The daily Alaskan., 1914-03-11

Now, which of these machines really is the best? Which of them is as good as the one your retailer sells and guar antees? Can any reader of the above triumvirate of ads. tell? Most assur' edly not.
 The lesson should be plain to all who receive these catalogues. They con tain glowing descriptions of goods, but the senders of money do not know what they are going to get for their money when they send 1t to mall or der house
 Goods In Plain Packages.
 Were 1t not so serious it would be amusing to read some of the smooth arguments the catalogue houses ad- vance to their readers in an effort to induce them to send in orders. They say that goods are sent in plain pack ages because many merchants who buy of them to sell again object to having their name appear on the boxes. We know we are safe in saying there Is not one single merchant in the whole United States who ever ordered any goods from these concerns. The state ment Is made In an effort to make the consumer believe that he can buy as chearly as his local merchant can.
 But printed matter that will sell goods is within the power of almost any local retailer. Most all the expert advice is little more than empty gen. eraIlzing about nonessentials. It is not literature. remember. but advertising, that you want to write. Knowledge of words and type and the ability to write fine Introductory paragraphs and striking headings are not to be de spised. of course. but the facts, not fancy ways of saying them. are what induce the people to spend their money in the local stores. a
 The merchants knowledge of his store. his goods and the people Is more than an offset for any lack of ability to coin catchy phrases or to use technical language in telling the printer how he would like to have his advertising lOok.
 When the merchant sits down to write bis ad he should imagine that his hardest customer to sell to is seat, ed ou the other side of his desk. He should write what his talk would be if he were determined to make Il sale 10 that customer when In the most ob- stinate of moods. He should write 1t all down. then lock it in his desk for few hours, later cut out all the super tluous words and print the facts with out any trimmings.
 Personality Brings Trade.
 The nearer the local merchant can come to making his advertising sound like his talk the more effective 1t will be. Personality is what brings and holds trade; personalltS secures to your competitor trade likewise difficult to wean away from him.
 The modern retail merchant must make sure that his displays in his win dews and in the store itself are such as will interest women A general Vari- ety ought 10 be shown. WILL prices clearly indicated in plain figures. Make Inspection easy and then let shoppers inspect undisturbed. for in this man. ner many new wants will be developed in the minds of the shoppers The merchant or salesman who stands over a shopper and attempts to press sale invariably annoys the customer and hastens his or her departure.
 The merchant who has not advanced with the times must come to full real izution al once that many changes are necessary before be can hope to com pete rpsultfully with retail mail order houses. and the first and principal change is the manner in which his stock is displayed, and in the process of this arrangement he must take into consideration the fact that men have almost completely ceased to figure in the day tu day purchases of household GerrSsaTiss.