Los Angeles herald., 1906-11-18
GIVE EMPLOYER
WORK OF ART
DEPARTMENT STORE OWNER
HONoRED
Arthur Let's Receives silver Plaque
Of Beautiful Design commemora-
tive Of Each Advance Step In
Great Establishment

Arthur Let's. proprietor of the Broad
way Department Store, was the most
surprised man In Los Angeles last
night when 1900 of his employees. who
were gathered at Kramer's hall, pre-
sented him with a magnificent silver
plaque. The relations existing between
Mr. Let's and his employees are of the
friendliest and the high regard they
have for their employer could scarce
ly have been better shown than by
the splendid testimonial of last night.
The affair was ostenslbly a dance,
and IL was on this pretext that Mr..
Let's was brought to the hall without
suspecting what was in store for him.
The programs had been got up as
souvenirs Of the occasion. On the front
cover was a cut of the plaque ip half
tone. Within, under the heading
'Merriment," followed the dance pro-
gram, while on the next page were
the words Presented by e. w. Fox
on behalf of every member of the store
to-" and then followed half tone of
| MIR. Let's.
An interesting feature of the presen-
tation was that the speaker of the
| evening is the oldest employe of the
house. having been with Mr.. Let's
before the present store was begun.
No less interesting was little Miss Bes-
sic Eppstein, who invited Mr.. Let's to
| IIlS pldIlOIll. Dy peCulldI ClilCl-
| dence she is the youngest in years as
well as in terms of service. Her black
eyes sparkled as she invited her en-
| ployer to ascend the platform, where
F.. w. Fox was waiting to astound
him with the magnificent gift
Plaque Has History
The history of the plaque is an in
teresting one. When the Saturday
closing became reality, the employees
determined to show some mark of
gratitude to Mr. Let's for his efforts.
committee consisting of e. w. Fox,
E.. w. Lewis, E. w. Metcalf and ].
Murphy was chosen as presentation
committee, and 1t was decided to give
him a plaque at that time, but 1t was
found impossible to have the ornament
| made in time for the occasion. so the
| roll of employees, leather roll con-
| tanning the autographs of every one
of the thousand or more employees,
was given Mr.. Let's and the commit
tee set about to find Jeweler who
could make what they wanted. The
Los Angeles jewelers. did not care to
undertake the task, so sllversmiths all
| over the country were communicated
with. Many of them declared that 1t
was impossible to make such a piece
as they wanted, and those whs could
do it demanded an exorbitant figure
| for their work.
:. Finally Mr.. Leatart of the firm of
James & Leatart heard what was
| wanted and at once declared his will
ingness to undertake the task. Moth
ing can be done elsewhere in the
United States that can't be done In
Los Angeles" he declared confidently,
and his declaration has been substan-
tiated.
The plaque is triumph of the sill
versmith's art. 1t is about eighteen
inches in diameter and weighs over ten
pounds. The entire plaque is solid
silver and all the work is made by
hand in the Leatart shop
Historic in Design
At the top of the circle, within a
| triangle Is a scene representing the
coming of the pioneer. An Indian
stands on the rocky mountain side,
peering out over the plain at a prairie
schooner. In the distance the golden
| sun is peeping through the mountains,
this sun, which is made of gold, being
the only part of the plaque that is not
| solid silver
At the vertex of the triangle is the
inscription Testimonial from the en-
ployes of the Broadway Department
Store to Arthur Let's, pioneer in every
store reform favoring employees, Los
Angeles, Cal. June 81 1906"
TO the right of the triangle in dia-
| mond is the firm motto, Don't
Worry; on the other side is its COM
panion. Watch us grow"
Beneath the first diamond is raised
figure of the first enlarged store, that
of 1898. and directly below it the words
"Half holiday, 1885," this being a re-
form instituted by Mr.. Let's after his
first enlargement. The next figure is
that of the store as 1t appeared after
| the second enlargement; and the in
scription Free school, 1901" Another
follows with the words Overtime pay,
1902" and the next bears the symbol
Vacation with pay, 1903" The ex-
pansion of last spring was marked by
the Saturday night closing.
#. On each side of the plaque and at the
bottom natural size oak leaves and
acorns are placed, all the work being
raised. The edge of the ornament is
outlined in oak leaves and acorns, as
are the triangle and inscription.
From the lower end, suspended by
two heavy rings, hangs the black
! leather scroll containing the names of
! the employees The whole Is suspend
ed by long chains from the top, which
end in large ring. Between the two
chains is a little silver shield bearing
the inscription, Presented November
| II, nineteen hundred SIX"
In addition to its intrinsic value and
the associations that cling to it from
the very nature of it's presentation,
the plaque is an object of value in that
IL shows the ability of Los Angeles
talent to attempt anything desired, and
to push to a successful completion the
! task undertaken.
The unexpected nature of the affair
almost unnerved Mr.. Let's and his
voice quavered as he responded to the
speech of Mr.. Fox. When he had fin
ished his short reply it was difficult
to tell who of the party were the more
moved. The solicitude shown by the
popular proprietor for his employees has
won him countless friends among their
number. and all were affected by the
way In which he received the testi-
monial of their regard.
In waltz and two-step, the lighter
| footed members spent the evening,
and the morning light was close at
hand before the last of the younger
set sought the comfort of their beds.
PRIEST WILL REPEAT