have 3 mailing-list of 77,000 names suddenly plumped down upon you with an obligation to circularize that entire list every day in the week, Sunday excepted, is an experience that would probably not be relished by the average advertiser. That, however, is the responsibility that has lately been thrust upon the United States Government in the circulation of its newly inaugurated Official Bulletin - an official gazette launched by George Creel's Committee on Information for the purpose of selling the public on the nation's war-time activities.

This growth "over night" of a full-fledged mailing-list is but one feature of the handling of Uncle Sam's war-swollen mail that has perhaps particular interest for direct-by-mail advertisers. Thanks to the needs of war-time publicity, the Government now has in active use more than 800,000 stencils and the number is growing so rapidly that this total may be out of date before it can be put in type. "Active use"-just here is the kernel of the war-time mailing proposition.

It is doubtful if any private advertiser, not excepting the large mail-order houses, ever gave so many repeat orders for addressing as the Government departments have placed since the outbreak of the war. It is a wonder, indeed, that the stencils at Uncle Sam's centralized mailing plant have not been worn out by the frequency of the "runs" which have resulted in dispatching as many as a dozen pieces of literature to the same address within the span twenty-four hours. Not merely circulars, leaflets and Government bulletins have gone out to the Federal roster of prospects, but the big mailing-list under the di

of

rection of the Superintendent of Documents at the United States Government Printing Office is being used several times a week to broadcast Governmental war posters of one kind or another, each poster being accompanied by a request that Uncle Sam's correspondent who receives it will bestir himself to obtain display.

So far as the general public, even the advertising public, is concerned, the Superintendent of Documents at Washington has had little recognition as the rapid-fire mail advertiser that the war is disclosing him to be. The Superintendent has been tolerably well known as the active head of the Government's mail-order bookstore and has been even more familiar as the Federal "subscription agent,” maintaining more than fifty subscription lists for Government periodicals, daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly and occasional. It has, however, required the, exigencies of the war to reveal this versatile executive as a captain of direct advertising.

MAIL LISTS NOW ALL KEPT IN ONE DEPARTMENT

Formerly each institution under the Government had its own mailing department and maintained there mailing-lists so subdivided as to permit of specialization, geographical or otherwise, in circularizing. As though in anticipation of the pressure of a war publicity and educational campaign, arrangements were carried out a few years ago whereby all the Federal mailinglists were mobilized at the headquarters of the Superintendent of Documents. The plan has proved effective in preventing duplication in mailing and has also enabled a standardization of mailing method that is accounted advantageous.

Ordinarily, three operatives are capable of taking care of the changes in Uncle Sam's 937 different mailing-lists-changes in address and additions that do not ordinarily average more than 10,000 a month--but extra help has been necessary since the outbreak of the war in order to cut stencils for the great number of new names added to the lists. The stencils for all Government lists are kept in metal trays of a capacity of 400 to 500 stencils each, and an elaborate system of cross-indexing permits the prompt location of any name, no matter on what list it has place.

The contention of some advertisers and publishers that country folk (including suburbanites) do more reading than they are given credit for seems to be borne out by the mailing-lists of the Government. Not only are the rural lists the largest in the entire roster, but it is to these lists

that additions have been most numerous since war conditions stimulated a new interest in agricultural production, home canning and preserving, etc. One list used by the Department of Agriculture for its direct advertising incorporates more than 180,000 names, and another agricultural list stands at present at 125,000 names.

Advertisers who have been told that they will have to devote increased attention to "envelopestuffing," once the increased postage rates go into effect, may be interested to hear that Uncle Sam has been practicing something of the sort ever since the war began. To make sure that the full allowable weight of printed matter goes into each envelope is not, of course, a worry for Uncle Sam, because all his direct advertising is sent out under frank and he has not the incentive to seek "full measure" that will henceforth be present in the case of each private advertiser. Governmental recourse to the plan of sending out several documents under one cover has been impelled solely by a desire to conserve energy in the mailing

room, particularly to keep down the number of addressings. Evidently, Uncle Sam, in his capacity of direct advertiser, is a believer in "attack" via first-class mail because, latterly, Government wrappers for various publications bear the printed instruction that each piece, though printed matter and unsealed, is to be handled by the Post Office as first-class mail.

Almost an Automatic Store

During the last few days, representatives of the Philadelphia retail trade have visited Lockport, N. Y., to inspect a store which is one of the few that have so far been established in this country to get down to bedrock in the selling of groceries by eliminating practically all service. The store in question is one of four operated by the same man, and everything is in package form. Some of the goods are packed in a little central plant operated by the concern, ordinary paper bags being used. There is nothing sold in bulk. Goods are arranged in the store so as to be easily accessible to customers and the price is plainly shown on everything. The customer enters by a turnstile, picks one of a pile of large tin pans which are there for her use, and then goes about and waits on herself. she wishes a basket she can buy it for a few cents. After her order is complete, she passes out through the same turnstile, encountering a cashier, who tallies up her account and collects in cash. The customer then takes the goods out of the tin pan, puts the latter back on the pile, wraps her own purchases in a large paper bag and carries them home. There are but two employes in the store-one is the cashier and the other is a girl who walks about and sees that everybody is taken care of. All of the work, however, of waiting on customers is done by the customers themselves.

If

The observers from Philadelphia say that while the proprietor of these stores uses leaders as a means of getting people in, his average profits are good. His overhead expense is only 8 per cent., which gives him very much of an advantage over every other competi tor. There is some expectation that some of these stores may be opened in Philadelphia during the coming season. Modern Merchant and Grocery World.

Agency Man in Film Adver

tising

J. W. Cambridge, formerly with the Smith, Denne & Moore Agency, of Toronto, has been appointed publicity and advertising manager of the Canadian Universal Film Corporation of Toronto.

Measure

THE

Co.,

sumer.

Deliveries and telephones have been eliminated, thus at one stroke cutting out expense items which run into a startling aggregate for 1,225 stores.

The company also has abandoned for reasons of economy its former policy of issuing weekly circulars, and within the last few weeks has been conveying its messages to the customer through advertising space in the newspapers.

In this advertising is capitalized the saving which results to the customer through "carrying it home" instead of saddling a delivery and telephone charge on the prices she has to pay.

consolidated system, has already been vindicated by the sales records, which showed business only slightly below normal the first week the delivery and 'phone service was eliminated, and which

A Penny Saved

is not only a penny earned, but it's AN EARNING PENNY.

"It Pays to Carry It Home"

Did you ever think of it in just that way? A hundred pennies make a dollar and dollars are quickly and unexpectedly saved by dealing regularly at THE AMERICAN STORES-where all expectation for your trade rests on having goods best worth your buying, at fairer prices than you'll pay blagihere. That's to-day's and every day's reason; and it's accepted by a very large following of sound, sensible people, who live outside of the worry zone and show appreciation of our methods. Such confidence can only be based upon ABSOLUTE DEPENDABILITY.

We're facing conditions which have had no counterpart in our country's food supply. And although the outreach of our organizations enormously large, the key to the situation seemed to turn toward THE REDUCTION OF OPERATING EXPENSES-that we might maintain fair prices for everything to everybody. There's a heap of helpfulness an all this, and really prac tical and thoroughly thrifty people see and thoroughly understand how well "IT PAYS TO CARRY IT HOME."

Flour, All Mill Brands,

12-lb. 80c

Bag

CERESOTA, PILLSBURY, GOLD MEDAL AND KING MIDAS "It Pays to Carry 11 Home"

Hawaiian Pineapple, 15c can

“It Pays to Cares it Huma"

Sliced Dried Beef. 10c pkg.

"It Paye to Camry to Ham

Uneeda Biscuit.

" Paja ku Carry it Homo"

Victor Quality Bread,

"Pay to Camry to Hamo"

5c pkg.

6c

Our Very Best Coffee, 20c lb.

"It Paye to Carry It Home"

3 Good Matches,

The Pars to Carry It Home"

Laundry Soap.

Pure Creamery Butter, 40c lb.

"It Pays to Cans it Nome"

Our Very Best Butter, 45c lb.

"It Paye to Carry it Home”

Really Fresh Eggs, 37c doz.

"It Pays to Carry it Home"

Our Choicest Eggs,

care 40c

"It Paye to Carry to Roma”

Pure Vinegar,

"It Pays to Carry it Ham" fem

10c Window Screens,

any window 30c each

"It Pays to Carry #1 Home"

32c cake Very Good Cleanser, 3c can

"to Pays to Carry it Home"

"It Pays to Carry it Home"

"It Pays to Carry It Home"

American Stores Company

EVERYWHERE IN PHILADELPHIA And Conveniently Lecated in Cities and Towns PENNSYLVANIA. NEW JERSEY, DELAWARE, MARYLAND

HOW STORES

THE

ARE SELLING IN THEIR ADVERTISING NEW POLICY REGARDING DELIVERIES

showed in the third week sales above normal.

In the meantime, the company is taking time by the forelock in its advertisements, simultaneously setting forth the advantages which

it claims for the consumer under the new system, and forestalling the development of criticism on any large part of its clientele. A recent announcement had this to say:

"Delivery and telephone service, though no doubt a convenience, was largely and broadly abused; and it was never intended that it should become such a formidable

item of expense. It crept slowly into the business, and, like the peach in the poem, it grew and grew and GREW; and became a tale of woe,' for it was a burdensome and direct tax upon the household purse.

"If you learn the way of careful folks, you'll see how wonderfully well It Pays to Carry It Home."

This slogan, "It Pays to Carry It Home," runs all through the company's advertisements, being italicized beneath each quotation.

The further explanation is attributed to Samuel Hunter, president of the company, that the expense of the telephone and delivery service, which amounted to many thousands of dollars was only one of the reasons why those services were cut out; that war conditions were making labor supply more uncertain each day; and that teamsters, chauffeurs, stablemen and other employees needed to operate and take care of the horses, wagons, trucks and pushcarts soon would be needed for military duties.

Further explanation of the betterment of the service by the step the company has taken was given by Robert Hunter to a representative of PRINTERS' INK.

"When the store manager and clerk have to see to the filling of delivery orders," he said, "they have two things on their minds at once, for they must keep right on waiting on the customers who come in, and this does not have the tendency to increase their efficiency in attending to the work strictly at hand, that of selling the customer who is in the store. Relieved of the mental burden of keeping tabs on deliveries and seeing that they are made to the various homes in time for the various

dinners, they become more of the salesman and less of the ordertaker.

"We have proved this from the experience of one store in a city not far removed from Philadelphia. This was a small store, but it did a business of $500 weekly, a large proportion of it being delivery orders. When the delivery feature was eliminated it did lose some trade among families which were not in the immediate vicinity, but in the main the men in the store, through the greater attention which they were able to give to the trade right at their doors, were successful in building up the weekly business of that store to $1200, or more than double.

"Strangely enough, some of our stores which cater to particularly wealthy districts have felt great stimulus under the new plan. The customers' automobiles and our prices seem to be a much more satisfactory combination than delivery on our part and the prices we would have to charge under that plan."

Mr. Hunter believes that the manufacturers of trade-marked and nationally advertised brands are coming pretty generally to the point where they will regard the advantages of centralized and economized distribution, as through such an organization as the American Stores Co., as overbalancing objections they may have to the cutting of retail prices on their goods. The American Stores cut prices on standard lines when they deem it good merchandising to do so, taking the stand that the goods become theirs outright by purchase and may be disposed of in any manner they see fit.

Among the company's Own stores, however, prices are uniform, being the same for the same article on the same day in such widely scattered localities as Wilmington, Ventnor, Trenton, Atlantic Highlands and Philadelphia, though deliveries of stock to the stores are made from the warehouses in Philadelphia, and the charges naturally are considerably higher to the outlying points than within the city.