GROCERS' ORDER CARDS.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1424, 26 April 1912, Page 8

GROCERS' ORDER CARDS.

PECULIAR CASE IN COURT. (By Tel«raDh.-Fross Association.) Auckland, April 25. An unusual case was heard hi tlio Magistrate's Court yesterday by Mr. C. C. Kettle, S.II. it appeared, on the evidence, much of which had been taken on commission iu Wellington, that Mr. A. M'Neil, who was described as a journalist and also as the manager for tho plaintiffs (the Grocers' Order Card Company) had evolved a rather ingenious, if slightly complicated, system, enabling grocers, storekeepers, and other providers of tho necessaries of life to come into closer touch with consumers. The idea was a simple one. On a card about domy folin in size tho names of all advertisers iritli the company were printed in red ink, and iu smaller black letters there appeared a list of the "leading lines" which these tradespeople were prepared to supply. It was agreed between the Grocers' Order Card Company and its clients that 50,000 of these cards should be printed for tho North Island. It was not denied that the printers in Wellington had supplied the number of cards, and the project was that the cards were to be distributed by tho grocers, storekeepers, dealers, and others who advertised on the cards, amongst their customers, who would bo asked to hang tho cards up in some convenient place in their dwellings, so that when a traveller camo along each householder could at once refer to the card, check the list of her requirements by it, and at once answer tho questions, "What shall I order to-day?" The defendant, J. A. Bock, is a chemist of Union Street, Auckland, and against him a claim for ,£lO was made by tho plaintiff company, as they said he h;id not complied with tho terms of the contract. The claim was in respect of the advertisement published by the company for the defendant. Defendant repudiated any obligation, because, as he said, there had been several serious mistakes in his published advertisements, and such contractions as "podr" for "powder" and "preptns" for "preparations" were -useless as advertisements intended in attract the attention of housewives, who might lie quite ignorant of (ho extent to which contractions in orthography arc sometimes allowed to puss nowadays. llorcovor. Hip plaintiff could not swear positively that a list of the sroc.T.-. etc. which de'. IViuliiiit claimed uns an essential feature of the agreement (lml had been supplied. Defendant and his daughter, who during his absence from town had kept hi< books and dealt with bis business ciirrespnuilence, >wcire that such ;\ IM had never reached tlipni. The plaintiffs worn nonsuited.