, and later dispose of them by sales as they would in the regular course of events. Retailers do not believe they will have the least diffi- culty in disposing of all their high- priced shoes before the allotted time. Their attitude is one of “We'll sell all we have in stock and all we have coming.” No one seems to be over- loaded with high priced footwear. The Detroit Retail Shoe Dealers’ Association has decided to hold meet- ings every week until further notice. The officers feel there are so many important things coming up especial- ly in view of the new Government regulation of styles and prices that dealers should co-operate on these matters and have a thorough under- standing of every point. It will be the aim to have a well known shoe man address the members at each meeting, and to bring about a closer relation- ship among dealers which is sure to result in greater co-operaton. Presi- dent Jeffries believes that co-opera- tion is absolutely necessary for the stabilizing of business during these trying times, and if all dealers will co-operate along the same line, it will be mich easier to make the public understand what retailers are trying to do, and what the Government is trying to do so far as the new regu- lations. are concerned. The meetings are always preceded by a luncheon at the Cafe Frontenac, and President Jeffries takes this means of inviting visiting shoemen, whether manufacturers, jobbers or re- tailers to attend the luncheons and meetings any Wednesday afternoon at the Cafe Frontenac on Monroe ave- nue which is in the heart of the down- town business district. Doty Bros., druggists, Willis and Woodward avenues, are making ex- tensive. improvements in their store and are putting in an entirely new set of-fixtures except soda fountain. Harry B. Mason, who has been editor of the Bulletin of Pharmacy, the official organ of Parke-Davis & Co., for some years past, retires to assume greater responsibilities as Di- rector of Promotion,. Publicity and Advertising with the same firm. The zeal with which Mr. Mason attacks - big propositions assures his success in the new field and we congratulate him on his preferment. The Detroit Drug Co. another store to its chain. This will make ten stores. It has secured the lease on the building that was to have opened as the Lincoln Bank, at Mil- waukee and Woodward avenues, but for some reason failed to open. It will is adding have executive offices over the store and will make it the banner one of the chain. The former store of the Schroder Shoe Co. is being remodeled, and when completed it will be re-opened as an exclusive store for women and children. Howard Carpenter has leased the store on the southwest corner ot Bates street at Jefferson, opposite the Interurban station, and will move his drug stock at 211 Jefferson as soon as alterations are completed. He expects to be at the new location about No- vember Ist. B. F. Gain has sold his drug stock at 1350 Fourteenth avenue to W. W. Wells, who was formerly in business on Van Dyke avenue, but recently in the employ of Walter J. Turnbull on Hiamilton boulevard. We are pleased to see Mr. Wells again in business. —_—_2-» 2 ____ New Regulations For Home and Public Eating Houses. Lansing, Oct. 22—Because of the epidemic of Spanish influenza through- out the country, the United States Food Administration has postponed the distribution of its new Home Card until Dec. 1. The original plan con- templated the opening of this cam- paign Oct. 27. However, the new conservation programme, which is considered vital, will be pushed un- interruptedly. Meetings of all kinds having been banned on account of the epidemic, the aid of the churches, the schools, the four-minute speakers, libraries, lodges and patriotic workers could not be secured for the strenuous campaign in the planning of which they were essential parts. It is hoped that by Dec. 1, necessity for quaran- tined conditions will have disappeared. Preparatory to the issuance of 20,- 000,000 home cards on that date, the Food Administration will have per- fected, through the co-operation, a plan of distribution, which it is antici- pated will result in the placing of home cards bearing the latest sugges- tions of the Food Administration in the hands of every American house- wife simultaneously. Disregarding the precedent set in the first Home Card distribution, the Food Administration will make no effort to re-duplicate the pledges ot more than 12,000,000 American house- wives who last year signified their willingness to co-operate in the con- servation of all foodstuffs, as it is ap- parent that American womanhood will aid the Food Administration in help- ing to supply the nutritive sinews of war to the Allies and our armed forces. The new Home Card will contain no regulations regarding either “Wheatless” or “Meatless” days, but will urge as a whole, the most careful saving in all edibles, particularly in the conservation of wheat, meat, fats and sugar. The significant fact that it will be necessary for the United States to send 534 million tons more foodstuffs to the Allies this year than last, with an almost staggering total of 17%, million tons for the coming year will re-awaken the supervisor of the family market basket, to the urg- ent necessity of maintaining a patri- otic watchfulness over spread, of her individual table in order that the 120,000,000 Allies sitting at a “com- mon table” with America may have the stamina with which to bring the war toa successful conclusion in 1919. These twelve “General Orders” summarize the programme for the guidance of the proprietors and their patrons. They provide in short for Sparing use of cereals. One portion of meat at a meal. Service of as few fried dishes as possible, to save fats. One teaspoonful of sugar to a patron at one meal. on request only. No candies after meals, No icing made with cane or beet sugar on cakes. Wide use of vegetables and veg- etarian meals. Economy in use of coffee, because of shipping space. Discontinuance of American cheese as garniture, Ice is to be used sparingly. Elimination of fourth meal. Elimination of meats at suppers and use of substitutes. Simple fare for luncheons and ban- quets. Reduction in service plate and ware and use of one plate instead of side dishes. Standard menu cards in plain Eng- lish, actually describing food. Cafeteria system recommended as money, time, and labor saver. Use of local and seasonable sup- plies. All waste food saved for animal feed or for fats. Burn nothing. Two ounces of Victory Bread at each meal. Butter and American cheese, one- half ounce each at a meal. No bread served with the course. _ Prices to be adjusted to meet reduc- tion in quantity of food served. ——_>-+ > Keeping It In Mind. The Joseph Horne Company, a Pittsburgh department store, cele- brated its sixty-eighth anniversary with a general sale. To impress up- on customers the long life of the company, all goods on sale were marked in terms 68. Dollar goods sold for 68 cents, $2 for $1.68, $3 for $2.68, and so on. The plan got the sale talked about and remembered. —_+-+-.—___ The Cost Is Small. At the county fairs in one com- munity a lumber dealer gives: away attractive little souvenir badges of wood, turned out by his mill. The badge measures 3% inches square, and has a neat, silk red, white, and blue ribbon running through it. As each badge bears the name of the dealer, stamped in black ink, it is an excellent advertisement. —_>-~>_____ Cheese—Most of the demand here is for cut rate held cheese. Buyers as a rule, are not taking hold of the high cost fresh receipts, some of which are held even above our top figures, Fresh goods accumulating slightly here. Stocks in four large cities—New York, Chicago, Philadel- phia and Boston—are not reducing as rapidly as heretofore. ——_>-~ Lye—The Pennsylvania Salt Co. has given notice that only a set amount of American and Lewis lye will be allotted per month. The proportion is said to be about one-fourth normal use heretofore. Orders will be filled until wholesaler’s quota is used up each month. ——_+>+—____ 3riars—Briar pipes have advanced 25 per cent. Manufacturers say they can not get the wood and additional cost of labor, etc., figures in the deal. The present price will make 2 50 cent seller as the jobbing figure is $4 per dozen, first _——o-2~F ‘ Irving F. Hopkins (Hazeltine & Perkins Drug Co.) is in Harper hos- pital, Detroit, where he is undergoing a course of X-ray treatment for his ailment, MICHIGAN TRADESMAN October 23, 1918 Michigan Board of Pharmacy. President—Leonard A. Seltzer, Detroit. Secretary—Edwin T. Boden, Bay City. Treasurer—George F. Snyder, Detroit. Other Members—Herbert H. Hoffman, Sandusky; Charles S. Koon, Muskegon. Examination Sessions—Grand Rapids Nov. 19, 20 and 21; Detroit, Jan. 21, 22 and 23, 1919. Michigan State Pharmaceutical Associa- on. President—J. H. Webster, Detroit. Secretary—F. J. Wheaton, Jackson. Treasurer—F. B. Drolet, Kalamazoo. Michigan Pharmaceutical Travelers’ As- sociation. President—W. E. Colins, Detroit. Secretary and ‘Treasurer—Walter S. Lawton, Grand Rapids. Malted Milk Led to Safety Razor. Picture an elaborate drug store, most carefully appointed, cooled by electric fans, spacious and utterly de- lightful. At one end an expensive fountain with every modern equip- ment installed; at the other end, nearest the entrance doors, a large and well stocked cigar counter; and somewhere near the middle of the store one of the store’s interior lighted show cases with a tempting stock of confectionery—all this on a May afternoon with six or seven clerks scattered on the floor, but none stationed at the cigar counter, nor any at the confectionery counter. After you imagine all this, listen to some facts—not fiction—plain facts which happened in this store, an act- ual store, owned and operated in a booming city somewhere in the United States. An unknown wanderer, fairly well dressed, and bearing some of the earmarks of being busy, entered this store, his immediate purpose being to consume a malted milk. Maybe a card in the window awakened the de- sire for a malted milk within him. Maybe it just awakened automatical- ly. Be that as it may, there was an- other desire lying asleep in the dusty corners of this wanderer’s brain, the desire to possess a safety razor. The money for same was forthcoming from his pocket. As he passed to the soda fountain, he noticed an array of safety razors. He got his malted milk. Its quality was entirely in keeping with the ap- pearance of the store. It was a rich and smooth concoction. After consuming the milk, he paused at the counter where the con- fectionery was displayed. It was so particularly tempting that it caused an unselfish thought to enter his mind. He would send one of those boxes to a friend. He stood at the counter perhaps two minutes—two minutes is an awful long time. No clerk came, and by the end of two minutes that little infant unselfish notion had died of neglect. He had passed on to the cigar counter, took out a shining quarter, and waited. He waited one minute, in that minute noted that three clerks were wholly unemployed, said something under his breath which would have done the proprietor dollars’ worth of good to hear; although the hearing of it would undoubtedly have caused him some irritability on this lovely May afternoon. The wanderer went out on the hot sidewalk. Before the day was over he purchased a five dollar razor in an unostentatious little drug stroe, It goes without saying that the wanted cigar was purchased. But the idea of the candy was lost forever. ——_——_2.--->____ : The Chewing Gum Conquest. It is reported that more than one million dollars’ worth of chewing gum will be exported from the United States this year. This is by far the greatest amount ever exported by the chewing gum manufacturers. Of the $925,000 worth of chewing gum exported last year, Europe has taken over $600,000 worth. This new demand has been created through many causes. It is quite difficult to ascertain which cause was the first and most important, but it is a fact that the Canadian troops going to Europe brought their taste for chew- ign gum with them and there was a constant demand in the trenches for chewing gum for these troops. They naturally passed this good thing on to their fellow-soldiers and the re- sult was that soon the English sol- diers were chewing gum with much appreciation. We also hear of French children near the firing line quickly catching on to the chewing gum habit and chewing it with as much relish as any American boy or girl. . We hear of British soldiers and French soldiers at first carefully putting their piece of chewing gum, when not in-use, in their handker- chief for safe keeping and very quickly learning that this is not the way to keep a piece of chewed gum for further use. We then hear of them sticking it on their bayonets when not in use (we mean the chewing gum) and no doubt this is a very favorite place for giving the gum a rest. On another occasion we read of a certain American-Canadian passing over the field in the rear of the ad- vancing army and noticing the many wrappers from chewing gum lying around. In England and France we hear that owing to the nervous strain on the munition makers they immedi- ately found a certain amount of relief in having a piece of chewing gum in their mouths. It relieved thirst and overcame the great desire to smoke, which of course was forbidden in all of these factories. It would seem as if chewing gum was beginning to come into its own and it not only has invaded England and France but is really conquering these countries. ———_~~- Harmony in the Show Window. In response to an enquiry from a subscriber, we reprint the following color combinations which harmonize. There have been many lists pub- lished showing the colors that har- monize and those that clash in a win- dow display. In the following list are named the colors most frequent- ly used and those that go well with them: Blue with green, orange or yellow. Brown with lavender and purple. Cream with blue, red, purple. Gray with blue, green, red. Heliotrope, cream. Lavender with brown, tan. Maroon with yellow, gray. Navy with orange, salmon, yellow. Orange with blue, navy, purple. Purple with brown, green, orange. Red with green, yellow, blue. Tan with navy, purple, red. Yellow with blue, navy, purple, red, —_-_2---.—___ Specifications That Do Not Specify. It now appears that the various patents granted by this country to German firms on synthetic chemicals with brown, yellow, are not to be depended upon in act- ual manufacture. Since the United States government has abrogated a number of these patents, our own chemists have had the experience of trying to carry out the specifications. Frequently it is insufficient directions which are causing the trouble. In some cases where attempts to com- bine the ingredients were made ex- plosions resulted. Some of the formulas for dyes worked ‘out all right in a test tube but fell complete- ly when attempted on a commercial scale. —_——_>>-2 Cannot Be Overlooked. All parcels coming from one drug store are wrapped with the name of the druggist on the inside of the wrapper instead of the outside, as is usually done. When the customer arrives home and unties the package, the druggist’s name stares her in the face. —_—-—.-2.-.——__ Pedigrees and epitaphs are intend- ed to perpetuate ready made reputa- tions. To Help Out the m, Sugar Shortage Just thin corn syrup with hot water, add a little Mapleine and the finest ‘‘mapley”’ syrup imaginable is ready to serve. Order of your jobber or Louis Hilfer Co., 1205 Peoples Life Bidg., Chicago, Ill. Crescent Mfg. Co. (M-278) Seattle, Wash. supplies very promptly. 1918 Holiday Goods Druggists’ Sundries, Books, Stationery, Etc. UR entire line of samples covering holiday goods, staple sundries, books, stationery, etc., has now been on display in our show room since about September 5th. The sales in this class of merchandise up to the present time have been greater than ever before and very much to our satisfaction manufacturers are shipping our Our stock is complete and we are sending out personal letters to our customers to give us the earliest possible date at which they can come to Grand Rapids and make selections from these lines. Covering holiday trade the Government is putting out a propaganda of early buying and early selling. Therefore, in the spirit of this, we ask you to in- spect this line at the earliest possible moment. We believe that we are better prepared than ever _be- fore to serve you well and very promptly. Hazeltine & Perkins Drug Co. Grand Rapids, Michigan October 23, 1918 MICHIGAN TRADESMAN Vanilla Extract for Flavoring. Probably there is no flavoring ex- tract in use to-day which has gained such a strong hold upon the drinking and eating public as vanilla extract. It has been estimated that three times as much vanilla flavor is consumed in the United States as all other flavors put together. To a great ex- tent the exquisite flavor of the vanilla bean depends upon the care and method with which it is cured. When “picked from the vine it has neither flavor nor odor, but these two qual- ities, which make the bean so desir- able, are secured by curing. The beans are picked from the vine be- fore they have dried, and put through a sun-drying process. Were they al- lowed to dry on the vine the flavor and odor would be impaired. The sun-drying process has been super- seded, in many places, by artificial drying, which produces a more uni- form result. After the beans have been cured they are stored away for a time, at the expiration of which they become covered with a white, needle-like cov- ering of vanillin crystals, This sub- stance is the chief element of the vanilla flavor and comprises from 1.69 to 2.75 per cent. of the vanilla bean, depending upon the country from which it comes. —_——+-> —____ You cannot get the best possible return from your advertising space unless you know.enough about the way the ads ought to look so that you can get them properly set up and displayed. WE ARE ACCEPTING CONTRACTS NOW FOR 1919 DELIVERIES OF J. Hungerford Smith Co.’s Soda Fountain Fruits and Syrups If you have not signed up, drop us a card. Protect yourself for next season’s business before it is too late. Prices guaranteed against advance or decline. We also carry a full line of Soda Fountain Accessories. Putnam Factory Grand Rapids, Michigan Manufacturers of Putnam’s ‘‘Double A’’ Chocolates Will stimulate your trade DUTCH MASTERS SECONDS G. J. JOHNSON CIGAR CO., Makers GRAND RAPIDS Handled by all jobbers 27 WHOLESALE DRUG PRICE CURRENT cane Prices quoted are nominal, based on market the day o1 issue. Acids CUbEDS cece oe = Capsicum © ....2.. = - SUMOPON oc Water Boker & Co. No. 3, per doz. ......-3 60 Te eee 335 erman’s Sweet ...... Picnic Flat ...... 20. 8 96 ria steer ceceeeeee = BATH BRICK 5 Mackerel Walter M. Lowney Co. English ..... Losaeesee Mustard, 1 lb. ....... — = cae oo okie a. - Mustard, 2 lb. .... emium, BR ies se-ee re te Soused, 1% lb. ... ennings CIGARS Condensed Pearl Bluing Small, 3 doz. box .... 2 55 Large, 2 doz. box .... 2 90 BREAKFAST FOODS Cracked Wheat, 24-2 Cream of Wheat .... Quaker Puited Kice .. @uaker Puited Wheat Quaker Brkfst Biscuit Quaker Corn Flakes .. Saxon Wheat Food .. Shred Wheat Biscuit Triscuit, 18 .... Pillsbury’s Best *Cer’l Kellogg’s Brands woh Pe eh « < Toasted Corn Fiakes 4 20 Toasted Corn Flakes 4 20 Toasted Corn Flakes Individual .......- 00 Krumbles ...--++esees 4 20 Krumbles, Indv. .... 2 00 Biscuit .......cceeccee 2 00 Drinket .....-.-cseees 2 60 Peanut Butter ..... . 440 BSPRR ooo oc on cence es 3 60 BROOMS Fancy Parlor, 25 lb. 10 00 Parlor, 5 String, 25 lb. 9 15 Standara Parior, 23 lb. 9 00 Common, 23 lb. ...... 8 50 Special, 23 Ib. ....... 8 25 Warehouse, 23 lb. .. 11 00 BRUSHES Scrub Solid Back, 8 in. .... 1 00 Solid Back, 11 in. .... 1 25 Pointed Ends ........ 1 00 : Stove a oe ING. B .-cnecccconee-s> 1 0D SS ee ee Shoe i. —. ae ee Bin, bc. cccesscstcssenc 1 90 BUTTER COLOR Dandelion, 25c size .. 2 00 CANDLES “CANNED GOODS Appies @1 60 8 Ib. Standards .. No. 10 ....-cceeee @4 75 Biackberries nee e eee eeccessee Standard No. 10 .. @10 50 1 25@2 25 wee. 1 25@1 35 1 75@2 25 ease ccbabe es 75@2 20 Blueberries Sitandara ....<.+.0<0 No. 10 @11 50 Clams Little Neck, 1 Ib. .... 1 60 Clam Boulilon Burnham’s ¥% pt. .... := Burnham’s pts. ...... Burnham’s qts. ...... Soused, 2 lb. .. Tomato, 1 lb. .. Tomato, 2 Ib. Mushrooms Buttons, %S Buttons, is .. Hotels, is oe ecu Oysters Cove, 1 ib. ......-., @i 40 Cove, 2 ib. ......-..-. @2 00 Piums Plums ......... 1 50@2 00 Pears In Syrup No. 3 can per dz. 2 50@3 00 Marrowfat ..... 1 75@1 85 Early June .... 1 90@2 10 Early June siftd 2 15@2 30 Peaches RIG gis esc ccecesee = No. 10 size can pie @6 00 Pineappie Grateg ....6.5-50- BUCO . « cos chee ase sc 18 MARCY: Go5 56%: eee. 19 Java Private Growth ..... 34 Mondiing .,..:.:.<:.. 34 AMOR 26 csp cess: 34 GOO" 525 6 es Mocha Package Coffee New York Basis APDUCKIO: ic osse cass oe 21 50 McLaughlin’s XXXX McLaughlin’s XXXX package coftee is sold to retailers only. Mail all or- ders direct to W. F. Me- Laughlin & Co., Chicago. Extracts Holland, % gross bxs. 1 - Felix, % BOOKS ....+.. 12 Hummel’s foil, 4% gro. a8 Hummel’s tin, % gro. 1 43 CONDENSED MILK Carnation, Tall ..... . & 60 Carnation, Baby .... 5 00 Hebe, -Tall ...c..ce0s 00 Hebe, Baby ......... 4 90 Pet PR oon sees es 6 60 Pet, Gapy 6.265. ss 4 50 Van Camp, Tall ; Van Camp, Baby .... 3 60 CONFECTIONERY Stick Candy Pails Horehound ........... 25 ptandara .........<2- 25 Cases SUDO. 6... ie scece es 26 Bie Stick .......>.0: 26 Mixed Candy ails TNO ooo tens os 5 Cut Zioat . 6... 3.5 ess 26 French Cream GTOCETS. 25... .- Kindergarten aa DGB? oes sce ss sae DOVE. ~ o doz. Good hativze TABLE SAUCES Halford, large ........ 3 75 Halford, small TEA Uncolored Japan Medium 3 Choice WOAROU ici veces dns Basket-Fired Med’m Basket-Fired Choice Basket-Fired Fancy No. 1 Nibbs ......... Siftings, bulk ....... Siftings, 1 lb. pkgs. Gunpowder Moyune, Medium Moyune, Choice .... Young Hyson eoseee 35@40 40@45 Choice Fancy wee wee meee nee Oolong Formosa, Medium .. Formosa, Choice Formosa, Fancy 40@ 45 45@50 55@75 English Breakfast Congou, Medium 40@45 Congou, Choice 45@50 Congou, Fancy 50@60 Congou, Ex. Fancy 60@80 Ceylon Pekoe, Medium ,. 40@45 Dr. Pekoe, Choice .. 45@48 Flowery O. P. Fancy 55@60 TWINE Cotton, SDIY ooo 5. ee< - 67 Clotron, 4 cece cess fe Hlemp, G OY ce esis UW. «t, 100 Ib. bales .... 20 VINEGAR White Wine, 40 grain 20 White Wine, 80 grain 25% White Wine 100 grain 28 SPECIAL Price Current Oakland Vinegar & Pickle Co.’s Brands Oakland apple cider .. 35 Blue Ribbon Corn .... 25 Oakland white picklg 20 Packages no charge. SALT Diamond Crystal WICKING No. 0, per Toss ...... 70 No. 1, per grose ...... 80 No. 2, per gross ...... 1 20 No. 3, per gross ...... 1 80 WOODENWARE Baskets 24 2 Ibs. shaker ..... 1 70 TIGRROUS ae cs 2 00 36 2 Ibs. table ....... 1 30 Bushels, wide band .. 2 25 150 2 Ibs. table ...... 5 75 Market, drop handle .. 70 86 8% os ue i 5 60 Market, single handle 75 28 10 Ib. flake ...... 80 Splint, large ......... 5 78 280 i» Dalle ‘us nes O 8 Splint, medium ...... 5 25 280 Ib. bulk cheese ... 3 38 Splint, small ........ 475 280 Ib. bulk shaker .. 3 88 Butter Plates 28 Ib. cotton sk, butter 40 Ovals 56 lb. cotton sk butter 85 % lb., 250 in crate .... 50 35 Ib. D. C. coarse .. 48 Th, $50 iy ceate .... 0 to pt 2S Coaeee ... % rm D. C. stock briquettes 1 30 2 Ib. 250 in crate 1.1), 18 D- ©. block stock, 60 Ibs. 40 3 Ib., 250 in crate ..... 90 5 lb., 250 in crate .... 1 10 Morton's Salt Wire nnd 1 Ib., 250 in crate ..... 50 2 1b., 250 in crate ..... 55 3 lb., 250 in crate ..... 65 a 5 lb., 20 in crate ...... 75 M S$ Churns ORTON Barrel, 5 gal., each .. 2 40 A Barrel, 10 gal. each .. 2 55 eae Clothes Pins NN af Round Head ye 4% inch, 5 gross .... 1 35 Cartons, No. 24 248 bx 1 50 TNs Egg Crates and Fillers —_ Humpty Dumpty, 12 dz. 24 <4 No. 1 complete ........ 50 No. 2 complete ........ 40 Case, medium, 12 sets 1 80 Waucete Per case, 24 2 Ibs. .... ; 7 Cork lined, 3 in. ....... Ee Cork lined, 9 in. ...... 80 ARCTIC Cork lined, 10 in. ...... 90 EVAPORATED MILK Sek 1 gq TAU cess eeeeeeeeeeeens 6 00 rolan springs ....... Eclipse patent spring 1 60 Baby. 2. .6 avesewene 4 25 No. 1 common ...... 1 60 Manufactured by Grand Ledge Milk Co. Sold by all jobbers and National Grocer Co., Grand No. 2, pat. brush hold 1 60 Rogen) NO? <..5.5.. 55 1 60 120z. cotton mop heads 3 10 Patis Rapids. 10 qt. Galvanized b 25 BAKING POWDER 12 qt. Galvanized .... 6 00 14 qt. Galvanized .... 6 50 CALUMET PEO os oe lc ak 9 75 Toothpicks NOGR oes ccc e ences ss 85 Traps Mouse, wood, 4 holes .. 60 Mouse, wood, 6 hules .. 70 Mouse, tin, 5 holes .... 65 Hat, wood .....-..++.56- 80 10c size, 4 OZ. .......-- 95 eh AOE «<2 <-s- oo % 206 size, § OF. cscicus 1 90 Tubs $0e sine, 1 ID. ...6.50s 2 90 Mo, 1 Bibre ...-.-++; 42 00 75e size, 2% Ib. ...... 6 25 ee oe Hae aie, © i... 18 00 No. 8 Fibre ........ 33 00 . ’ Large Galvanized ... 18 00 Medium Galvanized 15 50 ~ Small Galvanized .. 13 50 K I’ | ‘CHEN Washboards Banner Globe ....... 00 K | EN Z ER Brass, Single ........ 8 00 Glass. Single ........ 6 Double Peerless .... 8 Single Peerless ...... 6 Northern Queen ..... 6 Good Enough ........ 6 EIVIEVORSAL <6 oes is oc vas 6 Window Cleaners Ee ee Soy nics ctespas 1 WAT i cave neuen eee BO Se bis vecawen ce 2 Wood Bowls 13 in. Butter ........ § stan. scouts 16 in. Buster ....cccs 7 iizparaicn BRS 17 in. Butter ..... 8 19 in. Butter ........ 11 00 WRAPPING PAPER Fibre, Manila, white .. 6% Fibre, Manila, colored 80 can cases, $4 per case INO: E IDS eee chee 8% Butchers’ Manila 7 AXLE GREASE TOWetU oi. eee eax 12% =, Wax Butter, short c’nt 20 Parchm’t Butter, rolls 22 YEAST CAKE Magic, 3 doz. Sunlight, 3 doz. Sunlight, 1% doz. .... 50 Yeast Foam, 3 doz. .. Yeast Foam, 1% dos. 85 1 lb. boxes, per gross 11 40 3 Ib. boxes, per gross 29 10 YEAST—COMPRESSED Fleischman, per doz. ..24 ri RE agin can Rigid ih Migs iB Bese ibaa Aaa Ate an, mba, E § F | é l 30 MICHIGAN TRADESMAN October 23, 1918 THE COMING READJUSTMENT. Hiowever well or ill founded the rumors of a speedy peace prevalent during the past few days might be, they had the effect of renewing dis- cussion on the probable effects, imme- diate and otherwise, which peace will bring. More interest, too, was shown in the subject of what official action was likely to be taken by this and other Governments to prevent too violent a readjustment to normal con- ditions. The wholly erroneous im. pression seems to prevail among per- sons who ought to know better that problems apt to arise have been pro- vided for by European Governments in advance. A _ good corrective to such an impression was afforded by the exhaustive report on the subject made public the other day by the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce, which had collated the various reports of agencies of foreign countries. Great Britain has prob- ably made the most thorough re- search into the different questions connected with after-the-war trade, both domestic and foreign. Yet the sum total of it all is that “any present attempt to lay down complete and binding policies regarding the future is now being recognized as a waste of effort.” In this country many Gov- ernment agencies have been at work gathering data and improving re- search, educational, and promotive organizations with a view to having a proper equipment for whatever may come. While it is recognized both here and in Great Britain that success in trade in the future must depend, as it has in the past, on private initiative, it is none the less perceived that for a period at least a certain amount of official control can not be avoided. Take the matter of prices as an ex- ample. In this the Government has acted and will continue to act because it can not do otherwise. Wheat prices are fixed until the next harvest and with them go the prices of the foods into which that grain enters, and these in turn are reflected in the prices of the other cereals, to say nothing of those of the food animals which live on those articles. Prices of iron and steel and other metals are set with a view to securing a large production and to safeguard the wages of the workers in them. Other commodities and finished products which have to be provided in advance of needs are also on bases which take into account the inflation apparently inseparable from a state of war. There can be no sudden unsettlement in all these values without producing a great deal of financial ruin, no matter how cautiously traders may go in trying to avert this condition. The matter of readjusting wages alone is one which will call for the greatest patience and consideration, coming as it will with a shifting of production from war needs to peace time re- quirements. It appears to be conceded every- where that, during what is called the reconstruction period, it will be neces- sary for the different Governments to continue to exercise many of the powers which they have assumed. in order to meet war requirements. They will have to help stabilize values and provide for a gradual change to price bases controlled by the law of supply and demand. Nor will it be possible to permit immediately the resumption by private agencies of the transportation facilities now in Government hands. And it may safely be assumed that certain changes in form and method of operation of such facilities will become permanently at- tached to them. Defects which have become apparent will have to be cor- rected, but economies and other fac- tors tending to greater efficiency will be retained. In connection with this matter of transportation will also come up the disposition of the mer- chant fleet which the shipyards of the country are turning out at such a rapid pace. Much of it will doubtless be needed for military after-war needs, as in bringing back troops from Europe, forwarding supplies for those But some of the vessels will doubtless be put in serv- ice for the needs of foreign trade. While ultimately the merchant ships built by the Government will go into private operation, there will be quite a period during which they will have to be run by and under official author- ity. What methods will be adopted will depend on Congressional action. It may not be amiss, in connection with the matter of foreign trade, to call attention to efforts to excite dis- trust which pop up every once in a while. Some of these are quite likely due to an obsession coupled with ig- norance. In this category come the labored and rather tricky statements issued by the high tariff advocates at periodic intervals trying to show that Japan is taking advantage of the war to cut into American trade abroad or to swamp the domestic field with its products. The only basis for this claim seems to be that Japanese ex- ports have expanded, as was bound to happen, and that more raw silk, tea and hat making materials have been coming from Japan hither. It is only necessary, as against this, to call attention to the fact that the great bulk of what Japan sends here is either raw material or other products not otherwise obtainable. Besides this, the exports from this country to Japan now far exceed the imports from that country. In the seven months ended with July those exports were $173,242,225, while the imports were only $161,286,455 in value. ——* +. ___ CANNED GOODS SITUATION. The canned goods situation is one of undisputed strength at the present who remain, etc. time in that the tendency toward higher prices is pronounced. It has all the elements of an old-fashioned market based upon the law of supply and demand, for supplies are un- deniably scarce and the demand ur- gent. Had there not been the re- straining influence of the Food Ad- ministration’s regulations there would be what is commonly called a run- away market. And yet it is because there are the earmarks of the working of the law of supply and demand that the jobbers are puzzled, for it was - supposed to have been superseded for the time being by act of Congress, Under this act Mr. Hoover has said to the canners of the country that they may charge a reasonable profit over and above their actual costs without reference to supply and de- mand. Yet when the demand _in- creases prices go up and when it de- creases prices go down. Manifestly costs can not fluctuate in that manner although profits can. There is noth- ing in the law that prevents canners selling at a minimum profit or at no profit at all, or at a loss if they choose to or circumstances compel them to, but there is a distinct pro- hibition against their selling at an excess profit. The assumption is that when canners name prices they figure their costs liberally and their profits also, so that when the price goes up as the demand increases the further assumption is that profits have been further increased. A few conscien- tious canners have been known to bill their goods below the contract price as the law requires, if they find their cost estimates were excessive, but the fact is that most of them do not seem. to be confronted by any such proposi- tion for rebates are few and far be- tween. —_-s-o____ PRICES ON COTTON FABRICS. A few outstanding facts were used to influence cotton quotations during the past week. These included weath- er reports showing some unnecessary rainfall and a report from the Census Bureau giving the figures of con- sumption at the mills during Septem- ber. In that month only 490,779 bales, outside of linters, were consumed. This is 31,600 bales less than in the corresponding month last year, al- though the number of active spindles was about the same. Exports for the month were 336,375 bales, including linters, an increase of over 82,000 bales over September, 1917. The rapidity with which the crop has been ginned is shown by the large increase of cot- ton in sight. The goods market evi- denced a little more activity by first hands during part of the week, the commitments going through the first quarter of 1919. The mill people seem ‘to have abandoned the notion that fabric prices would be raised by the Price Fixing Committee of the War Industries Board. Some reasons ad- verse to such a proposition were put forward in strong language by Clar- ence Ousley, Assistant Secretary of Agriculture, who showed how much more cotton fabrics had advanced in price than had the raw material. He also said there was no purpose to fix the price of cotton or any reason for doing so. Buyers have been a little slow in taking advantage of the mills’ offers to sell goods. Feeling rather confident that prices will not be advanced, they see no reason for being in a hurry to stock up too much ahead. —_——~8 2 An old bachelor says the worship of the fair sex requires a good many human sacrifices. —_+-.—___ Between two evils some folks have no choice, so they embrace them both. A Safe That’s the kind to buy. century. baking. we make it. Buying Guide Merchandise that has given universal satisfaction fcr a quarter of century is good merchandise. We have been making and selling e 6 Lily White “The Flour the Best Cooks Use”’ for more than thirty-five years—more than a third of a During all that time LILY WHITE FLOUR has given splendid satisfaction for every requirement of home LILY WHITE FLOUR will continue to do so as long as Our Domestic Science Department furnishes recipes and canning charts upon request and will aid you to solve any other kitchen problems you may have from time to time. Public demonstrations also arranged. Address your letters to our Domestic Science Department. VALLEY CITY MILLING CO. Grand Rapids, Mich. The above is a sample of ads. we are running in the newspapers. Your customers are reading them—keep a good stock on hand to supply the demand. October 23, 1918 © BANKRUPTCY MATTERS. Proceedings In the Western District of Michigan. Grand Rapids, Oct. 21—Joseph Farber, of Muskegon, has filed-a voluntary peti- tion for adjudication in bankruptcy. The adjudication has been entered and the matter referred to Mr. Corwin. A first meeting of creditors has been called for Nov. 1, at which time creditors should appear to prove their claims and elect a trustee, if deemed necessary. The schedules of the bankrupt show the fol- lowing: Frank Tremel, Shelby ............ $ 26.00 Coiby A. Spitier, Hart... 2.6... 16.00 Ty BS. TAVGe, FAL soos cece cc ase s 9.00 Henry Bechtel, Shelby ............ 3.75 George Bates, Hart .............0. 3.60 John Shepherd, Route 6, Shelby 56.00 A. J. Rankin, Shelby ....... cehees BELO Dr. Buskirk, Shelby ............... 10.00 Farmers Mutual Telephone Co., COT a a ve een eo nee eeeee 5.00 Talant & Conger, Shelby .......... 10.00 Reed Brothers, Montague ......... 30.00 Gus Kroll, Montague .............. 6.00 Peter Jenson, Whitehall ......... 7.00 Julius Jenson, Whitehall ........ 5.00 Gee & Car, Whitehall ............ 45.00 Earny. Brown, Whitehall .. ceca ae A. M. Layton, Whitehall . 1.75 Dr. Smith, Whitehall ... 19.00 Dr. Keyse, Whitehall ......... -. 12.00 Dr. Hersick, Whitehall ............ 37.00 Dr. F. B. Marshall, Muskegon .... 38.00 George H. Nelson, Whitehall -. 62.00 George Haverkate, Whitehall ..... 7.00 Pieraid: SHG 65 ccc ce ese wk oe ss 5.60 Robert Menley, Whitehall ........ 6.00 Captain Peterson, Whitehall ...... 26.00 F. Watkins, Whitehall ............ 10.00 J. Watkins, Whitehall ............ 4.00 Whitehall Farm, Whitehall ........ 4.00 William Coats, Whitehall ......... 35.00 Mutual Home Telephone Co., PWHICONEE ec s cae ks ves 10.00 Whitehall Bakery, Whitehall ...... 7.00 Frank Glasier, Whitehall ........ 10.00 Mrs. Frank Sanders, Muskegon ... 24.00 Mattie Hinman, Whitehall ........ 8.00 Eliott Slocum Estate, Whitehall .. 37.00 $753.00 Tre schedules of the bankrupt show as- sets consisting of household goods, $125, and personal property $75, all of which is claimed as exempt, and also interest in telephone, $28. In the maiter of Walter Hotham, bank- rupt, Muskegon, the first meeting of creditors has been held. It appearing from the schedules of the bankrupt and from an examination of the bankrupt that there are practically no assets not claimed as exempt ‘to the bankrupt, an order was made that no trustee be ap- pointed. The estate will be closed out in the near future. In the matter of Charlies Kahler, bank- rupt, Grand Rapids, the first meeting of crelitors has been held. Certain claims were proved and allowed. Walter H. Brooks was elected trustee and his bond fixed at $1,000. Appraisers were appoint- ed to appraise the assets of the bank- rupt estate. The meeting was then ad- journed until Nov. 4 for further exam- ination of the bankrupt and hearing on contested claims. In the matter of Schaffer Brothers, bankrupt, Ionia, the final meeting of creditors has been held. The final report of the trustee, showing balance on hand of $1,030.51, disbursements of $480.66 for administration expenses and first dividend of 5 per cent., leaving balance on hand of $552.85, together with interest item of $6.77, making total on hand to be dis- bursed at this time of $559.62, was ap- proved and allowed. Order for distribu- tion was entered, for the payment of certain administration expenses and a small final dividend, the exact amount of which has not as yet been determined. —_~+--—___ Appeal to the Sense of Touch? A city clothier noticed that a com- paratively new girl at the haber- dashery counter was selling more than two girls who were more at- tractive in appearance and who had been with the store longer. She was especially successful in the sale of the better grade of neckties. He wondered why, and this is what he learned through observation: She used every effort to get the tie she was showing into the hands of the customer—to get him to handle it, to feel it, to examine it closely. After showing two or three ties of the kind she believed the customer might like, and after casually offer- ing them to him to examine if. he did not: ‘reach for them, she would “smile, and, as she reached for an- MICHIGAN TRADESMAN other bunch of ties, she would ask, politely, “Please hold this for a moment.” Not a man in a thousand would decline to hold a tie for a smiling girl who politely asked him to do so. And once he had his hands above the show case, she laid the next tie into his hands, taking away the one he was examining if it seemed not to satisfy him. Thenceforth she had no difficulty in getting him to take and handle the goods she was sell- ing. By good salesmanship, she ap- pealed to the customer through one more sense—the sense of touch. Once the customer began to handle and examine ties, she did lit- tle talking. Talk was neither neces- sary nor desirable, for the customer, as he handled the goods_ was prompted to talk, and he soon di- vulged just what he wanted. The application of the idea to goods of a character to be handled in all departments of the store made selling surer and easier. —_———_2.-2. To Get New Customers. George J. Marott, a shoe merchant in Indianapolis, has a small scale in his store; and he invites every one to step in and use it. This gets peo- ple into his store. As a general rule almost everyone who comes into weigh himself sooner or later buys his shoes there; but to make sure of the customer’s return, Marott placed a pack of weight cards in a pocket on the scale. Each card has space to record three weighings. For purposes of accurate comparison the customer must return to the store for his second and third weigh- ings; and thus he forms the habit of dropping in. Harold Cary. Between the “federalization” of Austria and the outcries for independ- ence in Hlungary the connection is obvious. National autonomy under the Hlapsburgs can be realized only at Hungary’s expense almost as heav- ily as at Austria’s. If the latter stands to lose Bohemia to the proposed autonomous Czecho-Slavia, the Hun- garians must contribute the Slovak provinces. If Austria must lose Dal- matia and Istria to the “Illyrian” king- dom, Hungary must contribute Croa- tia and Slavonia. Finally, the rights of the Ruthenians mean a Hungarian abdication in Transylvania. But Mag- yar Junkerism yields nothing to Prus- sian Junkerism in ruthless oppression of alien nationalities, and the riotous scenes in the Budapest Parliament are primarily a protest against Aus- trian “weakness” as expressed in the federal plan. What alternative the Magyars contemplate is hard to say. By a continuance of the war they are bound to lose utterly the territories to which Austria would concede autonomy. Either the hope at Buda- pest is that by a firm stand the mon- archy might exact tolerable terms from the Entente, or else the demand for Hungarian independence is simply the expression of a helpless rage. _——.-2—- 2 Lazy men evidently don’t believe in the theory that God helps those who help themselves. 2 31 BUSINESS WANTS DEPARTMENT Advertisements inserted under this head for three cents a word the first insertion and two cents a word for each subsequent continuous insertion. if set in capital letters, double price. must accompany all orders. No charge less than 25 cents. Cash BUSINESS CHANCES. For Sale—Merchandise stock, consisting of light hardware, dry goods and notions. Business established fifteen years. Live town. Store rent reasonable. Selling reason, illness. C. E. West & Co., Linden, Michigan. 957 FLOUR, feed, seed, ice and produce business at a bargain; doing $8,000 worth of business per month; must be sold by January 1; good town, good school and good country. Wildman & True, Car- negie, Oklahoma. 966 FOR SALE—200 ACRE GRAIN FARM, Southern Michigan; will take some prop- erty in part payment; easy terms on balance. WALLACE LAND CO., 1419 Forres avenue, St. Joseph, Mich. 968 FOR SALE—200 ACRES BLACK LOAM, ALL under cultivation. 100 acres rolling; spring water. 40 acres adjoining town. No trade; easy terms; all well improved. JAMES DORSEY, 34 Nolting Block, ELGIN ILLINOIS. 969 Wanted to buy stocks of merchandise; highest prices paid; no location consid- ered. H. Bloom, Hibbing, Minn. 955 For Sale—Complete battery shop equip- ment, office furniture and_ vulcanizing outfit, also a Singer Lockstitch tire sewing machine. Cuthbert Battery Shop, 215 North Rose St., Kalamazoo, — Confectionery, Ice Cream and Soda, Stationery, etc.—Live business; well es- tablished; next door to large motion pic- ture theater; good reason for selling. For particulars address D. G. McHenry, 6748 Sheridan-rd., Rogers Park, Chicago, Illinois. 958 Cash Registers—We buy, sell and ex- change all makes of cash registers. We change saloon machines into penny key registers. Ask for information. The J. C. Vogt Sales Co., Saginaw, Mich. 906 For Sale—160 acres good land, about half improved; good little house, fair out- buildings, good well and windmill fairly well fenced; in Osceola county, three miles from good market, 1% miles from crossing station for railroad motor cars, gravel road to market except % mile. $50.00 an acre is cash price. Will ex- change for merchandise. Reason for sell- ing, too much to look after. Address Geo. N. Lanphere, Ithaca, Mich. 910 Wanted Male and female help for Government contract work. Good wages. Steady work. Write for full particulars. Western Knitting Mills, Rochester, Michigan. Will pay cash for whole or part stocks of merchandise. Louis Levinsohn, Sagi- naw, Michigan. 757 Store For Sale—The Hub _ clothing, gents’ furnishing, — store. Up-to-date. One year old. Duwn-town location. Reasonable rent. Good reason for selling. The Hub, 119 Michigan Ave., Detroit, Michigan. 896 Gur duplicate deposit slips are the best obtainable. Order 1919 supply now. Save money. Send sample slip for quotation. The Ed. M. Smith Co., Winterset, _— Wanted—aA position as traffic manager. Have fourteen years railway experience. For full information, address No. 961, care Michigan Tradesman. 961 For Sale—Drug store in Battle Creek, Michigan, ‘‘The Military City.’’ Situated in fine location and doing good business. Must sell on account of poor health. Ad- dress No. 962, care Michigan Tradesman. Cash buyer of clothing, shoes, dry goods, furnishing goods, will pay highest price for good merchandise. Sam Marks, 24 W. Hancock, Detroit, Mich. 963 For Sale—Gas, oil and tire business, including old established custom harness shop. Doing $15,000 per year. Good busi- ness year round. Best town in Michigan. A money maker and will bear strict in- vestigation. Good reasons for selling. Ad- dress No. 942, care Michigan on For Sale—Store in a thriving little town in Western Massachusetts. Hardware, paint, oil, glass, sporting goods and auto supplies; between $4,000 and $5,000 stock. Til health, reason for selling. B. H. Rix, Chester, Massachusetts. 943 Accounts, notes, claims collected any- where in world. No charges unless we collect. May’s Collection Agency, Somer- set, Kentucky. 944 For Sale—Hickory turned TOOL HAN- DLES of all kinds in quantities to jobbers and manufacturers. V. P. Philippi & Co., 32 Southern Express Bldg., Memphis, Tennessee. 945 Store For Sale—At 119 Michigan St. Price $3,500. L. M. VanHeulen, 593 Jefferson Ave., Grand Rapids, Mich, 947 For Sale—Established drugj business. Cash trade. Located in splendid resi- dence district. Long lease. Address No. 952, care Michigan Tradesman. 952 Pay spot cash for clothing and furnish- ing goods stocks. L. Silberman, 106 E. Hancock, Detroit. 936 Exchange—Good 80-acre farm, _ price ng - $6,000, for stock merchandise. DéeCoudres, Bloomingdale, Michigan. 989 Extracted Honey—Michigan white ex- tracted honey in 5 pound pails and 60 pound cans. Also a limited amount of comb honey. Quotations furnished on application. ‘ . Hunt & Son, 510 North Cedar §st., Lansing, Mich. 933 HELP WANTED. Book-keeper Wanted For General Store —Good wages for good competent man. Andrew Westin & Co., Newberry, Mich. i 967 POSITION WANTED. WANTED—By a competent, experi- enced butcher and groceryman, position as traveling salesman or store manager. Best references. Address No. 964, care Michigan Tradesman. 964 COLLECTIONS. Collections—We collect anywhere. Send for our ‘‘No Collection, No Charge’’ offer. Arrow Mercantile Service. Murray Build- ing, Grand Rapids, Mich. 390 SEE NEXT PAGE. Advertisements received too late to run on this page appear on the following page. Chocolates Package Goods of Paramount Quality and Artistic Design i aie eck ise laa ib ieitaa Ty aids MICHIGAN TRADESMAN October 23, 1918 UP TO THE FARMER. Some of the Conditions He Must Comply With. A retail grocery house which asks to have its name withheld from pub- lication writes the Tradesman as fol- lows: We read with great interest the Michigan Tradesman. Every page of it contains something worth reading and we have learned a great deal by reading it. In the grocery business, particular- ly pertaining to flour, we can not un- derstand why some laws are made for one class of people and different laws for another class. 1. Since the 25 per cent. substi- tute law went into effect, there seems to be quite a bit of hard feeling and misunderstanding regarding this law. A farmer can take his wheat to the elevator or grist mill, sell it, and turn right around and buy flour without substitutes, by simply signing a paper that he raised the wheat. 2. Another class of farmers—gen- erally those who are not very patri- otic—will lie in order to get flour without the substitutes. They will buy wheat from their neighbor and sell the wheat, the same as the fellow did who raised it, in order to buy flour without substitutes. 3. In many towns the local food administrator is in the elevator or grist mill and very seldom questions are asked. Can you explain why the farmer should be entitled to white bread, while the man in the ammuni- tion factory can not buy a pound of flour without substitutes? We believe the man in an ammunition factory works just as hard to win the war and is just as patriotic as the fellow who raises crops. Farmers raise crops for the money there is in them, par- ticularly the German people, and many times they have to be forced to sell their grain. 4. This law may work all right in the cities, but it does not work in a farming community. The dealers might just as well quit handling flour altogether when the farmer can get flour without substitutes. 5. Another thing, we do not think it right for any dealer to put the price of flour outside on a black- board at a price far below that pre- scribed by the Government. He is using it as a leader and we believe he is breaking the law just as well as the fellow who advertises in the paper and cuts the price. 6. We recently received a car of flour, but after selling some of it and the substitutes, we run out of some of the substitutes. Do you believe we should send a farmer home with- out his flour and substitutes or should we give him what substitutes we have on hand and have him pay for all the flour and substitutes and give him a due bill for the substitutes he has coming? To the above enquiries the Trades man is pleased to reply as follows: 1. While the farmer can obtain flour in exchange for wheat, as stated, he must sign a pledge every time he does so reading as follows: Pledge to be Signed by Farmers Ex- changing Their Own Wheat to Ob- tain Flour Without Substitutes. I Hereby Certify that the wheat this day delivered by me to ............. : was grown on my own farm. I pledge myself to use such flour only in my own household or estab- lishment, and not to resell any of this without permission. I further pledge myself, in using such flour, to conform to the pro- gramme of the United States Food Administration with regard to substi- tutes and to use in the baking of all bread at least one pound of substi- tutes to every four pounds of wheat flour; or, if rye is used, two pounds of rye flour to every three pounds of wheat flour. (ame) .. .... 2... see. This pledge means that it is up to the farmer and his wife to live up to the solemn promise they have made the Government that they will not abuse the privilege accorded them by Uncle Sam. 2. Farmers who resort to this prac- tice are guilty of disloyalty and should be properly punished. There is ample machinery to do so if cases of violation are brought to the atten- tion of the Federal Food Adminis- trator at Lansing. 3. There is no controversy on this point. 4. Because an occasional farmer ignores his solemn promise and defies’ the Government is no reason why the patriotic dealer should not live up to the letter and spirit of the law. 5. You are emphatically right. The food rulings expressly prohibit this practice. Any dealer who violates the rule should be summarily dealt with. He will be if reported to Mr. Prescott. A leading grocer of Grand Rapids—a man of high character—is in hot water to-day because he permitted this vio- lation at his store. 6. While the Food Administration might overlook an occasional case of this kind, depending on the character and good faith of the dealer, the Tradesman would advise great caution handling such a situation and, as a rule, limit the purchaser to the amount of flour the dealer can furnish substitutes with at the time of sale. So far as the Tradesman can de- termine, no rule promulgated by the Food Control will work great hard- ship to any one, in comparison with the fearful privations our boys in khaki are confronting overseas, and under no circumstances should the retailer deviate one iota from _ the rigid enforcement of every ruling Mr. Hoover or his State lieutenants promulgate, with a view to ensuring a full supply of food for the men who are setting the world right for time and eternity. ———————- 2 THE SURRENDER OF TURKEY. That Turkey, like Bulgaria, will have to bow to the inevitable is daily becoming more nearly certain. The fact has a significance for Germany even more vital than it bears for Turkey herself. In the pre-war liter- ature of Germany there were two main trends of thought: One occu- pied with the subject of a Central European agglomerate _ stretching from the Baltic and the North Sea to Constantinople, and thence domi- nating Asia to the Suez Canal and the Persian Gulf; the second dwelling on the use of this combination as a wedge to split the British Empire. The commercial penetration of Tur- key by Germans was _ proceeding apace before the war. Between 1889 and 1912 German trade in Turkey in- creased tenfold and it was sedulously fostered, asa’ means -to the end of political ascendency. In fact, the road from Berlin to the Persian Gulf was regarded as the vital nerve in Ger- man economic life and German policy; the phrase ‘““Ostend-Baghdad” was held to imply the undermining of Bri- tain’s command of the seas by means of a land route by which a way was to be opened to Egypt and Persia, and through the Persian Gulf to the Indian’ Ocean and the lands around it. It is failrly obivbous now, if it was not before, that had the Prussian sys- tem been able to secure its hold upon the great land mass of the globe, from Denmark to Arabia, there would soon have been no vital issue, whether in Europe, Asia or Africa, that would not have been decided from Berlin. The fact that Turkey was to be the pivotal point of Prussian world-power and future dominion will make the surrender of Turkey a crushing defeat for the nation that dragged her into war; it will sound the death knell of the most daring and far-reaching of German ambitions. For the last twenty-five years, that is, during most of the reign of Wil- liam II, it has been a fixed principle of German policy to use Turkey as a weapon against the British Empire. But it is certain that Great Britain did not go to war, and never would have gone to war, to effect the down- fall of Turkey, or even to counteract the German advance in the Middle East. In fact, after the sword had been drawn for the support of France and the liberation of Belgium, the British Government did their best to restrict the area of hostilities. It was their purpose to deal with the enemy in Western Europe and in his own colonial possessions, without dragging Turkey and Egypt into the quarrel and without raising those larger problems which the extension of the conflict to the East would neces- sarily involve. In conjunction with her Allies, Great Britain invited Tur- key to remain neutral and offered on that condition to guarantee the in- tegrity of the Ottoman dominions. Sir Louis Malet, the British Ambas- sador at Constantinople, did his best to dissuade the Sultan and his Min- isters from taking the irretrievable step and launching their empire upon its doom. The seizure of two great Turkish battleships that were being built in a private English dockyard whose construction had been ordered under the inspiration of the passion- ate movement of nationalism and Moslem feeling which followed the Balkan wars naturally produced a feeling of exasperation among the Turkish people. It gave the Turks, on the admission of the British Ambas- sador, “a concrete and_ substantial grievance against Great Britain.” The arrival of the Goeben and the Breslau in Turkish waters on August 10, 1914, was a great reinforcement to the German party in the Turkish Minis- try, and a powerful reminder of the danger of hesitation in the presence of an armament that could lay the Yildiz Kiosk in ruins under the eyes of the Caliph. Albeit the Sultan, the Heit Apparent, the Grand Vizier, a majority. of the Ministry and a con- siderable section of the Committee of Union and Progress were opposed to going to war against the Allies, the fateful decision was taken on August 29 by the dispatch of armed Bedouins on a raid into the Sinai Peninsula with the Suez Canal as their objective and by’ an attack upon Odessa by Turkish ships of war. The prize dangled before the eyes of the Turks was a sufficiently invit- ing one. German success in the war was of course held to be assured, and by a timely alliance with a victorious Germany and Austria, the perpetual menace to Turkey from Russia might be effectively averted. Egypt. might be recovered from the Empire, and India and other Moslem countries, supposed to be groaning under Chris- tian rule, might have infinite possi- bilities for the Caliphate of Constan- tinople. Briefly, Turkey was to emerge from the. war the one great power of the East, even as Germany would be the one great power of the West.. Even after all danger to Egypt had been averted and the German ad- vance in-Asia Minor had been effect- ually blocked by the success of the British arms, the collapse of Russia offered the Teuto-Turkish combina- tion a choice of routes to the Far East. Before the surrender of Bul- garia had marked the end of Turkish power and of the Asiatic ambitions of Germany, ‘“Hamburg-Herat” had _ re- placed the familiar formula of “Ber- lin-Baghdad.” Along this line Ger- man movement in combination with Turkey, although not without a good deal of friction, was already well under way. The sphere of this ac- tivity lay hundreds of miles north of that commanded by the victorious British in Mesopotamia and controlled the whole railroad system of Central Asia. By the branch from Tiflis, on the Batum-Baku Railway, the enemy could descend to Julfa on the Russo- Persian border, proceed thence to Tabriz (which had recently been oc- cupied by a Turkish cavalry force) and then march on to Teheran, the British in Baghdad thus being far out- flanked and a considerable advance made on the way to India. Other equally unfortunate results were in the grasp of the enemy if, crossing from Baku, he could seize the Trans- caspian Railway, which would bring him to the northeastern frontier of Persia, within comparatively close distance of Meshed and of Herat it- self. All these were discussed as imminent military possibilities less than three months ago. The most convincing proof that they have ceased to figure among the operations of the war is afforded by the with- drawal of Turkish troops from the Caucasus and the rallying of all the military power that Turkey can com- mand for the defense of Constanti- nople. - : —— Trying to get to the top without getting any help ‘from the trade papers or from any outside source is just about like trying to lift yourself by your bootstraps. BUSINESS CHANCES. _. Wanted—Location for drug store. Ad- dress. No. 970, Michigan. ee. PARTICULAR PEOPLE Unequalled in quality and deliciousness. Always the same—always satisfactory. eo A t “NONE BETTER AT. ANY PRICE" | _ Distributed at Wholesale by ft * Wholesale - a »~ -* ‘Distabatore of LEE G&G CADY 5s: DWINELL-WRIGHT GO.’S PRODUCTS. —. Detroit—Kalamazoo—Saginaw—Bay City ‘A Double Saving in Sugar Every grocer can help, to make our sugar supply go as far as possible, by handling : Franklin Package Sugars and help save the thousands of pounds that are lost by spilling or breaking of paper bags. | You not only save this. loss but you save labor, paper bags ‘and twine. Oe _ The Franklin Sugar Refining Company PHILADELPHIA ‘‘A Franklin Cane Sugar for every ase”’ Granulated, Dainty Lumps,’ Powdered, Confectioners, Brown eg ee Ceresota lour Always Uniformly Good Made from Spring Wheat at Minneapolis, Minn. e@ Judsoi Grocer Company ; | The Pure Foods House _~ Distributors. 7 GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGA Gasoline for Power; ‘| : Chicago | > The modern motor and improved carburetors have demon- strated beyond question. that gaseline made especially — for motor fuel—as Red Crown is made—will give the most .- -power—the most speed and the most’ miles per gallon: Red Crown, like your automobile, is built to. specifiea. .. tions and Red Crown specifications have ‘been worked © out by the most eminent petroleum chemists and auto- mobile engineers available. . > _ Red Crown contains a continuous chain of boiling point - fractions, starting at about 95 degrees and continuing to above 400 degrees. It contains the correct proportion ‘of “low boiling point fractions to insure easy. starting in any temperature—the correct proportion of intermediate boil-_ , ing point fractions to insure smooth acceleration—and the éorrect. proportion of high boiling point fractions with their predominence of heat units to insure the maximum power, miles and speed. These are the things that make Red Crown the most ef- ficient gasoline possible to manufacture with present day 4 ~ knowledge. ; : ¢ For sale everywhere and by all agents and agencies of ‘STANDARD OIL COMPANY (NDIANA) See U. S. A, i A SERVICE they expect — Always Wilsnaps—Always advertised The December Advertisement . Appearing in Vogue and Harper’s Bazar ~ Wilsnaps give to your customers that depandetle snap fastener service they have a right to expect NEW YORK OFFICE: 1182 Broadway, between 28th and 29th Streets WILSNAPS an snap with a will! / LICK Wilsnaps together between ‘your-fingers and you. feel the firm action of the Wilsnap spring. Unsnap Wilsnaps, and the same elastic Wilsnap spring releases with- out coaxing. No matter what materials you sew them on-—sheer or heavy —Wilsnaps positively wll snap and stay snapped. All sizes for all needs on the unmis- takable Wilsnap orange colored card Wilsnaps — always Wilsnaps — wherever snap fasteners are used ener as “ ae - ne ee pe as f — vw ee Always wiil snap THE WILSON FASTENER COMPANY 117 East St. Clair Avenue: “ “Red.Cross prowides the-mother touch. which makes better fighting men. Foin!” Cleveland, Ohio *