Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-11-05
ADVERTISING URGED.
AS BUSINESS NEED.
Merchants Advised TO Con
centrate on Adjustments
to Present Conditions.
By JOHN r. SINCLAIR.

By JOhN r. SlNILAkHs
special Dispatch to The star.
NEW YORK, November 5.--Arthur
gertig, New York merchandising ac-
Aountant says that there's always q
tendency for business to become over
stocked when price levels are falling.
Ne points out that the average business
man uses the dollar-and-centS stand
Srd of comparison for inventories and
that when the decline in unit prices IS
80 per cent decline Of 10 per cent IN
the dollar value of inventory represents
the actual increase In unit inventories
Actually, the dollar value Of inven-
tories should be substantially lower
than last year." said Mr.. Fertig re-
Gently, because the reduction in unit
cost makes 1t possible to replace the
same units for less money"
Many businesses are cutting down
advertising in these days, on the theory
that 1t Is a luxury that can be dis
pensed with. Upon this subject. Mr..
Fertig makes this observation:
Advertising is an esSential-not
luxury. Focus attention on the char
acter of the copy. The effectiveness of
your copy depends in large measure on
its relation to changing external fac-
tors"
Mr.. Fertig's advice to the business
man today Is get adjusted. Change the
business to meet present conditions.
Tear yourself loose from the crowd.
Forget the possibilities of the future.
Focus on the present, and meet the
issues now-today. Then, instead OF
figuring that the good times are going
to be Just around the corner, he says,
'wel have rounded that corner
Suggests Highway Building
Build the superhighways now and
uroyide work for millions Of people
over a long term of years." suggests
John j. Raskob.
He has made an outstanding success In
the automobile field. He believes that
building superhighways now would build
M further industries to care for IAN
annual automobile demand OF I,0OO,OOU
or s,000,00 motor cars, requiring the
production of countless millions OF dol
lars in materials of every kind, with
consequently more stable conditions"
The Raskob plan would call Tor the
elimination of all grade crossings, thus
preventing any possibility Of a trans
portation glut in the future.
Venezuelan Gasoline
There has been much complaint re-
rentIy regarding the vast amount OF
gasoline entering the Eastern Seaboard
Of the United from Venezuela, causing
q Generalization in the prices in the
The Dutch Shell is supreme In Vene-
e1ela today. It has one OF the largest
refineries in the world there, and ven.
eza1elan oil production is now the second
largest in the world.
UNLESS something is done to protect
American oil. overproduction VIII ruin
iIs " said a big oil operator TO me yes
terday. "As a matter of fact, we are
heinr drowned with the imports Of for
eirn oil, especially from Venezuela and
you have mentioned from time TO
time the necessity Of tarin on copper
! 10 prevent foreign coppers from coming
! in to demoralize the purely American
COPPER industry" he added. Let me
saw that there's just as urgent need
/. for q duty on oil imports as there Is
on copper Ask any operator IN tne
Eastern seaboard and see what ne says.
And there is plenty OF truth IN tne
observation.
Raw Material Prices.
one business observer made the point
recently that If the merchants through
out the country would buy more s.oc a1
themselves, irstead Of asking the genera
uublic to buy more goods at retail, they
would ind the public responding.
This In itself would scarcely meet
tl1e problem The raw material prices
have been receding right along. Natu-
rally, merchants hesitate about buying
any great amount OF GOODS; because s.a s, ans
profits are usually absorbed In the lower
) price level.
ii IS true that raw material prices
have been moving down much raster
than the prices of manufactured goods,
or the goods ct retail. But now with
inventories Of manufactured goods very
low. ii would seem as If the large lnven-
] tories of raw materials should be abb
! s0rbed relatively faster than has been
the case during the last IL months. THIS
situation, itself, should be basis Tor
optimism, not pessimism
At the risk of being worrisome, let us
repeat this observation that have
mentioned time and again in this col
llnrl: Business conditions will not inn
prove until the commodity price level
Is stabilized at some definite figure
Just how this will be accomplished
remains in doubt, but It must De brought
about before there's any great improve
ment In business. Every student OF bust
ness knows that.
Warner Brothers Program. :
Warner Brothers, who less than three
years ago offered to sell their entire
business for 81 600 900, have begun one
Of the most pretentious building pro-
grams ever undertaken in any industry.
This week, they announced plans for
the immediate erection Of pretentious
MIN exchanges in Detroit, Los Angeles,
San Francisco, Omaha, Cincinnati. At
lanta. Seattle Portland, Milwaukee, st.
Louis Pittsburgh and Indianapolis.
Only recently they have built ex-
changes in Chicago, Boston. Minneapo-
lis, Buffalo. Dallas, Kansas City, Phila-
delplaia, Cleveland and New Orleans
This ambitious building program Is
designed to house the Warner Broth
ers' organization as well as the First
National Pictures. the Vitaphone Co.
Continental Theaters Accessories, Inc:
the Brunswick Co. Industrial Films,
Inc, and various other subsidiaries. in
GLIDING four music companies which
have now placed this company in the
dominant position Of being the largest
publishers of sheet music in the world.
At the same time construction has
already started on the new 1O-Story
Warner Brothers home ofices IN New
York City, while another 10-stoEy build
ing to house the shipping and account
ing department of the Warner Broth
ers' Music Co. is almost complete.
The bt(lings are being undertaken
at this time because Of the prevailing
low building cost and to help in meet
ing the unemployment situation.
This is our answer 70 the walls OF
the pessimistS" said Sam E. Morris,
vice president ard general manager.
tCcpyright, 1890. By the North American
Newspaper Alliance.)
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