The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1890-03-27
THE CLERKS EARLY CLOSING.
The Movement Already on Foot for
the Summer Season.

The Movement already on Foot for
the Summer Season
With the approach of the warmer weather,
when the days are long and the salesladles
wearied after being on their feet all day,
the interest in the early closing movement
is being renewed, and the array of public
sentiment in favor OF early closing appears
t. be in nowise diminished this year.
Three important factors operated las
year TO mould public sentiment il favor
of giving the tired dry goods clerks early
surcease from their toll The clergy from
/ every prominent pulpit in both the wlite
and c0lored churches gave the movement
the influence of its support. The Kings
| Daughters aud the leading ladies of Savan-
nah Endorsed it, and the press supplemented
| the work. With the churches, the ladies,
| and the press on the side of the early clos
| ing movement, and last, but not least, with
| tie hearty cooperation Of tn propriesors
of the principal dry goods stores,
! the Retail Dry Goods SalesInea's Associ-
alton met with fiattering encouragement,
and many tired saieSwoman was grateful
| to an enlightened community for shortening
her hours OF arduous and taUiguing services
during the summer season, for the ladies' as
rule refra ned from shopping after
o'clock.
1t is understood that the ladies' will take
even more general interest this year, and
that movement is on foot among them to
subscribe TO an agreement not to do any
shopping this summer after O'Clock p. III.
In this they are encouraged by the hearty
approval of the representative men of the
community, who feel that the ladies' are
always in the right.
of course our husbands approve of it."
said lady in discussing the subject in a
downtown store one day this week. "Why
~ T. INt 81
way. Ii they had it to do the stores would
have to keep open until O'Clock, and then
they would forget half what they were sent
for. Besides, you know that the women will
have their way about it anyway. It's
mistake to talk about the comfort of shop
ping in the cool Of the evening". The dry
goods store after 6 O'Clock is closer and
more sultry after the hot sun has beat upon
the walls all day than it is at noon, and in
point of comfort the morning is the best
time for shopping and then one can have
their afternoons and evenings at home OF at
Tybee."
President Sutherland of the SaIesmen's
Association says that the association is in
hourlshlng condition, and is well satisfied
with the results OF its first year of exist
ence. II can see no reason" he said to
MORNING NEWS reporter, why the dry.
goods stores, like the other houses, should
not close at q o'clock duriag the heated
term. There has been no ground lost since
last season; on the contrary public opinion
seems to have ripened into hearty and
more general support of the movement
Ny observations lead me to believe that the
ladies have taken a deep interest in the
matter, and when you succeed in enlisting
the sympathies of intelligent women, if
there was any desire to oppose them it would
be an uplill contest from the start How
ever, the ladies have the matter i'll their own
hands They command the key to the stu
alton, for if they won't trade after O'clock
p. ~. the merchants, even if they opposed
the early closing movement, would have to
close their doors anyhow.
II know OF no city where there appears to
be manifested such n feeling of broadened
charity" said Mr.. Sutherland, Gas in Sa-
Vannah. 1t Is shown In the various insti-
tutions for the alienation of suffering, in
the cara and education of the orphans; and
that some such step as the early closing
movement was not brought about sooner [
attribute net to any desire to withhold sup
port from it, but because the accomplishing
clerks had taken no steps to bring the
needed reform to the public attention; but
when the ladies', the clergy and the general
public came to realize that the greater Dor
ton OF the Savannah lles people is COM
posed of the weaker SEX and that strict at
tentlon to their duties required them to be
constantly on their feet from early
morning until the closing hour, public
opinion was not slow in shaping itself to
relieve them by heartily cooperating in
lessening their days work an hour, and we
are assured that there will lie even fewer
than last season who will want to do shop
ping after O'Clock p. IN. this summer.
mo, don'6 think the old order of things
will ever be popular again. Sympathy aud
fashion will combine TO shape the custom of
shopping before 6 o'clock in Savannah, as it
has so effectually done in other cities, and,
speaking for tie salespeople. can truth
fully say they are very grateful to the pio-
neers in the reform