Evening star., 1932-01-01
PROMOTIONS BASED
ON ABILITY ALONE
Store Owners and Other
Business Men Reward
Efficient Employees.
BY BRADLEY w. TRENT.

Special Dispatch to The Star.
NEW YORK, January 1.-The en-
ploye and employer whose services at
all times this year were up TO par
face 1882 confidently. For the em-
ployer and his customers have recog-
nized in the past year Of trade
depression that real ability cannot
readily be replaced.
Local department stores in looking
over their income accounts from holiday
business note today that sales In De-
cember in point of dollar volume were
off around 712 per cent from the same
month a year ago, while November
business, compared with the same month
in 1880, was off about 1012 per cent.
Executives of department stores, how
ever, are less pleased when they glance
at inventories. Stocks of merchandise
show a decline, but not as much as
should be shown when the reduced VOL
| ume Of store buying and consumer buy
| ing are considered.
Older Men Advanced.
AS a result of this situation many
affable, good looking young buyers in
| troduced to these stores during 1929
will be replaced next month by buyers
with years Of experience and a real
| knowledge of fundamentals. The young
sters will be put behind the counters to
| sell goods, and thus gain real knowl-
| edge of what customers want. Their
advancement will depend on their abil-
| ity to cope with actual conditions.
This same sort of readiustment Is
going on in chain stores. One grocery
chain for instance. has suddenly real
lied that it takes more than good looks
and bookkeeping ability to be store
| manager, and as result many of its
| old head clerks with years of grocery
experience are being promoted to man
agerShipS.
| Another chain has found that some
OF its chief executives. all brought up
| in banking careers, might be improved
| by placing them in minor positions
within the company to gain practical
| experience.
This same sort of inventory taking Ia
| going on in Wall Street. For example,
a telephone operator in brokerage
house is leaving her present position
for one that pays $40 more a week.
Her present boss remarked that he
! wished he knew of more telephone
operators who could take orders, re-
member abbreviations, stock premiums
and dozens of other details like his
present employe.
In another office one of the stenog-
raphers is leaving for an increase Of
SIS a week. She is to become a secre-
tary with another firm She has had
many years of experience In her lins
of work. but due to the depression for
a time wss forced to take less skillful
work than her ability entitled her to.
Banking Talent.
With all the bank mergers that have
taken place recently, there should be
plenty of idle banking talent Realizing
this, one of the local bankers obtained
some of the best experienced clerks
let out bv failed or merged banks and
is using them to replace workers who
were hired just after the. Summer of
1929. The few dollars difference in
salary will be core than made up by
the resulting increased efficiency.
Although partnership changes In
brokerage houses the past year In many
instances are nothing but additions Of
capital-Some of the new partners
merely furnishing funds and taking no
voice in active conduct of the business
some partnerships are going to be
able, though moneylesS, workers, who
proved their worth during the last two
years.
Down in Washington there's saying
that a person gets a job in one OF
three ways-either through merit,
pull" or through trading, perhaps
money or votes, for the position. Just
now business in its annual inventory
period seems to be taking into account
only merit, whether the valuation ba
of goods, securities or services.
tCopyright, 1922