Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1889-05-07
charIes BroadwaY Rouss.


sands from all parts OF the country
we're gathered there The naval dis
play was grand, the military pageant
magnificent, and the civic process
sion big thing. Butthere is some
thing in which New York is always
the centre, and THAT is business
active. go-ahead business-whose
pnlsations are felt throughout con-
tinent, and reach to the further
shores of either ocean. Among the
great leaders in this sphere of action
the name of Charles Broadway
Rouss at once looms up in the front
rank. Whilst attending the Centen-
NAL we had occasion TO pass through
his mammoth establishment at No..
466 Broadway. Taking the eleya-
tor we assembled to the topmost of
the seven floors of his great estab-
ishment, which runs through from
street to street, and from thence
proceeded downward to the base
ment. First we found shawls, win
dow shades and arts; ON the next
floor hats, umbrellas, trunks, boots
and shoes on another floor linens,
clothing, white goods, wooIens, cot
tons and piece goods; below that
stationery, hardware and tinware !;
on the Office floor were Iaces, satins
and iewelry; on the first floor notions
and hosiery; and in the basement
shirts, ties, mems underwear, and
the packing department.
a corps of three hundred and IF
teen men, at per diem of 81, 900,
are kept busily employed in this
great house, and of these seventy are
engaged in the packing department
alone, putting up goods to be shipped
to various parts of the country.
On the office floor, however, is to
be found the great centre of activity,
and at plain desk sits the wonderful
man who guides and controls the great
establishment in It's every detail. and
whose force is felt in every depart
ment. At his side sits his supereb
lieutenant, C. H. B. Rouss, son of
whom the father may well be proud.
Next comes the stenographer and
several type writer's, and at va
rious desks are to be found large
corps of book-keepers and clerks,
pages and porters, who complete this
department and carry on its immense
work.
In the shirt department of the store
of Mr.. Rouss we were pleased to meet
our well-known friend from the VAL
ley, Mr.. D. B. Hamaker.
The daily sales average from $780,
600 to $4,000, and as an illustration
of the immense business of the house
we may note that in the matter of
cheap bunting alone, for decoration
purposes last week, the sales, at a
cent or two per yard, aggregated
$50. 900.
At first glance it seems almost
surprising that one man can perform
the Iabors to which Mr.. Rouss is sub
Ijected, and yet maintain his health
and strength intact, with brain clear
and free for the business activity of
eachday. Thismystery is explained,
however, by his regular habits. Ris-
ing at 5 A. NJ, he leaves his resi-
dence on sgd st. near 9Th Avenue,
and takes walk of several miles to
his place of business. Here the first
morning mails, which have reached
the city the night previous, await
him, and after examining an average
of five hundred letters, which is done
by 0 O'Clock, he takes breakfast.
After breakfast couple of hundred
more letters are opened, and from
that time until p. NJ. busy day is
spent, with perhaps a cup of coffee
and sandwich as lunch. Leaving
the store he proceeds at once to his
home, eats his dinner, and by 9
O'Clock is in bed, taking solid rest,
free from business cares, until 5 A..
NJ. In about this way each day is
spent, and to his regular habits of
rest is no doubt due his great vitality.
The present building at No 466,
immense as it is, now proves made
quate to accommodate the mammoth
business which Mr.. Rouss, by his in
domitable energy and pluck, has
built up, and there being nothing on
Broadway that will answer his pur-
pose, he is rearing at Nos. $40, SOL
and 500, a magnificent structure, to
be twelve stories in height, or 1913 feet
above ground, 75x200 feet in ground
area, and the most complete in Amer
lea. Its total cost will be nearly one
and half million dollars, and to be
completed by the first of January next.
AS characteristic of tho man v,o