Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-09-29
ETHICS OF THE BIG STORE
CONDITION OF EMPLOYEES IN
THE DEPARTMENT HOUSE.
Relations Of Customers and Clerks.
Skill in Paying and Selling.
Social Problems.

Skill in Paying and Selling.
Social Problems.
Hanford Crawford. in the Independent.
It is generally considered that It re-
quires some skill to be a barber, and cer-
tainly a high degree of skill to be first
class cook But when you sit at the head
of a department store day after day, In
large city. you get such an amount OF
advice and suggestions that it would seem
to be the general impression that almost
any person can do this better than the
one who is really doing it. A manager Of
a department store may perhaps be per-
mitted once in way to talk back
A department store Is a reversion to
store, of which here and there few
specimens are still to be found. A young
man in Alabama whom I know has such
an old-fashioned general store, in q town
Of 1900 people. 500 of them colored. I
helped him to buy his goods last fall. He
carries a een-thousand-dolia stock,
and he bought carpets and millinery,
sweep. ribbon. stationery, jewelry. har-
ness. and do not know what else. Much
OF his trade is barter, but to the best Of
his ability he Is working 1t as a depart
ment store.
The general store was succeeded first by
the special store, and then 1t swung back
again to what every city resident Is now
familiar with-the department store, the
largest example of which Is in Chicago
and carries the name OF Marshall Field
In the department store the effort is made
to gather together as many different lines
of goods as can be probably and con-
veniently handled under one roof and
with one organization. so that the custo-
mer can save the time required to 60 from
one store to another. This large organi-
cation must be able to buy for the lowest
cash prices. and therefore to deliver goods
to the customer at price somewhat less
than the various departments could do It
If they were disconnected stores. 1t
strives to do for It's customers better than
they can do for themselves.
The question Is often asked as to the
and commercial development
of the employees, compared with what It
would have been had they remained In
the smaller store. One does not have the
them with absolute accuracy, but 1 be-
lieve that it will be found that the man
at the head of a department or occupy
ing any position Of responsibility In
department store will earn more money
than the same man will be likely ever to
in his work. the department store man
has the best OF 1t also. When any one
at the head Of department, we are rare
us in the eight or ten large stores In st.
Louis is looking for an employe to place
at the head of a department, we are rare
iy able to ind that person In one OF the
very small stores. The man there is sci.
dom as competent to take up the duties
Of the head Of a department as the per-
son is who has been trained In the broad
err and larger commercial field of the
department store.
The department store compared with
the small store has shortened hours OF
labor. increased the number Of holidays.
and practically guaranteed an annual
vacation with pay to the majority of its
cial worry and the strain OF policy Is
carried by. the employer. and this leaves
the Individual employe tar more tipae for
himself and for his own improvement
Of a small store.
Mammoth Business.
In a department store you have many
Of the conditions OF a city.t 1t is world
in itself. in its discipline, its machinery,
it's relations. It Is beset by all the DIM
culties that go to make up a world. The
store Of Marshall Field & Co.. in Chi
cago has ordinarily at least 5000 en-
ployes under it's control and in the bust
est season approximately 1900. There
go through any such store In any ten
hours on fairly busy day enough peo-
pie to carry on from 10000 to $1,000
transactions Of one kind and
another, involving the assistance of one
or more Of the various clerks. There Is
hardly q social problem that does not
show itself in some form In the depart
ment store-the question OF the union. the
question of child labor, Of woman labor
OF the relation Of men and women, the
relation of employer and em0lCye. and.
most distressing Of all. the relation Of the
employer.
This last relation brings the entire
into contact with the store
and while 1t does not exist In the factory
or in the wholesale business. 1t is the last
ultimate proposition in all trade. When
a manufacturer makes goods and sends
them to the jobber they are not get sold:
when the jobber repacks them and ships
to the retailer. or to the sub-manufac-
turer. they are not sold. even though
are not sold until they are handed over
the counter by the retailer to the con-
sumner. to eat, to wear, or to use In
whatever way he will.
age. come to feel that In a certain sense
they own the store and for this reason
they have certain vested rights or
privileges. We get our ldeas of what is
needed from our customers; we try
to please them. We try to do the bust
ness as they would have 1t done, In so
far as this is morally right and meets
the general wishes of society. The very
perplexing question Of the individual con-
sumner is in no business SO involved as II
Is in that of the department store, whose
success hangs not upon the management
Of any one department, but upon the
uniformly profitable and successful man.
agement of all its departments.
The great problem in the department
store is the contest between the profit
account and the expense account The
cost prices for large quantities of mer-
have been standardized. No one
store has any particular consideration
BIS to the purchase price of goods; the