SODA ADVERTISING.

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HE service back of the advertising is highly important. People are particular about what they put into their stomachs. You can fool them on some things, but you can't fool them on what they like or blind them in regard to careless attention or untidy surroundings. Good service and good advertising must go hand in hand or not at all.

There is no use getting people to try your soda unless you are able to hold them.

If your soda is all right in every respect it is easy to advertise it; give it a little momentum and it pushes itself along. Good soda ought to be well advertised; not only on account of the direct profit afforded, but also because it brings people to your store and enables you to get hold of them, and thus pays indirectly. To advertise your soda rightly you had better have a plan and adhere to it. Most of the soda advertising is on the go-as-you-please order; an occasional ad. in the newspaper and perhaps a circular once a year is about the extent of the effort.

Have a plan; decide what you will spend for the season and how you will spend it. Do all you plan at the time you planned for it. Your soda advertising can be entirely distinct from your regular advertising if you choose; you can even use a separate newspaper space if the business in sight warrants it. If your fountain and service is worthy of it, get out a booklet the first of the season telling just how and why your beverages are superior. Let the booklet contain in concise form every good reason you can scare up for asking patronage. As a suggestion, I have reproduced in this issue the matter for an eight-page booklet I once wrote for syndicate purposes, the copy being supplied at a popular price and special data being incorporated when it could be secured from the druggist ordering the booklet.

The cover and the front page of the booklet are shown here in slightly reduced fac-simile. The matter on the other pages is reproduced in smaller type than was used in the original. If any of our readers wishes to use the matter he can produce the same effect by sending it to the printer with the following:

Instructions for Printing.

Size of booklet.-Eight pages, about 32x54. Title.-36-point Howland or De Vinne condensed. Heavy border.

Body matter.-13 ems, set in 10-point Jenson or Elzevir.

Headings.-12-point Jensen or De Vinne caps. Side heads.-5-point Roman. Stock.-25x38, 100 enameled book. Ink.-Olive green or blue-black. If two colors are desired, run headings and side heads in red, balance green or black.

I noticed recently that a copy of this booklet had fallen into the hands of an amateur critic who concluded that there was something vitally wrong with it, but the faults eluded him and he would have to postpone pointing them out. I will help him. The faults of the booklet are

druggists have told me that this booklet increased their soda trade, so it will perhaps serve as a rough model. Those who care to improve on it have the privilege of doing so.

No one booklet, ad. or circular is going to produce remarkable results. A booklet paves the way for further advertising and should be supplemented several times during the season by smaller circulars. It pays to push specialties and it is well to get out little cards or folders at frequent intervals advertising those beverages that you have the exclusive sale of. It is a good plan to have a list of drinks to hand to those who visit your fountain, and in this list specialties can be made prominent by a line or two of comment on them. Window signs can be made to help. They should be short and snappy and should be changed daily. Those who have the knack of constructing catchy signs will find themselves well repaid for any effort in this line they may put forth. The newspaper ads. should be newsy and enthusiastic. The best

soda water advertising I know of is being done in a small city in the West. This druggist gets out a little folder once a month. He also uses a small special space in his newspaper, changing the ads. at frequent intervals. In these ads. he tells all the happenings of his soda business-the amount he is selling of a particular drink-what people say-how certain beverages are made-the amount of ice he uses the measures taken to insure purity and cleanliness; all of those ordinary every-day things that most advertisers overlook. This druggist increased his soda trade $800 last year.

Remainder of Matter Used in the Booklet.

There must be absolute cleanliness and critical attention to a host of details. A careful, conscientious druggist is apt to serve the best soda, and the reason is not hard to find. The qualities that make him a good druggist can't help but aid him at his fountain.

The Best Drink Drank.

A DELICIOUS BEVERAGE.

While talking of good soda, we've had in mind our own. We think we know a good deal about making this drink, and we make it as good as we know. We have a splendid new fountain this year. It was built to make still better soda when ours was already best, and it does what it was built to do. Soda making is an art that is not achieved at a bound. This year we make better soda for the years we have already made it.

Popularity does not come by chance to a soda fountain. We cannot but think we make uncommon soda, because trade increases yearly, and this year more than ever.

HOW IT HAPPENS.

Here are some of the features that make our soda more than excellent.

There Are Reasons.

Perfectly pure water, charged with natural carbonic acid gas. From the time it leaves the fountain in the basement until it streams into your glass, it touches nothing but block tin. It is pure to start with and stays pure. Then we use nothing but pure fruit juices in making our syrups. We buy the finest to be had, and use plenty of them. We are extravagant in the matter of ice -soda ought to be cold.

We use thin glasses-a little thing, but part of perfect service.

Our Hobby.

Cleanliness is our particular hobby; the inside and outside of the fountain are ready for

inspection at all times.

You Will Agree to This.

A BUSINESS SECRET.

There are two ways of running a fountainone makes money, the other makes friends. We practice the latter method, believing that in the end it pays best. This is why we supply crushed fruits with ice cream or fruited cream at 5 cents, while they cost 10 cents nearly everywhere else.

Soda water is a small part of our business, but it brings a lot of people to see us, and we want them to judge our store by what they find at the fountain.

We strive to have the best soda, just as we strive to have the best store. We aim to make each department of our business help every other department.

PRIZE ADVERTISEMENT.

The AMERICAN DRUGGIST offers a prize of One Dollar, each issue, for the best retail druggists' advertisement. The prize is this time awarded to Mr. Frank T. Babbitt, Corry, Pa.

To Get

The Prettiest
Wall Paper

take a good deal of care in se-
lecting. Come to our store
and take all the time
you like.

We know the wall paper business and will help you decide. We want to please you. If you get the paper home and do not like it, bring it back and exchange it or get your money back at

Babbitt's.

dated April, and is, I presume, to be issued monthly. It is pretty good; good enough to bring results if published regularly. There is a little tendency to scatter, one subject being treated in half a dozen places. The headings of the articles could also be made a little more striking and comprehensive. As a rule, a paper of this sort cannot be made to take the place of newspaper advertising. Both forms of publicity have their value and in most cases the best results would be had by combining them.

If this firm advertised in the newspapers for two years without apparent results there was something wrong with the papers or with their ads. There is no advertising medium for the retailer equal to the daily paper, provided the paper has an adequate circulation. Advertisers had better stick a pin right there. If they can't get results from the dailies they had better make it their business to find out why. The fault is oftener in themselves than in the newspaper.

I believe that the present method of advertising is all right. If it were a question of large ads. once or twice a week and nothing between, I should prefer smaller ads. run daily. But where the advertising is continuous, as in this case, a splurge twice a week is to be recommended. An arbitrary rule as to amount of space to be used is seldom advisable, however. Take what is needed to tell your story and no more. Any ad. as full of prices as the one sent is bound to bring results. There are a good many typographical errors in it and the De Vinne type is not a very desirable face for body matter, but the general construction of the ad. is good. It is also embellished by an extract from a job recently turned out by myself. I can, therefore, credit Mr. Smith with power of discrimination that presages success.

PRIZE ADVERTISEMENT.

construction is first rate. The ad. would have been improved if specific mention of one or two papers had been made and prices given. Some of the other ads. sent contain such information, but they were not equal to this in other respects. The body type used in this ad. is too small; a larger face could have been used in the same space.

I notice that the headlines of some of Mr. Babbitt's ads. are set entirely in upper case type. Better use upper and lower. Solid upper case is hard to read.

THE DRUG EDITOR'S

I

EXPERIMENTS.

BY M. QUAD.

COULDN'T stand it any longer, and I have moved into another buildingfar away from the drug editor and his trial-boys. The drug editor is an all-around good fellow, but he has certain ways which I object to, and I knew that I must either quarrel with him or get beyond sight and sound of his experiments.

I had scarcely taken an office alongside of the drug editor when he advertised for a boy. He explained that he wanted a willing boy, and one in the best of health, and that a boy devoted to his interests would have a steady place and a liberal salary. Of the fifty boys who called in answer, the drug editor picked out the fattest and plumpest, and a few minutes later I heard him explaining:

"Now, sonny, we will begin business. Here are two pills which I wish you to swallow right away, and you are to keep close track of any symptoms which may follow."

The boy protested, but he was a fatherless boy, with a widowed mother on his hands, and he had to either swallow the pills or lose his job. They were a new kind, sent to the editor for experiment and report; but he wasn't taking any chances himself. They didn't kill the boy, though his ears kept twitching and his hair continued to curl for the next two hours. The poor, innocent lad was just getting his nerve back when the drug editor called upon him to swallow a generous dose of a new kidney cure. There was nothing wrong with that boy's kidneys, and he tearfully protested against being experimented on, but the drug editor fixed him with his eye, and replied:

"Very well, sonny. If you had rather see your poor mother begging from door to door than surrounded by all the luxuries that wealth can buy, then so be it. It is either swallow this or go."

The boy wept for a while and then swallowed the stuff. He was taken with cramps soon after, and then the drug editor worked in a panacea on him, and made two experiments out of one. That was the beginning. I didn't feel like saying anything in opposition, but it made my heart bleed to watch that boy day after day. After three or four days the drug editor got him down to a regular routine. The first move in the morning was to sweep out the office. Then he was given a dose of some new consumption cure. Then came an errand or two and a dose of something to stir up his liver. Then he went to the post office

after stamps, and upon his return it was a spring tonic or a cure for dyspepsia. His fatness and his plumpness soon disappeared, and at the end of a fortnight he was hollow-eyed and weak in the knees. I saw that he was not long for this world unless the drug editor let up, and I mustered up courage to throw out a hint.

"Johnny? Yes, he is going fast," was the calm reply. "He hasn't got the constitution I thought he had. I don't expect he will last over two weeks more. However, boys are plenty, and I must have one to try these things on."

Two weeks later Johnny's mother sent word that he was dead, and the drug editor sat down to write another advertisement for another victim. This time he got a boy with moles on his chin and warts on his hands. The stock of salves had been piling up, and here was a boy to use 'em on. A dozen times a day his moles were touched up and his warts liberally greased, and after the third day a sure cure for cold feet and a liniment for lumbago were mixed in with the others. In a week he lost five pounds of flesh and began to have a wondering look in his eyes. The drug editor tried to brace him up by ringing in a remedy for dandruff, but the boy continued to fall away and wonder where he was at until he fell down the stairs one day and broke three ribs and was paid his salary up to date.

Then a third boy appeared. He was a frank, trusting lad, and it grieved me to see him there. He was welcomed with a dose of a new remedy for tape-worms, and before night had taken an anti-cholera mixture, submitted his corns for treatment and had four or five different porous plasters sticking to him. He trusted the drug editor, and had no guile in his heart, but he didn't last a month. His mother called and said the boy had got so nervous that he would climb a tree at sight of a bicycle, and so poor in flesh that he was like a mop-stick, and she thought he had better give up studying to be a drug editor.

There were other boys-seven or eight of them. All began and ended alike, except that the majority of them were brought to the grave. Liquids and solids -powders and ointments-salves and plasters-it made no difference to the drug editor. It was his duty to investigate and analyze in the interest of the drug trade, and he would not permit a boy to escape. In his enthusiasm he went further. He got a machine and advertised for a type-writer, and the one he selected had scarcely written "Dear Sir" on a business letter when he interrupted her to say:

"Miss Jones, I had forgotten to mention that I have just received a sure cure

for fits, and that the inventor wants a report as to its efficacy at once. Please take a tablespoonful before going any further."

"But I never had a fit of any sort," she protested.

"No? Well, you have certainly had spells of dizziness and loss of appetite, and we will try it for those complaints.'

She was a proud and obstinate girl, and rather than work for her employer's interest, she quit the job, but the one who took her place also took her regular doses until one day she was carried to the hospital. I wanted to interfere - I wanted to call in Bergh and the law, but a fear came upon me that if I interfered and drove away those trial-boys and trial-type-writers the drug editor would demand that I submit myself a victim. Yesterday he obliged the poor, wan-faced type-writer to eat half a pint of infants' food, experiment with three different pectorals and gulp down a dozen tablets, and the office boy was subjected to three sorts of squills, a cupping process and five headache powders. I was powerless to interfere, but I resolved to be no party to further murders, and when night came I moved my belongings far away. The drug editor will go right along with his experiments just the same, and office boys and type-writer girls will pale and fade and go to their doom, but I shall not be there to hear them sigh nor see them weep.

P. S.-I stop the press to announce that the drug editor had a fresh ad. in the papers this morning. That means that the office boy died during the night. The type-writer may last the week out, but her doom is surely sealed.

Wych Hazel-Not Witch Hazel. According to Mechan's Monthly the correct name for Hamamelis Virginica is not witch hazel, but Wych hazel. Our plant has no connection with the magic of the water hunter. The Black Thorn of England, Prunus spinosa, was the wood used in these divinations or whatever these superstitious practices may be termed. Hazel had a very wide meaning in the olden times, and the elm, as well as the nut now known as such, was Hazel. One of these elms, now known as Ulmus montana, was the favorite wood for making wyches or provision chests, and was, therefore, known as the Wych Hazel. In the present day it is the Wych Elm. Our Hamamelis received from the early settlers the name of Wych Hazel from the resemblance of the leaves to those of the Wych Hazel or Elm of the Old World. Language reformers imagining that wych should be spelled witch are responsible for the confusion. Wych Hazel is the correct term for our plant.

Italian Pharmacy.

The privilege system in regard to pharmacies has been in operation in Italy for some years, but is creating great dissatisfaction, and proposals are now under consideration for abolishing it. Those who hold privileges have paid for them, and they want compensation, which demand in the poverty-stricken condition of the national finances is a trifle overwhelming; but they may be got over by extending the privilege for a specified period in the next century.

Druggists and the War Tax.

LEADERS EXPRESS THEIR VIEWS.

Many Proprietors Would Relieve the Retailer of

TH

the Burden.

HE war revenue bill has been passed by the United States Senate, with certain amendments, which have failed to receive the approval of the House, and the whole measure has since been referred to a conference committee, composed of representatives from both the House and the Senate, for consideration. A report from this joint committee will probably be made public about the time this journal reaches our readers.

As passed by the Senate, a proprietary stamp tax was to be imposed upon all proprietary articles except articles of food. When the bill left the House, the stamp tax was applied on practically the same lines as the law passed during the Civil War. The Senate amendment was first made to include all proprietary articles. This amendment was afterward changed to make the stamp tax apply to medicines only, and to all medicines put up in the style similar to proprietary remedies, and recommended as a cure for any specific disease or diseases, whether made according to public formula or not. This was again amended as above indicated to include all proprietary articles except articles of food. Whether the House will or will not concur in the proposed amendment of this particular clause of the bill cannot be foretold with any degree of certainty, but it seems not improbable that the clause as now drafted will become a law, since the major portion of the opposition to the Senate amendment appears to be concentrated on other clauses of the bill involving matters of a more distinctly political complexion, such as the proposal to coin the seignorage.

LIGHT UPON

Below will be found a further installment of letters presenting the views of the leading manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers of the country upon what ex-President Davis, of the National Wholesale Druggists' Association, has well styled a question ranking with one of the seven wonders of the world. The retailers will learn with satisfaction that the manufacturers are not as a unit in the matter of advancing their prices to make the retailer bear the burden of the tax.

THE QUESTION.

The almost entire unanimity of the three branches of the trade in insisting that manufacturers shall bear the burden of the tax, as expressed in the letters which follow, is surprising. It is well known that all three branches of the trade have been in a state of confusion as to the real status of the question, and we hope that the light thrown upon it by the AMERICAN DRUGGIST will result in clearing up the situation to the lasting benefit of the trade.

Views of Manufacturers.

A Manufacturer Who Will Pay the Tax.
POND'S EXTRACT CO.,
New York.

In reply to your valued inquiry of May 21st, we have only one reply to make, as regards our business: We intend to pay the war stamp tax and not increase our prices.

We have already notified, by circular, the wholesale trade to this effect.

Make It Broad.

SCOTT & BOWNE, New York.

In reply to yours of the 21st inst., would say that it is very difficult to answer your questions categorically at this juncture, but I believe the true policy of the Government is to broaden the tax so that it will include all articles of a proprietary nature; I believe that the law should be so broad and the rate of taxation so small that it would fall lightly upon all manufacturers, so that they could afford to bear the burden. Such a tax would bring more revenue than the higher rate on a single branch of industry, and could not be called class legislation.

Good for California Fig Syrup.
R. E. QUEEN,

President California Fig Syrup Co., San Francisco, Louisville and New York.

In reply to your favor of recent date, we can only answer for ourselves that it is our inten

tion to bear the burden of the stamp tax ourselves and not attempt to throw it upon the retail druggist-that is, we intend to stamp all our goods from the date the stamp act goes into effect, without increasing the price of same.

Listerine Pays the Tax. LAMBERT PHARMACAL CO.,

St. Louis, Mo.

We regard the proposed stamp tax as excessive and burdensome, amounting, as it does, to about 7 per cent of our receipts, and we do not wonder that many proprietors consider it too heavy for them to bear, and that they therefore shift the whole responsibility upon the consumer, reasoning that an extra charge of a few cents upon each package will be paid without complaint.

As a rule, "the consumer pays the tax," but we are not at all sure that he will willingly do so under present circumstances; on the contrary, we believe it to be dangerous to the business life of any highly-esteemed and popular article sold at an arbitrary price, to increase its cost to the consumer one penny, and believing, as we do, that the proposed tax will be of short duration, we submit to the whole burden, even if it should cause us to do business without profit for a time, rather than to disturb our well established trade relations.

A stamp tax was in force when our products were placed upon the market eighteen years ago, and when it was abolished, we increased the size of the package of our leading specialty-Listerine-without change in price, but upon specialties having a more limited sale, we have derived full benefit from abolition of the stamp act ever since its abatement, and consequently feel that in the present emergency

of our Government we should be willing to submit to its reenactment. You may therefore say to your readers, that in the event of the passage of the proposed stamp act, there will be no change in the price of Listerine or other specialties of the Lambert Pharmacal Company.

Manufacturers Are Able to Bear the Tax. BILLINGS, CLAPP & CO.,

Boston, Mass.

Referring to your inquiry of May 17th, in our opinion, at a time like the present, the manufacturers of proprietary medicines should be willing to pay out of their own pockets any reasonable stamp tax. We do not think it will be advisable to increase the retail price of any pro prietary articles as a result of this tax. It would certainly increase substitution of non-secrets. The manufacturer is better able to bear the burden of this tax than the retailer, and we think the majority of manufacturers will do so. At al events, on our proprietary articles we shall see to it that neither the jobber or the retailer has to pay any more for his goods as a result.

Tax All Trade-marked Articles.
HANCE BROTHERS & WHITE,

Philadelphia, Pa.

We note with interest the editorial in your issue of May 25th in regard to the stamp tax. Ever since the first of the month we have been constantly working on the subject, bringing the different points before the presidents and secretaries of the different pharmaceutical associations with a view to having some decided action taken by the druggists, and there is not a day to be lost.

Congress seems to be coming round a little more to the view of thinking that a much larger revenue can be raised by taxing all trade-marked articles, and that is the great point to try to make.

The writer is still very busy on this particular subject, or would write you at greater length. However, he incloses copies of recent letters that we have been sending out, which we think will be of interest to you.

You have probably noticed that a circular of a western contemporary of yours in regard to the stamp tax, in which it states that certain words printed in the circular in black type were inserted in the act at the solicitation of a committee that visited Washington, of which the writer was a member. This is not the case, as the words are just the same as they were in the original house bill. We only mention this to indicate what a pity it is that there should be any misunderstanding and working at purposes on such an important subject when everyone ought to be pulling together.

cross

Judging from the daily papers, etc., druggists are beginning to awake to the importance of this tax, and are inundating Congress with letters, which we sincerely trust will not have the effect of causing too great confusion.

Tax, After All, Will Benefit the Retailer.
GEO. J. SEABURY,
New York.

You ask me to respond to four very important queries on the subject of the taxation of proprietary articles. I do so with pleasure and in justice to all who are concerned in such special taxation.

Your first question is, Should not the manufacturers bear the burden of the Tax? This query I would answer in the negative, for the simple reason that the manufacturer is governed by the laws of production, and since he is compelled by the laws of commerce to purchase his crude materials in the same manner that all other branches of trade and commerce do, he must necessarily consider these factors in the cost of production, plus labor and the general expense of transacting business, especially where such products are subject to competition, or in exceptional cases-purely proprietary.

un

The goods liable to the taxation in the jobber's hands when the law goes into effect could be sent to the retailer on his orders without stamps, unless he sold them at retail. In the meantime the manufacturers will fill all orders stamped to the jobber and the long price will be advanced to include the price of stamps. So far as our own proprietary articles are involved, the list will be advanced to include stamps; the discount will be the same as heretofore.

The mere affixing of stamps on medicinal preparations and charging cost for same does not increase profits to the manufacturer. The tax itself under these conditions affects neither the wholesaler nor the retailer; it falls, as usual, on the consumer, yet at the same time the tax is borne by all alike, but the advantage is clearly in the interest of the wholesaler. He pays nothing for affixing stamps, yet at the same time he preserves his margin of profit intact, provided he does not violate the contract price.

In communities where full retail prices are obtained they may regret being compelled to part with a small part of the profit, yet in centres where cutting is still fashionable the revenue tax should induce druggists to raise their selling prices.

Second. Should retailers advance prices to meet the Government tax? In a war tax such as has been created for the second time since our war for union, it has become necessary for the Government to raise special revenue, and as men and brethren, we believe in supporting the Government in such an emergency, although a temporary measure; it is our duty to stand by our colors as a whole, and loyally support "Old Glory."

I have often believed that we should not have been selected as a special class for special taxation, but the fact remains that we are, and we must grin and bear it. If I were in either house of Congress at Washington, I would demand that all manufacturers should be treated alike, and that there was no good reason why we should be selected for special taxation. It would indeed be a wholesome movement among retailers if the stamp tax came as a blessing in disguise in order to advance the retail price of all proprietary and perfected articles to their le gitimate retailing prices. I do not propose to place any arguments in the hands of our cutting enemies, but the fact remains that better prices can be obtained by affixing stamps to stocks on hand, or when sold to the consumer, which will bring about a more prosperous condition.

It may be barely possible that manufacturers of proprietary articles that are sold through extravagant advertising and false claims might be willing to affix stamps at their scheduled prices, but where goods are sold close and where they possess merit, manufacturers of the latter articles will not submit to the loss of stamps on their goods, but will simply raise the long price sufficiently to cover the stamp tax itself. The cost on 25-cent articles at least would bear not much more in the advance of prices than the cost of stamps.

Third. Is it not possible that the entire burden of taxation may fall upon the retail druggist? My answer to this query is also in the negative. During the past five years the disposition of the retail trade as a whole has been to purchase small stocks. Very few have a large quantity of any taxable article. Therefore the small number of articles in each line to which they will be obliged to affix stamps will be reduced to a minimum. If they have been in the habit of cutting prices they will add the stamp. and I hope they will. Just enough to demand the actual retail price.

The situation is not a complex one for in a short while the stocks in the hands of manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers will be quickly disposed of, all new supplies being furnished with the affixed stamp, thus creating a quick change, and important revenue for the Government. Therefore, I reiterate that the burden of taxation will not fall upon the retail druggist. I believe it will be a benefit to him since he will be able to demand a better price for the articles sold to the

consumer.

Fourth. If the burden falls entirely on the retailer will it not impel him to engage further in the manufacture of non-secrets? This question can be best answered as individuals by every pharmacist in the United States. It is simply a casuistical question with him as to whether he will engage in the manufacture of household remedies compounded from his own formulas or purchase non-secret remedies, the composition of which he is entirely ignorant of, unless he is willing to believe the printed formulas.

If the amendments to Section B of the stamp tax on proprietary articles prevail, then all manufacturers of non-secret remedies will be compelled to affix stamps to their preparations, and I know that it would be greatly to the credit of all pharmacists throughout the United States if they produced their own household, secret or non-secret remedies, and affixed stamps themselves.

If I had more time to meditate over this subject I would probably add considerable to these

reflections, but it is my judgment on the whole that the branch that will be most benefited by this temporary war tax measure, especially in large cities, will be the retail druggist.

Manufacturer Says Manufacturers Must Bear the Tax.

A. MAJOR,

Major Cement Co., New York. Replying to your questions of the 21st inst. would say:

First. The manufacturers will have to stand the burden, as they are now getting all they can for their goods.

Second. The price of a proprietary article is as well known as the name, therefore, the retailer can't get more than the advertised price.

Third. Only for goods he has on hand, unless the manufacturer chooses to send a man around to stamp all goods the retailers have on hand.

Fourth. I do not think it will any more than it does now; he will have to stamp his own goods as well, and that is an additional expense.

Manufacturers Should Pay the Tax. THE MELLOR & RITTENHOUSE COMPANY Philadelphia, Pa.

Answering your questions in letter of May 21st would say:

First. Manufacturers of proprietary medicines should pay the tax.

Second. Retailers should not, and probably would not, advance the prices of articles on which they did not pay the tax.

Third. It is quite possible that the burden of taxation may fall upon the retail druggist.

Fourth. In writer's opinion it (the tax) might be a blessing in disguise if it compelled the retailer to do more manufacturing than at present, as I think he has fallen into the bad habit of buying everything, whereas there are quite a number of articles he should prepare himself.

Stamp Tax a Serious Question.

C. F. Weller,

President National Wholesale Druggists' Association, Omaha, Neb.

The proposed stamp tax is a serious question, and will demand a great deal of careful consideration on the part of manufacturers and jobbers. It does not seem just that the manufacturer should bear the burden of this tax.

The question is how can he avoid it? It seems simple enough on the face of it, for the manufacturer to advance his prices covering the amount of the tax, and for the retailer to advance proportionately. An action of this kind might have some beneficial results in bringing houses into line that are now selling leading proprietary goods at cut prices. It is possible, however, as you say, that the entire burden of taxation might fall upon the retailer, but if so it will be his own fault. There is no reason under the heavens why the retailer should sell a dollar preparation for 90 cents, or even less. Patent medicines are not a luxury. They are bought by people who need them, and it makes but little difference to the consumer whether he pays 90 cents per bottle or $1 per bottle, and if the retailers would be true to their own interests they would find no difficulty in maintaining prices. It is a lamentable fact and one that should be considered in all seriousness by the manufacturer and jobber, that the retailers are now handling non-secrets very extensively.

Never in the history of this country was there a time when non-secret remedies were as much in evidence as they are at the present time. Every retail store is manufacturing something and trying to sell it as a substitute for some standard preparation. The department stores generally carry a full line of non-secret goods, and when a standard article is called for they invariably try to sell something else, and many times succeed in doing so. Taking all these things into consideration, we believe that the manufacturer should be very careful in considering this question, and if his goods are already selling at a price that will warrant his paying the additional tax, he should do so. If, however, his goods are being sold on a very small margin of profit, as is the case with some of the proprietary goods, we believe the price should be advanced covering the amount of the tax. We notice with regret, however, that some manufacturers are advancing their prices out of all proportion to the amount of tax imposed. We think they make a mistake in doing so and will see the result later on.

Non-secret goods are coming to the front simply on account of the cut-rate problem. The dealer is loth to sell an article that costs him 60 cents for 59 cents, and will do his best to sell something of his own manufacture "same size bottle," which he will endeavor to make the customer believe is "equally as good," which costs from 15 to 20 cents.

Make No Distinction.

M. N. KLINE, Chairman of Committee on Proprietary Goods National Wholesale Druggists' Association.

I trust you will note the alteration in Schedule B, as reported from Washington on Monday, in which it is proposed to restrict the application of the stamp tax to proprietary articles of a medicinal character. I know that it is needless to

remind you that the retail and wholesale druggists should be promptly informed of this change through the AMERICAN DRUGGIST, which practically relieves manufacturers of all trade-marked and patented articles not of a medicinal character from the burden of this bill, or, in other words, proposes to saddle it upon the proprietary medicine men and druggists almost exclusively. Let the alarm be sounded through the AMERICAN DRUGGIST, and I think the members of Congress will soon realize that while the druggists are willing to assume their share of the burden, they will not submit to being singled out in this

way.

Manufacturer Should Pay. NOYES BROS. & CUTLER,

St. Paul, Minn.

In regard to your inquiry about the proposed stamp tax, it is hard to say just where the burden should be placed-that it should be proportionately and equitably distributed, goes without saying. And while this is true in theory, it does not work out in practice, so certain lines of manufactured goods will probably always have to bear an undue proportion of taxes. While it would be hard to defend the practice as reasonable or just, yet, as a matter of fact, patent medicines have always been considered a fair subject of special taxation. If this must be, the simplest plan is to place the tax on the goods when and where manufactured, and let the manufacturer increase his price, if he sees fit; but it is not fair, where the manufacturer's price is a fixed one, and the retail price is also fixed by the manufacturer, to throw the burden upon the retailer. Indeed, of the two, the manufacturer and not the retailer should properly pay it. My answer to this question is so general that it does away with the necessity for (further)

answer to those which follow it.

Burden Will Not Fall on the Retailer. J. C. ELIEL, Ex-President National Wholesale Druggists' Association, Minneapolis, Minn.

Answering question No. 1 in your letter of the 17th inst., Should not the manufacturer bear the burden of the tax? I would say that it is not possible for the jobber to answer that question, as he does not know what the manufacturer's margin is above his advertising and other expenses. As this no doubt differs largely I would say that some manufacturers should bear the burden, particularly those whose present prices include the former tax.

Second, Should the retailer advance prices to meet the Government tax? Certainly he should, wherever cut prices are in vogue. It was the jobber's idea that the retailer could in such cases consistently advance his prices and re-arrange them on the base of the new cost to his own advantage.

Third. Is it not possible that the entire burden of taxation fall upon the retail druggist? I would reply it is possible, but not probable, and that matter is largely in the hands of our retail friends. I admit that where cutting does not obtain and the retailer is getting the full advertised price, the burden of the tax and consequent increased cost will without doubt fall upon him, but the retailer who is so fortunately situated can bear the burden and yet make a very handsome and satisfactory profit.