The Manitowoc tribune. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1866-1878, 1875-01-28
MAKING IT WARM FOR CHICAGO.

Ifin Is well known Throughout the entire
Northwest and deserves the reputation
it has earned:
"A PRINCELY DRY GOODS STORE.
Ii the course of the afternoon the
writer's footsteps took him into Wis
consin street, where the most prominent
object that struck his gaze was the
magnificent building of t. A. Chapman
& Co., which encloses one Of the largest
dry goods stores in the west. It is a
four-story cream-colored brick-front
structure, and handsomely ornamented.
Milwaukee is justly proud of this beau&t-
full dry goods mart, for no city in the
west can show one more elegant or bet
ter adapted to the trade Field, Letter
& Co.'S, on State street, Chicago, may
be larger, but in the symmetry of it's
proportions and the quiet, good taste of
it's ornamentation certainly does not
excel the house of Messrs. Chapman &
Go.
The beauty of the exterior prompted
me to step within and see whether, as in
many cases [ have discovered in my
Chicago experience, the interior was
sacrificed to outside looks. [ was
agreeably surprised to find the interior
fitted up with that quiet elegance indi-
cat1ve of good sense in the proprietor.
There was nothing of the gilt-edged
gingerbread order in the decorations,
but the ceilings were frescoed in the
highest style of that art, and the
shelvings and counters finished with
cunning handiwork. Beauty of con-
struction and convenience of the pur-
of the builder. To further this purpose
a grand rotunda sweeps up from the
first floor to the roof, which is covered
with glass, and down this pours a food
Of light which enables the purchaser to
critically examine the texture of goods
even on the darkest of days. The store
is devoted exclusively to the retail trade.
No wholesaling is done whatever, and
yet the yearly business of the firm
amounts up in the millions. In extent
Of business 1t is excelled by but two Or
three houses, whether wholesale OF re-
tail, in the northwest. It may be news
to your Chicago readers to hear that
Milwaukee has dry goods house Of
such proportions but it should be re-
membered that Milwaukee is not ST.
Louis, and it's people are of the same
go-ahead, energetic class as Chicago
possesses. The secret of Messrs. Chap
man & Co.'s success is that they have
the reputation of selling cheaply, and
the reason Of their selling cheaply is
because they buy cheaply. Cash is the
basis of all their transactions. This
principle has given them the confidence
of both manufacturers and the public,
and happily has enabled them to steer
safely through panics and depressions
in trade when many noble house was
crippled and borne down. Their prices
are about the same as jobbing prices.
This is fact that your readers should
know. High prices have held sway TOO
long in Chicago already. You can run
up from Chicago in the morning and
get back the same NIGHT, and if you
| have to purchase dry goods the differ
ence between what you would pay and
what you would have to pay at any re-
tail store ID Chicago would considerably
more than meet your travelling expenses.
MI. Z. a. Chapman, the senior part
ner, is notable example Of the self
made man. He is native of the far.
away state Of Maine, where he passed
his boyhood years working in the sum
mer to gain the wherewithal to KEEP
him at school in the winter. In this
way he laid the foundation for an educa.
ton which is essentially practical an6
analytical. Eighteen years ago he came
to Milwaukee, possessing little but s
stout heart, an honest reputation. an6
an indomitable viii. His ready, goot
sense told him that Milwaukee wa:
destined to be city OF importance, and
there he decided to stick his stake ant
make his fortdne. He laid down for hi:
motto "Square Dealing and Low
Prices He asked for patronage. I
came beyond his expectations, and to
day, whether as citizen or a business
man, no one stands higher in Milwaukee
than T. A. Chapman. After the city
grew and rival houses sprung up, it wa
the personal popularity and untarnisheC
reputation that Mr.. Chapman still main
tanned that kept him his supremacy
He has ever been public-spiritet
citizens, and whatever might tend Il
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