44 The Furriers. 



passing, that the man who made that coat was not by any 

 means the first furrier; there were many others before 

 him. The heraldic furs of that age were the sable, the 

 ermine, the vair or blue squirrel, and the grison or badger, 

 which are as popular today as they were then; but the 

 furriers of that time had probably never heard of many 

 of the animals whose skins are being used today, and 

 would be as much surprised at the names under which 

 some of the animals with which they were familiar are 

 being sold, as they would be ' startled at the business 

 methods of the present generation. 



No one would care to go back to the time when farmers 

 swapped pumpkins over the fence, and the storekeeper's 

 principal business was trading merchandise with those 

 who were handling other lines of goods. Every reliable 

 furrier, however, is looking forward to the time when a 

 judicious regulation of credits, and the stringent enforce- 

 ment of laws against false representations, will prevent 

 the dishonest competition that for years has demoralized 

 an industry whose history for centuries has been a record 

 of great and honorable achievements. 



In every line of industry standards will continue to be 

 lowered, and honest merchants will be at a disadvantage, 

 until fake advertising is made a states prison offense. 

 The man who secures a hundred dollars in cash by strain- 

 ing the truth is a criminal in the eyes of the law, but the 

 dealer who, by direct lies as to the quality of his wares, 

 obtains two hundred dollars for fifty dollars worth of 

 merchandise is a shrewd business man, in the opinion of 

 everybody, except the few who in some way find out that 

 they have been imposed on. The reputable furrier is the 

 greatest sufferer from this evil, because the purchasing 

 public know less about furs than they do about other 

 articles of merchandise, and a great many of the people 

 will buy any old thing, if they can be persuaded that they 

 are getting it for less than it is worth. 



