New-York tribune., 1921-01-18

~ ~ youI talk at the Brooklyn Central
Branch Of the Y. M. c. A. tonight ali
perhaps you would be willing to snswer
this matter through the press by interview
or III your own advertising srace.
Very truly yours,
(Sd) w. H. BAXLEY, Secretary.
New York City Thrift Committee
This appeals to me as a vastly impor
tant matter, for we want the support OF
these merchants, and as we are already
in the Campaign and as we can reach so
tew people with our voices, am glad to
pay tor the necessary space in the daily
papers to say little bit of the much VIZ
might say about what we hope to accom-,
plish.
All OF us who are whole -heartedlv
supporting the Thrift movement believe
il is not only helpful to business, but
absolutely necessary for business.
AS portion of Thrift Week is al
ready gone, we cannot get together and
harmonic our differences of opinion:
so the only thing left for us to do is +o
use space in the daily papers to present
our views and invite those who dissent
to present their views frankly and in
like manner.
We believe that Thrift and Invest
ment is at all times helpful to business
and that it is particularly needed Just
now. Our non-sympathizers, we under
stand, think Thrift and Investment is
generally good thing, but that lust now
it will accentuate the so-called BUYERS
Strike.
Some merchants seem to think that an
American Federation of Retail Buyers
has sprung UP over night which ir
strength and determination is equal t.
the American Federation of Labor, and
that the first thing the new Federation
did was to declare Buyers Strike.
There is no more Of Buyers Strike
among the retail buyers than there is
Buyers Strike on the part of the retail
merchants themselves. Don't you think
that figures would show that the public
is buying more from the retail merchant
than the retail merchant is buying from.
the jobber and the manufacturer? How
many retail merchants do you think are
willing to take the money their retail
customer pays them and pass the proper
share of it right along to the iobber and
to the factory for more goods?
How many merchants do you think are
already carrying less than normal
ocks?-and how many do you think Of
those who are carrying normal or abnor-
may stocks would resist the temptation
to reduce their stocks far below normal
if they could create enough retail buying
to enable them to do so?
Now we have all seen some wonde,,
fully clever advertisements telling WHY
the people should buy merchandise lib
orally. / hope every merchant who is
not in sympathy with the National
Thrift Drive will get these advertise
nents and read them over and make I'D
his mind how much of the advice giver
to the retail buyer he will accept for
himself and how much of this advice he
thinks his fellow merchant will accept.
Let me remind you that our present
troubles were brought on largely By
wild and extravagant buying on the part
Of the public. Retail merchants were
encouraged to place abnornnally large
orders to insure against depletion cf
stocks and rely on their banks to carry
them This, with the load the bank
were already carrying, brought a strain
on cur banking system which carried Il
tc its full elastic linlit. Money there,
after had to be rationed. The public ia
sonae cases bought u7sil sllcy h-a 52uol~1