Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1913-06-20
GREAT STORES LEAD
IN THREE-DAY PLAN
FOR JULY HOLIDAY
Department Emporiums' Man
ayers Decide to Close on
July 5, a Saturday.
EVENING STAR OBTAINS
VIEWS OF MERCHANTS
Many Smaller Concerns Ready
to Shut Their Doors if
All Agree.

There is joy in store for the army
of department store employees In
Newark and their faces are wreathed
in smiles In anticipation of the good
times they are to have in celebrat-
! ing Fourth of July, for 1t was
announced this morning that an
agreement TO keep their stores
closed on Saturday, July >, so as to
give their employees three whole
days vacation, has been made be-
! tween the following department
stores: Hahne & Co., L. S. Plaut &
Co.. the David Straus Company, L.
Bamberger & Co. and W. v. Snyder
Company.
In anticipation of such an arrange
ment the proposal was made yester-
day that all stores in the business
section of the city should likewise
remain closed on that date. and many
retail merchants are today consider
ing the plan. With a view to inter-
esting leading business men in this
proposition, and ascertaining what
their attitude was toward 1t an Eve
| ming Star reporter made a canvass
of a number of establishments In
Broad and Market streets today,
the results of which were very prom
Using Nearly all the merchants seen
! expressed wish to close, and many
of them declared their intention. of
doing so if the department stores
took the initiative, which the latter
did this morning.
''All or None" They Say.
On the other hand there are many
merchants who will consent to close
only il all other merchants in the
business section do the same. Simply
expressed. their attitude is: 'All or
none" This means that to be sue
cessful the movement to close will
have to be generally acquiesced in
To achieve this end the Evening Star
has undertaken to promote the
project through it's columns. Ac-
cordingly it has procured statements
on the plan from various business
men. OF these statements the one by
Mr. Hunt of stoatenburgh's, appears
particularly convincing. Abiding to
the fact that July A comes on Friday
this year, he says:
THE opportunity to give their en-
ployees an extra day off in connec-
| ton with July is offered to employ
ers only once in every seven years
and it might be added, not to use it
! in spirit of consideration were
pity, seeing 1t would not commit en-
| ployers to an annual indulgence of
this kind.
| Furthermore" says Mr.. Hunt,
the summer schedule (for those who
have adopted It'd whereby a store will
close at noon on Saturdays. will go
! into effect on Saturday, July 5, the
day involved in the proposal, and
| this fact operates to make the plan
particularly feasible for larger
!, stores And as for the smaller
stores he says: "A half-day's bust
ness following a holiday would be in
considerable. so that closing would
entail negligible loss"
Set Business Clock.
Anticipating that the department
stores would be closed on the day in
question, Mr. Hunt declared that the
department stores in Newark set the
business clock. When they close bust
ness stops. Therefore. if they close
on Saturday. July 5, it would be adj
visable for all the other stores to
follow suit"
| In the same connection Mr.. Grau,
manager of Bedell's, said that IF the
! department stores should close it
would be folly for the other mer-
chants to keep open. The loss ac
cruing from their closing would be
| small, inasmuch as only a half day
| is involved (referring, of course, to
those merchants who will close at
noon, at any rate).
/ The same view is entertained by
Mr.. Long, manager of the 5 and 10
| cent store. who says that he con-
siders it bad policy for other retail
stores to keep open when the depart
ment stores are closed, since in that
case almost all shopping is suspended.
The plan commends itself be-
cause it will enable employ
ees to leave town and to
visit a resort for several days Thus
they could enjoy a much-needed
change of scene and opportunities
for relaxation not afforded by city,
and to deny them this would seem,
under the circumstances, to be the
height of ungenerosity
The proposal is distinctly social in
its nature and intent and calls for an
exercise of social feeling on the part
of all the merchants, large and small.
! 1t contemplates concerted action on
! their part in the interest of their en-
ployees' comfort and we'll being, and
in this age of social movements and
| ideas such action is fairly to be
| looked for and expected from them.