them.

The average retail advertisement, to be effective, must concentrate on one or two things.

ONE THING AT A TIME.

If the space is very small, less than eight inches single-column or four inches double-column, say, one article or subject is enough to cover in the individual ad. The secret of results is to select for each piece of copy the article or proposition that will have the strongest attraction for the greatest number of readers. This is where successful merchandisers demonstrate superior judgment. You will observe that the average small advertisement which impresses you most forcibly is devoted to the intensive presentation of one thing; in other words, it is a salesman, not a catalogue. Small ads gain power by concentration.

Concentrated appeal, coupled with more careful selection of advertised offers, is almost certain to make a happy difference in the traceable returns from local newspaper advertising. Because the druggist must use small space is no reason whatever for throwing away money on a two-inch or threeinch standing card which runs month after month without change, and, correspondingly, without much attention from the public. Such an advertisement is purely indexical in nature, and has no selling power.

Indeed, it is probably nothing more than a donation to the newspaper publisher, and a sheer waste of money for the druggist. The people of most small cities know where the principal drug stores are located that fact doesn't have to be advertised. The mission of the advertising is to convince the reader why the store is deserving of his or her patronage in preference to some other store.

Newspaper advertising rates to-day are at the highest level in the history of newspaper publishing. It seems a pity to see the proprietor of a small store tossing away a part of his profits in worthless

publicity, such as the following imaginary example of a neighborhood druggist's ad, set in a space one inch in depth and two columns wide:

Everything in the drug line at BRADY'S Prescriptions Compounded by Graduate Pharmacists.

Opposite Catholic Church.

Pentonton, Virginia.

Truly an example of the kind of advertisement that is quickly read and as quickly forgotten, yet in the course of a month such a notice inserted every day will result in an advertising bill of appreciable size even in those communities where newspaper rates are comparatively low.

This druggist would do better were he to list specific suggestions with prices and a little selling talk in the way of personal solicitation for business. The idea of fixing the location of the store in the reader's mind by associating it with some wellknown landmark or institution (in this case, the church) is all right, although that is not so necessary in a small town with one business street or one retail district as would be the case in a larger city. I can testify from my own experience as newspaper advertising manager that the druggist of to-day, unlike the sedate and ultra-conservative apothecary of two decades ago, appreciates the value of advertising-in fact, really wants to advertise.

However the business of the average independent druggist is more or less provincial, territorially considered, and he cannot afford to use large space continuously. He needs the assistance of some one who is able and willing to take a whole-hearted interest in helping him to prepare the kind of copy and selling talks that will bring good results from small space two or three times weekly, if his city has a daily.

OUTSIDE ASSISTANCE.

There are three sources from which such assistance may be obtained: first, the services of a local advertising agency, if the city is large enough to have such service and the druggist's business large enough to justify this investment; second, a syndicated "copy-and-cut" service for retail druggists; and third, gratuitous copy service supplied by the local newspaper's advertising personnel.

In some cities of fair size the copy service given

by the newspaper is as good as can be obtained anywhere at any price; in other smaller places, where the newspapers are less progressive or less successful, the coöperation extended, though whole-hearted enough, may not prove a very valuable supplement to the pharmacist's own ingenuity in adwriting. Most newspapers in cities of 25,000 or more nowadays subscribe to illustrating services which enable them to supply stock cuts for all kinds of retail ads. These cuts are furnished to the local advertiser without extra charge as a feature of the newspaper's service.

While one cannot quote a particular rate as being authentic throughout the country, I will generalize by saying that, under present publishing costs, 35 cents a column-inch is a very reasonable minimum rate for a local newspaper of 5000 circulation, and 50 cents an inch is the lowest practicable minimum rate for a daily of 10,000 intensive local circulation. According to these figures, the rate for the paper of 5000 circulation is proportionately higher than the rate given for the 10,000 paper, but the basic production and overhead costs of the 5000 publication are the same as those of the larger paper;

therefore, it is economically obligatory for it to ask the minimum rate which I have presumed for it.

The ideal form of local newspaper contract for the druggist, or any other retail specialty store, is one that leaves the frequency of insertion of advertising entirely within control of the advertiser. To simplify the idea, instead of signing a contract requiring the insertion of twenty inches each week for one year, it is better for the prospective retail advertiser to subscribe to a "bulk-space" contract for 1500 inches to be used "at will" during the year.

While I strongly counsel regularity in local advertising, the druggist, under the "open space" or "bulk-space" plan of contract, can use as large or as small advertisements as season and merchandising opportunities may make necessary, and he can advertise once a week part of the time, and three times each week at other times should he desire to do so. I believe that all druggists should advertise at least once a week throughout the year, but that they should conserve the bulk of their appropriations for those times of the year which past publicity experience has demonstrated are most productive of substantial results.

Quite a few people stop to look at the various windows we install and then buy later on. As far as adults are concerned immediate sales rarely materialize.

However, in a neighborhood store it pays, we have found, to make displays of children's merchandise. Youngsters will stop at a pretty window; and if it shows things they can use, be they toys or candy, they will try to dig up the money to buy.

Some stores change windows weekly, others go so far as to change their displays several times in a seven-day period. This latter method is probably very good where the transient trade is heavy, but in the home-neighborhood stores merchants will be better off if they leave a display in for at least two weeks. Such a policy means time and work saved, and it gives a longer time for the impression to

soak in. When the merchandise is of the kind which spoils easily, like candy or stationery, a fourteen-day duration is often no worse than a threeday period.

That many people fail to pay attention to windows is proved by the fact that signs clear across

the window telling of a special price reduction on some item, usually retailing at a higher figure, are not noticed. Buyers for the article come in, tell their wants, and then express pleased surprise when they are handed the change from what they thought was the usual price.

Again, certain customers think of an item they forgot to get down-town and come in. It may happen that we may have a window displaying this very merchandise, and we ask if the customer noticed it in the window. I recall quite a few who answered that they hadn't noticed. I cannot recall many who came in because of the window.

In the foregoing we do not mean to say that windows are unimportant. They are a big help, of course. Mass and quantity displays are productive of sales; beautiful windows are productive of sales. Anyhow, we've got the windows and they've got to be filled. It's the custom. People expect window displays and window displays that won't offend.

And yet and yet boosters of window displays all speak of one kind of window: the one that sells merchandise. They do not say anything about the other three or four or six or nine-which do not begin to pay their way.

Of course window displays are desirable-we

repeat it. But their main desirability should be viewed from the standpoint of esthetics. Everybody appreciates beauty. However beauty is far from the main idea, usually, and this holds especially true with regard to the big department stores in the shopping centers.

In the down-town business section people actually go window-shopping; they are down-town for the express purpose of buying. These same people, on their way home, will go past what the decorator fondly classes "a perfect scream" of a window without so much as giving it a glance.

Certain merchandise sells by suggestion, either visual or spoken. On the other hand, there are certain other kinds of goods that just will not pull trade. And it's almost a waste of space and time to attempt window sales with this kind of merchandise.

Quite recently we had a display of a certain kind of liquid paraffin. To our surprise we sold more of a competing brand. And let me say that our displays are not amateurish affairs. The majority of them are done for us by men in that business. About a year ago we took second prize for a certain window trim, getting around $35 in merchandise.

People frequently come in our store, order certain commodities and pay regular prices, regardless of the fact that a cut-rate store across the street shows a windowful of the same goods at a considerable discount.

Yet, after all has been said, we wouldn't have manufacturers discontinue the practice of supplying us with displays. We use them as they come along and are glad to get them. We never accept displays, though, unless we intend to use them.

Those of us who handle and sell the amazingly decorated toilet goods packages offered by the different manufacturers sometimes wonder whether the art departments of these various concerns actually studied the psychology of decorative appeal or have just reproduced as nearly as possible the last nightmare they happened to have had.

Many a time we have picked up a high-priced box or package and have groaned or grinned at the sight of some slant-eyed, long-necked biddy, perhaps done in a splosh of black against a hideously ugly background. We have wondered what we would have done if the fates had foisted any such a monster into our family circle.

Why are toilet goods so often put forward in such a dress? Surely there must be a reason.

Well, first and foremost, it is an accepted fact that Paris has been a pace-setter for styles for centuries, and anything having a chic, Frenchy appearance makes an immediate demand for feminine attention. Nobody will rise up to dispute this.

Again, one of the fundamental principles utilized largely by Paris style-folk, whether in the designing of hats, complexions, gowns, or toilet goods articles, is the element of sharp contrasts and unusual form. This is shown in the black court plaster patch on the rouged cheek of the old-time court lady with the powdered hair. White hair with the youthful

the black velvet neck-band and the black plaster cheek-patch increased the contrast and made it much more pronounced.

We have this same element employed to-day in the use of the shingled boyish bob-a more unlovely feminine style could scarcely be found. But because of the patent leather smoothness so unusual in woman's crowning glory, because of the contrast, this style of hair-dressing has been embraced joyfully by French style-makers.

This same element is employed by the designers of Frenchy toilet goods packages. We can turn to our shelves and show-cases and we will notice that unusual and contrasty effects are sought and emphasized. This takes the goods out of the commonplace class and causes us, unconsciously but surely, to form a mental picture which we retain with ease.

A lovely girl with fluffy bobbed hair, pearly teeth and a beautiful complexion would make a pleasing picture, but we see such girls all about us in the flesh and on magazine covers. We see them, too, in advertisements of flat-irons, of washing machines, of flour, of soap, of mops, of vacuum cleaners, of hosiery, and a hundred other things. So, to take our toilet goods package out of this group and make it entirely distinctive, a different style of illustration is often considered decidedly advantageous.

that the unusual, even the startling and the strikingly bizarre, has a business-building value. There is another big point. A lovely girl, dressed in the mode of to-day, will be quite out of fashion in two years, and in five years she will border closely on the antique. Naturally manufacturers do not want to build up popularity for a label which will soon proclaim itself a back number.

The writer remembers an excellent, even superior, toilet cream which was widely advertised and which had a lovely woman as the trade-mark. She wore a low-necked dress and a particular kind of necklace fashionable at that period, and had her hair dressed in the style of an earlier day. A lot of money was spent in building up the business and the cream had a large sale. But after a time business fell off. It was discovered that few new patrons were being won, while the old ones were dropping away. The package had become oldfashioned looking. Women were actually being repelled by it.

Still, on the other hand, there is such a thing as making the age of a toilet preparation one of its main assets-stressing the famous beauties of the French court or of early Colonial society, for instance. There are one or two on the market which go back in this manner and make claims for merit on the ground of long and successful use in high places. But the psychology of a package of this character has to be very, very carefully considered and worked out. Atmosphere and realism and sincerity must be woven into it.

However, in looking over our toilet display we will find some packages entirely different. They are purely artistic and of more or less complicated design. These packages are rich and expensive and usually carry impressive golds and rich, deep

colors.

Sometimes these packages are excellent. Sometimes they are not. If the decoration is too complicated or ornate it may bewilder and confuse, like a window carrying too many classes of goods. It may lack the simplicity of one main, outstanding character.

Then, while a few buyers of toilet goods do not flinch at breaking and spoiling a rich seal, a satin envelope, or a really beautiful box, most people do. There is still the element of colonial thrift in our make-up, and we like to feel that we are getting permanent benefit for our money. That is why Christmas packages of toilet goods sell better. If they are encased in boxes or baskets or containers which are useful after what is packed inside is removed there is a double appeal.

some manufacturer of creams has not taken this feminine foible into account and cashed in on it. It gives most women a twinge to throw away a white porcelain cold-cream jar, and so the women's magazines have recommended that these be saved for individual portions of jelly, marmalade, etc., to serve at home or offered as small gifts to friends. But who wants to offer a cold-cream jar full of strawberry jam with the words on the aluminum label "Your grandmother Used It," or "Good For the Face"?

Just the same, a small, dainty blue-and-white jar of oriental design with tiny handles, the contents being, say, half a pound, would encourage the buying of larger amounts and give a larger opportunity for a distinctive and characteristic package. Of course there are the difficulties of packing and the possibility of breakage. But these could be

overcome.

However, some of the more exquisite packages have real merit, and when such packages are offered in series including creams, powders, lotions, soaps, lipsticks, etc., we have an opportunity to build up favor for a quality line by encouraging customers to become acquainted with all the different units of the series.

All in all, there is an opportunity for a lot of study on the psychology of the toilet goods packages. At the present time the tendency is toward uniformity and, in a measure, standardization of

appearance.

Alcohol in Shop and Dispensing Bottles.

The N. A. R. D. has published the information. that the prohibition department does not require any identifying label as to the source of the alcohol when the druggist keeps alcohol on his prescription counter in what is termed a stock bottle. We caution our members that the internal revenue department is interested in collecting taxes on all alcohol, etc. These inspectors are apart from the regular prohibition department, and they look askingly at any alcohol in unstamped or unidentified containers. Your secretary still feels that if the druggists keep more than one shop bottle, or draws, say, several gallons of alcohol in gallon bottles from a barrel or other container for safety and convenience, it is still a wise precaution to identify the contents of each bottle by a label telling from which legally obtained and fully-paid stamp tax lot it was extracted. We know one permittee who lost his permit (the case was not appealed) because the department presumed the druggist had these unlabeled gallons and pints (just a few of each) ready for illegal sale. The prohibition department furthermore questioned whether the alcohol in the unlabeled containers came from the stamped barrel.-W. BRUCE PHILIP, Secretary Retail Druggists' Association of San Fran

Whether a remedy is good or bad depends upon the way we use it; though there are some remedies that are mostly good, some that are mostly bad.

CALOMEL.

Thus, calomel is of value when bowel evacuation is aimed at in the presence of vomiting-because it does not irritate the stomach and is nearly always retained. It is also valuable in diarrhea, as an evacuant at least if not as an intestinal antiseptic, which latter action is doubtful. It is decidedly useful in the symptom-complex known as "biliousness" for reasons not well understood. It is harmful, on the other hand, in spastic constipation, as it increases pain and tenesmus. It is dangerous in intestinal obstruction, not only as dangerous as are all other cathartics, but more so because of the danger of mercurialism.

Calomel should, therefore, never be used when constipation is accompanied by pain in the bowel. Because of danger of mercurialism, it should never be employed as a habitual cathartic. It should never be used simply as an evacuant. We have so many others that are safer and better. The new pharmacopoeial name of the compound cathartic pills, namely, "compound pills of mild mercurous chloride," will probably render these pills less popular, which will be all the better for the people.

LIQUID PETROLATUM.

Liquid petrolatum presents a marked contrast to calomel in that it is mostly a good remedy. It is decidedly useful in the painful constipation of the spastic colon and of colitis. In such cases, it can be used habitually, if required, without any likelihood of harm. Some women refuse to take the oil for fear of becoming stouter. This fear is, of course, groundless, as the oil is absolutely indigestible. Indeed, if one wishes to have the patient gain weight, olive oil in liberal doses is much better than petrolatum: that quantity of oil used in excess of the patient's digestive capacity acting as a laxative just like the mineral oil. I wonder if the use of liquid petrolatum is not lost sight of in cookery for the obese.

Petrolatum is useful in certain cases of abdominal pain, even if not accompanied by obvious constipation, especially if the pain is predominantly located in the left side of the abdomen. Such pain is frequently due to spasticity of the colon; and, though the patient may have one or even more bowel movements daily, the material evacuated * A paper presented at the 1926 meeting of the State Medical Society of Wisconsin.

should have been passed a day or two earlier, having been retained by spasm.

LAXATIVE SALINE.

In pain located in the right side of the abdomen, on the other hand, petrolatum may be disappointing, and salines of use. The reason for this probably lies in the fact that the contents of the intestine to the right of the midline are mostly liquid and that petrolatum exerts its beneficial action only in those portions of the bowel that have to deal with formed fecal matter, by keeping the mass softer and more plastic.

The salines, on the other hand, not only keep the material fluid, but also hasten its propulsion through the bowel, as is evidenced by the fact that they may produce an evacuation within an hour or two. In other words, they somehow favor intestinal drainage. This probably explains their value in cholecystitis and in chronic appendicitis.

The utility of the "Karlsbad cure" in certain cases of gall-bladder disease cannot be questioned; nor that a sufficiently close imitation of the factors involved leads to beneficial results even when used at home. Of late, biliary drainage by the introduction of magnesium sulphate solution by means of the duodenal tube has been exploited as giving good results in cholecystitis.

Now while I have not the least idea to question the results, I submit that we secure biliary drainage every time we place fatty food into the duodenum. Cholecystography shows that a meal rich in fat causes evacuation of the gall-bladder. Having a patient take six meals a day instead of three, just doubles the biliary drainage. If, in addition to this, we have the patient take a cupful of hot cathartic mineral water one-half hour before the larger meals, we improve biliary drainage by increasing the amount of bile secreted, and by clearing it out of the bowel. Habitual use of the duodenal tube is, of course, out of the question. More or less habitual use of dietetic-saline drainage is entirely practicable.

We know less about the evacuation of the appendix. Valuable opportunities for study are wasted right along by our being satisfied with the roentgenologist's report that the appendix empties itself slowly, instead of taking the next step and determining what may induce such an appendix to empty. Clinical results suggest that laxative saline, used as in the "Karlsbad cure," is also of value to many individuals suffering from a handicapped appendix. Far be it from me to advocate this treatment in acute appendicitis or for sufferers