124 COMMERCE AND EXCHANGE 



trade publications. It counts in its service the billboard, the dodger, 

 the sample, the catalogue of encyclopedic proportions, the commercial 

 package, and the follow-up system. Its technique has been care- 

 fully considered, and the statistical study of circulations has been 

 made the basis of a profession. Even its psychology is being ex- 

 plored in college laboratories. There is no need to enlarge on the 

 extent to which advertising has been applied by manufacturers to 

 direct selling. The examination of any popular magazine will be 

 convincing. As a method of distribution this affords a manufacturer 

 an outlet independent of the will of any dealer. It serves well to 

 introduce new articles, and trade built up by it can be used as a 

 means to bring pressure to bear upon dealers. 



Control of the Dealer 



It is not always, however, in attacking the market that a manu- 

 facturer is willing to cut loose entirely from the established retail 

 distributive agencies. Many articles cannot be readily sold by mail- 

 order. A way has, therefore, been discovered by which the manu- 

 facturer can distribute his goods through the dealers and still so 

 control every important part of the distributive process that the 

 dealer is reduced almost to the condition of an automaton. When 

 he is in complete command of his entire field the retailer is perhaps 

 the most universal servant of industrial society. His functions are 

 both varied and intricate, blending a mechanical element with the art 

 of personal service; controlling a flow of goods involving endless 

 detail by a system the correct formulation of which is a masterpiece 

 of commercial statesmanship. The task of the retailer is to furnish 

 the consumer goods wanted, at the time and in the quantity and 

 place desired. He chooses his stock from the infinite variety of 

 manufactured articles. He educates the customer to new wants, 

 making known to him new goods and showing their use. He ad- 

 vises with him in his purchases, that the adjustment of the want, the 

 goods, and the pocket-book may be as perfect as possible. He makes 

 the buying process easy and agreeable for his customers. He pro- 

 tects his merchandise from deterioration. He guarantees it to be as 

 represented, putting his reputation behind it. He measures it out in 

 quantities convenient for the customer, puts a fair price upon it, and 

 delivers it. 



Now consider how many of these services can be rendered by a 

 manufacturer. Take the case of the sale of a spool of photographic 

 films. The manufacturer puts the article in a form ready for imme- 

 diate use. He furnishes a package which protects the goods and 

 shows the size, quantity, and age, besides carrying a guarantee and 

 serving as a memorandum of exposures and a cover for mailing. 



