Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-07-18
BIGGEST STORE OF ALL
Has a Thousand Different
Establishments.
IT COVERS 20 ACRES
MoSCoW'S NEW BAZAAR, WHICH
COST 100000.
BOW an Englishman Made Fortune
Selling American Goods-Queer
Taxes on Trade.

(Copyrlhtcd, 1898. by Frank G. Carl%nterD
MOSCOW.
TIE biggest store in the world unuer one
roof is in Moscow. 1t is situated close TO
the kremlin. under the shadow of some OF
the oldest and hottest churches OF this holy
city 1t is Il great stone building with
roofs of iron and glass. covering; at least
twenty acres and embracing 1.Goj d fferent
business establishments. l have called 1t
store 1t is rather Il collection of stores
for each establishment has its lndlNlouai
owner. who rents of the syndicate which
constructed the building. 1t is a gigantic
department store or bazaar. under thou
sand different heads. selling all KINDS OF
goods and carrying on every kind of busi-
ness.
/ have seen the bazaars of Cairo, Caicut-
Ia and Constantinople The most of them
are rude, sheds or ives in the wallis OF
narrow streets. rCofcd with mating. inns
bazaar is III one oi the finest buildings or
the world 1t has been erected within ehe
past few years. and with the ground upon
which il stands has cost TN" enormous sum
of S, wtJ Oo. THIS is onc-thrd more IMAM
our National Library building at Nasmng-
ton. and RAINY times more than any busi-
ness establishment of the United states.
A Museum of Merchandise.
have spent days in wandering through
this mighty bazaar. The twenty acres rep
resent only the ground floor The building
ia of three stories 1t is divided up INTO
streets crossing one another at liSh'
angles. with mighty arches of glass above
them. Along the Streets are booths win
,,..u- .,rG over them two
galleries re..r,sg.nting the second and thl!'.
stories each lined with stores. Tn" base
ment is a vast cataComh of stores, ana
the whole might he compared to pee
hive each cell filed with the treasures OF
Europe. Russia and the far east INC
stores are not the Httle CaV"-hE" hoi"S III
the wIll which form the oriental bazaars'
Many of them would h" respectable IN Tue
great cities of the I-nitcd States, and We're
they :ituated on broadway or I'D street
New York they would catch the attention
of the pasScrsbN for their costly goods ana
fine window dressing.
wish | could take you inside this bazaar
with my interpreter and show you street
after street of the great tre&Gure house. \ GU
would lose the idea chat the Russians are a
poor nation and see something or hlS
enormous market fo~ our American goods
The merchandise offered is worth many.
many times the cost of the building. 1t
amounts to tens of millions of dollars, and
vast part of it is made up of goods from
Europe The Germans. the french ana tle
English have contributed 10 fill it. and 1t Is
only now and then that you see anything
from America. ! should like to show You
the prices. They are far above those OF our
country or the other countries of Christen-
dom. and the goods are of the costlieSt dc
sCription The Russians love luxury. They
want the best they can afford to buy, ana
a department store here managed after
modern methods would roll up money
faster than Il SNOWFALL descending the Alps
in the sprirgtime.
Department Stores Wanted.
Indeed. one of the best openings for
American capital is in founding department
stores in Europe. | understand that John
Wana maker. Siegel & Cooper and others
are thinking of establishing them in Lon
don but they would pay almost equally
well in all the European capitals. Paris is
the only one that has any to speak of. II
has the Bon Marche. the Louvre and Au
Printemps. together with some smaller es-
ia Adjustments, all of which are making
money. | have written of the tv" Eerlin
department stores. Werthcim'S and TietZs,
both of which are doing an enormous bust
ness. but there is room for more.
Russia is peculiarly we'll fitted for such
stores. Its people are rather oriental than
occidental. They are used to the great ba-
zaars and department store is only a ba-
zaar under one head. They are also aCcus-
toned To do business by bargaining. and
they would jump at marked goods and hXed
prices. "a il is here at present you dlcker
for everything. from a suit of clothes to
liver pill 1t ia how much will you give?
and how much will you take? not only i'll
the great establishments. but also in the
petty markets found all over the city.
This bazaar was filed with shoppers
when | visited IT. Crowds of men in caps
overcOatS and top boots. of poorly dressed
peasant women in gowns and head shawls
and of tho well-c!&d. substantial merchant
class moved to and fro. There We're many
well dressed gentlemen, ladies and chill
drcn going from store to store. and also
many people resting and chatting on the
seats which line the streets of the bazaar.
American Goods in Moscow.
This bazaar is only one of half dozen
or more in Moscow. The others are
smaller. but some of them would be cons4d-
cred large anywhere Moscow is the com
nerci;l capital of Russia. Its business is
and l have walked myself tired
in going from one commercial quarter TO
another. Many new stores are going up,
and i'm some American elevators and others
of our inventions are being introduced
There is one store here which sells moth
lng but American goods. and strange to
say. II belongs To an EngliShman, who has
made Il fortune in dealing in our special
ties His name is Block, and he has been
doing business in Russia for the past TWEEN
ty wears. He started as an agent of the
Fairbanks scales. and pushed them that
the government adopted them and made
them tile standard scales of Russia. Block
then took the agency for other American
goods and continued increasing his bust
ness. until now he handles American type
writers. furniture from Cincinnati and
Grand Rapids, office desks and files. unit
bookcases. cameras, bicycles, stoves. and
indeed. everything American. He has big
establishments in St Petersburg and in
others OF the larger Russian cities. HIS
sales amount to tens of millions of dollars
year. and the profits are So great that he
has. | am told. become n millionaire 1t is
q pity he is an Englshman.
Millions in Electric Railways.
Some of the biggest openings here are
In the electrical field. ST. Petersburg has
about a million and a half people and it
Is still run by horse cars. Moscow has
10000. and has gained almost 100000
within the last ten years. 1t likewise has
horse cars. and poor ones at that War
saw and other cities are little better off so
that electric railway concessions would be
of enormous value.
There are several American parties who
are trying to get such concessions. includ-
ing the Westinghouse Company, and Mr.
Murray a. Werner of Pittsburg A story
burg man has the inside track and that
of the car. This story is rshy al best
kind of gossip one hears at these European
courts. According to IL the czar had an
actress sweetheart to whom he was de-
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