The Clock that Had no Hands by Herbert Kaufman

Newspaper advertising is to business, what hands are to a clock. It is a direct and "certain" means of letting the public know "what you are doing". In these days of intense and vigilant commercial contest, a dealer who does not advertise is like "a clock that has no hands". He has no way of recording his movements. He can no more expect a twentieth century success with nineteenth century methods, than he can wear the same sized shoes as a "man", which fitted him in his "boyhood".

His father and mother were content with neighborhood shops and bobtail cars; nothing better could be had in their day. They were accustomed to "seek" the merchant instead of being sought "by" him. They dealt "around the corner" in one-story shops which depended upon the "immediate friends" of the dealer for support. So long as the city was made up of such neighborhood units, each with a full outfit of butchers, bakers, clothiers, jewelers, furniture dealers and shoemakers, it was possible for the proprietors of these little establishments to exist and make a profit.