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Show Finds Business Looking Better In 50,000 Mile Trip Over U. S. BI OB BliES M M CM Hll President Associated Advertising clubs of the World, who has Juil completed com-pleted a tour of f0.000 miles through the United Sta'cs and Canada, studying stu-dying business conditions in more than 200 rit;c8, including ngden: Written especially for the NEA Service. Ser-vice. CHICAGO, May ID National business busi-ness begins to look better Thu j true despite the coad situation, which of course is retarding the return of prosperity, particularly In the Iron and steel and allied Industries. In Pennsylvania I found that many steel mills ar,e reluctant to blow In! blast furnaces in Bplte of a good de-j BP I -I for steel, because of the danger of fuel shortage. In terms of real prosperity, then ' since that Is measured in merchandise, not In money the worker is getting a greater power to purchase. the things he needs and wants than ho l had at the highest peak of his war prosperity. For example, if h still wants silk shirts, io can buy three of them to- : day for the price of one in IS 19. The small but welcome advance In the price of agricultural products has given a decided Impetus to business There has been improvement In both manufacturing and retail business in many Unas and In all parts of the country But there (s still mu. h unsettlement In merchandising methods. Bargain sales and fictitious values based on war-price comparisons are still mm h In evidence, and aro doing much to Increase buyer-resistance, thus lending lend-ing up the cost of selling. It seems hard for somo merchants to realize that retail advertising Is Simply an Invitation to the customer to come IdIo tho store and compare what wo wild about the merchandise in the advertisement with tho actual! merchandise In the store. If a customer comes In twice In response re-sponse to offerings of, say. "luft milts i rworth up to $75 at $17.98" and finds that tho few attractive offerings were. jail gone by 9 o'clock; or if she rumen to get some "fullfaehloned silk stockings stock-ings at $1.98" onl to discover theyi are neither silk nor full fashioned, it is no wonder that she will not havei much faith in that particular mer- There is. however, a constant and I marked Improvement along this iinj ' III is due largely, we like to think to the development of tho Better Husl-j ness bureaus of the A. A. C of W in I all the huge centers of commerce. A complete return of prosperity, 'must ivall upon the stabilizing of la -I bor and of prices. It must also wait' upon a resumption of foreign trade based upon payment in acceptable se Icurltles, since foreign gold bas almost given out, and foreign goods in large. I volume cannot find a place in our I markets for some time to come In the meantime. however, the Hituntlon Is Improving slowly but sure-; ly from day to day. and there Is no occasion for pessimism. i . fCop right. 1922. by NEA Service). |