Image provided by: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Lincoln, NE
About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 13, 1904)
November 13. 1904. THE OMAIIA ILLUSTRATED BEE. Merchant (Copyright 104. by Frank O. Carpenter.) rVlHICAGO. Not. U. (Special Corf I I spondence of The Bee.) If you 1 1 want rour blood illrni) Mm ta the weit. Pull up your genealogi cal treea. dig yourself out of you decnytd surroundings and come where money is worth more than t per cent and every one Is striving for a fortune. Boston and New Tork look upon themselves as th tncut Important part of the United State They are small In comparison with the great west, and by fat more provln'lil than the average big city on the other side of the Alleghenies. They have forgotten that the giant of American progress, clad In his seven-league boots, ha long since jumped the Appalachian range, h.is pcp pered the lake region and the Mississippi valley with towns and cities, has gone on over the Rockies, nnd that he now standi on the eastern shore of the Pacific reaching out for the business of the Orient. Chicago aBnsy City. I ray this by way of prelude to an Inter view which I give you today from ili.s twentieth century city on the twentieth century merchant. Chicago has businesses which surpass those of New Tork, Boston or Philadelphia. It has one firm which does, more merchandising than any other estab llahnient In the world. This Is Marshall Field Co., which does business of front $50,000,000 to $100,000,000 a year, which largely controls the wholesale trade of the west, and whose retail branch here has a greater army of clerks than that which Xenophotj led on his inarch to the sea. The man X have Interviewed for you was for years the leading spirit of Marshall Field & Co, Its began a a olerk, became manager of th retail store and when he left It a few months ago he was one of the partners. Now he has a big dry goods establishment of his own, which he started last June, but which already employs thousands of clerks and takes up the best part of a Chicago block. This man's name la Harry O. 8lf ridge. He Is one of the youngest of the successful business men of Chicago, and IS well fitted to talk about the twentieth century merchant as he thrives in the great west. Th Twentieth Centnry Merchant. Bald Mr. Selfrldge in response to my ques tions: "Merchandising la changing everywhere, and nowhere so much so as in the west. It has ceased to be a trade and Is becoming a science. When A. T. Stewart had 800 clerk In his New Tork store It was considered a wonder. Now we have one retail dry goods establishment In Chicago which has 10.000 clerks nnd Its annual sales amount to tens of millions. . The standing of the merchant is rising. In our eastern states I am told, certain classes sneer at the man engaged in trade. It is not so bore. The merchant is aa much respected as the lawyer or doc tor. He looks upon his position aa a pro fession and is proud of it." "What has csused the changer I asked. "I suppose It is somewhat due to the growth of the modern store. Such a bust nesa today requires the very best ability to handle It. It needs large capital, wide knowledge and more than ordinary educa tion and Intelligence. The successful twen tieth century merchant Is a many-sided man. His goods come from everywhere snd he must know the world and its markets. . II must understand financial conditions and be able to profit by them. He has an army of clerks and he must have organiz ing capacity, a knowledge of men and the ability to make them take a personal Inter est In Jh business. . He has) to understand mechanics and labor-saving devices, to be opnething of an electrician and an engi neer.. He must. In short, bo a professor of details, of values, of finance, of progres-. slveness, of publlo opinion, of publicity, of systems, of fashions and of the world's market. Indeed, our business is now a science which includes sll sciences." Dry Goods vs. Department Stores. "I suppose you refer to the department tore proprietor?" ."No. ' I am speaking more of th dry goods merchHnt although the same might be applied to the department store mer chant. There Is a difference between the dry goods More, such aa that of Marshall Field, mv store, and other stores over the country, and the department store. Our tores have many divisions, but they are mercantile establishments, pure and simple, and we do not "pull your teeth," . "take Prof. Bessey Describes Visit ..... . . . . Tki I .. ... -...v... x ,m . iXi-- ' i -. !". ' l- , B-wWftiiHi am "-,amm srioat allt Twtmnrr VHaurwrttwn FROMEXPEKIMENTAL PLATS SO N A WARM DAT In th Utter part of July w left the capital city, running down the valley of Salt liver and noting the promise of abundant crops on every hand. Corn was juat tassollr.g out being about ten tlnys late, but of line growth. Her and tf:cre the weeds had made too rapid a lirowtli for the farmer, but on the whole (he corn conditions were good. Wheat har voat was practically comploted, the flelda fell of (hocks, giving promise of a good yield. How much the rust had damaged ti e crop could not yet be made out. Our imit! took us vlu the Northwestern rail w.iv neroaa Iho fertile fields of Iowa, filled vvlih e(,in nnd grain, and here and ther " the same vldonca of prosperity. Going r.oitii the coin waa smaller In six and less In -mount, tmilt It practically disappeared :i ffirm - lop In central Minnesota. Like wise the whoat and oats became greener and lttH of It wns fit for harvesting until we Ij.iiuI uona of It ripe enough for cut ting wl.lle much cf It was yet very green. Here the liny crop was very promlaing and the tic ruagv was large. A mouth later in passing over the sam r.Klon th harvesting was entirely com plotod and much of the grain already threshed. In central Minnesota In this later visit we found no fcratn not cut, but In northern North 'Dakota and the adjacent portions of Asalnnlbola there were many fields yet - uncut, and some quit green. Thus the harvesting season took a month In passing northward little more than 609 miles. Roughly speaking we may say that this year the ripening of wheat proceeded northward at th rat of about seventeen o ws r -tf lina til Princes -;..,v,:.- r I BARRT'O. your photograph" or "cut your corns while you wait.' We do not like to have the term 'department store' applied to ua, and we call the different divisions of our business 'sections,' rather than 'departments.' "Well, then, Mr. 8elfrldge," said I, "haa the big store, which sells almost ei ry thing under the sun, with many sections, come to stay?" "There Is no doubt of that," was the re ply. "Such stores are demanded by the times. They are In the Interest of the consumer and are In accord with the spirit of modern 'progress. They may be and are Injurious to the small dealer, but trade, as far aa that Is concerned, recognises no law except the survival of the fittest, and the small dealer Is crowded out," , "But will not this system keep growing until there are no small stores?" "There will always be small stores," said Mr. Selfrldge. "But' they will be restricted to localities where they are a convenience to the Immediate neighborhood, or else to the smaller towns, away from the great centers. . The retail business of the big cities will always be done In big stores." Great Merchants' '' Trust. ."But are not such stores' against the in terests of the consumer? Will they not monopolize trade, and ' then swallow , up each other? Is there not danger that we may some day ba.ve a great merchants' trust, which will hold all consumers by th throat?" - "Such a thing la not possible," was th reply. "I know it haa been talked of, but each locality -has its own peculiar needs and every large store haa its own person ality and allowing. , Any attempt to com bine store would be resented, and over charges or large profits would Induce Im mediate competition, resulting In new establishments. There is no danger of any irrcantlle trust ever monopolising th business of the United 8tatee." "I should think, Mr. Selfrldge, that the twentieth century store which you de scribe would be the death to Individual am bition. In th past, with a few thousand dollars a ' clerk could open a store of hla own. Now on must have a vast capital to do so." "That la trae to some extent, but not alto gether so. The clerk, on the other hand, ,. 4 . ,-v v ... ..; : ".. -: v "' ... ...e . : j. mattttvb row threstttno the grain AS TO SAVE EVERY KERNEL. mile a day. It will be Interesting to not this matter tu other year so as to se whether the rate Is the same every year. Forests and Prairies. In Minnesota th country wa originally divided Into the forests and the prairies. The forest extended from the north and northo.iat southward to the valley of tho Minnesota river, while the prairies cov ered th southern part of the state, and a strip along the Red river of the north in the western part of the state, to the Canadian line, and beyond. Well back In the forests the trees wer. principally pl.iea, whllo as v.-e approach the pralriva th pines disappear, and the trees are of the declduoua species. At the border, between the two regions, the trees are bur oaks, Undons. ashea, box elders, a pons, willows, etc., most of which are well adapted to puen out along the stream In the prairies. Between Minneapolis and St. Paul is located the Minnesota Agricultural Experi ment station and th School of Agriculture. Here we spent a day moat profitably, vls ttlDB the buUdlngs (about twenty) and In specting th plats of grain and forage plat growing In tb fleida. Several new buildings are now In course of construc tion, among which la a brick building for tho Department of Animal Husbandry. In which there U to be a stock pavilion with an area ?6 by 100 feet Ground wae being cleared for an administration building ooat. Ing 1200.000. Insplt of thes addlilons the school will continue to b cramped tor room. Th present accommodations are ample for X tudntt, while tho actual at tendaac th past year waa somewhat mor of Chicago Talk About Success in SELFRIDOa now receives better wages. There In more demand for good men, and a better chanc to rise. The clerk can still start a store In a small way. or he can make himself so valuable that his salary will be greatly increased." "Do you have trouble getting . good clerks?" "The beet, are always in demand, snd good men are steadily advanced," repl'el the merchant "Clerks are always studied by their employers. Thos4 of the lower grades are watched, and an effort is made to interest them in their work to the gen- Entertaining Little Stories for The Little Bird' Joorney. N THE shores of the great ocean some tiny brown birds were hop ping about. They were on their way to the warm southland, where they were going to stay all They had come a long, long way, winter. flying in the daytime and at night sleeping in the trees with their heads tucked under their little wings. But now they had come to the great ocean and their little wing were not strong enough to carry them cross it. Over in the meadow they saw a woolly sheep. "Perhaps," chirped one little bird, "he would carry us on his back." "Baa, baa," answered the sheep. "I cannot swim. Ask a fish." So they hopped down to tha water and called to the great fish who lived In the water: "Will you take us over th ocean to the southland?" But the fish called back: "I cannot fly and you would drown in the water. Ask the crane." Just then a large bird with snowy whit feathers and broad wings came flying past It was a crane. The birds chirped and the crane came down on the sand. "Hop on to my back and I will carry you to a land where the grass Is green and the little worms crawl right Into your mouths." So the little birds' troubles were over, . for the crane spread his wings and car aa-nss-aesi M' V V- "M t",-l";'',w.mi'.iiBy Mm usu iiumjn. , , i ii wiapawssswssaapssss ldh.ii siiwusfa m ,n n i . GENERAL VIEW OF THE EXPERIMENTAL than 600. There are buildings for chem- seeds whloh ar th result .of years of Istry, veterinary science, horticulture, careful breeding and selection. Prof, dairying and domestlo science, and anlxal Hays has made, this subject his specialty, husbandry snd agronomy are to be perm a- and he probably knows more about it than nectly housed In the buildings now under any other mm in the country. It gave way. One of the most Interesting buildings us some idea of the Immense amount of ia that in which the experimental seeds labor Involved In such work. It Is not ar kept Her ar counties boxes f probable that on farmer lo 10,000 who NEAR VIEW OF THE EXPERIMENTAL era! Improvement of th business. "In th store of Marshall Field Cav w offered tl for every suggestion of xalu made by a clerk, no matter what that sug gestion was. Wa also gave $1 to ivery mention of an error or waste thst might be remedied. I remember one cl rk got a dollar for pointing otft a le k In the water cooler on the third floor. We do the ram in my store, and we aho pay for any error or mUststement discovered In cur ad vertisements, either by placard or by th newspapers. This Is to show the clerk that our advertisements are to be lelel. upon, and also to prevent any deception Cf the public by them." Wmsea Clerks. "What do you think of the woman tlsrkl Has th come to stayT" ' She haa a p:ace of her own In the twen tieth century store, and one which the will always hold. Women make exce.len clerks, and In, certain places do much bet ter than men." "How about wages? Are women at well paid as men?- "No. But ther Is a rrafon why they are not. 'Their term of service Is shorter and they do not secure the advance of tlny which comes from a long itay In 'the sam store. Aa a rule, the woman does not ex pect to make her employment her life war's. She looks forward to marriage, and r.ghtly so. Were It not far that she would sjou become more experienced and wou.d com mand higher wages." Advice to Tonus; Merchant. "Would you advlee a boy to adopt mer chandlslng aa a profession?" "That would depend upon the boy," said; Mr. Selfrldge. 'lf he has a bent toward merchandising his opportunities will be as great there aa In any other ptofesslon. If he has- no such bent he had better choose something else. I cannot recall when I did. not want to be a merchant, I remember I had a stand on the street and played at selling goods when still quit small, and many of my school vacation were spent In the store."' "Give me some suggestions for the boy who wants to succeed." "I would advise him to do hla verv best when he starts out and to study how to do It better and better. Every clerk should try to make himself valuable to hi em- nloyer. He should fit himself for th next position above that whloh he holds, and It will not be long before that' position la vacant. One secret of success is In ua!iu' the time not required for business, sleep or meals for study. One should read good book and cultivate the habit of reading. He should make hla reading of a practical nature and such that it will b of prac tical use to him. I know one of the best railroad men In the country who began life ried them southland. away over the ocean to the Making a Tool Cabinet, A very convenient tool cabinet that will hang against the wall may be made with two doors .of nearly equal- slse, so that there will be four Instead of two surface against which to hang tools. The body fif tha oh in thirl v rnchejt hltrh. twentv Inr-hM wM. anA nlnlt Inehaa rin Ailtttlria . measure. It Is made of wood three-quar- ters of an Inoo in thickness, fastened to- gether with screws and glua and varnished to Improve Its appearance. One side of the cabinet Is but three . Inches ani a half wide and to .this the Inner door Is made fast with hinges, so It will swing In against a stop moulding on the opposite side. ; A small bolt on the door will fasten It ' '' Dolla of loas Ago. la place When shut In, and on both sides The fni lttl8 mammas of today may of this door hooks and pegs can be ar- be ' interested to know that thousands' ranged on which to hang tools. Inside the of years ago little girls were just as fond back of ths cabinet hooks and pegs can be of dollies as they are today. ' In search arranged also, for sawa, squares and other ing through the ruin of the old Egyptian flat tools. The outer door is provided with cities some dolls were discovered that ar a aide atrip to take th plaoe of the lack- actually known to be 4,000 years old. That ing part of that aide of th cabinet an J when the doors are closed in and locked the appearance of the cheat will be uni form. With a little careful planning and fig uring it will not be a difficult task to construct this cabinet and the doors so that they will fit snugly and close easily, to the Minnesota PLATkV BEAN! IN THE FOSEGROUND r -OsTA X . . . ; i MARSHALL FIELt). aa a deck hand on a Mississippi steamboat He worked at first for $3 per month, but devoted hla leisure to study, and he la now a leader of men. "There are some things that every young man must have, if he would succeed," Mr. Selfrldge continued. "Ho must be honest He must have good habits; he must have tact, judgment, energy . and stlck-to-lt- atlveness. I don't know that I should ad- - vise him to go to the big cities. They per haps offer examples of the greatest suc cesses, but the competition there Is also greatest. , I would especially, advise the Little People The doors will keep their shape better if made from narrow matched boards and held together at the ends with battens or atrlps nailed across the ends of the boards. Two-Inch wrought butts will be heavy enough for the hinges of the doors. Provide a cabinet lock at-the edge of the outer door. ' '; ' '' " tool pegs can be arranged and near the''' hnMim a Vlf rDpU I- maA with o l.ath., hnltntn a Wt .raelc l malA with taathu strap formed into loops as described for J'nuel Mr- Field, "is that they do not learn the tool rack. Under each loop' a hole la thoroughly. They work carelessly, .forgot bored in a strip of wood Into which the".that what l worth doing at all ia worth square end of the, bits will nt, so they will do,n" w,11 and degenerate into drones, stand vertically and appear : In an orderly relying upon chance to bring them success, row; for chisels a similar set of pockets , Tha huainess world I full of such young can be made of wood.-St, Nicholas. . , Is, Just a thousand times as old as a little girl 4 years old. ' Think of HI These queer old relics are, some of them, doll bakers and doll butchers; others are made of string and resemble the rag- babies of today, except that their hair la made of threaded bea'ds.' s" T.f ,'v PLATS profits by Prof. Hays' work realizes what an amount of labor and patience his result have required.' . An Insjealone Maohlae, Another interesting place was th barn in which the tools, implements, ta, were kept. Hwi we.lcaracJ,.., tUl-tut-., some AND WHEAT IN THE BACKGROUND. i Hi. ( young man not to be in too great haste about getting married. It Is said that it costs no more to support two persons tnan one, but that I a mistake. It does cost more, and the young man should be sure he can Support a wife and still have some thing left before he marries. Among othef qualities necessary to success are economy, willingness, prudence, self-confidence, pleas ant manners, an even temper and a good personal appearance.' , Marshall Field on Success. jn connection with this advice of Mr Selfrldge I have some words to young men from Marshall Field on the same subject They were written some time ago in a letter to Newell Dwlght Hillls, now pastor of the Plymouth church, in Brooklyn. A condensation la as follows: "I would aay that the young man should first consider his natural bent or tnc.lna tlon. He should take stock ef himself, find out "what business he Is adapted for and get Into that business with as few changes aa possible. Once in, he should strive to master the details of the business and to make his services of Value, wherever he Is. He .should also be alert, and be ready to seise opportunities when they present them- a,.,r The ' 1 DO ttOUble With mOSt yOUng men, COn conieni witn aimpiy putting in their time somehow and drawing their salaries, making ho effort whatever to in crease their efficiency and thereby enhance their own and their employer's Interests. There are others who want to do what they are not fitted for and' who thereby waste their lives in what might be called misfit occupations. It la far better to be a good carpenter or mechanlo of any kind than a poor business or professional man." Build rp Tour Character. . Marshall Field is vary emphatlo on the duty of young men to pay attention to the formation of their characters. One should do everything that will tend to build up a strong personality. Say he: "The young Experiment Station k iiv. rW,. tar '. La" f'lTAr' MACHINE FOR PLANTING ONE SEED FOR THIS PURPOSE. of th careful work in plant breeding it was necessary to invent and construct new implements and machines. Some of these we aaw, and looked over very care fully, following (the explanations made by th, enthuslas'lc professor. In some of the most careful experiments It la necessary that, but on seed, and no more, should be dropped In each place, and that these place should be exactly the right distance apart - So the profeaaor had to devise a partloular kind of machine to do this work. Another specially devised machine was a thresher with which to thrash out the product of the experimental plats, in such a way that-rot a single seed should be lost, and at the same time not to add stray seeds from other plats. . The ma ohlne is run oy an electric motor so that It Is under perfect control. I was told that duplicates of these two machines had been made for tho Nebraska experiment sta tion. In driving over the well kept farm I was Impressed with the feeling that If tho peo ple of the country could only realize how carefully and conscientiously scientific men work In order to solve the problem of the farm we should hear less complaint as to the cost of maintaining the experiment ata- . tlons. Here are a dosen or more men who are giving their best years to the solution of problems which will sdd to the wealth not of themselves but of others. Not one of these professors will profit personally by the results of his labors. At the end of years of hard work th scientific man will be personally ne better of? from a money point of view than when he began, while he will have added millions to the valuation of ths farm property of the state. But we cannot linger. W took at hun Business man who haa a conscience thit cannot brook the rilKhtest suspicion of wrong-" doing, that Insists on truthfuinees,, honosty and strict devotion to duty has a fortune to begin with. It Is often the case that boys of excellent ability are rulntd by VU associates, and they cannot therefore, too enrly gnttd against forming f.lendshlp with those whose tendency is to lead them on a downward pth. They should b careful of thrlr companions and should cultivate acquaintances whose conduct and Influent will enkindle high purposes. . Th eMllty to rt strain one's Hpretlte, pesslona, tvrgue and ten'p?r Ir of the first Import mice.. One must be master and not Slav of himself; If he cannot govern himself h rannot govern others. Indeed, a good character Is vastly more Imrvortant lhan a areat fortune. A Vnlted States tenntor who died recently! wrote 'the following lit his will: 'I hope that my ror.s will above all, early In life, renlire that tho only thing more difficult to build up than an Inde pendent fortune, is rhsrsetcr and that th only nafo.iinids of character are the Ten Commandments and the sermon on th mount.' "t'areful saving and rnfefnl spending in virtnMy promote mii'Css." snys Marshall Field. "It is nit what n man cfirns. btit whet he nv. that makes him rich. John Jacob Astor once said that the saving of his first $1,000 cost him the hardest struggle As a rule, people do not know how to save. The average young man of today when 'h begins to earn Is Inclined to habits of ex travagance. He gets the Idea that he must Indulge In habits corresponding to those of some other young man, without regard t what he earn; and he Imagines he cannot be mnnly without. The.B. 10 or 15 cents a day that h- squanders, while apparently a '. trlfl". would If savpd In a few years amount to thousands of dollars, and go far toward establishing tho foundation of his futur careor. Too few realise that In order to acquire dollars one must take care of th nickels. The young man should begin to , save the moment he begins to e--n. be th saving ever so little, and If he doe so th habit will be of Incalculable benefit to him In after life." . "Why Business Men Fall. Every on knows of Marshall Field'.' wonderful success. He was raised on . a farm In northern New Tork, and began hi business life aa a clerk In a country ator in Plttsfleld. He came to Chicago a .few years before the civil war and entered a wholesale house as a clerk. Four year later he was one of the partners, .and after the warwa over, the firm was re organized under the name of- Field,- Palmer & Lelter. Th partner were Marshall Field, Potter Palmer and tievl Z. Lelter. Two years later Potter Palmer retired and devoted his time to the hotel business, and the Arm became Field. Letter St Co. About twenty-three years ago Mr. Letter sold out and since that time the firm has been Marshall Field Co. Now,' no-one but himself knows what Marshall Field la worth; but I venture he knows It to the cent. There Is no doubt but that he can count his money by th ten of million, and that he has always been . a success along me DUBineaa roaa ui iiivubu, wmiuj Is marked by thousands of failures. . In this letter to Parson Hillls he answer th question: "Why do so many business men fall?" Here Is what he says: "If the elements herein outlined promet success the logical conclusion is , that -a disregard of them forebodes , failure. Th man who Is characterised by want of fore thought, Idleness, carelessness or general shlftlessnesa cannot expect to succeed. There are other causes, however, such extravagance In living or living beyond' one's means, outside speculations, gambling, eta; want of proper Judgment overveatl- mattnff fAnaeltv nt imriartn trlno m n r A thin cspltal would warrant; or, in other words, attempting to do too large a business. on insufficient capital; - assuming , too heavy liabilities and relying on chance to pull on through; lack of progresslveness, or. In1 other words, 'dying of dry rot, and,, also, selling on-too long time. "Another cause of failure to trusting out. goods to Irresponsible people. Retail busi ness should always be done for cash. Thar Is no longer ocoaston for long credits, as ' even the farmer of these days can get" cash for anything he ha to sell. "Merchants who keep their business well In hand, who sell for cash and pay. for -goods on short time, taking advantage of all cash discounts, who keep good habit Bitu give Binui mieniion lo Dusiness very' rarely fall." FRANK O. CARPENTER. , r ,.s '" ' " --MVr . ' ;..J IN A PLACEl SPECIALLT DEVIBED' " , dreds of plats of plant of all kinds and listen to the explanation of the professor. We note In passing the fields of alfalfa and red clover, for we are near the northers limit of these two forage plants. By selec tion promising varieties ef both of thes plants have been secured, and this ' feat alone will eventually return many - time 'more to the state than the station ha re ceived from the treuaury. Incidentally, while driving among the plats of promising things, we learn a little philosophy when the professor tells us that he does not glv away the seeds of his good varieties. H sell them at good prices. In this way only the people who are sufficiently Interested j care for particular seeds apply for, them, and moreover a man Is always much mor careful of a thing that costs hlrn a good sum than when he geta it for- nothing. There Is a good deal In this, and I suspect that this partly accounts tor the great suc cess the professor haa had In disseminating his new and Improved varieties. We are compelled to hurry away, wishing that ws' could spend a much longer tlra here. . We catch our trsln snd soon speed aw .orthwest over the rich country, well ' with farms. For time we pas ..rough a region In which here and ther are tamarack swampa, alternating with rolling land of fertile loam. Gradually th trees become smaller and fewer, and w find ourselves passing out from the tim bered country to the prairies of the west ern part of the stste, and finally Into th broad and level valley of th Red river of the north. Here this paper may. well be brought to a close, reserving further refer, enc to this valley for a subsequent com munication. CIIARLEs) Mu. ii.ii3iLX.