Wagoner County Record (Wagoner, Okla.), Vol. 23, No. 18, Ed. 1 Thursday, December 24, 1914 Page: 7 of 8
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WAGONER OKL A RECORD
Confessions gf a
Mail Order Man
B r Mr M O X
Revel-tlcn by On Whoa Experience (n
the Buelneee Cover e Renee From
Office Boy to General Manager
HOW THE BUSINESS EXPANDED
“It seems so queer tbat we get so
few complaints from our customers
out In the couhtry” said one of my
bosses whom I will call "Y” for con-
venience “They seem to be satisfied with
whatever we send them” responded
my boss whom I will designate for con-
venience “Z”
"They don't know the difference be-
tween good stuff and bad stuff” said
Y “I guess It’s this way Out In the
Jay towns they have so few things that
they are glad to get anything that
looks all right”
"Ha” said Z with a shout of laughter
“They keep their parlors all dark ex-
cept when company comes or on Sun-
lay I can understand how their par-
t3t furniture don’t become worn out
i remember how it was when I was
a boy” 7
“Look here X why not start a
department of furniture for our cus-
tomers” said Y “We ought to find It
profitable” He spoke to me
“I think we’re losing money every
day by not handling furniture” in-
terjected Z “Supposing we let X try
out his hand by putting a new line in
our catalogue — furniture carpets rugs
pictures and that stuff”
So it was decided that I should have
a respite from my office work and put
lu my time for a few weeks looking
up the possibilities of a furniture de-
partment All this time while we
ware doing an enormous business sev-
eral thousand dollars’ worth every
week we carried no stock at all with
the exception of a few cheap watches
anfl other articles of Jewelry — revol-
vers and a half dozen guns The cus-
tomers were furnishing the capital for
our business cash in advance so that
all we had to do was to take their
money go out and buy what the or-
ders called for for generally less than
one-half the amount of the remittance
and keep the balance from 50 to 60
per cent of the amount as our profit
After visiting several of the furni-
ture manufacturers in our city I for-
mulated a list of prices and arranged
that we could obtain any of the arti-
cles on the list at any time by paying
only for such as we‘ had orders for
Of course we got all of these things
at wholesale prices and I had learned
that another discount can always he
demanded for the payment of cash
So I secured from the manufacturers
photographs of the various articles I
had picked out and showed them to Y
and Z
“They look rather skimpy and slim
those chair legs” said Y
“That photograph of a chiffonier
looks like a coffin stood on end — it’s
so narrow” suggested Z
“But I picked out only the cheaper
grades of stuff” I replied “You told
me not to try to get anything ex-
pensive It’s all cheap stuff”
“Can’t we make it look better in the
catalogue than it doe3 in the photo-
graph?” suggested Y
We' sent for a wood engraver to
come to the office and then we went
into the subject in detail He said
that he could make the chair legs look
bigger and stronger by drawing them
as though they were larger than they
were actually As for the chiffonier
and eimilar articles he showed us a
very neat plan He took a pair of
shears and split ‘ the photograph in
two then pasted the ' two parts on
another sheet of paper so that the
split parts were about a quarter of an
Inch apart
“Now that looks like a wide com-
fortable chiffonier” said Y and we
could not help but agree with him It
made an entirely different piece of fur-
niture It looked half again as wide
and presented a really desirable ap-
pearance while as the photograph
showed It it would look too narrow and
ungraceful to sell welL The change
in the character of the illustration
made it look like a piece of furniture
worth $20 while it was to cost us only
about $560 wholesale
And the chairs when the engraver
had drawn them to look as though the
legs were an inch and a half in diam-
eter instead of as they really were
actually less than an inch through
looked like $3 chairs Instead of like
the chairs they were honestly made
to retail for $125
And so it went on We took bu-
reaus commodes wooden beds and all
of the various articles that I had se-
lected and made them look in our
catalogue illustrations as though they
were vastly superior pieces suitable
for the finest rooms in the house The
engraver did his work well with a con-
stant grin on his face for he admitted
tbat all of this hocus-pocus as he
called it was a new one on him-
One day he said to me confidential-
ly “Say X what will those poor yaps
out in the country say when they get
the real thing? Won’t they holler?”
I repeated this to Y and Z who re-
plied soothingly that if they hollered
we would send them a nice letter and
Jolly them along
“We’ve got their money anyhow”
said Mr Y “Let ’em holler”
“Yes and they’ll send after more”
said Z
We decided that we would take the
curse off the chances for kicking by
putting the actual measurements into
the catalogue descriptions If they
should write in with a kick we could
call their attention to the actual
measurements and explain there bad
been no deception practiced in out
statements to them in the catalogue
While I was writing up my descrip-
tions for the catalogue Y came in
one day and picked up some of the
sheets I had finished
“Whew” he whistled “this won’t do
X”
“What’s the matter?”
“Why this stuff looks in the pictures
like real genuine oak and real solid
mahogany Here you say that it is
basswood and pine and so forth”
“That’s what it is” I replied
He called in Z and we had a confer-
ence Surely it wouldn’t do to de-
scribe these fine pieces of furniture
as though made out of common wood
We sent for samples and examined
them in the office Then we figured
on various catch phrases of descrip-
tion such as “genuine solid mahogany
finish” and “solid golden oak finish”
which meant that they were grained
and painted to represent the appear
ance of these valuable woods but
which the reader would to a certainty
take to be an honest assertion that
the woods were solid We created a
lot of trick phrases like this The
“solid mahogany" was really birch and
the “solid golden oak” was basswood
And so we prostituted good old-fashioned
pine and other common woods
into painted courtesans of trade to
fool the trusting and the Innocent pur-
chasers There was much laughtei
and fun over these counterfeit phrases
and every one was greeted with shouts
of applause
We took iron beds with posts an
inch in diameter and made them ap-
pear in the illustrations as though the
pdsts were three-inch ones Narrow
beds were widened in the pictures to
look like comfortable roomy beds and
we distorted every illustration in this
same manner
But we adhered rigidly to our de-
scriptions of measurements so that we
were technically correct in our de-
scriptions They could kick but we
were perfectly honest in our state-
ments in the catalogue
I can only imagine the number of
times that some housewife in the coun
try has taken a look at our catalogue
and witnessed the breadth and impoe
lng appearance of some article of fur-
niture pictured there only to visit her
local merchant and inquire his prices
for similar furniture He honest fel-
low never knew the joke that was be-
ing played on him by us and he would
give his prices correctly for sizes
while the prospective buyer would
snort her disgust at his "high” prices
because she would be judging from
the pictures only forgetting to or
neglecting to read the attached de-
scriptions If she were actually to
measure the samples 'shown by
her local dealer and compare meae
urements with the descriptions in
our catalogue as printed she would
generally discover that she had
done him a great injustice and his
prices as per actual measurements
would be lower than our prices
Stick to the local dealer You see
what you are getting when you buy it
Dog Knows Bad From Good Coin
San Gregorio Cal has a dog says
the San Francisco Chronic e which
with the exactness of a banker can
detect the difference between the ring
of a genuine and counterfeit coin A
few weeks ago some hunters threw
some coins on the counter of John
Marshall’s hotel Marshall did not
quite like the sound of one of the dol-
lars Calling in his dog he placed
him on the counter The dog care-
fully picked up with his mouth four
genuine coins and took them to his
master and left a counterfeit dollar
on the counter
Hearing that his dog’s ability was
questioned Marshall put the animal
to a series of difficult tests recently
in the presence of several coastslde
citizens Not in a single instance did
the wonderful dog fail to detect a
counterfeit coin The final test was
to nail a genuine and counterfeit dol-
lar in separate cigar boxes After
shaking each box furiously the dog
chewed open the box containing the
genuine coin and took it to his mas
ter'
World’s Largest University
The world in which we are living
souls was never so interesting as now
in its physical attraction because we
are understanding it and discovering
its wonders as never in all the cen-
turies before Nothing is more com
mon than a tree or flower or a grain
of wheat Yet around these common
forms of earthly growth millions are
pouring out their energies and thou-
sands are eagerly studying and dis
covering new forms of power The
combined forces of earth Air water
light plain mountain lake river
snow rain sun stars the universe In
its bewildering variety of seasons cli-
mate change are forces which cha
lenge our lives They are the constant
university to which all living souls ars
privileged to go ' The earth is itself a
stupendous setting for the living soul
and we can never exhaust its interest
or compass its entire meaning — Tb
Christian Herald
Might Scare Him Away
If a girl wants to marry and is wise
she never attempts to appear more in-
telligent than the man whom she is
trying to Induce to pay her board for
life
Some Good Certain
”No matter how bad a man is”
said Uncle Eben “he ought to be in-
couraged to go to church It’ll keep
him out o mischief foh a few hours a
week anyhow” -
AreYour Kidneys Weak?
Do you know that deaths from kidney
troubles are 100000 a year in the U 8 alone t
That deaths from kidney diseases have in-
creased 72 in 20 years! If you are run
down losing weight nervous “blue” and
rheumatic if you nave baokache sharp
pains when stooping dizzy spells and
urinary disorders act quickly if you
would avoid the serious kidney troubles
Use Doan’s Kidney Fills There’s no
other medicine so widely used so success-
ful or so highly recommended
An Oklahoma Case
W H Lee SU
B Frankfort Ave
Tulsa Okla says:
I suffered severe-
ly from kidney
trouble for over a
year The dull
palna In my back
were terrible and
harp twinges
came on making
It almost Impose!
ble for me to
move The kidney
secretions passed
Irregularly and
were highly col-
ored One box of
Doan’s Kidney
Pills benefited me so much that I kept
on using them until I was cured I have
yet to hear of a case where this medicine
has failed to bring relief'
Get Doan’s at Any Store 50e Boa
DOAN’S kpTi?iV
FOSTEHMILBURN COL BUFFALO N Y
Make the Liver
Do its Duty
Nine times in ten when the liver Is
right the stomach and bowels are right
CARTER’S LITTLE
LIVER PILLS
gently but firmly com'
pel a lazy liver to
do its duty
Cures Con-
tipation In
digestion
Sick
Headache
and Distresa After Elating
SMALL PILL SMALL DOSE SMALL PRICE
Genuine must bear Signature
FIND TIME FOR KINDNESSES
Two Stories of Courteous Conductors
Who Looked After Their
' ' Passengers
“Once I was down in Louisiana” a
traveler began “on a little railroad
that runs from Franklin to Week’s
Island It took five hours to go 20
miles The most amazing thing to me
was that the conductors stopped the
train anywhere he was asked to and
if there were no one to meet a woman
passenger with innumerable bags and
the Inevitable baby he helped her
across a plowed field or sent a brake-
man to carry her traps to her own
gate and the train waited until he
came back”
“Nothing surprising about that” re-
turned a born New Yorker “The
Madison avenue cars stop every day
for reasons quite remote from a regu-
lar schedule I was on a car this after-
noon and a ’little boy dropped his
mother's ‘umbrella out of the window
The conductor stopped the car and
ran back a block and a half got the
umbrella delivered it to the woman
and incidentally advised her not to let
her son have it again
“Besides I’ve known of more than
one eye being punched out by a care-
less baby with such plaything” —
New York Times
For Itching Burning Skins
Bathe freely the affected surface
with Cuticura Soap and hot water
Dry without Irritation and apply Cuti-
cura Ointment with finger or hand
This treatment affords immediate re-
lief permits rest and sleep and points
to speedy healment In most cases of
eczemas rashes ltchlngs and Irrita-
tions of the skin and scalp of Infants
children and adults Free sample each
with 32-p Skin Book If you wish Ad-
dress post-card: Cuticura DepL X
Boston Sold everywhere — Adv
Cure for Thirst
“What do you want the ten cents
for?" asked the minister
“Booze” replied the bleary beggar
shamelessly “I need It awful bad —
It’s jest about killin’ me”
“Isn’t there any way you can get rid
of that terrible appetite for drink?”
“Yep — I kin do it in a holy minute if
you’ll lemme have that dime” — Toledo
Blade
font OWK HFFGOIST WTIX TFLT TOO
ry Murine Bye Remedy for Red Weak Watery
Ryes and Granulated Byellda Mo bmaruns—
iuai Bye comfort Write for )Ufck of the Bys
y mail Free Murine Kye Remedy Co Chicago
The Right One
“Jim’s in the fan-making business”
“Then he ought to be able to raise
the sind”
A Suggestion
Belle — Mamie is such a sensible
girl but she can’t attract the men
Nell — That’s the reason
Bed Croee Bail Blue made in America
therefore the best delight the housewife
Ail good grooer Adv
The fellow who Is good at making
excuses is not always so ready at tak-
ing them
UfesuUD
II Your la Buttartna ar
MANITOBA’S AGRICULTURAL
REMARKABLE DEVELOPMENT IN
THAT PROVINCE DURING THE
PAST FEW YEARS
The past year has shown that the
Province of Manitoba the Premier
Province of Western Canada stands
out prominently in point of wealth in
her agricultural productions Mani-
toba had an excellent yield of wheat
In 1914 the oat crop was not so good
and with the high price received every
farmer was placed in a good financial
position
For some years as Is probably the
case in all new countries Manitoba
went largely into the growing of
grain and while this paid well for a
time it was found that having to pur-
chase his meat his milk and a num-
ber of other dally requisites the farm
did not pay as it should Now there
is another side to It Fodder crops
are grown cattle are being raised
cheese factories and creameries are
established and the result is that the
financial position of the farmers of
Manitoba is as strong as that of those
In any other portion of the continent
Scarcely a farmer today but has real-
ized that the growing of grains alone
has a precarious side and that posi-
tive security can only be assured by
diversified farming and securing the
latest modern and most economic
methods Therefore timothy clover
alfalfa rye grass and fodder corn are
universally grown Most wonderful
success meets the efforts of the farm-
ers in the cultivation of these grasses
and the yields compare favorably
with those of many older countries
while in many cases they exceed them
It Is worth while recording the acre-
age of these crops this season as com-
pared with last because the figures re-
flect the remarkable progress that is
being made in dairying and in the
beef and pork industry In 1913 brome
grass was sown on 24912 acres rye
grass on 21917 acres timothy on
118712 acres clover on 5328 acres al-
falfa on 4709 acres and fodder corn on
20223 acres In 1914 the respective
acreage under those crops were 25444
acres 2710(1 acres 165990 acres 7212
acres and 10250 acres and 30430 acres
Alfalfa particularly is coming into its
own the acreage having been more
than doubled last yehr
It is simply the natural process of
evolution from the purely grain farm-
ing which Manitoba knew as the only
method twenty years ago to the more
diversified forms of agriculture that
is responsible for the development
along these other lines in this Prov-
ince Alberta is coming to it at an
earlier stage than did Manitoba Sas-
katchewan too is following rapidly
in the same direction
Then as her fodder crop and root
crop acreage indicate there have been
increases in the holdings of all kinds
f live stock during the past twelve
months according to the correspond-
ent for the Toronto Globe Beef cattle
number 42000 head this year as
against 37000 last year milch cows
are 160474 head as against 157963
head pigs number 325000 as against
248000 sheep number 75000 as
against 52000 and there are 325000
horses as compared with 300000 at
this time last year These are the
latest Provincial figures and they
show that despite the great efflux of
live stock to the United States since
the opening of that market to Can-
ada the capital amount of live ani-
mals has increased instead of hav-
ing decreased through the extra de-
mand Dairying the Principal Industry
Dairying is the industry however
which is making dollars for the Mani-
toba fanner It Is developing at a rap-
id rate in this Province for that par-
ticular reason The output of cream-
ery butter last year was 4000000
pounds at an average price of 276
cents per pound which was an in-
crease over the previous year of a
million pounds The output of dairy
butter was recorded last year at 4288-
276 pounds The Government depart-
ment says that again this year a sub-
stantial Increase in the dairy output
will be shown from this Province
From this same source of information
one finds that through the splendid
growth in winter dairying Winnipeg
now for the first time in years Is
able to obtain a sufficient supply of
milk and sweet cream from its city
dairies to satisfy its demand through-
out the year without having to import
large quantities of these products
from the United States as was done
not longer than two years ago — Ad-
vertisement Beyond Its Power
“That rich Mrs Stlggins doesn’t
6peak to me now Yet she used to he
my next-door neighbor — and they were
awfully common”
“Well there are some things money
can’t do”
“What?”
“Make oldtime neighbors forget the
early days”
Not the Place
“Why don’t you write to this paper
for what you want to know? The edi-
tor aays his column gives a few
wrinkles on every matter”
”Not for mine I want to know
how to keep my complexion youthful”
Mfe Odd k falls tart
waak uaa BUIOVUE” Ibda bjr Van Vlaat-ManaBatd DruC Memphis Tann Prtca 9100
THE FOLLY OF DISCONTENT
Vain Longing and Aspirations as
This Little Fable Shews Are
Things of Moment
A fashionable woman coming from
the open in the rosy nest of a limou-
sine passed t group of laborers at
midnight Machines like terrible ani-
mals were burrowing into the earth
Steam was hissing as if from the
mouths of a million serpents Rocks
flew in every direction Torchlights
danced There was the thunder of la-
bor The night shift was in full
swing
And the woman glancing from the
window at a certain workman for an
instant' thought:
"How I wish I had that brawny la-
borer’s strength and joy of life! How
I envy him his power his physical
perfection the wonder of his man-
hood his freedom from the shackles
that bind me He is his own master
white I am a slave — the slave of a
man I despise!”
At that moment the laborer paused
long enough by the deep chasm where
his engine rocked to glance into the
motor as it sped by him And he
thought:
“Oh to be like her! To know lei-
sure and wealth and rest! To be free
from drudgery and toll to come and
go as I pleased! To throw off the
chains of debt and worry and have
the days and nights stretch ahead of
me like a field of flowers!”
But in another instant the motor
was gone The torchlights flared
brighter than ever And each had
forgotten the other — Judge
Mexico’s Salt Producing Lake
Though Mexico offers many wonders
for the inspection of the traveler none
is more interesting or peculiar than
the salt-producing lake near Salinas
station on the Tampico division of the
Mexican Central railway 72 miles west
of San Luis Potosi It may well he
termed a two-story lake for at times
there is a lake of fresh water over-
lying the Balt lake A water-tight
roof of green mud sepearates the fresh
from the salt water For a large
part of the year there is no fresh-
water lake there The sun licks it up
soon after the rainy season is over
The salt secured from this lake goes
all over Mexico The lake has been
worked about sixty-five years The
whole town of 5000 people makes its
living from the salt The property
is owned by a family or estate but
it is said that not one of the owners
has lived there for years
Asked and Answered
“What” queried the unsophisticated
youth “is your idea of a good business
man?”
“One who Is capable of beating a
fllmflammer at his own game” replied
the Shelbyville sage
Wash day is smile day if you U9e Red
Cross Ball Blue American made therefore
the best made Adv
' It is mighty hard to tell whether the
world is laughing with you or at you
So don’t get fat-headed
ALCOHOL-3 PER CENT
AYefielable Preparation for As-
similating the Food andRegula-
ting riie S lomachs and Bowels of
InfantsChildreny
Promotes Digestion Cheerful-
ness and Rest Coniains neither
OpiumMorphine nor Mineral
Not Narcotic
Ptopt tfoid BrSAMvamurat
jtlx
MWAelt Sb
JntM SttJ
tfptfmtitf
Jfi CtvbmsUJMm
hirm Sttd
Suf
Wtmkrffttm "favor
A perfect Remedy forConstipa-
lion Sour StomachDiarrhoea
Worms Convulsions Feverish-
ness and LOSS OF SLEEP
Fac Simile Signature of
The Centaur Company
NEW YORK
§
Exact Copy of Wrapper
PROTECT
YOURSELF
against the severe win-
ter weather — the quick
changes in tempera-
ture etc by keeping
the system strong and
well fortified — the
blood rich and pure
A very reliable help to
this end will be found
by taking
Hosteller’s ii°"‘rc5
On the Trail of Friend Husband
Mrs Fury — Has yo’ see anything
o’ muh huBband Brudder Lopp?
The Night Owl — W’y howdy Sistali
Fury howdy! Nome I isn’t seed him
since ’long 'bout ten o’clock But what
brings yo’ downtown at dis time &
night?
Mrs Fury — Lookin’ for dat man &
mine And I hopes to de Lawd nuth’n
happens to him befo’ I finds him
uh-kaze I’s gwlne to bust his head wld
dis club when I kotches him! — Kan-
sas City Star
Reversible
Stella — I take my husband along to
help choose a hat
Bella — 1 take a hat along to- help
choose a husband
Mother
Knows What
To Use
To Give
Quick
Relief
HANFORD’S
Balsam ofMynft
For Cuts Bums
Bruises Sprains
Strains Stiff Neck
Chilblains Lame Back
Old Sores Open Wounds
and all External Injuries
Made Since 1846
Price 25c 50c and $100
All Dealers G-c-HaRnfogcn
nilVWUiMW SYRACUSE MY
W N U’ Oklahoma City No 51-1914
am
For Infants and Children
The Kind You Have
Always Bought
Bears the
Signature
In
Use
Over
Thirty Years
VMS MnT n VMK MTV
3
COLT DISTEMPER
tha be hudM mh Ht w eawd and all gftm t
itAbt no traitor ho eipooe d" Sept from bTUtf tbe di
LiLlDiaSTLPJUt ClRXTtJlv em
il or la faod $rta on tb blood tad at pta gw
all form of distemper Bwt remedy fr It novo for sans la f — I
One bottle wueran teed locorgotiawa ttfeaadli a botuaidiM
Sit dn— a of dmgjftnta and barn t— dealer oraoinprwmd by
piano ta’tn rro Cot bow to pnulttft taioata Our from
(tookiat irtva evnrvthtn Loeal areata waatai L nal aUias
KMI MEDICAL CO MkaiheeUeke OoatMW tea U9A
t
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Foster, George H. Wagoner County Record (Wagoner, Okla.), Vol. 23, No. 18, Ed. 1 Thursday, December 24, 1914, newspaper, December 24, 1914; Wagoner, Oklahoma. (https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc1721607/m1/7/: accessed May 27, 2024), The Gateway to Oklahoma History, https://gateway.okhistory.org; crediting Oklahoma Historical Society.