Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-07-28
Feiker Discusses Methods.

VINO nave urged II very strongly ana
have participated actively in the pre-
hn1inary work"
Feiker Discusses Methods.
Mr.. Feiker, who is prominent as an
editor, publisher and expert consultant
on business, discussed in detail the
method by which the Commerce De-
partment hopes to furnish an author
1tative answer to the question: How is
business?"
Facts and figures will be gathered, he
said which will have "a far reaching
effect on the future prosperity Of every
Business man in our country"
Since 1921, when he came to Wash
ington to serve for two years as an
Assistant Secretary of Commerce under
Secretary Hoover, Mr.. Feiker frequently
has been retained by the Commerce
Department as consultant. In his adj
dress, he suggested that it may not be
many years before information about
business conditions is so advanced that
newspapers may carry condensed
answers to the question, "How's busi-
nesS?" with the regularity and accuracy
attaching now to weather reports.
Secretary Lamont's speech in full
follows: I deeply appreciate the
courtesy of the Columbia Broadcasting
system in enabling me to speak this
evening about project of major mag
nitude, for which the initial prepara-
tions are now under way at the De-
partment of Commerce.
Last week important conferences
were held at the Observation-Disclosures
by Government officials, eminent
economists, editors. industrialists, trade
association executives, advertising men
and professors of business adminiStra-
ton. These men constituted the adj
visory committee on the coming census
of merchandise distribution. Their de-
alterations, believe, were of vital mo-
ment to our people.
Distribution Census Is New.
Congress, just before its adjournment,
passed the bill providing for the taking
Of the next decennial census. In that
act there Is provision authorizing an
entirely new activity, kind of emu
meration never before taken-namely,
q Nationwide census of distribution.
For many decades we have gathered
statistics concerning population, agri-
culture, manufactures, mines, quarries,
births, deaths, marriages, divorces,
wealth, indebtedness, taxation, munich
pal and State finances, current busi-
ness, and many other phases of our
Industrial and social life; but we have
never gathered, in any Nationwide,
official effort, the facts and figures to
modities in their movement from pro-
ducer TO consumer; this will be done,
for the first time. in 1880.
Just what is the character OF this
new distribution census, you may ask.
What does it aim to accomplish? What
does 1t mean to the average merchant,
TO the manufacturer and the consumer?
In attempting to answer those ques-
tons, let us look first at certain con-
siderations that form the background"
Of the problem.
Amazing Business Progress.
In recent years, American business
has devoted much attention and enorm-
Gus amounts of money to the problem
of reducing costs of production. Amaz-
ing progress has been made. The in
creased use of power and the develop
ment of labor-saving and time-saving
machinery, the stepping-up of produc-
tivity per man and many other factors
have served to make American manu-
featuring the wonder of the world.
What has been accomplished in this
field is in reality equivalent to an in
dustrial revolution.
Although costs of production have
been continually lowered by these
methods, the costs. of distribution have
been increasing. We hear from all sides
serious complaints regarding the cost
to consumers.
One of the reasons why we have not
made more progress in increasing the
efficiency of distribution is the fact that
we possess relatively little comprehen-
sive information about the movement OF
commodities. We have in this country
very excellent statistics on the produc-
ton of all kinds of goods. This includes
both the material collected by the
Bureau of the Census and also the
many current series of statistics COM
piled by governmental agencies. by
trade associations, technical periodicals
and others.
Lose Sight" of Commodities.
But, statistically we practically lose
sight of every commodity once 1t is pro-
duced. In only a few instances are we
able to follow the progress OF commod-
tiles through the various stages OF
marketing and distribution. 1t Is be-
lieved by many students OF business
that more adequate information on the
movement and marketing OF commod-
tiles would enable business men to re-
duce the costs of operation very mate
rally.
That has, In fact, been proved con-
clusively by our departments pre-
liminary studies into the costs Of dis
tribution during the past several years.
The department has been trying to find
out what it costs to sell, deliver and
these particular services add to the
costs of distribution.
The departments first excursion into
this field was to examine the results
of forward-looking wholesale hard
ware dealer who had done considerable
work In this direction on his own &C
count. Through a system of allocating
10 IND III
wholesaler discovered that on approx
mately half of the $4,000 items that he
was carrying in his warehouse, he was
losing money. BY a similar study he
discovered that large proportion Of his
customers were buying in such small
quantities and under such conditions
that they were a liability to him rather
study of these facts he determined to
act upon them.
Cost Cut and Profits Rise.
AS result, he reduced the number of
commodities handled from $4,000 to
about $500. He reduced the number
Of customers on whom his statesmen
called from about 400 to TOO. He also
made large reductions in the number Of
Arms from which he purchased goods.
Through these drastic changes IN his
methods, he reduced his sales territory
about one-third: he reduced his volume
of business about one-third; but on
the basis Of three years operations he
has increased his dollar profits by ap-
proximately 35 per cent.
Another of the departments studies
was an analysis of wholesale grocery
establishment, undertaken In co-opera-
ton with the National wholesale
Grocers' Association. It was brought
out here that the profits on slow-mov-
inc items were eaten I'D long before the