The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1902-03-25
correspondence
OUR NKw YORK LETTER,

When A. L. DuAAe AAS
house of marble upon Fifth Avenue,
ID was regarded as one of the few
things that would be here for GEN.
turtles. Il was the wonder of a gen.
Grafton.
WEALTH WITHOUT HAPPINESS.
But alas I it only served to point a
moral and adorn a tale. No chill
dren's merry prsttle ever woke the
echoes of the establishments. Stewart
and his wife lived there, grand,
gloomy and peculiar, as befitted the
house. He was running his two
stores then and both were doing we'll,
though before he died he must have
realized that the downtown estab-
lishmeut was too far down and had
passed it's best stage of life. Dying,
his body was placed in the Crypt of
the cathedral he built only TO be
stolen by human jackals his money
went TO strangers to whom it proved
q white elephant. The marble house
was not adapted TO modern require
ments nor was it's locality desirable
as a residential spot. Is has bean
sold, and all torn down, so only a
hole in the ground remains. The
downtown store is an office building
Wanamaker has the other. His
cathedral still stands; but A. Il.
Stewart is only a shadow of a name.
WONDERS OF DEPARTMENT STORES
Stewards was the pioneer depart
ment store; but could he drop into
his old store at Tenth Street and
Broadway, he would never know the
place. From Stewart to Wanamaker
is a long step. What d wonderful
thing is a big department. rtorel The
school children, on Saturdays, will
go there, take off their hats and
coats and stay all day feeling appa-
rently as free as in the park. Thers
are Tuesday concerts by real talent,
restaurants, art galleries, oouohes
for the tired women, dentists Office,
~postofioe, telegraph office, drug
store, and other departments appa-
rently foreign to the regular busi-
ness. Many of them have a grocery
department., but this has never been
regarded with favor by Wanamaker,
nor some of the old stores like Lord
& Taylor, who cater 80 a fine GLASS of
trade who do not relish buying Paris
gowns where Frankfort sausages are
found. But the grocery department
in some stores will exceed any regu-
lar grocery in the city, and their
volume of sales almost passes belief
one days sale of canned tomatoes
alone in one store aggregating "a, 600
cans. All this is tough on the little
grocers, many of whom have been
crowded out of business, while al
over the city 'To Let" signs stare
from the windows of once prosperous
establishments. And what will she
end be?
It may not be uninteresting to the
readers of THE PROGRESSIVE FARMER
to give a few figures regarding
THE NATIONS DRINK BILL.
Taking the government figures,
the American Grocer says that this
country spends on beverages $1,273,,
212, 1886. Of this, Sc per cent. is fol-
alcoholic stimulants. Taking the
whole bill, including tea and coffee,
and we find that each one of oul
77,647, 900 population paid for bever
ages $16 40 per year. If the average
pound of coffee makes two gallons OF
the beverage, we find that coffee
leads in the amount of liquid aggre.
eating 1921, 372, asa gallons, while
beer is not far behind with 1858,
249, 391 gallons. We drink less shan
a gallon of wine per capita annually
Only 5 per cent. of the total bill il
for wines. Compared with France
and England, the United Slater
drinks very little, and it's per capits
consumption is not increasing
Among our merchants who haG
'smade his mark was
CHAs. BROADWAY RoUss,
who died the other day. Broadway
wasn't his name, but the store wal
on that street and thus for advertis
ing purposes it was all right in hi
view TO adopt the name. He started
from nothing, vas in jail for debt
ercam his trials-and a huge
twelve story building packed from
garrett 30 cellar with goods is hi
monument. He was a good deal 0
a stfreak" and the money! he left