Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1886-07-10

| Will be transferred TO the Pacinc coast Wuere
wnen once es h they VIII add very
| that country. There Is no crab native OF the
'aciiic which ca:i take the place of the blue or
| 1dible crab Oh the Atlantic
| STORE CLERKS AND THEIR HOURS.
What Has Been Accomplished by the
Early Closing Movement.
SEVEN O'CLOCK VERY GENERALLY RECoG-
| NIZED AS THE CLOSING HOUR-FIRMS THAT
| CLOSE EARLIER AND GIVE A SATURDAY
| OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES VACATIONS.
"Ihe best way to find out what the result OF
| the movement has BEEN said one of the Off.
GERS of the Clerks Early Closing Association, or
| Clerk S Assembly, h. of L., to u STAR reporter,
SIS to take IL walk en- 7th street or any of the
| central business streets after o'clock. A year
| ago you would have found all the stores open;
| now you viii find them all closed. Before this
| movement was started merchants would keep
| their stores open until halfpast seven, eight,
nine or ten o'c!ock-in fact, as long as there was
| any business to be done. We started out to
| have six O'Clock established as the gen.
eral closing hour. and we still have that
| in view. Many merchants close at that
| hour, but the general closing hour now is seven
O'Clock. speak, OF course, OF the stores in the
business center mat employ numbers OF clerks.
No, there l. DO rule about opening in the morn
| ing, though / think eight . clock is the time
most OF Inc stores open. Most ali merchants
have granted the seven 0 clock closing without
hesitation. There are few that closed at six
O'Clock before our association was organized
but think they could lie counted the fin
ger, Of one hand. Then there some nler-
chants that close at five O'Clock Or even earlier
on saturdays. AS an association, do not
care so much about that. What we are aiming
10 secure is the early closing through the week.
stores are closing now Ill seven o'clock, and are
doing just Us much business, if not more, than
they We're before his movement"
CLERKS WHO GET LEAVES OF ABSENCE.
There Is one dry goods firm in the city,"
said an officer of the Clerks Mutual Protective
association, that has always given every clerk
| III its employ two weeks leave of absence every
year with pay. That is the firm of Woodward
u LOthrOP, the Boston Dry Goods house
\ hen the Time comes for clerk to take his
leave. ne receives his salary, not only for the
current Week. but for two weeks in advance,
SO that he il provided with money pay cX-
penscs during his vacation. In return the firm
l. benefited by the increased interest taken
by clerk ~ his work. Every clerk, male ar
female, and every bundle wrapper and boy in
the store enjoy this privilege which has been
granted by The firm ever since it begun business
here, though no noise was ever made about ii.
This hIln closes It's store during July and Au-
gust ut > o'clock, except on Saturdays, when
the hour Tor closing Is l O'Clock. The clerks
are expected to report at o clock in the morn
ing, AND have an hour OFT during the day, So
that during the months OF July and August
they Will bc required to give really only eight
hours u day 10 cue service OF the firm. Alter
five CLOCK They can devote themselves to rest
or pleasure.
YES" said member of the drm In question
to THE STAR reporter, "We believe tnat il u
clerk serves diligently and faithfully
through tAe year he Is entitled at the end OF the
year 10 Two weeks vaca ion at our expense, or,
III other words, With pay. When he comes
back he goes To work with greater energy and
We repaid iii that way 1t has not merely q
temporary effect, out the intucnce OF the vaca-
tlol lasts during the whole year. Do ever
lose our clerks? Well, no clerk has ever re-
t,,4tit pn, rs.nr, iaft
that we cared to keep. This closing at five
O'Clock during July and August is, to some ex-
tent' an yApeI inent' ana Cannot Leil yet what
loss some trade, but We will Try to induce our
customers TO trade before five O'Clock through
the week and one clock Oh saturdays"
THREE GONE O'CLOCK FIRMS.
There are three firms in the city now closing
at l O'Clock Saturday. Mr.. II. o. Towles, the
furniture dealer, began the first of June closing
al that hour Oh saturday, and established IL as
months. The Paiais Royal and the Boston dry
goods house, both begin with to-day closing at
1 O'clock and have announced that that will be
the hour Tor closing Until September LIST.
mir. Li.ner has always been very liberal to-
wards those in mis- employ said one OF The gem
tlenen connected with the ralais Royal 10 4.
STAR reporter. "He was the first to adopt the
L o'clock rule on Saturday, as he made his an
nouncement last March. During the week
is in Europe now; If he were here 1
am sure he would close at 5 o'clock
during tne week In the summer, for he would
not let any house get ahead of him. During his
absence though, we do not feel authorized to
make any change in the rule. OF course may
lose some business by closing at one O'clock on
saturdays. You cannot do as much in half a
day as you can in whole one, but we do not
mind that. When clerk leaves at one O'clock
Saturday he Is at liberty until Monday morn
ing and has considerable time Tor recreation
| think the saturday one O'Clock rule will be-
come general. aud will at some day be observed
during the whole year."
At Mir. Towles' establishment where the
Saturday one o'clock rule has been in force for
a month, Il STAR reporter was informed that
| there had been no diminution IN the amount
OF business transacted in ii week on account OF
this shortening OF hours. "in London and in
New York, Boston and the northern cities,
| merchants close at one O'clock" said Mr..
| Towles, land it ought to he the rule here
| Tie house OF X. II. Taylor does not close at
o'clock on Saturdays, but it establishes 5 O'clock
The closing hour every day in the week from
July Iotn to September 10th. That rule was
put in force last summer. "W e could not close
| very we'll at o'clock Saturdays" said one OF
| the gentlemen in the house, for we engaged
| in manufacturing, and customers who give US
| days. The employees OF the house are very we'll
satisfied with the rule TO close at o'clock dur
ing the week. The house gives all OF its salaried
employees two weeks leave with pay during
the summer, and they are privileged to take
| more, ii they want to do SO, ithout pay. The
| iIexes given them. There are about fifteen OF
them who have been here from fifteen 10
twenty years. That speaks well for the liber-
they are we'll treated they look out for better
| places somewhere else. think the experience
of last summer showed that no business was
lost by closing at O'Clock during the summer
months"
SATURDAY SHOPPING.
saturday is not such o shopping day as it
used to be-" said a clerk in an avenue store.
"Grocsrs may have more to attend to on that
day than on other days, but general shopping Is
done more on otner days. Ladies do not put off
buying until Saturday. They are more likely
| TO snake shopping tours on Monday. The ave
| hue has never been much OF u place for busi-
ness ut night. Most OF those who do their
| trading at night go TO 7th street."
Dawn.
Dawn. with dusht foot upon the mountain-tops,
Stands reckoning to the Sup-god golden car,
While on hiGu, GEAR brow the mCrniaR star
Grows fainter, the Siiver-mistY cOpse
And rosy river bend aud village white
Feei the strong shafts Of light
The tide Of dreams has reached Its utter ebb,
The JOY of dawn Is Ia my iudy's eyes,
Where ii her window with = half surprise
she sees the meadows meshed with fairy web,
Ana bears the happy skylArk lar above
singing II 1--we! / liver
-AoRTIAEB CoLIINA