6 14        Economic  Value  of  Wholesale  Druggist.    {Am' igS?™' 
saler's  representative  from  time  to  time  will  accomplish  the  same 
purpose.  Then  again  in  remitting  these  accounts  it  would  mean 
thousands  of  letters  and  thousands  of  drafts  instead  of  a  check 
now  and  then  to  the  wholesaler.  The  postage  alone  in  this  infinite 
correspondence  would  represent  no  insignificant  sum. 
"The  same  multiplicity  of  detail  and  labor  extends  to  all  lines 
in  the  store.  Some  idea  of  what  this  means  may  be  gathered  from 
the  statement  that  the  average  wholesale  drug  house  carries  over 
forty  thousand  items  in  stock. 
"Another  advantage  that  must  be  appreciated  by  the  retail 
trade  is  the  regular  visits  of  the  wholesaler's  representative — the 
salesman.  He  is  only  an  arm  of  the  wholesaler's  service,  but  as 
essentially  a  part  of  it  as  is  the  buying  or  the  shipping  departments. 
The  value  of  his  service  can  not  be  over-estimated.  Every  con- 
scientious salesman  recognizes  that  his  acquaintance  on  his  par- 
ticular territory,  and  the  confidence  he  commands  are  valuable 
assets.  He  also  realizes  that  the  better  service  the  more  he  in- 
creases the  value  of  this  asset.  Consequently  it  can  be  relied  upon 
that  he  will  protect  their  interests  in  their  relation  with  his  house 
with  the  same  solicitude  with  which  he  would  treat  his  employer's 
interest  in  the  same  transaction. 
"  I  have  referred  to  the  sameness  of  interests  between  the  re- 
tailer and  the  wholesaler.  In  the  fever  and  confusion  of  business 
the  significance  of  this  is  often  overlooked.  I  do  not  believe  the 
relations  between  the  retailer  and  wholesaler  in  any  other  line  of 
business  are  so  marked  by  the  same  splendid  sentiments  and  un- 
selfishness. The  wholesaler  stands  as  a  ready  champion  of  the  re- 
tailer's rights.  And  it  can  not  be  alleged  that  his  motives  are 
always  mercenary.  There  is  a  willingness  to  respond  to  his  needs ; 
to  cooperate  with  him  in  every  movement  that  conduces  to  better 
business  and  higher  ideals.  This  is  attested  by  his  efforts  to  dis- 
courage price  cutting,  to  keep  down  unwholesome  rivalries,  to 
secure  more  favorable  legislation,  to  protect  against  the  piracy  of 
mail-order  houses,  to  obtain  from  manufacturers  a  scale  of  prices 
permitting  a  more  reasonable  margin  of  profit  on  advertised 
products." 
