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- Issue of a furniture trade magazine published in Grand Rapids, Mich. It was published twice monthly, beginning in 1880. and '(GRAND ,RAPW ~ 1111111 u'4--n AllY I ! I' I , MICHIGAN ARTISAN I OCTOBER 25, 1906 I r ~ Grand Rapids Fancy Furniture CO. It , , . I i ;". r"·' ;:. . ,) 1 ," GRAND RAPIDS, MICH. '>;, ". Bookcases, Ladies' Desks, Music Cabinets and Writing Tables IN MAHOGANY: OAK. IMITATION MAHOGANY. MAPLE, ~~~ ~-WRITE FORCATALOGUE.~~-- Spring Line on EXhibition, FIFTH FLOOR, BLODGETT BLOCK ,I BEST THINGS FOR THE HOLIDAY SEASON. (, -j ,:p ,) . ~ '. -.'1 .<t L _ EVERY INDICATION POINTS to the fact that we wiUhave a LARGE HOLIDAY TRADE, hence Weadvise you to FIGURE AHEAD, AVOID THE RUSH and BUY TODAY. We will date the bill December Ist. Terms: Net 60 days 2 per cent 10 days, F. O. B. here. The beauty of this Couch is in ils massive proportions. yet embodying lPacefuI lines. It is. made of quarter sawed Oak, cl'OOs~bandedveneered sides, (finished Golden) and with massivelv carved shell at the head. The springa are High T em-pered steel, built upon Ihe S. & H. Construction, the same construction as adoe!~ by tile Governmt!nt. WE GUARANTEE IT FOR FIVE YEARS. The Filling is of Tow, Mo" and Hair Top and the covering is of the very best M. & S. No. 1 guaranteed Machine Buffed Leather. Will not crack or peel. No. X2610 COUCH 77 in, long 30 in, wide A RARE BARGAIN MUELLER & SLACK COMPANY, Grand Rapids Mich. IF YOU HAVEN'T OUR CATALOGUE ~6 ASK FOR IT For the Holiday Trade A YOUTH'S MANUAL TRAINING ========== BEN CH ========== Is an Article That Can't Be Beat. A Useful Article in Any Home. A Perfect Gift for the Boy. The Same Bench we Furnish the Best Manual Training Schools. Strictly high grade in every respect. Sold at a price that 'places it within the reach of all. It sold like "hot cakes" last Christmas. Get it on your list for this year. Write for full information and prices. GRAND RAPIDS HAND SCREW CO. 130 South Ionia St., Grand Rapids, Mich. LARGEST MANUFACTURERS OF BENCHES IN THE WORLD. - - -- - - --- - - _._-- -- ------- THE NORTHERN LINE KITCHEN CABINETS LET OTHERS ADVERTISE, BUT YOU BUY THE BEST GOODS FOR THE MONEY Kitchen Cabinet No. 1I C\ Kitchen Cabinet No. 501 I. While it is a mistake to offer an unsatis-factory, cheap Kitchen Cabinet, and you know as well as we do that a WELL MADE . ARTICLE at a moderate price WILL OUT-SELL the best advertised Kitchen Cabinet in the world. We are content to let others advertise Kitchen Cabinets while we DELIVER THE GOODS AT INSIDE PRICES. WE ADVERTISE NO RETAIL PRICES and every dealer may ask what he likes. There is no better built line on the mar-ket, and few as good. Our Kitchen Cabinets are THO R - OUGHL Y PRACTICAL with no contrap-tions, and WILL SATISFY THE CUS-TOMER. They have all the features of the best Cabinets on the market, and we have carefully avoided the short-comings of others. We have different styles, so you can al-ways PICK WHAT YOU WANT. There is no more complete or salable line in the country. They will help you immensely to make Q!JICK AND PROFITABLE SALES. The Northern Furniture. Company SHEBOYGAN, WISCONSIN 2 The Luce FurnitureCo. INVllES ATIENTION TO ITS LARGE LINE OF Bed Room and Dining Room Furniture. GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN SALESROOM AT FACTORY ONLY. DURING THE JUL V. 1906. SEASON YEAGER'S HIGHEST THE REASONS GREATEST QUALITY VALUES THE YEAGER fURNITURE co., Allentown, Pa. CHICA.GO-Funliture Manufl'l.(:turers' Exhibition Building, 7th Floor, 1319 Michigan Ave. NEW YORK-(Salesroom) 333-341 Fourth Ave., Cor. 25th St. 2d Floor. PUBLIC LIBRARY 27th Year-No.8. $1.00 per Year. MAIL ORDER COMPETITION. GRAND RAPIDS, MICH., OCTOBER 25, 1906. A Commercial Traveler Tells How it is Met by a Sagacious Dealer of Coldwater, Mich. "Mail order competition isn't such a terrible thing after all," declared a traveling man, after listening to a little ca-lamity howling in the corridor of a Grand Rapids, 11ich., hotel recently. "Of course, the country merchant who lays down and does not even attempt to meet it is liable to feel it keenly," he continued, "but there is no reason why the small dealers who are in close touch with their patrons should fear it. All they need to do to hold their trade is to explain the matter to their customers. A little heart-ta-heart talk and saga cia lIS figuring will hardly ever fail to convince a sen-sible person that there is nothing to be gained in patronizing the mail order houses." On being asked to elucidate his idea~tell how it can be done- the optimist proceeded: "Well, I'll tell you. I wit-nessed a good example of how to do it down at Coldwater the other night. I was in a store when a man \vho wanted a small wood stove-onc of those little heaters-came in. He sauntered around until he saw about what he wanted and then asked the proprietor: "Vhat do you want for that stove?' 'Six doJ[ars,' was the reply. "'1 can do better than that/ said the would-be buyer. 'I can get that stove from Sears & Roebuck for $5.25.' "'Well, that's better,' said the seller, 'if you can do it, but I doubt it.' "No doubt at all,' said the buyer. 'They've got exactly the same thing and $5.25 is their price.' "'That may be,' said the merchant, 'but I think I can con-vince you that you won't make anything by sending your money to Chicago. 1 can do just as well by you as any mail order house can.' 'If you can I will buy that stove and pay your price,' was the buyer's offer. "'Well, Jet's see,' said the dealer. 'You say their price is $5.25. If you send that amount over there you've got to write a letter and buy a money order. That will cost you 10 cents, including the postage, even if you don't count your time worth anything. That makes $5.35. Then you must pay the freight, which will be at least 4S cents. That will make it $5.80. Then you will have to hire somebody to take the stove up to your house. That will probably cost a quar-ter, but we'll call it 20 cents, which brings Sears & Roebuck's price tlp to just what I have asked you and they won't send a man over here to set up the stove and swear at the pipe for you as we do.' /1'1 guess you're right,' admitted the buyer. I had not figured the thing out, I'll take the stove, You know I'd rather trade with you, anyway. Here's your money.' "'Thank you,' said the dealer, and the incident was ap-parently closed, but he could not resIst the temptation to 'rub it in' a little. He saw an opportunity to make the les-son a little more impressive and improved it, thinking, prob-ably that it might have a good effect on several other me1 who had witnessed the transaction. He took the money and then turning to his handy man, said: 'Here, John; mark this stove sold to Mr. Edwards. Set it away to be delivered and set up a week from Saturday.' "Can't you deliver it before- that?' asked Mr. Edwards in surprise. "'Oh. yes, we could: was the reply, 'but I only agreed to do as well as Sears & Roebuck would and you know if you sent to Chicago for a stove you wouldn't expect to get it in less than two weeks, while wc"ll keep it only a little over a, week.' "Mr. Edwards saw the point plainly. He protested mild-ly, saying the weather was growing cold-might freeze up any time-and the folks needed the stove, and when he was as-sured that it would be 'up there the first thing in the morn-ing,' he invited all present to smoke at his expense. "Now," continued the optimist, "that incident shows how the small dealers can compete with the mail order houses. I believe that if people who patronize the mail order concerns would figure a little, they would find, in nine cases out of ten, that they can do better by buying at home. I suppose there are dealers who ask too much for their goods. In such cases the people cannot be blamed for sending their money away, but when a merchant plays fair, shows a disposition to 'live and let live,' and knows how to Use his opportunities to the best advantage, he ought to have no difficulty in holding his trade against any inducements that the mail order men can offer." THE CORRECT Stains and fillers. THE MOST SATISFACTORY first Coaters and Varnishes MAItU'-ACTII.CII rII ........ B .... CHICAGO WOOD FINISHING CO. 259·63 ELSTON AVE.., 2·16 SLOAN ST. CHI CAe o. 4 ~r;,.IfjiIG7}N , 7I R'T' I >5' AJ"! 4? $ $. HORN BROS. MFG. CO. 281 to 291 W. Superior St.. CHICAGO. ILL. MANUFACTURERS OF Chamber SUites, Odd Dressers, Chiffoniers UDII'S' DRI'SSING TII.8LI'S to match Made in Golden Oak, Genuine Maho~any VeneCTed, Birdseye Maple, Whit~ Enamel High\y Pohsbed 01 Dun Finish. We also make a line of PRINCESS DRESSERS from $13.00 UP, In Quarter-Sawed Oak, Mahogany and Birdseye Maple, Veneered If you bave not received our Spring Supplement. ask for it. SAMPLES SHOWN BY PECK & HILLS 1319 Michi~D AVeline, and HALL .& KNAPP, 187 Michigan Avenue, Clilcago. NEW YORK AND PHILADELPHIA, Via GRAND TRUNK-LEHIGH VALLEY ROUTE, Two Fast Trains Daily Except Sunday. Daily. Leave Gd Rapids , 2:45 p. m. 7:05 p. m Ar Philadelphia , , 3:40 p. m. 7:25 p. m. Ar New york ~:30 p. m. 8:40 p. m. Service unsurpassed. For further information apply at City Office, Morton House Block. I . C. A. JUSTIN, C. P. & T. A. QUARTER-SAWED INDIANA WtllTE OAK VENEERS CHOICE FIGURES:: EXTRA WIDTHS When writing for prices. mention widths required and kind of figure preferred. HOFFMAN BROTHERS CO. Fort Wayne Indian ... No. 51 The New Write for CatalGJlle. RICHMOND Chair Co. RICHMOND, IND. The Standard line of Double Cane CHAIRS and ROCKERS Mention MICHIGAN ARTISAN THE ONLY CASTER CUP THAT WILL NOT MAR OR SWEAT ANew Caster Cup, a Furniture Protector and a Rest We guarantee perfect satis-faction_ We know we have the only perfect C&'ltercup ever made. This cup is in two sizes, as follows: 2}( inch and 3 inch. and we use the cork bottom. You know the rest Small size, $S.50 lI'er100 Large size, 4.50 per 100 F O. B. Grand Rapids. Try it and beconvinced. Our Concave Bottom Card Block does Dot touch the snr· face but upon the rim. permit. ting a dreu\ation oi air under the block, tberebY pr~e:ntin~ moistua or marks of any kind. This is tile only card blllck of its kind on the market. Price $3.00 per 100 Grand Rapids Caster Cup CO", ..... 00. A,. .. Grand Rapids, Mich. Also can be had at LUSSKY. WHITE 6. COOLIDGE, 111·113 Lake St.; ChicaGO "PE.RFE.CT·· FOLDING CHAIR PATENTED OCT. 20. 11)03. Comfortable Durable Simple Neat The Acme of Perfection in the line of Folding Chairs. PERFECT COMPACTNESS wbil!:nfolded. Hard maple. natural finish. WaITE FOR. PaICES. OM PEABODY SCHOOL FURNITURE CO. North Manchester, Indiana "Rotan Slyl,," lot Drop Carvin~, Emboaed MouklinllS. Paods. Etc. EMBOSSING and DROP CARVING MACHINES Mlldtjpes for a\l PUtpose~, and at prices witbin lhe reach of all. Every Machi" .. has OUr Il"uarant"h against breabge for one year. "Lateral Style" for Larie CApacity Heavy Ca~ ",00 Deep E.D1.boWn~_ We Mve the Machine you want at a JlllisfactaIYprice. Write lor del<::riptivecirculars. Ako malle. fo1 aIlmaltes ~ M.cbinell. UNION EMBOSSING MACHINE CO" Indianapolis, Ind. Morton House American ......Plan Rates $2.50 and Up Hotel Pantlind European •.....Plan Rates $1.00 and Up GRAND RAPIDS, MICH. The Noon Dinner Served at the Pantlind lor 50e is lhe fiNEST IN THE WORLD J. BOYD PANTLIND. Prop. -- ----- -- --------... 71R T I ..s' A.L"l a;;;; ; ".. 7 f' • PATENTED JULV 29, 1902. The best FASTENER for Five Le&.gedTables Write for Price! atld Informaticf1 --ro-- Invincible Table Fastener Co.. Shelbyville, Ind. FURNITURE- FACTORY OPE-NINGS. Excellent opportunities for furniture factories exjst in cities anti towns of the Southwest along the lines of the ... An a.mple supply of h~rdwood timber. besides most of the soft woods, are procurable at low cost and within a short distance of these locHtion~. Full particulars upon application. Send !(JT booklef about facfO'ry opminglt a!(J'fI(Jthe Rock Island-Friileo. M. SCHULTER, Industrial Commissioner. Friseo Building. ST. LOUIS.Mo. Fine Service MICHIGAN CENTRAL Grand Rapids .II Detroit .II Toledo THROUGH CAR LINE Solid train service with Broiler Parlor cars and Cafe coaches running on rapid schedule. Through sleeping car to New York on the "Wolverine," making the run in nineteen hours and fifty minutes. For full particulars see Michigan Central Agents. Or E· W. Covert. C. P. A. Grand R.aplds. o. W. ,,"u.s.)ea. G. P. A. ChlQajio. 5 -"',,-MIC.H·2IG7INa graining machine in factories making low and medium priced goods. Quartered oak is becoming so expensive that many are using the imitations instead. The Wolverine :Manufacturing Company and the Cadillac Cabinet Company are having a gre.at trade in fancy furniture and tables. The Safety Folding Bed Company expect to show their line in January at 1319 Michigan avenue .. Chicago. Changes in Burial Customs. "You may he.ar people in the country and in smaller towns say that folks in New York don't even know the peo-ple that live next door," says an undertaker of the big city. "But as a mattcr of fact somebody might live and die under the Same roof with you here and you might never even know that he was dead; thi!';, for instance, in anyone of the city's large apartment houses. "Here no crape is hung at the outer doot, as it would be disturbing to the other tenant'S. And so there are parts of the town which you may traverse and never see a crape. Peo-ple die here, but it is not the custom to place the crape at the outer door. "In some parts of the town in houses of many tenants, where it is de~i··ed and where it is sanctioned by custom, we still plate a crape at the outer door, in such cases tying a black ribbon to the bell pull or to the nameplate of the family in which the death has occurred' in the hall within; but in the many fine modern apartment houses it is not the custom. "You will still find, as in the old way, in various parts of the city in case of death crape displayed at the door of pri-vate dwelling houses; but here, too, the custom is beginning, has in fact begun, to fall' into disuse. You will now see 011 such houses flowers with the crape, or flowers alone; and there are fine avenues and streets where the outward display of any death emblem whatever has been largely if not wholly given up. They know, and their friends know; and why should they make their grief public? HAnother change of comparatively recent years is in the manner of inscribing coffin plates. Once such plates were universally lettered with the name of the deceased and with the date of birth and of death, the lettering being done in script. Now it is not unusual for us to put upon a plate the name only, and this in old English or a block letter, omit-ting the dates of birth and death entirely. "Women, particularly, are naturally sensitive about their age, and they might have shrunk from having this told, after their death, as they would have shrunk from telling it them-selves. It was respect for this feeling that prompted the omission of dates, done at first in the case of women, The simplicity of this manner of making plates commended itself and it was extended to plates made for men; and we are now making, for both men and women, an increasing number of coffin plates bearing- the name only. "Another change in burial customs in the city is found in the increasing number of burials now held from undertaking establishments, which are now to be found here equipped with every possible convenience for the seemly conducting of funeral ceremonies, either public or private." Demand for Old Style Beds Increasing. "In spite of the rapidly growing scarcity of suitable wood, furniture is selling at a low price, all things considered," said E. A. Bandcrob of Oshkosh, while in Milwaukee recently. "Wood from which furniture is made is not only becoming scarce, but mechanics employed at furniture making are de-manding higher wages than paid them four or five years ago, and other material used in the' construction of household ar-ticles has gone up in price. Therefore it is but natural to suppose that the price of furniture has been increased some-what also. Furniture made today is far more serviceable than that manufactured when I was a yopung man. The me-chanics employed at furniture making are men expert in their profession, and such workmen command the highest wages the manufacturers can afford to pay. "There is, of course, cheap furniture made, but my advice to the young- couple or the old couple, too, for that matter, is when buyhlg furniture to get the best, even if they are ob-liged to go in debt to get it. The best in the furniture line is always the cheapest. "Wooden bedsteads are not going out of use as fast as some people may think, or ~s certain furniture dealers may endeavor to make them think. The demand for the 61d~ style bedsteads is increasing rather than decfeasing, as house-holders after they have had experience with an iron bedstead will go back to the comfortable and good-looking wooden bed. In the winter time, especially, is the difference between iron a.nd wooden bedsteads appreciated. "';VoDd carvers, the men who make the fantastic and ar-tistic designs on the bureaus and bedsteads are paid better wages than mechanics in other branches of trade, and they earn their money, too. It requires skill and ingenuity to be a wood carver, and the work is hard." "Down and Out." The man who wins in the fight for fame, Who wins in the war for gold, The welkin rings with his lauded name Wherever his deeds are told. Not mine to jeer when I hear him hailed; I'm proud of his heart so stout- But what of the fellow who tried and failed, The fellow that's "down and out"? Shall nought be said for the man who tried The goal of his hopes to gain? Who faced the battle with patient pride And fought though the fight was vain? Whose spirit in one weak moment quailed, Who fell at the last redoubt- Ah, many a hero heart has failed, So here's to the "down and out"! The man 'who wins, oh, honor him well, And give him the praise that's due, But don't forget the other who fell Ere ever his dreams came true; Yes, honor the man whose will prevailed, Who baffled despair and doubt- But give one thought to the man who failed, The fellow ,that's "down and out"! -Denis A. McCarthy. THE HAWK£.YJt. KITCHEN CABINltT Original feature~. Des;2n.finishand cabinetwork the beston earth. Prices ran~ frOID$3.25 to $60.00. ExcJuslvesale Jl'iven. Sold to dealers only. Price is a good salesman. Quality is a b~ter one. We have them both. Catalogue on application. UDloD FurDltu,.. Co .. BURLlNGTc>N. JOWA.. HOW TO BETTER YOUR POSITION. Hang On To Your Job, Do Your Best and Keep Your Eyes Open. He w;iS seeking work, all unmarried beginner, but scorned the suggestion of a more experienced worker that, since op-portunities 111 the desired 1ille were few anti applications many, he should take other work while walting. l'I'd rather go hungry than do work I don't like," he per-sisted, voicing a piece of folly common to mally thoughtless work seekers. "I couldn't do my best at anything distaste-ful. And, besides, if I get into other work, I may never get out." Those who employ others or seek to help them trYward em-ployment frequently are confronted by this mistaken attitude based on half truths improperly comprehended, says John Coleman in the Denver News. Love for the work undertak-en no doubt conduces to the enjoyment of its performancc, as also to to the power of doing it well and easily. But the un-desired work may offer the highest opportunities for improve-ment of working ability and character, nor can any kind of work utterly pt"Ove. distasteful to the honest, whole-hearted 7 waiting? There are cases, however, in which the unde-sired work performed for necessity's sake, leads to unexpect-edly promising opportunities, brings out latent abilities not otherwise. shown. A. Chicago young man, an artist by instinct, a phat"macist for financial reasons, loathed the occupation of his business hours, yet discovered through it certain photographic possi-bilities that prescntly lifted him to fame and easeful prosper-ity and freedom. Another unloving chemist passed from the uncongenial field to researches that by and by landed him in the happy haven of a university professor's chair. A struggling physician, eking out the income of an infinitesimal practice, took to medical illustrating; from this branch he passed to the nOll-scientific drawing, which proved his great-est gift. A woman, suddenly widowed, desired to take up design-ing, but, lacki.ng the money for immediate study, turned her housekeeping experienc.e and talents to good use. As a successful teacher of domestic science she tong has' been rec-onciled to her altered plans. One of the cleverest character artists of America, a woman widely famous for her adorable child sketches, slipped into this work quite by accident, need-ing money wherewith to further her sculptural endeavors. b in jts simplklty, Our new 4eSlgna &1 I\4if sion furniture that have lusl IUTtvt;d from' ,hi Grand Rapids factOries .ar.e t~ finest eumJ1c& 0/ this popular furuhure as yet pr.oduCcd:. We have them In complete sets for every room bi the hause, or odd p1e~s ta set hel't and there ta add 10 tbe attraclivent,8s 01 the home. We would ask y(IUto' call at OUt stott aM allow us to acqtulilll you witb tbe me:tfts af Grand Ra¢dsfurn1ture' aM show you why it extek any (urriJ.- tute produced iIi tbe- world tOda. and fel it costs no more tban mQ" stclre.s ask for the: vetyardinary k:in&. ~l!.E OUR FALL BXHiB«T Of!' RUGS Jt,fu>OTIWlI'l.(lOa CO'VBRJN03 N~ al!stKns iN dwic, Ji;lf.. I",,,s and, a"'lislit: f;ollJrUc6 /"iHH .4mP'~Q's;.hsl.ak~ ~~lllb~"· SAMPLES OF' GOOD ADVERTISEMENTS. worker. Nor, again, is it necessary to "stick" in the unde-sired place. The desired work should be held in mind always, with the confident resolve to secure it as soon as possible. But it is e.asier to obtain a new job ·while blessed with an old one than when anxiously 'workless; and it is better to be well fed and clothed, out of debt, and easy in mind, evert at the cost of dis-agreeable daily effort, than to endure hunger, shabbiness and discouragement in search of the most alluring position. Lincoln may not have made log fences, Garfield driven the canal horse, and Grant hauled wood with the presidency in view, but. it may be assumed that each had far different work in mental perspective. Each, undoubtedly, made a bet-tcr president for the practical knowledge of men and c.ondi-tions acquired whHe engaged in the undesirable efforts. Marshall Field, John \Vanamaker, George \V. Childs, Sir Thomas Lipton, George M. Pullman, Thomas A. Edison, Rud-yard Kipling, John D. Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie, Jack London. these, with hosts of other world successes of varied order, toiled along in uncongenial fields befor('. coming -into their economic own. Who can doubt that the chosen work at last was the richer for the fruits of patient, productive The writer of an immensely successful recent book on femi-nine economics unconsciously secured its basic material while following a variety of distasteful occupations in search of the right one. A valuable and lucrative contrivance for softening and re-moving old wall paper was invented by a woti1an who watched her husband, just then out of employment, renovating his 0\',711 si.tting room hangings. The handy little restrainer of \vomanly "scolding locks" that some years ago profited its creator, ,"vas suggested to an ingenious worker seeking for different employment. At least half the world's most satis-fying successes have come to men and women who rather might have expected success in almost any other way. Instances might be multiplied indefinitely, but to what purpose? Here is the Hcondusion of the whole matter" to the thoughtftll work seeker not utterly committed to prev-ious mental conceptions: Choose the kind of work you pre-fer, determine to attain and successfully perform it as soon as possible, and bend all avaHable efforts in the cherished direc-tion. But, meantime, do your best at whatever kind of work first offers, being sure that in this course will be found the direct road to future opportunities of any and every kind. Karges Wardrobes Are Good Wardrobes fJIGOOD STYLE CONSTRUCTION FINISH =1 P R ICE SRI GH T [ WRITE FOR CATALOGUE KARGES FURNITURE CO. EVANSVILLE, IND. It BOCKSTEGE fURNITURE CO. EVANSVILLE:, IND. NO. 10. DRESSINGTABLE. Top 10%40. Ftench P1iaW2i2x.28.SdectO»artered Oak. Rubbed and PoIUbed. . Mak.en. of the "SUPERIOR" Extensioa. Parlor.nd Unaty Tahles. New CAT. ALOGUE just iaued. GET ONE. GLOBE SIDEBOARDS alB the BEST ON THE GLOBE FOR THE MONEY GEr OUR CATALOGUE. Mention the Michigan Artisan when writing. GLOBE FURNTURE COMPANY EVANSVILLE, INDIANA MAKE MONEY MR. DEALER BY SELLING THE KITCHEN CABINETS CUPBOARDS SAFES and WARDROBES Besl Goods lowest Prices BOSSE FURNITURE CO., Evansville, Ind The "Ell" fOLDING BEDS ~~~frl~'~N~~~ No Stock. complete without the Eli Beds in Manto::! and Upright E 0 M &. Co Evaa •• 1Ue.ln41a1'lla L' • ILL E R . Write lor cuts and pril:e5 1906 SMIT" C"4IR ===COMPANY=== 1858 E. Q. MANUFACTURERS OF WOOD, DOUBLE CANE, CANE, COBBLER TUfTED LEATHER AND VENEER SEAT CHAIRS AND ROCKERS No.145 R.eception l\.ocker Veneered Rolled Seat Quartered Oak Finished Golden Office and Warerooms. Cor. Third and Division Sts. Factory and Supply Mill, Foot of Oak St. ------:EVANSVILLE,IND •• ------ - - - - -- -- -- -- ---------------------- 10 UNREASONABLE EXCLUSIVENESS. Radical Measures Proposed By Minnesota Undertaker; and Furniture Men. The Furniture News, St. Louis, Mo., gives the undert~k-ers and embalmers, fumiture dealers and manufacturers of Minnesota some good advice when it says; There was a time when if we heard of happenings Q(lt of the ordinary we had visions of Kansas. The Sun Fl.o\vcr state came in for all"sorts of gibes for her eccentricitiesl which geemed well earned from the pet:uliar actions of some of h{~r citizens. But the spot light has gradually shifted of late until it is now focused upon one of our neighbors in the north, where its searching rays penetrate a state of affairs that is amusing, to say the least. Minnesota seems to be afflicted with as many tormentors as Job of old, and two have broken out in such virulent form that some of the good citizens of that state have felt called upon to exercise stringent measures to prevent them frou' Why Not Order? Say a dozen or more Eureka Iron Display COuch Trucks llCDt you OD approval? If not satisfactory th~ ean he returned at no expense to you whatever. while the price a;ked is but a triBc, com-pared to the convebience they afford and the economy they represent in the saving of door space. Thirty-two couchl!S mounted on the E",eka Jron D;,pIay Couoh Truck occupy the same floor spate as twelve dis-pl~ ed in the usual manner. Write flQrcatalogue giving full descrip-tion and price in the diJferent finishes, to-gether with illustratioDs demonstrating thc use of t he Giant Short Rail Bed Fastener or Iron Beds. Manufactured by H. J. MONTGOMERY PATHNTKIl: Silver Creek, New York, U. S. A. Dellnit Wire and IMl Co.• Camldian Manu-faeturecIS. londoa, Ont. spreading. One that troubles them sorely is the embalming fluid question. For many years Minnesota funeral directors have taken a most active interes't in compounding a fluid that would possess all the good qualities of several hundred fluids and then some more. Not satisfied with the appropriations made by the National Funeral Directors' Association to carry on the investigation, the Minnesota Funeral Directors' As-sociation, we understand, have put up large sums of their own, Ulltil now they are ready to shout "Eureka" and pub-lish to all the world a formula that will put the embalming fluid manufacturers to the bad. We are not up on fluid!> sufficiently to know whether the free article is the superior of those that are sold at so much a quart, but if an embalmer, we believe we would hesitate to use the new discovery against the old and tried fluids un-less we had taicen a post graduate course in chemistry and cared to dabble in the mixture every time we had a call. It is within the province of funeral directors' associations to in-vestigate fluids, in fact they should do so a·nd report progress at their regular meetings, but we Question their right to put a large and flourishing industry-that of making embalming fluids-out of business until they know that all the concerns are fakes and frauds. It would seem more proper to inves-tigate fluids of trained chemists and put them right, if wrong, than to tear down the business that tbey have spent years of careful study and large sums of money to build up. Minne-sota fU11era}directors' activity in the fluid investigation gives the impression that they believe manufacturers are cheats and robbers, or something equally as bad, when the fact is that the calling is just as honorable as that of embalming and de-mands the same courtesy at our hands. To the layman the question is not very interesting, ex-cept as a study of the policy of exclusion and the extreme length to which it can be carried. Those of us who ha.ve survived the ,nauseating exposures of the Chicago packing house investigations and realize what we put inside of our-selves while living, are certainly not very particular as to what is put inside of us, by others, when dead. The other perturbation that worries Minnesota business men is the inroads made by the mail order houses upon the sacred preserves of her retail furniture dealers. Whether Minnesota suffers more than any other state from this cause we cannot say. but she is first in the list to apply drastic: measures as a remedy. The Retail Furniture Dealers' Asso-ciation of that commonwealth have gone so far as to advo-cate the absolute exclusion of all furniture not made in the state. Consumers are not to be allowed to buy anything in the furniture line that comes from the thousands of factories throughout the country. Dealers -are to buy only from Minnesota factories or go without. The result of this pol-icy is not hard to foresee. If the Minnesota furniture deal-ers want to increase the business of the mail order houses they couldn1t succeed better than by invitinl; them to take the trade by this action. To cut out all manufacturers on the supposition that they supply catalogue hOuses is doing the majority of them an injustice. The fact that the catalogue houses are compelled to build factories to make almost every kind of commodity they handle, is conclusive proof that they· cannot buy the goods cheap enough and in such quantities as they sell. The selling end of their business is in advance of their ability to get the goods; -they are, therefore, forced into manufacturing, which adds complications to their sys-tem that they would prefer to go without, but cannot so long as their needs are not supplied by, regular manufacturers. ~I/Ianyof these manufacturers were in business long before the catalogue houses were ever thought of, and want now as in the past to supply the retail trade with their products; in fact are doing all they can to urge retailers to buy from them. Some have even gone into the advertising business, spending thousands of dollars to educate consumers to use their goods, thus helping the dealers to sell them. Are the Minnesota furniture dealers so unappreciative of this that they would discard their friends when in need and build up a barrier against them? We trust not, for no good can result. The Minnesota manufacturers will never be able to regulate the tastes of her people by their own creations. For be it known, that no matter how bright and intelligent they may be, they do nqt possess all the skill and ingenuity in the world, and the furniture dealers who depend tlpon them will be forced in the end to replenish their stock from other sources even if they do come from beyond the state's_border. Bennett's Price for His Herald. Members of a wealthy New York syndicate not long ago determined that they would dQ very much to the furtherance of some large plans in hand if they could purchase the New York Herald. So they dispatched this cable to James Gor-don Bennett "Please wire best price for whidl you will sell New York Herald.' That evening the answer carne: "Daily, three cents; Sunday, five cents. Exhibit at the National Business Show. The Moon DC5k Company of Muskegon, Mich., will make an exhibit of their products at the National Business Show in Madison Squarc Garden, New York, October 27 to No-vember 3, inclusive. They will occupy booth numbered 108 with Vice President Roy E. Moon and L. E. .Moon, who rep-resents the company in New York and the east, in charge. ,--- Detroit, Mich., Oct. 22.-Detroit is in the throes of a fierce municipal eampaign, thE:'.street railway matter entering large-ly into the struggle, but the furniture trade continue., tn flourish, no matter how great the political excitement r::,ay be. As the city is spending more than a million dollars a month on new buildings, and new factories are being hnilt all the time, and the demand for labor is steadily on the in-crease, it is as plain as anything can be that a great ~kC'.!of furniture is being called for. W. E. Barker & Co. are advertising a removal sale:; ?t 178 vVoodward avenue, but whether they will move to their Michigan avenue store or into a new building over on Ran-dolph street that Mr. Barker has been talking of building, the advertisement does not say. It is understood, howel.'<"'r. that they will vacate their present location vefore March 1, 1907. George J. Reindel & Brother hope to get into their fine new six story building on or before January 1, but it will require great activity on the part of the contractors to get it ready by that time. The Michigan Upholstering Company is also to have a new home. They will build a briek factory on Lafayette avenue between Seventh and Eighth streets, four stories high and 75 x 135 feet in area. They expect to move into it before May 1, 1907, Speaking of business, a Detroit manufacturer of tables said: "Our city trade amounts to more than $50,000 a year," while a chair manufacturer said bis city sales were much more than the above figure, It is said that eight or nine new fu'rniture stores have been added to the list this year. The Ornamental Products Company is meeting with great success in placing their unbreakable Iignine furniture and architectural ornaments on the market. The merit af these goods, and their wide adaptability is making itself manifest more and more every day, These ornaments are practically unbreakable, do not warp ar check, take on a fine finish and so closely l'esemble natural wood that only experts can detect the difference. The Posse1il1s Brothers Furniture :'Jallufacturing Com-pany have secured a new location for their exhibit of tables, on the second floor of the Furniture Manufacturers' Exhibi-tion building, 1319 Michigan avenue, Cbicago. They will have about 4,000 square feet of floor space in the northwest corner of the floor, across the aisle from their old space. They will show a number of new patterns at the January ex-position, but will make_no change in salesmen. The Palmer and Pioneer Manufacturing companies will show together as usual, at Chicago, on the second Boor of 1319 Michigan avenue. They will occupy the space vacated by the Posselius Brothers Furniture Manufacturing Com-pany, and wilt have considerable more space than bdore. Both of these companies are having a fine business, operating their factories three nights a week. The Palmer will show a number of new patterns of parlor and library tables. Ev-ery new pattern shown in July proved a winner, and brought lots of duplicate orders. They never saw anything like it. The Pioneer people will show some new styles of gears as welt as bodies of go-carts and baby carriages. They will issue a new catalogue in November. The Detroit Cabinet Company bas built an immense brick tower, on which is being placed a 20,000 gallon tank, and have equipped the factory throughout with the sprinkler system. Speaking of changing styles, a gentleman well known as one of the leacfing furniture manufacturers of this city! said, 11 "Buyers will come into our space every season and say, 'Hello, Jim; have you got anything llCW this time?' and Jim will say, 'Yes, a lot oi new things; come and see them.' "Then the buyers will go all through and place orders ior everything in the line that they have bought before. If we should have nothing new they would raise a great howl, but it simply shows that many of them either do 110tknow a uew pattern when they see it, or are so well satisfied with the old patterns that they see no need of changing," The Posselius Brothers Furniture M.anufacturing Com-pany are meeting with good success in placing their new Murphy Chair Co. MANUFACTURERS DETROIT, MICH. A COMPLETE LINE Pioneer Mfg. Co... DET~OIT. MIC". Reed furniture Babu Garrlaae5 Go-Gart5 Full line ShOWD on second f1(){) .., 1 3 1 9 Mi(l~i~anAve.. Cbi. caQo. in January. KOOK WOOD and a general line of fRNGY TRBLES Write for Cuts and Price_ PALMER Manufacturing Co. 1015 to 1035 Palmer Ave. DETROIT. MICH. Full line .hoWlt on second Door, 1319 Miebizan Ave •• Chicago, in January. 12 BETTER BEDS BEDS MAKERS OF METAL WITH STANDARD REVERSIBLE No. 691 I $12.25 Jet 2 inch pillars made of seamless t~bing. FiIling.% and M inch. I Head 64 inches. ! Foot 40 inches. I Smith '& RAILS Standard Reversible Rail Davis Mfg. CO. ST. LOUIS, MO. Patented July 15, 190~. No. 704702. This rail is reversible in the true sense of the word--ean be used either side up and enables the deafer to make one set of rails answer instead of having two 1- -1 stocks, one of regular, the other inverted. SOLID .. .. RIGID REVERSIBLE NALL'S, the Polish thai is M1king Evansville Famous. Nal~ls Red Star Polish dries instantly and n ver S1:Iftens or gums. No dis-agree ble or ofiensiveodor. Never set-tles at' evapot"8.tl!S. A trial orderalways ~u~k~ab~~~~~nJc~~~~tn~~riwf~n~~ furnil reo This Polis~is free from acid. Can b used by any child. Guaranteed to glv satisfaction. Sol in 1, 2:, 5 and 10pHon cans and In ba Is, also put up In -"I, 3and 6 oz. bottle retailing for 100. lSe and 25e. Howinga liberal profitto tbe retail • Write for prices and state quant· y wanted. Aperfect Polish and Cleaner forFur Iture. Offle. and Sar Fix-hlr ••• Plano •• Organs. Ble7clell. Jron .beds. Carrl •• e. and Automobile •• Wer~fer you to the Crescent Furnit Co., Tlu Evansville Desk Co., The Eli D. Miller Folding Bed Co., a d the City National Bank of Evan8vilte. AMERICANPHARMACALCO., ,., u "'" "'ST ST. Evansville, Ind The New Banquet Table Top al well as OFFICE, DINING l\nd DIRECTORS' TABLES are ou\, specialty. STOW & DAVIS FURNITURE CO.• 2;:':''::;'''- Writef<JT Cata1oaue. Gettamplea ofBANQUET TABLE TOP. I WE manufacture the larg~ eat line of FOLDING CHAIRS in the United :;'tates. suitable 'lor Sttnday Schools. Hall., Steamers and all Pu bHc Re$orta. • . • , We also manufacture Brass Trimmed Iron Beds, Spri.tl:g" Beds. Cots and CribB in a larKe variety. . . • Send for CataloIUC: and Price. to Kauffman Mfg. CO. A56IAND. 0610 UNION FURNITURE CO. ROCKFORD, ILL. Buffets Bookcases China Closets We lead in Style, Conltruction and Fmi,;. SeeQUI eat.l~e. Ou~lineonpetmalJent exbibition 71b Floor, N- MaRuf.cturen' BuiJdiq, Gtand Rapidli. The Ford & Johnson Company "EVERYTHING IN CHAIRS" When in Chicago do not fail to see our Im-mense display at our Salesrooms, 1435-37 Wabash Ave. Many new patterns. SEE OUR Complete Dining Room Suites-Oak and Solid Mahogany. Chairs and Rockers---All Kinds. Mission Furniture---All Finishes. Children's Go-Carts and Carriages---1907 Line NowReady; Reed and Rattan Chairs---a Complete Line. Fibre Rush and Malacca---the Ideal Furniture. ===== GENERAL OFFlCES===== Sixteenth Street and Indiana Avenue, Chicago. SALESROOMS BOSTON, MASS. 90 Canal Street ATLANTA, GA. Mariel:ta and Bartow Streets 1433-35-37 Wabash Avenue CHICAGO NEW YORK 202 Can<ll Street No. 92-7 t Solid Mahogany CINCINNATI, O. 427 E. S.dh Street FRANKFORT, KY. The Club Table That Satisfies Everybody Size 32 in. Ions. 27 in. wide; 27 tn. high Cov<eredwith Leather or Felt EASILY FOLDED SIMPLE STRONG COOK'S PATENT FOLDING ATTACHMENT ;~':;;:~~~Sle~t~~~c~~~~~ of the table, as shown In the illustration. OUftables are made of hardwood, and covered with green felt and leather. The cross-piece or cleat on end of table keeps the top from warping. and is 50 arranged that a person c'!n sit dose to the table withQut crampinj{ the knees. The felt used on this table is of extra thickness and made special. and is much better than padded tables where cotton batting is used and inferior quality of felt. Very useful and convenient, for card partIeS, children's games, ladies fancy work, or tea table. BELDING-HALL MANUFACTURING CO. BELDING, MICHIGAN WAREHQUSES-I% Monroe Street. Chicago. 213 Canal Street, New York 13 14 '·~MIPJ"IIG7fN FROM CRADLE TO THE GRAVE. Extent of the Installment Business in Salt Lake City-Furnip , ture Men Lead. "From the cradle to the grave"-and then afterward. It's all the same whether onc wants a cradle or a coffin, he can get it in Salt Lake City on the installment plan. and with terms to suit his purse, says the Salt Lake Herald. Salt, Lake is considered one of the best installment towns in the entire United States. The dealers in all classes of goods who sell on this plan-and there are few goods that are not-say that the payments are made with greater regularity and promptness here than anywhere else in the entire country. The first dealers to cater to this class of trade were the furniture stores. For the last fifteen years, since the first furniture installment house opened for business, the volume of this class of trade has steadily increased until today fully sixty-five per cent of all furniture sold here is on the basis of a certain percentage on delivery with regular monthly pay-ments until the balance is wiped out. This class of business became popular at once. It ap-pealed particularly to the poor and middle classes, who, by its application, were able to furnish their liomes with greater comfort and taste than would have been possible if they had been required to pay cash the entire amount. "The installment business has many advantages for the purchaser," said C. W. Freed, a furniture dealer, recently. "Through the installment .system the poor who have good taste are enabled to surround themselves with many of the eomforts of life that only the well-to-do or the moderately rich of ten years ago could have. "Today the man of moderate means and a steady position can have his home well furnished, with a piano in the parlor, and with his library well filled. Of course his salary must be sufficient to meet the regular payments each month, but if one is not extravagant, ::I.nddoes not go into deht too deep-ly, and is not required to make too large payments each month, he can get along comfortably, and have the benefits and enjoyment of the goods while he .is paying for them." It is estimated that not less than $1,000,000 is spent in the installment furniture houses of Salt Lake annually. The greater part of this amount comes from men working for wages, who have families to support. It is not only the poor and the middle class who buy in this mannerl but professional men as well. Among the in-stallment buyers are doctors, lawyers, dentists, preachers, mining men, engineers and all others who have occasion to purchasc more than they can readily pay for in cash. "The installment buyers," said one dealer who has had long experience in this market, "are more' conscientious in Salt Lake than in any other city in which I have been in business. They seem eager to pay, and pay promptly. There is seldom a case where a buyer attempts to take advantage of the dealer, and try to beat him out of his goods or his pay. "The homes of the working people, the wage earners, are bettcr furnished and arc more comfortable than in any other city west of the Mississippi river. The reason is that the purchasers have the right taste, and have the opportunity of selecting from large stocks. The installment plan is an inducement to them to buy well, and fit their homes, with only the better grades of goods." The initial payments on any class of goods purchased on this plan, arc usually ten per cent of the gross amount of the bill. The regular monthly payments are usually eight per cent of the balance, and but few bills run for more than eigh-teen months. In three cases out of five, the paym"ents are in excess of the regular amount required by the contracts" The fact that the title of the goods remain with the seller until the final payment is made, has a tendency to cause the purchaser to hasten his payments in order to secure title to his property, and feel the independence that comes with undisputed posses-sion and unclouded title. But it is not only furniture that can be purchased in this manner, with terms made to suit the buyer. Almost every-thing that is needed in the course of one's natural life can be bought at {{somuch down and so much per month." There are one or two houses in the city where clothing can be bought in this manner. The outfitting of libraries on the monthly payment plan has bcen a boon to many book lovers who have been unable to buy the standard authors in sets on the cash basis. Cloaks are made to order and are paid for, sometimes, by the time the cloak has pao:.,cedthe stage of usefulness ·or respectability. There are but few pianos or organs that are sold "spot cash." The collector calls once every month for the payment. But the man who rents a house does not always want to live under the roof of a landlord. When he has accumulated a small sum of money, he is enabled to move into his own home, buHt after his own plans, and pay for it by the month, at a rate that, while slightly in excess of regular rental, gives him the satisfaction of knowing that some day this home will be his own, and he will be under obligations to no one for his roof tree. If a man owns or rents a farm, or if he has a. stable and wants agricultural implements or a ca-rriage, he can secure them from a dealer, on the inevitable installment plan, <rat terms to suit the purchaser." Automobiles are also delivered to the man who wants to travel fast, and who has not the means to purchase a machine outright. Nearly every sewing machine sold in this ·state is delivered on a contract of this kind. Watches, jew-elry and diamonds can he bought by the man of sman means, who desires to "put on a good front," or who wishes to sur-prise "somebody" with a gift. In the hardware lines, purchases can be made with such long credit extensions that they amount. to virtually the same as the instal1ment system. Not only real estate, furniture, clothing, machinery, car-riages, automobiles and other property of similar classifi-cation are sold on this plan, but one may secure the coin of the realm in the same manner. There are a number of places in Salt Lake where one may borrow money upon the signing of a note for the original amount, with interest at an undetermined rate. This is somctimes found to be worse than going without the money in the first place, Jor while the note calls for six per cent interest, the amount collected is sometimes considerably higher. The loss suffered by local installment houses is less than one per cent on all installment accounts. Foreclosures are infrequent and it is seldom that goods are "pulled" unless the purchaser is able to pay and refuses to do so. It is not generally known, but almost every rooming house and lodging house in the city ~as been furnished on the in-stallment plan, the proprietors depending upon the business revenue to meet the payments exacted from month to month. Almost any desirable urisk" can secure life insurance poli-des in nearly all of the leading companies with local agen-cies, upon signing notes for the payment of his premiums. These notes call for apyments 1n thirty, sixty, ninety and 120 days, and virtually give the insured his protection on the in-stallment plan. In the event of the death of the insured be-fore the entire payment is paid, and if aU payments' have been made to the time of death, the policy is paid, and th,~ amount of the premium deducted from the face of the policy. Thus the installment habit frequently follows those who are subject to it beyond the grave.' Census Taker-And what nationality? The Lady-Rooshan Jew, begorra. Couldn't yez guess that whin Oi told yez the name was O'Reilly?-puck. Our New"and and foot Power Circular Saw No.4 The strongest, most powerful, and in every way the best machine of its kind ever made, for ripping, c~\ltting, boring and grooving. Callinet Makers In theae days of close competition, need the best possible equipment, and this they can have in . . . . BARNES' Hand and Foot POWER Machinery Send for our New Catalogue. "W. F. ®. JOHN BARNES CO. 654 RubY Street. Rochford. Ill. TWELVE HUNDRED SAMPLES INCLUDING EVERYTHING FOR THE BEDROOM New Features in Rose Wood and Combinations of Woods. Largest variety of Styles and Finishes. SLIGH FURNITURE COMPANY, Grand Rapids, Mich. 16 Our Oak and Mahogany DINING EXTENSION TABLES Are Best Mal:le, Best Finished Values. All Made from Thoroughly Seasoned Stock. No. 495 Dining Table Top 48x+8. Madein ~arter-ed Oak. Weathered Finish. Nickel Casters. LENTZ TABLE CO. NASHViLLE, MICHiGAN No. 495 Dining Table Please Send for Catalogue and Prices FOR WILLOW and RATfAN WARE I manufacture· the Fineat Clothes Hamper or Bedroom Basket IN THE AMERICAN MARKET All Kinda of BASKET WARE MADE TO ORDER F. PARTHIER, Manufacturer of Willow and RaUanWare, No. 209 GRAND AVE., CHICAGO, ILLS. "Tbis Trade Mark 6uaranlees Ibe basi." No. 526. No. 525. Be Good to the Gideon. One of the most annoying things 'which the traveling sales-man has to encounter is the expensive ioss of time caused by a good many thoughtless dealers and buyers, who will keep him 'waiting, before placing or declinging to give an order, when it is apparently unnecessary. The salesman's time is valuable and is entitled to thoughtful considerati(l1l. The unnecessary loss of an hour or two is a commotl occur-rence and frequently means the loss of a day. There are some dealers who seem to think they are conferril1g a special favor on the traveling man when they give him ally attention, and often when interrupted by the call of one will manifest a perceptible manner of annoyance. So far as the favors go the honors are equal. Traveling men are Ollt to sell goods to responsible parties, as a general thing, and when they call upon a merchant it is because their house believes he would be a desirable customer. As a rule the relations formed are of mutual benefit, and the representative who calls '011 the dealer and seeks an order is conferring just as much of a favor as the one who gives the order. It ",(iI.'ouJd be a pretty cold day for any dealer if the traveling man should stop call-ing upon him. H cnce there is no eXcUse for subjectil1g him to any form of j1.1 treatment or indifference on account of his own personality or the statu5 of his line. The great majority of buyers and dealers understand this and are uniformly courteous and thoughtful. But there are enough of the other kind, the thoughtless and the ill mannered, who stand in their own light al1d suffer disadvalltages, because they have never comprehe.nded that prompt attention aud unfailing courtesy is just as important to real success in dealing with the representatives who are ont to sell goods as it is when dealing with their own eustomers.-Furniture Index. "Kick" Book as a Pacifier. There was Gre in the woman!s eye, the sound of battle in her voice. The man at the desk saw her coming and push-ed forward a heavy blue volume. 'IWrite it down there," he said. .·.W. hat is that for?" she asked. "Complaints," he said. "Everybody who has any fault to fmd with the management of this store is respectfully re-quested to register her kicks in this hook. Every mOrtling the ma11agers of the different departments look over the en-tries of the preceding day. If a customer h;:;.sbeen subjected to impudence, if she has had difficulty in getting waited on, if goods have not been dellivered promptly, or if a hundred and one other disagreetble things have 11appened, all she has to do is to say so, and every effort will be made to improve the conditions, always provided that the compbinallt signs her right name, 50 that she may be produced as a witness." The woman looked over the four pages of complaints th .H. had been entered on that day only. "What a queer idea," she said. "It may be queer," he said, "but it is a mighty good idea. It is a great lahor saver. \Vithout that book we would have to hire half a dozen extra employes. Did you write down your complaint?" "No," said the woman, "I don't bellieve I have anything to say." Happy Furniture Family. Mr. and Mrs. James A. Brouwer of Holland, Mich., cele-brated the Silver Anniversary of their marriage on Friday evening October 12. The event was made the occasion of a happy informal gathering of the employes of his furniture store and their wives. Previous to their departure each em-ploye wa.s presented with an envelop-e containing a cigar and a $10 hill. ),lr. Brou\ver has been connected with the retail furniture business since 1872. The family consists of five children, three daughters and two sons. MR. DEALER: Think of the trouble you've had with other Sofa Beds---the break-downs ---the disgusted customers. Think of the sales you've lost on account of the dissatisfaction of the pro-spective purchaser with the crudities of design---or the frame construction---or finish---or the hard upholstery---or the wide opening between the upholstery and the ends---or the unsightly fixture in the box---or the noisy action---or the narrow seat---or absurdly high back--- and so on, ad infinitum. IT'S DIFFERENT WHEN YOU HANDLE THE "SIMPLICITY" Easy Sales. Satisfil>d Customers. Big Profits. And "It Stays Put." Gur lIew "SIMPLICIT1" Catalogshawsthe largest and best selling line if Davenport Beds you ever .,saw. A postal gets it. Jamestown Lounge Co. World' 1 Largest Make"s if Dp.vetJport Beds, JAMESTOWN, N. Y. 17 18 ~MIF«HIG7J-Z'I Reliable School Furniture. One of the most thoroughly modern school furniture plants in the country is the factory operated by the Peabody School Furniture Company at North Manchester, Ind. The Pea.bod:vPlant. This plant is equipped throughout with special automatic machines, each to do its work as near perfect as possible at lowest cost. From the very beginning "quality" has been the watch-word of this company in the manufacture of their products and as a result the success and broadening trade they have merited places them firmly in the rank of the foremost man-ufacturers of school furniture and folding chairs. So well Patented July 26, 1904. have their goods been received that they now enjoy the con-fidence of satisfied customers all ovcr the country and in many foreign lands. The foundation of this success is the double trunnion and pintle bearing school desk, of which a cut is here represented. This desk is fully protected by United States patents, cover- No. 51. No. 55. KibdersaneD Chair. mg a hinge, which for noiselessness and staying qualities has never been equalled. I t is a clever yet simple construc-tion, making it unnecessary to have a bolt through the axis of the hinge, as such a bolt is sure to get loose in time. In addition to school furniture an a<\mirable line of fold-ing and assembly chairs is turned out ·at this modern plant. Folding chairs which are simple in construction and at the same time durable and very comfortable are made in many patterns to cover every demand for chairs of this kind. A large stock of goods is carried at all times and the company makes a strong point of their ability to ship orders promptly which is so essential in this line of trade. For convenience of western trade they maintain a branch office at Topeka, Kan. Home office at North 1'1anchester, Ind. The Peabody School Furniture Company can be recom· mended with the fullest degree of confidence. English Typewriter After a Prize. The managers of the national Business Show, which is to open in New Yark October 27, have received a letter from a London woman typewriter expert, who sends her entry and defi to all Ammerican typewriters. She says she is com-ing over hcre to win the contest. She is frank, and in the letter which accompcl1ljes her entry she gives this informa-tion about herself: ".My name is Lizzie MasoH. I am 30 years old, and don't care who knows it. I am single because I can't help it. I am a typewriter because I can make more money at it than I can at anything else. I have becH typewriting for six years, and I have beaten records printed as those which won the world's championship in America. I think I can beat any woman in the world on the typewriter, and I am coming over to try." Miss Mason further says that she represented the largest bank in England in a typewriting contest in London last Feb-ruary, and had no difficulty at all in beating all competitors. The Regulars Are Best. "We have been experimenting with some of the so called fads, loose cushions, etc.," said D. S. Brov.'n of the Century Furniture Company, Grand' Rapids, Mich., llbut we find it better, more satisfactory to our trade, to stick to the regular lines. Some dealers are able to handle the fads aU right, but most of them prefer our- regular designs. The period styles give variety enough and what suits the dealers and their patrons is good enough for us." New England Under New Management. E. W. Irwin has assumed the management of the New England Furniture Company, Grand Rapids, Mich. Mr. Peebles, who has had general supervision ·of the company's business since the death of Superintendent Amsden, is in charge of the factory. Business continues good. A choice line of furniture for the dining room js in cou-rse of prepara-tion for the spring season of trade. I 19 ROBBINS TABLE COMPANY owosso No. 304. Quartered Oak. 44:l48 in. wp, 9 in. pill,n. WOODARD FURNITURE COMPANY OWOSSO, MICH. Our New Fall Line {)f Bedroom Furni~ ture is unusually attractive both in design and price, made in all the fancy woods and finishes. Dressers ~14to~58 in single pieces or in suits to match. SEND FOR NEW CATALOGUE WOODARD fURNITURE CO. MICHICAN ~ No. 301. AmericanQuarteredOak, 44~4;8"\iB..l0P•.9 m, ?iOaf. Kitchen (a~inds of QualilJ &ll at· .. hI, and make .a greater profit than other lines of kitchen cab-inets. Send for catalo8ue. Th. BEST 01 OUALITY 10. least mORey. We. have doubled our capacity aoo will be better able to take care of OUt trade th.n before; We aolfcit your patronage. MAIL ORDERS TO C. F. SCHMOE & CO. SHELBYVILLE, IND. 20 -~"J:A.I9.HIG7}Ns The Carpet Department. We venture to say that in no phase of mouern merchan-dising has there been a more radical change than in the var-ious carpet departments of our stores throughout the United States. The adJ,.·cnt of rugs as a prime factof in the retail carpet business during the past decade has led to sOIne C~lr-iOlls and interesting changes in the complexion of the aver-age department. Inquiry shows that one of the main results Mi-ton Style of Architeeture m::.m a California f'ieture. of the large sales' of rugs has been that the total space allot-ted to the sale of carpets has, in many cases, been materally diminished. The explanation of this is, of course, simple and apparent to any observer. In days gone by, during the busy season, if ten or more customers happened to be intent on the purchase of ingrains or three-quarter goods at the same time, the amount of floor space necessary to properly display the various patterns was a very important problem. In showing a single customer, a salesman would at least throw out 0 dozen or more patterns and match up borders for them. Every old-timer remembers well that this operation took a large amount of floor space, and when this space was multiplied by even four or five, the average carpet sales-floor was nearly in a crowded and disor-derly .co:lldition. Establishments which demanded of their carpet manager extra neatness in the appearance of the de-partment almost invariably met with a request for more room and additional porters, and in numerous departments the presence and service of six or eight porters were always in demand. Today, in the very busiest carpet depart"'Oents, a customer usually finds the stock at all times in a neat and orderly con-dition practically ltukno\Vt1 ten :rears since, and one or two porters' amply suffice to keep the stock ship-shape. Very generally throughout the c-ountry and in the depart-ment stores especially, the various grades of goods such- as taps and velvets, ingrains and wiltons are at present allotted a small space for each, and at one end of the department wilt be found one or two fine rugs display. racks. In a department 25 60 feet, it is now possible to intelligently show goods ag-gregating thousands of dollars in value, the main proportion of these, how.ever, being in rugs of .11{ sizes. Going through a typical department recently we noted on a rug rack occu-pying a space about thirty feet square, 116 rugs of carpet size, to examine anyone of which it was only.necessary to give the wing of the rack a slight push, which operation any cash boy could easily accomplish. That the day of tremendous space for the carpet depart-ment ·is past, no one will attempt to deny. Even such houses -- --, rIR..T 1.5'.7IJ"l ; $ e as those whose trade runs largely to piece goods endeavor to educate their customers to buying either from samples ,Or swatches, indicating quality by one or two rolls on the small shelves and bringing the selected roll of body and border from the warehouse if necessary. The widespread intro-duction of the cut order business, especblly as affecting the smaller shops, has also tended to diminish the required space of the average department in a small store and permits mallY firms to handle carpets and floor coverings who would other-wise not have "the space therefor. It is hardly necessary to dwell upon the self-evident ad-vantages of the display rack, either as a method of showing carpets. oil cloth or other fabrics, and investigation proves that the sales of all classes of racks and cabinets is largely increasing every season. The benefits of displaying rugs in this m,umer by no means accrl1e to the dealer alone. The very fact that the rack can always be placed in that portion of the department or store which affords the best light enables the customer to more carefully examine the rug he is about to purchase and tbc shmving of the rug in a vertical position rather than on the floor tends' to bril1g out 'the colorings and artistic en-semble. in the most favorable manner possible. We were told recently by a shrewd manager that he made it point to every 110W and then take a few of his old Hstickers" hich had been relegated 'to the warehouse for a special mark down sale at some future date and slip them in judiciously a oog good stuff on the racks, this method resulting often time in wholly unexpected sales. The use of the display rack is by no means the retail store, but many of the prominent whole and mill-selling agencies are today employing good results and large saving of space.-American Upholstery Journal. onfined to ale houses hem with arpet and Prosperity at Nashville. Nashville is prospering fintly. It is situate In one of the best agricultural districts in Michigan. The merchants are prosperous and the town is growing. T e principal manufactming business is making extension tab es and the Lentz ¢'able Company is known all over the ountry as producers'of one of the very best Hnes of medium priced din-ing tables. Within the last year they have ade great Mi••ion. Style of Arcbitec.tul"eham '. Catifomia Picture. changes in the plant, so that it hardly seems ],kc the same place. Large additlons to the main building ave enabled them to nearly double the number of machine. New dry kilns, a complete sprinkler system, electric ligh s throughout the plant, a huge water tank on a tower more han twice as high as the factory, a new side track to the lum er yar,ds and dry kilns, and doubling of the number of hand tells an elo-quent story. The output of the factory is more than doubled and business was never better. They do not in end to exhib-it in any market in January. 21 POOL CARS FOR PACIFICCOAST OVERLAND FREIGHT SAN FRANCISCO, CAUrORNIA. TRANSFER COMPANY, make a specialty of distributing pool cars of aU kinds and PARTICULARLY, furniture, carpets, linoleum and interior finish. References, Bradstreet's or Dun's and any bank in San Francisco, and the t',!-de. Carloader in Chicago Carloader in Grand Rapid.i J. W. Welling, 633 So. Jefferson Street Gelock Transfer Company, 108 So. Ionia Street TEAMING FORWARDING STORAGE HIGH GRADE BEDDING We Manufaclure an Unsurpassed Line of M~ttr~~ J)()~I1_ Gushions Feathers and Feather Pillows -OUR- 1906 CATALOGUE Gives you detailed information on GRADES, QUALITIES and PRICES Schultz & Hirsch Co. 260 South De,plaine' SI. CHICAGO, ILL. Factory Locations There is in the various offices of the Land and Industrial Department of the Southern RaHway and Mobile & Ohio Railroad late information regarding a number of first class locations for Furniture, Chair and other Woodworking Fac· tories, which will be furnished Manufacturers upon applka-tion. An invitation is extended to all who use wood in their plants to write about the timber supply, good sites and mar-kets available in our territory. Address your nearest agent. M. 't'. RICHARDS, Land and Induslrial Agenl, WASHINGTON,D. C. CHAS. S, CHASE, A,.nl, 824 Chemical Building, $1. Louis, Mo. SPRATT'S CHAIRS ARE THE JOy OF THE CHILDREN. Our new CHILD'S MISSION ROCKER was a winner from the start. Write jor CataloEu( and priedl. Our line is large and ~rices are right. , \ We make CHAIRS fo' GROWN-UPS "M well at! CHILDRE.N. GEORGE SPRATT I & CO. 'Sheboypn, Wis. Say fUN saw this ad in tbe Michigarr ./Irti- • fOUR TRAINS TO AND FROM CHICAGO Lv Gd. Rapid. 7:10am ArChic:_go 1:15pm. Lv. Cd. RapicLs12:05 Dn Ar Chieqo 4:50 PID Lv Gd. Rapi.d5 4:Z5 pm Ar Chi.ugo lO:5Spm Lv Gd. Rapid. 11:30pm daily Ar Cbicago 6:.55am Pul1man Sleeper, on 11:30pm train open 9:00pm. A II. carte Cafe .ervice on aU day trains. PeTe Marquette Parlor cars on all day traia.. Rate redllCed:to .0 cent •• T"R~~Ar:,~D~e~troit and Toledo. Lv Grand Rapid. 7:12am At Detroit 11:55am Ar Toiedo 1:00 pm Lv Grand Rapids 11:10a.m daily Ar D~rotl 3.:05 p:tll AI Toledo 4.:15ptll Lv Grand Rapid. 5::Wpm Ar Detroit 9:10 PhI At Toledo 10 45 pm Note fast time made by both midday ud eveJtina" thuD" Meal. serv!W. al.t. carte Oll.tm.ins lu.ving Gu.nd Rt.pid. at }1:1Sam and S:;Wpm. Pere Marquette Pulor Can on all train. j seat ra~., :II cauls. "ALL OVJ:R MICHIGAN" H.]. GR.A.Y, DISTlllIC'1'PAU&NGER AoAf'f, PHONE1168 Gn.ndRapi'., Kic1l.. [ -- ------------- 22 A GrotIp.,f Ub.:-ary Tablet' Made by the Imperial FUrDiture Company, Grand Rapid.. Mkh. - -- --------------- • No. 1426. FULL CROTCH MAHOGANY. A Niue Pieee Suite From the Catalo;ue of the Nelsou·Maater Furniture Co.• Gtaod RaJlidt. Mich. 24 MICHIGAN SCREEN, OLD ENGUSH DESIGN J:\ TOOLED LEATHER I I I l 25 THIS PUSH BUTTON distinguishes the "ROY At" Morris Chairs from the other kind MORRIS CHAIRS --FROM-- $6.00 to $30.00 CATALOGUE UPON APPLICATION, Royal Chair Co. STURGIS, MICH. Six Years of Test have Established Supremacy THE" ROYAL PUSH BUTTON MORRIS CHAIR Dangerous Boomera.ngs in Trade. There are a great many trade boomerangs and it is not our intention to attempt to name them all But a few may serve to set readers to thinking of them and others which they may have contemplated throwing, and which may return to them and smite them, Price cutting is a boomerang which nearly always works bacbvards with marvelous accuracy and deadli-ness. It is as dangerous as the gun of the small boy vvhich he re.garded with fear even after the lock, stock and barrel had vanished, for his father whipped him with the ramrod. There are men who habitually cut prices, not for the sat.u~of drawing customers so much as from a desire to injure COlll~ pctitors. They may succeed-frequently do-but the boom-erang smites them swiftly, and they are hurt fully as much as their intended victims. A small merchant .vas having a hard time of in a little town over in Illinois. His richer rival decided to "run him . out of town," and, desirtng to do it as cheaply as possible, he chose a barrel of sugar as the weapon sufficient for h1s pur-pose. He cut the price considerably below cost, confident that it would do the work. However, the first customer who arrived, a friend of the younger merchant, promptly bought the whole barrel, congratulating himself on his good fortune. He sent others who were willing to buy sugar by the barrel when they could secure such bargains. The merchant who had the brilliant idea sold aU his sugar in a day-at a loss that hurt him. Retrihution came swiftly to him that time. It does not always come so soon, but it always comes. It is not contended that to lower prices on stickers is not a good plan. Sometimes a single article with the price cut will enable a merchant to do a good business in other lincs, which will remunerate him. But that is 110t habitual pricc cutting, the kind that most towns and cities arc cursed with, the kind that buries the originator and others in the ruins. Lack of courtesy, such as laughing at an eccentric custom-er, is a boomerang which clerks are apt to throw. It comes back \vith a viciousness that is amazing at times. It never does any good and it may be depended upon to do harm. Selfishness is a boomerang. A cent will shut out the sun if it is held close enough to the eye. Foolish economy, neg-lect to attend to detaiis because they cost time and money, all grease the plank into the pit the digger prepared, and ac- . celerate his steps to it. Finally, let us remember that the boomerang as a weapon is (Jut of date. There are others much better, much more effective and far more safe. The merchant who is up-to-date uses no boomerang purposely. He uses better weapons. Pointers for Prospective Dealers. \Ve recently received a query, asking whether it is better to buy an estahlished business or start one. The question is too vague: for answer. It all depends. How many stores are there? How much capital have you? \Vhat is the con~ dition of the store you contemplate buying? These are all pertinent questions and without them a derinite answer can-not be made. There are stores for sale which have ·a· repu-tation which would be a drag rather than a boost for the be-ginner. There arc stores where the good will is worth a great deal. There are tm"'11$where another store would be a superfluity, and the elimination would begin with the last started. For an inexperienced man the tendency is to buy an established business. In this way he can get a line on what ShOllld be carried in stock. If yOU contemplate buying, be sure and rind Qut what the real motives for selling may be. -Orego11 Tradesman. The Lee Bracket Company will manufacture wall brackets at Three Oaks, Mich. 26 MICHIG.7lN 7lR.'T' IS' ESTABLISHED 1880 PUBl.liSH_C BT MICHIGA.N ARTISAN CO. ON TH~ IOnl ANO 25TH OF EACH MONTH OFFICE - 2-Z0 LYON ST., GRANO RA.PIDS. MICH. £NTElUiD ....9 ..."rr£R OF THE 8£1:01'11:1 CL1l88 As~odations, combinations ar,d similar organizations lt1 trade are ;Ill right when they are fair and reasonable in their aims and demands, V'lThcn their demands are unju.stiti.able, when they undertake to be arbitrary and coercive, they are much like the labor unions-the)· frequently fail to accom~ plish anything good for their members or for the public. The world is wide and it is diffictllt to organize an association that can dictate terms and cOlilrol the business of a strong manufacturing concern or large producers in any line. This fact is well illustrated by the experience of a prominent ft1rnjture manufacturing company in the \Ill est. A few years ago, when the organization of associations was something like II rage this company was doillg a large business in the way of makjng furniture horn ·special designs for club houses, court houses, city halls, hotels, lodge rooms and steamboats. The associations of jobbers and retailers asked the company to discontinue this most important part of the business forth~ with. The managers of the company r~fused to "sign up" and as. a result their business with retailers dwindled down in a single year until their retail customers numbered less than thirty. The company was able to stand the loss for a year but they did not propose to stand it TIluch longer. With catalogues and liberal advertising they went directly after the retailers, in the small towns appealing to them individual~ ly, and now instead of twenty-eight, they have over a hun-dred regular buyers and the list includes nearly all of their former customers, This shows that associations, if they would succeed, must have right and justice as the basis of their organization and that they must be liberal and diplo~ matic in their efforts to accomplish their purpose. During the past few weeks Grand Rapids manufacturers have been receiving letters from dealers complaining of delay in the shipment of furniture. In l1early all cases the delay is due entirely to the shortage in cars, The goods have been made and are ready for shipment, but the rail-roads can not furnish the cars, therefore the responsib.ility rests on the railroads instead of the manufacturers. The Grand Rapids manufacturers have l1ever made greater efforts to fill orders on time than they have this fall. They had an early start, pushed the work to the limit awl most of ·them succeeded ill getting out their goods as ordered. The car famine has caught some of the orders that were placed late, but it is believed that the dealers who bought in Grand Rapids will suffer much less than tho:'ie who bought ill some other cities. It is hardIly necessary to call the attention of dealers to present coudit.ions as an argument in favor of the early opening of the summer selling season, The editor of Good Housekeeping says that most yOtl11g houskeepers make a great mistake in buying too much ftlrni~ ture for their first outfit-that they fill rooms to such an ex-tent that they have no rOOIn for anything new for years and invariably regret that they did not wait' for a part of it until they knew just what they wanted. There is truth in the observation, and also a hint to the furniture dealer. The dealer can warn newly married couples against overCI"Owd- IhE· lng their houses. e need not advise them to spend Jess money for furniture. Tell them to buy fewer pieces but of of a better grade th n they intended. If they a.ct on his advice he will have one them a service for which! they wiJl be tl~ankft1t al~d Wht "h they will remember when; they buy again, He ,,"viIIals help to promote a taste for the higher grades of furnitme bieh will not harm his trade. If tbcre ;5 any vi ttle ;n conventions, the lumber bus;ness of the country ough to be in a decidedly flourishing condi-tion. The lumberm 1t have had a convention of some sort or other in some see ion of the [and nearly every f,.veeksince the Fourth of July and most of them have been followed by excursions with side trips to various points of interest. [t is possible, howe'\ er, that what appears to be cause in this case is realty effect that the conventions are t.he results of prosperity rather th n the cause of it. The closing of th year is welcomed by the traveling sales-men, quite a numbe of whom have not seen their cU5tome~s since their departur from the markets in July, Trade has been so good that t eir services were not needed on the road. It has been sugges:~;d that the designation so generally used when referring to tts class of business men be changed-that ::::;,~~;;nei~;;~;:~:~I;~;~~1;~t'2~::::~;~~~;;:;S~~;~~over time tn nearly II sectIOns of the country. Owing to the high prices of all k'nds of materials, however, the profits are probably less that1.they were a few years ago and further .advances in prices n the finished products may be expected in the near future. Cheap goods a ,e not always poor goods, but generally th.ere is somethin~Jobjectionable about them, sorltething that ·"1!1 prevent ready I sale. When sold the buyer is rarely pleased. He is mlf>refrequently dissatisfied and is not likeJy to come again. The dealer who handles the better grades does not have to dmtend with such disadvantages. The furniture ealer in Jackson, Mich., who displayed a lot of old unpaid bills for house fumishing goods in the window created a reat sensation in the ranks of the delin~ ~uents, but the b lIs were paid without much delay, The experience of the dealer with the style of advertising men-tioned proved its alue. The question 0 window decorations for the holiday season occupies the mind of many retailers, when they have time to give to the subjec. Many are so busy in filling orders and straining the malfs and the wires in the effort to obtain good.s that they h ve not noticed the approach of the gift be-stowmg season. This edition o~ the Michigan Artisan contains an unusual amov;nt of matte:lthut ShOUld.be of interest to· employes. It may also be of 11 terest and benefit to employers to induce their employes to read it. ! ----- A rhyme withtreason in it may be all right in an adver-tisement, but rh roes without reason are nauseating, even when used in the antic supplements. I ! The dealer wh finds it necessary to replenish his stock for the holiday trade 's likely to have unpleasant experiences with the car famine. The weather i nearly aU sections of the country has sug-gested buckwhea cakes arid preparations for holiday trade. Moon Desk Co. Muskegon, Mich. I· OFFICE DESKS See our new TYPEWRITER CABINET The Sargent Mfg. Co. MUSKEGON, MICH. Bachelors' Cabinets Ladies' Desks Extra Large Chiffoniers ____ Also ManufaCluren and El[porlen of ---- ROLLING CHAIRS Chairs adapted to aUkim:h dinvalidism, bctb. for house and street U5e. OVER FORTY DESIGNS TO SELECT FROM Muskegon Valley Furniture Co. Muskel!on. Mid. .•. Odd Dressen. Chiffoniers Wardrobes Ladies' T oilels Dressing Tables Mahogany Inlaid Goods Ladies Desks Music Cabinet. White Printing Co. HIGH GRADE CATALOGS COMPL ETE GRAND RAPIDS MICH.· - 28 WHY THEY LOST THEIR JOBS. An Employer Tells Why He Found it Necessary to Dis-charge Employes; The Chicago Tribune, in the industrial department of! it's Sunday. edition has been running a series of contributions from employes on the subject "Why I Lost My Job."" At first the articles, were apparentlly genuine and quite inte~est-ing but later they assumed a sameness that made them mono-tonous. Several of them appeared to have been writte~ by a space filler who was not clever enough to conceal his !ear-marks. However, they attracted considerable attention and finally led a "\iVestern Employer of Labor" to express his opinion and give some of his experience on the other side. He tells why some of his employes lost their iobs as follbws: "Within the past six months I have had to 'fire' six ot my men. I didn-'t want to fire them, not a single one of them, be-cause it costs money to break in new men. But J simply had to do it; there was no way in which they and their jobs could be kept together. at a profit to myself. I will tell you jwhy they lost their jobs: < I "There were four of them who belong in the same tate-gory. I believe that the reason for their failure to make good is the reason of the grt~at mass of the same failures. 'il'hey didn't try. This sums them up in short order, but the ~tate-ment requires some explanation before it entirely is accep-table. It is impossible to say whether or no these men were capable, whether they were by lack of capacity doomed to failure, or whether they might if they had applied themselves have WOn success. "Two were common derks, the third was a checker ip the shipping room, and the fourth was a salesman in the retail department. All of them had been with the house for [more than a year, and everyone of them had been told pre'vious to dleir discharge that if their work didn't show some im~ provement they must know what to expect. The clerkk had been with us three years each. They began at $12 per !week. At the end of the first year they got the regular $2 per Iweek advance that we make it a custom of giving to employes of their class. And they were getting this same salary at the tjme they \'\,ere taken off the pay roll. Now, clerks are worth $12 per week to us, not any more. That is what we are:justi-tied in paying to have our clerical work done, ·When we ad-vance a man to $14 it is in the hope that we are bl.1yi~g fu-tures that he will develope beyond the crerk stage into kome~ thing where the extra expenditure will be more th~n re-turned to us. If he doesn't do this we have lost mo~ey on him and must get rid of him, : "This is what happened to the first two of the non-lrycrs. They didn't get beyond the $12 stage in the work. ,;They didn't make an effort to become worth more than that Ita us. When they got their advance to $14 they took it as a ~eward for past work and went along at the same pace, They were told to improve, and they didn't, and so they had to go,' The checker was a good man, only he made errors. Of course, these errors weren't bad ones or numerous, and for ai while they were allowed to pass as accidents. But as they continu-ed in the Same proportion week after week and mont~ after month, it became apparent that they weren't accidents and that they were the results of the man' constitutional ca;~e1ess-ness, Then he was told to take good care with his work. He was told six times before I had him in my private offite and talked to him, and 1t hadn't made a bit of difference Jith his work. I told him that he would lose his position if hd didn't improve, and sent him away. A month later we were/1forced to let him go. The errors continued, and now it was appar-ent that he hadn't made any effort to prevent them. "The salesman didn't try to push his sales. He was on salary, and I suppose he figured that he should have been on commission. Apparently he was too shortsighted to see be-fiR T 1..5'.7I..N...,.. Q • 7 $. yond a salesmanship, and so he went along selling just enough to hold his job and never trying to get beyond this. We kept him-until we had a chance to get a better man in his place. "Number five and number six of the men I discharged each had distinct and separate complaints. Number five had an idea that he and he alone knew how his work was to be done, He tried hard enough to be of great value to the firm, but his natural bigheadedness stood in his way. There are plenty of workers of his kind. They cannot get it through their heads that they are paid for doing work as the employer wants it done, not as they think it, should be done. Of I'.ourse, it may be possible that they know how wOrk "should be done much better than the boss, but the boss is paying their salaries, so he ought to have something to say about what they do. "Number six so naturally was incompetent that although at times he tried hard to do good work he was impossible. He might have fitted in some other line, but he was just Qut of place with us. There is some hope for him; but for the others it is hard to see just where any hope lies:' Latest Fads in Wall Papers. About the newest thing in wall papers are Japanese leathers, which are not leathers at all, but pulp paper treated as only the ]apane.se know how. In appearance they are so nearly like tooled leather as to deceive the eyes of all except experts and the cost is less than a third of the price of genuine leather. They sell at $4 to $30 per rolf, retail, but when it is known that the Japanese roll is twelve yards long and a full yard wide the price does not seem high, compared with that of the American roU which is only eight yards long and half a yard in width. These Japanese pulp papers not only look like leather, but they are almost as durable, They may be washed with soap and water without fear of injury and they are really more artistic than anything that can be shown in real leather. Whether in plain effects, which resemble a burlap weave, a variety of which is calJed crushed levant, or in floral, con-ventional or heraldic designs, used as a frieze above the plain, and again as a covering fo-r the entire wall above the wainscotting, the blending and shading of colors are remark-able. Most of the patterned papers are hand painted or, at least, hand finished. After the pattern is stamped through from the back on the soft pulp the paper is treated to a bath of silver aluminum; over that are spread two coats of gold lacquer wiped off by hand in spots to give a shaded effect, and the colored lacquers applied to thd stencil are treated in the same way. After that the stencil pattern is supple~ mented, in the higher grade papers,-with segments of color and shadings applied with a brush. T~e more hand work· there is on the paper the more it costs. I, . In the East this "Japanese leather" ~s in great vogue at present for librairies and dining room$ and the importers predict that the fad will live for years. i Another novelty in pulp paper is a p~nel design. By the use of this old houses are made to appear up-to~date with paneled walls and ceilings. Like the ')Japanese leather" it is imported but it is promised that it 'till soon be made in New England. It is called Anaglypta rand the cheapest is $2.00 per roll of eight yards. The dtsigns not onlly re-present panels, but wainscotting and all kinds of woodwork in Colonial; old English, Dutch and Flelmish styles. Still another fashionable paper is [caned Tekko. It is made in SwitzerJand and is said to bel an improvement on silk paper, though it is retailed at $1 J!.er roll-eight yards, thirty inches wide. It comes in nearly all shades and like the Anaglypta may be worked in panel fffeets with any color for ground work including a remarkabI~ imitation of marble. I .7IR T IoS' A2'iI "M 2 zme 29 REX [:::~]MATTRESS CHAS. A. FISHER & CO., ]319 Michigan Ave.. Chicago. WRITE FOR BOOKLET AND PROPOSITION ST. LOUiS, MO. KANSAS CITY. MO. MINNEAPOLIS, MINN. PEORIA. lLL. LINCOLN, ILL. CH1CACO, ILL. Be Square With Your Clerks. A few days ago the ·writer entered a furniture store, employing a number of clerks. The proprietor himself was waiting on a woman and came over to me after he bad COll-cluded the bargain. He was smiling and appeared to be well pleased over something. "Clerks are alt right," he remarked, "but they can't come up to the old man. That lady passed two of 'em up and insisted on waiting for me to wait on her. I can sell three times as much as any clerk I've got, and some of Jem are high-priced men too." "Why did she prefer the proprietor?" was the question and he scratched his head, "Well, I suppose she thinks I know more about "the goods in my store, and that it is to my interest to serve her better," he said dubiouslly. "Did you make her a lower price on goods than you allow the clerks to make?" "Ye-es, I did a bit in this case." No wonder the customers preferred to be waited upon by the proprietor. They got better bargains when they did~ it was worth money to them to do so, Nor was it strange that he could sell rings around his derks, when by such methods he drew the customers away from them to himself. \Vhat did he hire clerks for? "VVhy not do all the selling himself? Another merchant with a store of about the same size and with about the same number of clerks, was qucstioned re-garding the same m;Jtter. He said: "The other day a lady, after a short conversation with one of my clerks came to me and asked mc to wait on her. I did so, although 1 was bU5Y at the time, hut as I knew her personally I felt that it was a necessary courtesy, She asked the price on some goods and I ma.de a good price on them. She looked rather surprised and said that my clerk offered them for less. "I looked surprised also and said that if he did that, [ would stand by his price but was not anxiolls to duplicate the order at those figures. I tried to do it in a way that would not offend her, and she bought the goods and went out, thinking that I was !lot the man to trade with in preference to clerks. "That was the impression I intended to convey, for I hire clerks to sell goods and I am fullly occupted with the manage-ment. The clerks know the prices, and if there are any re-ductions to be made they are informed of them. I want my customers to believe that they can get as good service from anyone of my clerks as they can him the owner, amI I've told them so, r will live up to my agreement vV'ithmy help every time." Both merchants ran the risk of injury because of making two prices Oll one article. The idea governing the second merchant was nearer correct than that of the other but he could have done better. If he had made exactly the same price as the clerk he could have attained the same object and reinforcced the belief in the one-price idea \vithout risk of offense or creating distrust. Greedy Undertakers Come to Grief. The Chicago Inter Ocean tells how two ambitious, enter-prising, greedy undertakers of that city "each striving to cor-ner the corpse market," managed to put themselves out of business. John A, Potroshius of Auburn avenue and Paul Mazeika of West Eighteennth stTed were rivals in the busi-ness and they carried their competi.tion to such an extent tha.t Mayor Dunne, after warning them to use less strenuous methods, re.voked their licenses. Vilith a view of brcaking into his cOIllpetitor's field, Pot-rash ius opene"d (;1.11 antleX directly across from Mozeika's em-balming shop. The latter retali<lted after the most approved trust manner. He rented a store next door to Potroshius' main establishment and wcnt into an advertising war. Then in their efforts to get business they encroached on the feelings of friends of the old and feeble and hounded the families of the sick, 1lsing methods very much like tho!;e 01 ((Obadiah" ill Miss Mdville!s perennial play, "Sis Hopktl1s!' Their strife· and contention attracted the attention of the police and investigation showed that neither had taken out a liceuse for his br<!-nchestablishment. The police shut up the branches, and then the mayor closed the main shops by re-voking the licenses on the ground that they had abused their privileges and that they were men unfit to pursue the ('alling of an undertaker. "enry Schmit &. Co. Hopkins •• d Hurio! SU. Clnclnn.tl. O. KU:RIt$ OF UPHOLSTERED FURNITURE LODGE AND PULPIT. PARLOR L18RARY. HOTEL AND CLUB R.OOM 30 ·~~MIFjIIG7J-N TIMELY HOLIDAY SUGGESTIONS. Windows Displays an Important Factor in the BUEiness of the Furniture Dealer. Windmvs displays, which are matters of importance to re-tailers at all times, are of greater interest in the fall, es-pecially when making· preparations for the holiday trade. Along about Thanksgiving time Of earlier, the wide awake dealer begins to think of his holiday displays and trles to dc~ vise means to D1:ike them more attractive than last year. It is not enough to have the goods. The public must be informed that they are in the store and ~induced to come and inspect them. Sales are rarely made without getting the buyers into the store and in these advertising days it is sel-dom that would-be buyers go about asking for what they FREE GOODS TO THE FURNITURE TRADE For a limited time we will give with every five gallon order for "PERLENA," THE WON-DERFUL FURNITURE AND PIANO POLISH, a discount of 25 per cent. and include FREE 2 doz. bott! s of PERLENA to retail at 50c per bottle or $12.00 worth at retail. Is this worth considering? Can you afford to miss this chance? PBK GALLON, '2.00. THIl PERLENACO., Sterlinl/ III. Recommended by all Leading Furniture Houses. want-they depend upon the merchants to tell what they have to offer, This information may be imparted, spread broadcast, by newspaper advertising, but a good window dis~ play will add effectivenesss to the best newspaper adver~ tisement ever written. Window displays are made with different objects in view and the object sought governs the arrangement. Some are made simply to call attention to the store, with the idea that those who see it will have the store in mind and naturally think of it when they want anything in its line. Usually, how-ever, the purpose is to aid the sale of special or seasonable lines and the most successful and profitable displays are -those that show what is in greatest demand at the time. There are dealers who use their windows to display unseaS011- abk or out-of-date goods and they claim that they thus suc-ceed in setling even the worst "stickers" without cutting the prices. That method surely cannot enhance the rep-utation of a store, but that 1t 1S successful certainly proves the value and effectivenesss of window displays. ::Nol'eltie:-;in show windows are successful in attracling attention, but as a rule the animated window-a representa-tion of a live Santa. Claus, a clown or a man or woman at work-is not profitable. It is expensive and it attracts the curious rather than those who wish to buy. Such a window, by attracting a cro\vd of inquisitive people, may keep those who would buyout of the store. The 1110seuseful effect of a window display lies in the way of suggestion which leads to investigation. P.]. \Veg-ner of Wegner Brothers, Grand Rapids, :\Iich., emphas3zed this idea the other day ·when he said: "The display window is not a good place to sell goods, It's value is mainly in what it suggests. If it's effect is pleasing to the observers they come inside and if they don't buy goods in the window they are quite likely to find something else that suits them. They get a better idea and form a better opinion of a suite or a piece of furniture where there is room to walk around it than by merely looking at one side of it in the window." 7iR TItS' JL:"l ...,.,,- 2 , ,'. ; Another Grand Rapids dealer said: ":We know that our window displays help our trade. We have proved it so often that we know about what to expect when we arrange a ,dis-play. It may seem strange, but it is a fact that there are many people \vho, even when they start out to buy allYthing do not go into a store and ask for it, Instead, they walk from store to store and look at the windows until they see something that suggests that what they want may be found inside. To catch the trad.e of that class the window di~play is: away ahead of pril)ters' ink." In this matter of window displays the furniture dealers have an advantage, over all other merchants, except perhaps those in the dry goods line. They have the material to make an attractive and effective display :at any and all sea-sons of the year. Their goods are also more easily han-dled and less liable to be damaged by exposure to the light than other lines. Their most attractiv~ displays arc made with suites, or a representation of roobs completely fur-ish cd, but at this season and during the next sixty days most attention will be given to.pieces intended for the holi-day trade. They will put out rockers, easy chairs; ladies' writ-ing desks, music cabinets, sewing tables, tabourettes, shav-ing tables, pedestals, hall stands, hat r~cks, and other odd pieces that are usually sold for Christma$ presents ,and more of them may be sold in Kovember and pecember than in aJI the rest of the year. This does 110tmea~ that trade in other furniture witl be dull during the holiday s~ason. The cus-tom of using f\.lntiture for Christmas presents prevails to a much larger extent than it did a few years ago. For that purpose buyers do not confine themse1ves to the articles named, but frequently select a buffet, a dresser, a sideboard, a chiffonie.f, a china closet, or, perhaps,)a fUll suite for par-lor, bed room or dining room. I The demand for furniture for Christntas gifts and also for wedding presents, might be increased by furniture dealers with profit to themselves and benefit to the recipients, by simply suggesting its appropriateness. Most people who buy presents wish to get something useful and those. who are looking for the ornamental can not object to furniture because it is both useful and ornamental. To men, espedaJly, the matter of selecting a Christmas present is usually a puzzling problem. 'It may be. solved for many by the furniture dealer who is ¥!rise enough to make the proper suggestion at the proper timJ. It might be done by placing a card in the display window inscribed with the query: "How would this do for ~ C~ristmas Present?" or an invitation to "Come in and let us Folve that Christmas problem for you." ! The up-to-date furniture dealer does.' not need to be told that a window display loses its power to"draw trade unless its make-up and arrangement is changed frequently. It should undergo a complete change at least once a week, and except in the .<;aseof a room representation eVfry piece in the show ..\.'i.ndow should bear a card giving its price in pl'aill figures. After the Rebaters. Several Qealcrs in furniture, farm implements dealers and freight officials of the Santa' Fe' railroad in Southern Califor-nia have been subpoenaed to appear in Los Angeles for exam-ination by the United States district ';lttorney in regard to granting and receiving freight rebates.i It is charged that the Santa Fe has granted rebates to large shippers, to the dHriment of their smaller competitors. Arthur Block to Marry. Arthur Block, buyer for Snellen berg of Philadelphia, will lead Miss Julia Prince, a daughter of 'Mr. and 'Mrs. Hyman Prince, of Houston, Texas, to the altar On November 7. Mr. Block is a popular young man, ~nd his many friends will wish him a long life of connubial felicity. MICHIGAN Taking Hold of a New Job. About haH the fellows who lose jobs alld are calmed out of offices and shops wlthin a few days or weeks aHer they land the jobs complain that they "didn't have a fair chance:' Their complaint is wrong. They had a fair chance ,Jnd fail-ed to improve it. Tlle fact is that they didn't know how to make tlletnselves solid with the other {ellow::>or "\\'ith the boss. The fir.stweek that ally man holds a new position is the crucial one. First lnlpressiOlls rule in busillCSS, just as they do 111 all lntercnurse lwtwt~en men. }Jut the best man in the world "in wrong" that is, stack him up against a boss or fellow-workmcll who at first impression think i11 of him-and the chances are he will !lot last. His only chance is to ticstroy the first impression and create a true one just as 50011 as possible. Not one man in five hun-dred will do this, especially not a good man, because he feels hurt that he should have been misjudged at the start, and "snlks" inste,ad of revealing his true colors. Here is a truism: Every man who works for ",,'ages or salary does something e\'ery week for which he could be fired if the boss is looking for a chance to fire him. TIlerdore <.~veryman who gets a had start and fails to remove first im-pressic) J1s shortly discovers another coat in his locker. The way to create a good impressi()]l, generally speaking, is to get at the work as if you knew it-whether or 110t yoiJ do. 1 have seen a dozen bosses sitting in their offices, said Andrew Bandon in a recent address, and have heard this con-versation dozens of times: "How's the new man doillg?" "Fine. He takes hold as if he knew his business." I never knew one of those fellows to get fired-at least not for a long time. First impression had cinched their posi-tions for them until they could learn office details. There is al10ther handicap. You may be: the best office man in the world, and for a month after going into a new office you ,,,,ill feel as if you were learning the trade over again. There are differences in tools, differences in methods and ways of handllng work, <l.lldthere are office traditions and office "sacred white cows'" against which a new-comer may come to grief. When you g-et a position, before starting to work, study the ground <tl,d learn as much as possible about the firm and its methods, the personality of its heads, and, above all, get acquainted with one or two men already employed there. No set of IvorkmE'll like to see an utter stranger escorted in by the bo;:;s with "Boys, thls is \1r. Jones, oUt new man. Treat him right." There is a sort of feeling- that the new marl may crowd all old (me out, and a bit of fear on the part of c'lC"h man. lf thE'y knO\v the man. or kllOW of him. his reception is. m(-re likely to he cordial. 31 Before starting work try to make the acquaintance of some man in the department, win his friendship, and, if he is a popular fellow there, have him introduce you around among the other fellows when you show up to go to work. The first effort should be to make a good impress.c'tl 011 the men. The boss must think fairly well of you, or be wouldn't have hired you. But, whether or not the bos", Wi.e"" you, it is all off if the men dislike you. I have a friend, m::m-ager of a big company, who says: "I never hire a man until I'm sure he'll fit 11], I generally have an eye open for a man for weeks and usua.lly consult my own me.H, asking their ad-vice as to '''''here to find the right man to fill the place. One of them, or perhaps'two, suggests some one and r hire the one 1 like best. Then I usually hint to the other employe that the. man he named refused to come for the rooney- and the ne"'.' man comes in. \Ve never have any friction here. The men. are all friends, and, furthermore, their interest in the husiness is added to by the fact that they are consulted. I \"'0uld not dare send a stranger into this place, unless! was sure the men knew ,,,,.,ho he was and that he waR a corking Now Is the Time to SeDd for Our El;pert to Reduce Your Stock FOUNDED 1888 I at a good profit or sell en~ tire stock at cost. Steveno~& Co-, I"dTehaoMNoenw"- 460 Mooon BI·d·~.CHICAGO Write for terms ana particulars. HiYMst references i.nchuling this journal. I Retail Sales Managers and Auctioneers. good man. They all bml\l to merit, if they know about it." Once at work these new acquaintances are of vast help to a new worker. They can tip him straight on the little things and the office tricks, and lots of new men are pulled over the crucial periods simply by having some man to answer their questions and give them hints, Many a Ulan has been fired because the others wouldn't tell him these things. Here are some rules which a business friend of mine wrote out at my request.....:....somedon'ts for new employes. Don't tell what yon did at the last place and don't tell ,..h..at you're going to do. Don't cringe to the bosses. Meet them like a man. Don't knock fellow-workmen; try to help them if they have faults. Don't wateh the clock. Don't "soldier" on the job. Keep working. Above all, dOll't tell how much more work yon do than the other fellow; that's what is going to get you promoted, NEW VeRI{ BOSTON PHILADELPHIA BALTIMORE CANACIAN FACTOFlY, WALKERVILLE', ONTARIO ¢KICAGO CINCINNATI ST. LOUiS SAN FRANCISCO BERRY BROTHERS' Rubbing and Polishing Varnishes MUST BE USED IN FURNITURE WORK TO BE APPRECIATED THEY SETTLE THE VARNISH QUESTION WHEREVER TRIED WRIT£ TODAY FOR INFOftM,,-iI0N AND PRICES. FINISHED SAMPLES ON R(:QU£ST. BERRY BROTHERS, LIMITED VARNISH MANUF'ACTURERS DETROIT .J 32 RELICS OF COLONIAL DAYS. A Desk From Valley Forge, Sideboards, C'Highboys" and "Lowboys" and Antique China. A curious desk, the discovery of ,",vhichma.y prov~ of in-terest to the. Masonic fraternity, was recently brought to light at Pottstown, Penn. It is of an ancien! patt~rn, and evident-ly dates from Colonial times. It was bonght from a family at Valley Forge, but the possessors at that tiIIil~ were unable Masonie De.in of Inlaid Wood. to give an authentic account of its original owner, lH( who constructed it, but stated that it had been in the possessi.on of immediate members of the family for rn3ilY year;;;. \lI,.'hat makes the desk of morc than ordinary intereSt is the fact that on the small door of the inside arrangr;-ment, t~te ~oor that bars the way to further entrance to the .">ecretreceSHS of the desk, is inlaid, in vari-colored woods the emblem of the Masonic order. The work is extremely well done and must have taken the patient worker considerable tim~ to ex:e~~uU·. The desk is the property of Mrs. M. B. Cookervw of Potts-town, who h;s a "valuable collectjon of antiques. Among other articles in this collection is a mahogany lin-en chest, on the front of which is inlaid in large letters "Ger- Colonial SidebllNU'd in Mrs. Cookeraw'. Collection. traut Walwerin, 1771." This chest is very massive and was evidently the property of a Gertrude Walwerin. Two articles of furniture of antique make are known as the "Highboy" and "Lowboy." They are both chests of drawers and are designated as either "high" or "low" accord-ing to their height. Some of the «Highboys" often stand as much as eight feet and contain as many as thirteen drawers. I.. The collection of Mrs. Cookerow embraces stveral of them, one being almost eight feet high. In the collection are a number of desks of andent pattern. ~lost of them possess one or more secret drawers. A great deal if ingenuity is necessary to discover; the :means of open-ing these secret receptacles, but when one is discovereli, the rest are easy. Tllere is also a collection of Sheraton arm chairs, Chip-pendale claw and ball chairs dating from Revolutionary days, and one chair that goes back as far 1740. A grandfather's clock of more than ordinary interest in this collection is one on the dial of which is painted in oj: a portrait of George Washington. This clock was made by Benjamin Whitman of Reading, Penn., and is considered as one of the finest examples known to collectors. Another valuable dock of this pattern was made by George Miller of Germantown, Phila. The dial is of brass and the figures "were laboriously cut out by hand. i '1hs. Cookerow's collection of old blue china, it is said, is unsurpassed. It embfaces :I; full set of the famous "Dr. SYr-tax" scenes, the possession of anyone of which is the chief ambition of collectors. Prominent among them is what is known as a "Liverpool" pitcher on which is a portrait of Queen Caroline, together with the following verse: "As for the Green Bay ctew, Justice will have its due, God save the Queen. Confound their politicks,' Frustrate their knavish tricks, On HER our hopes we fix, God save the Queen. I Other pieces include large platters on which are portrayed such historical scenes as the "Landing of Lafayette," "Boston Tea Party," Faneuil Hall, Boston," l<Independence Hall, Phil-adelphia.," and many others. To enumerate all the articles in this collection would oc-cupy too much space. It embraces old Revolutionary flint locks and swords, cutlasses, pistols, blunderbusses and what not; lamps ranging from the old "fat lamp" of Colonial days to lamps of the days of the Rebellion. The Lexington. Chicago. The Lexington Hotel, located on ·Michigan Bouevard and Twenty-second street, is one of the most conveniently 1ocat~ cd and desirable hostelries in Chicago. It is ]9cated at the commencement of Chicago's beautiful south park system of parks and boulevards; is located in a section free from dirt, smoke and noise of the city, is easily accessible from all depots and just outside of Chicago's great shopping district. The Lexington is a modern hotel in every sense, is "excellently conducted and refined and enjoyable. There are 350 guest chambers, 260 having private baths. Nearly $100,000 have recently been spent in redecorating the house and renewing the furnishings. The Lexington Hotel is a tourist, transient and residential hotel, and is an ideal place for ladies shopping or visiting Chicago. A specialty made of partie'S, clubs, wed-dings, banquets, and receptions. It has magnificent dining rooms, cafes, Dutch room, private dining rooms and ban-quet hall. Strong Line of Specialties. The L. Cline Manufacturing Company of 1239 Wabash avenue, Chicago, manufacturers of household specialties and bath room and lavatory fixtures, are having an excellent trade this season. This company manufactures a very strong line of goods and furniture dealers should not fail to send for the company's catalogue, which will be gladly mailed on appli-cation. SHELBYVILLE DESfi co. SHELBYVILLE, MANUFACTURERS OF OFFICE FURNITURE Mahogany, a.nd Imitation Quartered Oak, Plain Oak in three grades. Write/or latest Catalogue. SAW LOGS BY WEIGHT. INDIANA, u. A. Veteran Lumber Buyer Gives Some Interesting Information About Circassian Walnut. "Yes, I've been buying lumber for a good man,y years," said Fred \,V. Spraker, in response to a suggestioH made by a representative of the 1fichigan Artis'ln. The talk took place in the lumber yard of the Berkey & Gay Furniture Company, Grand Rapids, 11ich., and the suggestion was made with a view of inducing 1f1'. Spraker to tell something of his exper-iences in buying lumber for a furniture factory. Mr, Spraker is not loquacious, hut as he is, probably, the oldest lumher buyc.T in thc_west, and thoroughly understands his h.l.s..iness, it was thought he might say something that would be of in-terest to furniture dealers. In reply to furtber questioning he said: "I have heen buying lumber for Berkey & Gay since 1876. I have been with them since '59-neady fifty years. Be-fore '76 I was in the factory, but for thirty years T have had so so little to do with the fHcwry that T am not posted Oll the new methods and impr(Wemellts. Of course, there has been great changes in the factory and there bas heen a gre:H chal1ge in the lumber business. "In the early days ,ve used -:\Jichigal1 lumber, almost ex-clusively. \Vc got it from the mills near the city. Gener-ally w{'.nt out and hought the logs 1n the winter and used only the best. "\Ve did not have to use culls or even com-mon stuff. VIle had the logs sawed to suit the purpose, stacked the lumber.up ad let it stand until the next winter, when it was hauled in 011 sleighs. Every year we had to go out a little farther. The supply near the ci.ty was SOOl1 cut out and then the lumber came in on the railroads. \Vhen walnut was in fashion we had to go down into southern Michigan, -lndiana and Ohio and farther. "In those days the factory made a\.\ graucs of furniture and we could Use most any kind of lumber to advantage. Later years they made only the finest and that change in-creased the distance we had to go for lumber until now it comes from an parts of the world. We use someI\lichi-gan lumber for inside work, but with the exception of birch and bird's-eye maple nearly all of it comes from outside the state. \Ve get the oak mostly from the south, mahogany from ?vlexico, Centra'1 anu SOldh America, Cuba and Africa, and we use a lot of Circassian walnnt, which comes from Asia Minor." S. 011 being told that the writer had never se_en any Circas-sian walnut, Mr. Spraker said, "W~ell, come out here and I'll sho-w yOU some of it," and he led the way to a yard alley, lined on hoth sides with inferior-looking stuff-the last thing that a novice would select as material for fine furinture. It ,",,'as of irregular widths-had not been edged-and the lengths varied from seven to twelve feet. It looked some-thing like hardwood culls or odds and ends, but it was care-fully piled. "There it is," said Mr. Spraker. "It is n(lt niee~looking stuff and 1 don't like it. but it makes title furniture and it is the most expensive lumber we use. There is more waste in it than in ally other kind of lumber. By the time it has been cut up and is ready -for the machines it has cost about $1.25 per foot, hoard measure. "That stuH is imported in logs ::md they are sold by weight -by the ton. They can get only one log out of a tree and to get ::tit of it the tre<.'.sare dug out -roots and all and even then the longest log is not more than twelve feet. Most of them are Oll]y seven or eight feet. Of course, it is sawed very carefully. but the boards are wide at the butt end, nar~ ro\\' at the top and -very lrregul.ar between and that makes great waste in cutting up." vVhen asked about the supply, Mr. Spraker said he did not know how S0011 the Circassian walnut would be exhausted. "1 don't care much." he said. "I would rather handle some thing else. hut 1-Ir. Gay says we must use Circassian walnut and must have more of it than we are getting." Mr. Spraker is exceedingly loyal to the Berkey & Gay factory. Tn conversation he conveys the impression that it is the greatest furniture instittttion in the world. His loyalty, with his undoubted abllity, is vrobably responsibte for his having been with the firm and company for forty-seven years. One of Chicago's Busy Institutions. One of the busiest plants in Chicago this year is the Schultz & Hirsch Company, ~60 South Desplaines street, manufacturers of mattresses, down cushions, and feather pil-lows. In addition to the]r Chicago plant, the company has operated a factory at Hammond, Ind., the past two years and both plants have been taxed to the utmost this season. The company has a warehouse in New York. ),-fr. Schultz states that the year 1906 is ahead of 1905 thus far in the vol .. ume of business. 34 NewsJ Notes and Comments. W. M. Blee has succeeded E. M. Wheeler, furniture dealer, Harrison, Idaho. R. C. McConnel1 of Manson, Iowa, has sold his store and stock of furniture to C. W. Leonard. Chinese futnitme workers in Victoria, Australia, outnum-ber those of· European descent 688 to 140. 1'Iilwaukee furniture dealers have taken preliminary steps in the organiza.tion of a city association. The Francis !\Jaollfactl.1ring Company of Columbus, 0.) has been placed in the hands of a receiver. The plant of the \\Tilson Bed Spring Company is being moved from Carson, Iowa, to Omaha, Neb. The retail carpet and rug trade is said to have broken all records as to volume in New York this faIL Joseph Kingsbury has purchased a half interest in the 1. J. HamIel fttmiture store at Tipton, Iowa. The G. H. \V. Bates Company of Boston, is a new mail order concern, incorporated with $15/)00 capital. Charles Russell, for many years a furniture dealer in Ot-tawa, Ill., died suddenly in Chicago on October 16. Robinson Brothers, Des Moines, Iowa, lost $500 by a tire in the basement of their furniture store, October 6th. Ground was broken for the Grand Rapids (Mich.) Refrig-erator Company's new plant on Monday, October 22. Adam Diacollt's mattress factory in Richmond, Va., was damaged by fire to the extent of $3,500 On October 15. Pendleton, Oregon, taxes trading stamp companies $300 per year for the privilege of doing business in the town. The Riggins Furniture Company of Houston, Tex., has sold out stock, store and good "vill to J. R. Bondurant. The Johnston Furniture Corr~pany of Oklahoma City sustailled a loss of $10,000 by fire on October 6. Insured. The Bessinger Furniture Company, dealers, Louisville, Ky., suffered a loss of $30,000 by fire OIl October 12. Insured. Fred Vv'. Pearce has purchased his partner's interest ill the furniture and hardware business of Pearce & Gerow, Owosso, Mich. Martin Bower, late of Toledo, has purchased and taken possession of \lv. A. Mudge's store and stock of f~rlliture at Caro, Mich. A large amount of furniture was lost in the fire which de- 5troyed the Southern Pacific freight depot in San Franc.isco on October 18- T. J. McT.Jollncll, late of Aberdeen, Wash., has purchased the furniture store of B. H. Sault in Tacoma, and will en-large the stock. H. B. Tyler has resigned his position as secrHary of the Kationa) Bed Company, vVheeJing, V>l.Va., and is succeeded by F. H. Blake. Henry S. Hiss o{ the Hiss Furniture Company, B,:},ltimore, Md., has 111eda voluntary petition in bankruptcy. Liabilities, $179,5M,; assets, $18,275. Fire starting in the fl11ishing room of the Victor Chair Company, High Point, N. c., cause a loss estimated at $6,COO to ~8,OOO on October 8. R. F. 'Webstl;:r, an undertaker and furniture dealer of \Va-hoo, Neb., died on October 8, aged 78 years. He served as a soldier in the war with Mexico. Dodg'e & Son of Anacortes, Wash., have purchased the stock of their competitors, the Anchor Furniture Company and will <:.onsolidate the tYlO stores. "Conditions growing worse every day," is the report from Chicago in regard to the car famine, and that describes the ·situation in nearly all parts of the country. The Rex Fluid Company of Des Moines, Iowa, manufac-turers of embalming fluid and ul1dertakers' supplies, is to eS-tablish a branch plant in Topeka, Kansas. W. E. Keeler, ]. C. Martin and K. M. Keeler have organ~ jzcd the Martin Furniture Company to do a general house fltrnishing business in Portland, Ore. Capital, $10,000. The St. Peter Furniture Company, a Minnesota corpora-tion, has also 6ted articles of associatiou in' \Visconsin, and witt establish a branch store at Ogem'a,EJ,Ice county, Wis. D. R. Maltby of McPherson, Kan., finding more room an imperative necessity, has decided to erect a two-story brick building adjoining the block in which his furniture .store is located. )jliss S. Gertrude Richardson of Waupaca, Wis., has pur-chased an interest in the Fargo Carpet & Rug Company of Fargo, North Dakota, and witt take an active part in the management. The DeCamp Furniture Company's establishment on East Frant .street, Cincinnati, Ohio, was damaged to the extent of $:~5,OOOby fire on October 15. It is believed the fire was started to conceal a robbery .. 'The contract for furnishing the new city hall in Rockford, Ill., has been awarded to Stevens & Son of that city, except tht;: aldermen's chairs, which are to be furnished by the An-drews Company of Chicago. Charles F. Doll of Buffalo, who was burned out in the Tifft building recently, will open a furniture store in some other part of the city, but may return to his old stand when the 'Tifft building is tebuilt. The old table factory building at St. Johns, Mich., which has been a sort of white elephant for some time, has been leased to Charles H. Manley who has organized a stock company to build portable houses. The largest carpet ever ma~e and laid in one building was that used in the Olympia, London, last December, when the hall was prepared for the motor car show. It contained 63,- 000 square feet-7,OOO square yards. Mrs. Grover Cleveland of Princeton, N. ]., is said to have the most valua.ble collection of genuine old Colonial furniture in the country. She picked up most of in Washington, while she was the "first lady in the land." Burglars entered the store of the J. G. Bums Furniture Company at 287 vVest Madison street, Chicago, October 17. They ruined the safe with explosives, but were frightened away before they had reached the cash box. The Rose City Furniture Manufacturing Company with principal office in Portland, Ore., has been incorporated at the state capital \-vith a capital stock of $2,000. The incorpora-tors are S. Kritshevsky, J. Ruvensky, A. Blackman and D. Gurien. Two robbers entered the furniture store of ~Iichael Ta- . scmkin, South Chicago On October 16th, beat the proprietor until be was unconsc'ious and got away with over $400 in cash. They were arrested later and positively identified by their victim. The final report of the Fidelity Trust Company of Mil-waukee, trustee for the Two Rivers (Wis.) ]\.fanufacturing Company, bankrupt, shows net proceeds amounting to about $25,000 to be divi\'e,d among nearly 200 creditors, or sufficient to pay 13 or 14 per cent on the claims. Tbe Cook-Cal1el1dar building, Columbia, Tenn" one of the largest in the town, was completely destroyed by fire on Oc-tober 12. F. G. Cook's furniture store was located in the building, which contained four other stotes and the Odd Fellows' halL The total loss is estimated at $75,000. G. V. .i\fcConnell, of j"McConnell & Wood, furniture deal-en:; and undertakers, Reed City, Mich., has sold his interest to Burton T, Curtis ano the new firm vdll move to Mr, Curtis' s.tore on wlall1 street. J\h. J\lcConnell has moved to Ionia, Mich., 'where he bought the business of the veteran furniture dealer and undertaker, George H. An11.1red. Losses by fJrc during the month of September in the United States a11(1 Canada, as computed by the N(~w York J ourual of Commerce and Commercial Bulletin, amount to $10,832,550. Tllis is about $3,000,000 le,ss than it was in September, 1905. For the nine months of the year, the loss amounts to $4CO,587,780, a Jigllre never reached before. New York COJ;umercial Oct. 16-David Richards drove a load of 27 dini11g room sideboards thrOl.lgh Fourth Street yesterday. \A-'hen at Broadway the excelsior packing was found to be on fire. One sideboard was destroyed before the flames were squelched. The furniture was consigned by the vVisconsin Furniture Co., to vVarwiek & Thompson, No. 660 \Vest :Hth Stret. The load was invoiced at $.1,000. The government figures show that in the five states of New York, Pennsylvania, Illinois, 1lassachusetts and Ohio more than half the goods manl1factured in tl'is country are produced. The output of each of the above named states for 1£.105was: ~ew York, $;~,488,345,579; Pennsylvania, $1,\)55,551,- 3a2; Illinois, $1,410,342,129; Massachusettts, $1,124,092,051; Ohio, $960,81p;5'1. Don't be Afraid of Competition. The saying is, "Competition is the life of trade." If it had not been for competition we should be living in the woods, in a state of savagery. Ages ago all men and women led the simple life. vVhell the weather ",,'as hot the man sat in the shade. As the sun came he moved into the shade again to get cool. In the wlnter he Teversed the process. \\lhen this man felt a pain in his stomach hc learned by ob-servation that if he put things in his mouth and swallovlo'ed them it vmu\ct rC\leve the pain. The first man's whole object in life was to keep from having that pain, and the only en-ergy he expended was in procuring food. Finally, one man, ohserving that the lower animals lived upon each other, conceived the idea that if he could simplify the method of catching· and killing :111imalsit would save his energy, 50 he sal1icd forth with a club and killed slow mov-ing animals. Here competition begins, for a110ther individual invented the idea of throwing the club. This was another step for-ward. Another competitor discovered that a round stone could be thrown better than a club. The people who lived in the forests and subsisted ttpon animals commenced to tningle witl1 the people who (ived 011 grains, and the woodsmen traded their skill clothillg for the plainsmen's wheat, and thus commerce was bOrtl. From rhe primeval man to the present time compe.tition has stim1.l1atc(1 mankind toward better things, and everyone has benefited b,Y the competitioll. V\Te have in mind a certain mail-order hoase that had the Jield all its own way, says Colonel W. E. ,Hunter of Chicago in a recent "talk." Fifteen years ago its annual sales were about $:2,000,000. During th<',\¥orld's Fair year, 011 account of the in~ux of country people to Chicago, the sales reached $3,OOO,ODO, and this ,vas satisfactory to the mail-order house. A competitor came. into the nelli, stirred things up and now this old mail-order house probably sells eight or ten times as mue-h per annUln as it did before the competitor came. Had it not been for the competitor, the old house today would be selling about $3,000,000 or $4,000,ODO worth of goods per annum. In this matter of competition, you must remember not to worry about your competitors. If they do something differ-ent or better thall you are doing, get into the band wagon. Do not regard competition as hurtful to your business, but look at it as a pacemaker for you, If you had ten experts 35 working for you studying to improve your business, yOU cer-tainly would get som.e good from it, although the ten ex-perts would cost you more than your profits would allow. 1\ow, on the other hand, if you have ten competitors, and they arc staying up nights studying to benefit their businesses you can get the benefit of their experience without it costing you anything, and so you should consider competition as an advantage to you. Waiting for Cars. Gral1d Rapids ('\lich.) furniture shippers are being seri-ously inconvenienced by the lack of cars. The shipping rooms of many of the factories are full of goods waiting for cars and the situation is growing worse from day to day. Kabody can see any chance for relief in the coming thirty days, which means that many dealers will be waiting for goods that were to be delivered in October. Increased Storage Facilities. The Michigan Chair CompaI1Y of Grand Rapids have nearly completcd the erection of a warehouse adjoining their plant. Its dimensions are 60 x 160, two stories high. It will be connected with the factory by a bridge and its use 'will enable the compan
- Date Created:
- 1906-10-25T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Rapids Public Library (Grand Rapids, Mich.)
- Collection:
- 27:8