Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1917-08-17
COOPERATIVE DELIVERY
Continued from Page y

possible for them to ask and get any
thing that they find they want for their
households at any hour of the day, It's
a big price we pay,
The Bureau of Commerce has found
that in the city Of Washington, it costs
"A per cent of the gross sales of food to
pay for It's delivery, On food bill Of
about twelve and three-quarter million
of dollars in 1916, Washington paid over
5000, 600 for sending the stuff to the
purchasers, Naturally It cost more to
deliver some things than others. Ice,
bread, milk, ice cream, cost Washington
most
What is true of Washington is true
the country over, so the Commercial
Economy Board finds, 1t estimates
that the gross delivery expense Of re-
tail grocers in the country is over S75;-
600, 600 a year What is this sum used
for? For the hire Of men to put up
packages, to run the number of wagons
and trucks required, to put them in at
your door TO 20 to your house not once
but often half dozen times day,
Take any town Of the country Of ten
thousand peope audit probably spend
ing three per cent of the net sales Of
groceries in sending them to the pur-
chasers Again and again those pur-
chasers come 10 the grocery, the
butcher, milk depots, in carriages or
cars, but they rarely think of taking
home their purchases, A woman will
buy package of ten-cent cereal and
expect it delivered, She will rarely
think of carrying a half dozen rolls,
though she is on her way home
As matter of fact, the merchant
does'not often want her to carry her
packages, His promptness and willing
ness to serve her irregular and careless
habits of buying is one of the ways he
builds up good will, Our canny mer-
chants err in spelling customers; in
gratifying their whims, in fetching and
carrying for them until a woman has
come to feel sometimes that she offers
to carry bundle she will be classed as
an undesirable customer
The Great Necessity on US demands
Il prompt, vigorous cutting out Of the
waste in all delivery of foods | have
spoken here only of food products, but
we all know that what has been said
applies equally to all sorts of shopping,
and particularly to department stores.
The report Of the Commercial Econ
omy Board declares that in our great
cities the cost to the department store
of delivering packages is from eight to
twenty-five cents apiece 1t is no un-
tlftff f,. tk. ,l..It,rApif b,
an article TO exceed the cost of the
article and probably one.half of the
daily purchases Of department store
might be carried home by the women
themselves,
How is all this vast, unnecessary use
Of men and horses and trucks and money
and time TO be cut out and the delivery
system put on rational basis where it
is strictly confined TO what is necessary.
There are not few towns in the
country where it has already been put
on such basis by cooperative deliver
les. Ann Arbor, Mich has had such a
delivery conducted by its merchants for
eight years Formerly it took seventy
wagons to carry home the daily buyings
of the people now it takes but
eighteen. In other towns there has
been saving in cost of from twenty
five to seventy five per cent
Wherever a co-operative.delivery has
been well managed the average saving
has been aroused fifty per cent.
OF course this means reform in the
method of ordering. One delivery a
dav is all that ought to be expected
under present conditions. If a woman
knows that is all she will quickly and
easily reform her wgvs-or carry her
extra bundles.
The Woman's Committee of the
Council Of National Defense firmly he
leves that all that it is necessary TO do
TODAY TO secure hearty and promut CO.
operstjon from women in carving ont
such savings as this that their fellow.
committee on the Council Of National
Defense has demonstrated to he nossi.
Me is IN lot tbar krou tbat il ie asLed
II nrqes women evervwhere 70 aid in
the reform. They can very nronntlv
encourage their merchants 70 Establish
call on them to limit their deliveries to