Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1917-07-24
HELP THE RETAILERS

retail branch of the Harrisbul
Chamber of Commerce, address,
ITO the Patrons of Harrisburgs R
| tail Stores"
The merchants have undertake
to follow out the recommendation
of the Federal authorities with r,
spect to conservation. of energi,
and expenses during the war, to II
end that needless work may |
avoided and prices of retail war,
kept down as low as possible to tt
consumer.
Free deliveries have been one {
the chief sources of an ever-grov
ing overhead" in many of tn
stores, and it is to the correction {
this evil-for evil it has come to h
that the retailers have turned the
efforts. After careful consideration
always bearing in mind the conven
ence of the buying public, the mel
chants have summed up their re
quests to patrons in the followin
brief and simple code:
FIRST-When shopping, do not
leave the story empty-handed.
"a r.NsT .a1Is. 4. l.
tent of your ability. Help to
make this "the fashion"
SECOND-when you have goods
to be returned, do not leave home
empty-handed. If all customers
would carry small parcels for eX-
change, the saving of time in de-
livery departments would amount
to thousands of hours annually.
THIRD-Do not buy merchan-
disc until you are sure you are
going to keep IL. Make a careful
selection a habit.
FOURTH-Avoid c. o. D. pur-
chases whenever possible.
FIFTH-Shop early in the day.
all day long to handle the trade
at the very busiest hour. To help
us distribute the business more
evenly, would result in great eco
AcliS " Us anu GNtnludlly 10
you.
SIXTH-Any articles of mer-
chandise, which for some good
reason is to be returned to a store,
must be returned within a reason
able time-five business days.
NOTE-The merchants of Har-
risburg confidently expect to do a
greater volume of retail business
during the war than ever before.
This has been the experience in
England. However, this increased
business must of necessity be
the public's cooperation will
make more and better business
possible.
Please remember, when these
your personal affairs that the men
who used to render you so many
extra services and the capital
that was employed in many ex-
pensive privileges are being
turned over to the United States
Government to be used in the
prosecution of the war.
Study those instructions we'll, 70
in the end they are going to saw
you money. Bear in mind that "fre
deliveries" never have been free. Yo
have paid for every package whicl
the merchant brought free" to you
home. Merchants must earn a prof
on every transaction, if possible, an
the buyer IS assessed in addition t
a fair margin of profit on hi
purchase a charge, trifling t
be sure, on every package tha
goes out of the store in order t
pay the cost of making the deliv
cries. Free deliveries" have enter
ed into the cost to you of every ar
ticle that goes over the counter. Re
move this large and ever-increasin
charge and merchants will be abb
to sell for little less than before.
Free deliveries" were started b
merchants anxious to draw trade t
their stores thereby. AS individua
enterprise this was all very we'll, bu
when it reached a point where
shopper demanded delivery of
spool of thread to her home five O
ten miles from the store enterpris
became a burden alike to the store
keeper and the buyer. The deliver
system has been growing steadil
and the costs have been piling III
Economists have been protestin
against it as a needless expense an
a senseless waste. Everybody kne'
that the limit of endurance was ar
preaching and the war has been tn
last straw on the camels back.
But this is only one phase of til
problem. The war will take-aI
ready has taken, indeed-many me
from the working forces of til
stores, and business is increasing /
volume as the prosperity of tn
country increases-so that the me
who are now driving deliver
wagons and arranging for deliveris
within the stores will be needed I
fill the places of those who hav
gone or will go into the army c
other lines of war service. Nor
business is to be handled by fewe
salespeople, as the merchants poiI