The St. Joseph observer. [volume] (St. Joseph, Mo.) 1906-1932, 1917-06-02
WHEN JIM CUT
OUT ADVERTISING

We have always known Jim Crus-
tible was one of the shrewd business
men of the town. You never could
tell Jim anything, and when he fig
ured II out, II was so, and that was all
there was to It, We were talking to
him about a theory he had 2 years
ago, and Jim says she's working like
a charm. jim had a notion that II
was costing him too mortal much mon
ey to do business; that his overhead
was too heavy, 80 he says to himself,
"I'll Just save $3.50 O month by cut
ting out my advertising" And II did
certainly look reasonable. There was
$3.50 every month in the year, and
sometimes $25 during the holidays or
In the fall when trade was brisk, and
In the course OF the year It amounted
to or 3 hundred dollars And Jim's
head was working like a tack, when
he concluded that everyone knew his
place of business. OF course; why,
every Saturday the place was crowd
ed with farmers and a dozen young
fellows In town dropped in every day
to buy little something with Jim. So
he quit advertising, and-thats the
funny thing about it; his scheme
worked. 1t rvilly didn't cost old Jim
so much money to do business. The
books showed that he saved the 5000
a year and more by cutting out adver-
tising; and at the end of the year he
found where he could get along with
out l of his clerks. The farmers did
not bother him so much as they did,
and his town trade wasn't forever hec-
toring him about things people saw In
the papers. So he dropped n clerk,
and saved that $500. There was $500
or $500 he saved--and say, Jim Crus-
tible was certainly proud of his head
piece, the way he had calculated it all
out. You certainly can't tell Jim
anything about business. He Is the
man who put the come in commerce
originally. He got the saving streak
well developed after dropping the
clerk, and worked out a scheme to
save on the rent. So he moved on to
the avenue last November, and saved
S400 a year in rent-slick and clean
all good easy money. There was near
ly 800 a month he'd saved from his
overhead, and so he found that the
other clerk was Just a pensioner, as
you may say; he wasn't doing any
thing much. And you can't fool Jim
Crustible about a clerk; so Jim ups
and let's the other clerk go. We were
in to see Jim the other day. His
scheme certainly is working, tho we
should be the last to say it, as il is a
give-away on the newspaper business.
But that isn't the only bright scheme
jim has worked out to save. He said
yesterday: "Say-lookee here. L
bought this suit years ago. And its
perfectly good for my business. 3
years ago when l was running that
store over on the street. and had 3
clerks and ad6ertised in your paper,
I had to haveft suit every year. The
trade was that finicky. But now I've
got so that the class of people have
here, don't bother much about clothes.
used to have to change my shirt ev-
cry week, whether It was dirty or not:
the toney folks who read your paper
required it. But now-I change when
I need to. My customers can't boss
me. I tell yos, when you stop adver-
tising you cut Sff a lot of fool expen-
ses that pile up all over the store. For
instance / used to spend a lot Of mon
ey buying screens and fly poison. My
trade demanded it. But now that I'm
around on this avenue. they don't read
your fool newspapers and don't care
whether the flies loaf here or not Il
tell you more money is spent in cater
ing TO fool notions of these high-toned
women-why, nothing to fl The
trade | have now doesn't bother me
and doesn't know anything about
prices and / can charge 'em what /
want to, and l get 'em on my books
and they can't leave. ] got men here
that haven't paid me in a year and
don't dast to leave me, and what II
charge 'em Is a-plenty!" That's the
way to make money. II everyone
would watch his p's and as as Jim
Crustible does, we wouldn't have so
many millionaires. Jim believes that
the way to make money is to save it,
and he shorely is some saver all right,
all right. He even quarreled with the
sheriff this week about his fees in
serving the notice OF attachment which
the sheriff served on Jim. 1t seems
old Jim had discovered how to save
money by not paying the wholesale
house till he got good and ready, and
he didn't ever seem to be just exactly
good and ready. so the sheriff took a
hand, and Jim tried to dicker with
the sheriff He's certainly got head
like "A tack for business. And you
can't tel~him anything; for he knows
haf