Smyrna times., 1884-09-03
WANAMAKER'S

Philadelphia, September =. ,as,
Four years ago we said
that a merchants wav Of
dealing in black silk was -
pretty fair test of his deaI;re.
in general. There are tw6
reasons for the statement
the Importance of black sill.
as an article Of merchandise
and the impossibility of bein9
perfectly sure how anv na<
ticular quarter-yarI Of # is
gong to wear. 1t is worth
something in estimating a
man to know how he treats
an important matter that in,
wolves some risk to his client
There are two attitudes
which the merchant NAV
properly take towards tbiS
treacherOus article Of univer.
sal dress. He may Saw.
We buy the 'ilk5 Of the best
makers; use thc best skin
we can command in CHOOSING
them; examine carefully he,
tore we sell them; and, iftba
silks do not turn out success
tul IN wear, the fault is bacL.
OF US. The maker himself
does not know how a partic-
ular piece Of his own black
silk is going to wear: the
sklltul workmcn throuob
whose successive hands i
has passed from the cocoon
to the last process of the
finish do not know; no
body knows. The only wav
to find out is by trying. You
have got to buy with what
ever of risk there is. We do
all we can to make it little
We cannot take it away.
This is the attitude thatbe
must take, if he is frank ord
fair; unless the maker bears
the risk. Somebody has got
to bear it; the merchant
can't; the maker can. If a
maker chooses to insure his
silk, rely on the merchant
to pass that insurance over
to the wearer and deal Justly
with both, then the merchant
may say: This silk maywear
well or i'll VIC do not know
how it will turn out; but, if
goes too soon, we'llreplace
the part that fails
Either attitude is proper.
Either recognizes the un-
avoidable chance OF disap-
POlntment tl.at turks in everv
black silk dress. One makes
provision for that chance
and the other notifies the
buyer that the risk is hers.
1t depends on the maker
what the merchant can do.
Not every maker Of black
silk, not every maker of good
black silk, not every maker
OF the very best black silk, is
disposed to take the risk of
his work.
Some merchants of the
highest standing never guar
antee any silk to wear. We
choose the middle ground.
We warrant silks that are
warranted to us. If a re-
spOnsible maker is willing to
take the risk of his work and
trust us to administer his
guarantee, we do it. We
do not insist that he shall.
We are prompted to this
explanation by a series of
black silks which we sell with
agreement to replace with
out charge any part that may
fail to be fairly durable. Let
it be understood that the
guarantee is ours as much as
il the maker were.not behind
us; and that it is the makers
as much as if you were not
looking to us for its fulfil
ment.
The silks we guarantee to
wear well are these, three
French and two American:
Bellon's "Household" brand,
SI.25 to S2.25; Giraud's
" Cachemire Alexandra,
$3.50 to So; Guinet's Cache
mlre," 90 cents to So so;
Give rnau d S gros-grain,
SI.25 to 81; and Cheney's
gros-grain, SIPS to $3.50.
Each makers silk has its
peculiar characteristics
through its several grades;
and the prices rise with the
weight.
The price of silk is very
low now. The depression is
ielt particularly in staples;
less in novelties" which
always bring extravagant
prices for the first few weeks.
We refer to-day to staples;
to silks of intrinsic value; to
silks that never lose their
favor. Because they always
hold their D1,oo =, L.