River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1913-03-13

dations, and then kick if fly hap
pens light in our soda water.
Did it ever occur to you, when
you happened to want ANYTHING and
needed 1t in hurry, what it cost to
have this particular item all ready
for your use at store Just around
the corner?
| remember case where a citv
took issue with an electric lighting
plant on account of their charges
for the service. The electric LIGHT
plant showed, in cold figures, what
1t cost them to be prepared at all
times to serve that city with electric
light. When the sun was shining
brightly and the days were long,
that city did not want much electric
juice. If, however, a storm sud
denly blew up and darkness came
over the city, then everybody ex.
pected to turn on his electric light
When the storm was over and the
sun came out again, he turned off
the juice. Now" said this light,
ing plant, I'VE have to have in re-
serve all the time enough power to
take care of these sudden and un-
expected demands; we have to be
ready TO serve every minute OF the
day and night. This readiness to
serve costs money, and we can only
get our money back by charging it
in the price of the Juice"
In my fashion, | am in this ar
ticle making plea for the retail
merchant. He must be ready to
serve you with anything you want
in his line on moments notice.
Isn't it really wonderful that you
can walk into a retail hardware
store, call for almost any item in
hardware, and always find it on
hand? For instance, if you wish a
pocket knife of a peculiar style,
there it is-it has just been waiting
for you to call for it. Then the
merchant takes it out of the case
and waits while you lean with your
elbows on the glass counter and
paw it all over. You smear your
greasy hands all over its beauti-
fully polished blades; you blow
your breath on the blades to see
whether the steel is good or not.
Probably you inspect fifteen or
twenty knives before you finally de-
eide to invest so cents. In the
meanwhile the merchant patiently
shows you his stock, and tells you
the entire history of the manufact-
ure of cutlery from the time of
Pharaoh down TO the present date.
Maybe after consuming twenty
minutes of this merchants time
you smile sweetly and tell him that
you will think it over and drop in
again tomorrow. Maybe before
leaving his store you go to the
telephone and have a chat with
your best girl, and also borrow a
stamp to mail letter. Or, per-
haps, you ask if he won't loan you
a pipe wrench for awhile. Then if
you are real smart the proper thing
is to go home, send an order to
mail order house for pocket knife,
cash in advance, and take your
chances on whether the steel is
good or not, when the knife arrives.
Then let us reflect, that after all
the hard work he does, after all the
chances he takes. after all the inn
positions TO which he patiently sub
mits, after all the bad accounts he
accumulates on his books, after all
the knowledge of the business that
is necessary to follow up fashions
and fads and have the goods on
hand when the consumers call for
them, after all the abuse he receives
as middleman froc: the magazines
and the daily press, it stands out
as fact in the commercial reports,
that ninety-6ve out of every one
hundred retail merchants make a
failure in business. This is a hor-
rible record, but there it is. One
reason retail merchants fail is
that they do not realize what all
these incidentals cost in doing
business. They do not add these
outside things to the cost of their
goods. They are not like the drug
store man referred to. They think
that all they are selling is hard
ware. They do not realize that
they are selling hardware plus SER
vice, and that one costs just as
much as the other.
A lazy liver leads to chronic dys-