Norwich bulletin., 1917-09-26
WRITES OF WAR TIME
 CONDITIONS IN LONDON
Commerce Receives interesting Let ter From English Business House.

Commerce Receives Interesting Let ] ter From English Business House. l Secretary Herbert R. Branche of the ] local Chamber of Commerce has re- 1 ceived from Frank Chitham, rnerchan- l disc manager of Selfridge & Co.,, Ltd, vey of business conditions in that | country brought about through the
 world war. Some weeks ago MT. | Rranche addressed a letter to Sel- I of securing first hand information as to conditions in England. MT. Chit nam in replying to the request, writes ] as follows: MT. H. R. Branche. Chamber of Com merce of Norwich, Connecticut, U. Dear Sir:-In reply to your letter | of August 9th. we think the letter re- gently written by MT. Selfridge to some of his friends in America will answer many of the questions which you have in mind.
 We have pleasure in enclosing one for your perusai and trust you will find it of interest.
 Yours faithfully,
 For Selfridge & Co.,, Ltd, FRANK CHITHAM. The enclosed letter follows:
 We have really, during the last two and ee-quarter years gone through an interesting experience. I can hardly think that anything like the same conditions will arise in America, Eeven though the war is continued long CT than we expect and even though America gets into it quite deeply Things have taken place, which, before the war we should have felt were ab solutely inconsistent with the contin- uation of business. or, at least, with any possible satisfactory result to that business. And yet we have ad justed ourselves all over the country fN vxyit aY-1O a consequences and without much com
 pIaint, for the feeling throughout
 Great Britain is absolutely unanimous
 in sustaining the country. no matter
 what Is necessary in this great war.
 To begin with from this business the
 first week of the war we lost 150 of
 our young men who came to us as
 Students and had learned the bus.
 mess under our own instruction, to
 whom we were looking to fill the man.
 agerial positions of the house as rap
 idly as they might become vacant.
 This was a serious loss to our organ
 ization and one which we cannot make
 up. Of course most of these young
 men will return when this war is
 over, but in the meantime they have
 grown three years older and have not
 during these three years increased
 their knowledge. of the Dry Goods
 business. Incidentally may say that
 we have now 300 men with the Colours and we spend sso.oo0 or s4o.-
 GOO a year in absentees' salaries,
 which means that we are advancing money to their families so that they shall not in any way want during the
 period of the bread winners" ab-
 sence. This is generally being done throughout Great Britain.
 Another difficulty which came quick
 ly was the reduction and final aban-
 donmer.t of the suburban trains, which
 we in London has counted upon being
 absolutely essential to the holding of
 the business of the suburban GUS
 toner. Recently the bus service,
 America has been very much curtai1-
 ed and only this morning one of my
 ma anagerS told me that 72 different bus
 routes passing this house had been
 taken off Those reductions also we have gradually accustomed ourselves to until we hardly recognize the diff ference.
 During the first few months of the war our merchandise was not difficult to obtain, but for the last year or
 more this has become, perhaps, the biggest problem we have to solve. Im- pOrtatfons have been prohibited by the government in many departments and in those which have not been prohibit ed we have great difficulty in getting goods. The manufacturing districts of France in the northeast as you know, has been in the fighting area for so long that practically no mer- chandise has been obtainable from this great source of supply for at least two years. When we went to Amer lea for merchandise we found the manufacturers so we'll supplied with orders from home that their interests in foreign business was not keen, and while some of them treated us with great courtesy I think, perhaps more or less, 1t was because of my being an American, still America has not been very good supply center as far as Great Britain and our kinds of goods are concerned.
 Notwithstanding all of these troubles most of the Dry Goods houses in Eng land have shown something of an in crease in business and profits during the last 12 months, and this is because wages have steadily risen and the em- ployed class have more money today than they have ever had before in this part of the world. On the other hand the moneyed class have in most instances had their net incomes se riously reduced by taxation, etc, and this class has not spent anything like the money that it was accustomed to spend before the war.
 I think generally business has been good in all departments of women's requirements, mems departments have had a difficult time because 5,000,0 900 6,000.000 of our men are in khaki and not requiring mems hats. shirts and collars, etc.
 Our own increase has been very much larger than anyone's in Eng land. We sold two -and-a-half mill lion dollars. more than a year ago and three hundred and -seventy-f1ve thous- and dollars more, but I do not attrib ute that increase to the war in any way and feel that we would have done very much better if it had not been for the war. We really have accom- l plished this interesting result by hard work and pressing home the ideals of this business. and I have ventured to say publicly many times, this busi-1 ness is still only just begun"
 Certain items of expense have i'm | pressed themselves upon us which ] heretofore we have hardly considered. | For example, the matter of twine has l become a very serious item. We are ] spending something like one thousand | five hundred dollars to two thousand l dollars a month on this one insignifi- l cant thing. while paper. boxes, wrap |