The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-12-22
Because They are More Economical and Ask No Odd.

houses in the West which once sent a member of the firm to New York to buy the seasons goods now employ woman for the purpose. Upon this woman de bends the prosperity of the wholesale firm or store which she represents her judgment of what will sell in ner town must be infallible. or the firm will be stuck with quantity of goods that 1t can neither sell nor return. Every firm, too, has its favorite house with which it has long dealt. but whatever the buyers personal preferences may be she cannot afford to allow herself to be tied down to one market, if she can ob- tain either a better variety or greater value in some other place.
 It speaks we'll for the success of these women buyers that the increase in their ranks has been steady. There are few occupations more exacting or more re- sponsible, and yet there have not been many failures. At first women buyers represented only such trades as millinery, dress goods and other lines that apper- tained strictly to their own sex. Today. however, women are acting as successful buyers for nearly every important trade that has ever been heard of It is even said that there Is a woman acting as buyer for one of the principal cigar man ufacturers. While this feminine tobacco expert is by many regarded as myth. she is considered to De entirely wl1mn the bounds of probability.
 The woman who acts as buyer for maker of agricultural implements is an- other seeming anomaly who yields her charm as a curiosity to the touch of ex- planation. She buys peculiar faprlc known as bolting cloth, as well as some other kinds of textile material used in the construction of patent machine: The diving dress buyer again IS noted female diver, who Is also the patentee Of a peculiar valve and a new form of div er's helmet. The saddlery buyer buys material for women'S saddles excluslVey.
 By the firms with which male buyers cd hue tho adNpnt of the female buyer was joyfully greeted. It saved them a great deal of money. Formerly. when the buyer of one Of the large commercial concerns came to New York, 1t was the custom of the firm which expected to obtain his order to detail one of its salesmen or employees exclu- sively to entertain him. This employe was granted lavish and unaudited ex- pense account. It was his business to wine. to dine and to otherwise entertain the buyer. Anything which the buyer thought he wanted he could get and of- ten he was made the recipient of valua- ble presents During busy season 1t frequently happened that as many as twenty buyers were being separately and expensively entertained by one of the big New York houses. It was no unusual thing for the expense of taking care of' one of these buyers to exceed hun dred dollars for twenty-four hours.
 All of this expense, of course, was ulti- mately paid by the buyers firm. for, al- though those luckless persons might ney- CT notice the items, they were adroitly added to the cost of every yard of cloth they paid for. A non-convivial buyer, therefore, was valuable possession Ill that particular alone, but such buyer was also remarkably scarce. With the advent of women buyers, however, there came change No longer was large firm hampered by having half it's em- ployes out entertaining" the buyers. The women buyers did not drink. did not care tO .'po mt with the bOys." DatrOniZed nu gambling houses. and showed no partic- ular desire to ride in automobile or to go to theatres. The firms which once paid good round prices for their buyer ' choice found that the woman buyer was | able to get the same goods for much less money, and they profited by the knowl' | edge thus obtained.
 If the popularity of women buyers rest. l ed on no other basis than the fact that | they did not have to be elaborately en | tertained, they would still be the prime favorites of every merchant who wanted | his business transacted as well and a! l nuicxlv as if could be done.