New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1913-06-08
Continued from sixth page.

ard Of living or about labor conditions.
II was recognized that the only institu-
tons which could successfully do this
work without creating suspicion that the
information was desired for Interior pur-
poses were the government and univer-
sty. in fact al the time the bureau was
established there was "A temporary belief
that II was a cloak for a great financial
interest which, II was reported, was
about 70 take "A course that would be an
tagonistc 10 the interests Of the retailers
Started at the suggestion OF a. w
Shaw. OF Chicago, IL aimed to be one OF
the agencies for furnishing IAN organized
body OF knowledge about business" not
only TO the Schoo. Of Business Admins
tratiOn. but for other schools OF business
and for business In general The spirit
of reform was not the chief motive for
the investigation. IL was the more mat
ter-of-fact feeling that as a business
school is to teach business. the task OF
the bureau WAS to assist In obtaining in
formation about business for the school.
Incidental and subordinate to this but
important. was the publication OF such
information as might be of use 10 the
business world. Market distribution, the
getting OF goods to the consumer. being
the field least explored In the search for
efficient methods and a subject much In
the public mind 1t was decided 10 start
in this branch OF business
STUDYING THE SHOE TRADE.
owing to the simplicity OF the problem
when compared with the distribution of
other commodities, such as drugs and tex
tiles. the retailing Of shoes was chosen
for the first study. II may be here inter
polated that other fields such as hard
ware and clothing as now being taken
up BY way OF beginning its work, In
the summer Of 1911 agents Of the bureau
visited shoe retailers in Ohio and Wis
consin. typical American areas. one OF
the earliest discoveries made was that
practically no two retailers kept their &C
counts In the same way. The accounts
OF many were actually insufficient TO re-
veal the condition OF the business. For
instance. some reckoned profits on the
cost while others based them on the sell
ing price. Some, more thrifty and
analytical than others, charged salary for
their own time and rent for their own
stores, while others forgot that time and
real estate were forms OF investment.
Some dealers had one definition for sell
ing expense. while others had another
quite different. The agents helped the
dealers 10 understand the essentials or
accounts and obtained some figures Of
service for the end in view. They real
lied, however. after this experience that
the bureau, In order 10 secure reliable
data for comparative purposes and the
dealers for more scientific management OF
their business. required common basis
OF comparison In the form OF uniform
accounting system. A uniform system,
IL was discovered, was just as essential
for the shoe retailers as the Interstate
Commerce Commission had found II TO be
for the railroads-those models % OF eff
cheney. BY the adoption Of such a system
differences In items would reveal differ
ences i'm conditions rather than differences
in accounting.
In other words. when a dealer looked At
a summary OF the facts which his books
reveaiad ne Gould tell where the trouble