Evening star., 1898-11-10
.ertZ & MertZ.
Merchant Tailors,
900 r Street.

The net saving is $l05 There 10 no santi-
ment or imagination about the transaction
II is clear cold matter of arithmetic. We
formerly used the one-cent stamp wher-
ever We could, but experience and close OH
serNat!on have taught us that IT was bad
policy"
The reporter talked to several other busi-
ness men on the subject and found them
OF practically the same opinion The
change is largely due" said a wcll-known
Wholesaler. Ito the increased cost of ad-
Nerusing matter intended for distribution
through the mails. Not long ago most
business houses contented themselves with
very simple pamphlets giving prices and
perhaps cmhelIished with a few small cuts
The whole thing was chcaply gotten up,
printed on very ordinary paper and cost a
mere trifie. The modern booklet as Il
Is generally called. is quite a different af-
lar. The cover design is drawn by a first
class artist, the illustrations are frequently
equal to those Of the magazines. ana the
matter is probably prepared by a high
priced expert. Needless to say. the me-
chanical work must be in accord, and the
expense of such publication is 2 serious
item. Here for instance. is one Of our spe-
cial catalogues, with pictures Autographed
in six colors. The silk ribbon drawn
through the back alone cost more than the
old-time price list, all told. When we
incur such an outlay. must he reasona-
bly, certain that the booklet is at least seen
by the people to whom ii is addressed, and
under the circumstances It would he fool
ish to use a one-cent stamp. That would
at once suggest something cheap and COM
mon.
But We use a two-cent stamp at pres
cnt,' he continued. ito carry even a SIM
pie little slip giving certain shipping di-
rections to our customers. our idea is that
IL catches the eye of the man we are after.
good many busy men have their mail
sorted by confidential clerk before they
see it, and unsealed envelopes with one
cent postage are apt to he thrown aside
then and there as Of no Importance. II
II has a two-cent stamp. II Is fairly GER
tain to remain in the batch that reaches
the head of the house. Samples of dress
goods were formerly sent in unSealed IN
velopes almost invariably, but they were
so apt to slip out and get lost that the
practice has been generally abandoned.
Some Of these samples are quite expensive,
and II doesn't pay to take chances
A theatrical agent contributed a fraE-
ment of curious information to the store
The big dramatic agencies. and. in fact
the managers of all the more important at
fractions 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 I'm inta-
ton Of the typewriter. These were oriEi-
nally sent out under One-ccnt stamp to
save postage. but the results were so TN
satisfactory that the two-ccnter was adopt
ed instead. OF course. the cost is some
thing enormous, as the lists are large and
the SLIPS are sent out quite frequently. 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 il
logical for that particular purpose. as tho
imitation of the typewriter was intended to
give the inclosure personal air which was
at once defeated by the appearance Of the
envelope. Even marked papers mailed by
the dramatic agef Is at present are sup
piled with two-ceTt stamps. They attract
attention and make the package seem cx-
ira Important