Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1917-11-14
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF COT.
FEE MEN HOLDING cONVEN-
TON IN CHICAGO.
DISTRIBUTION FACTOR,
SAYS r. w. MCREERY
Consumer Is Important and Fixed
Factor and Producer and Seller Must
Keep Pace With Changing Demands
Government Regulation to Become
Established System After War.

( the seventh annual convention of the
( National Coffee Roasters' Association
/ opened at the Congress hotel this fore
noon. The convention continues thru
| Wednesday. Patriotism is the key
note of the gathering, and it was the
expectation that the trend of all dis
cussion and business of the convention
would be directed toward influencing
efficiency and the elimination of waste
and to encourage conservation during
the war.
This was the dominant thought in
the first important paper read before
the convention this afternoon by Z. w
McCreery, manager and representative
of the Western Grocer Company mills.
of Marshalltown, Iowa. His subject
was Merchandising of the Future
which he prefaced with this statement
in opening:
In my opinion future business will
be largely based on two factors, econo-
my and efficiency. and the success or
failure of our individual concerns will
depend entirely upon our ability to
meet and master the severe require
ments which will be imposed"
Continuing. he said in part:
Merchandising Three Essentials.
Merchandising the world over is
based on three essential. underlying
principles. production, distribution. and
consumption. Production may be prop
erly classified under two heads, raw
materials and manufactured products.
Considered from the light of the past
the methods Of securing raw material
will continue to improve. In the main,
however, this branch OF the production
element is a fixed and known quantity.
The production, however. of manu-
featured products presents a somewhat
more complicated situation. Here we
find great future opportunity for the
active ingenious mind not only In the
working out of new methods to produce
the present known necessities and
otherwise of everyday life. but also to
develop and give to the world the IN
known necessities OF the future. There
fore. we conclude that while the first
element of production is dependable
factor. the second Is more elusive and
will demand and require close atten-
ton to the Merchandising of the Flu
ture.'
Distribution Big Factor.
1.-THE next link in our chain Is dis
tribution. This we will pass tempo
rarily while we consider for a moment
the ultimate destination of all mer-
chandise, the consumer. We find him,
on close inspection. most important
but at the same time to a large de-
gree a fixed factor. His needs will
change with the constant change in the
conditions of human life, but II we pro-
duce and deliver our goods to his Tx
ing he can be depended upon to hold
down the receiving end of our line in
most satisfactory manner.
1--WE now find ourselves confronted
with the most troublesome and difficult
factor of our chain. The methods of
distribution have changed, are chang
ing, and will probably continue to
change to the end of time. The prod
ucts in which we are at the present
time especially interested reach the
consumer by the following methods of
distribution. Thespeciahy coffee roast
er and the retail grocer. The whole
sale grocer with a roasting plant and
the retail grocer. the mail order house,
the house to house premium pedder
and lastly. so I understand, the pack
ing house and retail grocer.
"All Of these methods have their
strong points and their weak points. A
discussion as to Their relative merit
would accomplish nothing. but the fact
remains that the distribution of the
very products in which we are vitality
Interested today, will reach the con-
sumner in the very near future along
that route which in capital letters spell
the greatest efficiency and economy.
II will not discuss the inefficiency Of
many retail grocers except to state that
in my opinion the incompetent, 1neffl-
Client merchant must go and the eff
cient and the minute merchant
will remain with us and prosper ac-
cording to his efficiency and economy.
Speculation in Staples Barred.
'In conclusion. am firmly convinced
az previously stated, that the watch
words of the future business man must
be efficiency and economy. Speculation
in the staples Of life under present gov
eminent regulations is rapidly becom-
ing an impossibility and believe even
after the war will be eliminated, for
at least, have come to stay.
at is mo- secret that Germany and
probably other nations have we'll laid
plans to buy staple imported materials
not as a mass of competing individuals
but as nations.
"It seems to me It is no kindness to
ourselves, the interest we represent
and our dependents, not to look the SIT
uation squarely in the face. For a mum
Der Of years our government passed
laws and put into effect all kinds OF
regulations and requirements which
would tend to break up the so-called
trusts into smaller unions. Everything
was done possible to do to protect the
| smaller business factor and much was
accomplished toward this objective
point. Today, however, new sitna-
| ton confronts us and If I analyse cor
AZ; ..a.cs..cns --htch mint II
the Merchandising of the Future the
big business organizations of the past
| will be as mole hills to mountains wheI
compared with the mammoth institu'
tons which are to come, and as | nav
already intimated, these self same IN
situations will be operated under gov
eminent regulations. for after all Il
done and said, IL my basic statement
IA correct. that economy and efficiency
must and will dominate the commerce
of the world in the years to come. 1t Il
impossible to get away from big bust
| ness under government regulations.
! "The individuality of individuals a.
| we have known ourselves In the pas
4 must take 4 second place for at last ",
i - bNsfnmfn9 10 think and act ~