Los Angeles herald., 1909-02-12
GUESTS ENTERTAINED
BY RETAIL GROCERS
NEARLY TWO HUNDRED DINE
AT LEWIS CAFE
of National Irrigation Congress
Discuss Subjects of Uni
VerSal Interest

In the presence of nearly 200 persons,
in the spacious banquet room at Levy S
cafe last evening, what was declared to
be the opening gun preparatory to
boosting the state convention of the
California Retail Grocers'' was fired.
The occasion was a banquet given by
the Los Angeles Retail Grocers' associ-
alton to it's members, their wives and a
few invited guests, consisting chiefly of
grocery jObbers and manufacturers.
While the opening gum idea was
intended to be the keynote of the ban
quet, the affair itself took on a much
wider range and proved to be an in
tensely educative function in which the
manufacturers, jobbers and retailers
in Wiping out many serious obstacles
and the smaller rancOrs that are pre-
Sumed to exist between these factors
in an irrepressible conflict for as large
a percentage as possible of the gross
business represented by the grocery
trade of Southern California.
The principal speakers who contri-
uted to this result were J. r. Newberry,
the veteran head of J. r. Newberry &
Co.; George H. Maxwell, secretary of
the national irrigation congress, one of
the invited guests, and w. F. Bosby-
shell.
The speech making followed most
GllJONdDi6 UduUuGI, served III Levy >
way President Colby, in a few fe
licitous remarks, called M. H. New
mark to the chair as POSTMASTER He
kept the diners in good humor with his
intrOductionS Of the various speakers.
Mr. Newberry detailed the organiza-
ton of the Pacific Coast association
and the efforts made to work out a
program which would bring about
gradual adjustment of natural relation
ship between manufacturers, jobbers
and retailers, the underlying idea
being that the manufacturer should set
the price on his product, fixing it so
as to take care of the profits of the
jobbers and retailers.
W. T. BoSbyShell'S remarks, as a
jObber, were in answer to the ideas ad-
Vanced by Mr.. Newberry, and he won
his hearers by an expression of broad
gaugedness in harmony with the de-
mands of Mr.. Newberry. He took
some caustic shots at the retailers,
which were nevertheless enjoyed and
appreciated, eliciting repeated applause
and laughter.
Attacks Parcels Post
Mr. MaxwelPs remarks created un-
usual interest. Though directed spe-
officially at the parcels post" a law
benig pushed by the mail order
houses of the east, he covered an un-
usually wide range, the central thought
constantly being that there was a Woe
full indifference on the part of the entire
public regarding the calamities toward
which this country was drifting be-
cause of waste of national resources,
and that the parcels post was one of
the most iniquitous ideas yet advanced,
the objective and result of which was
to concentrate population in large
cities by building up great trade cen
ters through the medium of mail order
houses.
Other speakers were N. E. Wilson,
"Our State Association" "Why We
Need the Trade Paper" Preston Nc
Kinney; Boosting Secretary J. F.
Paulding; 1.-THE Retailers Guiding
Hand, the Salesman" A. Stirling; ''Our
Local Association" c. Mottaz; "Vicis-
situdes of the Grocery Business" J. A
Fazenda.