The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1897-09-21

hold the Decrease, Almost Inevitable
With the Depreciation Of the Whit
Metal-It IL No Longer Sold by Weigh
as Formerly. But by the Dozsn-Othe
Changes Ia the Trade.
New York, Sept. 2o.-Not afew WIKI
have wondered, perhaps, how the depre
citation or appreciation Of silver bullior
affected the trade Of silverware manu-
featuring and the price OF its products
The opportunity to ascertain the effec
Of appreciation has not occurred in sc
many years that the effec Of depreciation
is the only practical inquiry. That con.
dition is becoming constantly more acute
with no evidence when silver will reach
rock-bottom.
The decline in silver. which has been
so progressive, began about six years
| ago, and in sympathy with it there has
| been a decline in the price Of nearly
| all silverware. But ii has been gradual
| in the case Of some kinds Of ware, and
| in others il has followed almost immed-
lately upon the fall in bullion value. The
articles which always respond at once to
any steady tendency Of silver downward
are forks and spoons-that is, tea, table,
dessert, and soup spoons, and standard
forks; sugar and fancy spoons and forks
not being affected with the same readi-
mes. In conformity with the recent de-
cline in the value Of silver bullion, the
/ leading manufacturers, shortly before the
first Of this month, met and agreed that
on that date they would make reduc-
| ton OF ten to twenty per cent in the
prices Of those articles. and notices to
that effect were sent out 10 the trade.
At the same time was made a change
Of a radical nature in the manner OF
wholesaleing, the object of which is not
very apparent. Up to the present time
forks and spoons have invariably been
sold at wholesale by the ounce-weight.
The principal manufacturers acting to-
gether, have now abandoned the Ting es-
tablished custom, and have substituted
the plan of selling at fixed prices per doZ-
en-. These prices, they say, effect the re-
duction mentioned above. In the new
plan the element Of weight is not entire
ly abandoned, for the announce that the
fixed prices are ito be determined oy
merit of individual design and by
weight" The manufacturers do not
care to discuss their reasons for making
this change. Some critics Of their action
have been so unkind as to insinuate that
inasmuch as il became necessary to re-
duce prices with the fall of silver, they.
desire to divert attention from the mat
ter Of weight. which, say the critics. may
hereafter be found to correspond with
the prices about as they did before the
reduction. 1t is suggested by others,
however that the change has been made
simply because the manufacturers have
come to the conclusion that it is more
convenient every way TO sell by the fixed
price per dozen than by weight. The
manufacturers certainly declare that
there is to be no deterioration in the
quality or weight of their standard
spoons and forks.
While spoons and forks chow at once In
prices the decline Of silver bullion, other
articles so down by slow degrees, and
some have cheapened in the last six years
very little. The reduction is slow in pro-
portion to the quantity and quality of
design. In the degree that ware is Or
nate the cost Of design and labor in
creases, and In some instances this is
so high as 10 place the product substan-
tally above effect from ordinary cheap
ening of the metal.
The manufacturers do not seem to well
come drop in the price of silver. One
would think that they would rejoice
when this raw material got cheaper. es-
pecially as they do not make any strictly
corresponding reduction except on
spoons and forks. But those are the ar
ticles which have the largest sale, and
the lower dowt nhe price gets, the less
profit there is in them, despite the cheap
er material. This. however, is only
part OF the explation. Cheap silver in
wife competitors into the business Said
an officer of one Of the leading houses
today: Where we had one competitor
az the time the great decline in silver
began, We have now about four hundred.
Every decrease in the price OF silver
means the entrance Of dozens OF these
little fellows. who can't reall compete
with the large manufa cturers, but who
succeed in forcing down 10 a point where
the profit is small and sometimes nearly
nil. OF course the pace they initiate be-
comes too hot for them TO keep I'D, and
before great while they drop out. They
are falling by the wavsde all the time.
Another cOmplai, which is a familiar |
one in silverware circles, is The difficulty |
and expense Of marketing goods The |
assert tina: there is no |
business in existence in which the cost |
Of marketing is so high as in their own. |
A certain elegance in presenting their |
goods has 10 be observed by the grea; /
houses, because i: has been established, |
and none can depart from il and continue |
70 compete with the others. This entails |
an enormous expense. For instance, one /
Of the sine qua mons OF the business Is |
thai the designs Of a house shall be hand /
sonely pictured, described, bound. and |
sent 20 ali its agents as well as used in
the wholesale trade a, headquarters.
The volumes are ponderous tonnes. the
articles being generally represented at
actual size. These issues cost sums
which would amaze people not in ne
business. The bills for them run I'D
readily in;o the thousands Then new
ones have % be 60; up continually. for
in order 10 keep up their prestige these
houses must pu. out new desights pe-pe;-
1ally. and in the course OF a year or two
one Sc; 90 volumes becomes practically
and useless This, the