The Powder River County examiner and the Broadus independent. [volume] (Broadus, Mont.) 1919-1935, 1922-11-10

long as our manufacturing methods
continue to develop along their pres
emit lines, distribution costs can never
be eliminated. Machinery reduces man.
ufacturlng costs by reducing the
amount Of human labor and undcubt-
eddy distribution Is composed Of GER
tain units which may accomplish SIM
liar results. One Of the great p,ob-
lens today il to recognise clearly these
units nd to use them to the best ad-
vantage.
| In order to obtain q better insight
into the problem Of reducing distribu-
ton costs. let w go back and trace
briefly the processes by which We ar
rived at our present methods OF man.
ufacturing and selling and attempt to
place the exact relationship between
the two.
| Because our own lives have not also
spanned the whole period between
homespun cloth and the automobile. we
sometimes forget that industry has not
| merely grown in extent but also has
become an essentially different thing
| Once an article was made complete on
the farm or in the town where it was
to be used. perhaps by the very one
who was to use it. Listen to the words
Of Darius milton Raymond. who died
In Reading Center. N. r.. two years
ago, at the ripe old age OF 81 years. In
| his youth. as his biography is told.
farmers 'killed and dressed their own
cattle and hogs had the SIX ms
tanned, and their shoes made from ma
terial of their own production. The
| raised flax :. spun and wove it into
cloth. which they fashioned into clnth.
ing in their own homes" window glass
was almost unknown. The news Of the
election Of .Eceln as president ar
rived six weeks after election day
Today \ mans work IL limited not
merely to making. let us say, shoes.
but to performing oniy one or tw, OPP
erations IN the process. With the aid
OF machinery this high degree of spe-
cialixatton has reduced the actual la
Dor of making a product to mere
fraction of what it once was.
During the youth Of Mr.. Raymond,
family produced most Of its necsss-
ties and the things they did not pro-
duce were made within their immedi-
ate netghborhood. No problem of dis
trtbution existed. Today, however, with
the exception of few simple articles
that may be made on certain farms, a
family does not produce a single com
pleted product for its own use.
Why are we willing to pay such a
price for distribution? Because it rep
resents net saving on the retail price
of an article. If you had to make your
own shoes every time pair wore out.
1t would cost YOU much more in time
and labor. For though the added cost
of distribution raises the price of an
article considerably, at the same time,
manufacturing costs are reduced to a
far greater extent by the large scale
economies in human labor.
This saving represents more than
mere reduction in price: it is a saw
ing that has added to our comforts.
that has turned luxuries into everyday
necessities. that has made life easier:
1t has given US new products and scrv-
ices--stoves, window glass, rugs. silks
thing almost unheard of by the man
of 1910. things which only the most
wealthy could afford.
But what is the machinery that has
made possible these changes? Let US
take the case Of one manufacturer.
Mr.. a is the manufacturer of a food
product which he feels is the best of
its kind. He puts up a plant, installs
machinery, and prepares to turn out
his products on modertely large scale.
But how can he sell the output Of his
factory, and keep on selling that out
put in steady stream day afer day?
Unless he can sell it to large numbers
Of people. he cannot make it in large
enough quantities to turn it out at
marketable price. He is faced with the
problem of distribution.
Mr.. AS first step Is to hire and put
on the road a number Of statesmen. Mr..
A seeks to lower his manufacturing
cost per unit by widening his market
and increasing his sales. Through his
statesmen he will try to get his product
in the hands of the jobbers or whole
salers, each of whom sells the product
in turn to the string of retailers with
whom he has built up q trade in some
what similar lines of merchandise. But
with the wholesaler and with the re-
taller Mr.. A runs against two bad
stumbling blocks. and he finds that he
is spending a good deal of money with
out getting the results he expected.
The wholesaler cannot push his prod
uct neither can the retailer. They
both have thousands of articles on
their shelves; they cannot afford to con-
centrate their attention on any one.
Mr.. A has obtained n certain amount
of distribution bu he has not completed
the circle; he has not yet reached the
most important buyer of all--he con-
sumner.
Some new force must be brought to
bear to get a sufficient distributt~r -
reduce the percentage of sellin
and at the same ime gain the rrcos'.
milton of the consumer.
Mr.. A cannot tell people by word Of
mouth about his product. but he finds
this needed force in the publications of
this country-more than $4,000 through
which manufacturer of an article
of general consumption can reach ex-
actly the buyers he wants. in the cities
and states where he is best able to sell
his product, at jus he time Of year
when he realizes here is the greatest
likelihood Of arousing interest. More-
over. these buyers can be reached week
after week, and year after year, for
only few cents each.
\