, 1881-10-09

Aoo1-l FFENl 4-EOUR PAl
and efficient public service i'll. Congress, in
ne Common Council, III the fields Of public
charltles and good morals, rs well rs in the
THE TRIBUNE and all good citizens must re:
joice that a house so thoroughly: idcntiied
with all general praiseworthy public enter.
pe,5;es er;es enjoys t IS; So large measure Of pros
the rising generation. in showing that Just
regard for the public good and practical
sollcltude Tor its material and moral ad-
vancelne,1t is compatible viii, increasing
financial prosperity.
The firm began business originally on
South Water street, but, ontsrowiIg its ac-
coln,nodations there, it built st5re at Il, &.
and ~ Wabash avenue in 1851, which was
Thought to be very large at that time. They
nue. into business street, being the first
wholesale house OH that avenue south of
Lake street They remained there thirteen
years, till their increasing trade required
large and beautiful store still further south,
| at JOG, l1s ITO, and l12 Wabash avenue, to
which they, removed IN the spring Of 1Ss0
They were burnt out Sept. !, of the. same
{hey' DC began % to ' rebuid, tS ill., rem rsinoving 1ne
temporarily to e and Il Wabash avenue.
In a very short time they were back in their
rebuilt store, which they occupied till they
| Were again burned out III the great fire OF
Oct. 9, 1871 At both these. fires they lost
heavily, but paid I'LL their Indebtedness And
| this great calamity, instead Of dislAearte1liug
| anu paralyzing theln. only served to arouse
them to new energy and greater enterprise.
ihey speedily extemporized big shanty On
the ~Lake-Front, which they occupied till
they built their present spacious store, on
the north si.le Of Monroe street, extending
from Franklin to Market. street. 1t is five
stories above the basement, aud they use for
| '0f1trAE.
sly floors, 227 by $50 feet. Some idea Of tho
magnitude of their business may be cor
ceiyeI from the fact that to do it requires.
| i'll their store alone, nearly six acres OF floor
room besides two large warehouses for
storing duplicate stock; that they employ
about 500 clerks and use !, regiment Of truck
horses M to do the i'll ami out freight.
Their trade covers Il vast extent of terri
and from the Alleghenics to the Pacific, III
[ Guiding Canada and the number of their
customers may be. estimated BY the fact
that they have 5000 correspondents.
trate the stupendous character Of the busi-
| ness TRANSACTIONS Of this house, as well as
the growing greatness and future possibili-
ties OF the city, Of whicl! il is so fittlng, an
Unknown, and the ' resion surround- IL sl
| ing it regarded rs All uninllabitabie
waste. long years after the Revolution, is a
<single business house, doing an exclusively
wholesale trade handling goods in bulk and
taTs' worth Of dry goods year, requiring
more room, employing more men, exhibiting
more financial ability, foresight, and skill,
and receiving more money over its counters
than was necessary to run the whole United
of its existence
The grand principle of its administration
for the past thirty years, which, in addition
to the public confidence inspired by the stnr-
| IN
spring OF its success, was explained to lis
some years ago by the senior member Of the
1rm to have been: Large aggregate sales
and small profits from individual customers.
4 multitude OF purchasers and Immense ag-
gregate sales enabled them to make a far
profit at lower prices than smaller houses
could afford to sell their goods. They aimed
to sell cheaper than others, and to make it T,
patronize them. Thus identifying themselves
with the public interest, they have grown
and pr0spered with the growth and prospeEi-
ty of both the city and country, and are
known as chiefs in the Qry-goOdS trade
wherever Chicago is known.
Charles Go~raEe j. Co.
There is no house that has a larger or more
honorable record or has performed q more
important part in the dry goods trade Of
Chicago than Charles Gossage& Co. Bysuc-
~cession tWenty-seycn years old and one Of
the most reliable and popular houses in the
city. Its lines Of goods will compare fayora-
bly, in quality, style, and price with those Of
any house in this country, ami its customers
are among our best, most intelligent, and
apprcciatiye citizens, who spend their money
iuticiousty.
This house began business in 1854, at 114
Lake street, were next at 1G7 and 1G9 Lake,
from which they removed in 1867 to their
present location, on State and Washington
streets, being pioneers i'll the heglra of the
retail trade from Lake to State street. Burnt
out in the great fire of 1871, they settled i'll
full, opened a store at 81 West Madison
street, ana when their former store was re-
built in the spring, Of 1873 they returned to
the movement to the burnt district Their
career since the fire prove, the worth \
Of "a good reputation for business
ability and upright. dealing. Old time
friends and customers locked to see and
their purchases, and advertised the fact to |
their friends ana nelghbors. And so the |
circle widened and extended, and has kept /
on expanding till their trade now reaches the |
limits Of the Union.
T The original tirnl--Ross Is Foster-was
changed to koss l. Gossage in 1868, and in |
the spring Of 1s71 to its presentname, Charles
: There are several features of this house
i. The quality of its goods. They are the
best Of their kind, and always just as repre-
sented to De.
:. Goods are sold at as low rate as is pos
sible with safe profit.
3. The principle OF the house is fair profits
from large sales, but small profits from indi-
yidual customers. And as they sell Immense
ss.st prices and @ save i money. This store which
has RECENTLY been extensively altered i'll the |