Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1885-11-07


THE CLERKS IN STORES.
Something Absus the Felix's who stand
Behind the Counters.
THE NUMBER OF PERSONS 80 EMPLOYED IN
THIS cITY-rHE FLOOR WALKER AND HIS
DoMAIN-THE NEW cLERKs' ASSOCIATION
AND ITS OBJECT.
.sThere are between "a, 900 and &c. 900 cIerks
outside of the departments in this city" said
Mr.. VIM. A. Hungerford, secretary Of the
Clerks Mutual BENEFIT and Protective associa-
ton, in answer to an inquiry made by STAR
reporter. 81 mean by that all persons employed
| in stores or private business establishments
a. clerks, male and female. About one-half of
this number are females. At least one-half of
the clerks, both male and female are under Is
years OF age"
"What becomes of the clerk when he gets
oldf'' asked the reporter.
"He may become one Of the proprietors, or
own . store himself" said Mr.. HunRerford.
.but to use q popular phrase, the clerk gets
left when he grows old. There are 80 many
active young men n, ready to take his place,
subsist on half the salary that would suffice the
| old clerk with family. The young man ct Is
Then he either secures for himself place in the
firm, or some particularly high position, for
Which ~ his IS tra aiming and experience has tted
thing we propose to do in our association--to
| check this retrogression. We want to Are the
young 81 men ZEN, with smbition and At the
1--WE do not admit female clerks into our asso.
citation" continued Mr.. Hungerford, in answer
benefit association. Female clerks are not
ntted for the labor they have to do. It ia our
experience that In force Of male and female
clerks four-dfths Of the sickness is among the
females. In one large store here, where q ben
eft association was started among the clerks, it
| Ia languishing because the females, or q large
portion of them, become sick, and the male
clerks have to pay. The proper and only SEEM
Ing remedy appears to me to be the establish
the female clerks, with a higher ratio of dues,
&C., which could be easily accomplished, and
would result In untold advantages; for with
| them their working is often compulsory on ac-
count Of circumstances, and they can III afford
10 lose their wages on account Of sickness,
though all firms do not require them to forfeit
their pay during sickness. We require . clerk
10 pass rgld physical examination. He has
to De not only socially acceptable, but physi:
cssily QuaAlneo. We have q very high standafd.l
THE HEALTH OF CLERKS.
ut is generally supposed that clerks owing to
long confinement indoors are not very healthy"
| suggested THE STAR reporter.
Just the reverse is true" said Mr.. Hunger
e1sner Een ts, thing think our medical
than is she rule among men-above the aver
age; The clerks. you see, have great deal Of
Keep
become hardened. In the case Of one of our
members recently admitted the doctor told
me he bad never examined person he con-
sidered In better condition. The class of clerks
we have are members of boat clubs and bicycle
clubs, young men fond Of baseball and other
outdoor pastimcs and members OF gymnasiums.
why, curing the past summer We made up two
DaseDail mines out of our store alone, though
they did not have much chance to play"
c n nos
tary. In all the larger establishments the clerks
are not expected to sit down They are ex-
Aren't the hours long.'
~The hours are pretty long, said Mr.. Hunger
some OF the smaller establishments under the
neiief that 1t IS an accommodation to the public
tiquaf@d now. During the last few summers in
GSnlcago, New York, Philadelphia, and all the
larger Cities, Will, while many establishments of
noon, goOdly number. closed one day in the
week at IL or O'Clock, showing a tendency
No, they found it the best kind of an adver-
tlsement for them. The mere fact that their
clerks were out having recreation. spread the
the clerks take more interest in the business of
the nrm. but the fact that the proprietor takes
an interest in the welfare of his clerks gives
the clerks an incentive to work.
THE MONARCH OF THE FLOOR
"What is fioor-walker?' inquired the re-
porter, anxious to learn all the mysteries of life
in store.
The door-walker seems to be creation of
circumstances,' said Mr.. Hungerford. "You
will find fioor-walkers only In large stores,
stores, where there are a large number Of
though not always, member of the firm. He
may be found on the floor of the store at all
hours Of the day being generally the first to ar
that the clerks. cash boys and all the help are
10 their respective places and attending to
Incl duties In proper manner and also to see
waited upon. In many places the foOr-walker
has entire charge Of the under help-employing
pay when he deems them deserving. or recon-
mendlng them for promotion. He is also
general salesman, and while confined to no
special department, Is supposed to know the
whereabouts and approximate values of all
goods kept in the establishment. He has to
answer innumerabe questions daily. Custom
ers are directed by him, clerks transferred boys
scolded, &c. Many foor-walkers have a large
and and valuable trade of their own, customers who
WIN buy from them in preference to any one
else In the store. He is supposed also to know
the credit customers of the firm, If they have
or re1uss e5e
OF merchandise undelivered or improper treat
ment OF customers go to the fioor.walker.
head of the firm, but Oftener settled by the
hoor-waiker himself He is, in short, the rep
resentative OF the firm on the floor the execu-
tive officer OF the establishment"
HOW GOODS ARE MARKED.
Don't clerks, going from one establishment
to another, have trouble in familiarizing them
selves with the methods of marking goods?"
asked the reporter.
"There Is u simple system now in use in
almost all large establishments" said Mr.
Hungerford. THAT Is the model number sys-
tenn, which has done away with the old style of
marking the cost and the selling price of goods
in cipher. By the old system goods were
marked with letters of the alphabet. some
word or combination of ten letters was taken
as q basis, and to each letter was assigned
numerical value. In large places where clerks
were constantly changing the word would be-
come known and the secret would soon be ont
Now the cost Is not marked upon the goods
Each bill of goods is numbered and the mum.
bers are kept in the Office in check book. OBJ
pOsite each number is entered the cost and the
place where the goods were purchased The
goods are simply marked with the check mum.
Der and the selling price In plain figures The
clerks can never vary from the price marked
he learns 1t accidentally or is u department
buyer. II it is necessary to send u new order
for the same goods, the firm get the informatiO
they want by referring to the proper humber in
the check book. In some establishments clerks
buy for the firm. These houses have what ara
called department buyers, men who thoroughly
understand some special branch of the business
and are given power TO buy. Each department
has its head, who buys for it, consulting OF
course with the proprietor. The head of the de-
partment selects the styles and the particular
coiors or shades desirable or that viii suit the
trade Of the firm. A piece Of goods may sell
well in Philadelphia and New York. but in
Washington probably would not sell as a sre,n.
uant, The head of q doDartment 10 OF, roocad