Roseburg review. [volume] (Roseburg, Or.) 1885-1920, 1885-05-29
WAR DECLARED!
Printers Strike at Last--Every
Prospect that they will
be Successful!

For some time past it has been gen
orally conceded that the firms who, in
order to secure and hold their trade
are obliged to resort to the system of
sending drummers on the road, are
not the firms for a business man to
deal with, unless he is satisfied with
seventy-iye cents for a dollar. A
business man (and printers and pub
fishers are generally good business
lnen) can readily understand that a
travellers expenses have to be paid,
and out Of the profits of his sales. A
drummer's expenses average about ten
dollars per day, when upon long trips
of three and four months. That means
simply ten per cent. added to price Of your
goods. The drummer figures. in this
way: He calls upon publisher, who,
we will say, wants power press, and
has made up his mind to buy the best,
thinking (and rightly, too,) that the
best is, in the long run, the cheapest.
He has decided upon Campbell, or
perhaps Cottrell press (and couldn't
have made better choice), and figured
carefully upon the freight, etc.-for-
getting, of course, the drummer's ten
per cent; but the drummer doesn't
forget it. He talks all round, nibbles
first on one press and then upon
another, until he at last finds a
machine that may be 500 or 5000
less in price than the publishers
choice, and finding that the publisher
is not familiar with the price, make or
acorkiag qualities of the press, he then
exerts his entire chin-power upon
eulogizing this. power press. Perhaps
it is a Prouty"-it will grind out
anything, from quartz to sausages, in
three colors. The publisher orders q
press-gets a quartz crusher; drum
mer makes ten days expenses-hur-
ries along to reach some pleasant
loafng town-thinks he's smart-has
not time to see this publisher next
trip. In short, the drummer for sec
ond-class houses .(for such are they
that will foist inferior type and ma
chinery upon printers and publishers,
under the plea that they are cheap"
knowing that they mast get ten per cent.
more than any other house, in order to
pay the drummer) aims to make his
expenses by plausibly representing
goods for what they are not, at re-
duced price.
Now, there is a difference between
this second-class firms drummer and
the first class. You take the largest
house, for instance, in the business.
They figure that they have four-ffths
of all the trade; they make more sales,
though on smaller margins; they are
reliable; they don't lose customers |;
their aggregate profits are larger /;
they say, We can afford to devote the
profits of portion of our business to
securing new business, or to estab-
fishing branch where it will be an
accommodation and d help TO our
customers" or, if the trade is limited
and will not support branch house,
they can send out their traveller. The
firm handles only the best type, presses
and machinery in the world. Their
traveller is required to sell only the
best and always at one price. There
is no chance for publishers being inn
posed upon if they are determined to
buy the best. Then buy from the best
firm in your line of business, and you
will buy from PALMER & REY.
If you are located in Oregon or
Washington Territory, buy from the
Portland house, where you can pur-
chase lower than the drummer can sell
you by ten per cent.