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- Michigan Artisan; 1907-10-10
Michigan Artisan; 1907-10-10
- Notes:
- Issue of a furniture trade magazine published in Grand Rapids, Mich. It was published twice monthly, beginning in 1880. and ----- --- ~~~ -------------------
_.J
Twenty"Eighth Year-No.1 OCTOBER 10. 1907 Semi-Monthly
RIGHT IN FRONT AS USUAL
Here is a SANDER. that will finish your worIi PE.RTECTL Y
No, 163 Universal Sand Belt M..chine.
This machine bas a variety of
adjustments and will sand WITH
THE GRAIN and require no re-touching
by hand, the following:
Mirror frames, round, avaIl any
shape; drawet rails, base rails;
drawer fronts, serpentine, ogee,
round or swell, either straight or
cross veneered; agee, round, bevel
or straight edges of dresser or table
tops, of round, square or scrolled
patterns; table rims, dresser posts;
veneered roils or columns; straight
ogee or rounded mouldings; raised
surfaces of panels; spirals of table
legs; curtain slats for roll top desks;
spindle carvings; French table legs;
plumbers' wood work; table tops;
etc.
Ask for Catalog E
~'The BestTruck--TheStrongestTruck
WI-'SONa & MILES CO., Cedar St. and Sou. R. R., aREENSBORO, N. c.
I,
"¥tW"
This is the famousGillette Roller Bearing Factory
TrUck-the truck on which it is said, "One man
can move a load of 3000 pounds while with
the other trucks it takes three men,"
This is the truck that is strong where others are
weak-the truck that has an unbreakable
malleable iron fork.
This is the truck YOU are looking for if you wish
to invest in rather than waste money on factory
trucks.
Gillette Roller Bearing Co.
ORAND RAPIDS, MICHIOAN
The Lightest Running.
Longest Lasting Trouck
I f..
-...- .......E
Our New Home
Yes, we are a bit "stuck up" about our new factory, and why
shouldn't we be? It is about as complete from dry-kiln to shipping
room for our work as could be constructed.
With electrical driven machines, new equipment in most depart-ments,
plenty of light in all rooms and sanitary surroundings we have
put our workmen in a position to give us even better work than in
the past. And it may bother us some at that to know just where to
try and improve.
But we will improve on shipments---there have been times when
we hardly knew how to dig out from under our orders. Conditions
are better now, try us. If you don't know our line of Factory Furnish-ings,
better get a catalog.
Grand Rapids Hand Screw Co.
Cabinet Makers' and Manual Tra~iDg Benches, Trucks, Hand Screws and" Clamps ..
918 Jefferson Ave. . . Grand Rapids, Mich.
LARGEST BENCH MANUFACTURERS IN THE WORLD.
-- - -----------------------
1
5~ARTAI~
MAHOGANY
STAINS
There is a wealth of beauty and a richness of tone in the colors of our SPARTAN
MAHOGANY STAINS that cannot be found in any other Mahogany Stain
made. Whether it is desired to produce a genuine or an imitation
Mahogany finish, either with the brush or in the dipping tank,
the most perfect results are assured with SPARTAN.
MAHOGANY STAINS. They are made in a
wide range of shades from a light Toona
Mahogany to the very darkest effects.
Write us for a sampIe of the particular
shade you are most interested in.
MARIETTA
PAlNT & COLOR CO.
MARIETTA - OHIO
IT
HAS
BEEN
CLAIMED
-that nothing will ever sUJlplant Golden
Oak all a wood finisb, particularly fo(
furniture. and there is no denyinjl its
beauty. It it also conceded thai OUR
GOLDEN OAK OIL STAINS ate
'the moSt practical on the market for the
6nisher. while they are nbo the mMl;
ecollomical for the manufacture', The
colors are ri~hand perfect, and include
every ehade rangiuQ: from the very lil{hl
oak 10 the darkeSt shades, Write (or
our Golden Oal: folder.
Veneer Presses, all kinds and sizes.
Veneer Presses
Glue Spreaders
Glue Heaters
Trucks,tEte" Etc.
T ...E:
These Specialties are used all
Over the World
IT
HAS
BEEN
PROVEN
- time and again thai OUT Wood Fille",
Stains and Surfacels- are tM moil: practi-cat
line of Wood Finishing Material$
,pffered to tBe trade. Our Oil Staillll and
,pur line of Spartan StroM are reoollllized
by furniture' manufacluIe1'8 fKlm the At.
Ianlic and from. Canada 10 the Gulf all
5uperiDr 1(1all otber$.
Hand Feed Glnelng Machine (Pat.
pending.) Eight styles and sizes.
Wood-Working
Machinery
and Supplies
I'ower Feed Glue Spreading l\olachine,
(Patent applied tOI".)Single, Double and LET US KNO:W
Combination. YOUR. WANTS
C"AS. E. FRANCIS s.. BRO..a 419-421 E. EllIhth St.
CINCINN4TI,O.
No. 6 Glue Heater,
Do You Want The Originality of our work is one of its chief characteristics.
Something
Original?
WE BUILD HIGH GRADE
CATALOGS COMPLETE
ENGRAVING
I'RINTING
BINDING
White Printing Co.
2 to 20 Lyon Street GRA.ND RAPIDS, MICH,
I
f
---- --------------
2 ·J'~MICHIG7IN .7IRTI.5'JL7'I -..- "7 a· 9 e . 2re
A Bird in the Hand is Worth Two in the Bush
THIS OLD PROVERB IS TRUE IN BUYING MACHINERY
Wouldn't you rather bUya machine that is substantially built and that will outwear two other
machine", than invest your money in a machine that will last half as long?
THE HALFTONE REPRESENTS OUR NO. 62 WOODWORKER
The frame is SUbstantially built and entirely free from vibration and is therefore adapted for
the heaviest range of work.
This machine is especially
noted for the immense variety of
work it will do 'and tbe ease and
quickness with which it can be
adapted to the various kinds of
work.
It is equipped with two
tables made of iron which have
independent vertical and lateral
adjustments by means of a hand
wheel at the working end of the
machine. The vertical and lat-eral
adjustments can also be made
simultaneonsly.
It is equipped with a boring table on the opposite side of the machine which has vertical· and
lateral adjustments to suit the size of the material to be worked.
SHALL WE SEND YOU DESCRIPTIVE CIRCULAR?
505-525 W. FRONT ST.
Cincin.n.ati,Ohio.. U. S.A.
\..z
28th Year--No. 7. GRAND RAPIDS, MICH., OCTOBER 10, 1907.
WATCHING THE NIGHT WATCHMAN.
Modern Invention Has Murdered the Sleep of the Old Time
Guardian of Property.
All the cheery jokes about the sleeping capacity of the
average night watchman passed into obscurity long ago, 110t
so much because the night watchman may not be as sleepy as
of yore as because science has found so many ways ·of keep-ing
him awake. Stolen naps may still be sweetest, but a
few mechanical devices have made them few and far between
and full of peril for the man who is supposed to keep nightly
vigil of the safety of mill and factories.
From the watchman's {loint of view this is a cold and cruel
world; "\vithin the last few years its cruelty has been worked
out with so fine an inventive genius that he has small chance
of "beating" the s}'stcm of checking by which his movements
are recorded. So frail is hL1m"mnature and so likely to skip
some of its work if no incentivc but a sense of duty is pro-vided
that "watching the watchman" has become an art in
itself.
For years inventors have heen busy ill the attempt to
produce a mechanical system for recording the ,,,,atchman-'s
rounds that "v'ill prove reliable in all emergencies and that
cannot be beaten by ordin<lry human ingenuity such as a
watchman is likely to possess So far as the latter aim is
concerned, preventing the watcbman from dodging the sys-tem,
the effort has been successful in most instances and it is
a skillful man indeed ,,,,110 can fail in his rounds and still have
the record indicate that he was on the job. But when it
comes to providing a system that will accomplish its purpose
in all emergcncies and prove infallibly. effective in -protecting
property, perfection has not been reached.
As between the systems in common use, opinion is divid-ed
over the question of which is t'he surest and most reliable.
A recent writer in Insurance Engineering, after consideration
of the various methods, declares that there are as yet no
definite records which wilt prove which is the most satisfac-tory,
and that it is merely a matter of opinion.
Therdore., the wakhman, in return fOT having his O:wn
traditional rest disturbed, bas at least the satisfaction of
knowing that he is causing his employers more or less worry,
which may result in sleeplessness. It may be slim comfort
for a man who had decided to take the night watchman cure
for insomnia, but it is about all there is left for him.
There are three common methods of "v-latching the watch-man,"
each of which has its advantages and disadvantges.
and over the efficacy of which opinion is divided. T"vo of
these are automatic, while the third requires a more elabor-ate
installation aml the kceping of records by operators at a
special central station.
About the earliest method employed when property o\Yn~
ers began to realize the necessity of keeping tabs on the
watcblilen they employed to protect their buildings from fire;
was the portable watch or clock. This is, perhaps .the simp-
$1.00 per Yeaf.
lest method, and the least expensive. It consists of a watch
or clode carried by the watchman on his rounds, the clock
being perhaps five or six inches in diameter and usually en-closed
in a leather case with a shoulder strap for ease in car-rying.
In addition to the regular clock movement, the in-strument
has a paper dial which can be replaced every day
and on ,..h..ich the record is kept.
At various places throughout the building or grounds to be
patrolled are keys permanently fastened by chains. each of
whicb fits into the clock and leaves its own particular re-cord
on the dial. Thus the latter, divided- into hours and
minutes, sho\",s in the morning the time record of the use
of the keys
\I\Then this system first came into use '...a.tchmen were
prompt to discover ways to beat it. The keys were so simple
that they could he duplicated without much difficulty. so that
the watchman, if he chose, could sit and doze in comfort,
waking up often enough to insert one of his duplicates. The
record ,,,,hen examined, therefore, indicated that he had been
keeping schedule time on his rounds when in fact he may
not have stirred out of his chair all night
This and other defects were so apparent that the system
fell into disrepute as being worth little when matched against
the v,'its of the watchman '''''ho would rather shirk than work.
\Vithin the past few years, however, such improvements
OUD5PfClAlIMPfniAl
WfATnfDfD OAR OIl5TAIn
is the standard all over America.
Are YOU using it?
NANUFAC-rURCD lIi11t£.Y,p y
CHICAGO WOOD FINISHING CO.
259·63 ELSTONAVE"'Z·16 SLOAN ST.
CH I CACO.
4 ·:f'~MIf ..HI~7fN ?
•
.7IR T I oS'.7U'J
¥ ; 7 r·
COLONIAL AND MISSION
"nO=KUM=lOOSr" WOO~Kno~s
Made in Mahogany. Oak and all popular woods.
The only kind that won't come off. These knobs
are made in ovals, rounds and squares. Nearly
one million of these knobs made and sold within
a year. Write for prices.
WADDELL MFG. CO., Grand Rapids, Mich.
have been made in it that most of the defects have been eli-minated,
and the system is practically as hard to beat as
any other. The modern clocks are strong, btlilt to
stand abuse without getting out of order, the keys
have a raised letter or figure which fits into a matrix
in the clock so that they are extremely difficult (0 duplicate,
and they afe attached to· their stations in a way that make
it impossible to remove them without prompt detection.
This system requires no wiring, and is 50 simple and in-expensjve
that it is one ·of the most commonly used, espec-ially
"in small establishments.
The ncxt developmcnt was the invention of the electric
clock system, and while there are various classes of these.
the method of their use and their effectiveness are practically
the same. This system requires the wiring of the building
or area to be covered, the dock being located in the office or
elsewhere, the watchman either pressing a button or turning
a box crank at the various stations The record is thus left
on the dhd of the clock. which may, if desired, be located
where it is not accessible to the watchman for any possible
tampering.
Insofar as these two systems are automatic, though the
possibility of putting the electric clock outside the building
gives it the advantage of not being destroyed in case of fire,
its record of the watchman's movements thus being pre-served
in case of question as to whether the blaze was due
to his negligence or not
The third system,however. is radicaHy different, involving
constant sl1pervis"ion of the watchman's movements, SO that
if he fails to keep to his schedule an investigation may be
made at once This is called the central station systemj and
is commonly used only where there are groups of factories
near together, as in a manufacturing city.
The method is similar to that used by police departments
for their telephone and signal systems, except that it is or-dinarily
not equippcd with telephones at the stations. Boxes
are located at various points along the watchman's route,
connected by electric routes with the central station, where
oneot mOre operators are commonly on watcb Each box
haS a transmitter operating on its own closed circuit, so that
the central station operator can tell by the number what box
is being "rung in."
A record of the calls is kept by the operators, and sheets
showing the time at which the watchmen visited their various
stations are sent to the manufacturers in the morning, In
addition to the regular call, whose only purpose is to keep
track of the watchman, each of these stations is equipped
with apparatus for sending in special firm alarms.
This system is naturally far" more expensive than any
other that is in common use, and is subject to the disadvan-tage
of human fallibility in that the operator at the central
station may make mistakes. Its marked advantage is th<lt
by it.tbe watchman is kept under almost constant super-
VISIOn. If he should' fail to appear for work, or if sudden
illness during the night should make him unable to continue
his rounds the fact is quickly noted and an investigation
made.
The importance of this may be seen from the r.ecords of
the fire insurance companies, one case on record being that a
new ""'atchman ,was expected that night, but had failed to
show up_ It also frequently happens that the watchman is
called from his rounds or delayed in making them by the ne-cessity
of stopping leaks, tending fires, etc. Whenever for
any reason he misses a eall the omission is noted and an
investigation made.
This system, like that of the electric clock which is kept
outside the building, preserves a record Df the watchman's
movements whic'h is not destroyed in case of fire. The re-ports
of insurance inspectors, on the other hand, often show
BENNETT& WITTE
MANUFACTUREltS OF
==LUMBER==
For FurhUu", Mfr8.• Car Builders and Cat"t'ia.ceTrade.
Sl~~:~t dWhite and Red 00.1\ {J':i;:e~~~
RED and SAP GUM
Poplar. Cottonwood. Ash. Elm
and Chestnut.
A Full Line of Southern Hardwoods. E.zport and Domestic.
WRITE EITHER OFFICE.
B,ancltM: emphUT..... Main Office, Cincinnati. O.
We sell on National Hardwood Lumb~r Association
inspection only.
cases in which the watchman's clock has been destroyed by
fire, so that J)is statements as to where he was cannot be veri-fied
WhateYer the system adopted by the employer, 1t is re"'"
garded as an investment for. increased protection against fire
or other danger, and is reckoned as a factor in determining
the fire hazard and the insurance rates. The conscientious
watchman also finds it an advantage in that it gives a per-manent
record which will verify his statment in case doubt
arises as to where he should have been in case of qre or other
emergency.
It is only the watchman who would rather live up to the
traditions of the old time joke who regards the adoption of
any mechanical system of watching him as an infliction to be
deplored. And the latter has heen pretty completely elim-inated
or reformed against his will, precisely as the adop-tion
of police signal systel1,1S has made it difficult tor the
patrolman to dodge the making of his regulai beat.
USE A
MORTON KILN
IT WILL END YOUR
DRY KILN TROUBLES
Does not warp or check lumber.
THE MOST PERFECT MOIST AIR
KILN ON THE MARKET. / 10 Spindle Machine
AI80 made with 12, lS, 20 and ~ Spindles.
5
\ TRUCKS, CANVAS DOORS, RECORD-·
ING THERMOMETERS and other sup-plies.
Write for catalog H which tells HOW
TO DRY LUMBER.
MORTON DRY KILN CO.
DODDS' NEW GEAR
DOVETAILING MACHINE
This Uttle machine has done lDore to Perfect the drawer work
of furniture manufactnrers than anything. else In the fuml.
ture trade. For fifteen yeal's it has made perfect-fitting,
vcnnln-proot, dove-tailed stock It pOMliblllty. Tblf!l bas
been accomplillhed at reduced cost, as the machine cuts
dove-tails in gangs of from 9 to 24 at ODe oPeration.
ALltXANDER DODDS. Grand Rapids. Mich.
Repreeented by 5chudUlJdl & Schlltte at Bedin. Vienna, Siockholm and St.
Pderthutll. Represented by AUred H. Schulte al Cologne. Brussels. lleae. Patill,
Milan and Bilbao, RepmeQled in Gr~1 Bntian and Ireland by the OIivel Machin-ery
Co • F. S. Thompson, Mil'., 201·203, Dealuute. Manchestet. Enaland.
Perfect Satisfaction All Along the Line Among Users of the
"ABC" MOIST AIR DRY KILNS
2i8 LASALLE ST" CHICACO.
SHAlJ.. WE SEND YOU FURTHER INFORMATION?
"We aTe ftill usioilihelhree Dry Kiln& that you fllTnisbed us and same are doing lloc.d work and are llivinQ:entire satiafadion."'- C. B. Atkin. Mfrg. Wood ManteI..
Knoxville. Tenn. "The kiJn bas.lways !liven 116 Pflffect .Dsfadion is e1'ety respect. We conslmor it a handy. practical aDd COI!venjeJ\t kiln in every way:' - Abram
Walrath Co., Weedaport (N. Y.) Bent Worka. "The lonael ~ use it, the bettel we like it."-Duane Chair Co.• Dalton. Ga.
AMERICAN BLOWER COMPANY. Detroit. Mich.
NEW YORK, 141 Broadway. CHICAGO. 15sa MarqueHe Bldg. ATLANTA. 1019 Empire Bid ... WNDON. 70 Gracecburch St.
6
CALL ON US FOR
WALTER CLARK 535 Michigan Trust Building
Citizens Phone S9 J3
Quarter Sawed Oak Veneer
I WE ALWAYS HAVE CHOICE STOCK ON HAND I
GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN
Manufacturers Who Are Useful Citizens.
The busine!-is community of Indianapolis is intensely loyal
to that city. Possessed of unusual civic pride, many of the
manufacturers, bankers, merchants and professionals never
hesitate when money, influence or labor is needed to promote
the welfare of the community. The good book says "the
Lord loves a cheerful giver," but the business men of Indian-apolis
not only give cheerfully, but liberally. Among the
most noted- of the "useful men" of Indianapolis is A. A.
Barnes, one of the owners of the Udell Works, Thomas B.
Laycock and F. L. Lindley of the Laycock Manufacturing
Company, Thomas Madden and John H. Emrich. These
men are noted for their loyalty to the city and their services
in every movement to improve the physical and moral wel-fare
of the people. Probably no man in the city has given
more of his time and talents and as generously of his means
in aid ,of stich in'stitutions as the Young l\Ien and Young
Women's Christian Associations as Mr. Barnes. He not
only inspired the construction of large and beautiful homes
for these associations, but JllS was the willing hand that raised
a large part of the funds needed to pay the cost of the same.
His own pockets were never closed 'when the test of his phil-anthropy
were put to a trial. He has given important ser-vice
to the Baptist Orphan Asylum, the Baptist College at
Franklin and contributed liberally to their treasures. He is
a trustee of -VVinona Institute, a. Presbyterian institution,
where 500 young men and women are taught useful trades
annually. Such men as 1'11'.Barnes arc public benefactors.
The accumulation of money is not 'their" sale purpose in life.
Knowing how to use funds 'wisely, they aim to acquire it that
a considerable part of it may be expended for the benefit of
the community.
A Model Mercantile House.
"Ever stop at Kansas' City?" enquired the traveled sales-man
of another of his class.
"No; what about it?"
"I will tell you but one thing about it. It contains the
1110stup~to-date furniture store in the west. You enter and
are, met by a great, warm-hearted" kindly mall, who makes
you feel that he is really glad to see you. His shake
is T!-0t like that ,of the average hotel clerk, whose halld is as
cold and damp as a rubber overshoe. 'Wciuld you like to
look thro.ugh the store? 'Gla,d ~o furnish, all escort. Here
George, shaM' the.gentleman through the store. Take plenty
of time in d£ling so.' In time y'ou return and the great one
enquires if you are pleased. Of course you are. You have
witnessed the conveniences and perfect appointments of the
place and the clean, splendid stock and say so. The great
one enquires, 'Have you seen Mr.: Repp?' No; but you would
like to. Vou are led into the office of Mr. Repp and very
cordially received by that gentleman. In turn, you are pre-scnted
to Mr. Cooper, the buyer, who dismisses his stenog-rapher
for the time being and faces you with an air of be·
nignity that explains that all his time is your own. You a'~'
given the utmost consideration and when you have completed
your business and retire, the great one escorts yoU to the
door and bids you a hearty good-bye .. Say, it is worth going
to Kansas City to meet the men of this house, if you knew
before starting that you would not take an order. Do the
Designed by Otto Jlranek, Grand Rapids, Mich.
business? Well, I should say, Yes, yes,' as they do in New
York when they speak the truth. \Vhell they do not one
yes serves their purpose. Wish there were'more houses like
Duff & Repp."
Case Makers Will Meet.
The semi~annual meeting of the National Case Makers'
Association will be held in Chicago on November 7. Will
another advance in prices be made? Wait and see.
·:f~MIPJ-1IG7fN 7
..- HAY CITY MILLS
SWEPT BY FIRE
.av
..:this
,Jr'ge
mnk
lim-ived
In-lOUS
bad
be-
'~he
o{
Nt be"
K'
cu,'
PLANT OF W. D. YOUNG &. CO. bo'
/
wa
ex,':'
Mr;
,b ...
ca&
BURNED AND LOSS NEARLY
A HUNDRED THOUSAND.
)1, .' A Y CITY, 1\i:tc_., Sept, ,2.-The saw-mill
and hardwooil' flooring mUl of. W. AF
D. ~oun~'& Co. 9urne~ tonight, to-
.,~ Ilg,ether With ,320.000 fee,t.Of' kiln dried
maple flooring, 250,QOO·, feet ot: rough ~: I n:ap"!e IUll1ber an,d. th~e ~ca.rs ·,.lOaded r,
g~ hi'! He starte ~n e dr kiln and mi'
~e; rapl y .~.' . '. " ,he po'
dg firemen l)y l;hatd wnrk saved two .large I W€
1 Iwarehouses '·:t\lIed 'WIth 1.500,000 feet ,of l.aUt
:-ni( ritess~d fleliH'ing. al~l).dugh ohe of them wh:
'.h~-' adjoined the ,flooring n;Lfll and suffered cut
• the IQ,ss of'the~ot. I The fire ,W'a:;;dls- is ,1
covered 'at 6:;80' and· ,"fas not 'undar 'wea';
c:ontrolfor ,t~!o' hhurs., ,The, loss' Is to ij
from $75.000 0" '$100.000: covered by abQl
imnironGe. The orlliJ.n or theftl'e is .~.. sen
mystery,. the\pl,a..nt behi.gl.idlf. toda¥.1 .....;.Jd
W. " ""0< b.= -"-" " b"" " r EurQpe. l'
~ m~~~e~,~,~ab~nlbtea:.
d
:.1!::,I<ln,.rt, ",.' "'~, ,tt~l:l'~P'~,',;;"' linemen:. wereba.Ug~-6 under a falling I waIl. tl;te former 'esca-p!hg~vl-t.l)a. few
bruises, while: the 'l~tter' w~e:-t:badly I'
'llt..abput',. t},,~;face and h:ea,w', "
Profitable All Around.
Arthur \V. Cobb, the general manager of the Udell \i\'orks,
Indianapolis, \-vho spent a day in GrcUld Rapids recently with
the company's eastern salesman, George C. Dyer, stated that
the several departments of the Udell \Vorks are operated on
the contract system. During' the past year a large amount
of money has been invested in new l11acbitH~ry and additions
will be made as fast as tools shall be developed that will
prove more profitable to operate than those now in use. il/Ir.
Cobb holds to the theory that the most compc,tent men will
get into a rut if he does not watch himself, and declares that
the sudden aud unexpected jolt the business man gets from
time to time is invaluable, if he shall heed it.
"The fact was borne forcibly on my l11iml that one of
the weaknesses of the Udell vVorks was in our carving de-partment.
Our machines were old and the system employed
was faulty. The contractor for that department was very
much out of patiel1ce when I suggcsted that there were new
and better ways for producing carvings and that his depart-ment
needed a shaking tip. Finally I offered to,provide new
tools if he would divide the savings effected by their intro-duction
with the company, and he said he would gi ..'e the
plan a trial for thirty days. Before that time expired he
wished to thro"v· up the contract, but I persuaded him to hold
on and he is now earning mort "money than before and tlIe
carvings cost the company considerably less than before the
change was made. Old fashioned methods were followed
in the glue room until it \vas pointed out to the contractor
that savings could be effected by changes in the working
force and the use of tools, which the company proposed to
furnish, provided a part of the savings effected should go to
the company. We are getting more nnd better veneered
stock than formerly at a material reduction in the cost of the
same. The contractor is perfectly satisfied with the change.
Systems better than the old had been put into force in other
Strange, isn't it, that peo-ple
will continue to build
and operate these old fire-traps,
when our New Kiln
Process makes a kiln
FIRE PROOF
doubles its capacity, runs
on exhaust steam, saves
lumber and labor and 1$
guaranteed as to results.
GRAND RAPIDS VENEER WORKS
Grand Rapids, Mich.
departments with the same results and yet }\'fr. CobQ does not
regard the Udell plant as perfect by any means. ,He i~f'till
plal111illg improvements. r-"
In the past he had experienced considerable difficulty
with the superintendents employed on account of their t1nwil-lingness
to accept suggestions or orders in the operation of
the plant. "Too often the superintendent would reject a
suggestion with the remark, 'I have run furniture factories
twenty-five years and kno'w 'my business. When I need your
advice I will ask for it.' Such men are in a rut, but are
too stubborn to acknowledge that fact!'
Among the il11provements at the Udell Works is the sand-ing
machine, which, does the ",.·ork as well <IS when a drum
sander is employed.
No.600.
The engraving helow is one of the'designs brought out by
the Ornamental Products Company of Detroit, Mich., which
they arc making of lig-nine in the following sizes: One and
one-half inches, om' and three-fourths inches, two inches, two
and one-half inches, three inches and three and one-half
inches. This capital has good details and is a suitable orna-ment
for sideboards, china closets, buffets, mantels and
pianos.
\
8
Grand Rapids School
of Designing
544-545IHoDseman Bldg., Grand Rapids, Mich.
ARTHUR KIRKPATRICK, Instructor.
WE TEACH A COMPLETE COURSE IN
FURNITURE DESIGNING
IN TWO BRANCHES:
DETAILING and SKETCHING
WE ALSO TEACH A COURSE IN
ADVANCED ORNAMENT
WATER COLORING, WASH DRAWING
and CARTOONING
THE LARGEST AND BEST COURSES
WRITE US TODAY FOR PARTICULARS
7IRTI>5'~"· i 2m
• .
A TELEPHONE TANGLE.
How the Common Carrier Law Made a Racket in Montana.
The right of eminent domain is a precious right. The
rule of law placing the convenience of the public above regula-tions
established by common carriers is a good thing in some.
instances. But there are cases where the most approved
laws balk when vigorously applied. Here is a case in point:
The manager of a telephone- exchange received a visitor
one day who got into the private office "by dealing the office
girl clerk a left-hander and kicking the door open with a
number twelve boot.
The manager thought in a second of all the wicked things
he had ever done. The visitor looked like a bad man out
for blood. He was sturdy of framer his neck looked like the
cylinder of it steam engin'e, the length of his reach was a won-der,
and on the. whole, he looked like a man who could go
some. In a contest provoked under Mill Creek rul-es, which
declare a foul if you hit anywhere below the shoes, he would
be a tough proposition.
"Look here!" shouted the visitor, shirt open at the throat,
sleeves rolled above the elbows, trousers kept above the
hips by a rusty leather belt, "I want my money back, and I
want it right now!"
He pounded the top of the roll-top desk with one clenched
fist and glared down at the astonished manager, who waS be-ginning
to wish that an earthquake would come' booming along
or a cyclone would lift the lid off the building, anything in
order that he might escape what seemed to be coming to
him.
\\.'-h-a-t money?" asked the telephone man.
The manager is a cautious man. He knows the purchas-ing
power of money as well as the next one. He tempor-ized.
The visitor did not speak again for a moment and he
asked:
h\Vhn's got your inoncy, my friend?"
hYour agent down at Deep Holler says you've got it.
Says he turned it over to yOll. I want it~two dollars an'
sixty cents.'"
"Oh, yo.t1paid it to the agent for the use of the 'phonei""
"That's ,it-two dollars an' sixty cents for the use of ,a
wire about as big as a blade of grass. Yes, it was a little
wire, but it contained more vocabulary than a ten-volume dic-tionary
bound in calf an' sold on the installment plan. Say,
mister, that wire was full of talk. When do I get my
money?"
"So you used the wire?"
"Huh?"
"If you used the wire; why· do you, demand you: money
back?"
"I wanted to have. the thing split up," replied the bad
man. "I want them either fellows who was using the wire
at the same time to pro rate on the tariff. See?"
"Sorry if you were annoyed, but we can't-"
"You bet you cam1"
'IBut if you used the wire-"
"If I used the wire? Say, mister, every man, woman an'
child in seven states an' two territories was usin' the wire at
the same time. I goes out to the agent an' I says to him
that I wants to talk with Sally Norman over to Calico Hill.
He pulls a plug and says as how that was my Satly.Wa,
it? Not! It was a man orderin' mules from out in Idaho.
So I goes to the agent again an' says as how I don't get PO
Llraw out of the telephone pack."
"Wires got crossed, Ipresume," said the agent.
"Yes, I suppose so. The agent explained that under tht·
laws of Montana any 'phone' com.pany had a right to connect
with any long distance wire on payin' a reasonable fee. He
---- ---- --- - -
said- the --tfouble was that some little company with about
tWo miles of wire had cut into the long di.stance line."
"That was right,"
"So I says to the agent, 'Don't I get no action on my
play?' Art' he says to try it again, This time it was a
miner out on the hills sendill' in a wail for a gallon 0' red
eye. I could 'hear Sally murmurin' at Calico Hill, an' I
k:new that she thought it was me orderin' the whisky. \Nhen
I go over there again I'll be put out doors so hard I'll have
to stay in bed for a week. Can I get damages {or that?"
"';.,r e can't dodge the 1",,\","said the agent. "\Vhatevcr
tl,e {~ot1rtsays goes."
"So I goes back to the .1gent, with them telephone tol1s
TUllnin' up every second, an' speaks mildly to him about the
interruption. So he says for me to try again, an' I does.
This time it is a man at the Double Cross mine as is ex-pressin'
himself in language unbecomin', a gentleman. {'m the
man what's got the call, an' the girl operator thinks it's me
assassinatin' tne language an' promises to send her big
hrother over whh a rope. I'm expectin' him along most any
time. If I get sniffed out in place of the man what was
turnin' the United States language inside out, can I get dam-ages
for it? Say, wnen do I catch that two-sixty?"
"'liVe have to abide by the law," explained the manager.
"The courts S:lY that these little llinky-dinky companies have
the right to connect with our long distance lines, and there
y011 arc."
"An" you collect totls from them that talks over the line?"
"Certainly-a little."
"Then yOll charge part of this bill 0' mine up to the mule
man, an' the rcd cye mall, an' the cUss-word man. If I try
it from here do y<.m think 1 could talk with Sally at Calico
Hill?" *
'''You might try."
"An' if some one cuts in?"
"'1'.Te can't help that."
'Thcy might cut in at Ro\ivar~"
"Of course."
"0. Carnovan?"
"Certainly."
"An' they mig"ht plan murder?'-'
"::-.Jotlikely to over the wire."
"But ii th~y did the police might come out an' hang m<,:?"
"\i\Tell, I'm busy,'" said the nW.11ager, thinking the man
talked too much to be really dangerous. "I don't see how
I can return your money. The law gives these little com-panies
the right to cut in, and cut in they wil],"
The visitor tightened 'ltlS belt. I-lis clenched fist swung
pendulous at his side. He moved back and forth over the
office floor likc a panther. The manager got behind a C01111-
THIS IS THE CAN
AND LABEL
.7IRTI,sA..N ~~ ...
$ sr. ~
tcr and 'pus'hed the elecJric button which summoned his clerk.
"See -here !," shouted the visitor, "I'm goin' to play even in
this game. In about two days I'll be in the hospital, an' be
a di~consolatc lover, an' be dead! All because of this long
distance "lire what you stakes for the play but don't controJ
none."
It began to look like the law of eminent domain and the
law rdating to C0111moncarriers had bumped up against a
snag.
The visitor tightened his belt. His elene.hed fist SW1ll1g
rough house by piling things in the middle of the floor. The
manager anxiously watched for his clerk, thinking that he
was confronted by a madman_
"If you don't know Sally," he said, between breaths, "(yon
can't size up what I've got COO1in'to me when next we meets
in the gloaming. I've been called a drunkard, an' a gambler,
an' a sheep thief, <In' a moonshiner over that common carrier
,,,,ire of yours, an' I'm doublin' the stakes to make good.
After I get this ranch fixed up all right I'm going over to
Bolivar to argt;e with the man who said I stole a blind
mule from him last winter. If you've got that two-sixty
handy, I might use it for ointment."
By this time the manager was digging do.wn in his clothes
am] the open door showed an array of frightened fa~es.
"There \'"as a woman on that wire," continued the visitor,
"'what said I was her only-only one, an' Sally went Ollt on
the line to ask her about it. I guess Sally will raise the
price of wigs in that section. It's all right to have this emi-nent
domain, an' this common carrier, but what we wants is
telephone service."
The manager dodged a volume from his electrical library,
which hit the wall about <minch from his ear,-and the clerks
rushed in.
"It's all right," gasped the visitor, as they loaded him into
the patrol wagon, "hut when I get out I'll come over here an'
start a telephone company iyith a wire two feet long, anl I'll
pump that long distance thing of yours so full of United
St.'ltes that it will sow capital letters over the' country."
"You might do that, all right, according to recent de-cisions,"
said the tl1anag~r, brushing the dust of battle off his
coat.
"You bet I might," yelled the visitor. <'Say, if Sa[Jy
comes down an' asks for me say that I enlisted in the army
all' went out to fight the yallet niggers. Your eminent do-main's
got me fadeu, all right."
And the m<lnager breathed easier as the patrol wagon'
turned a corner.
ALFRED B, TOZER.
Ground has becn broken for a new interior finish fac-tory
at Lansing, Ivlich.
BERRY BROTHERS'
Rubbing and Polishing Varnishes MUST BE USED IN FURNITURE WORK TO BE APPRECIATED
THEY SETTLE THE VARNISH QUESTION WHEREVER TRIED
WRlTE FOR INFORMATION, .
FINISHED WOOD SAMPLES. AND UTERATUFtE.
New York
262 Pearl St.
Do.ton
520 Atlantic Ave.
Philadelphia
26-28 No. 4th St.
Baltimore
29 5. HanCiver51.
BERRY BROTHERS,LIMIT~
VARNISH MANUFACTURERS
DETROIT
Cbi~o
48.50 Lake St.
Cinciobati
420 MainSt.
St. LoW.
112 So, 4th St.
San Frallcueo
CANADIAN FACTORY, WALKERVILLE: ONTARIO 668 Howatd St..
9
10
A Rare Treasure.
Securely kicked in a secret apartment of his safe John
Widdicombhas placed a rare little book, that came into
his possessiol1 forty years ago. It is the first photo-cata-logue
brought out in Grand Rapids, and represents the line
of the llrm ofWiddicomb Brothers, since incorporated as.
the Widdicomb Furniture Company~ Trhe photograph::>,
niostlytwo by three- inches in size, represent two round end
spindle beds, a round end spindle Lounge, one cheap {:hamher
suit~J in ash, ornamented with strips of walnut, four small
tables for the chamber or sitting room, and a round end
spindle crib. The firm also manufactured trundle beds-an
article almost unknown to the dealer in -furniture of the
present. The sale of these simple but useful articles were so
large as to keep tbe modest factory of the firm fully em-ployed.
A Varnish That Will Not Print.
A marvelous result in varnis'h making has been attained
by the Acme White Lead and Color \\,T orks of Detroit, Mich.,
in the production of a rubbing varnish that will not print. It
Designed by Otto Jir811ek, Grand Ra.pids, MiCh.:
is called Paradox. The user of this varnish can save much
time in finishing a11d preparing goods for shipment and is
safe in· guaranteeing to customers a finish that will not print.
Many tests Ihave proven the reliability of Paradox rubbing in
the respect mentioned. The Acme White Lead and Color
Works have recently started twelve additional fires and their
wood finishing department is running to its capacity. Sales
Manager Quigley reports that a considerable number of new
accounts have been opened recently by users of WQod finish-ing
goods.
.An 'Extension to the Hotel Pantlind.
"Furniture men" visiting Grand Rapids in January will be
pleased with the additional accommodations by the extension
of the Hotel Pant lind, now under construction. The cafe
w:ill be. materially enlarged and thi.ty-"five chambers with
baths and other mvdern conveniences provided when the new
structure shall be completed. The new apartments will be
furnished with the best products of the factories of Grand
Rapids.
Rdused a Bonus.
The Grand Ledge Chair Company refused the offer of a
heavy bonus -recently to move their factory to ManhHee,
Mich. The company will remain loyal to their home town.
.7fR TItS' A:1"I"
e 4 7 re
NO! NO TROUBLE HERE!
Simply wanted to get you to give this something better than a passing
glance and since we have caught your eye let's catch your orders for
Veneered Rolls. We build the famousj~RELIABLE" ROLLS.
WRITE FOR PRICES.
The Fellwock Auto. & Mfg. Co.
EVANSVILLE. INDIANA
Ours is the larqest Roll Plant in tM United State8.
50 PER CENT
of the Circulation of Trade Papers
(Excepting the MichiganArtisan)
IS mailed to manufacturers,
designers, shop hands, com=
mission men, jobbers of fac-tory
supplies and others who
do not sell furniture and kin-dred
goods. To reach the
largeStnumber of retailers use
I
The Michigan Artisan's Mercantile
Editions Mailed to Dealers Only.
11
Li~ine CarvingsUnbreakable
f] Perfed reproduction of hand c:arvings. Full depth of grain. Will not CHIP. CHECK. CRACK nor
SHRINK. fJJ Sl10nger than wood. CJ No waste in your fadory. f] Are applied lhe same as wood Carv~
ings, by nailing or glllinS' I.lI No heating nor steaming. Finish with filler or stain. tj Write for sample
and catalogue showing Capitals, Heads, Shields, Scrolls, Claws, etc. Consider LIGNINE
carvings in your new creations.
ORNAMENTAL PRODUCTS CO., 551 West Fort St., Detroit, Mich.
TO MAKE SPECIAL CHAIRS.
Michigan Seating Company Formed in Grand Rapids.
\\lith a capitalization of $20,000, of which one-half has been
subscribed and paid in, the l'vlichigan Seating Company has
been formed. Those interested are Arthur D. McBurney,
$7,900; Henry B. Morris, $2,000. and Joseph Kirwin, $100, all
of this city. The purpose is to manufa.cture arId sell chairs
for porch and lawn purpose!; \..h..i.cb arc to be made along spe-cial
lines. Ivlessrs. McHurney and 1'1orris came to Grand Rap-ids
recently from rVlichigan City, Ind., and were for years
identilied with the big chair manufacturing house of J. S.
Ford, Johnson & Co., of Chicago, one of the most widely
known institutions of its type in the country.
Under the present models of porch chairs it is claimed
that the seats and backs manufactured from the materials
in vogue are rough and not altogether comfortable. The
process to be used by this new house employs pressed paper
and hemp for the seats and backs, the two types of materjal~
Wood Stains
Good Stains
Correct Stains
Economical
Stains
Non=Fading
Stains
BOOK
All about up-ta·date styles of finish,
nobby shades and just how to pro-duce
them for furniture or house-by
writing to
WALTER K. SCHMIDT COMPANY
90 Canal St., Grand Rapids, Micb.
being used in separate lines. This material gives a smooth
surface, providing comfort which is lacking in much of the
furniture of this class on the market.
The projectors of the enterprise are looking over sit~s in
the city and expect to locate and begin active operations
SOOH. The intendon is to start in on a modest scale, ex-panding
as the demands of the business require. It is de8ir~d
that a line be rcady for showing at the mid-winter sales that
the output may be in shape for the spring market.
Progress Toward Currency Reform.
Currency reform advocates all over the country are mani-festing
much pleasure at the noteworthy triumph won by the
progressive clement in the National Bankers' Association at
its recent Atlantic City convention. The bankers of the
country have aI-ways been reprehensibly apathetic toward cur-rency
reform. This papthy is the more to be censured for it
is beyond question that if the bankers would agree on any
measure and urge its enactment upon their members of con-gress
they could secure its adoption. Now at last they have
agreed, in the ::ldoption of the Atlant:c City report, and it re-mains
to be seen how much steam they will get up behind
the measure which will in due course be brought to the at-tention
of congress.
The new plan contemplates the issue of additional bank
notes, not secured by deposit of bonds, but resting upon the
capital and resources of the bank, not ~o exceed twenty-five
per cent of its capital or forty per cent of its bond-secured
circulation, supported by a legal reserve and subject to taxa-tion
which is cOllvertr,d into a guarantee fund for redemption.
Here is a moderate and apparently safe beginning in the
direction of a credit note whieh aH who accept the principle
of banking currency can support, and which seems; in addi-tion,
to present the fewest possible points of objection from
hostile criticism.
Factory Supplies.
Varnish gums are stronger again, especially medium and
low grades of kauri. Another advance is recorded, follow-ing
a continued upward movement at primary points. Ma-nilas
are steady at previous quotations. Damar and China
wood oil are firm on spot, although a slightly easier tone pre-vails
in the foreign markets. Turpentine is again easier and
lower as to prices. Buyers were uninterested on account of
the downward movement and trading was practically at a
standstill. The probability now is that even lower figures
will rule. A fair degree of activity has been manifested in
the linseed oil market, although trading continued to be con-fined
largely to spot supplies for current requirements; The
tone of the market has been firm throughout and what ten-dency
values displayed was in the direction of a slightly high-:-
er level, temporarily at least. This was due principally to
the strong positio1l of the seed market.
12 "~r;!f.HIG7JN 2
Business Tact ·as Applied to· Salesmanship.
The business world is divided into two great parts--":the
buying and the selling. No matter how modified or com-bined,
this is.the ruling- basis of all business activity.
The task of -the buyer is much the easier and simpler of
the two. This requires only a knowledge of the goods to be
bought and an understanding of market conditions so there
will be ·no under or over -buying.
But the selling-the word of the solicitor, salesman, agent
or under whatsoever other guise this duty may be performed
-"aye, there's the rub."
The degree of success attending the selling of any mer-chandise
is dependent upon two factors-the bu·siness tact of
the seller and the merit of the merchandise that is being sole!.
Placing business tact before the merchandise itself may
seem to be the "'irong sequence; it may look as if an unwar-ranted
preference and pre-eminence were given to business
tact.
Yet such is the case; in fact I will emphasize this state-ment,
that business tact is of more importance than the mer-chandise
itself.
We have only to remember the many times a persuasive
skillful book-agent has lured us into buying one or a volume
of books which we never had intended to purchase, for which
we have no use and whose pages have never been opened
after the first hasty glance, to demonstrate the contention
that business tact, properly applied, preludes the merchandise
itself.
Trace all selling transactions from the solicitor who ap-pears
at your door with his wares, to the saIseman who sells
manufacturing estabishments, their many thousand of dol-lars'
worth of requirements each season, and on to the men
who promote and operate tremendous schemes, involving
millions of dollars and you will find the same principle de-monstrated
again and again-business tact, then merchandise.
The purchasing of goods which the buyer had not previously
intended to get, giving an order larger than actully needed,
and even the buying of inferior goods-all because of thc bus-l11CSS
tact of the seller.
Business tact as applied to salesmanship involves a good
many requirements, all of equal importance, and the misuse
of anyone of which utterly destroys the effectiveness of the
others.
To introduce _yourself to a prospective buyer-gain his
attention and confidence-interest him in your proposition
and ultimately bring it to a successful termination, requires
a combination of self-assertion-deference-imperativeness
-and docility.
It means nothing should be omitted or committed that will
tend to place the buyer in an aggressive attitude.
It means you must have no mannerisms in dress, speech
or physical make-up to detract the buyer's mind from your
proposition.
It means you must grasp a situation o,r a change. in a situa-tion
im~ediately so as to modify or assert yourself as the
occasion may require.
It means that you must have yourself under absolute con-trol
.and, regardless of the provocation, never lose your
temper or. over-enthuse.
It means that you must know your poropsition and goods
so thoroughly that there will be no hesitancy-no indecision
---or faltering in answering any question that may be put to
you. You do not have to talk quickly; think before you
answer, but when you do speak, carry conviction with every
word.
All this is business tact. ]u'st as these many details are
observed and fulfilled, just so we have the highly successful,
mediocre and poor salesman.
To introduce yourself and get a hearing from a prospective
buyer is an extremely difficult matter.
All conditions must be favorable. Among these favorable
conditions are your personal appearance and manner~the
mood of the approaches (if I may so call them) and the time
of your visit.
The greatest care should be used to avoid carelessness or
foppishness in your attire. Over dressing as 'well as slovenli-
Iless will make the task of the salesman much harder.
The eye receives the first impression, and it is weU to
cater to the first impression. If the eye is pleased you will
have an excellent point in your favor. The same care should
be used in your ge~eral manner upon entering the office of
your prospective customer. The smoking of a cigar or cig-arette,
or .even their odor is likely to be objectionable; the
care with 'which you open the door, present your card and
s"eat yourself are all minor details which are important fac-tors
in the favorableness of your reception.
Of necessity there must be some prelude-an introductory
talk before coming to the proposition you have to present;
this prelude to the business you have in hand is the time for
qUick mental work. Here is your opportunity for "sizing
up" your man. Here is where you get the first hint how to
handle him, which really means how to adapt yourself to him,
There is no rule or set of rules to guide you. He who
has a knowledge of human nature-is a keen ohserver-can
grasp details readily-and most important of all, can think
and act quickly-such a one is best equipped to gather in and
use all those external points which will help him get his
bearings.
Those who cannot grasp these various items and make
helpful deductions therefrom, will 'have to spend added time
and energy to get information which is already his "who has
eyes and sees."
This "feeling your way" talk should give you a sufficient
line on your man to guide you as to what points of your
subject yOUare to emphasize and what ones are to be treated
only in an incidental way.
You cannot appeal to all men along the same lines; what
will interest one, receives a deaf ear- from another,
\Vherc you must harangue on price with one man you
n:ust ignore price and harp on quality with another.
""'here yolt must impress one man thatyoll are an author-ity
on the subject under discussion, and that every argument
you make is beyond question or criticism, you must figura-tively
"kow-tow" to another and so express yourself that
white you are really giving information and putting forth the
best points of YOllrproposition or merchandise, you are at the
same time catering to his 'ego and giving your hearer the
impression 'that of course you are aware that he is well in-formed
on all points about which you are talking; you are
(mly mentioning them to recall them to his mind.
Right here is where we meet one of the mostiniportant
elements of salesmanship, and that is catering to the ego of
the average business man.
Now don't confuse flattery with catering to the ego; flat-tery
is highly disgusting; ther'e will probably be one case in
every thousand where a man will submit to and be pleased
with flattery,
But catering to his ego-praising him without using direct
words of praise-----:-payinghomage without toadying-show-ing
deference and respect without submerging your own in-dividuality,
this is the trick that will give you a willing ear
and the good will of your man without fail.
It is needless for me to dwell on what should be done
when you get into the heart of the matter you wish to present.
If you know the subject about ,which you are talking in its
every minutests detail and are prepared to decisively answer
every question put to you, then you are on a solid foundation
and need have no fear.
Rhetorical flouriShes, attempts to m:uth some of Web-ster's
largest and most unused words, violent gesturing, are
all to be avoided.
And be careful when you get into the 'heat of your discus-
~MI9 ..HIG7fN
If We Can Prove To You
that the
Mattison No.5 TallIe LeI!Machine
will produce better work and at the same time save its cog};over your
present method of leg turning, would it not be to your interest to have
one ~
Then why not investigateand give us a chance to show you? The
effort is all on our part. With the Improved Cutter.Head, the
Oscillating Carriage and the Variable F rietion Feed' we claim
and stand ready to prove that our Machine will produce better work and
at less cost than any similar machine on the market.
All we ask for is a chance to explain its merits in detail. and are
periedly vv:illingto pul our time against yours in an effort to prove that it
would be profitabletOYOll. Now is a good time to write us.
C. MATTISON MACHINE WORKS
863 FIFTH STREET, BELOIT, WISCONSIN. U. S. A.
sian you do not pitch your voice too high. That puts your
man on a tension, in which state of mind your arguments can-not
be considered advantageou,sly.
At the first sign that your man is getting bored or desires
to terminate the interview, bring your argument to a speedy
but forcible climax, which will elicit either an acceptance, re-fusal,
or \,rill at least give you some encouragement. Then
leave.
"I thank you for your attention," "I trust I have not taken
too much of your time," "\Vith your permission I will take
this matter up with you again." Expressions like these are
very appropriate and leave a pleasant remembrance with your
hearer.
If you have not been successful during your Grst visit, sub-sequent
calls should be made. The successful salesman is a
living follow-up system whose dominant characteristic is per-sistence.
But be careful 110t to confuse persistence with bullheaded-ness;
the one is effective, the other is not.
In your succession of calls almost a glance should be
sufficient to show yoU whether it is wise to talk business with
a prospective customer or not.
I know a solicitor of life insurance (we all can appreciate
the endless difficulties he has to encounter) who has built up
a large clientele that gives this agent all their life insurance
business, and he owes his unprecented success to one thing-he
knows when not to talk life insurance
This man has time and time again gone out and visited
men whose business 'he desired, but has never talked a word
about life insurance with them; because at a glance at the
face of the man upon whom he called, the work piled upon
his desk, the general busy atmosphere of his nffice, he saw
that conditions ,vere not fav-orable; and again when he wo\\ld
talk insurRnce ,llJd during the conversation find that the sub-ject
v,,-as not appealing to the hearer, he would skillfully
change to an entirely different topic ofgelleraJ interest.
He waits until he finds the situation favorable-then-well,
I am told he has never lost a customer~
Now as far as I can see, the company which this agent
represents is not any better than a lwlf dozen others; nor
does he know the insurance problem any better than many
other men of his calling.
But that one point which all others seem to ignore, of
knowing when not to talk. has made him pre-eminently suc-cessful.
Never criticize your competitor nor his product to the
man whose business yOll are soliciting. It will react to your
detriment. \Vhen a salesman comes into an office, takes
up the work of a competitor that may be lying around and
starts to point ant defects and errors, he is reflecting upon the
good judgment of the mol11 he is addressing.
In all probability the thing he is so ruthlessly criticising
13
was bought from his competitor after careful, lengthy consid-eration
by that purchaser, alld to be abruptly shown that it
was a gross mistake to have thus bought, is not pleasing to
say the least. This kind of criticism interpreted means you
are saying to the man whose good will and patrOllage yOU
want: "You have poor business judgment; if you had sound
common sense you would not have dealt with my eompeti-tot."
Another very conUIlon fault to which many salesmen arc
prone, is trying to sell their wares by telling how eagerly
other houses have ordered from him.
"Now Mr. Blank, the Smith-Jones Company bought 500
gallons of this varnish from me yesterday, and you know they
are very shrewd buyers."
YOllr efforts along those lines v,,'ill be useless with the
average business man, who insists upon doing his own think-ing
and docs not want some other house to do it for him.
Forcibly impress upon your hearer, why it will be to his
THE
WEATHERLY
INDIVIDUAL
GLUE HEATER
Send your address and
receive descriptive cir-cular
of Glue Heaters,
Glue Cookers and H?t
B01es and prices.
WEATHERLY CO.
GRAND RAPIDS, MICH.
particular interest to buy the varnish in question and how he
will profit therefrom.
There arc no guide posts by which y011can be shown the
direct road to salesmanship. By actual experience only can
you get the proper and full appreciation of w.hat business
tact means as applied to selling transactions.
Tt is all a matter of how quickly yOU perceive the bene-ficial
effects of certain of your actions and the uselessness or
harmfulness of others-make the former your stock in trade
-and avoid the latter-then you will bring yourself to the
topmost step of successful salesmanship--Busine-ss Men's
Magazine.
14
!:STABLISHED 1880
, , '
~' I " "
C ' ~-- ~ ~' ~
- -
PUel.ll1HlSD .. v
MICHIGAN ARTISAN CO.
ON THE 10TH AND 25TI1 OF EACH MONTH
OPFICE-2~20 LYON ST.• GRANO RAPICS, MICH.
ENTERED ...S MATTl!R OF THE 8ECOllD Cl.A&8
Commission salesmen have good ground for complaint
011 account of the individuals, firms and corporations failing,
and in most instances, refusing to furnish a daily list of the
shipments made. A salesman visiting Omaha, for an in-stance,
in October. and learning that no part of an order
taken by him in July hom a certain dealer had been filled,
would be certain to utter words that would not be deemed
either polite or refined. If he had been informed that no
goods had been shipped the salesman would have been
saved much time and expense spent in making the second trip
to Omaha. Commission and salaried salesmen well com-plain
bitterly of the tre'atment they receive at the 'hands of
the men -in the office. Letters asking for information are
but seldom answered. The receipt of orders is seldom ac-knowledged
and reque'sts for remittances are unheeded when
it is not convenient to respond. In an address to the manu-facturers
of Grand Rapids a year or two ago Hon. George
P. Hummer declared that as a rule the men engaged in the
business of manufacturing furniture are competent, but in the
equally important branch of marketing their products they
are rank failures. It might be added that there is much
that should be learned in the conduct of correspondence and
the considerate treatment of traveling salesmen.
*!* *1'" *1* "'1*
Efforts to establish a uniform system of scaling in the
lumber trade have failed, but it is not the purpose of the
several associations of manufacturers that have endorsed the
movement to abandon it. The failure was occasioned by the
fact that the scaling of lumber is, and must ever be, a matter
of judgment. The estimates of one scaler may differ largely
from that of another as to the value of a stock of lumber.
Size, figure,color, texture, the nature of the soil in which
timber may have been grown, and many other details arise to
!c1aim the consideration of the scaler. To find-'a uniform
basis for estimating the value of timber is not an easy task,
the promoters of the movement are prepared to t~Hfy.
"'1* *1* *1* *1*
Some of the manufacturers arc displeased over tl1,~ new
rule of several of the railroad companies which eliminates the
practice of tacking advertisements on box cars, The rallroad
managers are not opposed to giving their patrons all the
free advertising possible, but ohject to the defacement of
'rolling stock aJld the necessity of putting the employes to
the extra task of removing the placards and fasteners after
the cars are unloaded.
"'1* *1* *1* *)*
Owners of property must not place too much confidence in
local agents when seeking just alld fair rates of insurance.
Such agents receive one-third of the amounts paid in pre-miums
as their compensation and naturally it is for their
il1terest to make the rates as high as the applicant will stand.
Good results have been reported by property owners who
make it a rule to "put the hammer" on local underwriters.
*1* *1* *1'" *1*
A very successful salesman of lumber, whenever possible,
makes'an inspection of the contents of a dealer's yard before
presenting himself at the -office of the oWner. He is an ex-perienced
scaler and inspector and by learning, in advance,
the quality and sizes of stock handled by the yard owner, he
knows how to approach him and discuss his wants intelli-gently.
'
*1* *!* *!'"
A noted, financier of Boston would ease the mOney market
by settling accounts by checks. He would have employers O!
labor pay their employes and more matrons pay the bi1ls
of tradesmen in that way. The plan sounds very nice, but
it remains for the noted financier to point the way to the ~oin
necessary to put in the banks for the purpose of redeeming
the checks.
rIiII
*1* *1* *1* *1*
After making the rounds of the factories of Evansville and
finding the word "Smile" printed in large letters upon the
walls of the offices, a traveling' salesman remarked that the
advice offered W<lSyery good, but the promoters of smiles
were lacking. There was 110 booze in sight, and none was
offered.
*!* *1* *1* *1*
The mal1u{acturers of refrigerators held a convention in
New York recently and agreed upon prices for the' coming
year. Owing to the fact that the cost of materials have not
been reduced, prices were materially increased.
*1* *1* *1*' *1*
It appears that a few large trees remajnuncut in the state
of Oregon. Four fir logs, cut from one tree, containing 42,000
feet of lumber, each log occupying a car, wer,e shipped to a
mill man, in Raymond, recently.
*1* *1* *1* *1*
A glue factory in Chicago is distributing horns taken
from Texas steers, among- favorite customers. The horns
are intended to give the wood worker the right steer when
in need of glue.
*1* *1* *\* *1*
The case makers will probably make another slight ad-vance
in the prices of goods for the coming year.
Estimated Weights of Lumber per Thousand Feet.
Green Shipping Well Kiln
From Saw. Dry. Seasoned. Dried.
A'h, bla~k .", .4700 3500 3100 3000
Ash, white .", 4800 3700 3550 3300
Basswood .. , ,., 4400 2800 2500 2100
Beech ..... , .. ""., _, .5500 4400 4000 3700
Birch .. "" ... , _, _ 5400 4200 400Q 3600
Chestnot ",'" _ , .4800 3250 2800 245q
Cherry ,." _ , , " , . 5000
Cottonwood .4600
Elm, rock , .. 5300
Elm, soft _ 5000
Gum .. ,,, , __ , . 5300
Gum, sap.. . . 5000
Hemlock 4000
Maple, hard 5300
Map1e, soft 5000
Oak, red "" __5500
Oak, white . _.. .. . ,5700
Poplar 3900
Spruce (Adirondack) 3300
Spruce (W. Va.)." ,3000
Walnut '" _ __.'" ,,5000
3100
4300
3300
3600
3300
3000
4150
3650
4250
4500
3000
2700
2700
4000
2800
3900
3150
3300
3000
2500
3900
3300
4000
4100
2800
2300
2300
3750
2400
3500
2900
3050
2750
2300
3400
3000
3400
3600
2400
2200
2200
3500
15
WHY USE TURPENTINE?
When the L.-Mac. f American Reducer will answer the same purpose and costs so much less.
HEADQUARTERS FOR WOOD FINISHING MATERIALS
_________________ 1.,
TheLAWRENCE-MCFADDEN
CO.
Successors to THE BARRETT-LINDEMAN CO.
Philadelphia Chicago
First Sectional Bookcases.
w. H. Rouse managed the business of the Wolverine Chair
Company in Grand Rapids twenty~fLve years ago. It was not
on account of his management that the company was com-pelled
to go out o-f business. That is another story, and it
might as well be told now. The control of the stock
changed hands in the settlements after a night spent at a poker
table and a sporting gentleman undertook the management of
the business with the usual result to the UJHJualified and the
inexperienced. The company manufactured chairs for the
trade and furniture to order. One morning a prominent
local attorney called upon :l\h. Rouse and remarked that he
had a lot of valuable books in his office, and that the thought
'had occurred to bim that iil the event of a l1re in the building
in which his offices \vere loc:'Lted the books would be de-stroyed.
He had an idea that if bookcases could be con-structed
in sections their nse would enable himself and hi.s
friends to carry a"vay the books quickly if necessary. Draw-ings
were made and approved when sectional cases capable
of sustaining the large library of the attorney were manufac-tured
and put into use. The attorney died recently in Pasa-dena,
CaL
Dummy Selling Agencies.
Certain manufacturers of furniture, who advertise largely
in the magazines, have organized selling agencies much like
the "dummy" boards of directors brought into life by the
big corporations when abollt to engage in a stock-shifting en-terprise.
All inquiries for goods received ill response to the
advertis~mel1ts <lH~ referred to these selling agencies, ·which
are usually of employes of the advertiser or his friends. The
plan \vorks ""..ellas it enables the manufacturer to retain his
standing for fairness with the retailers.
Purchased a Factory.
The Alaska Refrigerator Company of :vIuskegon Heights.
11ich., recently purchased a commodious brick factory, form-erly
operated in the manufacture of clothes pins, and five
acres of ground adjoining, and will use the same in the man-ufacture
of refrigerators. The building is a substantial one,
comparatively new. It will be fitted with machinery soon. r
QRAnD1DUnn Dl. 5151["
MOST ATTRACTIVE ROUTE
JAMESTOWN
EXPOSITION
Tick.ets on sale daily until Nov. 30,
1907. at very low rates. Pas-sengers
have choice of
several routes.
On season and ·sixty-day limits, liberal stop-over.
Passengers may go one route and return via another.
Full particulars at City Ticket Office, 97 Monroe
street. Phones-Citizens, 5..1)76B; ell, main, 576.
C. A. JUSTIN, C. P. & T. A.
GRAND RAPtDS. MICH. I
16
WIR.E GLASS
The Great Fire Retardant
Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company
. is the Largest Jobber of Wire Glass in theWorid
For anything in Wire Glass, OrnamentaL Figured Glass, Plate Glass, Mirrors. Window· Glass;· or a~y-thing
in Paints, Brushes,. or Painters: Sundries address any of our branch warehouses" a list of which is
given below:
NEW YORK-Hu.dsOD aDd Vandam 8t8.
&QSTON-41·49 Sudbury St .• 1.9 .Bowker St.
CHICAGO· 442·452 Wabaab Ave~
C1NCINNATI-BPOadwa,. and Court Ste.
ST. LOUIS-Col'. 7th and Mark •• St ••
MINNEAPOLIS-SOO·!16 s~Tblrd St.
DETR.OIT-53.59 Lartled St •• E.' --'
GRA\IlIDRAPIDS. MICH.-39 ..41 N. DlYi.ton St.
PITTSaURGH-I01·103 Wood St.
MILWAUKItIt. W'15.-492·494 Market St.
ROCHESTER. Hi Y._Wllderll)." ... Main oEzohanll.Ste.
B~LTIMOR.E-2 1.2Z3W.PrattSt. ' _
CLEVELAND-143001434 West Tbird St.
OMAHA -1608.1 O.lZ' Harne)" St.
ST· PAUL-349-351 Mkilrroeaot. St.
ATLANTA. 'GA.-30-3Z·34 S. P.r:vorSt.
SAVANNAH...!..GA,-745.749 Wheatorro St.
KA.NSAS CITY-FlUb arrodW)"arrodott. 8ts-
HIl\M'INGHAM. ALA.-2rrod Avo. and 29th St.
BUFFALO. N. Y.-372-74·76·18 Pearl St.
6aOOKLYN-63S-631 Fultorro St.
PHILADELPHIA-Pitcairn Bldg •• Arch arrod11th St ••
DAVltNPORT-410-416 Scott Sl.
I
igf\api~5.f\ic~
IDdianapo1i~ Indiana
Write for Information. PriClii. Etc.
=== 'PERFORMS THEWORKOF =====
The· Universal Automatic
CA/?V1NOMACfflNE
25 HAND
CARVERS
And does the Work Better than it can be Done by·Hand
-------MAOE BY~-~~---
This Machine Makes the Money
=========BY SAVING IT=====
It makes a perfeel imitation of any open grain because it uses the wood itself to print from, and one operator and a couple of
boys can do more work with it than a dozen men with any other so~called machine or pads on the market.
Tha.t"s why it's a money maker. It imitates perfectly
I
PLAIN or QUARTERED OAK. MAHOGANY.WALNUT, ELM. ASH or any other wood wilh open grain.
---- --- WRITE THE
Posselius Bros. Furniture Manufacturing Co., Detroit, Mich.
MENTION THE: MICHIGAN ARTISAN. FOR PRICES AND FULL PARTICULARS.
18
Fruit Used for Ornament by the Early Romans.
Fruit was first used as ornament in the early feast days of
the Romans. It was the custom in those days to hang from
the frieze of the temple and general places of worship fes-toons
of the natural fruit between rosettes of ribbon and the
skulls of t'he animals that had been slaughtered for the feast.
The ripened fruit and the polished skulls of the beef must
have produced a gorgeous effect, and it no wonder that the
architects and designers of that day saw this beauty. and at-tempted
to produce it in stone and wood, thus making a per-manent
decoration which has survived as the Roman style
to the present time.
Example No. 1 is a panel of German Renaissance, show-il~
g the c'hild!s head with clusters of fruit. This makes a very
7IR.'T' IS .7Li"J
3 75:+ 19
KNOXVILLE CARVING
AND M.OULDING CO.
KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE
Manufacturers of SPINDLE and
HAND CARVINGS. ROPE,
BEAD and EMBOSSED
MOULDINGS. HANDLES, Etc,
U/rite j0r,lltustraled Circula,'s and Prices.
strong decorative feature, especially for the dining room.
Xos. 2 and 3 are examples of Roman Renabsance as :iuggest-ed
from the grollping of the natural fruit, and are very ar-tistic
and effective. So. 4 is a combination of a basket and
fruit in moc\(:rn Gerrnan Reu8issancc, and is a fragment of a
design by \7\/. Behrens. Ko. 5 is a tassel or pendant of fruit
by the same designer. No.6 is a combination of fruit, horn
and acanthus leaf by :\lr. Arthur Kirkpatrick, in,structor in
Grand Rapids School of .Furniture Designing. This js an-other
eXaInple, in which the student should draw one-half
tlH':ucsign, then transfer to the other half, and complete dr<l\v-ll1K.
V-lhen designing ornaments of this kind, rough out
with charcoal, and dust off with a soft cloth. A faint shade
will remain. Go over this with bard pencil, impmving the
outline as you proceed. It makes an excellent center piece
or pallel carvjng. Example No_ 7 represents the cornucopia
or tlOrn of plenty .filled with fruit, and is ernblematic of a
bountiful season. It was designed by a modern German de-signer.
1\0. 8 is another of Behrens' dcsig-ns, showing fruit
gracefully placed ·with the shield and scroll. No. 9 is an
example of the 110m turned upwal-{l, a1ld filled wjth fruit.
which makes a beautiful design. The drawings on thi';
plate from the hand of ~Ir. Kirkpatrick were especially se-lected
to show the variety of graceful effects in the combina-tion
of fruit with other features.
Change of Name.
The Barrett-Linden:an Company in consolidation ·with thc
Lawrcl1ce-:"''1cFadden Company authorize the announcement
that papers hrrvc heenfiled changillg tbe name of the con-cern
to the Lawrence-McFadden Company. The capital
stock h~s been jncre,'lscd from $100,000 to $150,000. The
La ..v..renee-IVjcFadden Company began business in 1900, and
..v..as organized by Alex8nc1er Lawrence, Jr., and Bruce C.
:vlcFadden, both of whom at one time were employes of the
Rarrett-T _indeman Company. The rapid rise of the business
establislled by these two enterprising young men, has been
one of the interesting successes of the wood finishing trade,
as in 1906.. a period of not quite six years since they began,
they. in conjunction with lVIr.T. L. 1IcFadden of Canton. Fa.,
purchased the entire stock of the Barrett-Lindeman Com-pany,
consolidating the two companies successfl1lly, and are
steadily incre8sing the business. Late last fall they pur-chased
the varnish factory of .rv1r. Conrad F. Rau, secured the
services of a competent varnish maker and arc now mantt-facturing
in addition to their stains and fIllers, a eornplete
tilJe of varnishes and japans for the furniture and piano man-ufacturers.
:"'1essrs. Lav·lrence and McFadden 'have grown
lip in the \vood fmishing business, having devoted their en-tire
lives to it. They are earnest business men, who hand1c
wisely the affairs of the company, and are to be congratulat-ed
upon their won'derful suceo?ss acquired in such a short
space of time.
Morris Wood & Sons Move to a Large Factory_
rVforris \VooJ & Sons, builders of wood cutting tools and
machinery at 31 and 33 South Canal street, Chicago, during
the pnst tbirty-three years, have taken possession of their new
huilding, )Jos. 2714 and 2716 ""Vest Lake street. The new
works are completely equipped with every modern appliance
kno\vn in the manufacture of wood working-bits, cutters
and tools, and, with the aid of the most able tool makers
CHALLENGE REDUCER
I
A solvent equal to turpentine in every respect for re-ducing
varnish, stains, or anything requiring a solvent of
turpentine' strength or quality.
This solvent is fully fifty per cent cheaper than turpen-tine,
as it costs less and requires less to obtain the same re-sults;
and as a reducer for oil stains it has no equal.
Manufactured and sold only by
GRANO RAPIDS WOOD flNIS",NG CO.
55-57 Ellsworth Ave,. Grand Rapids. Mich.
the country affords, the fi.rm is well prepared to furnish the
very highest grade of tools as descrlbed in their catalogue
1\0. 10. This business was established in 1874 by the late
11r. :i.\{orris\Vood, a mechanic of great skill and a genius in
invention. The firm manufactures the famous 'lilood's solid
steel glue cutters, also many original tools, which have
proved indispensable to the manufacturers of furniture,
pianos, organs, interior wood finishes and kindred goods.
Nearly every wood working shop in the United States and
Canada have at one time or other been users of the tools made
by this firm. To those who have not, a trial order will be
a good investment.
20
A PARADOX
Furniture Manufacturers:
You can save at least one-third of the time now
required in your finishing room and still maintain or better
the quality of the work done by using our
Paradox Rubbing Varnish
(In three shades-Pale, Light and Medium)
Work can be coated every day and last coat rubbed
the third day; it dries tough and hard, will not soften up
or print in packing.
Order a sample barrel subject to your approval and
test it.
We manufacture a full line of Cabinet Varnishes;
they are made upon Honor and sold upon Merit. Our
facilities and products are second to none.
The Largest Paint and Varnish Works
In The World
DETROIT MICHIGAN U. S. A.
C. B. QUIGLEY,
MANAGER OF SALES, VARNISH DEPARTMENT
21
22
Various Matters.
"While the manufacturers have had five years of active
business, the co'ndition attending the producing of goods are
not all- favorable," remarked W. l Maddox: of the Maddox
Table Company.
"For instance," his listener remarked.
"VvTell, to commence a summing up of the disadvantages
existing," :\h. Maddox continued, "shop hands have earned
larger wages than during any period of the past, and having
no fear of losing their jobs and not lacking faith in their abil-ity
to find other employment if they should so desire, they
do Ilot recognize the responsibility that is due to their em-ployers.
They are not as careful in their work as formerly
and do not produce as much pef man as when they were driv-en
by necessity to do their best."
"For instance, again," remarked the listener.
"Certain pieces of our line have been recut many times
during the past five years. In former times the first cutting
of stock cost mUch more than the subsequent ones. One
naturally expects that with the familiarity a shop crew gains
with pieces that have been recut time and again, the work
would be done at much less cost than the original cutting.
My experience js the reverse of this. Every recutting takes
more time than the one immediately preceding it, with ad-ditional
expense accrued. "VVhy,it is becoming a well es-tablished
fact that a manufacturer can produce a stock of
goods from new designs cheaper than he can recut an old
line."
Mr. lbddox shifted his cigar from the north to the
south side of his mouth and resumed:
"The ever growing demand in the industries for shorter
work days and larger pay works disadvantageously to the
shop hands. Perhaps it has never occurred to these men
that the shorter the work day and the payment of high
wages adds g-reatly to the expenses of the manufacturer in
producing goods, and that the expeilse so added is charged
to the cost of goods whieh the shop hands must buy to sup-port
their families. If the farmer is compelled to pay $25 for
a table that 'he could purchase in past years for $15, the dif-ference
in the prices I have mentioned is added to the 'pota-toes,
the wheat and other articles of food the shop hand 111ust
buy. By force of numbers the shop hands often compel
manufacturcrs to engage in expenditures which he would not
consider under ordinary cireums'tances."
"For instance?" again interrupted the listener.
"Say a shop is equipped to produce $100,000 worth of
goods per annum, operated on thc ten-hour work day. A de-mand
is made for an eight hour work day and conceded to
the workmen under pressure. The output of the factory is
cut down to such an extent that the margin of profit almost
disappears. There is but one of two things to do. Add
manufacturing facilities and men sufficient to restore the out-put
and advance the selling prices of goods to cover the cost
of the new invcstment and the increased pay roll, or cut the
wages of the men employed on the eight hOllr work day sys-tem.
The higher cost of goods must be paid by consumers,
and consumers are largely the men who labor in the fac-tories."
0--0-0
Nearly one year ago Frank C. Doernhecher, president of
the Doernbecher Furniture Company (a former employe of
the Berkey & Gay Company of Grand Rapids) sailed on the
ill-fated steamer Dakota on a trip to Asia. \\Then rescued
from the stranded steamer he had time to explore Japan be-fore
resuming his journey. His practical eye discovered
large tracrs of valuable oak timber and ascertaining that it
could be purchased reasonably cheap he contracted for a
large number of logs. which werc shipped to the company's
mill in Portland and cut for use in the manufacture of ftlrni-ture.
Thelumher cost $18 per thousand ready for the kiln.
By importing the timber in the log duties were not levied and
the Doernbecher company is selling its output, made of cheap
lumber, for the prevailing high prices. The timber is not as
choice, as the white oak of Indiana and Michigan, but it is
better than that grown in Wisconsin.
0---0-0
During his sojourn in the Hawaiian islands a few years
ago, John Mowatt of the Grand Rapids Chair Company dis-cOv'ered
a species of hard, fine grained timber which the na-tives
catted Hawaiian mahogany. It was admirably adapt-ed
for use in the construction of piano cases, furniture, in-terior
finishes and like purposes. Mr. MlDwatt has learned
that the manufacturers of California have imported consid-erable
quantities of the lumber and are using it for the pur-poses
mentioned.
0-0-0
The Philippine islands contain millions of acres of choice
hard timber and may eventually become the source of sup-ply
for the manufacturers of the United States. In the past
the expense of shipping the timber to this country has been
too great to make its use practical, but with the constantly
advandng prices charged for timber of domestic growth the
importers will SOOl1 be able to discover a' healthy and -satis-factory
margin of profit in the Philippine timber business.
0-0--0
A pair of traveling salesmen occl1pying seats in a Lake
Shore coach a few days ago discussed the trials and tribula-tions
of the men of their 'class. ((1 prefer to work on a com-mission
basis. If I am good I want to get the benefit of my
capacity. If I am no good, 110 one suffers from my in-competency
but myself."
Tt is very difficult for an inexperienced salesman to get a
start. Employers want none but experienced men. When
a man is able to pay his -own expenses and is willing to work
on a commission basis he finds many obstructions in his ef-forts
to find employment. The thought never occurs to
jobbers and manufacturers that men cannot gain experience
\vithout employment. They will not allow an untried man
to goo on the floors for two or three weeks to study the
stock, but expect him to go to the trade and take orders with-out
preparation. Under such circLlmstances all that a trav-eler
can do is to place the samples and prices before a cus-tomer
and say: "I know nothing about this business. Here
are the prices and the stuff. Tell me something about this
game. Help me out."
o~o-o
C. W. Herrick of the Maddox Table Company expects to
witness a moderation in the pace of the business world dur-ing
the coming year. "Trade will be affected by the presi-dential
election, and the desire of t'he panting business
world would be to take a long breath. I would not be sur-prised
to witlless a reduction in the sales o! manufactured
goods amounting to twenty-five per cent. After the presi-dential
election the swift pace of the past five years will be
resumed." Mr. Herrick is a dose student of business, as
reflected by the stock markets.
0-0-0
Except in the form of bedsteads, metal furniture has not
prOVell suc.h an attraction to house owners as the manufac-turers
had expected. Hall furniture has sold moderately
well, but in other lines of production metal furniture has
proven a complete failure. It has no material value over
furniture made. of "'mod.
WHITE PRINTING CO., GRAND RAPIDS, MICH.
PRINTERS OF CATALOGUES
and everylhill~ needed by business men
·~~MI9HIG7fN 23
THE CREDIT BUREAU OF THE FURNITURE TRADE
The LYON
Furniture Agency
ROBERT p, LYON, Gen~ral Manager
CREDITS and
COLLECTIONS
Does It Pay?
"The bl1siness men of the eastern cities as a rule aTe too
exclusive," remarked a businC':ss man of the west. dFor in-stance?"
rejoined an item seeking reporter.
"Business called me to Boston a few weeks ago. It was
more important to a certain corporation of that- city that I
should meet one of their officers than such meeting ..vould
be to me. To be short, I \vished to make an important pur-chase,
but desired to gain certain technical information be-fore
placing my order. I had been advised that the infor-mation
desired could be furnished by {he official whose name
it is not necessary to mention. At the office of the corpora-tion
r asked for the offlcial at the windO\v "labelled" infor-mation.
The attcndant sLated that lIr. E. had left the c.ity,
going to the seashore OIl his vacation. On the evening of
the same day T was presented to "),1r.E. at a club and whcn
I expressed surprise oyer my failure to mcet him at his office
he explained that the information clerk had followed his in-structions
with regard to strangers or pers011s whom he pre-sumed
he would not care to meet. "You know," he explained,
"solicitors for insuran·ce. advertising, charities and entertain-ments
are ever abroad in our city, not to mcntion inventors
and politicians. and it is neccssary for business men to prac-tice
a little deceit in order to avoid meeting such people." Tn
view of the fact that 1 bad traveled 1.500 miles for the sole
purpose of placing an order with this offic:ial, you can imag-ine
my feelings upon hearill<..!;his remark The order was
not placed with his house. I journeyed to Kew York and on
tlhe following day entered the elaborately furnished offices
of a prominent corporation located on Broadway. Scrib-bling
my name on a plain card, T handed it to 'Information,'
and asked to be shown into the office of the president. 'I'm
sorry,' remarked Information, '~Jr. K is not in.' 'Could I
see the vice president?' Again Information was very sorry,
but the vice president was engaged in confercnce with two
salesmen \'v'ho were to take ship for Europe in a few hours.
'iVhom could I see? ?vIr.M., the advertising maluger, ,vas
in his office. V>.r ould r care to see him?
"Escorted to the room of 1Jr. 11., I found four noisy
young men engag'ed in playing a game of bridge. The room
was filled with smoke and a half d07.en empty- bottles a11<1 as
many filled \"'ith beer betokened tbe character of the assem-bly.
'How'd ye do, sir. Anything T can do for you? Sor-ry
I cannot attend to your wants. See the bead of the sales
department. Call in when you shall CaDle to the city again.
Vihat is the trump?' chattered the impatient ~Jr. M.
"Returning to the vestibule 1 met a richly dressed lady,
Grand Rapids Office, 412-413 Houseman Bldg.
GEO, E. GRAVES, Manager
CLAPPERTON & OWEN, Counsel
THE STANDARD REFERENCE BOOK
CAPITAL, CREDIT AND PAY RATINGS
CLEARING HOUSE OF TRADE EXPERIENCE
THE MOST REUABLE CREDIT REPORTS
COLLECTIONS MADE EVERYWHERE
PROMPTLY~REUABLY
and to her inquiry in regard to the president of the corpora-tion
1 witnessed the opening of the door and then the lady di-rected
her footsteps toward the door of that official.
"Very much disgusted with the 'eastern' way of treating
a stranger, I rcturned to my home in the west and placed my
order ,vith a iolly little man who met me at the door in his
shirt sleeves, pulled me into his oftice, pushed a box of cigars
into my hand and scratched a match with which to light it.
His way is a different and·a better way.
"Does the eastern way pay?"
Alexander DoddS
Has moved into his new fIve story building. It is one of the
most convenient factories in Grand Rapids. During the
month of September hc shipped two twelve spindle gang-dovetai1crs
to England and has orders for shipment to the
IMPROVED. EASY atld ELEVATORS
QUICK RAISl'NG
Belt, Electric and Hand Power.
The Best Hand Power for Furniture Stores
Send for Catalogue a.nd Prices.
KIMBALL BROS. CO" 1067.;.Ih st., Council BlUffs, la.
Kimball Elevator Co •• 3.U Prospect St., Cleveland,O.
108 11th St., Omaha, Neb.; 120 Cedar St., New York City.
same country of one ten spindle, one twelve, one fifteen
and one twenty-five spindle machine; also a table leg ma-chine;
a fifteen spindle dovetai1cr to Germany, besides a large
Humber of orders to various parts of thc United States.
The traveling salesman is ah;",ays to be reckoned with.
He is onc of the most important cogs in the whole gearing
of industri,tl generation. It isbis ·work, his finessc, his ac-curate
knowledge of local conditions on which the manu-facturer
or the wholesaler must depend for success in his
undertaking. He constitutes in a collcctive sense one of the
essential, co-ordinate factors of the industry. He comprises
the connecting link betwecn the producer and the jobbcr, the
wholesaler and retailer or wholesaler and consumer. He is
an indispensable adjunct to the proper distribution of any
product. There is no room for argument.on this subject,
because there is none to successfully challenge the state-ment.
The salesman is as much an integral factor in the in-dustrial
machinery as any other and is entitled, therefore, to
equal consideration in the final analysis of trade divisions.
BEAR THIS FACT IN MIND ::: :
You can present YOllr claims for trade to a larger number of buyers of furniture. and kindred goods, through the mercantile
editions of the Michigan· Artisan, mailed to dealers only, than is possible by the use of any other trade paper.
WRITE FOR RATE CARD ------ ----------
24
noYel~Woo~Wor~s
Grand Rapids, Mich.
We make good work at reas-onable
prices and prompt ship-ment.
Our capacity is such that we
can take care of more trade and
for that reason you see this Ad.
Write us for anything you
want in
Good Wood Carving
New Patterns in Hoohs.
WRITE us FOR PRICES.
GRAND RAPIDS BRASS CO., Grand Rapids, Mich.
aran~Ua~i~sDlow Pi~e
an~Dust Arrester (om~anJ
THE LATEST de·vice for handlillg
shavings and dust front all "lvood-
'z'lJorking 'lnachincs. Our ninetee-n }'caors
experience hz this class of work has
brought it 11earer perfect-ion than aH.y
other S}IstCJ'lt on the THar/wt today. It
is 'J10 experinlent.' hit a demon strafed
scientific fact) as 'we have sC'ZNral hun-dred
of these systems in. 't{SCJ and not a
poor one mnortg thent. Our Autmnatic
Furnace F eed ~)~ystC1'nJas shown in this
cut, is the most perfect 'Z\)orking device or anj1fhing in this line. Write for our
prices for equipments.
WE MAKE PLA.t\S A:\ID DO ALL
DETAIL WORK WITHOUT EX-PENSE
TO OUR CUSTOMERS.
EXHAUST FANS AND PRE~
SURE BT.OWERS A OV AYS IN
STOCK.
Office and Fa.ctory:
205-210 Canal Street
GRAND RAPIDS. MICH.
CItizen. PhOb.8 1282
OUR AUTOMATIO FURNACE FEED SYSTEM
Z6
Just Keep Doing All You Can.
There is lots of joy in living if you strike the proper gait;
If you always come up smiling in the face of every fate;
If you're keeping step and whistling some lively little tune,
You'll be Jiving gay and happy as a sunny day in June.
Keep !a: level head, don't worry, help your brothers on the
way,
Let the sunshine of good humor shine Upon you every day;
Speak a cheerful word at all times, never "knock" your fel-low
man,
And you'll surely be rewarded-just keep doing all you can.
There is lots of joy in living if you live your life aright.
Lots of sunshine and roses, keep your eyes turne-d to the.
light.
Look behind the clouds of trouble, there's a silver lining
there,
And you'll find it if you're only living on the square.
Scatter good cheer like the thistle scatters seed before the
wind,
And the petty woes and troubles soon win be left far
behind.
Be a "booster" every minute, help along your fellow man,
And you'll surely be rewarded-just keep doing all you
can,
THE READY.TO.LIVE.IN HOMES.
Renting Furnished Flats a Business in New York-Every.
thing the Nomad Needs in His Temporary Quarters.
"Why don't you rent a furnished apartment?" said the well
seasoned New Yorker to her green friend from the West in
answer. to a bitter complaint in regard to the difficulty of
finding living accommodations.
"Chiefly because nobody wants to rent an apartment for
the winter," replied the other, "unless New York is different
from any other city I have ever lived in."
"That's just the point; it is," said the New York woman,
"In New York when we want a thing we don't have to rely
on the lucky chance of somebody else wanting to get rid of
it. We just step out and get what the evolved commercial-ism
of the metropolis has provided for the filling of every
human need.
"If you want to rent a furnished apartment you don't have
to go prowling around among your friends and acquaintances
for a chance to sub-let. You go to the renting agencies.
They have furnished apartments in all styles and sizes and
they will rent them to you by the week, month or year at
prices ranging from $30 to _a couple of hundred a month.
"The best part of the scheme is that you don't have to
camp dow~ in the midst of some other person's intimate be-longings
or promise not to use the best silver or the linen
napkins. The apartments are furnished with essentials only
and you can import your own gimcracks and geegaws and be
monarch of all you survey.
"Yes, and pay more for the privilege than it would take to
buy the whole' outfit. Not I," sniffed the woman from the
West, "I know your New York speculator, He doesn't
get me into his toils."
"No, really," expostulated the New York woman, "You
do the furnished apartment renter an injustice. It is true
that formerly the business was in the hands of a rather un-scrupulous
set of people, but recently it has become respect-able.
"Some of the big real estate companies are going into it
and furnishing apartments for housekeeping in the better
class of houses in first rate style. The furnishings are not
only not cheap and flimsy, but they are chosen with taste
and discernment.
"The dining room and kitchen equipments are usuaIJy
surprisingly well balanced and complete. Silver, table linen,
towels, china and bedding are included, and as a rule, they
are of excellent quality.
"Furthermore, the agents, who are chiefly women, by the
way, seem to have discovered the important fact that in
renting a place furnished people want to be as free as possible
from the idiosyncrasies of pronounced individual tastes. Most
of the better class of ,apartment that I have seen and I flat-ter
myself that I have seen a good man;, for 'r have just
rented One for myself, are decorated with the plain carton
papers, furnished with good, plain pieces of Flemish oak
built in the simple obvious lines, hung with draperies of plain
denim, curtained with dainty white muslin and carpeted with
rugs of inconspicuous pattern and harmonious color.
"This sort of equipment gives just the neutral and non-committal
background against which 'the books and pictures,
the objects of art and other small personal belongings that
even permanently homeless people usually carry about with
them, can be made to show up in such a way as to give real
character and individuality."
"But even so," said the woman from the West, "don't you
think that it's an extravagant way to live. Don't you think
that one would pay more for her furniture in rent· than it
would cost her to buy it?"
"Very probably," said the New York woman. "But sup-pose
you don't want to buy anything? Suppose you don't
want to own anything?
«There are literally hundreds of people in New York
""no don't. They are all fully alive to the comfort and con-venience
and cheapness of light housekeeping over any other
way of living, and yet, for one reason or another, they don't
want to lay in the necessary equipment,
"Some of them are people in your position-people who
have come to New York to seek their fortune and who are
not yet ready to bring on their goods. Others belong to the
great nomadic herd of writers and artists, musicians and the_
atrical people who do not want to be hampered in their
movements by a lot of possessions
"It is no economy for these people to buy things, because
they don't want the things. If they buy a complete house-keeping
outfit onc season they are as likely as not to have
to pay storage on it next. It is really cheaper in the end for
these people to pay rent for their hous-ekeeping necessaries
while they want them and to be able to get rid of them eas-ily
when they need them no longer."
The woman from the West made no response and the
New Yorker continued:
"Take my case, for instance. I have to live in New York
just so much of my time. I can't afford to stay at a hotel.
I loathe. boarding houses, and my digestion has rebelled
against myoId system of eating my dinners at restaurants
and getting my other meals over a chafing dish in my fur-nished
room.
"On the other hand, I don't want to lay in a domestic out-fit
because I never stay in New York longer than I have to
and to trail about the country dragging my pots and pans
after would make me feel like an Indian. A couple of years
ago, when for the 'steenth time I was hunting rooms in New
York, I 'learned of the possibilities of the commercial fur-nished
apartment and since that time, whenever I have found
myself in for a several months stay in New York, I've hunt-ed
up a neat little furnished flat and lived in comfort.
"The flat I now have is in a very decent building, with tel-ephone
and hall service, in a very decent Harlem neighbor-hood.
It contains four good light rooms of a respectable
size and rents for $40 a month."
The New York woman paused, but the woman from the
West still sat wrapped in thought. At last she looked up_
"Well," she remarked slowly, "it's a discovery. I shall cer-
~r;.If[IIG7}N t
We can hdp you. Time
saved and when done
leaves are bound (by your-self)
and indexed by floors
or departments.
BARLOW BROS.,
Grand Rapid., Mich.
WRITE RIGHT NOW.
Michigan Art Carving CO.
FOR
WOOD CARVING of all kinds.
Mention Michigan Artisan GRAND RAPIDS, MICH.
West Side 36 Inch Band Saw Machine,
Gleason Palent Sectional Feed Roll,
-- --MANU1'ACTURl:<U UY--==--------
WEST SIDE IRON WORKS,
CRAND RAPIDS, MICH.) U. S. A.
tainly made it a point to intervie"w that phenomenally intelli-gent
and scrupulolls agent of yours .v..ithout delay, but I con-fess
that I could consider the arrangement only as a mere
temporary expedient.
"I can't conceive how you can put up with such a 'Nay of
life as a permauent, established thing. Don't you sometimes
long for a real home, a place '\vhere you can have your own
things about you and which you can invest with your o..v..n
character and individuality?"
"Not I!" ejaculated the New York \voman, promptly,
"To me the idea of getting- together the heterog-elleolls collec-tion
of things that makes up a housekeeping outfit and then
sitting down in the midst of it for the rest of my days, even
to invest it with character and individuality, constitutes my
CCl'nceptionof Egyptian bondage.
"Long ago I made up my mind that money that could be
spent to bring me the spiritual delights of music, books, pic-tures,
travel and the theatre, was absolutely wasted on ma-terial
joys such as Turkish rugs and old mahogany. I want
to be free to move around, to go to the country for the sum-mer,
or to California for the winter "lithout having to pay
double rent or without having to worry about finding a tenant
",,'ho will not pour boiling water over my cut glass or use my
embroidered napkins for dish towels, and to change my
abiding place without having to call in the expensive assist-ance
of the moving van, if the man across the way sets up a
phonograph or the woman next door invests in a parrot.
"Personally, I believe that the time is coming ,,,hen we
shall be able to rent most of the necessary equipment with
27
====-SEE====
West Michigan Machine &. Tool Co., LId.
GRAND RAPIDS. MICH.
for U1G" GRADE PUNC"ES and DIES.
If your DESIGNS are right. people want the Goods.
That makes PRICES right,
(tlarence lR. lbflls
DOES IT
163Madison Avenue-Citizens Phone 1983, GRAND RAPIDS. UICH.
A.L.HOLCOMB~CO. I ;;;~;;U~;;;~IG~;;~
up to 5-16 thick. ----
Repalrlng···Satlsfactton guaranteed.
Citizens' Phone 1239.
27 N. Market St., Grand Rapids. Mich.
R, H. RUPPER 1;\?6',\',~'l~
Manuladurer of MMhine and Carving Taou. All
kinds of Woodworking Tools to ordeT--ShaperHeads,
Jointer Heads, Spindle Carver Cuttera and everythi.llg
in took.
WABASH
B. WALTER & CO. INDIANA
M,nuf"'tu~nof TABLE SLIDES Exclusively
WRITE FOR PRICES AND DISCOUNT
our dwellings quite as a matter of course. We already rent
our cook stoves with our flats.
"It seems to me perfectly logical to look forward to a day
,,,,hen we shall rent our pots and kettles \Ivith them, too. In
many of the better class of apartments a beginning has al-ready
been made in the sideboards that have been built into
the walls. \;Yhy shouldn't the dining table and chairs be
added?
"The humblest flats nowadays have the refrigerator and
the \vindow shades furnished, Why shouldn't the flat of the
future be equipped with beds and tables and chairs and win-dow
curtains?"
"Mine won't," said the woman from the West, firmly.
"Oh, yes it will," smiled the New York woman. "And,
furthermore. when you have become reconciled to the comiort
and convenience of having a ready-to-live-in home you will
be setting yonr face with determination against a movement
that will then be threatening to take away from you even
your rented kitchen utensils.
"Some of these days, sure as you're born, your food will be
cooked not in your own little private kitchen, but in a gigan-tic
public kitchen on the top floor of your apartment build-ing
and sent down to you bet",,'een hot covers on a dumb
waiter."
"Kot mine," said the woman from the West, setting her
lips firmly.
"\Vait and see," said the New York woman, with a smile.
-Sun.
28 ·~MI9«HIG7}N
Our Clamps received GOLD MItI)AL at World's Fair. St. Louis.
VENEER PR.ESS (Patented June 30,1900.) CHAIN CLAMP [Patented June 30,1903.)
CAB.INET CLAMP.
Write for prices and particulars.
Black Bros. Machinery CO.
MENDOTA, ILL.
5aw and Kn'fl e Fl'itnt'g Mach'lnery and T00IS TLhie"BMiggoeos"t "a"n"d"dB.est
Baldwin. Tuthill ®. Bolton
GraDd Rapids. Micb.
Filer., Setters,
Shal'f)eners,
Grinders.
Swages.
Stretchers.
Brazin,! and
Filino Clam~s.
Knife Balances.
Hammering
Tools.
Investigate our
Line.
Bolton Band Saw Filer lor Saws ~ inch UP.
New zoo page
Catalo~ue for
1907 Free.
8. T." B. Shla D, KnifeGrinder. Full Automatic. Wet.Or d.ty.
-----------------OFFICES--~ _
&oBlon New York Jamestown High Point Cincinnati Detroit Qrand Rapid. Chicago St. Loula MIDDeapo.1a
Associa.te Offices and Bonded Attorneys In all Principal cltle.
Wood ~
Forming
Cutters
We offer exceptional value in Reversible and
One-Way Cutters for Single and Double Spin-dle
Shapers. Largest lists with lowest prices.
Grea.test variety to select from. Book free.
Address
SAMUEL J. SHIMER & SONS
MILTON. PENNSYLVANIA, U. S. A. FGrn:J.erly the FeUwock Roll & Panel Co.
bul tbe natlle.
REPORTING FURNITURE, UNDERTAKERS, CARPET
HARDWARE AND KINDRED TRADES. COLLEC-TIONS
MADE BY AN UN'RIVALLED SYSTEM
THROUc;H OUR COLLECTION DEPARTMENT •..
The Furniture Agency
WE PRODUCE RJ;;SULTS WHERl!: OTHERS FAIL. WRITH FOR
P"RTlCUL"RS AND YOU WILL SUNO US YOUR BUSINESS.
Why Worry with
the Roll Question
----?--.-
Leave tbat to us. We
are fire-pared to soJve it
quicker and better be-cause
we have the
Knowledge and t:'l.uip-ment.
Wr use nothhlg
but cheatout in 0 u r
cores. WriUforprict!s.
The hllwock Auto-mobile:
& Mfg. (.0
EVANSVILLE, IND.
Nothing changed
Our Complaint and Adjustment
Department Red Drafts Collect
H, J, DANHOF. MIchIgan Manager,
441 and 348 Houseman Building. Grand Rapids. Mich.
VENEERED
ROLLS
The
"Reliable"
Kind
STAIN AND fiLLER
CORRECT SHADE FOR GOLDEN OAK
fOR QUARTERED OAK
THE L MAC E
NO. 1914 GOLDEN OAK STAIN
NO. 506 TRANSPARENT·FILLER
fOR PLAIN OtlK
THE L MAC E
NO. 1636 COMBINATION FILLER
Produces same shade as Golden Oak Stain and Filler.
THE BARRETT-LINDEMAN CO.
in consolidation with
Tnr lAWKrn(r =McfADDrn (0.
Philadelphia Chicago
'-·i::~·.::·.:::::"'·_::"::::::-'C':::::"'_-- -
30 ~t-LI9f1IG7f-N ,
THE TELEPHONE IN BUSINESS.
Should Never Be Used in Deals of Supreme Importance.
"The telephone is of incalculable benefit to the business
man, but it is like all other good things. It must be used
wisely and temperately."
Thus Robert Garland, president and general manager of
the Garland Furniture Company, jobbers, addressed himself
to a coterie of chums.
"For instance?"
This from Hadley, who, somehow, had a knack of excit-ing
contention whenever opportunity offered.
"The telephone," continued Garland, "is all right in its
place, but it has its limitations. Here's your 'for instance,'
Hadley. If you wanted to touch a man for ten, a man who
had no special interest in you, you would hardly ask for the
favor over the wire? Eh? You'd be certain to be turned
down. Whereas, if you met him face to face and gave him a
good talk, and hypnotized him with your personality, yon
might succeed in separating him from his money. This is
an instance where the 'phone is a rank outsider, except to the
touchee."
i<Your argument is all right," declared Meyers, "only
you don't go. far enough, For instance, if you wanted to
secure an order from an uncertain firm, or collect a bill, you
wouldn't go at it by 'phone, would you? To my mind.
the telephone is a nuisance in a business office. How many
times have you, talking face to face with a .buyer, got him
down to the order point, and had him called away to answer
the 'phone. And when he returned it was all off. I won't
have one of the machines in my office."
"But you might be the one called away from the enter-prising
salesman," cut in Hall. "Then the 'phone might
save you money."
"Oh, we've got to have the service," said Garland. "I've
got my clerks trained so that they never use it except in
cases of importance. I'll fire the first man I catch collect-ing,
soliciting or talking privately over the 'phone. They
all understand it, too. They know me."
"You think you have," laughed Hadley, "but you just
sneak il1~oyour place some day and see what is going on over
the wire. The telephone is a mighty handy thing, but office
people have a habit of working along the line of least resis-tance.
You try it, Garland."
This is '''''hy Garland stole into his place of business one
day and sat down in a corner where no one saw him. He
wanted to prove to himself that his office employes were
loyal to orders and all right generally.
One of his city salesman sat at the telephone table, palm
of hand on cheek bone, receiver to left ear. His whole at-titude
.expressed luxurious ease and utter lack of haste or
hurry. His hair was nicely parted in the middle, his coat
was free of dust or wrinkle, he talked into the transmitter in
a drawling tone which was not at all like brisk business con-versation.
In a moment Garland realized that the fellow
was soliciting orders by telephone!
No'w, Garland is a red-headed man. Besides being red-headed,
he has reddish mutton-chop whiskers thriving on his
square jaws. The hair was pushed forward in front of his
ears, while the mutton-chops were brushed forward. He
was quick and energetic in movement, and, as he moved
about, he gave one the impression that somewhere in his rear
there was a strong gale blowing him forward,
He almost foamed at the mouth as he heard the salesman
soliciting orders and joking-actually joking!-over the tele-phone.
"Say," said the voice af the 'phone, "if you want another
lot of those oak chairs you'd better get a move on, Ever
hear the story of the somebody or other who was late at the
wedding? Oh, there's no wedding. That was just a joke.
You've just ordered from the Boston man? Well, 1m sorry;
but I couldn't get over there.this morning. You don't give
orders by 'phone? Quite right! Save the next one for
me."
By this time Garland was puffing with suppressed wrath.
He opened and shut a pair of powerful hands, following the
animal instinct of" a strong man in anger, and would have
thrown something at the salesman, only he wanted to remain
unnoticed a little longer: So this was his well trained office
force? The salesman was losing an old customer who
might have been retained iti a personal interview. In fact,
the man at the other end had said that no orders were given
by 'phone. Garland mentally said things about the 'phone
and about unruly salesmen, but kept his seat.
The s;:llesman called another number and dropped into his
drawl again. Then:
"Hello! Is that Maybury & Co.? That you, Billy?
Where did you go last night? Oh, I guess you wasn't the
only one in the Bad Lands! I reckon the sidewalk was tip-ping
snmel Pardon mel Thought it was Billy. Just a
joke ..v.e have between us. No, I didn't see him last night.
Called you up to ask about the chairs, We have a new lot
out, and if you want-"
The red-headed man almost bumped his head against the
wall. Here was another order lost! His fingers ached
to get at the salesman. Personally, he never used the
'phone except when he hadn't the nerve to countermand an
order in person or turn down a request for financial assistance
or to inform his wife that he would not be home until late,
and here was this salesman-. Well, he would soon see where
he got off!
The salesman called another number. This is what he
said:
"Hello! Dalton & Co.? This is Garland's. Thought
I'd let you know that the new chairs are out. Oh, I can
drop over there if necessary, but-. What? You have giv-en
the order to Sliver & Co.? That's too bad. See you
in the future."
The salesman rung off. Three good customers and not
an order! Garland's hair and whiskers now stood out like
a cyclone from the vicinity of Medicine Hat was urging them
forward. He could stand it no longer. With a rush which
knocked the salesman from his chair, he grabbed the receiver.
"If I had a dozen like you," he shouted, "I'd be out on a
blind siding somewhere making bark furniture. How long
have you been running this salesman act by electricity?
Get out!"
The salesman picked himself up and tried to say some-thing.
but there was a strange contraction in his throat and
his lips were too dry to form the words he sought to use. If
his hair hadn't been plastered down so securely it would have
stood on end.
There was a call from the 'phone and Garland pla<:ed the
receiver to his ear. The call was from the factory.
"Say, that was your fault about those tables," said the
voice of the superintendent. "You did say curved legs in-stead
of carved legs, and I've got to make them over again.
I don't know what the old man will say. You want to cut
out this giving information by 'phone."
Garland felt like beating the salesman over the head with
the receiver. In fact, he might have done so, only for an-other
call of the 'phone.
"Hello! Say, you old lobster, come over here and take
those buffets away. I wouldn't exhibit them at a dog fight.
If yOll can't-"
Garland rang off and turned to the salesman, standing
cowed and ashamed before the desk.
"You're a peach," he began, and then the bell rang. Won-dering
if the 'phone was always in action, helistene<;1.
"You're a nice old skate," came over the wire. "If I
catch you about my daughter again, .I'll hand you a few good
ones. I don'L kno\" how you got out, but you'd better go
back to your old room at the Zoo."
Garland looked like a man about to throw a fit. He
pounded the receiver on the desk and said things which were
long remembered to his discredit by the office girls. He
shouted:
"Hold on! Centrall Get that number for me again.
vVho was it? Oh, Y0U don't think you know! Emv '''.'ould
you like to sit on a rock and play goddess of liberty: This
thinking part you seem to have is too strol1g for yOll. Oh,
you'll report the 'phone, will you? All right. Now, you
may go back to your dream of little Reginald."
Garland turned to the salesman.
"You get O\1t," he said. ;;1 want the space you occupy.
rm going to put this tekphone in an air-tight closet, and the
man who uses it will have to show the head bookkeeper be-fore
he gets in. I've been beaten out of a thousand dollars'
worth of orders by it, and called a lobster and a skate. Get
out,"
The salesman left in a rage, and now the man who tlSeS
the 'phone at Garland's must simply make a date for a per-
~onal interview, if necessary, and ring off.
All of which goes to show that Garland was right. A
telephone is a ha.ndy thing, a necessary thing, in an office,
but it must be used sparingly and with good judgment. A
business 'phone is not for lovers, or order-seekers, or col-lectors.
It is just to say things to people when you haven't
got the moral courage to face them! At least, that seems
to be an important function of the machine!
ALFRED B. TOZER.
"Wiping Out" the Parlor.
A neH'spaper published in Cleveland discourses, with the
wisdom of an envl, as follows on the topic quoted above:
HThe Cave Dweller had one great advantage over the man
of today. There was no parlor to his house. Jt was all
one living room, and if he had progressed far enough to take
pleasure in life-archeology is silent on that point and the
novelists, 'vVaterloo, London and Morris, are likewise dumb-he
probably cntertained his callers with thrilling tales of good
fighting and better feasting.
"The modern parlor, though not as extensive a social
blight as it was a score of years ago, is still altogether too
much of a killjoy. For the past few years architects have
labored to do away with it by planning houses in which space
was far too precious to be tied up in such a room. They
have been measurably successful, but tradition is a hard thing
to upset. The parlor is one of the cherished traditions of
our down east ancestry.
"\Vhen Moses Cleveland (the founder of the city of Cleve-land)
landed on \Vhisky Island, or opposite it, the first thing
he did was to have a town meeting; the next to build a house
with a locked-up parlor. Then he furnished it with a chro-matic
carpet that brought blind >itaggers on all who saw it,
shiny horsehair chairs, as slippery as Mayor Johnson's
methods, and, as culminating horrors, he hung "The Voyage
of Life" upon the wall and put a stuffed bird and a wreath of
flowers in wax under glass globes on the center table. Then
he turned ..the key in the door. And it has been there ever
since.
"Such a room should be locked. If it were shut off from
the world all the time there would be no complaint. But a
sort of atavistic hospitality, an echo of those grim times
when Cotton Mather called on his parishioners and talked of
the abominations of the scarlet woman and was given cider
and doughnuts in the best room, prompts the modern house-wife
to open the door and pull up the curtains at certain sta-ted
intervals in the calendar of the year. Anyone who has
attended such a festivity would rather sit in a dentist's chair
with a rUbber dam in his mouth and several of the real kind in
his thoughts, than go again.
;'Such a man, and his name is legion, ".·.i.ll pray that the
':<lmpaign of Mrs. Curtis Guild, wife of the governor of Mas-sachusetts,
may be extended to the Western Reserve. She
has begun a crusade on the )j"ew Eng]aJld parlor, that veri-table
chamber of horrors, and promises to fight it out on that
line jf it takes all her husband's term of office: She ralls at
the horsehair, she fulminates against the waxen treasures, she
has only words of hissiJlg and deris.ion for the pictures, and
she calls upon her hearers to throwaway the key to the
door.
;;Better still, she beg·s her sisters to tear down the parti-tions,
to throw the parlor into the 'sittin'-room' and make one
big, comfortable, companionable room of them both, with
light and sunshioe and spaciousness to commend it. Put the
piano there and the writing desk, give the sewing machine a
place in the corner, if room cannnt be found elsewhere; make
the room the heart of the house in its activities and its pleas-ures.
"110re power to the elbow of Ylrs. Guild; more length
to her stride, that she may reach here the sooner."
The cranky old bachelor and the scrumptious Mrs. Curtis
Guild arc not "such-a-much." If either \-vere the parent of
six or seven blooming daughters, he or she would find his
or her household at "sixes-and-at-sevens" when those darlings
were old enough to receive company. Suppose six or seven
Sweet \Villiams were to call on the six or seven bloomers
night 2fter night and expected to hjde away behind a sliding
door, where the gas might be turned low and a hand squeez-ing
contest engaged in without hindrance. vVhat then? A
part of the "bunch" might giggle and hug in the hall; others
Illig-ht perch themselves on the stairs, but nOne would care
to invade the "big comfortable, companionable" room domi-nated
by ';pa" and "ma" and a crowd of noisy "kids."
As a matter of course, the "grumpy" old editor who would
destroy the parlor never had the pleasure of sitting on a
hair covered divan built for two, and it must be inferred as
well that Mr. Curtis Guild was an unusual sort of lover, who
did most of his sparking through the telephone or in the
visitors' room at the young lady's academy, where the fair
one awaited his coming. There was a misconception evi-dently
of the proper plan for negotiating a matrimonial en-tanglement
on the part of Guild, else he and his wife would
defend the old fashioned parlor, rather than attempt to de-stroy
it. :"'1rs. Guild had better take herself to a nunnery.
Every unmarried girl 'would rejoice over her departure for
such an institutioH, and every unmarried man would "bite his
thumb" in contempt of the cranky old editor of Cleveland.
The parlor will remain so long as Cupid's torch shall burn.
Youth demands it and will not be denied.
Another Complete Outfit.
The Ohio )'latch Company, VVadsworth, 0., have recently
erected a very large addition to their plant, and are install-ing
the Grand Rapids Blo'" Pipe and Dust Arrester Com-
P<l11Y's complete system, inclUding two large fallS, directly
connected to eleetric motors; Verrell's pate.nt dust collectors,
piping, furnace feeders, etc.
of the Manufacturers of Furniture,
kindred Trades.
Order at Once... The Classified White Directory - Pianos, Organs, Bedding, Interior Finishes and
WHITE PRINTING CO., Grand Rap;d •• M;ch. -
32 ~ tvI,IF,.I-IIG7f-N t
INSIST ON HAVING
Morris Wood ~ ~on~ ~olid ~teel alue Joint (utlers
for there are no other.". "ju.rt a.r good."
They cut a clean perfect joint always. Never burn owing
to the GRADUAL CLEARANCE (made this way only
by us), require little grinding, saving time and cutters.
No time wasted setting up and cost no more than other
makes.
Try a pair and be convinced. Catalogue No. 10 and
prices on application.
MORRIS WOOD &. SONS
Thirty-two years rat 31·33 S. Canal Street. CHICAGO. ILL.
Mr. Manufacturer-Do you eVel consider what joint gluing co~ts?
The separators 'and wooden wedges, if you use them and many do, are a
large item of expense accounts; but this is small compared to wage ac.
counts of workmen who wear them out with a hammer, and then a
~~e per cent of the joints are failures by. the insecurity of this ~eans.
RESULT, it has to be done over again, if possible. If you use inde-pendent
screw clamps the result is beller. but slower. altogether too slow.
Let US tell you of something better. PALMER'S CLAMPS. All
~eel and iron. No wedges, no separators, adjust to any width, clamp
instantly yet securely. releases even faster. Positively one-third more
work with one-third less help. In seven sizes up to 60 inches, any
thickIleS! up to 2 inches. 200 fadories convinced in 1906. Why not
you in 1907) Nthouw. sold by dealers <:.Verywhere let us Send you
p"'licul",. /\. E. Palmer 8: Sons. Owosso. Mich.
FOREIGN AGENTS ~ ProieCtile Co., LondOD. Engla,ud.
Schuchardt & Schutte, Berliu. Germany.
7IRTIS'~
t 71:.
"lwtllry Style" lor Drop Carvings, EmbOS@6d~ouldiug8, Panels.
EMBOSSINC AND DROP CARVINC MACHINES.
M:Il.t'lllnes for ll-II pur))USell, ~nd at prices within the :reach 0'
all. Every machine hUll our guarantee ngllin"t breakage for ODe
'·f'llr.
"Laterql Style" tor large cR))tWity heavy (Jai0vina'8 and Deep
Eml;.osl!lings.
We have the Machine you waul. at a _tisfaci4r, lJri~. Write
lol' descriptive el~oJars. Also make dies for all :makes of .Ma~
chIne",.
UNiON rMBOSSINO M4C"INr CO.• Indianapolis, Ind.
Johnson's Tally Sheet
---FORI----
HARDWOOD LUMBER
NOT LIKE OTHER TALLY SHEETS.
c. A. JOHNSON, Marshfield, Wis.
33
p-EL-TRACE
MARK REGISTERED
WOOD FILLERS
Get a good Start. You know the value of a good /iller as a basis of a perfect finish
and we know that you will particularly appreciate the merits of what we have to offer cin
this line. Our goods will Stand thinning to a much greater degree than ordinary material
and Still retain their colors.
Our Fillers actually fill. They are absolutely no~-shrinkable as only the pureSt min-eral
pigments are used in their manufacture and they are unequalled for uniformity and trans-parency
of color. They work easily. never pull and dry as hard as lIint over night.
Use Silax Wood Filler and your out-put will look better, sell easier and laSt longer.
THINK IT OVER.
STA.E CHICAGO
The Sad Fate of "1, Me and My~e1f."
A traveling salesman and a designer were seated in the
reading room of a hotel at Tnlianapolis, Ind., engaged in re-counting
their experiences with men and things, when "I, Me
and Myself" entered. "N"ow we afC doomed to a three-hour
session with, the great rnau of the furniture trade," remarked.
the designer, quietly. "011, I don't kno\v," rejoined the
traveling s:11esman. \A/hen "I, 1'1e and tJyself" had taken a
seat and commenced an eulogy of himself \",jth a preliminary
"r tell you, boys," the traveling salesman. who is blesscd with
an active imagination and a wonderful flow of language. "cut
ill," and the elltlwsias mhe employed in extolling the busi-ness
sagacity of "I, ~le and ]\IY5e1£'5" principal competitor
and the marvelous productions of his shop, made "I, -;vle and
l\fyself" think that Hughey Jennings and "Jack" Me Gra'''...
would be mcrc infants in a gab-fest with the wily traveling
s-ile~mall. No opportunity pn:'senti1Jg itself for "I, T'de and
FOLDING BED FIXTURES
Prontahle fixtures to use are those which give the
)e:l~t tronble. They are made by Folding Bed
\Vil1iams in many styles and designs, suitable for
every folding' bed manufactured. Furniture Cast-ings.
Panel Holdus, Corner Irons, etc. New ideas
and in\'entions constantly being added to the line.
F. B. WILLIAMS
3812 VINCENNES AVE., CHICACO
MallufactuTerof Hardware Specialties for the Furniture Trade.
Established H178.
I\Jysdf" to break into the "conversazionc," he arose slowly,
stretched his arms and remarked, "I guess I'll go home."
vVhen be had passed 011t of the door the designer, the trav~
eling salesman and a crm",d of bystanders loosened a roar
that souJJCled as if <I home Tun hit had been made at the ball
park.
Finely Cut Carvings.
The Kovelty YVood \~rorks, under the experienced and
able manag-ement of Ralph Van Kuiken, are fully employed
on orders for tine wood carvings, after special and stock de-signs.
1\Jr. Van Kuiker.l possesses large and up~to-date manu-factl1ring
facilities. A request, addressed to Grand Rapids,
Mich .. for a catalogue will be furnished without delay.
Metal Kitchen Cabi.nets.
The manufacture of kitchen cabinets' of metal is a new
industry. The cases arc not so sllsceptible to the alternating
temperatures of the kitchen as wood,"but there is ever present
in the kitchen more or less moisture, and the metal cabinet is
sure to be affected by rust. Th ideal kitchen cabinet, made
of tiles and mahogany has not yet made its appearance.
Enlargement of Mirror Factory.
The H<trt 1fitror Comapl1Y have commenced the ereation
of an addition to their factory, in Grand Rapids. It will be
50 x 100 feet in size and three stories high. The company
manufactures high grade mirror plates.
Enlarged Their Plant.
Th,e Blanchard-Hamilton Furniture Company of Shelby-ville
.. Incl.. have taken possession of a substantial three-story
addition to their plant and add( d a numher of machines that
,,ViIIenable the company to largely illcrt:ase their output.
34 ·:f'~MI9rIG7}-N
A WONDERFUL BEDSTEAD.
Inventor Worked in a Combination of Fire-:-Escape and
Burglar Alarm.
He was long and lean, rind looked like he had been starv-ing
on the meagre lU11Ch rotHe for many moons. His clothing
was all to the bad, and his face looked as if the bunch of
hoboes he had been touring \ovitb had lost their only razor. He
walked with an uncertain step, doubtless caused by long
practice on the ties which railroad companies persist in dis-tributing
along Tights of way at unequal distances. He ..v..as
a tramp, all right, but he had the appearance of being a su-perior
sort of a tramp, one given to talking much and toiling
not at all.
Kennett, designer at the Oakville factory, found him sit-ting
by the long table when he returned from the manager's
office. The long table was well covered with sketches and
plans, and the designer's first notion was that the visitor
was there to absorb some of the designs, which were about
ready for the market.
"What do you want here." he demanded.
"Just dropped in."
"\Vell, suppose you just drop out. "01e do 110t receive
guests here, and, besides, this is not visitors' day. Get OHt."
"I'm a furniture man myself, sir, and 1-"
"W·here is you'r factory?" asked the designer. ,
"I haven't got a factory-yet! I'm an invent6r."
The visitor paused to rub one side of a broken nose with a
long and dirty forefinger. He looked like he hadn't slept in
a month, and the spot HIlder the rope which held up the
waistband of his trousers was of the ingrowing kind. He
looked hungry as well as sleepy. The office cub drew a
pencil sketch of a bum asleep on the sunny side of ~ haystack,
with a drove of pigs nosing about him, and threvJ it over to
Kennett.
"If you are an inventor," the desigller said, ;"you must
ha,-'e something to show me. Of course, you caqte up here
·to show me how to- make furniture." i
"I've got something to show," 5aid the tramp, with as-sumed
dignity, but before I do so I want you to promise
me that you WOll't use the idea without sharing the profits
with me. I want my bit out of this."
"All right," replied the designer, thinking that the easiest
way out of the scrape was to listen for a moment and then
turn the proposition down cold.
The visitor took a roll of paper from his pocket. As he
spread it out on the table the designer saw that it was dirty
paper, 'worn, almost through here and there where anxious
and impatient hands had dwelt upon it. It was covered with
marks which represented a cross between a bedstead and a
nightmare.
"This," said the visitor, "is a patcnt bedstead.
got the patent yet. I'm waiting to interest some
party in the inve'ntion. It costs a lot of money
ents."
I haven't
responsible
to get pat-
Then the designer: "You don't call that a bedstead?
\Vhat are those funny little attachments for?"
"This one," replied the tramp, "is the burglar alar11l. Nat~
urally, when a burglar enters a house to burgle he approaches
the bed whereon the master of the house is sleeping. I have
heard that people having money to carryover to the next
day place it under their pillows. I have never had exper-ience
carrying money over to the next day. Well, when the
burglar approaches the bed he naturally touches this front
rail as he bends over to search under the pillow. Now, here's
the beauty of this part of the invention. When the burglar
touches the rail. this little kedewy reaches out anti grabs him,
and-"
"Does what?" gasped the designer.
"Read1es ant and grabs him. Throws out these strong
steel arms, represented here by red lines, and seizes him
aroulld the waist, pinning his arms to his sides. Then the
slceping man awakes and does the rest. ~ow, this feature
of the invention is not the most important one, as you shall
soon see, but it ought to be sufficient to make the fortune of
any company making those bedsteads. I'm thinking of
putting in an attachment which will blow chloroform in the
face of the burglar and put him to sleep if he becomes vio-lent."
The designer threw himself back in his chair and laughed.
"Ah," said the tramp, "you may make merry over the idea
if you choose, but think, think, young man, of what might be
your fate should a burglar come to burgle your house in
the dead of night, and creep, creep, creep through the dark
rooms and stand in silence beside your couch-and you with-out
this patent, adjustable, sure-thing, quick":action burglar
alarnl."
"I don't see how I've got along without one as long as I
have." said Kennett.
The visitor failed to find the frost in the voice and the face
of the designer. He took 'a stub of a pencil from his pocket
alld traced another Set of lines on the rough drawing.
"Here is the most in~portant feature of my invention," he
said. "When you comprehend the mighty possibilities of
the thing you cannot refuse to put it on the market. Joined
to the comfort of a superior bed and a money-protecting
burglar alarm, we have here a patent, neck-saving, fire-defy-ing
fire escape-all in one bedstead, the place of rest, the
burglar alarm and the fire escape."
The designer backed away for a moment, but the fellow
looked harmless enough, so he stepped nearer to the draw-ing.
"So that is a fire escape?"
"The best one ever invented, sir!'
"How does it work?"
"You See these lines? Yes. Well, they represent coiled
wires. This black mark is the end of the coiL Observe this
spring. You wind t
- Date Created:
- 1907-10-10T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Rapids Public Library (Grand Rapids, Mich.)
- Collection:
- 28:7
- Subject Topic:
- Periodicals and Furniture Industry
- Language:
- English
- Rights:
- © Grand Rapids Public Library. All Rights Reserved.
- URL:
- http://cdm16055.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/p16055coll20/id/84