Evening star., 1918-04-05
COMMUNITY STORE
HAS MANY PATRONS
Opened by Residents Of Con-
necticut Avenue and CIeve-
land Park Sections.

Residents of the Connecticut avenue
and Cleveland Park sections of Wash
ington have opened community CO.
, operative store, the only institution of
its kind in the District Of Columbiae
The patronage of the store during
the few days since it announced that
it was ready for customers has been
larger than anticipated and has estab-
lished the conviction that its success is
assured.
The store organization is known as
the Standard Store Company. incor-
poratcd All the stock is held by resi-
dents of the community in which it is
situated and members of the staff of
the bureau of standards. 1t is located
in building erected especially for the
purpose at Connecticut avenue and Van
Ness street, also the point of entrance
to the grounds OF the bureau of stand
ards from Connecticut avenue.
Departure in Structures.
The store building itself represents
departure in such structures, being built
more on the lines of suburban cottage
or bungalow than the usual store. 1t is
a wooden building. painted in green and
white, with large covered porch in
front, porch settees and boxes for flowers
ana SnruDS. II races SOutnWarU on COn-
necticut avenue and is fronted by a drive
permitting automobiles to proceed to the
store doors. One of the services of the
store will be the sale OF gasoline to mo-
toriSts; at present there is no other
gasoline station within more than mile.
despite the fact that an enormous motor
traffic passes daily over this section of
Connecticut avenue
The store stock consists of meats, gro
ceries and other provisions. candies,
smokers supplies and mems furnishings.
the last named goods being largely tor
the benefit of the young men at the bu-
telephone and delivery service and will
not only extend its stock as demand re-
quires. but also will be prepared to fur
nish its patrons who may desire it store
service equal to that of any purely conn
mercial establishment. There is this diff
ference: Customers who have their PR
chases delivered and who order by ,ele-
phone will pay a small charge for such
service while those who buy en- credit
will be required to deposit with the store
sums sufficient to cover their purchases.
The store will pay per cent interest on
such deposits
"Cut PRICE, Not idea.
While many articles .now are being
sold at the store at prices lower than
those prevailing in similar establish
ments in the District. the store will
not be managed exclusively as cut
to do business at a fair profit, return
ing to stockholders the profits realized.
stockholders will participate in the di-
vision of profits in proportion to their
own purchases at the store; those who
spend most at the store will receive
the largest return in the form of profit
sharing checks.
At present there are about 200 stock,
holders in the Standard Store Com
pany. There are two kinds of stock.
common and preferred The voting
power and control of the company rests
in the hands Of the holders of the COM
mon stock, of which no person can hold
more than one share. This stock has
the nominal value of 81 a share. The
preferred stock which has no voting
power. has par value OF $25 share,
and there is no limit on the number of
shares one person can buy. A guaran-
teed dividend of per cent per annum
will be paid on all shares of preferred
stock outstanding. This arrangement
as to stock not only gives. those who
furnish the capital for the new enter
prise fair return on their money. .ebut
also makes it impossible for any one
person or group of persons to gain con-
troll of the store and conduct 1t for pri-
vate profit. 1t is the aim OF the incor-
to have every one who can use the
store stockholder.
Open to General Public.
TIE store is open to the general pub
lie as well as to stockholders. Persons
not stockholders of the concern will
not share in the distribution of profits,
while the profits to be divided among
stockholders will be considerably in-
creased by the proceeds from sales to
Inon-stockholders.
So heavy has been the rush of GUS
toners to the store since it's opening
the first of this week that the members
of the board of directors have had to
take off their coats, don aprons and
pitch in as clerks behind the counter
On the evening when people of the vi
cinity were invited to come and see
the store for the first time they came
in such numbers and bought SO many
articles that more than 500 in cash
was realized in a few hours.
1t is the belief of those most directly
associated with the new enterprise that
the store is but the beginning of ex-
tensive cooperative services in the
Connecticut avenue and Cleveland Park
sections and that the field of operations
of the Standard Store Company will
rapidly be enlarged. It's charter under
the laws of Delaware. gives 1t the pow =
er to engage in practically any kind of
manufacturing, ,wholesaleing'and retail
/ fng business, so that the organization
furnishes the nucleus for almost any
enterprise that the residents of the
community wish to undertake for.their
mutual benefit.
l53,' 80