powell] TECHNOLOGY, OR THE SCIENCE OF INDUSTRIES 339
as either moral or legal security to them. The business man deposits money with the banker and draws it out on check from time to time as he uses it. A banker, having the deposits of many men, finds that he has in his custody a surplus of money which is more or less constant. This surplus he lends at interest ; he also lends his own money ; his profits, therefore, come from the lending of money — either his own or the money deposited. The banker lends money to the public, but he is especially a lender of money to his depositors ; thus, a merchant may deposit money by giving his note bearing interest, against which he draws by check.
Advertising — This leads us to the fifth element of commerce, which is advertising. In advertising, that which was first con- sidered as goods, then as freight, then as commodity, then as value, is now considered as want. The merchant's business is to supply want, and it becomes necessary for him to inform the public of the goods which he offers for their supply. The method of giving this information to the people is advertising. The primal method of advertising is by the display of the goods themselves by the merchant or his assistants ; no small propor- tion of the time of the salesmen is occupied in displaying goods to purchasers. The second method of advertising is by the display of goods in conspicuous places, especially in show-windows; this method of advertising has now become well-nigh universal ; show- cases and window-cases are arranged with deft hands in order to make goods attractive. The third method of advertising is with post-bills, which are placed in conspicuous positions — on the walls of buildings, on fences, and by the wayside, or worn on the backs of men. The fourth method of advertising is by the dis- tribution, through carriers or by the mails, of hand-bills, which are designed to inform the public of the character and prices of the goods offered for sale. The fifth method of advertising is the insertion of such business announcements in books and peri- odicals. Much of the advertising is now absorbed by the peri-
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