“We always warn our customers of all classes to 
carry reasonable reserves, particularly in the winter 
months, but the writer does not believe, for the rea- 
sons herein stated, that it is sound business policy to 
try to induce distributors and retailers to revert to 
the old practice of carrying the heavy supplies of 
former years.” 
THE DRUG INDUSTRY 
Mr. Harry B. Mason, assistant to the 
president of Messrs. Parke, Davis & Com- 
pany, who are large manufacturers and 
wholesale dealers in drugs and chemical prod- 
ucts, advises that they are not affected by 
present buying practices. He states: 
“We do find in the drug business a tendency on 
the part of many retailers to buy from hand-to- 
mouth, Many doctrinaires have spread pretty ef- 
fectively the gospel of quick turnovers, but you 
doubtless realize that stock turnovers constitute a 
two-edged sword which cuts both ways. Our mes- 
sage to retailers is always this: buy in small quan- 
tities the material which doesn’t sell very well, but 
buy in larger quantities the merchandise which you 
zan get behind and create a demand for. In such an 
event you reduce your costs, avoid the ‘just out’ 
answer to the consumer, and have a sufficient stock 
to invite your merchandising efforts. 
“But, to sum up the question, I am bound to say 
that in our business it is a comparatively simple 
matter to adjust production to sales. We have been 
in business a long time and we know from previous 
years just about what we shall sell of a given item 
unless we get behind it and give it special advertising 
effort. We are rarely left with too much merchan- 
dise, and we are rarely short of important products. 
Personally I feel sorry for the poor devil who is 
making hats or shoes that everybody wants this 
week but that nobody wants next week ™ 
VIEWS OF RAILROAD EXECUTIVES 
Mr. P. E. CrowLEy, president of the New 
York Central Lines, in commenting upon the 
problem from the standpoint of the railroads, 
advises as follows: “I feel quite sure that re- 
tail merchants are not alone in the current 
benefit from improved railroad service— 
greater punctuality and shorter time involved 
in transportation of goods. This must help 
all in proportion as they patronize the service. 
Tt seems to me that the railroads should not 
relax one whit in their efforts to maintain 
and steadily improve this quality of service 
in view of the intimate effect that it must 
have upon the amount of capital necessary to 
employ in a given physical volume of trade 
where the time the goods are in the hands of 
the railroads for transportation becomes a 
factor.” 
Mr. Crowley has also viewed the problem 
from the broader economic aspect and with 
respect thereto he expresses the following 
opinion: 
“To the extent that so-called *hand-to-mouth’ buy- 
ing increases turnover of merchandise in proportion 
to the capital employed it would seem to be a little 
dificult to discover the practice to be unsound. 
Insofar as the increased turnover in relation to capi- 
‘al employed develops efficiency, with consequent 
ower ultimate cost to the consumer, it would seem 
to be a favorable tendency. Perhaps the increase in 
buying that would result from lower manufacturing 
costs attendant upon a larger volume, together with 
nore favorable credits and discounts to the trade 
would increase the tendency of merchants to buy 
ind carry stocks and thus bear a larger part of the 
burden of employed capital. It is possible there is 
some psychology in the country that curtails com- 
nitments due to lack of conviction in the equilibrium 
of values, international relationships, tariff and labor 
factors, not only within some of the important com- 
mercial nations, but related one with the other. To 
the extent there is such psychology the only ultimate 
remedy is the gradual working out of the conditions 
to a basis that inspires ereater faith.” 
Tue New York, New HaveN AnD 
Hartrorp Rariroap CoMpPANY 
Mr. E. J. Pearson, who is president of 
The New York, New Haven and Hartford 
Railroad Company as well as of The New 
England Steamship Company, has considered 
the problem purely from the standpoint of 
the inventory which it is necessary for the 
railroads to keep on hand at all times in 
order to care for their current needs. He 
points out that a railroad is different from a 
retailer inasmuch as it is itself the ultimate 
consumer and therefore has to purchase only, 
as a usual proposition, the material that is 
practically standard to all railroads of the 
country. With reference to the New Haven