The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1897-10-17

that he now possesses he would have
been a second A. r. Stewart or John
Wanamaker. / went through his inn
mense store, / find that the firm is now
Woollcott IL Son and Walter, who was
little boy when / left Raleigh is now
joint owner and joint manager of the
business l could but think of the diff
ference between WoollcOtt now and
Woollcott twenty odd years ago, then
he was sole proprietor, sole buyer, sole
clerk and sole everything else, with a.
bout Il couple of hundred dollars worth
of goods
Now he is the senior, his son the Junior
of one Of the leading establishments in
the State with a dozen statesmen and
sales ladies with three immense floors
filled with an enormous stock of every
thing that can be imagined from a tin toy
to case Of ginghams, thousands and
thousands of dollars worth of the goods
and wares that the people want all in
splendid display 1t is all a sort of a
revelation to me and il demonstrates one
fact that when the capital city Of North
Carolina and the right kind OF a man
meet, there is going to be some successful
business done.
After thinking for sometime ON all
this wonderful improvement in Raleigh,
all these successful enterprises, these
many evidences Of growth and prosper
ity. began wondering how
prices of real estate had been effected.
/ went around TO see those two clever
men J. NJ. Broughton and Thos. B.
Moseley. / knew just as soon as I was
told that these gentlemen were in the
real estate business :hat / could rely on
what they told me. 1 went around to
their office and we had chat learned
that Raleigh had not suffered with
what we call out in our country the
Boom Fever" but that the real estate
values had just about kept pace with
the general progress of the town and
that prices now were very reasonable
so much so that I am tempted to make
a few purchases before / return. My
two boys say that when they get mar
ried they are both going to come back
to Raleigh to live and l am going to see
j. NJ. Broughton & Co., again before
l leave and buy the boys a good lot a.
piece. This concern ! could readily see
is hustling firm made up Of two of the
Invest men in the city, and what they
don't know about Raleigh real estate.
rents, &C., would hardly be worth ten
ing and then they were so kind and
courteous. Tom Mosely wanted to take
me in his buggy and drive me all over
the city, but | had to thank him ami
tell him that | would take drive with
him some day before ! left. that [
wanted to see several others OF my old
friends to-day, but 1 am going to take
in the town with Mosely before I leave
and l think now that l will carry Jim
and Ed. a deed each for lots in Raleigh.
Passing up Fayetteville street near
the corner of Hargett my attention was
attracted to some show windows which
| do think were the handsomest win
dows that | have ever seen South Of
New York. | saw my genial old
friend Jim Higgs standing out in front
of the store talking to some friends.
Tell me, please whose store that is"
1 asked. "Why that is Sherwood Higgs
Il Co.'s. store" he replied. Sherwood
HiggsY' l repeated. Not your son Sher-
wood, whom / knew when he was a
boy" "The same boy said Col.
Higgs. Well | went in, met first Sher-
wood Higgs, then my friend Claude
Sherwood and my other friend Of for
mer days. duck" Hutchings and |
handsome and polite young statesmen and
perfectly charming young sales ladies.
And all about me in this immense store
such a display Of beautiful goods a.
had not seen in years. This is truly a
dry goods emporium, as my lamented
friend, A. Creech used to say. "A
regular Temple OF fancy" 1t would
take a page of the News and Observer
to describe it and then it would take
a much more fluent pen than mine to do
the establishment anything like justice.
I must conclude one thing, and that 10
that this young man Sherwood Higgs
stands easily in the front row of the
young merchants of the South.
1t must be delight to the ladies TO
visit the establishment. and it must hc
source OF pleasure to the people Of
your town and community to have right
here in Raleigh store that in my opin-
ion cannot he axcelled even on that
famous thoroughfare of beautiful stores
Lexington street in Baltimore.
/ am going again to see the beautiful