REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON MERCHANDISING AND RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN ELECTRICAL APPLIANCES FOREWORD The Committee for 1916 has based its work on what it believes to be a cardinal principle in constructive effort, viz., that the work of each committee should follow logically that of the preceding year and be used as the foundation for the work of the following year. Except in those cases where the progress of the industry necessitates the complete revision of principles already set forth, there should be as little repetition or restatement as possible. Your Committee believes that the reports prepared by the committees for the years 1914 and 1915, especially the latter, are as nearly perfect text-books of appliance merchandising as it would be possible to prepare, when the fact is taken into consideration that the work of the Committee must necessarily extend over at least six or eight months of the year and that by the time the report is assembled at the end of the period much of the information collected in the beginning is already obsolete. For this reason your Committee this year has simply taken the same general lines followed in previous years, and by the appointment of sub-committees to investigate the different branches of the appliance business, has endeavored to correct and bring up to date the subjects treated in previous reports. The subjects indicated by the titles of the sub-committees would at first glance seem to parallel the work of some of the other committees of the Association, but it should be remembered that this Committee treats of its chosen topics wholly and entirely from a merchandising standpoint. For example, the National Association has appointed a Range Committee which has prepared a very complete report on the range situation, but not at all from the merchant's point of view. During the progress of its work several unusual matters have been brought to the attention of the Committee, or referred (FOR DISCUSSION SEE PAGE 773) to it, perhaps the most important of which is the situation 4 ↑ „ut by the decision of the court in the matter of the Hins patent Your Committee is glad to be able to it in the several confcrences between central station ers of this Committee and representatives of the manufacturers interested in the ad ́ustment of this situation, there has been every evidence of hearty co operation, and a very earnest attempt protest the interests of all the parties concerned, so far as :ཛ"s,‛' In comme tion with the work of the NF. L. A Wiring free the question of standardizing the connectors at the atlon e end of connecting cords has been discussed, it wens at the present tre a'most im sle to ac the progress which the Wiring Committee has Le star far fizing of other articles leads us to hope that ooperation of the manufacturers much progress mav learn the next few months Certum of the manufacturers who are seeking for a more method of poll ry in the sale of beating appliances re it a mob con mittce be appointed to corter with them I to the matter This is treated more fully in the body ittee for ling or elf old red to refer constantly to at for gregwrt of 1915, 6eally obtained suburignons ent n'er to warrant the of a new elitin, in the Fue that every art lance sales"I have a copy and in we the fullest por Me use of its It perhaps be said that the kete f the thight di- dire |