The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-12-20
FEWER oNE-CENT STAMPS USED.


Their Use by Commercial Houses.
From the New Orleans Times-Democrlt.
one of the curious circumstances of mod
ern commercial life is the passing of the
one-cent stamp 1t is rapidly going out
of date for the mailing of catalogues. cir
culars, samples and other matter sent
through the postofiice in large quantities
by business houses and many concerns
have ceased TO use il altogether. a few
days ago reporter dropped in at the pri-
vate Office of one of the leading retail es-
adjustments of this city and observed
bushel basket of freshly addressed enyel-
opes in one corner. A busy clerk was dec
Grating each with a two-cent stamp.
"Those envelopes contain small printed
folders" said one of the partners in the
house, announcing some winter novelties
There is not scratch of a pen on any of
them and they could be sent just as easily
for penny apiece. AS there are 5000 in
the lot, it would mean saving OF just SoO
in to-days postage bin"
"Why the mischief don't you do 1t,
them" asked the visitor.
Because we have learned said the mer
chant, that it doesn't pay. 1t Is one of the
economies that don't economic. Now
adays the avearge busy man rarely opens
an unsealed envelope bearing one-cent
stamp He knows without looking further
that il contains advertising matter and
throws 1t into the waste backet at once.
Even If he opens 1t he does so with
mind already prejudiced, because the
stamps proclaim that the Enclosure Is
printed"
But why should that prejudice him.
interrupted the reporter.
Because 1t destroys the individuality OF
the communication. Every man likes to
feel that he is addressed personally, and
IL he knows in advance that he isn't, bad
effect is made Ii is the difference be-
tween talking to him in his private ONCE
and talking to him as one of crowd from
a platform. This may seem ike sphtnns
hairs but advertising has become such an
art at present that absolutely nothing
must be overlooked. We put two-cent
stamp on the envelope, which insures it
ar least being opened. Then we must de-
mend ON the attractiveness of the folder to
interest the recipient.
owe have reduced the matter to very
exact business basis" continued the mer-
chant. Take. for instance, this particu-
lar bunch Of mail. The folders are gotten
IN quite handsomely and cost us $l25 Tor
The 1000 or 21h cents apiece. 1 calculate
away if they went out with 1-cent stamps
That would be clear loss of 800 for the
Enclosures $40 for postage, and, say, $l9
for envelopes, addressing, and so on, max
ing a total of S155 The increased cost of
the 2-cent stamps Is $50, but we are Ger
tain that they win land one OF the folders
10 each person on the list. The net saw
ing is $1O5. There is no sentiment or i'm
agination about the transactions 1t is
clear cold. matter of fact arithmetic. We
| formerly used the 1-cent stamp wherever
we could, but experience and close obser-
walton have taught US that it was bad
policy"
The reporter talked to several other bus
mess men on the subject and found them
of practically the same opinion. The
| change is largely due" said well-known
wholesaler, ITO the increased cost Of ad-
vertising matter intended for distribution
| through the mails. Not long ago most
| business houses contented themselves
| with very simple pamphlets giving prices
! and perhaps embellished with few small
! cuts. The whole thing was cheaply got
| ten up, printed on very ordinary paper,
and cost a mere trifle. The modern book
! let as it is genrally called, is quite a diff
| ferent affair The cover design is drawn
! by a first-class artist, the Illustrations are
| frequently equal to those of the maya
| zines, and the matter is probably prepared
| by a high-priced expert. Needless to say,
| the mechanical work must be an accord,
| and the expense of such publication Is a
serious item. Here, for instance, is one
| of our special catalogues, with pictures
Autographed in six colors. The silk rib
| bon drawn through the back alone cost
| more than the oid-time price list all told.
| When we incur such an outlay, we must
| be reasonably certain that the booklet is
at least seen by the people to whom It Is
| addressed, and under the circumstances it
would be foolish to use a 1-cent stamp.
! That would at once suggest something
| cheap and common.
But we use two-cent stamp at pres
ent," he continued "to carry even a sim
| pie little slip giving certain shipping di-
| rections 20 our customers. Our idea is
| that il catches the eye of the man we are
after A good many busy men have their
| mail sorted by a confidential clerk before
they see it, and unsealed envelopes with
| one cent postage are apt to be thrown
aside then and there as of no importance.
If ID has a two-cent stamp ii is fairly
certain 40 remain in the batch that
| reaches the head of the house. Samples
of dress goods were formerly sent In UNI
| sealed envelopes almost invariably, but
| they were so apt TO slip out and get Eost
that the practice has been generally aban-
doned. Some of these samples are quite
| expensive, ana IL dOssh pay 20 take
| chances"
A theatrical agent contributed a frag-
ment of curious information to the store.
| 1.-THE big dramatic agencies, and, in fact,
| the managers of all the more important
| attractions" he said, keep lists of news
| paper editors and critics all over the coun-
| try and send them regularly little tissue
slips containing notices printed in imita-
ton of the typewriter These were origin
| ally sent out under a one-cent stamp TO
| save postage, but the results were so un-
satisfactory that the two-center was
| adopted instead. OF course, the cost is
something enormous as the lists are large
| and the slips are sent out quite frequent
~, but the returns must Justify the extra
outlay, as nobody has gone back to the
| Old plan In fact. the one-cent stamp was
| hugely Illogical for that particular pur-
pose as the imitation of the typewriter
was intended TO give the Enclosure "a per
sonal air which was at once defeated BY
the appearance Of the envelope. Even
| marked uapers are supplied with twO-oent