The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1911-12-23
MODERN MAMMOTH STORES
Idea Born in France az Years Ago
Jim Fisk an American Pioneer

Jim FISK an american rioneeT
The department store of today first
saw the light in the sunny land of
France 40 years ago--in 1869, to be
exact-when a venturesome Partisan
divided large building into numer-
GUS departments, each of which was
devoted to the sale OF a special class
of goods
Paris looked and gasped, then ad-
mired. and finally patronized the de-
parture. 1t succeeded and then just
to prove that imitation is the SINGER
est fattery a number of similar
stores sprang into being.
Two or three years later the first
department store in this country was
born in Boston Associated with the
enterprising proprietors, says Har-
per's Weekly, was that pirate OF for
tune known at that time as plain Jim
Fisk: he had not then become a col
onel, nor had he hoisted the black
g-- on tho financial seas that beat
a.ou~d Wall street He was a cey.
er, hustling Yankee peddler who had
driven a gaudy and gorgeous ped
dler's wagon up and down New Eng
land
After Boston, Chicago entered the
field. New York was bad third, al
though Philadelphia disputes the
claim. Then like mushrooms depart.
ment stores sprang up all over the
country until today there is not an
overgrown town anywhere that does
not boast OF an establishment in
humble imitation OF the great metro
politan palaces of commerce.
1T takes as much generalship. to
organize a business like this as to
organize an army" said President
Grant at the opening of department
store in Philadelphia in 1877 This
statement today seems TO be almost
modest when 1t is borne in mind that
there are not two stores in this coun-
try in which the salaries paid at GER
tain periods are at the rate of $4,000
a day or 100000 a week. equal to 81
500 year-a sum approximating
l-l5th OF the public debt OF the Unit
ted States in 1892 These figures In.
clude OF course the salaries paid not
only 10 the salespeople whom one
sees, but also 10 the dead help" the
delivery people, Office people, driy-
ers. watchmen, etc, whom one never
sees.
There are several stores which EN-.
ploy from 1000 persons at slow time
up TO 5000 during the Christmas hol.
days and have payrolls averaging
$4,000 a day or 100000 a year.
There is one store. which at Christ.
mas. 1910, had a population in two
cities of 1900. That would Indicate
a payroll of more than 500 900 day
for that period, or at the rate of
more than S6,OOO.OOO a year
What Is the value OF the stock that
the pretty salesgirs and their diplo.
matte colleagues deity persuade the
public to buy? From $4,000 900 to
SIOOO,OOO, the latter being the yalua.
ton about Christmas time. The stock
contains anything from a spool of
cotton costing penny to a piece of
antique lace costing $1,000 a yard,
from five-cent scarfpin TO a $50 600
necklace, from fur piece costing 81
TO a sable wrap worth $4,000.
The shabbily dressed mother can
buy a tiny pair OF shoes for a quar-,
ter OF dollar and the daughter of a
millionaire can be fitted with the
daintiest OF footwear that a hundred
times that amount will hardly nav
FOR Meats, vegetables, wines. every.
thing to eat and drink can be bought
there Musical instruments. antique
rugs. even airshlps are. II not on the
shelves. on the floor. Some stores
have real estate department
\ man walked into one OF I.ondon's
biggest establishments short time
ago and said he wanted to buy a
kingdom. lie was not regarded as \
mnatio. Tho superintendent regret
ted that they had no Kingdoms fol
sale. but he thought he could Get 4
duchy or principally or even 4
small republic hidden away In cor
ner OF France Of Italy.