Norwich bulletin., 1918-03-20
LOCAL STORES TO
 CLOSE WEDNESDAY EVENINGS
Report Made at Meeting of Retail Merchants Bureau.

At a meeting of the Retail Mer- chants Bureau in the Chamber of Commerce rooms Tuesday morning with President Will L. Stearns pre- siding, the committee appointed to in- Vestigate the matter of Wednesday evening closing among the merchants during the duration of the war re- ported. The committee has seen most of the merchants in the city and at present the majority of them have agreed to close their stores on Wed-' tuesday evenings, Those who have ex- pf essed this intention are as follows: The Porteous & Mitchell Go, The Reid & Hughes Co, Murphy & McGarry, George c. Preston. John A. Ferguson, Jacob Marlow, Disco Bros, Shetucket Harness Co.,, L. Pollock, filling Rub- Der Co, Charbonneau & Andrews, Shea & Burke, M. Bruckner, Theodore Lo- wenberger, The Eaton Chase Co. The
 Manhattan-S. Kronig & Son. W. l.. Taylor Co.,. B. Gotthelf Co, The F. A. Wells Co.. The Geo. W. Kies Co, Es- tate of M. Hourigan, Barrows. the Shoeman, Eagle Clothing Co.--Wm. Trachtenberg, The Pasnik O.. The Lyons Co.,, Collins Millinery, F. W. Guild, John F. March, G. W. Hamil- ton, The Lahn Furniture Co, Schwartz Bros. Inc, The Cranston Co. The Jas. F. Cosgrove Co. The Maurice Sample Shop.
 Reports of progress were made by the committees Investigating the ad- 1 justment of trolley fares, the boat ser vice between Norwich and New York, fand the proposed highway between ! Norwich and the submarine base The matter of cooperative deliveries ] was taken up and Chairman w. L. 1 Stearns appointed O. E. Wulf, F. J. King, D. T. Shea, James M. Young and N. c. Disco as a committee to ir- kyestigate.
 l The following is the governors state
 ment regarding the cooperative deliv- iery plan:
 Democracy is on trial in the world today. America is the mother eeun- Itry of modern republics. As we led
 the way to freedom. so let us lead the
 Way to efficiency. If a self-governed tpeople does it's work in a slip-sbed
 Way, no ground work of high pIinci-
 Die may save it in the fierce struggfs flor political existence.
 Hitherto our country has been no- ltorfous in the family of nations for its 1 WaStefulneSs. We have been the worlds great producer and the worlds Egreat spendthrfti.
 One of our forms of extravaganee land peculiarly selfish and tndolent Ione-has been the absurd multiplica- ton of deliveries of merchandise by re- tail merchants. In the language o1 the trade, service has developed into lsuper- service" This abuse can be stepped by cooperation between the 1.-two parties interested, the dealer and the purchaser.
 f I submit to the consideration of oyl lpeople these simple and self -eviden truths
 First, that the man power of this country will be strained to the utter, most before this war reaches a con fe1usion. It is stealing from civiliza ! ton at this hour to waste the service: tof a man. Shipbuilding, munitior 5 plants, farms, railroad companies. ar mics and navies are all clamoring fol z men,
 Second, the man power of the natio1 4 must be reinforced by diversion ans 5 substitution. Thousands of men ma, be taken from the retail establishment of Connecticut without appreciable df s intuition of eficiencq.
 l Third, at the request of the Natiena E Council of Defense, the state eounci Eof defense, through it's committee el
 commercial economy, proposes to re
 duce this waste of man power ant
 equipment by: (a( by restricting de liveries to one per day over givel
 route; (bl by eliminating special de
 liveries," (e) by organization of co
 operative deliveries; (dl by elmnaitinl
 return or c. O. D. purchases,~ an
 te) by requesting the purchasing pub
 lie to carry it's own parcels. provide the purchaser does not use privat
 automobile to go and get the parcel.
 therefore call upon the retail mer chants of this state to put into efFee lat the earliest possible date the sub
 stance of the foregoing recommenda tions by means of friendly cooperation { and the sinking of trade rivalry. , fcall upon the retail purchasers of tn state (especially the women, who i
 tother kinds of war work are servin ,. their country so Loyalty and effective :. lly) to assist the dealers in earryin : out this needed reform. Finally, i
 Ethis and in every other way call upo all the people of this ancient common wealth to save and serve unceasingl ! to the end that personal and politics , freedom under orderly self govern . iment, which here had it's birth under . written constitution, shall vindieate il ' fright and ability to exist. : fA~N,