The Sunday tatler and Jersey City express. (Jersey City, N.J.) 1883-1886, 1886-05-16
THE EARLY CLOSING MoYEMES7.
An Almost Unanimous Sentiment ia Its
Favor Among Tradesinen.

VI. 81
An Almost Mountainous Sentiment ia Its
Favor Among TradesInen.
The early closing movement has assumed
such proportions in the city that the cleri-
cal forces Of the various trade merchants
are being aroused to point where it is alb
solutely essential that employers generally
have got to take some definite stand. The
subject was first agitated about year ago,
and ever since then the bosses have been
backing and filling, for one reason or an
other, until the toilers are becoming loud
in their demands for early closing of the
vatious stores. In New York and Brooklyn
the claim is made that all the principal re-
tail stores in every line Of trade are closed
at 6 o'clock and it is 80; and there is no
reason why city of the population of Jer-
Bey City should not follow in the line Of
her sister cities and do likewise sa37f
1t is a fact that there are several eetab-
hshments in the city whose heads are heart
and soul with the movement, bat their
action, to very large extent, is controlled
By the pusilapimity of the less pretentious
stores, where the claim is made that they
cannot afford to close early because their
line of customers deal largely in the night
time. Certainly from o'clock in the morn
ing till 6 or o'clock In the evening is q
long time enough for the statesmen and
sales ladies to serve their employers; and,
while q great many of them are no doubt
literally paid, it is safe to assume that none
of them receive liberal pay for more than
ten hours work. On Monday evening last
a meeting of the Jersey City Furniture and
Carpet Early Closing Association was held
at Humboldt Hall, when it was proposed
to extend an invitation to every furBiture
and carpet dealer in the city to meet tie
association at the same place tomorrow
evening. Willie there is no particular de-
mand as TO the hour of closing made by
the statesmen, Mr.. Hoos, of the firm of
Hoos and Schulz, stated at the meeting on
Monday night that he was in favor of clos
ing the stores during the months Of Janu-
airy, February, March, June, July, August,
September, October and November at 6
o'clock every evening except Saturday, alld
during April, May and December, every
day except Saturday at 8 O'Clock.
This rule will no doubt be adopted
unanimously at tomorrow evenings meet 7
ing This association numbers about GU
members. H8
The clothing houses in the city have
probably had their early closing movement
nipped in the bud, thanks to Metz
Ter of the b. o. p O. b. Metzler.
has scratched bald spot on his head in
,scheming endeavors to defeat the move
ment, although he will no doubt claim that
his action is tantamount to acquiescence in
the movement. Last year Metzler agreed
to close his store at z P. NJ, and kept his
promise for aboutia week or ten days.
Then he threw it open again till all hours
of the night, claiming that the railroad
employees did their purchasing at night,
and he must cater to their custom. aa The
other stores reluctantly followed in Metz
ler's tracks, for they could not afford TO
lose custom, which they would necessarily
do if but one store in the city remained
open after O'Clock The other houses.
however, published card, stating their
reasons for abandoning the early closing
idea. This year it looks as though
Metzler would stand in the way
of the movement again. Now he
proposes not to close his establish
ment at o O'Clock, hut to discharge thelday
clerks at that hour and takeeOn another
force to work from s to Ii p. NJ This,
however. will probably not last long, and
when it ceases Mr.. b. o. pc. h. will prob
ably find himself left and sunk to the OBJ
livion from which the poor people of jersey
City have lifted hin. 81 hW
Whatever the action of the Boston may
be, Clerihew and Marshall & Ball will close
at s O'Clock every night during the summer
and Fall, except Saturday. a
There is no organization among the clerks
in the gents furnishing goods stores,
Baroniis willing to close early If the 9th. r
stores do, and Kessler viii fall into lin Q
also, but does not care to do SO before
August. Among the shoe dealers, Herman,
Sands and Loughlin are willing to 60 into
a. general early closing movement, but
claim that Jersey City cannot afford to clor .
its stores earlier than 8 o'clock, as they
claim that customers can trade in New
York till later hour. There is no organ
ization among the shoe clerks. Among the
hatters, Perlmutter is heartily in sympa+
thy with the movement. The TkTThER has
lsofascertained that the largest dry goods
establishments will come into any general
early closing movement that may be agret d
upon. tits generally conceded that if the
Boston persists in its course to keep its
store open, even at the expense of a day
and night force, it will reflect to Mettzler's
discredit, and probably be the means Of
driving him out of the city. as
"a rxxxs n0oye y, m a n NJ hcTuF3 Etsf