The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-07-11
FERD AND SOL.

Two merchants with single thought, | Two purposes as one; To sell the goods by ladies bought And then to have some fun. -F rom the Unpublished Works of Jiji | Is there romance in Merchandise? | Is fun to be found there? Let whoever wonders, take a little
 peep behind the scenes and out of the Merchandise itself, there is woven be-
 fore ones very eyes an Epic such as the Golden Book of Venice never recorded.
 Study for example the exquisite beauty
 of wonder bit of rare Venetian lace and there is presented to the imagination
 moonlight evenings in the "Grande Ca
 nal"
 Examine the characteristic Swiss de- signs of these textiles, and embroideries. and recall the vale of Chamounix, and the Alpine glow upon Mont Blanc. Trace the Buddhist emblems on yon vase of Janasese Cloisonne and be re- minded of the sacried Grove of Nikko. | Observe the wondrous hues of the
 Eastern sllks-and about them still cling
 the all-pervading sandal wood odor of
 the treasure-laden Orient. l Into this realm of trade countless va riety and possibilities drifted some years ago (we won't say how many). two young men--now bachelors of high degree, who | for downright, honest, whole-souled, brimming enthusiasm, optimism and hu-
 nor, as to the prospects of becoming
 milionaires through such d medium Il would be difficult to find. Of course you know whom I mean-ft not, permit me to present those Mer- chant Princes of Birmingham whom ev- erybody knows-and whom everybody likes-Mr. Ferd Marx and MT. Sol Ca
 heen. 'The Two Dromios of the Dry Goods World" Do you understand how two men in the same business, selling to the same class of customers, the same goods, year in and year out--whose shops stand side by
 sde-could be as good chums as these two are?
 It's really remarkable the Damon and
 Pythias friendship that exists between
 the twain. Perhaps it's because they are so much alike.
 Their tastes are similar; their tenn peraments also.
 1 They are both most affable and delight ful gentlemen-each a foil always ready | for combat
 | Like the twin brothers, attendant upon the two Antipholuses in Shakespeares s | immortal Comedy of Errors" one of these men Is Genius to the other; and l so of these, which is the natural man | and which the spirit? Who deciphers | them?
 | In personal appearance the Two Drom- | jos of the Dry Goods World are not un- | like: each inclines toward embonpont, as the years roll by. | Each has the same keen sense of humor and nothing pleases them better than to get off joke at the others ex pense.
 | For instance:
 | The other day MT. Caheen had stepped Into Mr. Marks store to ask him about their summer trip to Manhattan Beach dhey chose Manhattan this time-New Yorlx's divided into two parts-you lSnow-Manhattan and-MartinD when couple of very pretty ladies came in so- liciting donations for some pet charity. Mir. Marx. with Chesterfieldan polite ness listened to the appeal from the la ladies, and then smilingly pointed to MT. Caheen and said: 'sHe is the financial man of the con cern. Ask him."
 MT. Caheen with his characteristic
 cleverness, grasped the situation at once and said
 Certainly, we will give twenty-five dollars. Just step back to the office and
 get the money"
 Of course. MT Marx didn't enjoy that
 joke quite as much as MT. Caheen.
 It's almost as good show as the Rogers
 Brothers put up. to get these two bright men together and good Interloucutor to do the rest.
 They have very unique way of an- swering questions.
 If the Interlocutor asks MT Marx some thing about himself (about Mr. Marx, not
 the Interlocutor), MT. Caheen promptly answered. and vice versa.
 How long have you two been friends?" was the Tnterlocutors first rapid fire query to MT. Marx.
 MT. Caheen--"About thirty years. And while you are about it please just in-