The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1886-09-25
H;anamaker's.


The little country store can t
do these things. 1t can promise
many things and be sorrywhen
most of them fail. The little
country store is months if not
years behind in its merchandise.
Ignorance picks it out and ig-
norance sells 1.-THE merchant
can't be expect in everything.
The little store has about as
many sorts of work to be done
as the big one, but few to do
them and slender facilities. 1t
depends on the little region it
serves inadequately. 1t can't
do more or better than rudely
and dearly serve the less intelli-
gent part of its neighborhood.
SO whoever can write a letter
and wait a few days for the
answer goes by the little coun-
try store to the general store in
the city. What city, That ques-
ton brings out the most i'm
portant fact in the case. ltcosts
no more and takes but little
longer to write to a store a
thousand miles away than ten.
Wherever you are you have
your choice of the stores of
Boston, New York, Philadel-
phia, Cincinnati, Chicago, St.
Louis, San Francisco. And
every one of these stores can
have the whole United States
for its country.
Our notion then of a store is
a store to draw the trade of the
country, a store to be chosen
all over the country because it
serves its customers near and
far SO well.
The question is What sort of
a store will be heard of, ap-
proved and adopted by thrifty
people all over the country?
| The answer is short and easy.
1t must have what they want and
sell as they want to buy.
1t mustknow the whole range
of it's merchandise. No one
man can do that. There must
be as many managing men as
classes of things to know about.
Call them buyers.
A buyer must know his
goods. That means more than
you think. He must get the
best in the world for the money.
How can he pick out the best
without knowing all, comparing
all, turning pounds, francs,
piasters, marks, rupees, into
dollars, computing duties,
freights, expenses. He must
know wearing qualities, fash
ions, changes, changes in max
ers as we'll as materials. What
he must have in his stock every
day is his choice out of all the
world. He must choose forall
sorts ofpeople, uses and tastes.
| Whoever his customer, he must
be suited, whatever he wants;
suited better than he knows
how to suit himself.
Such is the stock of a fftieth
part of the store.
Having got such a stock he
must keep it fresh and new and
choice with customers picking
it over every day. That calls
for management. Statesmen
have to be taught. All this
picking and choosing against
his stock must bedone through
a dozen or score or hundred
statesmen. All this helping ig-
norant customers get what they
ought to have in spite of them
selves must be done through
statesmen.
There is just one way to do
it. The store must have a spirit
as we'll as bone and muscle.
The multitudinous goods and
fifty buyers and hundreds or
thousands ofsalesmen and other
helpers constitute the bone and
muscle. The spirit is the mo-
tive back of them all.
The motive, your are think
ing, is profit" Better than
that and wiser. The motive is
not success but the means of
success. The spirit of helpful
ness-that is the motive to
prompt every one in the store
from boy to master.
There must be this unity, not
another: helpfulness. Service
is what the store is for. Perfect
service is what it must aim at.
And just SO long as nine-hund
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS in thous-
and of merchants work for pro-
fit and only render such service
as comes in their way, SO long
will diligent ever-watchful faith
full service win.
All this management calls for
a head with a vital connection
all the way down. The fifty
buyers-they are vastly more
than buyers-must take from
the head this wise and generous
spirit of service and make it