Merchandising Counsel to Aid More than Retailers

Washington, D.C., Dec. 30.-The services of E. St. Elrno Lewis have been retained by the National Lumber Manufacturers Association to address such retailer conventions as fit inwith the distinguished speaker's available dates.

Mr. Lewis occupies a unique position in American business circles as a man who has made a special study of the trade association movement in its relation to the problem of creating markets for products in the larger centers, where competition between industries is intense. He has had over thirty yeLr:' experience in advertising, sales, management, merchandising, as a general executive of an advirtising age-ncy handling a very large volume of business, as a g'en-eral executive of a large plant, as well as in the operation of his own business as ,counsel to many firms, trade groups and professional bodies.

From time to time, during this thirty year period, he has been connected with some of the outsianding-American specialty organizations, such as the National Caih Register Com.pany and the Burroughs Adding Machine Com-pany. In his advertising and sales experience he has merchandised over.seventy-five -lines of products, selling direct through retail merchants; has been sales counsel to fortv-three linis of industries; and advertising c.ounsel to over four hundred different organizations. In the past four years he has been concentrating on large groups of industry and trade through their associations, and has worked with more than one htirdred and twenty-five associations.

Recognizing his ability as a developer of nerv sales conc-eptions and plans, and as a leader of-groups, he was made the first president of the Associati,on of Njtional Advertisers; sales managers elected him a member of the exclusive New York Managers' Club;the s,teel furniture inclustrv elected him the first president of the Association of Ste;l Furniture Manufacturerii!9 was organizer and first presi- dent of the Jamestown (N.Y.) Chamber of Commerci, and .was a member of the Board of the Chamber of Commerce of the United States. He has been invited to lecture on mer,chandising, sales and trade topics before the Universities_ of Harvard, Michigan, Il[inois, Iol.a, Missouri, Northwestern, Wisconsin, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; and for the past seven years has been Visiting_Lec_turer on the subjects of sales and merchandising at the Wharton School of Finance and Commerce, IJniver-- sity of Pennsylvania.

Mr. Lewis is not an advertising agent. He has nothing to sell in the 1v_ay.of copy, adverlising space, printing, oi illustrations. He is a counselor. HiJ experience in Jiles, merchandising, advertising and marketing enables him to clarify problems and to suggest an attitude toward thenr that will, he believes, evolve a profitable solution.

The contribution by the National Lumber Manufacturers Association of Mr. Lewis' lectures to retailer conventions is part of a retail merchandising promotion plan now being matured by the National Association to- stimulate th; method of intensive selling to prospects by personal solicitation.

Old Plank Road Still Good

Racine, Wis., Dec. 30.-An old plank road was discovered buried six feet beneath the present surface of the city streets by a sewer construction crew. The road. estimated to have been built more than seventy-five years ago, was in good condition.