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Show I MM PRICES IN I PLAIN FIGURES H Coic Sys'cm Disappearing Be- Cu-wj of Abuses it E.i- H couraged. I JMBOKEO BY THE LEADERS H tl.-'-'-e to Somt Extent Forced by HB Uuri, Many Insisting 'on Plain H Hcuri Oilflin of Cads Sy- Hj urn (Jot Clearly Known. HB Am lurk. Aiming tin' lex notice- BH dill' mill liMpiiiliiliI fluiliKi's tliut huve H Mken ti'tnv In tiii husliipMi world In HHj llii' 'r.( few yi'iirN Iiiih been the grail- HHJ mil iliiiiii'iiiiiiif of codes In cniinec- Hj linn ii li in lei' tickets mid tliu murk H tag of the viilues of the merchandise HI In iiiilii (li:iiti-. Wlillc ninny concern HHr mill (iik tt pricing their linen In code, HHj Hit' inn.o leaders have very largely Hj uliiiiiilnucil i In; practice. Smaller con- HJ rerun have followed suit to some ex- HHT tt'til. luit others huve been lonth to jiut plnln figures on their goods. HHI 'J'lip change from code to figures In HHJ vrl'vr. i'li'e, nccorillng to Informn-. HHJ tliui tu licit In tills market, ban been HHJ for. cil in i-'oiiii' extent by the buyers. HHJ TIi frr nit' ninny retailer nnd speclul HHj t-iijii" mr tin- big store who will not HHj jMiir ii-' it iiiiirni which hides It HHJ prli'' Ih'Ii'ihI ii Voile. The reason one HHJ tui'ii ImjM' .:ive recently for this Is HHJ linn tin- i -oi le iIoi'm not mean the same HHJ to nil buyers when translated Into fig- Hj are. In other words, ho asserted that HHj the ii'-e of it endu Is merely a subter- HHJ time by ini'mi of wlilch different buy- HHJ prs ciin lie (.'barged different prices for HHJ the mine nu-rcliundlso without their HHJ knowing it. HJ Orloln Not Clear. HJ Just where nnd by whom the code HHj aystem of marking prices wan orlgl- HB nntrit appears to bo not clearly known. BH The reason why It was adopted Is also BH something of n puzzle, although plans- BH llile solutions nre offered. About the HJ enly thing regnrdlng It thnt Is nt nil HHI Melinite Is that It came Into' being HB years ngn. when It was the custom of HJ the manufacturers nnd wholesalers to BH buitil a kind of Chinese wall around HB their business nnd station n regiment HB f idlers nt every gate. In those HE iaj. according to trade veterans, HJ eotirmerclal spying was a high art, HJ and DMire tlmn one mun had bis palm BH ctom1 with silver for posing ns a HJ buyer and thus obtaining price data HJ f the competitors of the merchant HJ -who hired him. In those days any- BH thing approaching the opra-prlce as- HJ soriatlons that bad their being hero BH ttarleg the war Would huve been HB looked upon as madness, for then, tn HB all Intents nnd purpose, every mer- HJ- rhnnt regarded his compel I ton its per- HB (unnl rnenile. HB (tin- ,s the fn vorl te codes used In HB the i-irrty iI.i.vh, It N Mild, was the one HJ 'fcithetl ii the old motto. "In (inil We HJ Tnrt." T!il hml the iiilvnntiigc of HJ fonislnlng but twelve letters, with no HJ Iut-tk?nt!onn In the first ten. TIiik H y rfrnpplng the final "xt," snmethliiK HJ Ktr thlH wns arrived at; HJ INllODWBTltD HJ KJO C78DO HJ Willi this iiniingiiinent- worked out, H the rrxt was eits.w If a man were nell- HJ Jnc tiriuidrlotli ut Jf.W it ynnl, on lilx HJ pri-v ticket would appear the more HJ r !ets cryile sign O D I'. Were he HJ selling an overcoat nt $!17.'J.', the mark HJ n the ticket would bo QKND. Some- B times the code would be varied by HJ ylactng the figure 1 under the U nnd HJ aumberlng In sennence to the left In- HJ stend of to the right. Thousands of HJ miles nnd variations of original onei Bb 3nve slnre been devised. Frequently Abused. While there kcciii to be little doubt that the code c.vfjh'in wn.s njlnpted orlg- Innlly ns a protective measure, It wns ot long before It began to bo used for iiort- ulterior purposes. What was there, sonicbcxly evidently argued, to prevent the use of the code to fool tnyers as to the real price? In Its tnriy (lays, at lenst, wholesale busl- bichs was no more conducted on n strictly one-price busts than was re- . M tall selling. Therefore, not only did BJI a code price frequently mean differ- fn uuotntlon's to different buyers. M hut It often meant the mlulinum tig- ore nt which 'n yard of goods or n (rnrmeiit could- be sold. The enlon- BJI men were iermltted to get anything BB tij i-uulil above the figure indicated Bf y Ilic. code, mid as they were paid BJ Si fiiinpnrlKon , with wbur they sold, BH ihey tried to get ull the truttlc would BB 'iiu-. Thnt way of doing hu.ilues pre- BJ mfTeif In one of the biggest wholesale Bb koiiM- lii the country for years. It Is' BB ald. mid the gentle art of buying BH ilieri wax rendeied more dllllcult by BH Uie fan that practically every kind BH ; uurrHiandiSH sold by the concern BH irtif it illfferent code, HB hoiluiicpH like lhoe noted above M Hxw. Iixcii imrnllelcd mnny times, lie- BH ninTiu' (o the buyers heretofore men- HB itmifil. In lute yeitrH, however, nnloi- HB men have hml les leeway. If any ut HB aJl iu connection with fixing prices. HB f'cciini-p of Ibis the double-price sys- HB ii'tn t" dlireri'i.t buyers Is "worked" BH iu i in the siilesrooms than on the Rj pi.'iir. Also, It Is assorted, the prne- H tUi- referred to U now very largely HJ riiriitiii'd to the garment trndi. In HJHJ Die hnnds of a smooth worker, usual- WM $.- a member of the firm or the no- HB mlteif .genornl representative, I In; Hi' ttyptlc co!o letters can meiin' '$370' Hj to one buyer and $37.'JA to another. BH Hoan evcu'lesa.- - - vr mo -.-. |