core peypoemsesiamcenstaae ~ aise Volume XIil. 09000000000 008 > $ ptHE ; Sd ® 3 FIRE 3 $ , INS. 3 Ps 7? CO. ¢ ¢ o r Prompt, Conservative, Safe. Sd Siccoanuel Pres. W. FRED McBatn, Sec. @ 00090990 090000000000060 Clean Your Ledger Collect your accounts through us. Send list of accounts with postage for trial. MICHIGAN MERCANTILE CO., 3 Tower Block, Grand Rapids, Mich. COMMERCIAL REPORTS: AND COLLECTIONS Complete, Correct and Prompt Reports. All kinds of claims collected. COMMERCIAL CREDIT CO., Limited, Widdicomb Building, Grand Rapids, Mich. The Michigan Trust Co., Sanite. Acts as Executor, Administrator Guardian, Trustee. Send for copy of our pamphlet ‘‘Laws of the State of Michigan on Descent and Distribution of Property.” Columbian Transfer Company Garriages, Baggage and Freight Wagons.... 15 and 17.North Waterloo St., Telephone 381-1 Grand Rapids. Do You Use Get DUENGILD Wil: Will save you $$$ Detroit Rubber Stamp Co., 99 Griswold St., Grand mn Detroit. Country Merchants Can save exchange by keeping their Bank accounts inGrand Rapids, asGrand Rapids checks are par in all markets. The NIG Offers exceptional facilities to its custom- er-,and is prepared to extend any favors consistent with sound banking. DANIEL McCOY, President. CHAS. F. PIKE, Cashier. The...... - PREFERRED BANKERS LIFE ASSURANCE COMPANY : wees Of MICHIGAN Incorporated by 100 Michigan Bankers. Pays all death claims promptly and in full. This Company sold Two and One-half Millions of In- surance in Michigan in 1895, and is being ad- mitted into seven of the Northwestern States at this time. The most desirable plan before vhe people. Sound and Cheap. Home office, LANSING, Michigan. TRADESMAN COUPONS Save Trouble Save Losses Save Dollars GRAND TRADE CONDITIONS. The downward tendency in prices when they had already reached a_ point lower than had been known could not fail to increase the general dulness. A favorable indication is found in the fact that producers and dealers seem to have become reconciled to the waiting policy. The fact that the number of business failures has fallen off is an in- dication of more confidence. The un- favorable reports come from all the principal centers except those of the Southwest-—-St. Louis and Kansas City. While the railroads are now falling off in earnings on account of the sea- son, the showing for the quarter has been unexpectedly favorable, all lines except the coal roads having shown increased earnings over last year, some of them ranging from 15 to 25 per cent. The downward tendency in cereals continues, wheat having declined sev- eral points and others in proportion. Cotton and wool situation continues the same unfavorable features. Raw cotton advanced a little through specu- lation but there is now a decline. Man- ufactured products of both are dull in spite of the continued lessening of out- put, and prices have declined still further in several lines. The branch of manufacture showing the most encouraging features is that of boots and shoes. Demand has been sufficient to warrant an advance in hides and leather and most of the shoe facto- ries report orders for some time ahead. The unfavorable conditions in the iron market are continued. Combina- tion and speculation are keeping up prices of finished products in spite of decreasing demand, while pig is quoted discouragingly low. The feature of the stock market has been unusual dulness. The outflow of gold, which had caused some uneasi- ness, declined to less than usual at the season. A few of the industrial stocks have shown some interest but, on the whole, quietness is the rule. Bank clearings are 2.7 per cent. be- low last week, which brings them below the billion mark again Failures, 216 last week, as against 265 for the pre- ceding week. THE TIMIDITY OF CAPITAL. Capital is to finance what the nerve is to the body—always on the alert and at the approach of danger promptly sounds the alarm. In April, British consols reached the highest point in the history of trade and to-day the financial centers of Europe are flooded with money, because Capital is scared. He has been watching the signs of the times and he sees danger in every quarter. For years, the currency sys- tem of the United States has been un- settled. Too much has been said of a single standard and of a double one. He fears that something disastrous lurks behind this talk of strained con- ditions between the East and the West. His marrow tingles at the very sug- gestion of the silver, and, as a result, he wisely, as he thinks, puts his money where it is safe and waits for fair weather. Last December, when there RAPIDS, WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 1896. England and Venezuela, the President of the United States, weary of English dalliance and delay, in terms not to be misunderstood, insisted that there were rights in Venezuela which even England must respect. A panic in England was the result and English Capital could hardly wait for his turn at the wires to call in what he had invested in Ameri- can railway securities. For a time the Johannesburg mines were in full blast. Then the English pick comes in con- stact with a foreign substance harder than gold-bearing rock and_ instantly the Bank of England has more money than it knows what to do with. Itturns out that Germany has something to do with matters in the Transvaal; the king of one of the African tribes re- ceives a medal from the Czar; the Turk, under the shadow of the Russian throne, keeps up his nefarious business in Ar- menia; Italy and Spain are on the verge of bankruptcy, and the French Republic, it is feared, has built its house upon the sand. This unsettled state existing the world over has but one effect on money—it gets into the strongest place it can find and stays there—and, as a consequence, the London vaults Threadneedle street are full to overflowing. The money is earning nothing—a condition of things almost as alarming to the cap- italist as its loss—and, with a feeling akin to frenzy, he asks why there is such a lack of confidence in the busi- ness world when there is the most need Of it. It seems, then, that the problem which needs solving most is, What is the remedy for the timidity of capital? With that question satisfactorily an- swered, there may be wars and rumors of wars, but, afraid, the business world, in the midst of such commotion, reefed sails, indeed, but without fear— richer for its fearlessness, manlier for its courage and nobler for the example it has set when such an example was needed most. ume on will go on-—with ‘‘Sweet are the uses of adversity,’ the fact that poverty is his best friend. We all admit that it is necessity that drives mankind to its best work, but it is a blessing we want bestowed on some one else. In a recent magazine article, Andrew Carnegie says: ‘‘We should be quite willing to abolish luxury; but to abolish poverty would be to destroy the only soil upon which mankind can de- pend to produce the virtues which alone can enable the race to reach a still higher civilization than it now pos- sesses.’’ Notwithstanding this true view of the case, there is a general de- sire to do away with poverty. Indeed, it is to the individual effort to abolish poverty that the world owes the eleva- tion of the race. the sage who said that it may not bea disgrace to be poor, but it is exceeding- ly inconvenient. ee The truth in a nutshell is an honest worm that has bored his own hole. | | was every promise of a quarrel between Number 662 COMMERCIAL READJUSTMENT. | It was felt and freely expressed by | many whose opinion in commercial cir- | cles was thought to be valuable that the | panic of ’93 was one of those unaccount- able disturbances would it had come and that the financial world would promptly repair damages and be all the better for the ‘‘shake up.’’ These hopes, however, which gO as suddenly as have not been realized. In spite of promising predictions, the hard times are still with us, with no encouraging signs of a speedy departure and the ac- counting for the present condition of things is still going bravely on. It beginning to be believed that, sudden is as was the coming of the panic, it was long in gathering, and to attribute it to any reasonable. one cause is aS wrong as it is un- with capital no longer | but it takes a philosopher to appreciate | Most of us agree with | For the last twenty-five or thirty years there has been in the industrial world a period of unrest. This unrest still con- tinues, and _ it reasonable to believe that the hard times will last until there has been a readjustment of the elements is which have created this disturbance and a quiet settling down to existing condi- tions has taken place. During this time vast areas land The West Railroads these of have been settled. has have the SUCCESS increased enormously. built settlers are testing the question of failure. New wants have appeared and old ones have been increased ; new manufacturing in- dustries have sprung up to supply them ; better and methods are made use of; and all these, or many of them, still in the experimental period. The settling is going on, but it cannot be hurried. There is no ques- tion but what there has beena rapid in- crease of wealth, nor is there any ques- tion that this has been accomplished in the midst much disturbance. The fact, however, shows—and it is a cheer- ing sign—that the accumulation is due to an early adaptation to the changing conditions and that, when this adapta- tion is completed, a new era in ‘the in- dustrial and commercial world will be- coin) Ee) ipere ** inflated values,’’ these will strike a fixed stand- ard of worth. If there has been an overproduction in certain lines, a read- justment must take place before there is a settling down. There will, prob- ably, be less discounting of the future, a less dependence placed on prospective gains, a greater reliance on things tan- gible in the trading world and, of all, a general belief that real prosperity depends more upon sterling worth and hard work and less, or not at all, upon chance. With this for a_ basis, the ‘settling down’’ may be slow, but it will be sure, and the good times which rest on such a foundation will be lasting and free from that feverish unrest which exists in the business world to-day. been and along lines or more rapid are of have been best By the time a boy gets a bicycle with tickets he finds in his cigarette packs, he will have a heart failure that pre- vents him from riding. A great many people are wondering where they will go this summer, and wondering where they will get the money to go with. 2 THE MICHIGAN TRADESMAN Rise and Fall of the Oatmeal King. From the Chicago Times-Herald. In the $2,000,000 assignment of Fer- dinand Schumacher, ‘‘the oatmeal king,’’ is another evidence of the dan- gers that attend the handling of large sums of money. It is possible for a man to start on a salary of $50 a week and become wealthy. Give the same man $50,000 a week and it is more than an even chance that he would waste the principal or property producing such income and It is one thing to make money and quite another to die poor. keep it. This financial truism Mr. Schuamcher would doubtless earnestly endorse. Schumacher is one of those frequent products of America—a self-made man. He has realized the full promise of the republic to the industrious, the thrifty, and the honest man. He has not been of the class of self-made men who have been given over to earnest worship of themselves. He has always thought well of himself, as he had every resaon to do, but his self-respect never amounted to veneration. He was in a way a_phi- Janthropist and has backed the business enterprises of many who would have been commercial wrecks—small but total losses—had it not been for his aid. Mr. Schumacher’s great fad was tem- perance. He devoted much time and a great deal of money to the cause, and in 1884 showed his good faith by ac- cepting the nomination as candidate for Governor on the Ohio prohibition ticket. He may have received 2,000 out of a possible million or so of votes, or the number may have been 10,000. It was a_ hopeless candidacy then, as it ever has been, and Mr. Schumacher knew it when he went on the ticket and made good the expenses of the cam- paign. He believed in prohibition as a policy, and regarded it as his duty to keep life in the sentiment. The business career of Mr. Schu- macher is interesting. Forty years ago, when he settled in Akron, O., he had scarcely a dollar. The greater part of the united possessions of himself and his wife was energy and thrift. Neither of these in their raw condition can be realized upon. At that period of the country’s development oatmeal was _al- most unknown as an article of diet. Occasionally, a Scotchman could be found who would admit the use of oat- meal as food, in remote sections of his home land, but he was not disposed to make boast of the idiosyncrasies of his countrymen. Oats in Ohio were re- garded as good for horses, but wholly unfit for human consumption. The young German settler started in to prac- tically combat this theorv, and he won the fight and wealth. He had learned in Germany the secret of separating the hard husk from the kernel of the oat, and he further had acquainted himself with the nutritive qualities of the meal. Schumacher’s first mill was the kitchen of his home. The other room was the family parlor and bedroom. The first ‘run’? of meal Schumacher carried about the small town in a hand _ basket. His neighbors bought from him more from a desire to help him along than from any confidence in oatmeal or any appetite for it. Schumacher took well and was generallly esteemed in the vil- lage. Presently his trade enlarged to such an extent that he was forced to buy a little push wagon or hand cart to de- liver the oatmeal to the regular sub- scribers. The kitchen wasn’t large enough to furnish the necessary mill capacity, and he erected a to by 12 building in his yard, wherein to shuck oats and manufacture meal. Soon he had to buy a horse and wagon, so great had his enterprise become, and in time samples of his product were required by Cleveland and Pittsburgh merchants. Then caine heavy orders. The mill was enlarged until the buildings covered acres. A large part of Akron’s indus- trial importance is due to the evolution of Schumacher’s domestic oatmeal mill. The miller in twenty years was worth $500, 000, and in thirty was accounted a millionaire. He branched out in the cereal business, built a mansion, and made investments of various characters. He built strawboard mills, one of them in Marseilles, I]., and, with other in- dustries which he established, practi- cally built the town. Three years ago he combined his various milling inter- ests into one general corporation, the American Cereal Company, and_ estab- lished his headquarters in Chicago. When Mr. Schumacher had his inter- ests all within the city limits of Akron, all went well in a business way. When his investments became divided, be- tween strawboard mills, real estate, and the manufacture of hygienic food, and passed beyond his personal oversight and control, the meal monarch’'s affairs proceeded ill. At last came the assign- ment. It is known that Mr. Schumacher wiil pull a hundred or two thousands out of the fire, for his assets are far bet- ter than the other side of the book. With his simple tastes, the ex-king can struggle along fairly well on what he will have left. Mr. Schumacher retained his early habits of frugality throughout all hrs improving fortunes. If he was conspic- uous, it was by reason of the plainness of his attire. He had one fondness— that was for good horses. He kept these, not for speeding purposes, but because he has a fondness for animals and_ likes them well bred. An anecdote _ illustra- tive of his thrifty habit is told in Ak- ron. Along in the days of the war, when economy was necessary, Mr. Schu- macher took to himself one of the old- style army cape overcoats for his winter wear. Whatever may be said of these garments touching their utility asa weather shield, it cannot be said they are stylish. The great miller wore his for twenty years, and during the last few seasons of its endurance, he cinched it to his form with a rope or a Strap. His other raiment was in keeping— good, but hardly elegant. ‘The towns- foik took a mild pleasure and modest pride in pointing out to the stranger in town their celebrated neighbor, driving a team of $5,000 standard-bred horses in a $500 Portland sleigh, himself wear- ing an overcoat that cost $6 a quarter of a century before, and whose whole per- sonal equipment would not sell for $8 at a forced sale. It was another verifica- tion of the proposition that only a rich man can afford to wear poor clothes. —__$_~<>0>— Pies and Persecution. There is little doubt that the pie has been the cause of much misery. People who ate rich mince pies have felt un- happy afterwards themselves. Men have reproached their wives with not making pies like their mothers, and philosophers who lived on a steady diet of pie have written gloomy phi- losophy. Now a pie is figuring Ina police court in New York as the cause of discord between husband and wife. He is a pie peddler, and he forced his wife to subsist on pies alone. More than that, she had no choice in the kind of pie she had to eat. If there was a run on mince pies, she had to eat custard pies. If the capricious taste of the fickle public inclined to apple pie, she was forced to banquet on weather- beaten mince pies. Sometimes it rained, and the pies became mixed, and then she supped on a_conglomera- tion of all sorts and conditions of pies. The woman sickened of pies. The day came when she could no longer look a mince pie in the face,,and she abhorred the very sight of a custard. She wanted meat and bread; but her husband re- fused to give her money, holding that it was unreasonable and extravagant not to be willing to live on the luxuries he provided. The judge, fortunately, was not a man addicted to pie eating, and he gave a verdict in favor of the woman. a Prices Reduced—Quality Maintained. John Phillips & Co., of Detroit, offer oak show cases, highly polished, seven- teen inches high, of double thick French sheet glass throughout, bottoms covered with cotton plush, at $1.75 per foot—the best show case made for the money. 664 © © > GREAT DEAL bran, corn firm. things, but i vale city Milling C0... Sole makers of ) LILY WHITE FLOUR ’ * Grand Rapids, Mich. . . : . . . : © Hepapapapopepep ad Of trouble and loss might be saved by the retailer if he would buy his flour, feed, and oats and everything in the milling line in mixed car loads of one There would be less freight, no torn or soiled flour sacks, no shortages and no delays. A great deal depends en how you manage the little ennies are little you are trying to make a great deal of money things, and P ° 9 ° ° ° x ° ° ° ° ° ° SCPC ceCs 5 °o °o ° o ° ° xe ° o Q 0}O¢o a EVERY 2 CENT COUNTS. OOO © « . ©) yA flour? ing trade. SSUvvovovevenenvenneneevenenennenveneT tT r yey novonevvovevvanen nanny a yneyyynety Did You Ever Have a good customer who wasn't particular about the quality of her Of course not. We offer you a flour with which you can build upa pay- The name of the brand is GRAND REPUBLIG And every grocer who has handled the brand is enthusiastic over the re- sult, as it affords him an established profit and invariably gives his cus- tomers entire satisfaction. Merchants who are not handling any brand of spring wheat flour should get into line immediately, as the consumer is rap- idly being educated to the superiority of spring wheat over winter wheat flours for breadmaking purposes. All we ask is a trial order, feeling sure that this will lead to a large business for you on this brand. Note quota- tions in price current. BALL-BARNAART-PUTMAN C0, GRAND RAPIDS. WUAALLbAbabAbbdAabaddbadddddddad WANAALUAALAMLLAAMLAAAAALUAAGbbAddbadddddddddS vil aes — er aes ——. The Decadence of the Apprenticeship System. From the Scientific American. We who are privileged to live in the clcsing years of the nineteenth century are forever telling ourselves what a magnificent age it 1S; and we never weary of hearing and repeating the count of our numbers, our wealth, and our wisdom. More often than not, this self-satisfied recital is rounded off with a contrast between what our forefathers were and what we have grown to be. In the main, the comparison is a just one, for, asa matter of fact, man, individually and collectively, is to-day better clothed, better fed, has more money in his pocket, and is cleaner in morals and person than he was fifty or one hundred years ago. In the midst of this general advance, and in some measure as the result of it, the student of social eco- nomics can detect here and there the signs of a decided retrogression. Hap- pily such cases are few; but they exist, and no amount. of material prosperity should be allowed to blind us to the fact. Among the many customs of our fore- fathers that have fallen into disuse, there are some whose lapse can only be regarded as a misfortune, and whose re- vival would prove to us that those cus- toms were the outcome of experience, and that they were prompted by solid wisdom. There was atime in this country when the entrance door into every trade was strictly guarded, and the boy who as- pired to the dignity of being ranked as a journeyman carpenter, machinist, or builder could only hope to do so by_ be- coming bound in an apprenticeship of greater or less duration. His instruc- tion, which was carried out with the characteristic thoroughness of former days, commenced with the very alpha- bet of his trade; and each department was fully mastered before he was passed to the next. He attained at once man- ual dexterity and a knowledge of detail ; and incidentally he acquired also a thorough respect for his trade, efficiency in which could only be gained after so many years of training. At the close of his apprenticeship he was entitled to be called a skilled workman, and could command a journeyman’s wages. But to-day, as the French would say, ‘‘we have changed all that.’’ Appren- ticeship is no longer the invariable rule —it is the rare exception. The careful, detailed instruction of the apprentice by the master mechanic has given place to a ‘‘hit-or-miss,’’ ‘‘get-there’’ system or, rather, lack of system, in which the boy’s instruction is dependent upon the caprice of the journeymen whom he is told off to assist. In place of the regu- lar day-by-day instruction of the appren- tice, who, by virtue of his articles of agreement, was entitled to continous employment, the boys of to-day have to take their chance of picking up knowledge and acquiring manual skill at the odd times when they may be so fortunate as to secure employment. Under the old arrangement, the boy was sure of receiving instruction—his master was pledged to give it him; and, moreover, he would be at times in- trusted with a job which was a little be- yond his powers. It was taken for granted that he would spoil some of his work ; and to a certain extent he in this way offset the profit accruing to the master from his unremunerated labor. Under the present system there is no obligation, and certainly no disposition, to give the boy helpers any work which they are likely to spoil. They are en- gaged to do menial labor, and it is only in rare cases of emergency that they get an opportunity to try their hand ata more important class of work. A ‘‘green’’ hand in a machine shop is never regarded as a pupil. He is judged from the standpoint of profit making, and the tendency is to keep him at work indefinitely at the ma- chine with which he is familiar. The apprentice was moved from drilling ma- chine to shaper; from shaper to lathe ; from lathe to vise; and by this varied experience he acquired an all-’round knowledge and_ efficiency. But the THE MICHIGAN TRADESMAN specialization of work in these days has limited the range of a boy’s opportuni- ties to such an extent that he can never hope to gain much knowledge or execution outside the particular class of work to which he is assigned. It must be admitted, however, that, excellent as were the results under the old apprenticeship system, it would be impossible to carry it out under the present industrial conditions. The ap- prentice was ‘‘bound’’ to his master, lived under his roof, and ate at his board. Modern social conditions and the modern temperament would not lend themselves to a compact in which the position of the boy was one of very pronounced servitude; and the keen competition in the various industries, the close margin upon which the master mechanic has to figure in competing for a share of the trade, the speed and thorough system which are necessary in a modern workshop, all render the care- ful training of green hands in the shops a practical impossibility. Neither the master mechanic nor the journeymen can spare the time for such personal oversight; and work which has been contracted for upon the smallest margin of profit cannot be trusted to the clumsy, if willing, hands of a beginner. But if the old system, good as it was, is impracticable to-day, and the methods of to-day are so faulty, What, it will be asked, is to be the remedy? We think that it will be found in an arrangement which shall embody the best features of both systems, and which shall be sup- plemented by that admirable institution known as the trade school. The idea of oversight was an excel- lent one; and, so far as it can be exer- cised without interference with shop routine, it should be encouraged—at the same time the term of service should be very much reduced, and the relation of the boy to the master mechanic ren- dered more elastic. The National Association of Builders has recommended that a lad who wishes to enter a trade should go first to a trade school, and discover in which di- rection his tastes and aptitude lie. After passing an examination by a com- mittee of master mechanics at the close of his course, he should enter the work- shop as a junior. Here he would ac- quire speed and execution, and by the time he was capable of doing a ‘‘full day’s work’’ he would be subjected to a second examination, the passing of which entitled him to be ranked asa journeyman. ‘‘Proof of ability, not length of service is the test of what con- stitutes a mechanic in this system.”’ These suggestions are excellent, and they are thoroughly practical. The hope for the future of the American workman lies in the hearty co-operation of the master mechanics and the jour- neymen with the trade school system. If the American boy is to have any chance of holding his own against the incoming tide of skilled foreign labor, some radical change must be made in existing conditions. As we have shown, it is now well-nigh impossible for him to attain the all-’round efficiency which marks the foreign journeyman, and en- ables him to secure work at almost the first application. If the master mechan- ics would follow some such scheme as was outlined by the National Associa- tion, the inefficient, or, as he is expressive- ly known, the **botch’’ workman, would cease to exist. —___~»> 2» A Candid Reply. Creditor—When are you going to pay me that bill? Debtor—My friend, you put me in mind of a little child, because a little child can ask questions that the wisest man cannot answer. ——_—___oe@—_- A Cool Suggestion To your customers is an_ attractive fan, with your advertisement neatly printed thereon. The Tradesman Com- pany is prepared to furnish you with fans, at the lowest prices consistent with good goods. Send for samples and prices. —_—_—_> 2. —__ The much-traveled salesman has long ago found out that ‘‘there are others."’ 8 Le re WONDER FANCY ROLLER MILLS SPRING WHEAT FLOUR For Sale Only by MUSSELMAN GROCER CO., WONDER Csi eatin eee asa .22..4en a WONDER | WONDER | al ©:0:0:0:0:O.0:0:O.0:O:O.0:©:0.0:O.0.0.O. © © © © © © © Entire Wheat Flour To Grocers in Grand Rapids and dealers generally: Why pay enormous prices for “Entire wheat” flour from the Eastern States when you can buy it from a Michigan mill, equally good, at a much less price? We have special machin- ery for the purpose and would like to confer with you on the subject. © © © ©. ©.0:0:0.0:0:0:©:0:0:0:O:0:0:O:0.0:O.0.9. WM. CALLAM & SON, 215—-217 N. Franklin street, Saginaw, E. S., Mich. Write for Special Prices. © © © © ©.O. © © © © © ©O.O S.eccceccce Laurel > has been used in all ages to indicate the height of perfection, and it is with this idea in view that the name is applied to this flour. is manufactured from the best hard Spring Wheat grown in the Northwest and by the latest methods, and the best possible results have been obtained. We guarantee it to be equal to any and superior to many of the Spring Wheat Flours offered. A trial order will convince you of the truth of our statement. Banners and printed matter supplied. WORDEN GROCER CO., GRAND RAPIDS, MICH. SOS0OSSS | 4LAUREL FLOUR? | 0O0000000OOSSOCSS O8OOSOSOOOOOSOOCO O. E. BROWN ILL CO. SHIPPERS OF FLOUR, GRAIN, ~ BALED HAY In Carlots. Western Michigan Agents for Russell & Miller Milling Co. of West Superior, Wis. Office 9 Canal street, Grand Rapids. 4 . | Around the State Movements of Merchants. Moor Park —Frank Pixley succeeds Will Shick in general trade. Lansing—-Owen Jones succeeds John H. Banghait in the meat business. Kaiamazoo—Fred J. Zeeb, dealer, has sold out to S. D. Gage. Charlotte--S. Lamport his harness and cigar stock to Tekonsha. meat has removed Quincy -W. L. Knapp succeeds J. B. Van Asdale in the grocery business. Muskegon —G. R. Karling, boot and shoe dealer, has removed to Joliet,- III. Kenton—The Kenton Meat Co. suc- ceeds Wm. Shingler in the meat busi- ness. Howell_D. W.. Newell succeeds Sweet & Newell in the grecery busi- ness. Michael Brink has_ sold business to Herder & Opt- Kalamazoo his. bakery holdt. Lansing—-Nathan A. Young has pur- chased the drug stock of Chas. A. Seeley. Howell—Sweet & Newell, grocers, have dissolved, D. Warren Newell suc- ceeding. Buchanan—-Otis Bros., dealers in tin ware have removed to Delton. Port Huron } i } i cCumains, €ic., Arthur H. Tibbits has purchased the grocery stock a a Conway. Coldwater—Stephen Spurlock, general dealer, has removed from Sherwood to this place. Jackson—M. H. & F. A. Lincoln have purchased the grocery stock of Melvin Thompson. Kalamazoo —John Vandelaare succeeds C. Vandelaare & Son in the wood and coal business. Lowell-—-Yeiter & Wadsworth succeed J. B. Yeiter in the furniture and under- t aking business. I Schmitt Bros. succeed Schmitt & Onen in the hardware, paint and oil business. Kalamazoo—C. 5. McCarty confectionery business. Van Zant & Clug, dealers Jowagiac Ranney is succeed- ed by Geo. in the fruit and Muskegon in groceries and meats, have dissolved, Wm. H. Clug succeeding. Mancelona—-H. W. opened a bakery in the building oppo Bascom has site the Mancelona House. Beaverton—The wind storm May 17 nearly wrecked the store building ot EF. A. Coon, racking it badly. Merrill--P. L. Perkins continues the general merchandise business formerly conducted by Melze & Perkins. Earing, dealers in agricultural implements, have dis- solved, P. G. Osler succeeding. Marion--Henry E. Walsworth, un- dertaker and furniture dealer, is dead. He was a Mason and Maccabee. Munising—R. Peters & Co. have erected an addition to their store in which to put dry goods and boots and shoes. Albion—The Culver & Espie grocery stock has been taken possession of by Frank Culver on a chattel mortgage, and he will close it out. Muskegon—J. B. Wallace, the street branch street and Clay avenue. Saugatuck-—-Geo. A. Pride has been admitted to partnership with E. 5. Pride in the furniture business. The new firm will be known as E. S. Pride & Son. Belleville—Osler & Pine established a corner of Eighth feed dealer, has store on the THE MICHIGAN TRADESMAN | Benton Harbor—Soule & Co. succeed | Carrie H. (Mrs. F. I.) Soule in the gro- -|cery business. Fisher's Station—Wm. Van Bruggen, |general dealer at this place, has dis- |posed of his stock and will remove to Maxwell City, New Mexico, where he will re-engage in the same business. Grand Marais—The wheel craze has struck this town hard. There is nothing but sand and sidewalks, buc about thirty- five bicycles are in use. One family has four wheels out of seven possible riders. Croswell--Mary C. (Mrs. John H.) Richardson bas merged her business in- to a stock company under the style of Drv The stock of the Richardson Goods Co. corporation has a capital $5, 000. Kalamazoo —Brownson & Rankin have merged their into a_ stock company under the style of the Brown- Rankin Dry Goods Co. The has a capital stock of business son & corporation 350, 000. Albion have uttered amount of $984. ing to sell out for some time, so as to retire from The mortgages, no doubt, will have the desired effect. Holland—Thos. half interest in his meat market to Cornelius M. Phernambucq—formerly engaged in the meat business at 467 South Division street, Grand Rapids—and the new firm Price & Phernam- Leonard & Carty, grocers, chattel to the They have been wait- mortgages business. Price has sold a will be known as bucq Sault summer strange Ste. town. faces Marie This is a typical The visitor sees many at this time of the year, habit merchants have of engaging new clerks for the summer trade, who are let go in the fall. Only a few clerks are hired by the year. owing to the Hungerford-—John W. Rutherford was surprised to find his general store taken possession of by a ‘‘mob of friends, *’ as he expresses it, a few evenings ago. They assembled there as a rendezvous for a surprise party on his wife in celebration of the anniversary of her 38th birthday. Marquette—Capt. Hursley, of Sault Ste. Marie, who purchased the wrecked schooners, Kent and Moonlight, which went ashore on Chocolay Beach during the gale last fall, has succeeded in pull- ing them off. They will be towed to Duluth for repairs. Capt. Hursley is to be congratulated. He is new in the wrecking business. The Inmauns, of Duluth, and Grummond, of Detroit, tried to release the boats last fall, but abandoned the undertaking. Rogers City—The Chicago Supply Co. is meeting with the same sort of defeat it met in Wexford county in at- tempting to enforce collection on its notes against Presque Isle county farm- ers. W. J. McCutcheon, of this place, was recently sued before a justice of the peace at Posen, resulting in the de- fendant’s securing a judgment for the costs. Presque Isle county justice is not satisfactory to the Chicago sharpers, who announce their intention of taking an appeal. Munising—Hon. Peter White and Hon. E. H. Towar, of Marquette, have been instrumental in organizing a State bank here. Dwelling houses are going up rapidly. There are about forty busi- ness places, either erected or in course of construction. Water mains are laid and sidewalks are being built. Every- thing is booming. Lots on the main street sell at $1oo per foot front. The first corporation election will be held June 1 and immediately afterward ten | saloonists will try to file their liquor ‘bonds. At present the thirsty portion of ‘the population are compelled to walk four miles to Wetmore or carry a jug. Manufacturing Matters. Ada—John Smith has purchased the flour mill of Van Keppel Bros. Sears—A. A. Boyd is getting ina stock of timber and will start his shingle mill here in a few days. Ludington—-E. P. Rowe succeeds Rowe & Cartier in the manufacture of fruit packages and mops. Bay City—The style of the BL Vance Box Co. has been changed to the E. J. Vance Box Co., Limited. Oscoda—-The Oscoda Lumber Co. will start its mill here as soon as the log drive on the Au Sable River gets down, which will be about June 1. Bay City—-The yard here of the Young & Fulton Lumber Co. will soon be closed up. The lumber on hand will be shipped to the yard of the firm at Cleve- land. Detroit—The Merchants & Manufac- turers’ Exchange has sent a circular letter to all its members asking them to urge their representatives in Congress to work for the Torrey bankruptcy Dill. Manistique—The Weston Furnace Co. will not go into blast this year, on ac- count of its inability to dispose of the pig iron already on hand. In March preparations were made for going into blast. Grayling—Salling, Hanson & Co. have purchased the large tract of pine south of Twin Lakes from Pack, Wood & Co. It is estimated to cut 15,000,000 feet. The consideration is not made public. Kalamazoo—L. D. Railsback, of In- dianapolis, is in the city for the pur- pose of organizing a stock company to manufacture a rotary disc plow, which he claims is superior to any now on the market. Alpena—D. A. Stratton, of Alba, Mich., is considering the project of establishing a hardwood manufacturing plant at this place. He wants the city to furnish the site and will begin build- ing as soon as the site is handed _ over. Manistee--Buckley & Douglas have a new scheme to save burned timber. They are damming a lake in the middle of their timber and will put the burned logs in there and hold them until needed. The lake covers about 40 acres. Albion—The Elms Buggy Co. has given trust mortgages to H. M. Dear- ing, of the First National Bank, asa matter of protection. The company has plenty of assets, but cannot realize cn them. The business will be continued as usual. Menominee—The drives on the Paint and Brule will be out the last cf this week. There were over 9,000,000 feet of logs in the Brule, and nearly 5,000,000 in the Paint. Both streams have been thoroughly cleaned of logs this spring in two successful drives. i Negaunee—The Buffalo mines are adding materially to their forces and are getting out large quantities of ore. Unlike nearly all the other large mines of the Marquette range, the Buffalo group was idle for several months dur- ing the winter and, as a consequence, began the shipping season with prac- tically no ore in stock, while all the other mines had large stock piles to be- gin shipping from. Detroit—The American Brass and Metal Works has filed a chattel mort- gage in favor of the Citizens’ Savings Bank for $20,225, the amount due on ten notes given the Bank during the year. On April 20, two chattel mort- gages were given the officers of the company, one to Jacob Kock, Presi- dent, for $31,100, the other to Henry Kock for $15,000. The mortgages will not interfere with the company’s doing business. Marquette—The weekly shipments of ore from the Marquette docks of the Duluth, South Shore & Atlantic Rail- way are from 60,000 to 70,000 tons, or at the rate of nearly 2,000,000 tons for the entire season. The South Shore is moving more ore than ever before in its history. Owing to a cut in the head-of- the-lake ore rate, the large amount of Gogebic range ore which was to have been shipped by way of Escanaba has not materialized. The Chicago & Northwestern system ships from the Gogebic mines by way of both Esca- naba and Ashland, and the Ashland haul is now the more convenient to the mines because of the shorter distance for rail transportation. The Lake Su- perior & Ishpeming, the new ore line being built by two of the local mines, should be able to handle some ore this fall, though it is not likely that it can be completed in season to be a very im- portant factor in this season’s ore traffic. Saginaw—The railroads made a very good showing in moving lumber out of the valley in 1895, and the figures attest the revolutionary methods of handling lumber in the last few years. Fifteen years ago the bulk of the lumber manu- factured on the Saginaw River was moved to market by water. It was man- ufactured, piled on the mill docks, sold in blocks in the rough, ranging from a single cargo to one, two, three or more million feet, and shipped out to Ohio ports and to Buffalo, Erie, Tonawanda, thence to Albany, etc. With the dimi- nution of the output of the mills came the necessity of getting more out of the lumber, and factories and sorting yards sprang up, and the stock that had gone out in the rough by lake sought rail transit and a wider method of distribu- tion; hence to-day the lake method has been crowded to the rear, nearly every manufacturing firm on the Saginaw River handling a portion or all of its output by rail. —_——__> 2. _____ FLAGS —all sizes and prices. BUNTINGS— all kinds, at P.STEKETEE & SONS, Grand Rapids. ~ > 20> Change in Time of Meeting. Grand Rapids, May 22—On account of the annual meeting of the American Pharmaceutical Association, which oc- curs at Montreal August 12, the date for the annual meeting of the Michigan State Pharmaceutical Association at Mackinac Island has been changed to August 4, 5 and 6. BENJ. SCHROUDER, Sec’y. —__<»0____ Want to Cross Bats with Grand Rapids. Grand Haven, May 18—The business men of Grand Haven would likea game or two of base ball with the business men of Grand Rapids during the sum- mer season. C. N. ADDISON. —_——__>2.>_____ The Dodge Club cigar is sold by F. E. Bushman, Kalamazoo. ine lh THE MICHIGAN TRADESMAN 5 Grand Rapids Gossip The Grocery Market. Sugar—In addition to the decline of y%c on Monday of last week, another decline of '%c occurred on Wednesday last, excepting powdered, which de- clined a sixpence. On Monday, how- ever, the trade was surprised by an ad- vance of %c all along the line and the market is strong at present writing, with prospects of still further advances in the near future. Fruit Jars—The market continues to strengthen and prices are confidently expected to advance $1@2 per dozen beyond present = quotatiuns. The strengthening of the market is not due to any shortness of supply on the part of manufacturers, but to the prospect of a large fruit crop everywhere, which pre- sages an unprecedented demand. Tea—Reports from New York are to the effect that several shipments of new Japs have arrived and that the quality is exceptionally fine. Syrups—There is a considerable im- provement in demand, both for medium and better grades. Currants—The general tendency of the market is easier, both abroad and in American markets. Prunes—Without material change in price and demand nearly nominal. Lemons—While the auction sales marked a slight decline, prices general- ly have not been marked down from what they were a week ago, and the general expectation is that the market will be steady from now on. The supply of stock is ample in this country, unless there should be an unprecedented pe- riod ot hot weather, which might deplete stocks to the extent that prices would go skyward. Cigars—The edict of Gen, Weyler, prohibiting the exportation of Vuelta Abajo and Partidos tobacco from Havana, has not caused much surprise among the manufacturers of clear Ha- vana cigars in this country, for the rea- son that all who had cash at their dis- posal discounted it some weeks ago. This does not mean that there is a weaith of these tobaccos in this country, for, owing to the difficulty of keeping these fragrant tobaccos in perfect con- dition for more than twelve months after the crop has been harvested, no factory carries at any time a large stock, as is the case with factories using do- mestic grown tobacco, What it does mean is that for months past it has been understood that little or no tobacco of the 1896 crop could be expected, ow- ing to the insurgents, frightening away the farmers, and in some cases destroy- ing the fields of growing leaf; conse- quently such tobacco as was brought in- to Havana and was suitable for the American market was snapped up by the capitalists. The wrapper stock of this is said to be very small, anc the best informed people of the trade think that not more than four or five firms will be able to make clear Havana ci- gars for a period extending longer than six months from now. Many firms have not tobacco wrappers enough to last them for more than two months. When it is remembered that about 200, - 000,000 clear Havana cigars are made in this country every year, the def- ciency in wrappers becomes important, as the workers in these factories will be out of employment unless some other type of tobacco is used to work up the more plentiful filler stocks. It seems likely that some factories will do this, but there are others of the legitimate high-grade type, owned by Spaniards, | who declare that they will never resort to such an expedient. So stubborn are these people that they may close down rather than work other tobacco for wrappers. Most of the American firms that have bought tobaccos in expecta- tion of the edict, or a prohibitory tariff, are said to have the bulk of their to- bacco here. The total new crop for the current year was three weeks ago esti- mated to amount to about 120,000 bales, but at present it is estimated by one of the leading leaf tobacco men in the country to amount to less than 75,000 bales, much having been destroyed, and it is very problematical how much of this will ever reach Havana. At pres- ent it is unmatured and if landed in this country would not, in his estimation, be worth five cents a pound. Cheese—The supply of new cheese is increasing from day to day, and the light supply of the old has enabled _re- ceivers of new to dispose of their stock readily at full prices. Full grass cheese is looked for about June 1 and the qual- ity is likely to be very fine. The tendency of the market is downward and the lowest prices will probably be reached during the months of July and August, when shipments are heaviest. Salmon—The fishermen on the Colum- bia River are still holding out for the continuance of the old price, and the packers for the reduction of Ic per pound. Although several weeks of the spring season have gone, no salmon have as yet been packed along the Co- lumbia River. Some time ago it was reported that one or two of the packers had given in, and were packing, but this was afterward denied. Provisions—Nearly everything in the provision line has felt the effect of the better market with the exception of lard, which continues to rule easy. Compound remains unchanged, with prices about steady. The trade looks for higher prices in pickled and smoked meat and stocks are not very heavy. No dealer is carrying large stocks in the face of the dull market and general depression. Flour and Feed. Notwithstanding the very damaging crop reports during the past week, the market has continued to drag heavily, in sympathy with the bearish tendency of speculation. The demand for flour is of the hand- to-mouth character and, in consequence, many of the large flouring mills are running but half of the time, even in the Northwest where wheat is plentiful. This condition of things seems likely to continue until the market for wheat and offal improves and the demand _ for flour increases. The city mills are cur- tailing their output, in keeping with the present conditions. Feed and millstuffs are dull with but little change in prices for the past week. Wm. N. ROWE _____» © <—_—___ New Sugar Cards for Grand Rapids and Jackson. The Retail Grocers’ Associations of Grand Rapids and Jackson promulgated new sugar cards last week, as follows: 6 cents per pound. 4% pounds for 25 cents. 814 pounds for 50 cents. 7 pounds for $1. I A man is as young as his rheumatism will allow him to be. A woman is as young as_ her photograph forces her to be. Fruits and Produce. Asparagus— 30c per doz. bunches. Beans—The market is utterly without ifeature, receipts being nominal and | prices being dull and without change. Beets—s5oc per doz. bunches. | Butter—The market is in a little bet- |ter condition than a week ago, strictly | fancy stock, showing full grass flavor, commanding 12¢ at the outside, al- though more offerings are taken on the [basis of 1c. Cabbage - $1.25 per crate of 114 doz. stock brings $2.50 per crate of about 4 dozen. Clover Seed—$5@5.25 for Mammoth, | Cairo stock commands $4.85@5 for Medium, $4.75 for Aisvke, $3@3.25 for Crimson and Alfalfa. $5.50 for Cucumbers—-25@ 30c per doz. for South- 5 Ho ern stock and soc per doz. for home grown. Eggs—The market is somewhat firmer | com- | for strictly fancy mands 8c per doz. stock, which This price holds y graded. Prices are some- what higher at Eastern markets and the and. closely Green Onions—Seed stock, foc per doz. bunches. Silver Skins, 12c per doz. bunches. Greens 250 per Ou Lettuce—7@8c per Ib. Millet—Common, 60@65c; 65@7oc ; Hungarian, 70@75¢. Onions—Home grown are in small demand and ample supply, command- ing 25c per bu. Mississippi stock brings $1.50 per bag containing 1% bu. Beet, 4oc per bu. German, Peas--Home grown, $1.25 per bu. This is the earliest home grown stock ever known on the Grand Rapids mar- ket. Pieplant —Althongh quoted nominally at %c per lb., the demand is exception- ally small, owing to amount of stock, which is now grown in nearly every lo- cality. Potatoes—Tennessee and Mississipp stock commands $1.25 per bu. ane $3.25 per bbl. Radishes—t1oc per doz. bunches. Strawberries--For the next day or i } 1 diana stock in 24 qt. cases at $2 or less and St. Joe stock in 16 qt. cases at SI. 40 or less. The market is tending down- ward and may go to 5@6c before the end of the week. Home grown is begin- ning to come in, commanding — I10c Tuesday. It is expected that consider- week will be the big week of the straw- berry crop. All reports agree that the crop is large and prices are expected to rule low. String Beans—75c per bu. Timothy—s1.65 per bu. for prime to strictly prime and $1.75 for choice. Tomatoes—Florida stock is about played out. Mississippi stock com- mands $2.25 per 4 basket crate. Wax Beans—$!I.25 per bu. a The Grain Market. Wheat only held its own during the week, notwithstanding there were a great many strong arguments to advance it. Among them were the wet weather in the Northwest, the droughts in other localities, the insects diana, while the growers of our own State complain bitterly of rust and) in- sects. While there is some damage be- ing done by the Hessian fly, we have doubts as to the effect of the rust, as it is only on the leaf and it looks to us as if the stalk is free from rust. In our opinion, the rust is only temporary and a great many reliable farmers are of the same opinion—but time will tell. Our exports were about the same as the pre- | vious week, being 1,906,000 bushels. | The visible decreased 1,847,000 bushels, | which was more than was expected, as | the decrease was so small the two pre-| Still, the decrease was 400, 000 vious weeks. 2,243,000 bushels, or nearly Mississipp! | d ler, while oats are about Ic good only with stock which is candled | y market generally is in a firmer position. | Spinach, | two the market will be supplied by In- | 5 able quantities of home grown will be | marketed by Saturday and_ that next | in Ohio and In- | bushels more than the corresponding week last vear. The bear argument is the small exports. The foreigners are buying wheat from other countries which sell cheaper than America. How- ever, should the prediction that is made come true of the damage on both winter and spring wheat, we will, undoubtedly, see higher prices. [here is not much to be said about corn and oats. These cereals remain quiet, as is usual. Corn is a trifle high- lower. Che receipts were of a diminutive 1 thirty eight [ character, being i cars Gi wheat, two cars of corn and three cars or oats The millers are paying 64c for wheat, wainst 78c the corresponding day last ss are wide apart, as 3,000, 000 bushels less sponding time last if the farmers prices f0F their wheat now as lthan they are getting at present. Cc, G. A. Vorer. o>? Purely Personal. S. A. Sears, Manager of the Grand | Rapids end of the New York Biscuit | Co., is spending a couple of days in | Chic aso. He is accompanied by his | wife | DD. BL Armse has taken the posi- | ti n of office ma r of the ppon «& To., Al Holl \11 | L I omce man um excep- | tic Wl ability and will, undoubtedly, Anderson, Cashier of the |} Fourth Nation: l Bank, has been elected la director of the Peninsular Trust Co., place of Wm. H. Van Leeuwen. Mr. Anderson is a gentleman ol rare dis- } }.} + * ,and remarkable judgment prove a tower of strength to SW elected ic ~> te mer r +t ( eny ) } Secretary of the Grand Rapids Co, in } recently Peregrine bas been wJeating place of Jas. B. Furber, who resigned to accept an office position with the Manitowoc Seating Co., at Manitowoc, Wis. Mr. Peregrine also resumes his old position as intendent of the manufacturing depart- super- }ment of the corporation. - > ee The Grand Light Co. paid a 2% per cent. dividend last week, the net having that extent to warrant an increase in the dividend rate from 4 per cent. to 5 per cent. per annum. ‘This has, naturally, had a bouyant effect on the stock, which Rapids Gas earnings increased to enn has advanced to 55@57. The net earn- increase of 15.9 per cent. over April, 1895. The net earnings for the first four months of $43,185, an increase of ings for April were $8,138, an this year were 11.7 per cent. over the same period in Considering the times, the in- crease in earnings is little less than re- markable, as it demonstrates the ability of the management to increase the volume of the business without incur- ring a corresponding increase in the 1895. expense account. ~o-o <> Brooks T. Bearss & Co. have arranged The Hazeltine & Perkins Drug Co. has the order for the stock. +> +> Wilbur DeLong succeeds E. H. Day in the grocery and meat business at 300 South Division street. : a to open a drug store at Fostoria. Miss Pullman married a mechanic | when she could have chosen a_palace- car porter. 6 Shoes and Leather Effect of the Rise in Crude Rubber. From the Shoe and Leather Gazette. It is an axiom of the trade that when- ever crude rubber goes up it is sure to come down again. But after such a marked advance has occurred re- cently the most optimistic manufacturer is apt to be concerned about the date fora decline. The situation is that there is a definite amount of Para rub- ber visible, less than usual at this time of the year, with no more forthcoming until the beginning of another crop. The problem is, who will be obliged to buy rubber and how much? The shoe factories are usually sup- plied ahead with rubber and nothing in the present conditions of the trade war- rants such activity as would make them liberal buyers of material soon. The same is more or less true of the mechan- ical goods trade. Certainly manufac- turers who are short of rubber will not buy at present prices to make goods to fill their stores and prudence would de- as ‘er them from pushing the sale of products for which rubber had to be bought at the top of the market. The chief activity in the rubber industry just now appears to be in tires, but here even the best informed operators are at sea as to the requirements of rubber for the remainder of the season. It may be said to rest with this class whether the consumption of rubber for the summer months will be so great as to cause a greater advance or so limited as to per- mit the market to become easier. In the crude rubber market the exist- ence is denied of all speculative ele- ment farther than is involved in the very nature of buying commodities with a view to their sale at a profit. Leading manufacturers seem disposed to con- cede this, so that there is room only for the inference that the rate of the world’s consumption has really exceeded that of production, despite the largest out- put for a year yet known. In the United States there are indications in abund- ance that the volume of rubber manu- facture has been maintained, without taking tires into account. One leading concern assures us that within a year past they have made more goods than in any similar period before, while other companies report having at least kept up to their former figures. There are reports, too, of a large production of goods in Europe and especially of an increase on the Continent, showing that consumption is not to be judged alone from the conditions of American manu- facture. - ++ - The Cobbler’s Daughter. From the Boot and Shoe Recorder. As the writer was passing 165 Lin- coln street, Lewiston, Me., he heard a girlish voice singing in French, and between the words he heard the tapping of a cobbler’s hammer. Some cobbler’s daughter, singing to him to cheer the monotony of his work-a-day life, was the thought. The tune changed and a more lively song was sung, while the man stood in the street staring at the house and wondering what the singer was like. As he opened the door to go in, the song died away, but the noise of the hammer continued. There w ere but two people in the room, and both were girls under twenty. One had a shawl over her head and was leaning on a counter looking at the other, who was fresh-faced, strong and rugged and who was seated on a cobbler’s bench tapping a boot! Talk of your new woman! The woman who belongs to seventeen clubs and can tell you when the Moors were driven out of Spain isn’t half as new as some of her humbler sisters. Here was a woman earning her living by mending shoes, and was overflowing with music all the time, too. Her hair was short! Not cut around her head with a pair of sheep shears,as they make the pictures of the soldiers of Joan of Arc, but standing out in little curls all THE MICHIGAN over her head. Her arms were bare_to the elbow and very fair and round. She wore a neat dress and a clean apron. There was no burned clay pipe or to- bacco pouch mixed with the tools on her bench. The way her nimble little fingers followed the pegs in her lap and drove them home into the red leather was a Caution. She had no careful, gin- gerly way of handling her hammer, but could rattle them like fun. When we entered she looked up, noted the look of astonishment on our faces and laughed. ‘‘You do want some boots sewed down?'’ she asked in broken English. ‘‘No, my boots are all right, but do you work at this all the time?”’ ‘‘Oh, yes, me do mend shoe here now a week.’”’ ‘*Where did you learn?”’ ‘‘Canada, they teach me.’’ ‘‘Do many women do it there?”’ ‘‘Oui. My father, he learn how tell me and some other girl dere.’’ She had completed the tap and pro- ceeded to stick on a small patch, which she accomplished in a neat manner, and then blackened the boots. A rosebush stood in the corner of the room and a broken pitcher held a ‘shoot’? of geranium. We heard the other young woman call her Elize Le- may, before we went. She’s a hustler, is Liza, and she'll succeed. and —_—__—_—_<>6@_<—_- Nothing to Do but Work. Men who have nothing to do but to go down to business every day are al- ways reminding women of what a nice idle time they have, with nothing to do but keep house and look after the chil- dren. A short time ago a delicate little woman of the housekeeping profession was on the witness stand, and it was necessary to establish just what she did between the hours of 8 and ga.m. She thought a moment and_ then said: ‘‘Well, I washed my children and got them off to school. 1 sewed a button on Nellie’s dress and mended a rent in Johnny's coat. Then I tidied up my sitting-room and made up two beds, and watered my house plants, and glanced over the morning paper. Then I dusted the parlor and set things to rights, washed the lamp chimneys, and combed the baby’s hair, and sewed four buttons on her shoes; then I swept out the front entry and brushed the chil- dren’s Sunday clothes and put them away, aud wrote a note to Johnny’s teacher asking her to excuse him for not being at school on Friday. Then I fed my canary bird, gave the grocery man orders, swept off the back porch, and then I sat down and rested until 9 o'clock. That wasall.’’ It is this free- dom from cares and work that makes the life of the average woman such a soft snap that everybody wants to be a woman. —> 2+» She Wanted to Sell Shoes. Pingree & Smith, of Detroit, recently received a unique application for a po- sition as traveling salesman from a young woman in a Michigan town, as follows: I would like very much to have a po- sition as traveling saleswoman for your-company. I never have had any ex perience In such work, but I have been a book agent. Of course, I know that selling books and selling shoes are two different things, but the book business gives one an idea of human nature. If you wish to employ me I will come to Detroit when you like. I am 21 years of age, 5 feet 6 inches tall, dark hair, blue eyes, and weigh ninety-six pounds. Hoping to hear from you soon, | am, Manager Howarth concluded that the employment asked for was hardly suit- able for even the new woman to enter. é ® WiTOnd = ; a es DAT : sis . et ms 46 foe This is one of ou Up to Date” Ladies’ Polish Needle toe, Patent Leather tip, and boxed. Stock Number 253 in C, D and E widths. A winner with the Ladies every where. MASASIO™ Wales Goodyear Rubbers The Nobbiest and the Best. advance styles lead them all. Our Hero_p - BERTSCH SHOE Co. 5 AND 7 PEARL STREET. Rindge, Kalmbach & Co., 12, 14, 16 Pearl Street, Grand Rapids, Mich. Our Factory Lines are the Best Wearing Shoes on Earth. We carry the neatest, nobbiest and best lines of job- bing goods, all the latest styles, everything up to date. We are agents for the best and most perfect line of rubbers made—the Boston Rubber Shoe Co.’s goods. They are stars in fit and finish. You should see their New Century Toe—it is a beauty. If you want the best goods of all kinds—best service and best treatment, place your orders with us. Our references are our customers of the last thirty years. cannot meet. any made. Our You ought to see our Berlin Needle toe, Misses’ and Childs’ Dongola; this is the neatest shoe out for spring. Our Little Gents’ 9-13, I-2 is on Needle Toe and as tony as Rochester Misses and Childs’ Dongola they all swear by. Send us your order for turns 2-5 and 4-8. Hirth, Krause & Co. GRAND RAPIDS. Dur Sioe Deparimen| Is your stock complete for spring trade? Look it over and write us for samples in Misses and Children’s. Our Bob and May is the best grain shoe made. For a Kangaroo calf, we can give you one that competition Sing Out stock Reeder Bros Shoe Co. are closing out their entire Leather Stock of Boots and Shoes. Come in and see the bargains or see samples of our men on the road. We will do an ex- clusive rubber business in the future. Hold your rubber orders until we see you, as Lycomings and Keystones are the best. REEDER BROS. SHE GO GRAND RAPIDS. CHAS. A COYE Manufacturer of Tents, Awnings, Horse, Wagons and Binder Covers. Send for prices. 11 PEARL STREET, GRAND RAPIDS, MICH. wr. | THE MICHIGAN TRADESMAN ITS EFFECT ON TRADE. The Bicycle a Boon to Some Lines and a Curse to Others. From the Dry Goods Reporter. Over one million wheels sold in 1896! This means between fifty and seventy- five million dollars spent for the silent steed. Even in flush times this amount of money is not to be laughed at, but in times like the present it represents something almost beyond {the imagina- tion. And when it is remembered that it is expended for something midway between necessity and luxury, for some- thing which most people can get along without, the question at once arises, ‘Is not the public robbing Peter to pay Paul?’’ The purchase of a bicycle means an extra expense of from $40 to $100. In hard times the average mortal will have to plan very closely to realize this amount, and in the majority of cases will be obliged to cut off other expenses in order to make such a purchase. This he inevitably does, and while he pays the bicycle dealer more than usual he pays somebody else less. It cannot be supposed that the enormous amount of capital which has flowed into the bi- cycle industry this season has not been in part diverted from its former chan- neis. The man who bought a wheel for his wife didn’t buy her the watch he thought of presenting to her, and the young man who bought a cycle in order eto ride out with his girl who already owned a bike, does not now hire the livery rig in which he was wont to take cher riding of a Sunday. Wheels are fast becoming a necessity instead of a luxury. They are almost an indispensable part of modern life, and it is doubtful if the ‘‘bicycle fad,’ as some call it, will ever die. As one dealer puts it: ‘‘Either wheels will grow so cheap and common that they will be presented as premiums with tea and coffee, or they will become the great necessity of modern times, The wheel has invaded all branches of busi- ness, from advertising to preaching, and soon, unless things alter, we shall see a nation become willing slaves of the wheel, before which the old story of the wonderful lamp will fade into nothing- less.”’ Some businesses have been seriously affected by the bicycle craze. Tailors look upon the great craze as a Curse to them. The greater number of tailors say that the popularity of the wheel has driven many of their customers to the readv-made clothing stores. The young man who buys a wheel feels that he must have a bicycle suit When he has pur- chased one he finds that he has not the usual amount to put in a spring suit, so he either goes without one or buys one ready-made for less cost. In either case the tailor gets the fag end. Some young men make a bicycle suit serve for suin- mer attire. They excite no comment at their business place or on the street when dressed in a cycle suit, and on Sundays they are dressed just right, for Sunday is the cyclist’s busiest day awheel. But in the big department stores the cycle craze has brought an increase of business. These stores have been quick to see the opportunities which the wheel has brought them, and have de- voted unlimited space to wheels, cycle costumes and accessories. Ready-made costumes for men and women have at- tracted hundreds of new customers. Mr. Selfridge, manager of Marshall Field & Co., retail, thinks the bicycle business is just so much in addition to the rest. ‘‘We have merely added a new department without affecting those already in operation. I cannot find any place where the big call for cycling goods has cut into our regular business. I do not think that bicycling supplies supplant other articles. It is my obser- vation that the man who buys a bicycle suit or shoes gets them for riding and not for general wear. I believe we sell both kinds of gogds to the same peo- pie. | But the business which has reaped the harvest from the bicycle craze is that of ready-made clothing. And_ this is true of cycling suits and regular cloth- ing both. One large ready-made con- cern said: ‘‘The bicycle has brought us a new branch of business, and a profitable one. Take, for example, the business man who rides a wheel. He has a pair of knickerbockers made to ride in, a pair of trousers to wear when off the wheel, the same coat and vest going with both pairs of trousers. This has given birth to a demand for combi- nation suits of this kind. Besides the suits there are the sweaters, shirts, stockings and shoes, all of special make and design. We have sold thousands of these articles where formerly we sold dozens. ’’ The shoe stores have also gained by the growth of the bicycle habit. It is the opinion of the shoe dealers that the man who cycles wears just as many shoes as formerly, plus the bicycle shoes. One State street merchant ex- pressed the following opinion: *’The regular spring sales have not fallen off, while it is almost impossible to get enough bicycle shoes to supply the de- mand. I do not believe that people wear the cycle shoe so generally that it cuts into our other lines of goods.”’ The knitting mills likewise are_feel- ing the beneficial effects of the bicycle habit. Special hosiery for riders has sprung into such wide favor that some mills have been fitted out with special facilities for making this class of goods. Then there are sweaters, tights, knitted underwear, leggings, _ belts, caps and gloves, the production of which has stimulated the knitting mills to their fullest capacity. —____»> 0. Meeting of Butter, Egg and Poultry Shippers. Hudson, May 21—The Tri-State But- ter, Egg and Poultry Association of Michigan, Ohio and Indiana were in session at the Comstock House in this city yesterday. This Association is composed of the representative car-load shippers of the States named, and their object is the downing of the strawboard and_ filler case trust, which they claim has forced upon them exorbitant prices at times when the shippers were unable to de- fend themselves. Several representatives of the trust were present at the meeting, but their propositions to ‘‘square’’ matters were rejected. It was voted, however, to grant them more time in which to re- consider the matter and submit new propositions. If the trust does not come to time it is the intention of the Asso- ciation to start a strawboard and filler factory of its own. The fraud practiced by speculators in holding eggs and = selling them as ‘*fresh’’ was denounced, and the follow- ing resolutions were adopted : Whereas, Fraud is being practiced by speculators and holders of eggs in selling the same as fresh and thereby causing the shippers to make their prices according to the loss thus sus- tained, thereby compelling the honest farmers and producers to accept a price based on such loss off, there also being great danger of dumping upon our dis- trict large quantities of stale cold-stor- age eggs, which is demoralizing to the shipper, consumer and producer ; there- fore, Resolved, That we, the shippers of Michigan, Indiana and Ohio, will from June 1 buy all eggs at their value and deduct from our receipts all stale eggs and buy dirty and small eggs at half price, all old and staie eggs to be re- jected. i The next meeting of the Association will be held in Ypsilanti about August I. Who uses the Tradesman Company's COUPON BOOKS, does so with a sense of security and profit, for he knows he is avoiding loss and annoy ance. Write TRADESMAN COMPANY, Grand Rapids Goanins RariDs wew, We Pay HIGHEST MARKET PRICES in SPOT CASH and Measure Bark When Loaded. Correspondence Solicited. PFGE OTST SE OCCT YT FOCCCCCCCCC CCV CC CUCVUVVVCVVVV VT VVVVVY Ss VwyVVVVVvVVVVVV VY XK \ ( (e@ 2X MDOOOODOODODOQOOQOOD® 2 9KexoxOe gooseee ® 20000090000090090H9999OOOOO}NOOOGOOOHOOOS DOO OOQOOOOO PCOQOSOOOOPOOGDOOOOE DOQOOGOOODOOQOOOOVDQOOQOHMODOOOGOGOH) Michlaon Br & Lumber C0. Grand Rapids, Mich. 508, 509 and 510 Widdicomb Bld. N. B. CLARK, Pres. Ww. D. WADE, Vice-Pres. Cc. U. CLARK, Sec’y and Treas. DOOQODOOOOSO QCOOQOOO® DODOQODOO DO We are now ready to make contracts for bark for the season of 1866. e Correspondence Solicited. DOOO00000) FISHING OUTFIT Mackintoshes, Wading Pants and Boots and Rubber Goods of all kinds. STUDLEY & BARCLA 4 Monroe St. Grand Rapids. Send in your orders now for your We have a full line of eel @ We would also remind you that the dealer who places his orders early for his fall stock of Rubber Boots and Shoes, Felt Boots and Sox, will have them when the wearer wants them. We _ guarantee prices. Ask for price list. 7. ° ° ° ° 3 910% o}oKe9 ° ° ° ° ° ° BC ° ° Se ° Qo Soto o oO 9 ° ° °o ee ° a oJOKno0 oo ° 9 0JOr5 o Woy od ° ° OOOO AIO ONE THING ONLY ° oWZo[o ° °o ° —_ gg (0) eee Pe © Ssofo ° ° oZOfo ° ° S2ofo ° ° = ©) ee is} ° ° ° The largest and most complete stock in the country. oJOK0 ° ° W. A. [IcGRAW & CO.. eX DETROIT, MICH. oO ° 9 ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° a °o One, °o ° Ox PSOE COCO OO3Gf02° ASIo2 AO fo Yor’ oo APfo BAOf0F Cfo a o ° ° o ° ° ° ° ° ° o ° oO ows o o ° 9 x ° ° o oO THE MICHIGAN TRADESMAN MICHIGANTRADESMAN Devoted to he Best Interests of Business Men Published at the New Blodgett Building, Grand Rapids, by the TRADESMAN COMPANY ONE DOLLAR A YEAR, Payable in Advance. ADVERTISING RATES ON APPLICATION. Commu! tions invited from practical business men. Correspondents must give their full names and addresses, not necessarily for pub- lication, but as a guarantee of good faith. Subscribers may have the mailing address of their. papers changed as often as iesired. No paper discontinued, except at the option of the proprietor, until all arrearages are paid. Sample copies sent free to any address. Entered at the Grand Rapids Post Office as Second Class mail matter. When writing to any of our Advertisers, please say that you saw the advertisement in the | Michigan Tradesman. FE. A. STOWE, EpIToRr. WEDNESDAY, - = = MAY 27, 1896. BENEVOLENT PRICES. Among the commonest annoyances in trade. are the demands for consideration from rea- organizatious semi-charitable from or philanthropic or persons sons. many excellent religious that they depend largely on resources derived from voluntary contributions. To obtain support those actively en- gaged in such work are compelled either to directly solicit contributions, or to put themselves in such a relation to their special cause and the business world as to have it understood that there must be financial favor shown them in all dealings. It is owing to this charac- teristic that the ministry throughout the country is provided with half-fare passes on all railroads. It is not to be’ under- stood that such a spirit is prevalent in organizations; there are not only notable exceptions, as in the Cath- olic and Jewish denominations, which are conducted on correct business prin- ciples, but the better class of Protestant 1 all religic US churches in the cities have outgrown this spirit of mendicancy. But the needs of religious work among the poorer classes keep such a spirit alive and prominently manifest. The demands made upon business houses by the representatives of semi- charitable undertakings are endless. If donations of goods or money are not solicited to aid in the worthy cause, usually some auxiliary to religious work, the merchant must advertise in the ‘‘program’’ or other scheme, re- gardless of the fact that he well knows that such advertising practically worthless. If it is within his province to furnish any goods to be used in the undertaking, there must at least bea large concession in the price. Excel- lent people who would not think of such a thing as asking a concession ina price for their own benefit. will bar- gain like an Arab when it is in behalf of some charitable cause. The influence of this spirit is espe- cially pernicious in its effect on a large class of the in their dealings with those who supply such church needs as may come within their opera- tions. For instance, there is usually a considerable printing to be done, per- haps the publication of a church paper. Too many of the worthy clergymen would feel much aggrieved if they had to pay the regular price for such work— they must have the ‘benevolent price. "’ And, unfortunately, this habit of solic- iting for their cause is apt to degenerate iS clergy It is peculiarly the misfortune of | movements | | into an expectation of ‘‘benevolent |prices’’ in all their personal dealings |as well. It would not be‘suitable in this place to question, for a moment, the worthi- ness of such causes or the desirability of giving them proper support. In the present condition of society there must be voluntary contributions to philan- thropic undertakings; but it isa perti- nent question as to the degree in which such causes are entitled to special con- siderations in business dealings. It is a vexed question, on the part of many dealers, as to the extent to which they should submit to this unwritten law of concession to benevolences. In |many cases there is a social prestige 'and influence brought to bear which seem almost to compel them to submit ito such exactions—they are nothing less. What can be done about it? It | would seem as though this is a matter worthy of consideration in business or- ‘ganizations. One dealer alone may not be able to take the proper independent stand, when by so doing he may be playing directly into the hand of a com- petitor. The position to take, when made practicable by mutual agreement, is that business and benevolences must be en- tirely separated. Charitable and pkil- |anthropic organizations and their rep- resentatives must be educated to the standard of dealing with each on an in- dependent basis. The better class of churches and ministers have already learned this lesson ; and an independent stand on the part of dealers will rapidly increase the class in this regard. The present method is most unsatis- factory in every way. The dealer is asked to at least give up his profit, and then it is considered a favor to give him the custom; he gets no credit for the donation. And in too many cases he finds such customers among the most |unsatisfactory in the matter of collec- ‘tions—he must ‘await the action of | committees, *’ etc., etc., and he must | not manifest impatience lest he offend. | | | If the dealer wishes, or ought, to do- nate to a cause, the best way is to make the donation outright, independent of | any business transaction. Thus he will \be enabled to put his customers all on the same footing in his dealings, which is the only correct business principle. This subject is worthy of considera- tion; and the difficulties which may arise from taking the independent busi- ness stand will in most cases be much less than anticipated. MUNICIPAL RECKLESSNESS. The careless manner in which mu- nicipal projects involving the use of vast sums of money are treated, in this country, has long been a matter of con- cern to taxpayers in the cities. The proverbial American wastefulness is more manifest in this regard, perhaps, than in any other. A forcible illustra- tion of this characteristic is found in the recent investigations of the latest project for rapid transit in New York City. One of the most serious problems in municipal affairs in that city is the question of relieving the congested con- dition by the provision of adequate means of transportation. Elevated and isurface roads have long been insuffi- ‘gg é /cient, and so the project of an under- | ground railway, which would seem to | afford the only hope of relief, was taken | up and seemed in a fair way of accom- |plishment. Estimates were prepared and submitted by the city engineers and steps were about to be taken fer the commencement cf the work. As in all such undertakings, there were some property owners concerned in the right of way who obiected to the project and took legal steps to secure their rights in the matter. In the investigation which followed, it transpired that the engineers on whose reports the work was about to be commenced had given the subject so superficial an examination that they had overlooked errors involving millions of money, in one case having made an error of nearly a mile in computing the distance the line was to extend. The matter was carried to the court of ap- peals and a decision obtained, which can- not be reviewed, that, on account of these errors and the indefinite condition of the estimates, the injunction to re- strain the project shall be permanent. Thus, through the criminal negligence and carelessness which characterize nearly all matters of city expenditures, a most necessary public work will be prévented for a long time to come. Another manifestation of the same tendency is being brought to notice in the investigation of the pay roll frauds in Chicago. It was found that, in some cases, 50 per cent. of the wages paid to gangs of workmen were claimed by hangers-on, dummy workmen, saloon keepers, etc., some of whom received two or more of the envelopes given out, by taking places in the line the second time. Thus, in the investigations in- stituted, regularly organized gangs of plunderers of the public funds have been unearthed, and tke extent to which the conspiracy extends can only be con- jectured. The careless manner in which public works and funds are managed in every city gives more or less opportunity for such rascality. There is a crying de- mand for reform in the manner of man- aging such affairs in all our cities, in but few of which there have not been examples of gross mismanagement, and Grand Rapids is not one of the few. Recent revelations are creating a de- mand for such a reform and for tke de- vising of a system of managing the pub- lic business which shall make such carelessness and criminality impossible. THE PROBLEM OF IMMIGRATION. There can be no denying that there is a strong feeling in favor of more stringent immigration laws growing up among the masses of the people. It is realized that the present restrictions placed upon immigration, while they may keep out a proportion of the unde- sirable elements, do not successfully ex- clude all that should be kept out in the interest of the country. That persons convicted of crimes should be kept out of the country, as well as sick persons and paupers likely to become a public charge, everybody will promptly admit; but it is evident that such exclusions as are already au- thorized by law do not fully cover the case. That the unlimited immigration of ignorant and illiterate persons such as are not now excluded under the present laws is dangerous to the per- manency of American institutions and calculated to lower the general moral level of the population would seem to be too evident a proposition to be ques- tioned. To meet this latter feature of the case, a bill is now pending in the House of Representatives which provides that no person be allowed to come into the country who cannot read English nor any other language. There is also an- other bill pending which prcvides for consular inspection at the port of sail- ing. Both of these measures are excellent in their way, and the immigration laws would be the better for their adoption. They would go far towards checking the only class of undesirable immigrants not now excluded by law, namely the illiterate. Illiterate persons cannot be expected to make good citizens ; hence they should be excluded. It is a mistake to suppose that the ad- vocates of these measures believe in the total stoppage of immigration. Immi- gration of a proper character should be carefully encouraged, as the advent of people of that sort cannot fail to benefit the sections in which they may finally settle. It is by no means the case that a majority of the immigrants arriving every year are of the undesirable kind ; far from it; but the percentage of the unwelcome class of immigrants is large enough to induce the people to put a check upon the arrival of such persons. ea STREET CAR STRIKES. The extent to which a fear of incur- ring the displeasure of the ‘* walking delegate’’ will sometimes operate to create a condition of business prostra- tion and panic is illustrated in the present condition of things at Milwau- kee. Failing in other means of coer- , cing the street railway company, a boy- cott was declared upon all who would not boycott it. The fears excited by, this threat and the accompanying at- tempt were sufficient to paralyze busi- ness for several days. Of course, that situation could not continue long. As soon as the more intelligent of the busi- ness community had collected their wits and gotten over the scare, a movement was started to break up the boycott. This is being easily accomplished, as it was really more a panic than a boy- cott, and a general movement among merchants to resume business will soon restore confidence. The conditions in Milwaukee are al- most identical with those which pre- vailed in this city during the street car strike of five years ago. There was the same fear of the power of the unions, which enabled the strike managers to run lines of ramshackle omnibuses and antiquated wagons. It was not long, however, before the public discovered the real"weakness of the boycotting ele- ment and its patronage was quickly transferred to the street cars again; and the managers of the strike and boycott gathered up the proceeds, for which they were responsible to no one, paid as few bills as possible and sought fresh fields for conquest. The chairman of the strike committee established the finest saloon in Chicago directly after his position became unprofitable here. There may have been the difference in the situation that Milwaukee is more strongly union, on account of the beer interests, which warranted the attempt to coerce the people, after the exam- ple of Grand Rapids; but, from the fact that Toledo if on the eve ofa similar strike, the inference is warrant- ed that these movements are caused by those who hope to profit from the agita- tion, and that the poor dupes who suffer in the movements have little idea of the significance of such failures as the one referred to here, the Brooklyn and Philadelphia strikes and many others all over the country. United States Consul-General Harel at St. Petersburg reports that he has seen $30,769,115 of American gold coin in the coffers of the Russian govern- ment, THE MICHIGAN TRADESMAN FOREIGN SUGAR BOUNTIES. The bill to increase the bounties on the exports of sugar has practically passed the German Reichstag, and, as a result, Germany will be able during the coming season to ship more sugar abroad than ever and to compete more successfully with sugars produced in other countries. As the United States is one of the most important markets for German sugars, the new bounties will make it possible to ship sugar to this country more profitably than is now the case, and the lower price of the German sugar will force a decline in the price of American beet and cane sugars. The active competition of German sugars due to the export bounty system induced Congress, two years ago, to place a countervailing duty upon all sugars im- ported from countries paying a bounty on imports. It was partly to overcome the effects of this countervailing duty that Germany has now resolved to in- crease her export bounty. If it were proper to place a counter- vailing duty on sugars from bounty- paying countries two years ago, it is surely proper to increase that duty in proportion to the increase made in the foreign bounties. If the existing law no longer suffices to prevent the compe- tition of bounty-fed foreign sugar, then it would appear to be in order to amend the law so as to augment the counter- vailing duty in proportion to the in- crease in the foreign bounties. In order to bring about the adoption of proper legislation to offset the ill effects of the enhanced German boun- ties, the Louisiana sugar industry sent representatives to Washington to urge upon the leading men in Congress the necessity of protecting the country against the competition of the German beet sugar. As a result, several bills dealing with the situation have been introduced ; among others, a bill known as the Perkins bill. It appeared that the Senate was dis- posed to consider the bill favorably, when Secretary of ihe Treasury Carlisle sent word to the Senate that it would be impossible to enforce the measure. This opposition of the Treasury De- partment to the Perkins bill has made its chances of success very poor. This is to be regretted, as the bill undoubt- edly dealt with the foreign export boun- ties successully, and would, if adopted, have afforded the desired relief. THE BALANCE AGAINST US. When it comes to swapping visitors during the year Europe has a tremen- dous advantage over America. Europe sends us, among the several hundred thousand of her citizens coming this way annually to spend more or less time with us, about a hundred thousand pau- pers, who manage to get in in spite of immigration laws, and the bulk of whom become a burden upon the coun- try in one way and another. © We treat the Europeans better. We send them annually about a hundred ‘thousand visitors, who spend more or less time with them, and who are cred- ited with spending on an average about a thousand dollars each in the Old World, and assisting materially in light- ening the public burdens by thus put- ting a hundred millions of extra dollars in circulation. This year the visiting season has opened earlier than usual. The reports last week showed some two thousand and odd passengers, for con- tinental points, carried by the big lin- ers, and this has been the record for some time. Berths are taken far in ad- vance on all the lines,and the steamship companies say the bookings indicate that their capacity to handle travel will be taxed to the utmost the entire sum- mer and fall. This annual migration of the Ameri- can globe trotter and tourist to Europe means a big pull on our gold _ reserves. The estimate of a hundred millions is a conservative one, and in addition to this is the vast amount of interest and dividend payments to be made during the summer in gold. The drain means tight gold markets, and tight gold mar- kets mean a rush on the’ Treasury again, and so the endless chain is set in motion once more. Coupled with the stagnation of a presidential election year, the outlook is not the most encour- aging. And yet this annual travel and extravagance show how rich the Ameri- can people are asa Nation. No other nation duplicates such costly restlessness and sightseeing, and while the rich are richer than the nobles of other lands, the poor, fortunately, so far, are better off than the poor of any other country— the extremes of wealth and poverty are not so striking in America as in Europe, but the gulf between them is still too wide. The Inwardness of Trouble. It is not a new theory that most of the trouble in the world is caused by what people eat. A man who partakes of a midnight supper of indigestible food is bound to be a pessimist of the deepest dye the next morning. He can believe anything of the depravity of the human stomach and heart. Most of the divorces occur in the early stages of matrimony, when the wife is presumably learning to cook. A man will stand a good many shortcomings from a woman who isa tiptop house-keeper. A learned scien- tist has recently been investigating the effect of food, particularly vegetables, on the human character. He finds that a diet of carrots ameliorates harshness of character and reduces nervous _ irri- tability ; peas create fatty tissue and en- courage joyousness; while turnips have a depressing influence. Celery taken in excess causes eye trouble, while cab- bage is good for pulmonary complaints. Lettuce acts as a sedative, owing to opium in its milky juice. Red beets will add plumpness to the thinnest form, while potatoes are also fattening. With such a delightful schedule ar- ranged, we can eat, drink, and acquire all the virtues by the delightful process of dining. —_—___ 6 The Transvaal authorities have reached a decision in the cases of fifty- nine of the members of the Reform Union who were recently convicted in connection with the conspiracy against the South African Republic. A number of these prisoners will be released im- mediately, and others will be given their freedom at the expiration of three months, while a part of those still re- maining in custody will be allowed to renew their requests for a cancellation of their sentences after five months shall have elapsed, and four of the con- demned men will be given the same privilege at the end of a year from the date of their sentence. _—~>-© When Weyler wants corn he issues an order to the effect that anyone having corn and failing to bring it in at once will be regarded as a traitor and shot. This state of affairs; exists withina hundred miles or so of the Great Re- public, when one word from our Chief Executive would end for all time such barbaric methods. INO] UBISLIed Parisian Flour Lemon & Wheeler Company, SOLE AGENTS. Parisian Flour Parisian Flour Q ° ° Ge PREEAG oy o °o OONOTOO OOOO OOOO. In New Quarters XG J ° 9° 3: ow 9 ° ° ° ° ° 0 We beg leave to inform the trade that we have removed our office and o 'o Pm sales rooms from our old location to 30 North Ionia St. (opposite Ball-Barn- ‘a ° hart-Putman Cuo.), where we have enlarged capacity and increased facilities ° eve formeeting the requirements of our customers. Besides being the largest o)0%y = handlers of vinegar in the State, we are headquarters for a ° ‘ ° Sore ° ° ° ° a oO love ’ o lox, 2 which have a wide reputation for purity and strength. We solicit an inspec- 7 tion of our new location. ° ° olCf{o °o Q oa °o es ° OAlo Cate) ° one “9 e ; il ed es oe GRAND RAPIDS. Bente “en ° Ge ° ° ° ° ° ° c ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ORICA CRIRER ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ow SS CGowGowGe ° 4LION COFFE OF COURSE YOU HANDLE th For Sale by All Jobbers. BOCOOSooSooooooeoooooooeoeooes $ SEE PRICE LIST ELSEWHERE. ¢ ¢ oe eae 3 ; $ EVERY PAGKAGE 16 OZ. NET 3 WITHOUT GLAZING. : Perfectly Pure Coffee. ¢ WOOLSON SPICE CO. TOLEDO, OHIO, and KANSAS CITY, MO. JSR g AEA G ZS K GSA D : PIES ARSE SSS SAREE JIILLAR'S PENANG SPICES We assert that all goods put up under the above style are not only genuine, but that the selections for the manufactured articles are made from the highest grade of stock, are of the highest possible grade of commercial purity, and packed net weight and will also be found always unsurpassed in style of package, milling or manu- facture. As proof of this statement, we take pleasure in submit- ting the following testimonial from the State Food Commissioner: SDIeieS ae YQIE > CHAS. E. STORRS, Dairy and Food Commissioner. Lansing, Mich., Feb. 25, 1896. E. B. MILLAR & CO., Chicago, IIl., GENTLEMEN: The December number of the Bulletin of this department contains the analysis of a sample of Pepper from R. B. Shank & Co., of Lansing, produced by your firm. In a re-examination of this Pepper it has been found that a mistake was made in classifying it as an adulterated product, which correction will be published in the next number of the Bulletin. Respectfully yours, (Signed) C. E. STORRS, Dairy and Food Commissioner. E. B. MILLAR & CO., Importers and Grinders. CHICAGO. Zs was aS os] BOIS DIASs om SOAS OSM SNS PIS SRew] SSSA SSa wa eae aa aa TABS 10 THE MICHIGAN TRADESMAN Getting the People Why It Pays To Advertise in Trade Journals. Written for the TRADESMAN. Copyrighted, 1895. Few trade papers have large circula- tion. There is little reason why they should. A trade paper cannot have a circula- tion larger than the number of stores, offices or factories representing the busi- ness. A few trade papers have circulations exceeding 10,000. Most trade papers do not print over 5,000. Some trade papers print less than 2,000. The reading circulation of a trade paper is from twice to ten times as much as the reading circulation of any other class of advertising mediums. The good trade paper is read by from one to fifty people. The trade paper is only read by those directly interested in the business. There is no waste to trade paper cir- culation. Every copy goes into the store, office or factory of a probable buyer. The reader of a general magazine or paper may be onlya possible buyer, but every reader of a trade paper must be directly interested in the goods of his trade, or he would not be in that trade. Trade paper circulation is limited to probable buyers. The circulation of all other mediums is limited to possible buyers. The advertising columns of a good trade paper contain as interesting mat- ter as the reading pages. A trade paper is a mirror of its trade, a sort of reflecting hopper into which are poured suggestions, ideas and facts. The advertising columns of the trade paper are not directories, are not dic- tionaries, but they are encyclopedias of goods and profitable things. All trade paper readers are not suc- cessful, but no successful man 1s with- out his trade paper. The daily paper may be skipped. The magazines may be thrown away, but the business man of brains, sense and profit salable reads his trade paper, and turns it over to his partners, his clerks, and his workmen. The trade paper circulates into the inside of the business pocketbook. It is studied from cover to cover, and read and re-read, for every business man knows that a single paragraph or a sin- gle advertisement may give him infor- mation absolutely necessary in the con- duct of his business. The circulation of a thousand copies | amoug a thousand actual and constant | buyers will sell more goods or will as- sist 1n the sale of more goods than will! five the circulation of a general | medium. Trade { advertising does not | take the place of general advertising, does general advertising take the place of trade paper advertising. They | are different lines but net opposed to} each other. The must have a line of trade customers and | these customers are as much _ interested in his trade paper as he is himself. The trade paper oo circulation | hasn’t any value and, al | equal, the trade paper of the largest cir- | culation is the best advertising medium ; but any trade paper with decent circu- lation has a right to claim advertising times paper nor maker or seller of something | é 1 things being | 1 value because it has it and has a differ- ent kind of value from any other me- dium. Circulation counts even with trade papers; but the circulation of a trade paper cannot be compared with that of one of general circulation, and its value for advertising, inch for inch, is from ten to twenty times greater, because it goes just where you want it to go, sim- ply because it cannot go anywhere else. NaTuH’L C. FOWLER, JR., Doctor of Publicity. —__» 0+ Overdoing the Advertisement-Writing Business. From Business. Almost every line of enterprise at one time or another is overdone. In the hope of gain, men rush into the busi- ness, whatever it may be, who are poorly qualified to succeed therein, or who have insufficient capital for the purpose. In due season there follows the inevitable result. The general standing of the trade is lowered and more or less ridiculous things are done which are directly opposed to the credit of the better men in the ranks. All that we have said above, having in mind for the moment the usual mercantile call- ings, is applicable as well to certain classes of professional work. For ex- ample, take it in the department of ad- vertisement-writing. As pointed out by one of our exchanges, advertisement- writers have recently sprung into exist- ence like earthworms aftera rain. Some | of them apparently have very little cap ital (ability and_ skill), and others none at all. The business public is of late flooded with aphorisms on advertis- ing, and with smart writing in general. These candidates for employment labor to say something bright, and what they put forth from time to time ranges from the really good to the very poor. The OV erdoing in the trade of advertisement- writing is the presence of untried men who rush in where those of more experi- | ence fear to tread. to come, and business men who in the past have been made ridiculous by the irrelevent and nonsensical talk of their advertising-writers, will ere long learn to discriminate most carefully.