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I I , 9 IIEARST’S SUNDAY AMERICAN, ATLANTA, C.A., SUNDAY, DECEMBER 7, 1913. 13 A S Merchants and Manufacturers' Bulletin Silvey Sales Force On Week-End Visit ■p... ..llesforce of John Silvey & Co. n the house for a week-end •hut Is, all are present but Gen ii. Oorry, who Is detained in . te-rltory. Southwest Georgia, to ,nte ..penlng bill. General Cor- tp< nd a ideasant Sunday, and ,, you General. f i- , i v member of the sales force it in glowing reports, and pros- ., .. for a big spring business are t.riK' for Silvey & Co. I> H, Jeter, who has been connect ed with the firm for the past two years, took on a new territory down the Georgia Road, on the first of No vember last, and proceeded to lead the entire force on November sales. If the force keeps up this record-break- . ing salesmanship, Silvey & Go. will have to adopt a slogan, something on the order of the following: “Silvey Salesmen Surely Sell.” PLATE GLASS SCARCE. Stocks of plate glass in this coun try seem to be especially well deplet ed. and immediate deliveries of or ders of any size are said to be prac tically impossible to get. Collections in that field are especially good, from allaccounts. Shoe Manufacturing in The Southern States Our Efficient Mail Order Service - ENABLES YOU TO KEEP THE ITEMS THAT SELL CONSTANTLY. INCREASED PROFITS RESULT WHEN STOCKS ARE FULL. ORDER NOW. RIDLEY -WILLIAMSON WY ATT CO., Wholesale Dry Goods and Notions,' Atlanta, Georgia. V ./ We make Picture Mouldings and Picture Frames for Whatever Purpose You Want Them. Samples of Mouldings Sent to Dealer on Request. Especially Prepared to Handle all Orders Same Day Received. BINDER FRAME MANUFACTURING CO. Atlanta, Georgia. Chicago, Illinois. More Efficient Methods Are Being Adopted by Progressive Distributors. CAPITAL CITY TOBACCO CO. 176-178 Marietta St. Atlanta, Ga. IMPORTERS AMO JOBBERS The Only Exclusive Tobacco House in Georgia When in town gome to see us or write us for new price list. It will be worth your while. THE EDISON DICTATING MACHINE SAVES HALF THE TIME. EXPENSE AND TROUBLE OF LETTER WRITING Made In Orange by Thomas A. Edison. Sold, demonstrated knd guar anteed in Georgia by BAYLIS OFFICE EQUIPMENT CO. Office Furniture—Commercial Stationery No. 1 South Broad Street. Phone 241 E. L. ADAMS CO. WHOLESALE GROCERS OUR MOTTO: First Quality Merchandise and Prompt Service. McCLURE TEN CENT COMPANY Importers, Jobbers, Distributors GOODS TO RETAIL AT 5c TO $1.00 Write us about opening a store or department of this kind for you Vollmer Manufacturing Co. We Cater to the Retail Jeweler Only Manufacturers and Designers of Fine Jewelry. Engrav ing, Diamond Setting and Watchmaking a specialty. Special Designs in Platinum. Let us do your diamond mounting and repair work. Bell Phone Ivy 1670 Moore Bldg., Atlanta, Ga. THE MAIL ORDER COFFEE ROASTERS ATLANTA COFFEE MILLS COMPANY Blenders of High-Grade Coffees Special Blends EUREKA, ATCO, SQUARE DEAL Rich !n Flavor, Fresh and Pur. Ask Your Grocer. Buy Your Coffee Direct From the Mill—Roasted Daily 402 Edgewood Avenue, Atlanta, Ga. GEORGIA PRODUCTS DAY EVERY DAY WHEN YOU WEAR ARAGON SHIRTS- —PANTS---OVERALLS MANUFACTURED BY A. M. ROBINSON COMPANY 59 North Pryor St Atlanta, GecrgSa The wide-awake jobbers and wholesalers of dry goods and kindred lines in the West are keenly alive to the urgent necessity of making very radical changes in the present meth od of sampling dry goods, furnishing goods and ready-to-wear garments. The present method is burdensome to the salesman and the cost is out of proportion to sales. With the change from the time when the selling of dry goods in the piece was the important end of the business to the “ready-made” era the lines of the traveling salesman’s sam ples have grown until to-day it is not an unusual thing for large wholesal ers to have on the road an average of from twelve to fourteen trunks with every general salesman. In Other Important Lines. The other important mercantile lines—groceries, hardware, furnitufe, queensware, clothing, etc.—have so reformed their loose and expensive sampling plans (or should one say lack of plan that to-day if a sales man would solicit an opportunity to i present his wares—men’s clothing, for | instance—on the strength of a state- | ment that “he had fifteen trunks of i clothing samples on display at the | hotel,” the merchant would tell him | he was representing a "back number” concern and that he felt no interest in looking at the line of a concern so evidently unprogressive. As an evidence of the great interest there is in this new movement in the I dry goods trade to reduce sample I lines, a two days’ convention was held | in Omaha to consider this subject f in detail. New Plans Shown. The representatives brought with them trunks of samples to show what | each one was doing in his own way to j • help solve the problem of reducing i salesmen’s samples and the exchange i of ideas was very instructive and will | undoubtedly lead to great reforms. It was shown that such important lines as blankets, duck coats, sheep lined coats, mackinaws, shirts, under wear, sweaters, children’s dresses, aprons, children’s coats, bath robes, , bedspreads, blankets, notions, muslin underwear, ladies’ waists, knit hoods, etc. (all bulky lines, which no house can profitably sample in made-up gar ments for filling in business), can be represented by means of photographs with snatches of the fabric and print ed description attached. Omaha Houses Lead. Some of those present were going into their third season with the new sampling plan and furnished compar ative figures showing not only sub stantial reductions in the expense ac count, but greatly increased sales on the very lines where the change in method of sampling had been most radical. The Omaha houses seem to have gone farther along the new way than those from any other market, and it was generally conceded that while the “pmaha idea” was a novelty, now it would unquestionably set a new standard. It was a constant expression with everyone that while the saving in traveling expenses was an important consideration, the point which would count most in the movement for a general adoption of the new plan was the fact that it would greatly increase the efficiency of every salesman who carried a dry goods line. Penny Change of Great Importance In Retail Business The importmce of “splitting the nickel” and making prices and change on the basis of the cent is one of the most profitable details of the retail business. “Make Penny Change,” ‘‘Split the Nickel” or “Common Sense Merchan dising.” Call it what you may, the net result for all those who use the system remains unchanged and spells thriftiness and prosperity ' What constitutes the very corner stone of a going manufacturing and jobbing business? Satisfied custo mers who meet their, obligations promptly. What, then, Van be done io help improve the present status of things and bring about to a greater degree the above-desired condition? Make “penny change.” Why* is it that the business of so many apparently good retail mer chants dwindles? Has It ever oc curred to you that it was because he did not “split the nickel?” The bases from which a business is figured are sales, per cent of profit on sales and per cent of expense to sales. The difference between these last two should spell net profit. He depends on his ability to make up his short profits, on even-money sales, by long •nes on the same basis, and “thereby nangs the tale” which usually spells i disaster. His guess as to his average 1 per cent of .profit, sooner or later, works the wrong a ay, and he b omes, in the familiar terms of the i jobber, “a lame duck.” This process of trying to strike a i satisfactory average profit by the i merchant on an even-change selling , visis is largely responsible for the i mail-order business which leaves oui inme towns. The mail-order houses earned the trick of “penny change.” They figure a per cent of profit and n an item which costs 4 cents they ist at 7. while our dealers’ price is: 10 er.ts. it is by a comparison of such rh e# that the- home customer loses There Should Be a Factory in Every Large City—Great In crease of Business. Bv J. K. ORR, JR.. What of the progress and prospects of shoe manufacturing in the South? Its progress has been shown in an increase of volume from Southern factories of practically 500 per cent in the past five years. And why should its prospects be , set at a single notch lower than that accomplished by New England ami the Middle West? Shoe making is a game in which no one section has any natural ad- | vantages. The machinery used by all the fac- Dry Goods Sales and I, N. Binder Returns Collections Increase From Chicago Visit OF WORLD TO MET IT FI Monster Convention Seems Cer tain for Panama-Pacific Exposition in 1915. J. K. Orr, Jr., Vice President of the J. K. Orr Shoe Company. The International Federation of Commercial Travelers, an organiza tion numbering 400,000 members in America, Is to hold its 1915 congress in San Francisco. A committee from this organization is now in Europe interesting like associations there in a world's congress, which has been assured, says President Ben Schloss, of the international federation. England has accepted the invita tion and a splendid delegation >f commercial travelers is expected from Great Britain, while France also has tentatively responded to the call. Moreover, New Zealand has entered and promises a large delegation, so that it is certain every nation suffi ciently civilized to enjoy the “boost ing” of the commercial traveler will be enrolled In the membership of thi« first world’s congress of federated commercial travelers. Just how many will come to Sin Francisco It is not possible to conjec ture, buT they will number In the thousands, not only because of the two congresses that wi” oonven ?, but also because there will be cele brated in San Francisco still anoth- r event unique in the history of com mercial travelers’ associations. “GROUCH" IN BUSINESS. Take note of the manner of man who comes around to your office and spends an hour telling you that business is on the down grade and that the country is going to the dogs Fight against the influences which, it not combated, would bring you to the conclusion that the sun is setting upon the constructive period in the history of the United States. Ask the man who thinks so how many hours of constructive panning he gives to his business each day. Notwithstanding the warm weather during November sales and collections show a gain over the corresponding month a year ago. This condition em phasizes the fact that conservative I operating does not necessarily mean limited buying nor selling, but a carc- I ful attitude among merchants to see that goods are properly selected and in sufficient quantity to meet cus tomers’ needs. Retail merchants' preparations for their January sales are being felt in the increased demand for goods of all descript Ions. From letters received from different sources a number of buyers will visit this market right after Christmas to pick up good bargains for their season-end sales. Israel N. Binder, of the Binder Frame Manufacturing Company, la back on the job after a two weeks’ trip to Chicago, where the company operates a large plant. Mr. Binder reports that every min ute of his time while in Chicago was spent in completing arrangements whereby the company will be in a po sition next year to handle business in the most prompt and efficient service that time and money can control. The Binder Frame Manufacturing Company, by the way, is the only plant of its kind in the South. tories all over the country is the same, and is practically all made and furnished by one concern. Leather and other material is bought in the open market and is Just as accessible to Georgia as to Massachusetts: skilled labor natur ally follows its own opportunities, so that it is Just sane to say that the South can not make its own shoes as to claim that it can not print its own newspapers. The present season has been in many ways a big help to the growth of Southern shoe manufacturing. Conservative buying during the summer followed by a bumper cotton crop caused a rush of business that found the retail merchants of the South needing shoes and needing them quick. Many dealers who had long bought all their shoes in the more distant markets, turned gladly to the newer convenience of at-home factories for help. Repeat orders from many of the most critical shoe stores show that Southern-made shoes not only have the call on convenience, but have proven themselves up to the best standard on syle, quality and value. The Red Seal shoe factory, here in Atlanta, has this fall pushed its out put 40 per cent above its previous high water mark, and we have been glad to hear that other Southern fac tories have had all the busine**s they could handle. Shoe are now being made in Vir ginia. Tennessee ami Georgia, and it is my opinion that within the next few years there will be at least one shoe factory not only in every State, but in every progressive city through out the South. E IBM RETAILERS LOSE ONTO However, Prices Keep Up in the South on Persistence of Good Demand. Although thus far only general con ditions can be described, it is the prevailing belief that the next three mon.ths will show a very substantial advance in importations in a good many branches of business. The ef fect on costs of living is still some distance off, but forecasts made in trade circles are to the effect that iffirrent levels of prices in this coun try in a number of important lines will be decidedly lower. The importations of important food stuffs that have taken place from for eign centers of production, notably in the case of meats, have had an appre ciable influence already, in prevent ing increases of cost that would otherwise have occurred. In the man ufactured goods, while changes have been relatively small thus far. there have been some distinct alterations of prices and more important ones are looked for when tftne has been given for distributors to contrast prices abroad and at hom^e and to make their purchases in the most advan tageous markets. Advices from a good many of the 1 manufacturing centers, particularly in the South, supposed to be affected by the new rates, however, do not indicate any decline in business, but on the contrary the persistence of good orders, so that the stress of for eign competition will make itself felt only some time %fter the strengthen ing of import business predicted in consequence of the greater interest now being shown. The new condi tions will, however, produce a sharper stress of competition. One reason for the more active in terest in the American market that is being exhibited in Europe is the slackening of business demand In some lines, which has. been generally good heretofore and the consequent effort to get better openings for busi ness in the United States. Should this condition continue and become more intense, as it is predicted in many quarters will be the case, the result will be a steady advance in Importations of foreign-made goods. This 9tate of things applies not only in textiles, but in crude and unman ufactured lines such as cement and various forms of metal products. EXPORTS FOh WEEK. Exports of domestics and cotton duck from New York in the week end ed November 22 were valued at $232,- 063, a loss of $273,901 from the week previous. The greatest amount ship ped to \ single foreign market, valued Steps Taken to Set Prices That Will Hereafter Yield Dealer Profit. Strange as it may sound, sewing thread is sold in England by most re- I tailors or drapers, at a loss. Very I recently the J. and J. ('oats combine j circularized the whole retail trade of England asking if it were not possible to have the manufacturer agree upon a price at which thread would be sold In future at retail, so that a reason able profit might be assured. The returns from these circulars showed that the retail trade of Eng land was almost unanimously in favor of the set price system on thread, anil favored some similar plan whereby losses on other staples handled by dry goods rnen might be avoided. One large manufacturer of cotton goods entered upon a plan similar in all respects to the plans in vogue here of selling a finished and packaged fabric at retail „at a fixed price, or at a minimum price. A cloth of stand ard quality has been taken for trial. There is in England no counterpart of our Sherman anti-trust law, and the question has not come up there as to what extent the common law re garding merchandising in the matter of restraining competition may be violated. Nothing in the way of suits to vex merchandisers has yet come forward, and where trials of the set price system are being made care is being taken to avoid all semblance of conspiracy to hold prices on a mo nopoly plane. It is most interesting to note that while manufacturers in this country are trying to break down prices on the theory that they enhance the cost of distribution and give opportunity for the sale of a great deal of inferior merchandise at the highest accepted retail price, over in England efforts are under way to adopt the very sys tem that is coming into strong dis favor here. trip To Atlanta is avail able to the mer chant who buys an adequate bill from the members of the Merchants’ Asso ciation. Write to H. T. Moore SECRETARY. Rhodes Building, Atlanta. I low’s Your Circulation? They say there’s lots of money in the country, and you know folks will spend it at Christmas time. Don’t yon think on a season like this it pays to push your shoe sales? The forehanded man will he ready. The Hed Seal dealer is usually fixed on sizes. He knows how to get them quick. If you haven’t our 1914 catalog, say so on a postal. If you are interested in floor goods under price, come to Atlanta and get in on our December Clearance Sale. We clean the decks twice a year. These lots are sold for wliat they will bring—and bring quick. They might stimulate some stag nant stock yon may have and help your circulation. J. K. Orr Shoe Co. Red Seal Shoe Factory Atlanta Merchants contemplating going into business will lose nothing by con ferring with ns. No charge for con sultation. Catalog or salesman on re el nest. THE HIR5HBERG CO. WAV 3 HERE 5t£dioneryan& Dru^lstsSunOxia 0-15-17NfXSON ST Ai i4a.nt<n AVERY’S CYCLONE STALK CUTTER Stalk-Cutting Time Is Here Easy Riding No Neck Weight No Stalks too Tough for the Cyclone. Does the Work and Does It Right. Agents wanted in every city in the South. Write for descriptive circular, prices and attractive proposition to Agents. It will pay you. B. F. AVERY & SONS, Inc., 584 Whitehall St., Atlanta, Ga.