The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1905-05-26

ALL after
TRADING
STAMPS

DO you give trading stamps2 That is
a little question which brings Joy TO the
heart OF the merchant 10 whom II Is
asked II he does. and sorrow"rf he ds~
not In the first case II usually means
that he Is 10 have n new customer and
in the case that he did not give them
he would probably have to see the pro-
spectve customer go by and patronize
a rival further along the street
The craze for the little sticky pastors
which are credited with a monetary value
or a value In bric-a-b brac or other goods
II one gets enough OF them has grown
TO such tremendous proportions that
women will travel from store TO store
and take things which they do not want
to get them. even though they could have
secured the article in another nearer
store where the little premium buyers
wcro not given. Merchants like them,
they can get them for they are incen-
t.ves for their customers 10 pay their
bills cash, or weekly a the longest. for
the grocers Cannot give them. they say,
and let the bills run any longer. as IT is
necessary 10 turn over their goods quick
ly ard realize small but steady profits In
these days OF modern hustle and hustle.
BIG HELP TO THEM
BY means Of these stamps many per-
sons who have love for comfortable fur
nitu-e. pretty dishes jewelry, silverware,
sporting goods bicycles and in fact al
most any article that can be bought In
the open market have been able 10 get
them by little attention 10 collecting
and rcdeoming these stamps.
In many cases there have been people
who would never have secured these com
forts without the help Of the sticky bits
Of paper. for with the wage earners' small
stipend and many mouths 10 feed II would
have been next To impossible 10 get to-
gether the sum necessary 10 have
bought the rev lounge, the pretty rugs or
the tasteful go-cart in which the latest
arrival from the domain OF the stork rides
In. They certainly did not have these
things before the stamps came and the
use Of them certainly makes many proud
mothers rejoice. for to them they repre-
sent no outlay OF hard earned cash that
might have bought Johnnie n pair Of pants
or Mary some new stockings. and Tim
pair Of brogans TO keep his poor feet of
the pavement. No. indeed. they have
thu necessary things and the premiums
too
That's the way they reason II and X
sounds logical enough too. Young couples
who are planning 10 go TO the parson and
then have a home or their own as soon AZ
they get enough to set them up do not
have to go 10 the installment man. They
save the trading stamps when they buy
the every day necessities OF life. they get
their relatives and friends to save them
and when they get several books full they
can get enough nice things to make n
asa anI xxrit hot Ao hffkT
they get stamps and secure something
else
It's n great system all right the people
say and new converts to IL are being
made every day. The enterprising mer-
chants even IL they do not thoroughly
agree with II have to recognize IL as II
is such a factor 10 he reckoned with In the
competition for business so they have to
get the stamps and give them II possible
TWO BIG RIVALS.
From the start OF this stamp business
and right along through all the vicissi-
tudes OF the small and fly by night con-
Germs have the Green Trading stamps
come and the company is doing business
at the same old stand redeeming books
with premiums as they state. While some
OF it's fallen rivals are only redeeming it's
stamps at the rate OF one book for FIVE
II is going along at the old rates re-
gardless OF the others, its managers. Sper-
ry & Hutchinson being among the pion-
eers I'm the business.
There Is a formidable rival and II too is
finding n great deal OF favor with the
merchants who were In favor OF the trad
ing stamp restriction measures In the
general assembly. which however failed
OF passage. This is known as the Mer-
chants Legal Stamp and IL has printed on
its face ''cash value mills" which was
ono OF the provisions OF the old law. that
stamps value In cash must be clearly IN
dicated
Another feature about these stamps
which appeals 10 merchants is that they
can redeem them themselves I'm their own
merchandise and this is also factor with
the consumer as many OF the other
stamp companies -haA-Seriotts- -ottrcttuus
against anybody dealing or redeeming
these stamps but themselves and even
carried the matter TO court occasionally.