The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-08-05

It is cabled from Paris that IA colors have been introduced into our autumn costumery.
 This Is joyful news to the dressmak- CT as we'll as to the amateur in color schemes, but it brings sense of de- pression to the artist. The vast as- sembling of colors in one season is excellent for the commerce of a coun- try. It provides persuasive plea to be used to coax the coin out of purses; it gives a clerk something to talk about; it enhances the pleasure of shopping to the woman who is never certain what she wants to wear; 1t gives to the inveterate shopper-the woman who goes from store to store on pleasure bent. and who does not buy enough in a season to warrant one shopping tour-another chance to stim- ulate her excitement.
 One Is tempted to speculate on the reduction of excitement that will come to that kind of shopper if the mo- sample law and the no-returned-g goods law come into effect this autumn.
 The shopper who finds her greatest HbAuloAdliOA VI Ihc udy III vas 0Oiy SpCS- ulating on what she can make out of everything she sees, and. to aid In her meditating on this subject. requests that samples of each color and mate rial be given to her, will experience de- pression if samples are refused and goods are not sent up for approval.
 The shops of the American conti- nent are fighting this question today to the best of their ability. They're ranging up all the advantages and dis advantages, in two parallel lines and having great experts find out whether or not it is advisable to make drastic change.
 The cry of the country is against the wastage of food and fabric and the de- signers are contemplating the cutting off of all frills. superfluous pockets and extra bits of cloth that are not necessary to make clothes smart.
 Surely, If the designers are deter mined to cut off unnecessary inches of material in the making of costumes, the merchants will find it advisable to refuse to give samples. The figures that have been made out by the ex- perts as to the wastage of fabric in the RlElnS or SdHpl6S Dy every onOp oIl this continent read like war statistics. They deal in billions. instead of hum dreds
 The merchants are quite aware that it may work to their disadvantage to refuse samples, and it may be that clerks in certain shops will be gwen leeway in using their judgment as t5 '.onl to refuse and to whom to give; but It is probable that there will be a t,,.nc cI1narujSinn cnrfailmpnf Of sending goods on approval and giving pieces of fabric to curiosity seekers.
 The merchants of the country feel that they have gone too far in leniency toward customers Extraordinary waste has been involved in the system which is now accepted as the courteous and convenient one.
 The immense and sweeping reform, which was brought about by the adop- tion of one price against reduction of price through bargaining has placed merchandise in this country on solid basis. It was a great merchant and 6 man with vision who saw the evils of conducting department shop on the basis of an oriental shop, where one Is supposed to bargain for half hour in an effort to reduce the price and where a high price is put on every article be- cause the bargaining is a part of the game.
 In the beginning the public resented this attitude of the merchants. Now there are thousands of people in this generation who do not know that any other method existed, except the one price method.
 Tn the days before the reform was established women went out to bar gain. It was the prime recreation ol their lives. It meant as much to them as cross-examination to a lawyer Il