Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1886-05-06

business be never so dull;
they must wait on halfa-dozen
at once in a press and never
forget their goods or their
manners; they must not take
ofense at offensive treatment
by upstart women or neon
siderate men; they are there
to win and nothing but win, to
smile and be light of face
though heavy at heart; they
must bend all their energies,
use all their arts, to win /; no
variety; rest or let-up one
continuous strain to see the
wants in the shoppers faces
before a word is said, to serve
by anticipation, to show what
is wanted and more, and yet
be unobtrusive, to speak and
be silent both exactly right, to
look wise and unconscious ex-
actly right; in short to smooth
the way before some hundreds
of different, different-feeling
and acting, susceptible, unsus-
ceptible, wise, unwise, all sorts
of shoppers-to smooth the
way before them one and all
till the money drops. No
wonder the man or woman
drops 1t is more than flesh
and blood can endure. For
him and her we ask the Satur-
day rest and preparation for
Sunday
Now that's a rather taking
speech for an amateur. It's
about the gist of the talk on
the subject. 1t comes from
outside. Insiders know better.
There isn't any such condi-
ton of things, so far as we
know, in any respect. This
rigor of discipline doesn't exist
except in speeches and news
papers. Statesmen and women,
so far as we know, in the
larger stores, have a rather
easy life Of it-eight and three
,, quarters hours a day with us
it is more in the little stores
that nobody thinks of closing.
: We should like to find some
agreeable way to make our
statesmen and women think
enough of their work to be
diligent, and enough of them
r selves to be courteous. We
r are somewhat lacking there.
What we want is intelligent,
: faithful, diligent, well directed,
t willing service. We should
lose by tyranny.
2 But that is aside from the
. subject. Whatever can be
L done to make the hours of bust.
l ness as short as they can be
e we want to join with Other
t merchants to do; whatever is
E practicable,
!, There are other interests
y Many earn their wages by
:. piece-work. Shorter time
means shorter money to them
: They want the day longer
:: not shorter. People who wan
: the store open have to be
!, thought OF. Exclusive stores
S can close all day on Saturday
So can the wholesale stores
r which are leading this move.
n ment. Nobody wants then
e open. They'd skip whole
e months in the summer, i
r they could. 1t would save
). them expense in many ways
e and bring no loss or public
/. inconvenience. But half the
!. people within half-a-hundrec
it miles of us want this store
+ open when they come; anc
e they come every day. We
J. have no right to make a store
l. SO useful to them and shut i
i. up. There's a million of them
t When do they want it open
i When are they willing to lie
it be shut? The obviou.
o answer is "They want it oper
S when they come; and are will
it ing to let it be shut when the,
e don't come"
d We settle a great many
If questions in just this way. W.
a ask ourselves "What would
o the people want if they knew
It as we know"
: 1t isn't our wit that ha.
made this store. The people
e have made it. The shall hav,
y the use of it.
It We shall close at present a
y six o clock on Saturday nights
# After the Fourth of July til
late in September we shall
d close at one o'clock on Satur
2 day afternoons.
{ JOHN WANAMAKER.
2 Chestnut. Thirteenth and Market streets
q and City-hall square.
V GarIf's art 0salIsru.