San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1890-06-07
THE CLERKS
SUMMER VACATIONS WITHOUT
PAY.
Their Numbers and SaIarics-Lady
Clerks and Tight Lacing-Thc
Commission Plan, Etc.

1"fhS ana i'S'' '"''''S
Commission Plan, Etc.
~, ,.... ,,,,.,l.. ~ ,L,, ,,i,l.,,,,,,,,.,
ne >"i'ty ""","N VI 'i' midsummer
have about arrived. ana NUMBERS or peO-
uIc are concentrating taking vacation.
In almost every reliable house in this
city the clerks can take Il week or more
! vacation. and the bosses are usually very
! clad 10 accommodate them. aS it means a
| few more men less to be- paid during the
| dun DAYS II 4 few hot weeks. But
! have NUrHcd for firms in large eastern
! towns " Lrrrcyrry good clerk was given
week or TWO vacation and drawn his pay
! Just the same. They do not do this here.
| at least do not know of any firm that
does. a vacation is one Of the best things
| that clerk can take. When he starts
! in fresh h" feels llk" Il new man again;
| said a counter jumper OF on" OF the lead
| ing dry goods HOUSES 81 the town;
"llOw about early cIoSlng' Is there any
cut made in the salary ON account OF IT"
! NO. why certainly not. | dOn see
wh"r" the merchant is tn" loser; When
! the people need things they buy them any
! way and they max" such arrangements 10
| do their buying before o clock. Ihrn
| there j. another thing that only very
few good houses do, and that is squeeze.
| down 1h" cI"rkN hard-rarn"d salary
during TIA" duh summer months. Or
course they discharge all unnecessary and
| incompetent men aN soon as business pc
| gins to slack. but they never cut down the
good clerk : salary. Last year n Ger
| tain dry goods store on ON" OF the PIa|a'
| almost every clerk was allowed week OF
| two for vacation, 50 that when som" men
! returned, others went out, bul the goOQ
| clerks were neither discharged nor had
| their salary cut down on account OF III"
| dull times
Il remember. says an ola rctlrcd cIeTA
| when was working during thc drought.
| |
| whole day. and received salary OF =
per day"
| That would have been pretty rough on
the clerk. if he had TO work on commits
sion. WOuldn it?'
| YES. but there is no house in town that
gives Its clerks a commission, unless he be
travelling salesman. A few years ago a
| good house on Commerce street gave each
clerk a salary and one per cent. commits
sion Of his or her sales, but it has discard
have p. M counters. The clerk gets an
average of about five per cent. commits
| sion on the goods he sells on this counter
| These goods are not old, Shclf-wOrn or
| damaged goods, but merely unstable ar
| ticlcS.'
How do you make it this summer"
asked the reporter Of u popular retail
grocery clerk
Its pretty warm, and it's rough on us
to see those dry goods clerks pass by here
at seven and we poor clerks handle these
| greasy articles till half-paSt seven or
later every night. | tell you We are the
fellows that need the vacations. and We
| intend to take them this summer if we
can afford to lose the salary during our
outing. How would girls do in IA retail
grocery store? HIN, had never thought
Of that. | don't think it would agree with
them very well. Their home cooking is
light and clean work against the heavy
handling of greasy bacOnS, SauSageS and
| meats"
"Thcy are no garng successes in the
| dry goods stores either" added a clerk in
| a large dry goods house. who became in
tercSted in the grocery clerks talk
"They are good enough in a millinery de-
partmcnt but they are not the kind of
people that will do for dry goods clerks
Why, they can't even reach piece of
cloth down from the third shelf on ac-
count of their tight acing'
THE great point i'm favor of girls a.
clerks is their cheapncSS They are rap
idly filling up the places of the men CLERKS
not on account of their COmDc-
tcncy, but because they are
| cheaper than men. OF course
some people would prefer to buy certain
articles from women. but there are great
many who would prefer to purchase other
| articles of men. Then gentlemen clerks
| as a rule, are more enthusiastic take
more interest in the business than
| women" said still another counter
"What are the comparative salaries Of
oiF Iauy anu EfnClt . CieIhs' anu nov nov,
W - Cn,rN incl' "lo III IlC Ivy woo
,1oi,.S iot W. cay IneiG are do wv -"
| ~ ho III Iile CITY, SdIu OIlG; =, NO SIT;