The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1916-03-05

Yet more convincing is the expert
ence We are having Just now with wrig.
ley's Gum. For years we have sold al
chewing gums-we carry no cheap goods
but only the well-known advertised
brands-at two packages for cents. A
Few weeks ago Mr.. Wrigley came down
here and asked me to raise the price on
his gum. He did not object, apparently
TO a certain amount of cutting, but he
! contended that price as low as we had
| been making hurt his trade in other
quarters. Well, the wrigley concern
had always treated us we'll and we
wished to be decent, and so we prompt
~ advanced the price to three packages
for 10 cents, although, as a matter OF
fact' would rather have lost 5000 than
make that advance over long-established
custom. At the fame time we continued
our two-for-5-cents price on other gums,
! although absolutely no effort mas been
I made at substitution or to influence Gus
toners. All brands are given equal dis
play, but whereas prior to the advance
we were selling case of Wrlgiey's gum
per week-our sales of Wrlgiey's in 1914
amounting to sl4,000-since the advance
the consumption of Wrigley's has drop.
ped S. 2s3 per cent and the sales OF
Adams gum have increased proportion
ately'
I'm this comment by Mr.. o'Donnell on
| the Wrigley situation We find the kernel
of the matter-this druggists belief that
the average manufacturer does not OBJ
ject to prlce-cutting If It expands his
sales SO long as the cuts are not too
deep. Many of the manufacturers who
make the most emphatic protests says
IO'Donnell, are simply bluffing. They
are playing to the galleries. / have had
manufacturers admit to me that they
were carrying water on both shoulders,
to use their own words. in this matter of
price-maintenance. And, on the other
hand, there are manufacturers who are
heavy advertisers who do not care a fig
about price-cutting, so long as they get
| the business. While have never adver-
tised the fact, have always sold Cuti-
| cura Soap at IS cents, and have never
had any complaint from the p1akers.
do not believe the average manufactures
| harbors any resentment against the re-
taller who cuts prices. I have had no
dealings with the Sanatogen people since
the decision in the Supreme Court but
| Gillette sent me a gold razor after beat
him in court, and the Durham-Duplex
concern sell me goods Just as il never
collected $4,000 damages from them
Calls Contracts Illegal.
knowing that he holds to this cynical
belief regarding the real attitude of the
average manufacturer with respect TO
price-cutting it is little easier to under
stand the buying policy pursued by Drug
gist O'DonnelI and which must prove a
| mystery to many a manufacturer who en-
counters II for the first time. This policy
is summed I'D in the bland declaration of
the price-cutter, I will, when ordering
goods, sign any contract that is pre-
scented to me dealing with price-hxing.
My belief is that all such contracts are
| illegal. If manufacturer wishes me to
sign such a contract, as many a one
does. merely to save his face with other
! customers. and-with no intention of at
tempting to enforce the contract, well and
| good
" But II the manufacturer really at
tempts to enforce such a contract
| stand ready to carry the case into court
or take it before the Federal Trade Com
mission, as l have recently done with
respect to the demands OF the marketers
of Pluto Water and Laxative Bromo Qui-
nine. My customary procedure when a
manufacturer refuses to pay a rebate
| because of price-cuttlng is to simply
place another order for the same goods
and then deduct from the payment for
that order not only the rebate due on
that order. but likewise the unpaid re-
bate for the earlier order. Sometimes
We come precious near going into court
manufacturer accepts the situation as
did the Freeman Perfume Company. of
Cincinnati, which concern wrote me on
December %, 1915, after a year of dis
pute: Our legal friends tell US that you
are in the right. We are not looking for
any trouble and want to do what is right
We also know that you have a place
| for large output Of our powder, which,
of course, we want to SELL I am get
! ting my rebates on Cascarets and other
products without any question:
That price-cutting has paid in the
case OF O'Donnel must be admitted. His
| newest store, which he purchased at
bankruptcy sale for a consideration of
5000 was doing, when he acquired it in
1912, a business of 81 a day. In 1914 that
| store did s6l,O4S, and in 1915, despite a
| change OF location, the receipts were
SIS, 7S3-average daily sales OF S21S5a
Opposed to Free Deal.
1T has already ben disclosed that
O'Donnell is no enthusiast on private
branches. He likewise jolts expectations
in other directions. For example, he is
opposed to the free DEAL although he
has profted by the system above every
other man in his territory. Speaking of
recent free deal on Dioxogen he re-
marked: The system once started is
mighty hard to get away from. Similarly,
this druggist does not believe in the in
sertion of the names of local retailers
in newspaper advertising although here
again he is a heavy winner, because
many manufacturers insert O'DonneITs
name to the exclusion Of those of all
other retailers in his district. IF I
were a manufacturer I would not put
in anybody's name was his comment
Advertisers may be interested in one
experiment which Mr.. O'DOnnell recently
made. In addition to his regular chain
he owns drug store located directly
across the street from his principal store,
this extra establishment, which he
bought in at receivers sale. not being
operated under his name. 4 had often
heard said the druggist, the stories Of
how John Smith does the advertising and
Sam Jones, across, the street, reaps the
benefit. After We got hold of the store
across the street I was able to sense
the situation. I found that on days
when We do our heaviest advertising
(Mondays and Thursdays) and when our
receipts at the main store are running
1850 or $3.50 for the day, the receipts
across the street, instead of remaining
normal, invariably show a falling off of
approximately 10 per cent"
Turkey Heeds II s Protest