South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1922-11-29
English Precedents Retard
Business and Civilization
Comforts and Efficiency Fail
to Measure Up to L. $,
Says Gurley.
BY BOYD Il. GURFdIN.
EdItOr OF The New s-Tiu,...

LONDON. Nov. 13.-If YOU ara
inclined 20 become dissatisfied with
the United States and 20 protest
against some OF its hardsh.ps. con-
slider civilization at the>center o. its
Saxon origin, with a history OF cen
turies where we have but years
and be glad that YOU are an Amer
can.
This Is written IN one OF the great
hotels Of London, q hotel that was
built before IN Indian pitched his
Wigwam on the site OF South Bend.
II has a reputation OF keeping
pace with Improvements. It's sole
achievements are hot water. oUen
plumbing and an elevator.
IL YOU wish TO drive tho chill OF
n dense fog from your bones. YOU
obtain. after considerable ceremony
and more delay, a f1ickeCing CRATE
fire that does It's best. and its best
is a futile thing as far as heat il
concerned. You draw your fire from
imagination and protest
The girl who makes the fire. a
war widow, earns the magnidcent
wage OF 81 q week. She considers
herself somewhat superior TO other
employees at the hotel. That is be-
cause she gets more tips.
Small shops Everywhere.
Walk down the streets and in
stead Of great department stores
which bring an economy through or
ganized buying and large 5fstribu-
ton, and you discover all business
done in the small shops The
Strand. 4 street as famous as the
city Itself. is Eued with little stores.
There are no sky scrapers. no mas
sive structures which spell progress
and advertise the ConquerinE power
of men over primitive conditions.
Rents. complain these little mer-
chants, are very high. They waste
the most important thing in the
world. which IS space.
Wages. say the men and women
who arc employed in these shops
are low. They get all they earn, for
hey are limited by the very pro-
Cesses OF commerce to inefficient
eervice and TO personal mediocrity.
Any clerk in any OF the larger
stores in South Bend VIII sell more
goods each day than those who
stand behind the counters Of these
shops. England and London have
not caught the idea Of turnover or
OF saving time and effort.
\ Matter Of Precedent.
It has always been done this way
and because it has been done foc
Years they see no reason 70 change.
Plant w G.. Happ or l.. W. Bur
linrame or any one OF the realtors
who have been selling property in
South Bend upon one of these
streets and his first reaction would
be the promotion and erection Of
an office building.
He would probably go broke, If
be tried It. but the sheer waste and
lack of Imagination would make the
effort essential, just as every Ameri-
can newspaper man feels an imp2-
tlent desire 10 get inside one of the
Offices just ono day ond put some
per into the paper. Imag ne replac-
ing the last column in Brandon ad
with --latest news in the pink edi-
tion and expecting any one 10 find
it,
II civilization be measured by the
comfort It gives to the individual,
give three cheers for the stars and
Stripes. II it be measured by in
creased power of the individual,
take new pride in your own country.
But If you measure 1t in terms OF
satisfaction with things as they are,
here Is the higher perfectiOn-satis-
faction with everything from foss
TO fires. from tea % tupDeuuics,
from self to sluatty skyl.nes.