Decorah public opinion., 1923-01-31
BEN BEAR IN
new YORK CITY
Continued from first page)

| this way il Is clear the New Jer-
sey resident can within half hour to
an hour come in from his country
home 10 his city office or factory.
| have above stated that / am here
with women folks of the family, and
naturally have taken in the sites of
| 9TH Avenue, the great and wonderful
shopping district of this country. i
have had occasion to go through such
wonderful stores as Tiffany & Co.,
Dricer, Carter & Co., and have seen
Jewels and pearls exhibited in figures
of many thousands. The seeing,
which is all as you know / am inter-
ested in, is equal to that of going
through a Museum or an Art Gal
lery, and these stores welcome the
out of town visitors in looking over
their wonderful selections and stocks
and seem TO take pride in showing
as much as selling.
The department stores have added
every conceivable attraction for the
display and encouragement an the
purchase of their merchandise. Our
sales experience in the smaller towns
is conducted by personal contact and
personality whereas / find in the
leading department stores that the
sales people are put through daily
courses of schooling and training, an
alysis of their days work, and an
opportunity to advance themselves
in an intelligent way to the heads
of the department.
In these places every labor saw
ing device is installed, such as book
keeping machines, dictaphones, and
rapid carrier service. was verY
much interested when it was explain
ed to me that through these larger
stores they have employed women
detectives who are dressed in the
regular garb of a shopper, and who
constantly mingle with the customers
i'm overcoming the leakage in stolen
merchandise.
The work of these women in
quickly detecting shop iifters is re-
markable and with a department
store association, as has been form
ed, the leakage in this respect as
being reduced to minimum. Of course
we know in small towns or commun-
tiles this service is unnecessary,
while in a large city where throngs
are in the store at all times, and the
possibilities for stealing are open,
such work is necessary.
The most serious situation develop
ing in New York is the automobile
traffic. In the first place the taxi
service has become most reasonable.
You are able to ride in a taxi at 4Oe
for the first mile and 30c for each
mile thereafter, and as consequence
| thousands of taxis are on all the
| leading streets at all times.
The regular use of automobiles Is
growing to such an extent that the
| traffic problem is becoming difficui'
to regulate. On streets such as 5tr
| Avenue, for % blocks, from 34th IL
59th st. are towers in the center 0,
the street, 80 feet high in which
there is a motor policeman who dir
ected from signal station, signaL
when traffic is to move or stop b.
electric light effects. This condition
in some what modified form is Of
other leading streets in the city.
Even with such excellent regula
tions the CONGESTION is great and ]
now seems that movement is L
way to dispose of the elevated lines
so as to utilize such avenues TO
automobile traffic, which now
difficult and impossible. The enorm
Gus traffic making it impossible. t
cross the street without the assist
ance of a policeman.
On the further. pleasure side,
was stated before the entry of pre-
hibition that the Great White Wa
would be a thing Of the past, and
marvel in walking, as | have done
company with my family, from 34tl
! street to 59th. street to note Tn
greater maze electricity which bring
daylight to night along those street
Electric signs with thousands
lights are most common, and frol
: our rooms az the Hotel Astor on til
, fifth floor, gazing out ON Broadwa.
I can see any time from Z unit
2o'clock in the morning, the face
; of the thousands of passers-by
/ distinctly as during the day time.
True enough, there is not tf
restaurant life of former days, hoV
2 ever, understand, and have. note
: that there are numbers of danclr
;. palaces and restaurants where SUI
ENJOYMENT helps are in greater pr
noytion than ever before. Again
g the heart of the city are skatiI
!; Kinks where hundreds gather /
e such exercise and enjoyment.
3 The theatre life is better tn
!. ever. and when one considers Tn
u there are 130 theatres, in add1t'
y to moving picture house with "a ca
S acity of over 250,000, you realize {
extent of this means OF enJoymel
Price for theatre tickets are advanc
costing anywhere from $500
$500 for seats.
=, While in the 5th Avenue secSt
was very much interested in flr
i ING that the leading banks, tn
= companies, and Wall Street hou:
w. now maintain large and act
- !, branches in this section, which q,
u Indication of the movements OF
financial interests away from w
ne Street, and into the up town sectlt
:, u of New York.
a. In manufacturing lines, NJ
,e found the tendency toward BROOK
- and upper New York. fac'.
We buildings by the hundreds are be
70 erected in Brooklyn where
~. advised there is now concentrated
10 5th largest manufacturing. center
the United States, and it Is hard
heI;eve that I remember not m