davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-04-28

|fCopyright. 1912. by Frank G. Carpenfer1 Culebra, Canal Zone, Panama. TN my letter of last Sunday gave you |t the gfirst part of my talk with Col. A George ". Goethals. the supreme manager of all things here on tue isth- mus. I told you what he said about the |. .taracter of our great canal, it's slides. Iits locks and it's dam. I gave you also his story as to how the costs on this job have been managed so as to be cut to q minimum, and gave his prophecy that the canal would be surely opened on time. The talk was held last Sunday afternoon. Colonel Goethals and myself sitting the while on the porch of his home at Cule- bra and looking out upon the mountains through which the mighty cut has now been gouged to such a level that ships can pass through it.
 The Zone as Military Reservation
 Continuing our conversation. I asked the eolonel 10 tell me how the canal zone should be managed and whether there should not be live American population covering It from one end to the other
 Stf II have my way" was the em- phauc reply. T would depopnlate 1t as soon as the work Is completed. We want nothing on the zone but the homes of the employees of the canal and the buildings Of the military ad naval establishments
 We shall need dry docks at each Of the ter minals and should have the hest of loading and unloading facilities We should have coaling stations and fuel oil stations, and Il may be stores and ware houses for supplying the shipping with all things it may need. Further than that, We would be better without settle ments. There is at least no need for them row, and if any necessity should |develop they viii bs ercted tTntu t,at necessity arises l would like to see the strip kept for what il was originally in ded, and that is for the creation, op- erating and maintenance of The canal
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-04-28

it's volume Of trade had reached the s69- Uc0,Go0 mark. Then he showed it's gradual decline. This decline was due in no way to lcssening of energy, to lack of capi- tal or abeence of honest effort, he de- Jared, but to one of those great changes that come at times in business and that must be met by a change in methods. The day of the great iobber and of tine dom inant position of tse jobbing house, he said, had passed. It never would return
 By reason of the protective tariff and the growth of the mills a condition had de- veloped that altered the whole aspect of affairs, 20 far as the house of Laffan was concerned. A vast amount of money had been invested in cotton, woolen and carpet mills to increase their capacity
 toincident with thoi- expansion ? new factor had entered the field. This was the department store.
 The small merchant who purchased his stock fro mjobbers no wpayed second fiddle to the department store and the department store. buying direct from tho manufacturer, saved what had been the jobber's profit. The house of Laffan had sold nothing at retail. It had depended upon buying in large volume and selling te the small retailer The big mills, by eason Of the advent of the department store had been relieved of the dominance of the 1ot ber. The iobber, like the small retailer, was in an enl al rassing position, economically considered. There was no doubt in his mind that the department store would spread and increase in pow CT. As it spread and increased the job Der would be crowded more and more into the background What, he asked his partners. was to be done? He-answered his own question. For it's own protec- ton it wss necessary for the house of T.affan to conform tc the new conditions. It could go CT as geIat iobbiBg estab- lishmcnt for q good many years more, but it's business would shrink mere and more each year. If 1t was to prosper as it formerly lad prosrered 1t would be necessary for it to enter the retail trade in addition to continuing It's wholesale trade. As it was losing customers it had to provide customers for it's own goods. IL had 10 act both as jobber and 1istribii- tor. Not only that. Lut the holis of
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-04-28

the elder Laffan died an evolution had started in the dry goods business. Few realized the fact until theevolufon WAS well under way. Slowly but surely inc
 volume of business controlled by the
 I.affar establishment began to contract. If takes a long time for q big concern like the Laffan one to feel the effect of the change It's greatness, the impetus 1t has gained through tho years of it's growth, carries it alcng with considerable mo- lacni,nl It is difficult for men iu busi- ness to distinguish sometimes between currents snd tides. It is more difficult fpr men developed to one line of thought and one line Of procedure to appreciate that new ways, new customs, new methods Inust be adopted because of fundanien- tai change that has come rather suddenly.
 John Ls fan got his financial reports at regular intervals from the great jobbins house. He sthudied the figures. com- pared them with those of previous reports --Gnd laid them aside, He was too busy with ether and more congenial problems to give them serious consideration at first, bu tas time went on his interest was awakened. Something was wrong The contraction of the firms business was too steady to admit of exclamation on any ordinary basis.
 The true student delights in solving a problem. It matters little to him whether if is one of chess or one of mathematics. The JOY is in the discovery. From the problems of municipalities young Laffan turned his mind to the problem of the wholesale dry goods business He went at 1t snitl the tnoroughpess that only the real student employs. He put his best energies into the work and devoted many months to the subject. He found it more fasciratlng than he had believed it could be. He vas not satisfied until he dad solved the problem. Then he suddenly oLnrr red from the man of study to the man of effairs. One day he went to the q fer partners of the establishment and | Il the facts before them al he saw them !, lat he said was probably surprise to f sn.
 Je traced the growth of the house of
 Jffan frcm the time his father had le-
 sun business He explained it's expan- si0n in all its detail up to the period when
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-04-28

Laffan should broaden it's sphere in other ways It no longer should be copart- nership, but a corporation, and he did not believe in it's being a close corporation. He would be happy if every employe could be stockholder.
 Following his suggestion, a corporation was formed. All the thousands of em- ployes were invited to subscribe for stock. Terms of easy payment were made. and many of the men took advantage of the opportunity to become more closely iden- tified with the business. The company that was formed was a big one, but. big as it was and large as was it's capital 1t did not have all the money necessary 10 meet the wide embracing plans Of young MT. Laffan. He went to J. Pier pont Morgan and put his project before him in all it's details. From the banker he had no difficulty in getting loan of 8, 000 Then he started on the depart ment store or retail branch of his pro- ject. He had studied his field well, knew exactly what he wanted and was forti- fled with all the information necessary to guide him in his operations. He bought a controlling interest in one great retail store in New York and then he bought a controlling interest in another. He count ued on this line until he had bought con- trol of five of the great establishments in Manhattan. Then he bought two cs- tablishments in Brooklyn. That seemed enough to hi min the local field. But it was only a beginning.
 He bought control of department store in Newark, took over one of the great est concerns in Baltimore, two in Bufra- To, two in Louisville. one in Chicago. two in St Louis and on through the vest until he had more than 90 in his chain Tn each and every instance he invited the employees to become stockholders. He wanted the financial interest of all the men, from those who wrapped the parcels up to those who directed the affairs of the stores He is great believer in the principle of cooperation the cooperation that Is based on mutuality of interest.
 Each establishment retained It's ndivid- ral character. appealed to it's own trade and adhered as strictly as possible to It's former line. There was no change in firm name. In nearly every instance the same
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-04-28
HEN THE CANAL COMPLETED-By Frank C. Carpenter

enue, not only from the tourist travel. but also from tho great immigration which will probably come from Europe 10 South America in the near future. believe that this will be a passenger route as well as freight route.
 Should American Ships Go Free?
 "But how about our American vessels. Colonel Goethals? Would you charge them the same rate as those of foreign na- tiors?"
 T think that American ships ought to be favored, but by our treaty with Eng land I don't see how we can discriminate in their favor as long as they are en- gagged in transcontinental commerce.. Iin- der our coastwise laws We can diseTifii- nate in favor of our own vessels. since all others are prohibited from engaging in trade between American ports. would make q lower rate for such yes seis.
 And then there is another question that comes up right there" said Colonel Goethals. and that is whether 1t is fair to give such rates in justice to the in terlor of the country. As 1t is now. ths coast cities are the favored ones as to the transcontinental railway haul. They get proportonately lower rates than the towns of the interior. If you cut tho rate of tolls this will give those places additional advantages. Another point is that the coastwise shipping will make rate just as high as tn etraffic will stand. and any cut we may make Tn tolls on its behalf will result In benefit to the shipping interests and not to the mer- chants who ship nor to the ultimate con sumer.
 How about the intercontinental rail- ways? Will the canal seriously affect them?"
 sIt will 10 some extent. of course. There are certain commodities that will always be handled by rail and certain heavy. bulky and low class freight which Is sure to go on the ships. The intermediate classes of commodities will be sought aft CT by both railways and ships and the question as to just what the tolls arc will to some extent determine the route FRANK c. CARPENTER.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-04-28

large; it's capital was SO pig that 1t al- most dominated the dry goods trade of the whole country. It's reputation was so good and it's standing so high that none of it's competitors could hope to win ts customers from it. Mill men courtede it's favor; they had to. They knew they always could sell to Laffan everything they had in stock if the price was right They may have chafed a bit because they could not be more independent, because they could not dictate prices to him in- stead of having him dictate to them, but there was no escape from the situation. The power of tEe tremendous trade he commanded seemed too gerat to be over come.
 Young John Laffan took full advantage of the opportunities offered him by his father. He was graduated from the uni. versify with honors. Then he traveied. He was student by nature and took a deer interest in all the great questions of the day The wholesale dry goods hiisi- ness of his father interested him only as a family institution. He was more ab- sorbeG in col sideration of questions of municipal development and public inn provement generally. He studied how to eeautify cities, how to develop parks, how to improve public utilities. how to add to the general care and comfort of the null titudc The Identification of TN .r's banks the protection of municipalities water supply from contamination. the hafmcnizing of city architecture. the building of creditable public structures ard subjects of this character appealed to himh greatly.
 He Was intensely loyal to New York. He aprreciated it's wonders and it's ciiidi- lies. He gave to it the benefit of his ob- servatIons and his knowledge.
 John Laffan was well past 90 when his father died. He fell heir to the major in- terest in the great establishment but was content to let the other partners di- rect it's affairs He was too rich to have any worries over financial matters and toe absorbed in his chosen work to give 1t up for the more uncongenial tasks that active participation in the dry goods busi- ness would entail.
 The laws of trade are as immutable g. the lows of nature. Some yearS before
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-04-28

; As a general rule men do not wish their sons to follow in their footsteps. A drug gist will tell his son there is nothing so poor for a young man to go into as the drug line A lawyer will aim his son at any other profession than the law. A clergyman would rather see his son take ID anything than ministerial calling. hat may explain why the elder Atr. I.af- Tan did not want his son, John, to become q dry goods jobber. A contributing cause was the fact that John Laffan was rather delicate.
 As the son of a very rich man young Laffan had every advantage of educa- tion and environment. While he had not rredilection for mercantile life. nc had great pride in the business his father had built up. There was good basis for his ;. pride. tor this brsines not only was the z greatest in New York. but the biggest jobbing establishment in the world The office and the warehouse covered an en- tr eblock in the business part of the city There was hardly a dry goods merchant who came to New York who did no- find 1t necessary tc visit the establishment. It had mere than z000 employees and more than 10,C00 customers It was known from one end of the land to the other, and there was hardly a town in the United .;tates in which it did not sell goods to the re- ta1lers. It bought the entire produces of various mills, O rthe entire stocks off \ some importers. and in addition it inn ported direct. It made a specially of white goods. It had constantly in stock thousands of bales of white cotton goods Of ell grades, printed cotton goods of all kinds. blankets, iiannes, dress fabrics, pcpuins, cashmeres, henrettas, plaids shaws, sll sorts of laces, kid and fabric gloves of great variety, miles and miles of lace curtains. upholstery fabrics of every style, carpets and rugs. silk in all it's multitude of shades and characters, notions and small wares including braids, hooks and eyes, pins, needles, spool cot kn, sewing silks. embroideries, ribbons, yarns. cloakirgs, cloths for men's wear, hats-aimcst everything. Nothing Illus trates the immensity of the business mere than the meef statement that in one year it's sales amount to $69,ooo'ooo.
 Nothing seemed more secure than the prceperity of this house. It's prohts were
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-04-28

, ernment will have to spend great sums for roads. for schools, for police pro- lection, fire protection, sanitation and the other necessary adjunets of a CIV ilized community. The taxes for such things could not be borne by the pso- pie. and the money would have to come out of the government. In addi- ton there Is the human element which would involve complications not only with the canal authorities, but with tho Panamians.Y
 Then you do not think tho lands of the zone should be open 10 settlementY Tt would be a mistals to open them. .
 "Then just what should the zone he2' Nothing but a military reservation. It's only homes should be those of the canal employees and of the military 1T It is made such 1t will unify the man. agement and reduce the cost of opera tion By the terms of the treaty the 10 mile strip was to be devoted to the con- struction, operation, maintenance, san itation and protection of the canal. That Is the foundation upon which our right to 1t stands, and it should be kept so'
 There are many of our people, Colonel Goethals, who think the canal should not be fortified"
 The Qualifications of the Canal
 That may be so, was the reply, but am not one of them. There is no ques- tion about the need and desirability of Notifications in my mind. Indeed, we are bound to fortify 1t by our treaty oblfga- tions, If for not other reason. By those treaties we have engaged to maintain the neutrality of the canal. to keep it free for all nations, and to prevent it's being bloekaded. To do that We must have Notifications
 But that is outside the main question: Colonel Goethals went on. The chief thing is that we have built the canal as a military necessity, and that in order that it may benefit the United States we must be able to defend it against all possible attacks by sea and land"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-04-28
The Best She Could Do

From the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
 They had quarreled and were returning the presents.
 The love tokens made pitiful display on the polished center table.
 The man added a blue knit tie to the little heap in front of hir1, and :isen they were silent for Q while.
 MT. Brown "
 ''Yes. Miss Simmons"
 q feel that I am taking ar advantage of you"
 'Ir what way?"
 You have given me almost countless boxes of candy and no end of good dii- ners. cant return those to you. I have eaten them. They are now a part of myself. And so. as 1 want to be hon. est with you, George. the only way I can settle this part of the transaction is toto give you myself"
 And the quarrel ended then and there.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-04-28

Then" Colonel Goethals continued. If in connection with the operation of the canal we retain our present comnissary, cold storage and manufacturing plants for the benefit of shipping; if we sell them fuel. water and make repairs for ships doing a general ship chandlery bus mess. at fair profit, we ought to have a still greater surplus.
 The Canal Will Eventually Pay
 ''But, colonel, in this estimate you do not consider the original investment. The canal will cost in the neghborhood of s1oo.0oo.o0O Is Uncle Sam to get no diyi- dends on that amount?"
 T do not think any should be expect ed.'' was the reply. ''The canal was con- strueted not as a financial speculation or investment. It was created in a military necessity. The United States had to have it, and our commerce and that of the world should not be taxed for its crea- tion."
 But may 1t not eventually pay?" I aksd. "The Suez canal pays well. Win ours not equal it?''
 AS to its having q traffic as great as that of the Suez canal. that is matter of speculation. But I do not sec why it should not. If you will look back you will find that every new waterway that has been opened has developed com merce far beyond what was anticipated. When the French opened Suez they met with the most bitter opposition from Great Britain and from others of the ship going nations They were told that 1t would be failure and the canal was never spoken of except with a sheer. No one could have anticipated the enormous traffic that has actually resulted. When the Sault Ste. Marie canal was decided upon no one had any idea. that 1t would have traffic Of 100000 or 5o,000,00o tons per annum. It will be the same with this canal. Look where 1t is. It is on the frontier of the only great undeveloped lands of the future. l refer to the vast tracts of South America and Central America. It will be the ocean highway from one part of our country to the other and the ocean highway for Europe. Besides Asia is just awakening, and the 500 900 GOO and more of that continent will
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-04-28
The First Thimble

From the Century May Journal.
 There is tradition that a Dutch silver smith pondered over a certain notion which he had cherished long and silently in the slow working senses which hs deemed his brain-a notion for a trinket. a falai, For dignified lady of Holland IL must be useful trinllet. albeit a costly one. meet for good a sempstress as Dame Alike YanRensselaer When the notion took definite shape the thing was quickly wrought in precious metal by fingers as delft as the brain was slow. and the in dustrious housewife proudly wore ,loe only her first thimble. but the first thin> ble possessed by any Dutch frau.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-04-28

management was continued No houses in the chain was obligated to eonfine it's purchases to the parent establishment of Laffan. This connection was only a sen timental one. A multitude of economies was introduced Most of them were to be traced directly to the greater eheapness owing to purchases in tremedendous vol ume by the house of Laffan. Other econ oinles came from an interchange of ideas and the introduction of systems that had proved of great value where they had been tried out.
 Probably some of the men who first heard John Laffans plan, as explained by him, considered it impractical But
 it has not proved so. The student who had viewed the situation from afe- had a clearer conception and a better real
 zation of what was necessary than those who were close up. The chain is grad ually lengthening and apparently growing stronger and stronger. It has spread out into Canada 1t has spread into Ala bama, into Texas. to the Pacific coast to the far northwest,
 The jobber is no longer a factor of necessity to the mllman, but the jobbing house of Laffan may be consdered> an exception to the rule. Generally speak
 ing, the product of the spindle and the
 loom is shipped direct from the mills to the distributors, and the day of the mid dleman is gone. But through the great chain of stores that Laffan controls the parent house still fills it's role as a mid dleman. While the mills market the great bulk of their own product and do not have to share their profits to the ex- tent they once did with the jobbers, yet they sell more perhaps today to the job hing house of Laffan than they did in former times. The expansion of the coun- try's trade has been so enormous that the anomaly is presented of one great jcbblng house holding it's position despite the evolution of the trade.
 And a student who was not intended for trade or trained in trade lines has become Americas greatest figure in trade. The figures that once were the pride of the house of I.affan no longer are the high-tide mark Of the business. From the sGa,oo0.o0o that marked the greatest achievement of his father John
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-04-28

eventually he sending their goods to both sides of our hemisphere. As 1t Is now the distances between Asia and Europe favor suez, but Asia must do q great business with North and South America. Indeed, tho possibilities are inestimable.
 More About Tolls
 Now let us look at the question of tolls,' said Colonel Goethals. Suppose we should eventually have a traffic equal to that of suez. I have looked over tho figures of the Suez canal for 1900. During that year more than 4000 vessels passed through 1t, and their gross tonnage was upward of 21 ,o00. .O0o have not the receipts for that year. but in 1907, when the tonnage was l. e00,00 less, the actual receipts were more than S23000, ,000. A traffic like that would more than pay 1 per cent interest on the cost of the canal and leave a large surplus above tho opera ting expenses as well. Tine Suez canal has in times past charged tolls of s2 a ton. It has gradually reduced them until with the beginning of this year the charges will be s1.25 per ton. They are getting ready to meet our S1 tolls. and that perhaps because the shipping of the world has been complaining of It's eNcesslVe rates and suggesting that 1t may favor Panama"
 How about the rates on passengers?'
 That Is another question If the toll is levied on the gross tonnage of a ship it should perhaps take in the passen- gers, as the passengers are part Of the weight. This was the complaint made at Suez by the British when they sent through their troop ships, They had to pay for the gross tonnage and then pay so much per man. At one time the rate was $2 per head, and that on 5000 troops would be s1o,0o0. This tax Ing the passengers was one of the sub jeets of the Constantinople convention, and it resulted in the present basis Of measurement of tonnage at Snez. The tolls are now based on the net tonnage and the passengers are charged for In addition at so much per head. If we should charge for passengers in the same way I look for a considerable rev.