A More Readers Among the Workers RICH field lies before the publishers who will put out good books having to do with labor and social problems in the United States, if this field is properly cultivated. The complex problems of the postwar period have sobered many members of the labor organizations of the country and an increasing number of them are coming to be interested in serious books that throw light on these problems. Before the war there were not more than two or three labor publications that paid any attention to the literature published on social questions. The reason for this probably lies in the fact that the higher standards of living in the United States did not impress the organized workmen with the fact that there were any labor or social problems outside the zone of union activity. In all the other English-speaking countries the publications of the labor organizations have maintained departments devoted to a consideration of books and these departments have served to raise the cultural standard of the members. In this country the attitude of organized workmen is rapidly changing. Whereas before the war the average labor publication ignored books entirely, today there are many scores of publications that attempt to digest the books of special interest to working people. Even the most conservative publications of the railroad brotherhoods, like the Locomotive Engineers' Journal, have an important department devoted to reviews of books and general literary comment. There is a marked tendency on the part of labor editors to raise the cultural standard of the members of the unions, and it is probable that if this field is properly cultivated that a new class of readers of serious books will be developed. Another fact indicating the present trend in the general labor movement is the rise of the "workers' educational" movement in the United States. For a number of years a progressive body of men in the organizations chiefly located in the Eastern States has been at work developing classes and schools for the serious study of economic history, the problems of trade unionism, child labor and social problems in general. This movement grew to such proportions that the more conservative leadership was compelled to give it attention. Last year witnessed the union of the progressive and conservative leadership in behalf of "workers' education" and today this movement has reached national proportions. It is printing its own textbooks, but it is also selecting from the lists of publishers important books for study. The whole trend of the labor movement in this country appears to forecast an increasing demand by members of unions for serious reading. It is probable that a system of union libraries can be worked out that will meet this demand and even stimulate it. There is reason for believing that the unions which have caught the spirit of the new trend could be induced to create a fund for the purpose of supplying books to their members. One opportunity appears to be especially favorable. Many of the larger local organizations have permanent headquarters where members congregate each evening on union business. Often two or three hundred men will be gathered in a room adjoining the local office awaiting their turn to consult some official. These rooms might well be stocked with good books that have a special appeal, to these members and a union library thus come to serve the awakening interest of these members in economic and social questions. Out of this might well come a system of exchanging books between unions, a sort of inter-union book exchange. The headquarters of the national unions also offer a similar opportunity. Here a stream of men, smaller in number than those that gather at the local headquarters yet continuous during the day, wait from five to twenty minutes in an outside room for the purpose of consulting some national official. The opportunity of book service is also obvious here. Whatever may be done in this matter would have to be worked out by competent persons who are aware of the opportunity. The professional book agent or anyone not acquainted with the viewpoint of the average member of a labor union would make little progress in organizing any such service. The individual entrusted with the initiative in approaching union officials should have some sympathetic understanding of the problems and the psychology of the organized wage worker. He should also acquaint himself with the current trend of events towards serious educational experiments being made in the unions of the country. So equipped he will be able to talk with confidence on the program he presents, while, at the same time, those whom he approaches will immediately understand that the person suggesting a program is interested in something more than the mere increase in the sale of books to workers as a business proposition. I Why Not More Bible Business? By F. F. Bayer Of the Oxford University Press T has been my pleasure to attend the past few conventions of the American Booksellers' Association, and I could not but be impressed by the strenuous efforts made to increase the sale of books-juveniles, fiction, etc. Each succeeding convention seems to have been gaining momentum in the great effort to "put over" the selling of more and better books. As a traveler it has been my privilege to see and know that retailers in general have not only readily availed themselves of all materials and data that would help increase their business but after giving it a thoro trial, have convinced themselves that the effort was worth while; for they have done a greater business in the past few years than ever before. And yet in this big effort to sell more books, it seems as if one of the real opportunities within the grasp of every retail bookseller has been overlooked. The most staple book on the shelves-one of the most profitable in the store and admittedly the "biggest seller" of this or any other generation, viz: "The Bible" has in this great movement practically been lost sight of, probably due to the fact that the demand is always there. The result of this has been that in many retail establishments the stock is displayed during but two seasons of the year (Christmas and Easter) and is then kept in boxes on the shelves, quite often in the rear of the store. Special efforts are made to interest people in certain books, by special displays, as it has, of course, been amply demonstrated that such displays mean larger sales, whereas "out of sight" too frequently means "out of mind.” I might also add that despite the fact that the Bible is the "best seller," there are still a few booksellers who either do not stock a single copy or carry a negligible quantity. Is it not just as logical to assume that in this day and age-when religion is more widely discussed than ever before, when church statistics show that so many people are active church members-when every day a new generation is born that will use that Book -to say nothing of the new converts-that a fine case display of Bibles, Prayer Books, etc., right in the front part of the store, every day in the year, will build up the bookseller's steady business, and enable him to dispose of three or four times the quantity he is now selling? Bibles in boxes on a shelf mean nothing to the large number of customers and potenial buyers coming into the store daily. Then, again, stop to consider the business side of it. When one sells, say a popular novel which is on display, it is a sale of two dollars or two dollars and fifty cents, and that completes the transaction; but when one arouses interest in the purchase of a Bible it is a comparatively simple matter, by pointing out the advantages and actual economy of buying a good one, to turn a two dollar sale into a five or ten dollar sale or even larger. Again, there is at all times a tremendous amount of free advertising for the Bible, since every preacher, every day urges its constant use. The leading dailies several times a week print extracts, editorials, and discussions bearing directly upon it; the most popular weeklies and magazines are at present giving wide publicity to the great question: "Is Christianity a Failure?"-Christianity whose main staff and teaching is the Bible. Why not get bookstore results from all this advertising and set up a real display in the front part of the store-where the light is good and the different types can be shown to best advantage? Reserve stock can be carried conveniently on shelves directly behind, and classified as: Text Editions; Children's Illustrated and Scholar's lines; Reference, Concordance and Teachers', etc., Bibles; Testaments, and Testament and Psalms. Prayer-Books and Prayer and Hymnals. By this arrangement, sizes, types, prices, etc., are in proper groups, thus making for quick service and sales. That a case display actually means good business is probably best indicated by the fact that practically all large department stores maintaining book departments, feature a religious section all the year und. Hence, to borrow the phrase of Rev. William L. Stidger, why not investigate these "Bags of Gold"-lying within the stores, and develop this branch of the business which offers such exceptional opportunities? ¶¶IN THE CHAPTER on "Divine Civilization" in Brentano's volume of "Bahai Scriptures" (Brentano) we find the leader of the movement writing from Haifa, Palestine: "The blessed State of California bears the utmost similarity to the Holy Land. Now, California and the Western States must earn an ideal similarity with the Holy Land and from that State and region the breath of the Holy Spirit be diffused to America and Europe." A Good Book-Making NOTHER interesting indication of the present alert interest in typography and fine printing is shown by the fact that Knopf sold out within two weeks of publication an imported edition of "A Brief Survey of Printing, History and Practice," by Stanley Morison and Holbrook Jackson, an attractive and stimulating book printed in England by the Kynoch Press. Some of this material will be familiar to those who were fortunate enough to obtain a copy of the beautiful printing supplement of the Manchester Guardian of May 23, 1922. Many of the comments in the book on printing, especially on present printing, are of much interest. Of American conditions, the authors say: "While fine printing in the United States owes its inspiration to English influence. the debt has been repaid with compound interest. So rapidly has progress been made that American leadership in all departments of commercial printing is incontestable." "In the renaissance of American printing prominent among the early workers were D. B. Updike, who founded the Merrymount Press in 1893, and Will Bradley, who issued the first number of his 'Book' in 1896." "Other amateurs were following the methods of William Pickering. Copeland & Day, of Boston, put out a number of interesting volumes composed in old face type." "The Merrymount Press is the most distinguished press in the United States, and in the purity of the traditions, the sincerity and scholarship of its productions goes far towards rivalling the most unapproachable excellence of that chief of presses, that of the University of Oxford." "The highest peak of American fine printing was reached in Cambridge by the Riverside Press in 1899, determined to create a special department of fine book production. This was placed in charge of Bruce Rogers, at one time a naval architect and more recently with F. H. Day, of Copeland & Day, a designer of books. The sixty or so volumes issued under Mr. Rogers' direction display a complete mastery of the use of old style and modern types, of decoration, of format and of every detail of binding and press work." In the chapter on "Decoration in Printing" the interesting suggestion is made that "Borders are becoming more and more important in printing, and the taste for them is increasing." The volume itself is a very attractive book, and not the least effective part is the binding, which is half cloth. In the series of books that Marshall Jones is making for Amherst College, there is a distinguished looking octavo. "Parties and Party Leaders" by Anson Daniel Morse. This is a product of the Plimpton Press. The dark binding with gilt top is most appropriate and well executed. The Harvard University Press has done the printing of the volume about the "William L. Clements' Library of Americana," published by the University of Michigan. The text is not only interesting to bookmen and book lovers, but the format, and particularly the title page and binding, are commensurate with the opportunities. From the U. P. C. Book Co. comes a monumental book on architecture, William Rotch Ware's set on "The Georgian Period." For this book a great many measured drawings and photographs have been taken, and the result is not only a sequence of beautiful pages, but the volume gives a very complete impression of the most interesting architecture in this country during the eighteenth century. An interesting experiment in textbook making, which saw its inception last year, is again shown in the second volume of the American Viewpoint Textbooks, published by Boni & Liveright. The new volume is "We and Our Work," by Joseph French Johnson. The outside of each page is given entirely to illustrations, thus using the eye to a larger extent in training the student than has ever been attempted before in book form. Another example of book-making as applied to textbooks is the very attractive "Commercial Geography," by Albert P. Brigham, published by Ginn & Co., for the Athenæum Press. It is a high development of the art of laying out textbooks and SO inserts the various types, illustrations and maps that they become a harmonious whole. The Atlantic Monthly Press has under way a series of English classics which provide new type and a rotogravure illustration in front at the modest textbook rate. The binding is such that many of the volumes should be worthy of a permanent place on the shelves. Still other new textbooks with fine qualities of book making are Ella C. Levis' "Citizenship" published by Harcourt with its excellent typography, illustrations and binding, and Ullman and Heney's "Elementary Latin," from Macmillan, attractive enough to make any wish to take up the language. A Militant Informer "There is too little sex in American literature."-Heywood Broun. Tho we're reasonably partic'lar, Still we're not like Heywood-he's For the improprieties. -Keith Preston in the Chicago Daily News. What Is Salesmanship? Written for a staff meeting of J. K. Gill Co., Portland, Oregon, by Mrs. R. W. Wilkinson L ESS of qualifications of salesmanship than of the necessity for salesmanship terest and enthusiasm everything will be just drudgery. at all. The salesman is the personal rep-A resentative of the store's management and whatever impression he creates-favorable or unfavorable-is the impression customers will carry of the store-because a customer automatically associates the personality of the salesman with the policy of the store. Generally speaking, the ethics of modern business demand that goods shall be placed on the market at a fair price. It is obvious then that it is possible to get the same kind of merchandise at many different places at about the same price. From this it follows that when selling things in open competition the only advantage is in the personality of the salesman. There is all the difference in the world between selling goods and simply supplying wants. If this were all, slot machines would be just as satisfactory and a great deal cheaper, whereas it is a well-known fact that from 50% to 85% of all goods are sold thru the intervention of the salesman. This, coupled with the fact that most everything in duplicate, including prices, shows that something besides quality of goods and fair prices is necessary for a prosperous business and that it is only by repeated orders from satisfied customers that such a business can be maintained. ever Look at it from another angle. Think of all that constitutes the kind of store where people like to trade. Think of the enormous outlay of money. A fine building-its upkeep -the windows-the advertising-all this means money going out. The salesman alone is the At the moinstrument for money coming in. ment of actually selling goods he is not only responsible for the thousands of dollars spent by the store to get a customer to come in and buy, but whether or not he makes the sales he holds in his hands the power to make or break the store's reputation. No salesman amounted to anything who did not have a decided interest in his work, who was not interested in the goods he sold or did not feel a personal interest in the house he worked for. It is for this reason that most mercantile houses expend much thought and money on the welfare and comfort of their employees. The modern idea is to develop such arrangements in the internal organization as will induce a condition of psychological contentment -simply because it is found by experience There is drudgery in that it pays to do so. Show me any prosalesmanship, of course. fession without it but even the uninteresting things are worth doing well and without in A Varied Stock SYRACUSE newspaper has recently reproduced in an historical article a facsimile of the front page of the Onondaga Register, the first number, September 28, 1814. The text on this front page is of interest, as the publisher took three of the five columns to advertise his business. The publisher was L. H. Redfield & Company, printers and booksellers. In the fashion of the advertising of the day, this display text was largely lists of books. As they were just opening the store, it is to be taken for granted that the assortment presented was what would be considered the most suitable collection for building book sales in northern New York at that time. There is a very heavy predominance of books on religion and of textbooks. The first title presented is "The Life of Jesus Christ," author not mentioned. Then follow: Weemen's "Life of Washington" "Lewis and Clarke's Travels Up the Missouri," 2 volumes. "Park's Travels in the Interior of Africa." "Christian Morals," by Hannah More. Franklin's "Essays." Dodridge's "Rise and Progress of Religion in the Soul." "Solitude Sweetened." "The Miser Married," 2 volumes. "Constitution of the United States." Hall's "Distiller." "Clarinet Instructor." "Preceptor for the Flute." Dwight's "Geography." "Greek Testament." It would seem from this list as tho there had been an effort to cover the field of book interest with a good deal of care, and, altogether, a hundred or more titles are listed. There is one special item, however, which seems to be not usually included in a list of bookstore displays, i. e., the last item listed, "Hortsen's Itch-Ointment. For sale at the Onondaga Bookstore." "Travel is merely the desire to see life without living it.”—A. C. Benson. "He that would bring the wealth of the Indies back must take the wealth of the Indies out with him.”—Old Proverb. T is very hard to separate travel books from Travel I history, they are so much alike. books invariably contain a large amount of history. History books less often merge into the travel class. It might be said that travel books are more often like history than history books are like travel. When the emphasis is on the people, the book belongs to history, when the emphasis is on the place, it belongs to travel. Travel is bound to deal with geography; history with society. The literature of travel is of various kinds : scientific travel, for the sake of natural history; exploration, for the sake of commerce; missionary travel, for the sake of religion; professional travel, to earn a living for the writer of it; tourist travel, for personal pleasure; and last of all, travel for its own sake, to see and to observe the world. Travel implies sightseeing before anything else. Blind men may write history, but no blind man ever wrote travel. A man may stay at home and write history, but no traveler, except William Combe, ever stayed at home and wrote travel. Travel demands the seeing eye, and the writing of travel should always be graphic. Illustrations are indispensable to such writing. In fact, all travel books should be illustrated before they are written. One of the most marked characteristics of modern books of travel is their leisurely nature. The words, roving, loafing, wandering, ambling, sauntering, and vagabonding are familiar travel titles. In this rapid age we seem to live in haste but to travel at leisure. A second characteristic, connected with this roaming tendency of modern travel, is its unluxuriousness. Roughing it is the fad. The traveler today is always a hobo, and it is the haunts of the hobo and the manners of other hoboes which he describes. Gentlemen travelers are few. Lord Bryce's "Memories of Travel" (Macmillan) and Maurice Baring's "Round the World in Any Number of Days" (Houghton) are two rare examples of travel books free from slumming. Travel books today seem written for stay-at [This is the fifth of a series of seven chapters, new material to be added to the forthcoming_second edition of "The Bookman's Manual." This "Travel" chapter will be published in two parts.-Editor.] homes. The books themselves are substitutes for travel. The armchair traveler, who journeys by proxy, is the one to whom they are addressed. The most popular travel books are those that feed the hunger for excitement and adventure. Quiet travel books are few. Booksellers are alive to the fact that more people read travel books for refreshing their memory, for reminiscent delight, than for acquainting themselves with the unknown. There is twice the pleasure in reading about the familiar as about the unfamiliar. One reason why more books have been written about London than about any other city in the world is because more people have visited London than any other city. The field of travel is one from which women writers are conspicuously absent. The following bibliography of travel books is selective of the best in the field. It emphasizes especially the books that belong to literature. It omits out-of-print books and fugitive works of single-volume authors. It aims rather to be inclusive of all travel writers than of all travel books. Books About Travel Books LOOMIS, LAFAYETTE C. 1824-1906. The Index Guide to Travel and Art. Scrib |