The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1922-12-14
JOHN WANAMAKER.

NV GREAT MERCHANT is dead-a whose life is
message of inspiration encouragement and counsel
lvery merchant in the land John Wanamaker of Phil
s3hia is to conjure with 1t is a that
s long in the commercial annals of the continents but
trbution which he made to better business will far ou
g good name.
l% John Wanamaker was an ingenious fellow While po~
ter general of the United States he offered to bear Il
ire cost of printing the postage stamps for the COUNT
1 consideration therefor he would be privileged to pr
kE three words the muciage side of every stamp IT.
ZEE words he asked to print to be: "Wanamaker
5i:e5 Philadelphia 1t offer less generous than III
lious He did expect it would be accepted and the
Iernment did not The government could not establish
precedent Of being advertising agency. The govern
ut right From his point of view, Mr.. Wanamaker
right The offer itself carried his into every news
Ger in the United States That advertising and had
'ucceeded in making the deal with the government he
Id have bought for bargain the advertisement that
i. Id have made the of his store household word
VERY home in the United States to the remotest and
lblest cot.
John Wanamaker was more than an ingenious merchant.
was of the first merchants recognize the one
al fact that business could grow that did not
rtse and that advertising to be effective must be two
a gs: it must be honest and it must be intelligent.
MI If advertising is intelligent, if it be made to interest
reader if carry the touch of philosophy that attracts
quckened mind but is not honest in its facts it nc5
money wasted, but it is injury to business.
N the advertising be honest and unnteigent, then it
not attract hold the reader and is money wasted
ry of merchants advertise honestly but fail to get
desired results because they do not put enough study
'qght and good reading matter in their ads.
The goods which merchant has to offer the public
Eys have within them good news story-the of
market what is in the Market what the public is offered
&,re is a romance back of every overcoat for SALE
The merchant who merely buttons has button
1and he won't sell many buttons. the merchant
ts a geological meteorological back of
ion write editorial on button that will interest
ybody in buttons and make everybody wanting buttons
his store. That is the nac John Wanamaker had and
also few merchants have. Wanamaker made merchan
hg high intellectual profession The merchant who has
3imentality to do that will be a great merchant.
II John Wanamaker into the mercantile, business
it the practice of merchants to sell for whatever
\, hey could get. Goods marked in code letters
than plain figures. The salesman read in that code
rthe bottom price the lowest he allowed to 60
4, vas good salesman he would get much he
H. Employees kept busy 10 hours day. Every
g who to the counter wasted time bartering over
res. John Wanamaker a man not only of elemental
tsty but man of vision who had than common
!! e; he had uncommon sense. He saw the system was
jihg 1t was fewaster; it money-wasterF Every
I. killed time. The killed time made long employment
j sRary; long hours shortened life.
Goods marked in code and sold by dicker built in the
III bf customers element of suspicion both as to the
of the merchandise and the fairness of the trade.
Ruyers compared prices One person found he paid
more than somebody else for the thing and the
m suffered from the customers feeling that it
t5lby him as it was by some other customer.
tWanamaker pioneer in the oneprice store and in
Manufacturing of merchandise
7Wanamaker believed in advertising his goods. And in
jig the story of the store he always tried to tell the
lily honest story. He told the public just what his
disc was; he pointed out that which less good and
N which was better He wrote editorials about merchan-
and craftsmanship the value of goods the service he had
NJ as well as the commodity He tried to give his
good hours and good conditions to work under He
one of the first merchants to provide stools behind the
ter that his saeswomen could get snatches of rest He
J, after the sanitary condition of his place. He en-
Red thrift. He the founder of the penny savings
'L.T He philanthropic public minded. He took an
.pe' part in civic affairs He anxious to make
NJ city as good store. One of his editorial comments
III make homes better and you make business BETTER