Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1897-07-23

who take ON mysterious AR when some
thing j. said against the firm that EMPLOYS
them. n much a. % say, n could tell you
something II would. but ! won't Do mot
be among those who imagine they eau build
themselves NJ Is pulling somebody else
down, De not ashamed 10 be a suhalterns
Again, I counsel an clerks To conquer the
trials ~ their particular position One
great trial for clerks Is the reconsideration
ut customers. Their are people who are
entirely polite everywhere else, hut grun
and dictaturial aud contemplate when they
ccme into a store 20 huy anything, There
are thousands of men aud women VINO 20
from store to store to price things, without
any idea Of purchase. They are not salts
fled until every roll Of goods i brought
down and they have pointed out All the real
or imaginary defects. They On all kinds
Of kid gloves and stretch them nut ot shape.
and they put on all styles OF
cloak and walk to the mirror to see
how they look. and then they sail out
of the store, saying, Il will not take IL to-
day which means, Il don't want II at all, ."
leaving the clerk amid a wreck Of ribbons
and laces and cloths to smooth out
thousand dollars worth of goods not a
cent Of which did that man or woman buy
or expect to buy. Now, | call that dis
honesty on the part of the customer, II
boy runs intoa store and takes a roll Ot
cloth of the counter aud sneaks out into
the street, YOU all join in the cry pell-mell,
"Stop thief!' When | sec you 20 into a
store. not expecting to buy anything. hut
to price things, stealing the time of the
clerk and stealing the time Of his employer,
say, too, stop thief"
II were asked which class Of persons
most needed the grace Of God amid their
annOyances, | would say, DRY goods
clerks" All the indignation Of customers
about the high prices comes on the clerk.
For instance: A great war comes on. The
manufactures are closed. The people 90
of to battle. The price of goods runs up.
A customer comes into store. Goods have
goneup. How much H. that WORTH" "A dol.
lar. A dollar! Outrageous! dollarV Why
who IL to blame for the fact that 1t has got
to he dollar? Does the indignation go
out To the manufacturers on the banks OF
the Merrimac because they have closed up?
No. Does the indignation go out toward
the employer, who is at his country seat?
No. 1t comes on the clerk. lie got up the
war He levied the taxes. He puts up the
rents. OF course, the clerk.
Then there are all the trials which come
to clerks from the treatment of inconsider-
ate employers. There are prOfessed Chris
tian men who have no more regard for their
clerks than they have for the scales on
which the sugars are weighed. A clerk is
no more than SO much store furniture. No
consideration for their rights or interests.
Not one word of encouragement from sun
rise to sunset nor from January to Deem
Der. But when anything goes wrong a
streak Of dust on the counter or box with
the cover OF thunder showers Of scolding.
Men imperious. capricious, cranky toward
their clerks their whole manner as much
"a to say, "All the interest have in You is to
see what can get out Of you" Then there
Rre all the trials Of incompetent wages not
Ia such times a. these, when II q man gets
half n salary for his services he ought
to be thankful but | mean in prosper
Gus times. Some Of YOU remember when
the war broke ont and all merchandise
went up, and merchants were made mil
llonaires In six months by the simple rise
In the value Of goods Did the clerks get
advantage of that rise? Sometimes. not
always | saw estates gathered in those
times over which the curse of God has hung
ever since. The cry Of unpaid men and
women in those stores reached the Lord OF
Sabaoth, and the indignation of God has
been around those eGi Adjustments ever since.
flashing In the chandeliers glowing from
the crimson upholstery, rumbling in the
long roll of the tenpin alley. Such men
may build up palaces of merchandise
heaven high, but after awhile a disaster
will come along and will put one hand on
this pillar and another hand on that pillar
and throw il self forward until down will
come the whole structure. crushing the
wOrshipers as grapes are mashed in the
wineprcss.
Then there are boys ruined by lack Of
compensation. In how many prosperous
stores 1t has been for the last twenty years
that boys were given just enough money
to teach them how to steal! Some were
seized upon by the police The vast
majority Of instances We're not known.
The head of the firm asked, Where is
George now "Oh. he isn't here any
more A lad might better starye to death
on blasted heath than take one farthing
from his employer. Woe be to that mployer
who unnecessarily puts temptation in
boys way, There have been great establish.
ments in these cities, building marble pa
lacc5, their owners dying worth millions and
millions and millions. who made n vast
amount of their estate out of the blood and
muscle and nerve of half paid clerks. Such
men as-well, | will not mention any name.
But mean men who have gathered up vast
estates at the expense of the people who
were ground under their heel. ooh, saw
such merchants, III you don't like it here,
then go and get better place!' As much
as to say: Eve got you in my grip and
mean to hold you. You can't get any other
place"
Oh. what contrast between those men
and Christian merchants who to-day are
sympathetic with their clerks-when they
pay the salary. acting in this way: This
salary that give you is not all my interest
in you. You are an immortal man; you are
an immortal woman. | am interested in
your present and your everlasting welfare.
I want you to understand that II I am
little higher up In this store | am beside
you in Christian sympathy" Go back for
ty or fifty years to Arthur Happens
store in New York, man whose worst
enemies never questioned his honesty.
Every morning he brought all the
clerks and the accountants and the
weighers into room for devotion.
They sang, they prayed they exhorted.
On Monday morning the clerks were asked
where they had attended church on the
previous day and what the sermons were
about, 1t must have sounded strangely,
that voice of praise along the streets where
the devotees of MammOn were counting
their golden beads. You say, Arthur Tap
pen failed. Yes, he was unfortunate, like
great many good men, but understand he
met all his obligations before he left this
world, and know that he died in the peace
OF the gospel and that he is before the
throne Of God to-day forever blessed. If
that be failing, l wish you might all fail.
There are great many young men and
young women who want u word of encour-
agement Christian encouragement. One
smile of good cheer would be worth more
to them tomorrow morning in their places
of business than present of 1000 ten
years hence. Oh, | remember the appre-
hension and the tremor of entering a pro-
has vail 4 tn, ~