of a medium and of the firms which have declared it a successful puller.

Results Shown by the Keyed Ad.—After the question of choosing the medium and of placing the contract is disposed of, the advertiser must carefully watch the results of his experiment. His advertisement has been keyed, perhaps by the business address, the department letter, the individual department head, or the

name of the catalog. He may safely check the returns with a card system similar to that suggested in Figures III and IV. In keying results it is again necessary to secure a common basis, and here it is the actual cost of every inquiry and sale. Again, the $1,000 medium may be more economical than the $10 one. The advertiser knows what he can afford to allow out of each sale to apply on the general account of publicity. He may tell by a glance at his card system whether a specific magazine is above or below the minimum standard. A single month, however, is not a fair test.

The cards should therefore be arranged to cover sixmonth periods.

System and Concentration.-Finally there must be system in the campaign itself. An aimless distribution which may include practically every publication is wasted energy. Concentration is a fundamental requirement and is elementary to system and success.

FILING OF WANT CARDS

A simple method of maintaining a record of quotations and purchases, and facilitating the taking of stock, is given by W. E. Miles.

Want cards save time, maintain a record of quotations and purchases, show the quantity of goods bought and the profit made from them any period, and save time in taking stock.

Individual Card.-There is a card for every article. As shown in Figure I, "Lye, Lewis, case 4-doz., weight 42 lbs.," would head the card for Lewis Lye. Space is

allowed for the jobber's quotations, the date of purchase, quantity bought, price paid, retail price and profits, all on one line.

Perpetual Record of Grades and Prices.-The cards are arranged alphabetically. When an article is out or wanted the card is placed in front of the "Wants" guide card. The buyer runs over his want cards every day, and each card shows him at a glance quotations, what he has paid, how much he has sold, and the profit made. This record may be kept for years. Different brands of an article can be quickly compared for selling and profit-earning qualities.

The want cards form a complete catalogue of stock, and in taking stock, save the time of writing out the articles and prices. The date, quantity on hand and extension may be written in red ink, and this stands for the inventory. The profits on each article for the year can be quickly added.

A want card can be made out as quickly as the item can be entered in a want book, and when once written it is good for ten, twenty, or as many orders as the card is made to accommodate.

The want card is the official price maker. If a clerk

is in doubt about the selling price of an article, he finds it quickly on the want card.

Profits. The greatest value of the want card is the story it tells about profits. The buyer has all the actual facts before him; he knows how every article sells, and how much profit each earns. He quickly learns the brands to push and the brands to throw out, and what to clean up. In fact, the want card places a merchant's business at his fingertips and saves him time over every other system.

Of Service to Both Buyer and Manufacturer.-While this system is a good thing for the buyer, it will be a better thing for the manufacturer. Suppose that instead of catalogues and trade journal advertising a manufacturer should send out to a list of retailers, selected from the books of mercantile agencies, these cards, a card for each item. The retailer would at once incorporate the cards in his system, and the complete data concerning his product are constantly under the fingertips of the buyers.

He

Suppose that a man has a good list of grocers. would sell them the blank card forms, with cases, and solicit advertising from the manufacturers.

The gro

cers would want cases and blank forms to go with the manufacturers' cards, and the manufacturers would want to use cards in order to have their advertising matter incorporated in the buyers' index-card system, as shown in Figure II.

Many manufacturers and jobbers give retailers want books, and the cards could be sold for the same purpose, the name or product being advertised on each card.

This system gives the buyer a uniform catalogue, and at the same time, by the use of color, cuts and artistic typography, the manufacturer can make his advertising more distinctive than it is possible in trade journals. If manufacturer's cards were sent out periodically, postage, express charges and printing costs would be reduced, and manufacturers and jobbers could be induced to send their changes, special information and quotations on cards.

FACTORY SHIPMENTS

This is an example of an adaptable system and one of value, contributed by Lawrence L. Hall.

This system, which was installed in the factory of Hilliard & Tabor, at Haverhill, Massachusetts, after many weeks of experimenting and a careful study of the needs of the factory, has now been in operation for a year, and works to the entire satisfaction of the company.

How Records Are Kept of All Orders.-At this factory the packing and shipping rooms are on the same floor. As the same man has to do with both departments, one card answers for two uses. The trade is divided between the jobbing and retail trade. The orders are entered in books, those from jobbers going into what is termed the "S" book, and retail orders in the "T" book.

On the customers' cards an initial is used to designate, such as "J" after the firm name of jobbers. The card also contains the page on which the order is entered. This is placed in the upper left-hand corner of the card (Figure I), and on the first ruled line is