THE MANUFACTURER AND DOMESTIC MARKET 123 



almost impossible and the check upon buying, always so essential in 

 normal retail trade, did not seem so necessary. For a long period 

 prices rose with such rapidity that the profits of a rapid turn-over of 

 capital paled beside the estimated profit of appreciating stocks lying 

 on the shelves. Under these conditions it was natural that the 

 merchant should treat his customers with indifference. The fluctua- 

 tion of values made price publicity and a policy of fixed price 

 impossible. Dickering and bargaining became a natural accompani- 

 ment of all important sales of goods. In the settlement of accounts 

 long credits were not found to be very dangerous. Recent years 

 have reversed all of these conditions, and hence have demanded an 

 entire reversal of policy. The generation which did business in the 

 previous period has been put at sea, and there has been established 

 a confusion of principles penetrated until the last few years only by a 

 few of the stronger minds. The result has been to cramp the growth 

 of the retail industries as a whole and render them unsatisfactory to 

 the manufacturers as the distributers of their products. 



The invasion of the realm of the retailer has been made by the 

 manufacturer in several ways; by establishing a mail-order trade and 

 eliminating dealers entirely; by distributing through the dealer, but 

 absorbing many of his functions and controlling his actions; and 

 finally by the ownership of retail establishments. 



Direct Selling 



When a manufacturer has been met with unwillingness on the part 

 of the dealer to educate new wants in the public and a refusal to 

 stock and introduce new goods, he sometimes appeals directly to the 

 consuming public. Direct selling has always had a considerable 

 field. Natural monopolies of necessity use it. Producers' goods 

 such as leather, billet-steel, and boilers, are usually sold in this manner. 

 Neighborhood manufactures, such as custom mills, and manufacturing 

 retailers, such as bakers and tailors, use it. The country at large is 

 familiar with the canvasser. As important as some of these lines of 

 distribution are, the great modern development of direct selling has 

 come with the perfecting of its chief instrument, advertising. So 

 great is the progress made in the arts of publicity that the entire 

 complexion of trade has been changed by it. Advertising is often 

 spoken of as a science. It is certainly a complex and powerful 

 engine. The development of the arts associated with it, that is, 

 printing, and especially illustration, has increased its potency. 

 The vehicles which convey it to the public are numerous. The 

 weekly newspaper is largely supported by it. The low-priced 

 magazine of our day exists because of it. Through it house organs 

 are built up scarcely distinguishable from independent scientific and 



