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Show "INDUCEMENTS" TO RETAILERS. Goods and Valuable Article Given F the Price of the Goods. "Something will have to be done to disoourage 'inducements' to retailers, declared a wholesale grocer. "A good pure food law could do some good. These inducements move tho cupidity of tho retailer, and the consumer suffers by having imposed upon him Inferior or adulterated goods. " "What do you mean by indue inents?" The grocer handed to the inquirei a handsomely illustrated card on which were the words: "Free with 500 pieces of Jolloppy'g (that's not the name) ohewing gum, tho handsome full gilt clock here pictured at a cost to tho retailer of $3 that is, you get $5 worth of gum at retail and B$3 clock all for 93." "If two manufacturer stopped at chewing gum, the demoralization tc the trade would be slight, but this gel something for nothing idea is stimulated stimulat-ed all along the lino. It is bad enough in various lines of tobacco, but in the line of ground spices and coffee it ia absolutely pernicious. It's a luoky consumer con-sumer that gets any genuine ground spices now, or any goods that may be oheapened by mixing. Mustard is mixed With sawdust and made hot in the mouth by the addition of cayenne pepper. pep-per. So it is with other things. "Hero's a catalogue of a manufacturer manufactur-er who unblushingly labels his book 'absolutely pure spices. ' There are about 150 different articles named in it as prizes to grocers who buy these spicea in greater or less quantity. Among the Inducements are musical boxes, firearms, fire-arms, furnituro of all kinds, stoves, sewing machines, store fixtures, show cases, clocks, cyclopedias, bicycles, babj carriages, lawn mowers, mackintoshes, crockery, rugs, silverware, watches and clocks, gold headed canes, umbrellas, and so on up to delivery wagons and two seated carriages. Here's the in ducoment in the last named: " 'With 750 pounds ground spices, aV uolutely pure, any assortment of all Bpice, mustard, gingor, popper, ciuua mou, cloves, etc., at 25 cents a pound, we give one of these carriages free. Ir other words, 750 pounds of spices and tho carriage all for $187.50.' "The drug trade is afflicted with thii same sort of thing and perhaps to a great an extent as the grocery trade There ought to be some way of heading (t off. "Indianapolis News. |