Evening Star Newspaper, May 2, 1926, Page 21

CHAIN STORE FIGHT GROWING STRONGER Manufacturers and Inde- | pendent Merchants Seeking to Curb Cut Rates. BY HARDEN COLFAX. ‘turers and independent re- . fighting what they de- be as a menace to their continued existence in the grc stores and in certain cl . appear to have lost, least, their fight for istance. It is not prob- ittee on in terstate and foreign commerce will report the so-called price maintenance | bill, on which intensive hearings have Dbeen concluded. But the fight over what methods of aistribution shall be followed in the United States will be continued, it is entirely safe to prophesy, whether within the halls of Congress or with out, und with rather strong indica tions that there will result radical nges in settled practices and pol selling merchandise to the consumer. Terror of Chain Store. Over the head of the independent | nerchant there dangles the terror of ling chain store, with its| wfacturer orm of fear th come when the outlets of his products will be limited to a few cat systems, which he must please on their terms or go out of busine T'his is the picture painted by advo- such measures the price bill. Opponents of this slative proposals declare too futur there t the day ntenance other le; any such picture entire 1 1 the result of 1 Lo laughed away with th dawn Out of the increasing struggle which marks the retail field, the con- imer is much more likely to receive | lenefit than injury, for the search to | sosts of distribution, which now of nearly 50 haser’s dollar, is | in a dozen diff di- | and of ssing stran pressed before tha Jlouse committee recently with unprecedented vigor and opposed with an equal intensity. The bill, brief, would permit the produ de-marked merchun- v with the dis- tributor the price at which the goods should be sold to th sumer. May Refuse to Sell. Under the oresen: law, contract is in restr: ough a producer may refuse to sell v one he chooses and thus m: eliminate from his list price cutters if he desires, but he cannot threaten with this action in advance. . for whose goods there strong demand, thus already can, \d do, dictate resale prices by their known policy, but less powerful man- ufacturers and those who distribute through jobbers have a difficult time yreing their desires in such mat- any_such It is contended by the American Fair Trade League, supporting the price maintenance bill, that only through a fixed resale price on stand- . trade-marked gouds can the pro- er protect his good will and the ndependent distributor protect him- self against cutrate sales by com- petitors on standard goods. Tt is argued that the competitors make up losses or low profits in this direction by high prices on goods whose normal price the consumer does not know. On the other hand, it is contended by opponents of such measures, not- | able among whom are the members of | the National Retail Dry Goods As- sociation, representing several thou- tand department stores and speclalty chops, that such a law would give a few producers the power to combine | in secret and control the price of any | given commodity, and that merchants | would lose their individuality and be- come mere agents for manufacturers. Opposing the bill_also are the Ameri- -an Federation of Labor, the National Grange and the American Farm Bureau Federation, which fear the result of such legislation would hit the consumer in his pocketbook. Many Chain Stores. Whatever the merits of the contro- it is plain that there s a! b in_merchandising. Figure. iven the House committes showed that whereas 20 years ago there were few chain stores in this country, the Jatest statistics established that there are mow 1,300 systems of grocery ~tores, 1,279 systems of drug stores, 058 systems of dry goods and mil- inery stores, 215 systems of cloak and nge Impo It has alw: people of this community—our of satisfaction to those who h and tests, have convincingly work. We feel that our custamers more satisfactorily serve the while suggestions:in the use o for every purpose. The Foer Wall 1105-1107 Sev: | Frar | after and Announcement s been the object of this store to so conduct its business that it will be of greatest possible service to the chandise it is our policy to adhere rigidly to this one stand- ard—that we must sell only those products which will render the greatest measure of service and give the greatest degree It is in keeping with this policy that we have added a line of paints and varnishes, which, after thorough investigation We are the exclusive distributors for Lowe Brothers Paints and Varnishes part. It has required a considerable investment. It is a step forward. It puts us in a position to more completely and than ever before. It enables us not only to render greater service through finer merchandise, but also to provide our customers with decorative plans, color harmonies and worth- OIL POLLUTION THE SUNDAY STAR. WASHINGTO! PROHIBITION STUDIED BY MARITIME NATIONS Conference Here June 8 Will Seek to Protect Shores by Preventing Ships From Discharging Oily Matter. Oil poliution prohibition, resembling in some respects that raised by law and treaty against rum runners, is n the making. Thirteen nations are supporting oil pollution bans and their representa- tives have been invited by the United States, leader of the reform movement, to meet in Washington beginning June 8 to consider the formulation of proposals for dealing with the problem through the inter- national agrement. Should the conference succeed in its mission effective means will be devised to protect ocean and river communities in the United States from los: involving damages to bathing beaches, 'shore properties, public health, hazards and de- struction of marine and wild life. Such losses have been estimated by Federal authorities at millions of dol- | lars annually and found them to constitute a real menace to the nation. Before Secretary Kellogg issued the invitations to Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Japan, Netherland: Spain and inced that it was necessary to eliminate pollution originating on the high seas in order to rid the terri torial waters of this country from oil pollution. The Secretary’s conviction on this point was reached after he had painstakingly studied the volu- niinous findings*of the Government's inter-departmental committee on oil pollution of Navigable waters, just made public by the State Department. Complaints More Numerous. The committee’s report, submitted exhaustive investigations of pollution in American waters, inland coastal, showed the Secretary hat more complaints of ofl pollution hitve been made since Congress passed the Ol Pollution act in 1924, than had Dbeen made previous to that enact- ment. Of the 69 Atlantic units reporting only 27 showed a complete absence of pollution in waters in their vicinity. On the Guif Coast the eight stations reporting showed waters of about four of their number to be free of pollu tion. The same condition was found to exist along the Great Lakes shores, while the Pacific_Coast_stations_re. Greece, suit stores and 205 systems of five- and-ten-cent stores. Some of these | systems are local to a single city; | others are sectional, and still others | are national in scope. The committee also was told that of the §35,000.- | 000,000 annual retail trade of the country, one-third is done by 15,000 concerns, leaving two-thirds to be divided among 1,263,000 concerns. Independent dealers recently have increased the tendency. to form to- gether for common purchases of | stocks as one means of meeting chain | store competition. It is more likely that future developments will be along this and similar lines than through la: 00000 The High Grade Established 1842 Pianos Sold Direct from the Factory We Invite You to Visit Our Warerooms 1340 G St. N.W. J. C. CONLIFF, Mgr. THE PAGODA Albert J. Osgood 1720 H Street N.W. Brocaded Chinese Silk Crepe, 28 i“‘f $3'25 Chinese Colored Pongee, 33 in., Japanese Pongee, 12-momume, 33 in, $l.w per yard .. rtant customers. In selecting mer- onor us with their patronage. demonstrated their superior will welcome this move on our decorators of this community ported- that out of 25 areas investi- gated only & were free of pollution. According to the committee, prac- tically all agencies engaged in_the production, transportation, handling or use of ofl must be regarded as actual or potentia! land sources of ofl pollution of coastal territorial waters. The principal sources are listed nu- merically as follows: Oil field opera- tors, ofl terminals and loading points, refinerles, gas plants, industrial ship repalr yards, rallroads g or transporting oll and sewer systems discharging waste automo- bile olls and greases. The marine sources are enumerated in this sequence: Sea-going oil-burning and oll.cargo ships; other floating craft, including coal burning ships, tugboats, oil barges, floating dry docks and inland water ofl-burning and oll.cargo vessels. ‘‘Sea-going ofl- burning and oll-cargo ships are be- lieved to be the only important direct cause of oil pollution in non-terri- torial waters,” the report said. Property Values Hurt. Effects of oil pollution upon bath- ing beaches and shore properties, the committee declared, were ‘‘frequently injurious” and tend to “Injure the value of property, since non-industrial seaslde property derives its value primarily from the recreational and esthetle advantages of a clean beach and clean water.” “Oil pollution _increases the fire hazard to shore structures and float- ing craft. A survey of coastal condi- tions indlcates that marine and wild lite have been adversely affected by oil pollution. “Investigations Indicate that the fishing industry suffers from ofl pol lution primarily due to the driving of fish from their accustomed spawning and feeding grounds and the fouling of boats and fishing gear. Birds com: ing in contact with masses of heavy oil may become so fouled that they cannot resume flight and may subse- quently perish.” The committee held that since its study had been conducted primarily with a view to stimulating interna- tional prohibition of ofl poilution, it would not attempt to recommend pre- Q N NN NV N N W T NI NI T NI NININ TN A NN AN NAN N IN TNV GG NN N N VNV VTNV N TN TN NN TN NN f paint, varnish and wallpaper Paper Co., Inc. enth St. NW. Phone Main 7988 and 7987 ventlve measures for pollution origi- nating on land. That phase of the pollution problem, it sald, ‘“can be dealt with so far as may be deemed advisable by national or local law or regulations.” Decrease in Pollution Held Possible. Regarding pollution originating on the high seas, however, the commit- tee expressed the conviction that the elimination of high seas pollution matters by international agreement would result in a decided decrease of pollution. . Three recommendations designed to achleve® the elimination of pollution on the high seas were submitted to Secretary Kellogg and are virtually certain to be brought to the attention of the conference when it convenes next month. They are: 1. That ships be prohibited from pumping out ofl or olly mixtures at sea, and that they be required to utilize facilitles in harbors for the collection and disposal of such ac- cumulations. 2. That the discharge of ofl or ofly mixtures within a stated distance of any shore be prohibited, and that ship officers be required to make suitable log entries coveringdischarges of olls. 3. That each oil burning or cargo ship be equipped with a device which would separate out the ofl or olly part of the mixtures. In connection with the third recom. mendation, the report cited the de- velopment and succeseful employ- ment of the oil separating device. “Speclal attention has been given to separating devices,” the committee sald “Extensive investigations of, and experiments with, such devices have been carried out. A study of such olly mixtures indicates that they may be usually separated without un- due difficulty by comparatively simple separators. ““The indications are that the oily mixtures discharged from ships at | sea contain about one-fourth of 1| per cent to 1 per cent of ofl. In vestigations show that, when such | mixtures are passed through the more successful separators, the effluent | does not usually contain an average | of more than .01 of one per cent of ofl. “It thus appears that more than 95 per cent of such ofl may be re- covered. Aside from the prevention of ofl pollution, the installation of separators on indlvidual ships will result in the conservation of ofl, and may yleld a profitable return to ship operators notwithstanding the invest- ment required for installation.” | The rate for electricity in homes of | Jerusalem now is 40 cents a kilowatt hour. D. O, MAY 2, 1926—PART 1. Youthful Movie Entertainer Injured, Sister Killed, When Machine Explodes Special Dispatch to The SOUTH ORANGE J., May 1.— ‘When Louis Lelong, jr., rushed down the stairs of his home Christmas morning and found awalting him a wonderful motion plceture machine, electrically driven and projecting films in the same fashion as the ma- chines of the big theaters, he quickly decided, with the openheartedness that comes to boys of 14, that all the neighbors’ children, rich or poor, should share the joys of the gift. “Dad,” he snid to his father, of Le- long Bros, a big refinery of the Oranges, “I'll fix up a theater in the laundry and have a regular movie show every Saturday.” Since then the laundry has been crowded on. Saturday mornings with his playmates while Louis proudly ran the machine and watched the plc- tures—changed weekly. The children gathered this morning, but only for a few minutes. Hardly had the picture started when they rushed out—all but Louis and his sister Mary, aged 3. They reached only the steps amid smoke and flames from an explosion of the machine. They were taken to Orangc Memorial Plospital, but a few hours later Mary died and doctors hold little hope of saving Louls’ life. The children who fled were so fright- ened when the machine and film ex- ploded that they did not even stop to tell Mrs. Lelong. They just kept run- ning. It was 10 minutes later that she smelled smoke, ran to the laundry and dragged out her unconscious son and daughter. Little damage was done to the laundry. The machine was just odds and ends after the explosion. Fire department officials presume it is the old story—a short-circuit. Gets Hawaiian Post. First Lieut. Albert J. Lubbe, Signal Corps, of the office of the Chlef Signal officer, War Department, has been or- dered to Hawall for duty. A proot copy of the Treaty of Ver- sallles, signed by Lloyd George and M. Clemenceau, was recently sold at auction in Parfs for $470. THE JACK OF ALL TRADES 1012 51522 2022 #1022 b T tem Ppublic Fandmede Flates 3 nade Pisies out et silver and all-porcelain. Twenty.five years of good. honest dentistry Is eut record. 2 surrounding _cities towns s posit ot "ot rellabllity ‘and Tor dentlstry that ls natural looking, Tasting”and s DR. FREIOT satisfled patients In Washington and Droot suaranteed. Masds 1n Avena. oo CAN NEVER COMPETE WITH THE SPECIALIST Graduate and registered specialists handis your dental work here. has but one aim, {o render the very high- est_and most complete servics poseibls to the Our. co-operative «ys- R ol 25TH ANNIVERSARY Thoussnds of Tesms of Payment May be Arreaged 407 Seventh St. N. W. 407 CB NEXT T0 KAY'S JEWELRY STORE The ‘i targe will find here. Benefit of the Doubt. From the Pitteburgh Chronicle-Telegraph. Quizzing a boy 1 not always so easy as it seems. Here is an instance in which a New Yorker came out second best in a passage of repartee with a lad named Richard, who looked after the hat room in a well known cafe. The diner started out of the cafe after his meal and was seized, as Richard handed his hat, with an im- pulse to quiz the lad. “Is this my hat” he demanded. BLANKETS “I don't know, sir.’” “Well, then, why do you hand it to me if you don’t know whether it is my hat_or mnot?" “Because it is the one you handed to me when you came in” sald Richard. — o Maj. 0'Leary Transferred. Maj. Herbert O'Leary, Ordnance Department, has been relieved from duty at the War Department and or- dered to duty at the United States Armory, Springfield, Mass. - CLEANED By the Carmack Method —insures you cleanliness and appear- ance that cannot be excelled and, we believe, not even equaled in this city. TO INTRODUCE THIS NEW KIND OF SERVICE We Are Doing This Work at Half Regular Prices Double Blankets, 75¢ Single Blankets, 50c Carmack Dry Cleaning Co. 1120 Queen St. N.E. Phone for Estimate, Lincoln 239 OFFICES: 2469 18th St. N.W. No. 6 Dupont Circle FRAN KLIN New Prices On Series 1l Cars - SEDAN '\ This model sold a year ago for $3200. The new prices and improve- ments place it on level obtainable. the Aighest value The same is- true throughout the entire Franklin line. The Franklin is the fastest car over the road. Nothing can equal it in * riding comfort, handling ease,depend- ability and economy. Franklin sales in 1925 ran 42% ahead of 1924, and increased faster Salesroom—1503 Connecticut Ave. N.W. \IU\I\I\IV\IV\I\I\I\I\I\’\IV\IV\IVV\I\IV\I\IV F. O. B. oW #2790 SYRACUSE than those of either the fine car field or the industry as a whole. And 1926 sales are ahead of 1925. That is popularity. The sales record is also recognition of the quality represented by the Series 11 Franklin, which becomes even more notable at today’s prices. Franklin prices include full equip- ment, even to spare tire, tube, cover and lock. Budget payments arranged, if desired. FRANKLIN MOTOR CAR CO. HARRY W. BURR Other Franklin Dealers in This Vicinity Culpeper—Coons Bros. Motor Co. Service—1814 E St. N.W. Richmond—United Motors, Inc. o Baltimore—The Franklin Motor Car Co. . \IV\I\I\I\IV\I\I\IJ Col. 636 Franklin 5232 \NAV VOV OV AV O VOO VN VIO Y N Y VYV VN TV VN TV OV VN Y N Y A O VO Y VY YV YV VYV OOOOY