The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1904-05-08

Small Packages the SJraeT Oh us
Day.
~ ,,,he sa,ne ie true OF sugar. OK lard, OF
.alt b. soaps, OF flour, of coffee, Of pretty
,nnch everything Homes are not sup
nlioa as In old times with smoke houses
ana great store rooms In which famiiles
< kecn n years supply OF eatables, but INC
small pantry and the smaller lce-p"A
Tint carry q days. never moro lnan u
weel,s, supply OF provisions are the or
der of the day.
The Richmond wholesale grocery m ,l
chants active, as intelligent and as WIDE
nwai,o A,sincss men as can be found on
tho American continent, have kept up
with the times changed their metnoas
MS the times chAnkd. and the oroahoa
hns not found 1t out. and all tue yeaf
while Mr.. Croakcr has been stahulhs
around wondering why the grocery n'en
of Richmond are not shipping tMo "a
three hundred tons OF nails IN Kegs NV
salt in sacks and sole ieatagl .. ~
dies, and molnsses IN hogsheaos, ~, ,ue
aforesaid grocery mon were Just selling
and shippinE round million TONS OF
groceries in different shape; molasses ana
svrups in cans, sugar in two to ten pound
packages. flour in small Digs, roasted
coffte in one pound packages ana up
fruits of all Kinds In small cans, cereals
jn paper boxes, lard In one pound cans,
scans In cakes (some no larger than the
end If vour thum). salt fish In cans in
stcad of barrels, cakes and crackers In
li,tle napef- boxes tobacco in five pound
caddies. cigars ana cigarettes In tiny
boxes, whiskey In small bottles instead
pf big barrels. pickles and preserves and
catsups and sauces In tiny bottles anu
cans ready for the table at moments
notice starch and all manner OF laundry
goods in the smallest possible packages,
MI ready for immediate use bread pow.
ders in cans. rice in packages small
enough to make a DAYS supply come
handy, canned meats, fish, oysters, soups
(yes. soups) brea kfast foods, all in con-
yeniont packages in all sizes to mate'any
kind of a meal from a lunch for a travel
pr to n dinner for a big family, and SO on
md so on through the whole list.
Richmond Wholesale Grocers.
Indeed times have changed, and the
twenty or more wholesale srocers Of
Richmond are right up in line with the
times They are c. w. Antrim & Sons,
Joseph w. Blanton. Christian & Win
free. Charles Davenport & Co.. Davis
& Atkins, Fleming, Christian e. Co, Il.
Nv. Gates's Son Co, Harrclson & Co Har.
vey Blair e Co.. Howard & Brauer. def
fries & Shelton, Mnhoney. West e Co.
Mouton & Talmage, w. M. Parrish, |
Rutherford, Deitrick & Co, u. A. Saun-
ders Sons Co., G. +. sauer Co, Spence. !
Nunnamaker Sc Co., Stokes Grymes |
Grocery CO., Charles Il. Taylor e Co.. |
j.. c. Younger.
There are some others houses that han
die groceries to a limited extent III con-
nection with sotker lines that will be
considered later on In connection with
those lines. Some Of these enumerated
handle only fancy groceries and confec-
tioneries but all are large and flourish
Ing establishments. all are doing good
business. all nave adopted modern meth
DDS and equipped their establishments
with ,ip-to- date labor and time saving
a ppliances. and. taken as a whole. the
grocery distributors of Richmond can hold
their own in all respects by the side OF
those Of any market in the land.
Figures That Speak.
1t is not always an easy matter to get
facts and figures from the railway books
In the farst place. the railroad people are
not always anxious to exhibit their
books, and In the second place 1t is a
tremendous job to go through these books
and get your figures. However, + have
had access to the books of one of The
trunk lines and have gone carefully over
the grocery shipments from Richmond
for the first three months of this year,
tliSlIl aulllSPHtly Win lHc
records for the corresponding months Of
last year. Using these figures ms basis
and from them conservatively estimating
the business of the@other roads find
that the Richmond wholesale grocers
shipped to the retailers Of the South In
the first three months of this year 14o.-
600 tons of goods. AS compared with the
figures for the same period of last year,
n decrease of five per cent is shown in
s1ess n car-lonH nd
OF fifteen per cent. in car load dots"
thus showing a net increase of ten per
cent. In this years business. and show
ing, incidentally. that the Southern re.
tail merchants are in better trim this
year than last, and are buying goods in
larger lots.
Multiplying this total of shipments by
four and you have the years shipments
conservatively estimated at 562,4OO tons
Now add to this the drop shipments"
and the RicfIIaond apd Manchester trade
at a most .eonsovative estimate and the
grand total Of goods bought and sold by
the wholesale grocers amounts to fully
ono million tons.
drop Shipments and City
Trade.
''Drop shipments" are heavy goods
bought and sold by Richmond tobbers
and shipped direct from the place Of pur-
chase to their larger customers, and
these. OF course. don't figure on the rail-
.oad books In Richmond, nor do the goods
sold to city retailers and delivered to
hem by drays. This city trade is Of it.
self an immense business.
Nearly all OF the salt in sacks. ninety
per cent. Of the tobacco, half Of tho SUI
gar and niolasses in barrels. an immense
quantity OF the fruits and canned goods.
possibly half of tho laundry soaps and I
many other heavy goods handled by the
Richmond jobbers are shipped direct from
the factories to their customers and come
under the head Of drop shipments"
The Richmond jobbers sell to all the re-
tailers In the city and Manchester, and
that business alone, which does not APP
pear on the railroad books, Is something
that would startle the croaker who knows
only OF the ancient days when retailers
did not buy OF home iobbers.
Greatest Distributing Point.
AS in meats as in day goods, as In
IL, iplt