The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-06-27
DRENNEN WILLING
 TOCLOSE STORE ON
 SATURDAY NIGHTS
Will Join Others in Giving Employees Shorter Hours on Thursdays and
 Saturdays

l Felix M. Drennen, secretary of Drennen company issued yesterday challenge
 to merchants in Birmingham to close their
 stores at o'clock on Saturdays during
 July and August in addition to the half | holiday on Thursdays. In discussing the
 terrific heat and it's effects upon sales
 men and saleswomen in the local stores, l Mr. Drennen said that he felt that 1t
 would be more greatly appreciated by the employees to have the Saturday nights off than to have the five hours on Thursday. He said that he had absolutely no ob- jections to the Thursday closing, that Drennen company would participate in that movement, as customary but that he desired to sign up with any 10 reputable mercantile firms of the community for the Saturday night closing.
 When you release the employees on Thursday afternoon" said Mir Drennen, '1t frequently happens that they want to crowd into the five hours trip to the ball game and the dance after dinner, and when they retire usually they are greatly fatigued. Then the next day their efficiency is below par, which the mer- chants pay for. But that is all right so far as we are concerned. Our firm in- tends to go into this Thursday closing, closing, but let us go further. l will every Saturday night or at any hour from 6 to 9, during July and August. with any 10 commercial houses of this community. By that arrangement many of our em- ployes could go to the country for Satur- day and Sunday night, and would be greatly refreshed. They could frolic Sat urday evening" and with the natural quietude of Sunday they would be rested up and refreshed when Monday morning arrived.
 "Dismissing the proposition of loss in ef- ficiency and the wear on the employees, it occurs to be that we should give our em- ployes not only Thursday but the o'clock see Is shorter hours in our stores during the heated term. believe the good peo- pie of this community would rally to the support of the merchants signing up on this matter, and that such trading as de- sired would be done before 6 o'clock, and certainly by o'clock, if that hour Is more agreeable. All trade employees get off an hour earlier on Saturdays and come straight to town. So if these men were impressed with our desire to allow our employees off little bit earlier they would trade early and thus pave the way for our initiating this movement.
 Shoppers in Birmingham do not need me to point out this fact; the weather during the past few days has been terrible for the employees of local mercantile stores While tho managers have stood by the guns even as the employees. yet the fact is not dimin- ished that all of us have suffered and will continue to suffer during the next two months. Here is a chance for the merchants of Birmingham to show to this community of right thinking peo- pie that we are a society which must serve one another else we all pay the forfeit. Let the merchants here get together on this matter. Let us close up on Thursday afternoon. a mere mat ter of five hours, then again, let us tell our friends that trade with us that for period of 60 days we want them to come in early. make their purchases and in this way relieve the burden that is being borne by the employees of every mercantile establishment in this city on Saturday night. In New York every store of any consequence now closes at noon on Saturday. That city Is one of countless citizens yet they have reached the point when no one thinks of buying on Saturday night Down south here 1t has been our cus- tom and 1t can easily be remedied. If these two concessions are made to our employees the merchants and the pat rons will reap the benefits. The mer- ~--~~~-~-~-~-~~~~~-~-~-~~
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