The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-06-29
MRS. REID HAS A TALK WITH
THE WOMAN WHO ADVERTISES
To Up Buine

We have read and heard so much OF
this ''installment business" that we de.
cided to try for ourselves 10 find If IL was
such a bonanza" to the man who fur
nlshes the house So we strolled around
to see Mrs. Mabel Ford Leake, secretary
of the Retail Furniture Dealers associa.
ton, to get at the bottom of the fnrni-
ture business.
| In her cool and comfortable Offices in
the Clark building we found her busy. but
very happy, because she had lust been
Informed that she had been selected 10
read paper on Furniture Advertising
before the convention of Retail Furniture
Dealers association, that convened in
Charlotte, n. c., on June 26.
| Did you ever hear Mrs Leake talk ad.
yertising? She is a fiend on this very
subject. Her enthusiasm is convincing
that no better selection for their secre-
tarv could have been chosen. We asked
her now she had fallen into such an
interesting shop and she tossed her
nead ana said: II needed the salary
and | just talked myself into this ioh
| You know talk is good medium of
hiidiHS NHdI you want.
! Most Interesting Work
! 1T Is a most interesting work this of
attending to somebody else's business
and | see great opportunities for woman
| in the world of advertising
we told her we had no money to snend
| ana did not come to her office to read
ads we came to ask If 1t took real
| hard work to make the furniture man
rich with the prices as they were? She
! % g.
as secret. First, that 10 per cent of the
furniture in this district is sold on the
ihstallment .'lan. and the dealer had nis
picnic when he tried to collect for IT,
we could we'll appreciate this because
we often see our cooks and our neishbors'
cooks lodging the furniture man..
Mrs. Leake says there are schedules for
deot paying. First, the house rent then
the milliner and clother, next the
grocer; the furniture dealer comes in the
class with the doctor and the preacher
and the consequence is they are each
most worn out when they get their in
| stallment The home must have some
furnishings and the furniture dealer must
accommodate the trade, so prices are
! arranged for payments at great dis
| tance-in other words, you must pay in
terest on the loan, which is simply good
business and just debt.
To give you an ieda," said Mrs Leail
| OF what unpleasant duties are connected
with this business ! would like to relate
| TO you story of what happened not long
ago with an installment house. A
| healthy looking, well dressed young man
| called on one of the dealers. bought a
| Dill OF furniture, promising faithfully to
| make payment the following Saturday
| Ihe goods were delivered promptly but
| the purchaser failed to appear at the ap-
| pointed time. For three months nothing
| was heard from him, until finally a col
| iector was sent to the house. He re-
turned and reported the home was occu.
pied by feeble old mother who sem
the firm word she had no money-'he hao
better send for the things: my son is dis
sipated; | fear he never will pay on,
cent on the bill and | can use them nc
| longer under the circumstances
| The wagon was sent and the furniture
every piece, returned. The driver cam,
In and said That poor old lady Is lef
with nothing but a bare mattress in he
house And Mrs. Wilder did not let thu
sun go down without making that oil,
lady comfortable again-a gift from he
nfm, OF which she is the manager"
The Losses Incurred
DID you ever think of the loss ncurre
, IN selling this kind of goods as second
hand. We who have "our dresses to sell
know the competition and sacrifice in ou
old clothes-even our ''rummage sales
, and after furniture has been used severa
months, especially bedding. rugs, etc
who wants them at any price?
j We soon found there are truly tw
slueS TO every question and there is
phase in every business that insures fail
ure unless the head looks we'll into th
profit and loss end of it.
There seems to be a prevalent desire t,
buy all you can on a credit and this Il
! more evident ha
are, many. furnishing their homes vel
on salary of 50 a week. Is 1t wonder
they dodge 1.-The furniture man." and dt
you see any get rich quick under tn,
conditions? The furniture dealer is nc
martyr. however He simply knows his
business and attends to it that he does
not lend his furniture in vain
/ As we were leaving Mrs Leakes office
we found voluminous register of names
and addresses. What is this, pray?'
was the question. "Oh, that is a very
| recent. nevertheless very importa Mt
adjunct to this business. You see here
Bill Jones buys a bill of furniture and II
Is sent to Brown avenue and Cedar street
| No. 10. At the required time Mr. Col
| lector calls at the address to find they is
moved, and that is the total of his In.
formation. except 'dey done took all they
| had. This information is none the less
valuable because II puts the people to
| thinking; hence Mrs. Leake Interested the
| commission in framing a moving priv.
| ilege,' which simply means this: Wher
| Mr.. Bill Jones wants to move from said
| avenue the drayman has permit from
| the city to move said gentleman, snd
| this permit requires said drayman to reg
lister the new address at the office of DO.
lice chief. that the friends may find him
in his new home. With this provision
| there is very little chance of our getting
| lost In Birmingham. and the furniture
| man Is enabled to keep well on the track
of his installment customers.
Furniture Made Here
| Many of the beds are made in Birrning-
ham that we find on the market and the
| city Is well supplied with mattress fac
| tories, besides much kitchen furniture is
made right a home. These things are In
| teresting to know. Forty members from
the Retail Furniture Dealers association,
| composed of the most progressive furni-
| ture men of the city. and that the sec
| retary-a woman-shoud be selected 10
read paper on advertising at the con-
vention of southern states Is great
| compliment paid to their business meth
| DDS and their appreciation of the power
of good publicity. Mrs. Leake never fails
| to talk her faith In ads" and she ex-
presses emphatically in the following ad-
| dress the keynote to good business as she
| has found it:
ITO be asked to talk to this capable.
Intelligent assemblage of alert progres-
sive Southern Retail Furniture dealers
| In this famed and lovely Carolina city
| Is an honor great privilege-which
Is deeply appreciated, and for which |
thank you most sincerely
Not being in the class of the silver
tongued mot even In the German sill