Los Angeles herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1900-1911, 1909-04-15
BUSINESS MEN ARE
PROUD OF SUCCESS
POINT WITH PLEASURE TO RE-
SUIT OF THElE INDUSTRY
Retail Stores and PIayhouses All Give
Attention to Detail in the Mat
ter of Personal Appear
ance of Employees
BY GEORGE HARRIS DoNoHuE

| AS a matter of comparison with 9TH
er cities, Los Angeles has without
doubt the most thoroughly we'll equip
| ped moving picture shows that can be
| found in any section of the coun-
| try. The and 10 cent houses under
take a more elaborate show than is at
| tempted elsewhere, and the result is
| that about every show shop in town is
at all times well patronized.
| Nearly every house has its attend
ants at the door and in the orchestra
pit wearing tuxedo suits with immac-
ulate collar and shirt, all of which is
| departure which might we'll be fol-
lowed by other picture houses through
out the country.
The same degree or careful detail is
characteristic of all the large DEPART
ment stores, and even the smaller
shops present evidence of uniformity
in the matter of general appearances,
both in the personnel of the clerks and
the tidiness of the well-kept@shops.
These are all very agreeable to the
| casual visitor, and 1 have heard many
complimentary remarks passed by
women who were touring about the
city looking in the shop windows.
One of the odd sights about town
right now is the human automaton"
who is attracting considerable atten-
ton in a West Fourth street show
window. This young man has a re-
markable ability to steady the muscles
of his face and entire body, all of
which gives him the appearance of a
wax figure.
These are the sort of features adopt
ed by the retail merchants of Los An
lgeles to attract the attention of the
haphazard passerby, all of which Is
in a way a good thing, but the gen.
uine article in the matter of concen-
trative advertising Is PUBLICITY, and
the more the average tradesman can
get the better off he usually finds him
self.
In talking with another well-known
| manufacturer of this city yesterday I
again learned that the volume of bust
ness done here was almost wholly on
orders contracted for away ahead of
the season. The manufacturers ap-
parently are satisfied with their pres
ent business and are not particularly
anxious to let the general public dis
cover the fact that they are in bust
ness for all they can get out of it.
To close observed this is certainly
wonderful city.
Back in Philadelphia or New York
or Boston, when you go in to talk bus
mess with a man he usually tells you
that the business was founded by his
grandfather and that his father had
followed the same line and that at the
present time he himself was the owner
OF the establishment.
Out here it's different. You go in
and see a man here and about the first
thing he tells you is that he came here
three or four years ago, and he gen.
orally points with pride and glee to a
couple of buildings across the street
which he tells you he has built through
his own energy and business acumen.
That's the sort of stuff which makes
Los Angeles great.
With rractica11v every active husi-
ness man a member of the chamber of
commerce 1t Is apparent that the CEN
tralization of combined interests will
eventually place this city close to the
half million mark in the matter of pop
ulation. AS 1t stands today, the trad
ing capacity of Los Angeles is some
thing ovor 100000 people, all of which
is going some, when it is taken into
consideration that twenty years ago
such combined interest would never
have been thought possible.
Since my arrival here I have been
approached by at least twenty different
people with all sorts of schemes, some
good, some very bad and others not
even worth consideration. Some of
these promoters are anxious to break
into public print, all of which I gather
as they go into the details of their va
rious enterprises.
I may open UP in day or two and
present some of these propositions,
after / have looked them over a bit,
and then the readers of this column
can discover for themselves some few
of the odd things which are daily being
cooked In this city.
It's an amusing thing to me to note
the number of people who look me
over while 1 am on the streets Most
of these people are quite sure they
have seen me before, but they cannot
for some reason or other associate me
with The Mysterious Mr. Raff1es, in
which role 1 appeared here two years
ago.
While standing in front of the An
gelus hotel yesterday afternoon an
elderly woman walked by and around
me at least half a dozen times before
she finally mustered up courage to ask
me whether or not 1 had at one time
roomed at her house. When 1 answered
in the negative she looked me over in
puzzled sort of way, as she said, half
alphabetically:
''Well, dear me, you certainly look
like Harry Saunders; but I'm quite
sure I've seen you somewhere before"
That simply shows how easy it is
to maintain an incognito when oper-
ating in the old work.
"Handsome" Harry Redfern of New
York is in town after an EXTENDED Trip
through the great northwest country.
Redeem is one of the best known polo
players in this country, being mem
Der of the Lakewood and Squadron
"a" polo teams.
1t was Redfern's father who created
a ripple of mirth in New York recently
when queried by newspaper represent
tative concerning polo by saying:
polo-you don't have to play it unless
you want to-"
Over at Fourth and Broadway yes
terday afternoon l almost found a.
pocketbook containing a fat wad of
greenbacks The chap directly ahead
of me picked it from the sidewalk,
opened it, saw the bills and without
losing time made a quick jump for a
passing street car.
Don't forget--if you have anything
worth while to talk about send it along
to me-
TH