New Ulm weekly review. [volume] (New Ulm, Minn.) 1878-1892, 1881-03-23
AN Old MERCHANIvS RECOLLEC.
TIONS.

AAONIJO
Our great cities have new wonder Of
late years. mean those immense dry
goods stores which we see in Paris,
London, New York, Vienna, Boston,
Cincinnati. Chicago, in which are dis
played under one roof almost all the
things worn, or used for domestic pur-
poses, by man, woman or child.
An old dry-goods merchant of Lon
don, now nearly ninety, and long ago
retired from business with a large for
tune, has given his recollections of bust
ness In the good old times. There is a
periodical called the Draper's Maqazine,
devoted to the dry-goods business, and
it is in this that some months ago he
told his story.
When he was a few months past
thirteen, being stout and large for his
age. he was placed in a London dry
goods store, as boy of all work. No
wages were given him. At that time
the clerks in stores usually boarded
with their employer. On the first night
OF his service. when it was time to 90
to bed, he was shown low, truckle
bedstead, under the counter, made to
pull out and push in. But he did not
even have this bed to himself, but
shared it with another boy from the
store. On getting up in the morning,
instead of washing and dressing for the
day, he was obliged to put on some old
clothes. take down the shutters of the
store-which were so heavy he could
hardly carry them-clean the brass signs,
and the outside of the shop windows,
leaving the inside to be washed bv the
older clerks. When he had done this,
he was allowed to 90 up stairs, wash
himself, dress for the daY, and to eat
his breakfast. Then he took his place
behind the counter.
We think it wrong for boys under
fourteen to work ten hours day. But
in the stores of the olden time, both
boys and men worked from fourteen to
sixteen hours day, and nothing was
thought of it. This store, for example,
was opened soon after eight in the
morning, and the shutters were not
put up till ten in the evening. There
was much work to do after the store
was closed; and the young men, in
fact, were usually released from labor
about a quarter past eleven. On
Saturday nights the store closed at
twelve O. clock, and it was not uncom-
mon for the young men to be employed
in putting away the goods until be-
tween two and three on Sunday morn
ing.
There used to be-" the old gentle
man records, ga supper of hot beef
steaks and onions, and porter, which
we boys used to relish immensely, and
eat and drink good deal more of both
than was good for u.s.
After such weeks work, one would
think the clerks would have required
rest on Sunday. But thew did not get
much. The store was open from eight
until church time. which was then
eleven o'clock; and this was one of
the most profitable mornings in the
week. The old gentleman explains
why it was so. Almost all factories.
shops and stores were then kept open
very late, and the last thing done in
them was to pay wages, which was sell
dom accomplished until after midnight.
Hence. the apparent necessity for the
Sunday mornings business.
Another great evil mentioned by our
chronicler grew out of this bad system
OF all work and no play. The clerks,
released from business towards mid
night, were accustomed to 90 to a
tavern and spend part of the night in
drinking and carousing; Keeling home
at late hour, much the worse for
drink, and unfit for business in the
morning until they had taken another
glass. All day the clerks were in the
habit of slipping out without their hats
to the nearest tap-room for beer.
Nor was the system very different in
New York. An aged clerk to whom I
gave an outline of the old gentleman's
narrative. informs me that forty years
ago the clerks, as a rule, were detained
till very late in the evening. and often
went from the store straight to drink
ing house.
Now, let us see how it Jared with the
public who depended upon these stores
for. their dry-goods. From our old
gentleman's account, it would seem
that every transaction was a sort of
battle between the buyer and seller to
see which should cheat the other. On
the first day of his attendance he wit
messed a specimen of the mode in which
a dexterous clerk could sell an article
to lady which she did not want. An
unskillful clerk had displayed too sud-
denly the entire stock of the goods of
which she was in search; upon, which
she rose to leave, saying that there was
nothing she liked. A more experienced
salesman then stepped up.
"Walk this way, madam, if you
please, and will show you something
entirely different, with which / am sure
you will be quite delighted
He took her to the other end of the
store, and then going back to the pile
which she had just rejected, snatched
up several pieces, and sold her one of
them almost Immediately. Customers,
the old merchant says, were often bull
lied into buying things they did not
"Many q half-frightened GIRL" he
remarks, shave seen 90 out of the
shop, the tears yelling up into her eyes,
and saying, Il am sure shall never1ike
it, some shawl or dress having been
forced upon her contrary to her taste or
Judgment
The new clerk, although by nature a
very honest young fellow, soon became
expert in all the tricks of the trade. It
was the custom then for employers to
allow clerks a reward for selling things
that were particularly unstable, or
which required some special skill Or inn
pudence in the seller. For, example,
they kept on hand great supply Of
what they were pleased to call
remnants, . which were supposed to
be sold very cheap; and as the public of
that day had q passion for remnants,
the master Of the shop took care to