UC-NRLF $C 52 7bl i.; ^ru v^h 'Jreat I .:n.cern ti;- 1' MARSHALL FIELD AND COMPANY THE LIFE STORY OF A GREAT CONCERN MARSHALL FIELD AND COMPANY THE LIFE STORY OF A GREAT CONCERN By S. H. DITCHETT H Editor of the Dry Goods Economist First Edition NEW YORK DRY GOODS ECONOMIST 1922 Copyrighted Dry Goods Economist c < ; ' lie' fEDEBAL PRINTING CO., KEW YORK Qy INTRODUCTION "D EALIZING the salient position which the Mar- ■*-^ shall Field & Co. institution, through its retail, wholesale and manufacturing activities, holds in Amer- ican merchandising ; realizing also the value an authen- tic history of that great concern would have for dry goods men throughout the world, the Dry Goods Econ- omist prepared and published serially the chapters which comprise this volume. This life story of a great concern is based on facts obtained at first hand not only by the Economist's editor but also by W. L. Pollard, a former member of the Economist staff, who made the initial investigations. Both the editor and Mr. Pollard spent many days in the Marshall Field & Co. establish- ments in Chicago and also at the firm's manufacturing plants in North Carolina and Virginia. Showing as it does the broad policies and sound principles on which the Marshall Field & Co. business has been built up and maintained, the series has aroused keen interest among business men in this country and abroad. We feel, therefore, that the publication of the series in book form will meet a real and general demand. 497923 CONTENTS Chapter I — Early Days of the Firm's Founder 11 Chapter II — Marshall Field Becomes an Expert Salesman ... 15 Chapter III — Formation of Firm of Field, Leiter & Co 20 Chapter IV — Retail Removed to State and Washington .... 25 Chapter V — Quick Work Follows the Great Fire of 1871 ... 32 Chapter VI — John G. Shedd Joins the Field Organization ... 39 Chapter VII — The Firm op Marshall Field & Co. Is Born ... 46 Chapter VIII — The Retail Business in the Early 90's .... 51 Chapter IX — John G. Shedd Succeeds to the Presidency ... 56 Chapter X — ^New Marks Set in Retailing 60 Chapter XI — The "Store for Men" Another Step Forward ... 66 Chapter XII— The First to Establish an Underprice Basement . . 70 Chapter XIII — Advertising Policies of the Retail Store . . .' . 76 Chapter XIV^Individuality in Advertising and Attractions ... 81 Chapter XV — Display Methods That Have Won Renown ... 87 Chapter XVI — ^Training of Employees and Personnel Work ... 92 Chapter XVII^Early Days of the Wholesale Business .... 99 Chapter XVIII — Production and Distribution Policies Exemplified . . 103 Chapter XIX — Insistence on Quality in Merchandise . . . . 107 Chapter XX — Careful Supervision of Manufacturing Plants . . Ill Chapter XXI— Village at Fieldale and Other Textile Plants . . . 116 Chapter XXII — Zion Lace Industries and Other Factories . . . 123 Chapter XXIII — Wonderful Workrooms in Retail Store .... 127 Chapter XXIV — System and Methods in the Wholesale Branch . . 133 Chapter XXV — ^Effective Public Service on Many Occasions . . . 138 Chapter XXVI — The New York Office and Its Manifold Operations . . 145 Chapter XXVII — The Chief Executives of the Institution .... 151 MARSHALL FIELD AND COMPANY THE LIFE STORY OF A GREAT CONCERN MARSHALL FIELD & COMPANY THE LIFE STORY OF A GREAT CONCERN CHAPTER I EARLY DAYS OF THE FIRM'S FOUNDER EARLY in 1850 a farmer from the Berk- shire Hills and his son drove up to a little store in Conway, Mass. Entering the store, the farmer said to the proprietor: "Jim, my son, here, wants to become a merchant. Try him out for a few weeks and let me know what his chances are." Then the farmer drove away, leaving behind him a lad of sixteen, a shy young fellow, timorous and reserved. The merchant put the lad to work, dust- ing shelves and ar- ranging stock, and though he did his work well and worked hard, his endeavors did not seem to meet with much favor. The merchant found that while the new boy soon acquired a good knowledge of stocks and at once began a methodical record of prices and quantities, h e continually a n - noyed h i s employer by suggesting changes — or "im- provements," as the new boy called them. After two weeks in the store, during which the relations between employer and employee were none too pleasant, the farmer returned. "Well, Jim, how's the son doing? Will he make a good merchant?" Marshall Field at twenty-four years of age "Take him away, John Field ; your son will never be a merchant; he is no good. Put him back on the farm." And so young Field, the boy of sixteen, went back on the farm, which he disliked. There he stayed for two years. During that period the family had moved, and in 1852 young Field secured his second job in mer- chandising work, en- tering the store of Deacon Davis of Pittsfield, Mass., as salesman. Years later Davis said of him: "He was about the queerest looking boy I ever saw when he came to work for me. He was with me four years, and though he learned fast and seemed to have an un- canny knowledge of merchandise and a re- markable memory for stocks and prices, I never thought he'd be a great merchant." In fact, there is a story in the Berkshire country that when young Field told Dea- con Davis he was go- merchant laughed at ing West that worthy him and said: "You go West? You'll never make a suc- cess out there. You'd better take an older man's advice and stay nearer home. You 11 ],2',: The Life Story of a Great Concern get out there and you'll starve to death." Young Field is said to have confidently re- sponded: "I'm going; and some day I'll have a store out there the doors of which mil he worth more than your whole building here." Young Field was born on a farm in the foothills of the Connecticut River valley Aug. 18, 1834. His people were New Englanders of old stock, some of them having early settled on Cape Cod and moved to the Connecticut River valley. The boy was reared in the stern Puritanical atmosphere of repression which was the rule in the New England homes of the day. He was a farmer's son, raised in a community of farmers, yet he disliked farming, and from earliest boyhood began to plan a career for himself in some other line of endeavor. The farmer's life of the period gave little time for recreation or emotional development. Days on the farm were long and tedious, Sun- days were days of rest but devoted to religious duties. There were few books, and fewer newspapers; school terms were short, and the average boy attended but a few terms. The daughters of the farm received even less of an education. The Bible was the chief book of instruction and inspiration. Boys of a romantic turn of mind looked forward to an adventurous life on the Western plains or planned to be missionaries. Thus, western Massachusetts supplied many notable frontiersmen, as well as numerous mission- aries who carried the Gospel to the Indians of the West or to more distant lands. Intolerance of differing views was the rule. Life was narrow and circumscribed, stern and forbidding. Yet these very circumstances developed a mighty reserve power in the growing boy and he early learned to realize that into anything he touched he must put all of his energy. "Whatever is worth doing at all is worth do- ing well," was an axiom in common use. So when young Field decided to become a merchant he consecrated his life to that voca- tion in the same spirit, and perhaps with as much zeal, as numbers of his youthful com- panions felt when they became explorers of our wild lands or gave their lives to mission- ary endeavor. SCHOOLED in an atmosphere of absolute reality, imbibing from father, mother and other elders the stern code derived from a literal interpretation of every sentence of the Bible, the boy, impressionable yet shy and reserved, early developed a sane, clear view of life. Unconsciously, perhaps, yet none the less surely guided by the early impressions and teachings, he built his business on a code upright and exact as those rules of living which his parents and environment had in- stilled. The period of the early '50's was the be- ginning of the era of Western development. Gold in California, vast prairies in the Missis- sippi basin, Indians and buffalo in the North- west — all gave promise of prosperity or of excitement to the white settler who would brave the danger and migrate Westward. New Englanders by the thousands were following the lure. Most of the ambitious young men looked forward to establishing themselves in thei new territories — some as farmers, others in search of adventure, many attracted by the merchandising possibilities which naturally follow settlements in a new country. Look over the names of the successful retail con- cerns of western New York, Ohio, the Chicago territory and the Mississippi basin and you will find store after store that was founded by some New Englander, who, possessed of the proverbial Yankee trading instinct, started a store at some frontier post. At an early period in his career young Field decided to be a merchant, and from the day he came to that decision until the close of his long and busy life he invariably described himself by that appellation, even though in his later years the merchandising work of the great concern bearing the name of Marshall Field & Co. was carried on by men whom he had developed, while his own time was largely devoted to broad financial problems. Here is an incident which illustrates this: Early Days of the Firms Founder 13 A few years before Mr. Field's death a re- porter for a London paper sought an inter- view on his life's work. Mr. Field received the reporter kindly, but refused to volunteer any information about himself. The reporter read off a list of some thirty large corporations in which Mr. Field was assumed to have im- portant interests, and asked, was it true that he dominated these vast enterprises? "Dominate is too strong a word. I own stock in all of them, and am an officer in prac- tically all," was the reply. "Then," said the reporter, "I shall charac- terize you as a financial genius, a banker and a builder." "I am a merchant, and that's all you need say." And that was the final word. Marshall Field, the farsighted merchant, the forceful merchant, the man who developed in his establishment scores of merchants who either added their energy to the expansion of the firm in which they had received their train- ing or left and built great enterprises of their own! Marshall Field & Co., whose business has come to be looked upon as a vast univer- sity for merchants; it is difficult to state in categorical terms all that the name stands for in the mercantile world to-day. It is difficult to gage the breadth of merchandising vision of its founder — a man who, from the day of his decision to become a merchant until the day of his death, was, in his own mind, al- ways a merchant.- Yet, on studying his career, and those of the men he developed around him, his visions and his dreams are seen to blend into fact be- cause his great and indomitable energy forced them to become realities, and because behind every dream, every plan, every project there -was an honesty and integrity of purpose that nothing could change, nothing could defeat. From a print furnished by the Chicago Historical Society Street scene in Chicago in the late so's 14 The Life Story of a Great Concern Marshall Field, pronounced a failure and an incompetent by his first employer, judged to be a mere mediocrity by his second, through perseverance, attention to detail, and insistency on honesty and character in every dealing, realized his visions, his dreams of merchandis- ing, and founded, in the city of his choice, what was to become a business that was to include the world's largest retail store and America's largest wholesale house and was to develop, even after its founder had passed away, great manufacturing plants producing various kinds of merchandise suitable to the needs of its exacting clientele. MARSHALL FIELD served a severe ap- prenticeship in his years of work in the Davis store, from 1852 to 1855, inclusive. As was the custom in those days, the store was swept, dusted and ready for business by "sun- up," and by him, as junior clerk, these tasks were fulfilled. At an almost similarly early hour his employer reached the store, and after a brief prayer, in which all hands joined, the store was opened for the day's business. Those who knew the Field boys at the time — his elder brother, Joseph N. Field was also employed in the town — saw in them no re- markable qualities. They were honest, indus- trious, dependable lads, but in neither was there apparent any sign of genius. Young Field, however, acquired remarkable knowledge of the store's stocks and prices. He carried in his pocket a memorandum book in which all jroods were listed, but so accurate was his memory that seldom did he find it necessary to refer to these data. His ability to sense the wants of his women customers, especially in the dry goods lines, was another thing which aroused favorable comment, and though he was the junior clerk numerous cus- tomers would ask that Field be allowed to serve them. Outside of the store, shy and diffident as he was and afflicted with the bashfulness of youth, few were attracted to the young man. He did his work with painstaking thorough- ness, was kind, considerate, courteous and eager to serve ; yet he had few associates, and no record can be found of anyone with whom he was on a basis of intimacy. It was later said of him by a trusted advisor that "Mar- shall Field could not draw love and affec- tion, but he did draw respect and admiration." To these characteristics, apparent in his early days, is doubtless traceable his consistent adherence to this principle in the buying and selling of merchandise : not how cheap it could ^be sold but how much service it would give to the customer. There was indeed in Mr. Field's nature a strong religious cast. He always held in deep reverence his early home life and his people. Someone wrote of his mother, "She reared her sons to avoid the appearance of evil and to re- gard a fixed bad habit as one of the dangers always threatening success." Clipped from some paper, Marshall Field carried this quotation with him for many years. Shortly before his death, when asked what had contributed to his success, he handed the extract to his questioner and asked him to read it. Then said Mr. Field: "That helped." Marshall Field's departure from Pittsfield and his arrival in Chicago took place early in 1856. His removal was preceded by that of his brother, Joseph. The latter also selected Chicago as the city for his career and short- ly before Marshall Field started for the West had obtained employment in a commission house on South Water Street. Before he left Pittsfield, young Field made the acquaintance of J. Pierpont Morgan, who afterward became such a power in finance. Some business relations with Deacon Davis caused Morgan's father to take a trip to Pitts- field. "^ He brought with him his son, and Dea- con Davis gave to Marshall Field the task of entertaining the young visitor during his stay in town. The acquaintanceship thus formed later ripened into a warm friendship, which lasted throughout the lifetime of these two great men. CHAPTER II MARSHALL FIELD BECOMES AN EXPERT SALESMAN WHEN he arrived in Chicago, young Marshall Field was just entering his twenty-second year. He had, as has been shown, served his apprenticeship and been well grounded in an exacting school. Love of truth, devotion to work, ability to endure long hours of toil and the habit of self-denial had become the mainsprings of his life. His first move was to acquaint himself with the best stores in the city. Although the streets were unpaved and, for the most part, muddy and mean, and though its residents and visitors were rough and untutored, Chicago in those early days possessed stores that were well known, even in the East. The most prominent were those of Cooley, Wadsworth & Co. and of Potter Palmer. The business of Cooley, Wadsworth & Co., located at what are now Nos. 42 to 46 Wabash Avenue, was largely wholesale, while the Potter Palmer store, at 112 Lake Street, led in the city's retail trade. It was with the former concern that young Field obtained employment. Shortly after- ward the firm became Cooley, Farwell & Co. ^ The concern had the reputation of being one of the best posted of the Chicago houses and as having the best methods in connection with the granting of credits. The West of that day was so new that there were no credit standards. Commercial rating agencies had not been dreamed of. Each ap- plicant for credit had to be judged on Ms indi- vidual merits, and the credit man had to be a mighty good judge of human nature. For the Western country was filled with specula- tors, with gamblers, with men who had mi- grated for a variety of reasons, some of them shady enough. Yet, among them were honest, hard working, energetic and loyal men, who were striving to establish farms and homes, and businesses, and by so doing build up the West. It was this class of customers that Cooley, Farwell & Co. sought. Some of them might not have as much ready cash a^ their speculating neighbors, but they were stable, reliable and trustworthy. ^ Chicago, too, was becoming a great whole- sale center. Salesmen were traveling as far west as the Mississippi and into the new coun- try toward the north. Applications for credit, therefore, were coming in from many sources. In many cases the applicant for credit could not visit Chicago; so credit men from the Cooley-Farwell store, by team or saddle horse, if necessary, took periodical journeys, vis- iting little settlements in the woods or on the plains and interviewing the local store- keepers. " Thus the concern became widely known for its extensive and accurate knowledge of the West .and of Western conditions. Moreover, John V. Farwell, its junior partner, had early made a study of Western commercial life, and he had established for his concern a credit standard considerably more strict than that which usually prevailed in those days. As a result, the house enjoyed an enviable reputa- tion in financial circles and among the im- porters and manufacturers of whom it bought. THE Potter Palmer store stood at a short distance from Cooley, Farwell & Co.'s. Palmer had come to Chicago from Oneida, N. Y.. where he had owned a retail store. He, too, was of New England stock, and, while described by some of his contem- poraries as a "Yankee trader," he apparently sensed the customer's point of view more clearly than did most retailers of that day. In later life Mr. Palmer was described as "the first merchant in the Northwest who was not a mere trader." Yet he had a keen instinct for trading, and one of the rules prevailing in his store in the early days was: "Get 15 16 The Life Story of a Great Concern cash for your merchandise, if possible; but, if you can't get cash, take furs." Most of the Chicago stores in the late 50's his own credit standing in the Eastern mar- kets as he was exacting as to the granting of credit to his customers. Thus, at a time when From a print furnished by the Chicago Historical Society State Street, Chicago, in the late so's dealt in almost everything, from tallow candles, coffee, whiskey and tobacco to dress goods and crude furniture. Some were run partly as taverns, rooms above the store being pro- vided for visiting customers. Mr. Palmer, however, dealt almost exclusively in dry goods and lines closely allied thereto. The store also differed from the majority of the city's large retail businesses in that although it had a wholesale department Mr. Palmer devoted most of his time and attention to the upbuild- '"ng of his retail trade. It was a principle with Mr. Palmer that if a customer bade fair to prove reliable no ef- fort should be spared to get his trade. Par- ticular care, however, was always exercised in the granting of credit. Mr. Palmer, moreover, was as jealous of Eastern distributors and manufacturers were having continual trouble with their Western customers, his house early became known as one of the most reliable and prompt in pay- ment in the United States. In reaching out for trade, Mr. Palmer ex- tended material aid to such worthy customers as needed assistance. His wholesale depart- ment lent its financial backing to stores in struggling towns and in various other ways created the feeling that the concern was eager to aid in the upbuilding of the new settlements. Mr. Palmer had early become a heavy in- vestor in Chicago real estate, and by 1856 he was the owner of many large and valuable holdings. This interest brought him into close touch with the civic, industrial and financial powers of the growing city. He Marshall Field Becomes an Expert Salesman 17 also won a prominent place in Chicago's social circles. Thus the Palmer store came into close contact with all the desirable elements of the center. The business was also fostered by the spirit of loyalty developed among the em- ployees as a result of the attention given to their welfare and the pains taken to inspire them with a desire for industry and thrift. The success of the Palmer store was largely instrumental in Lake Street becoming the re- tail center. Other firms located there, and the thoroughfare continued to enjoy the ac- tivity and prominence it had won until the re- moval to State Street, some years later, of Field, Palmer & Leiter, the successors of the Potter Palmer concern. Among the firms doing business on Lake Street at the time of its heyday in the retail world was the T. B. Carter Co., in whose store there worked as an errand boy Henry J. Will- ing, who later became an important factor in the development of Marshall Field & Co. IN Chicago Marshall Field made as careful an analysis of the Cooley-Farwell business and of the Western market as he had of the stock and prices of the Pittsfield store. From "drummers" and frontiersmen, from the Cooley-Farwell credit men returning from their trips, from Government officials and from other sources he gleaned authentic in- formation. He learned of the districts where migrants from other sections were settling, and of the possibilities such localities pre- Lake and Stale Streets in i860. The Field, Palmer & Leiter store building was in the center of this block. 18 The Life Story of a Great Concern sented. All such data he jotted down in his little memorandum books, but, again, so reten- tive was his memory that reference to his notes was seldom found to be essential. So it happened that after he had been with the house but a short time salesmen about to visit a territory for the first time were re- ferred to him for information. Settlers bound West also would stop at Cooley, Far- well & Co.'s to talk with young Field about the land they were entering. His knowledge was considered all the more remarkable because of the territory he was describing or discussing he had seen but lit- tle. He had, it is true, gone into the territory with certain of the road salesmen, but these trips were infrequent, for together with his study of the West he was fast becoming ex- pert in salesmanship and in merchandising. And having proved himself a highly efficient salesman, alike in the retail and in the whole- sale, his services were always in requisition at the store. Those who sought him to learn about the West usually gave him their custom in sup- plying their immediate wants. In this direc- tion he was aided by his intimate knowledge of the use, construction and value of the mer- chandise he offered and by his intuitive under- standing of what would suit the customer. His shyness and aloofness still remained with him and probably proved an aid in the acquisition of knowledge, for he spent most of his spare time in talking to travelers or in studying merchandise. He resided in an unpretentious rooming house, and few were his acquaintances outside of business hours. His brother, Joseph, is credited with the remark, "If Marshall had anything to sell, he would sell it if a customer came in; if a customer did not come in, he was not above going out and finding one." And it is true that much of his success with Cooley, Farwell & Co. was due to this trait. Field was abstemious. He did not asso- ciate with the boisterous crowd that made up a large part of Chicago's younger business community at that time. He did not gamble or associate with the gambling element. Yet he made it his business to visit the taverns, so as to get in touch with possible buyers. His accurate and seemingly inexhaustible fund of information as to the West, its conditions and possibilities, readily won for him attention. Men sought him out for information. These interviews often led to orders. In all his dealings with customers he was so painstaking, so candid, and evinced such sterling honesty and integrity that instinc- tively each of them said to himself, "That young fellow's all right; I'll come again." And come again he did, until in a few years young Field had built up a large personal follow- ing, who came to him season after season with their orders. Thus as time went on young Field became so important a factor to his employers as to be considered almost indispensable. He early became known as the best salesman in the store, and Mr. Farwell is quoted as saying of him, "He was the successful salesman." ABOUT the time Field entered the em- ploy of Cooley, Wadsworth & Co. there came to the concern a young man named Levi Z. Leiter. Having had some experience in bookkeeping and in credits, Leiter was as- signed to that class of work. In his work as a salesman Field came into close touch with the credit department, and in a short time the two young men found that they had much in common. They discussed in considerable detail the business affairs of their house. From young Leiter Field received valuable information in connection with accounting and credit methods. Field, in turn, was able to give his associate facts as to conditions in the Western country that were a help in reaching decisions as to the extension or with- holding of credit. Thus the association between Field and Leiter developed. It would be inaccurate to call it friendship ; rather was it an association for mutual advantage, founded on the respect which each had for the other's abilities. Marshall Field Becomes an Expert Salesman 19 Utterly dissimilar as were these young men in theiir tastes, their ideas and their manner of living, yet each had a vision of founding a big store in Chicago ; each held in high respect the other's integrity and business judgment. Field made fewer friends than Leiter did. He was more independent, imperious and re- served. But the friends he did make were drawn to him by his quiet dignity, his calm constraint and his princely bearing. These qualities, indeed, aroused in those who met him both admiration and respect. And, as is not infrequently the case with those who do not "wear their heart upon their sleeve," running through his nature there was a warm current that led him during his later years to place hundreds of his old-time friends on pensions, caused him to be loved by scores of children living in his neighborhood and had much to do with his becoming one of the na- tion's greatest philanthropists. - Early in 1862 a reorganization of the firm of Cooley, Farwell & Co. took place, Mr. Cooley dropping out. To Field, at that time in his twenty-eighth year, there was offered a partnership in the new firm. He became a heavy stockholder. For a time the firm con- tinued without change of name. Afterwards, however, it was known for a time as Farwell, Field & Co. Marshall Field was said at that time to be worth something like $30,000, practically all of which he had acquired within six or seven years. CHAPTER III FORMATION OF FIRM OF FIELD, LEITER &z CO. DURING his connection with Cooley, Far- well & Co., Marshall Field had been studying the methods and ways of do- ing business employed in the retail trade by Potter Palmer. Indeed, throughout his career, beginning with his Pittsfield training, the retail business enlisted his chief interest and atten- tion. And when it became known that Palmer had decided to retire from active par- ticipation in the affairs of his store — this was a few years subsequent to Field's pur- chase of an inter- est in Cooley, Far- well & Co., or, to be exact, in 1865 ^ — Field went to him and made , a proposition for the purchase of a part interest. Palmer had watched Field's progress and after due consideration an arrangement was entered into whereby not only Field but Leiter also acquired an interest in the Palmer business and disposed of their interest in Cooley, Farwell & Co. The new firm was known as Field, Palmer & Leiter. Thus, at the age of thirty-one, Marshall Field became the leading partner in Chi- cago's largest and most prominent retail store, an establishment that for years had dominated the retail trade of the city, had Chicago. S/G become the corner stone of the retail cen- ter, and was commonly spoken of in the East as "the A. T. Stewart store of the West." In the new firm Mr. Palmer's interests were largely looked after by his brother, Milton Palmer, who took an active part in the business. It is proof of Potter Palmer's confi- dence in the integ- rity and ability of Field and of Lei- ter that he thence- forth devoted the greater part of his time and energies to his other inter- ests and partici- pated in the af- fairs of the retail concern oply in an advisory capacity. jiatvU &-yyi- ff^iiffu ^ ^^^4>tt^ l^ t^ru^ un^ /O'^rrr ci^j' *^f^M^ T'^^ ^:i^^ Letter to Field, Leiter & Co., quoting prices; from W. J. Flood of the Chicago branch of A. T. Stewart & Co. LOOKING back i over the pe- riod of young Field's early boy- hood and the thir- teen years which elapsed from the time of his first mercantile experi- ence at Conway, Mass., to the founding of the firm of Field, Palmer & Leiter, it is easy to see how his early training and ex- perience, as well as the inherent qualities of his remarkable personality, aided him in pushing forward from one point of vantage to another. In the Pittsfield store he was thoroughly grounded in the principles of mer- chandising and in the knowledge of merchan- dise. At Cooley, Farwell & Co.'s he learned the underlying factors essential to the up- 20 Formation of Firm of Field, Leiter & Co. 21 / building and maintenance of a great wholesale business; and through his study of Potter Palmer's methods he acquired an understand- ing of what even in these days of scientific management might well be termed progres- sive retailing. On this subject John G. Shedd, the pres- ent head of Marshall Field & Co., recently said: "The training enjoyed in the first ten or fifteen years of a man's life determines the depth of character in that man; and so the first ten or fifteen years of the life of a_ busi- ness determines the character of that busi- ness. This business was founded on char- acter and in the light of fair dealing as seen and understood by some of the best merchants of the age; and to the early work of these men we owe our success." With the purchase of the Palmer store, the career of Marshall Field really began. Our country was then in the final throes of the Civil War. The financial outlook was uncer- tain. For the American business man the ap- proaching years were to be among the hardest and most difficult in our history. Thus, Field and Leiter, in assuming their new financial and mercantile responsibilities, had mapped out for themselves a journey that was to lead them over many a rocky road before they ap- proached the mountain-tops toward which their visions were to lead them. The people of Chicago and the territory it served during the '50's and '60's of the last century were mostly of pioneer type. Their needs were meager; they demanded only the coarsest of clothing and of food. Many of the necessities of life were raised on the farm, and most of the stores of the time were con- tent to sell the staple merchandise demanded by these early settlers. Potter Palmer, however, as suggested in our first chapter, had a broad vision of the demand that could be created. In addition to the staples, his house sought to carry merchan- dise of a better quality and possessing a greater style element than that of his com- petitors. In the Palmer retail store too the mer- chandise excelled in style and in quality, for its owner strove assiduously to create a demand for a little better grade of mer- chandise and then to imbue the public mind with understanding and appreciation of the goods he was selling. When Marshall Field and Levi Z. Leiter joined the Palmer store this policy was con- tinued. Field, in particular, brought to the concern an understanding of the West; a knowledge of its needs and its possibilities, and a sympathy with its yearnings or desires that was unequaled by that of any merchant in Chicago. He knew that a new generation was de- veloping in the West, one with which he him- self was in close touch. Yet so stern had been his early training and so strict were the rules he had set for himself as to financing and credit-granting that he could not tolerate the idea of speculation or "plunging," favored though they were by some of his friends of that new generation. During the Civil War there had gathered in Chicago many strangers from other cen- ters, whose trade in cotton and other South- ern products had been cut off. Most of these had been in business along the Mississippi River. St. Louis had been their headquar- ters, but because of the disturbed conditions there they had moved north to Chicago. The inflation of the currency resulting from the need of financing the war had cre- ated opportunities for many speculative ven- tures. The true Westerner was a hard-work- ing man, with little taste or time for ostenta- tion or display, and Chicago social life was of a quiet, "homey" kind. The newcomers, with some ready cash, glib tongues, and quick- working brains, soon succeeded in developing a different kind of society, one that proved very attractive to many of the young men and to some of the young women. Gambling in various forms was carried on openly and with', out restriction, to the detriment frequently of strangers in town. Later on, learning from their victims of 22 The Life Story of a Great Concern the great undeveloped reasources of the West, many of the speculative sharks forsook their gambling outfits in the hotels and barrooms and embarked in more or less risky ventures in the further West. Thus a new type w^as added to the adventurers of the ante-bellum days, and thus the risks Chicago business men were called on to face were great- ly increased. For a decade, indeed, reckless speculation was prevalent throughout the West. To- day a firm would be on the crest of the wave, to- morrow it was engulfed. Sel- dom could the value of property be accurately gaged. Hence, the element of character, which Field had held right along must be the essential backing of evei'y credit transac- tion, acquired new and addi- tional impor- tance. Levi Z. Lei- ter, having been thoroughly A Field, Letter & Co. advertisement of 1866-67. last paragraph. grounded in the handling of credits, had become the credit man of the new firm. Less conservative than Field and willing to take greater risks in business transactions, his policies were often at variance with those of Field, and frequently the restraining hand of the latter had to be stretched out. The new firm of Field, Palmer & Leiter was capitalized at $600,000. Had it not been for the chaotic conditions which had been created by the war and were by no means immediately dispelled by peace, this sum would have been ample to carry the firm along in good shape. But the firm's second three months were months of trial. Indeed, ru- mors were cur- rent that the firm was in a bad way financially. Gradual- ly, however, busi- ness conditions improved. Dur- ing the latter half of the twelfth month the firm pros- pered, and the year 1866 brought a still greater volume of business. Long delayed improve- ments and settle- ments in the West were taken up with vigor, and there was an increasing de- mand for mer- chandise. It has been declared that practically any firm in Chi- cago which at that time had a steady supply of merchandise could find an almost unlim- ited market. ■^ Such prosperity did Field, Palmer & Lei- ter enjoy that in the latter part of the year Field and Leiter entered into negotiations with Potter Palmer for the purchase of the Note the Formation of Firm of Field, Leiter & Co. 23 latter's entire interest. A deal was finally consummated whereby Field and Leiter came into control of the business. It is note- worthy that while some borrowing had to be done much of the money needed for the transaction was derived from the profits of the business. Thus, early in 1867 the firm became Field, Leiter & Co., with Marshall Field and Levi Z. Leiter owning about twp-thirds of the en- tire capital stock. FIELD and Leiter commenced a system- atic effort to stimulate and guide the taste of their public. In fact, it was said in those days that the aim of Field, Palmer & Leiter and later of Field, Leiter & Co. was not \ only to sell merchandise, but to educate the people of Chicago and of the West and Northwest to an understanding and knowl- edge of merchandise that would enable them Jto buy intelligently. Repeatedly the firm, in its newspaper ad- vertisements, emphasized the fact that the j store was a strictly one-price institution, that tits merchandise was sold on merit, that all goods could be exchanged if not found satis- factory. A goodly proportion of the concern's busi- ness, especially on quality merchandise, was of a "charge" nature. But never did the firm sacrifice promptness in payment to its desire for sales volume. Long credits were the rule in retail stores of those days. In many cases two, three, six or even twelve months were permitted to elapse before demanding pay- ment. Field, Leiter & Co., however, regarded charge or credit sales in the same light as banking transactions. The policy of "short credit" was early adopted, and was so strictly adhered to that no customer, however wealthy or reliable, could obtain in the Field- Leiter store better terms than thirty days. It was the policy of Field, Leiter & Co.'s credit department, under the direction of Mr. Leiter, to scrutinize with the utmost care the responsibility of each applicant for credit and after credit had been granted to see that each and every charge customer adhered strictly to the terms. Knowing, therefore, to a reason- able certainty how much money would be com- ing in around the first of the month, the con- cern was able to buy on what was practically a cash basis and at exceptionally close prices. This enabled the firm to carry more up-to-date merchandise than could its competitors whose methods were lax, as well as to do business on a relatively smaller capital. The independent, originating attitude of the firm was further shown in the fact that immediately after its formation it adopted the policy of not advertising in the Sunday papers. The following extract from a letter recently written by Mr. Shedd shows how closely this policy is being adhered to to-day. "Marshall Field & Co. never have adver- tised in Sunday newspapers. They have fol- lowed the rule that six days for labor and the seventh for rest was best for employer and employee. We regard Sunday advertising as an unnecessary infraction of this very whole- some, many-century old religious dictum, and are glad to follow it. "We are said to have the most wonderful display windows in the world, covering four sides of a block. The curtains of these win- ^ dows are lowered from Saturday night until i Monday morning, though we have been urged : by many people to allow this display to go for- ward on Sunday. "These decisions were made and have been carried out by the founders and owners of this institution, because they have always tried to govern their actions by their interpretation of the effect upon the public morale. As their ex- ample is followed by many merchants, they have striven to mold their policies along the highest ethical lines. "Marshall Field & Co. believe that the fact that they do not commercialize Sunday makes for better citizenship." Rates for advertising in Monday's papers were somewhat lower than those ruling for Sunday's. Moreover, other stores were not using the Monday paper at all; consequently, Field, Leiter & Co.'s Monday publicity at- 24 The Life Story of a Great Concern tracted unusual attention. Then, too, the reputation which the firm had won for carry- ing the right kinds of merchandise at a fair price — goods possessing great style value as well as reliable in quality — caused their Mon- day morning advertisements to be read widely and carefully. Another important principle of the store's operating methods initiated in the early days and, like the non-Sunday advertising rule, continued to the present time, was the policy of working with the employees and helping them to advance. The policy of studying each man or woman, each girl or boy, working for the concern, and then putting each in the position to which he or she was best fitted, was for several years carried on under Mr. Field's personal super- vision. He delegated to others the study of his employees only when he found that their number had become so large that it was im- possible for him to do all of them justice. Another cardinal rule of the Field-Leiter store was: not to retain on its payroll an em- ployee who gambled or used intoxicants to ex- cess or whose conduct outside the store was in any way below the Field standard. It became at that time and has since con- tinued to be a law of the Field organization that the man and the opportunity make the income ; that certain lines of work are not only more productive than others but require greater aptitude and deeper insight, and that such positions naturally call for higher re- ward than those of a routine character. It is noteworthy that in the late 70's and early 80's, although the total personnel of Field, Leiter & Co. approximated 1000 and the locations of the two branches of the business were separated by a considerable distance, Marshall Field always found time before leaving the city for a prolonged ab- sence to go through each establishment, shake hands with each employee and leave with him a kind word of interest and farewell. Refer- ence has been made to Mr. Field's knowledge of human nature and his retentive memory, and in his dealings with his employees these served him in good stead. It is said of him that once having shaken a man's hand and talked with him he could invariably recall the man to mind. In going through a department he was wont to recog- nize instantly a strange face and would be quick to make inquiry as to the identity of the stranger. CHAPTER IV RETAIL REMOVED TO STATE 'AND WASHINGTON AS was recently stated in a public address by a prominent member of the Mar- shall Field & Co. organization, "the ef- ficient wholesale store has made it possible for the goods which the retailer buys. The large corps of salesmen employed by the wholesaler has enabled the retailer to stock closely in ac- cord with his selling outlet and more carefully Field. Leiter & Co. CHICAGO. Sept. With, 2S74. Iif-:jix' Sfh: The t'lif lowing Rp.soiuiion adnpicxl by our Bankers, •• T!t. I 'httihif- i.'tfi/fipff It'ivtr AfJi'-fiattf-n -if B'tnir" ifuii Jinnk:n rt.^>hv tint, mdU further otYtwi. .lM'^l.« rwts ■>/ 'h-- dttl'irhrA ei'iniiUw of ofairt in Xfc V-'-k «»■/ flhrr r>V(V», nn,/ (Ac •f/jH-uUy iff ccH- rcriiiht '"'/•( 'I-"* i«/p •■v^ri'ncy, if>' mrailxm l-r f-'-f'}nmrn-i'--{ tui-l ■iiit/"irU''J '<' ampt-nJ rurrmnj patpnaUt fit tii'i /■('■;/., ■i.i—i'hln •it.vir ftf^.n iJu'fi, '■i'/.i-r fri-m {■(■"'ttf-f .'i-ntk" or ortr lluir .■■,iiul'-rt," ut substa nJ i all y the, sarnc uefion as wa~\- t- i^sir-K'C-^-^ ^.y^: ^^Ap/ct^^ ,-<* i^ t-«i^ \N *»/#-«j^. jt*.'-/^*«..-/C V- -e^ ■f -'^K^K-X •O^'^ y . aa^'L^t^-..^^ C-- f^??C^' ^-7f Letter of H. B. Claflin & Co., induced by the financial stringency of 1873 Just about the period now under considera- Even as early as the late '60's and early '70's tion Mr. Leiter endeavored to persuade Mr. the firm on several occasions purchased direct Field to give up the retail store and turn the the entire output of large manufacturing concern into a strictly wholesale house. Then, plants. This ability to buy in large quanti- however, as subsequently, Marshall Field ad- ties gave the firm still another advantage over hered firmly to his purpose — that purpose its competitors, which culminated in the upbuilding of what is In addition to relying on the house as a Retail Removed to State and Washington 29 source for merchandise in many cases retail merchants sought the advice of the members of the firm in connection with investments. In each instance excellent counsel was freely accorded. The wholesale house was also in- strumental in spreading among its customers the standards of business practice to which it so closely adhered, and thus a sense of the merchant's responsibility to his customers and his public generally was carried into every community in the Central West. The period was one in which an influence of this character was especially needed. It was an era of wild speculation, as already stated, and even banks were in many in- stances far from trustworthy. The value of the paper currency as expressed in gold fluc- tuated from day to day. In addition, mer- chants had to keep a sharp eye on the bank- notes presented in payment. "Wildcat" bank- notes, worthless in greater or less degree, were so common that lists of this kind of cur- rency were regularly published. It was, moreover, a period of falling prices. Andreas, in his "History of Chicago," in regard to the period in question, says : From 1865 until the date of resumption of specie payments the purchasing power of green- backs and National banknotes continued to de- preciate, and, as a result, the volume of business as shown by the amount of sales reported for several years following 1865 did not increase in as marked a ratio as during the war. To illus- trate: The volume of trade in 1867 exceeded that of 1868 by from 5 to 7 per cent, yet during the same year prices on all lines of dry goods, and particularly on domestic goods, declined from 7 to 8 per cent. It may be seen that with such a fall in prices it was necessary to increase the amount of sales, that the quantity of goods sold should be largely in excess of that in the year preceding. It is worthy of note, in this connection, that the loss resulting from the depreciation in prices, fell most heavily upon the retailers, many of whom found themselves unable to replace their stocks with sufficient rapidity to pay the expense of handling any addition to the loss resulting from shrinkage in quoted values. Naturally, ' a wholesale concern which largely acted as its own banker and which took care to be always posted on values of cur- rency and allied matters was in a position to render constantly valuable service to the mer- chants in the small country centers which were the rule in the West in those days. In various other ways, too, some of them seemingly of minor importance. Field, Leiter & Co. stood ready to aid their customers. One such example is presented in the case of a merchant who had a brother located "some- where in Europe." Correspondence between the brothers had languished and finally ceased and the one in America, in his desire to lo- cate his relative, appealed to the Field organi- zation. The result was that through the firm's foreign connections the brothers were finally brought into touch with each other. MEANWHILE, the firm was profiting by the rapid development of the terri- tory it served as well as by its own growing and spreading reputation. It is declared that one year during the early '70's saw the begin- nings of no less than five hundred new towns or villages in what we now know as the Mid- dle West. Each of these meant the starting of a new store, a potential customer of the Field-Leiter organization, and its salesmen, ever eager for business, were quick to be on the ground in order to avail themselves of the new opportunities. But before this desirable condition was reached the firm, as already suggested, was called on, along with other American houses, to surmount — or succumb to, as many did — extraordinary difliculties. For in 1873 there came a panic, largely as a result of the fever of speculation to which reference has been made, largely, too, because of the de- m.oralization in certain sections of the coun- try which was a natural sequence of the Civil War. Cities, counties and even States re- pudiated their public debts; thousands of business men and firms became bankrupt. It is reported that on one day in New York five prominent merchants committed suicide. In Chicago many firms were tottering. In short, the financial fabric of the country seemed on 30 The Life Story of a Great Concern the point of breaking down, and in Chicago, as in other mercantile centers, the situation be- came precarious in the extreme. So great was the prominence which even at that time the iirm of Field, Leiter & Co. had gained in its community and everywhere in the West that in the frenzy of their per- plexities merchants asked each other with bated breath, "What will Field's do?" The answer was ready even before the question began to be asked. No sooner had the little cloud, "no bigger than a man's hand," yet portentous of wide- spread disaster, made its appearance on the financial horizon than Field, Leiter & Co. be- gan to shorten sail. The granting of credit was restricted, collections were gotten in wherever possible, and the purchase of mer- chandise was confined to provision for im- mediate needs. At the most acute period, when the credit of the country's banking in- stitutions was at least uncertain, Field, Lei- ter & Co., in order to help their custom- ers and avoid delays occasioned by the cur- rent refusals to cash drafts, issued a circular to their customers advising them to remit gold and currency by express. Again during this crisis Marshall Field's intimate knowledge of the Western territory, and its resources, came into effective play. Not only were applicants for credit as well as ac- counts already standing carefully scrutinized by Mr. Leiter and Mr. Higinbotham ; they had also to pass the searching study of Mr. Field. In this work the banking organizations at vari- ous points which Field, Leiter & Co. had as- sociated with them as correspondents ren- dered valuable aid in the form of information. Thus, Marshall Field's insistence on the thorough scrutiny and consideration of each application for credit and his constant study of the conditions under which the customers of the wholesale branch were doing business were tremendously effective in helping his concern to ride out the storm. Not only this, but they impressed themselves so deeply on other merchants that to Field, Leiter & Co. is given credit in large degree for the sta- bility acquired by other concerns in the West and Northwest. Speaking on this subject recently. Presi- dent John G. Shedd, said: "If this country has anything for which to thank Marshall Field & Co. it is that its pred- ecessors. Field, Leiter & Co. — composed of such sterling characters as Marshall Field, Levi Z. Leiter, Henry J. Willing, Lorenzo G. Woodhouse, Joseph N. Field and Harlow N. Higinbotham — impressed on Chicago, the West and the great North and Southwest the basic idea of character as an asset and as an important factor in determining a merchant's right to credit. "Adherence to the principle enunciated by Marshall Field and consistently adhered to by Field, Leiter & Co. and Marshall Field & Co. has carried the great Western country through times of stress and of panic, and has built in that country a strong credit founda- tion. Furthermore, this idea has given to the West an assurance of ability to handle success- fully its financial and industrial problems which could not otherwise have been at- tained." THE close of the panic period found Field, Leiter & Co. relatively stronger finan- cially, with a higher commercial rating, and better situated for the expansion of their business than they were prior to the arrival of the conditions which entailed the ship- wreck of so many less skillfully managed con- cerns. The great majority of the merchants whom the house had carried on its books also weathered the tempest. Many of these freely admitted that the continuance of their exist- ence was due to the aid and counsel of Field, Leiter & Co. And, naturally, such merchants enrolled themselves among the firm's staunch- est customers and supporters. It is a further noteworthy evidence of ihe firm's energy, courage and progressiveriess that even during the dark days of the panic they took the momentous step of removing Retail Removed to State and Washington 31 the retail branch of business from the loca- tion in which it had been established and had grown up. The removal exerted a far-reaching influ- ence on the development of Chicago, as well as on the fortunes of the growing Field, Leiter & Co. firm. For the location selected — at the corner of State and Washington Streets — became, and with the exception of a brief interval, has ever since continued to be, the keystone of Chicago's marvelous retail district, a district which in the size and magnificence of its stores and the amount of business transacted is without parallel in the wide world. It is too well known and too universally rec- ognized to require emphasis that the growth and expansion of the Marshall Field & Co. re- tail store and its continued presence in the same locality have been among the great, out- standing causes of the upbuilding and main- tenance of State Street as the principal re- tail shopping center of the Western metrop- olis. The building at the corner of State and Washington to which Field, Leiter & Co. re- moved had been erected for their occupancy and embodied all that was best in store con- struction and equipment at that time. It is indicative of the standing and prominence the concern had won, even at that time, that its removal was speedily followed by a migration to State Street on the part of many of its for- mer neighbors. CHAPTER V QUICK WORK FOLLOWS THE GREAT FIRE OF 1871 THE business of Field, Leiter & Co. had become established, the firm had weath- ered the financial panic and had come out of the trial with new strength and en- On the morning of October 9th, in the year named, the people of the Western metropolis gazed on a business district formerly the pride of the West, but now a black and smok- Thc first building at State and Washington Streets occupied by Field, Leiter & Co. and destroyed in the great fire which devastated a large part of Chicago in 1871. hanced reputation. Its retail business had removed to a magnificent structure, as mag- nificence was judged in those days, and every prospect seemed favorable and encouraging. Within a moment, however, all was changed. The great Chicago fire of 1871 broke out and, like other concerns in the stricken city. Field, Leiter & Co. were the victims of its handi- work. ing waste. State Street also, the new retail section, was destroyed. Millions of dollars' worth of merchandise had gone up in flames with the structures in which it had been stored. And the Field-Leiter business house seemed to be no more. But almost before the conflagration had been checked, and while bricks and other debris were still too hot to touch, the firm had 32 Quick Work Follows the Great Fire of 1871 33 taken action looking to the speedy resumption of business. Car barns belonging to the South Side Street Railway Co. at State and Twentieth Streets, were purchased and hastily fitted up for store purposes. All of the com- pany's cars were chartered and put to use in the transfer of goods, and while other less re- sourceful business men were bewailing their losses Field, Leiter & Co. were transporting officer, or vigilante, and the driver was asked what he was carrying. "Merchandise from the Field warehouse," was the reply. "And where is it going?" "To the car barns on Twentieth Street." "How is it," asked the guard, "that these cars are running for Field, Leiter & Co.?" "I don't know," responded the driver; "but „. -■*■ mill 1 Ull in'lCijjlLlDj lL:^"j:ii' ik sji:>^ Wliolesale Dry Goods & Carpets, MAOISON AND MARKfel" STREETS. The wholesale establishment of Field, Leiter 6- Co. and subsequently of Marshall Field & Co. up to 1887, when removal took place to the large building of rough-hewn granite occupying the block between Adams, Franklin, Quincy and Wells Streets. merchandise from their reserve stock ware- houses, which fortunately were untouched, and from the various places to which the contents of stores and warerooms in the burned section had been removed. Night and day, without let-up the work was carried on, the horse cars laden with goods running continually from warehouses and merchandise "dumps" to the car barns and vice versa. Late one night a carload of Field, Leiter & Co. merchandise was stopped by an inquisitive they are." To which the inquisitive one replied: "Well, it beats all. It seems that there is nothing impossible at Field's." And this remark, uttered that dreary night while Chicago lay in ashes, has become a watchword and a slogan with the Marshall Field & Co. institution. As soon as the embers of the building at State and Washington Streets had cooled suf- ficiently to permit one to go near them a post was erected and to it was tacked a rough 34 The Life Story of a Great Concern board, on which had been crudely painted this message of cheer to the more needy of those who had made Field's their working home: "Cash Boys and Work Girls Will Be Paid the Full Amount Due Them." A striking example of the firm's thought for the members of its personnel! Despite the loss of its store and the destruction of be- tween $3,000,000 and $4,000,000 worth of its property, despite uncertainty as to what sum could be recovered from the insurance com- panies (themselves hard hit by the disaster) and with no certain prospect of rehabilitation in a city of which a large portion had been laid waste, the members of Field, Leiter & Co. could still stop and remember, even the humblest of their employees. ^ In the difficult days that followed the con- cern was able to realize from its fire insurance policies a total of something like $2,500,000. Some of the insurance companies had proved unable to meet their liabilities, and many merchants found themselves completely wiped out. It is another proof of the business acu- men of Field, Leiter & Co. that the bulk of their insurance had been placed with strong, reliable concerns. Conditions in Chicago were slow to im- prove. Kecovery from so great a blow neces- sarily required time. In the East doubt was expressed as to Chicago's ability to rebuild. Many of the local business men were unable to meet their obligations, and representatives of Eastern houses having debtors in Chicago visited the city with a view of effecting some settlement of the debts owing to them. To all of those who visited them with this end in view Field, Leiter & Co. returned one and the same answer : "We will pay our accounts on a basis of one hundred cents on the dollar." One such manufacturer had sold to Field, Leiter & Co. a large bill of merchandise which was undelivered at the time of the fire. Under the law as it existed or had been interpreted at that time it was held that the shipment had not passed into the possession of the Chicago firm. The representative of the Eastern con- cern, naturally anxious over the situation, called on Mr. Leiter and asked him what he was going to do in the matter. "We don't have to pay you," was the an- swer. "But you will be paid in full." The avoidance of slow-paying and other- wise doubtful accounts by the Field-Leiter concern and the building up of a reliable, promptly paying clientele again bore fruit. Requests for remittances, accompanied by a frank statement of the causes were sent out, and brought a quick and satisfactory response. Within a few months Field, Leiter & Co.'s business was again on a stable footing and their credit was unimpaired. SO far as the city of Chicago itself was con- cerned, the fire had its compensations. Its low-lying streets had been difficult to pave, and, consequently, muddy and at times almost impassable. The vast quantities of debris re- sulting from the destruction of buildings, etc., sufficed, it is declared, to raise the streets of the devastated section to the extent of two feet as well as to add some forty acres of filled-in land along the lake shore. At any rate, the streets in the section named were raised in a considerable degree, and new land was added to the city's territory. Not only the business section but also residential districts on the north and to the south had been destroyed. From Van Buren Street to Lincoln Park only one struc- ture, the old Ogden House, was left standing. The people living beyond the limits of the burned districts were without transportation facilities, there being no means of crossing the burned-over section. The car barns were recognized as wholly unsuitable as a perma- nent location for the Field, Leiter & Co.'s business. They could not be reached from the north or from the west, and a store at that point could at best serve only a small sec- tion of the South Side. Field, Leiter & Co. began, therefore, to look about for a new loca- tion. To the west of the Chicago River little damage had been done. From the compara- tively thickly populated West Side Madison Street led into the downtown district and Quick Work Follows the Great Fire of 1871 35 where it crossed the river it formed the gate- way both to that residential section and to the business portion of the city. That particular part of the city was then composed of small, unsightly dwellings, interspersed with bar- rooms, dives and similar disorderly places. With all the facts in mind, however, as to the traffic movement, the firm decided on the cor- ner of Madison and Market Streets as a loca- tion where, on account of the fine shipping facilities and the extreme width of Market Street at this point, they determined to house Owners of property on State Street stood aghast. They begged Field, Leiter & Co. to return to their old location or to one nearer to them. To these requests, however, the firm turned a deaf ear, and, just as traders had followed Field, Leiter & Co. to State Street, so now retail concerns began to gravitate toward Madison and Market, so that within a brief period that portion of the city bade fair to become the principal retail center. This was not to be, however. On the for- mer site of the Field, Leiter & Co. store a '^K^:«i One of the notices to employees immediately after the great fire of 1871 their wholesale business at this available posi- tion. The location offered a solution of the temporary care of the retail trade tributary to this point — the north side and the great west side which had been rapidly expanded by the necessity of housing the large numbers of people who had lost their homes in the burnt territory. At this point they proceeded to erect there a spacious warehouse. spacious store structure was erected by the Singer Sewing Machine Co., the concern which had been the purchaser of the building put up by Potter Palmer and occupied by him and his successors. Field, Leiter & Co. On the completion of this new State Street edifice Field, Leiter & Co. leased it from the Singer Co. and removed their retail business from both the Twentieth Street car barns and the 36 The Life Story of a Great Concern Madison Street store to their former location. The wholesale business remained, however, at that point, viz., the corner of Madison and Market Streets, and expanded into the vacated retail premises. Again the retail business followed Field, Leiter & Co. It deserted the vicinity of Madi- son and Market Streets soon after the removal aforementioned, and State Street regained the supremacy as a retail thoroughfare which it has ever since maintained. DURING the period immediately following the fire the wholesale business of the firm increased by leaps and bounds. This was due, in part, to the splendid credit standing and purchasing power which the broad- minded and progressive policies of Field, Lei- ter & Co. had won for them in the world markets and manufacturing centers. In a de- gree also it was attributable to the conditions prevailing in Chicago from a merchandise supply standpoint. Goods were scarce with the majority of concerns in Chicago. Field, Leiter & Co. were able to offer both large quantities and varied assortments. Not onjy this, but because of the merchandise conditions locally prevailing the firm was able practically to dictate its own selling terms and could select its customers with even greater regard to their responsi- bility and reliability than before. Thus the house continued to build up and keep on its books a class of customers who could be de- pended on for the fulfillment of all their ob- ligations. Meanwhile, attention continued to be given to real estate. Unusual opportunities for purchasing desirable parcels presented them- selves subsequent to the fire and from that time on until 1885 the firm members increased their holdings of desirable real property. It was during the period in question that Mr. Field effected many of those investments in Chicago real estate which led to holdings, the total value of which at the time of his death. thirty years later, was estimated to be ap^ proximately $100,000,000. These investments of members of the firm of Field, Leiter & Co., and especially of Marshall Field and Levi Z. Leiter, exerted an ,) important influence on Chicago property / values. The real estate editors of the local newspapers watched with care the operations of the two men, and whenever they made a purchase the fact was made widely known. The people of Chicago had come to look upon the firm of Field, Leiter & Co. as something more than dry goods merchants. Their retail store had become a cause for local pride; they / were recognized as men of exceptional ability and judgment. So a purchase of real estate by either Field or Leiter usually enhanced the value of property in that neighborhood. Marshall Field, however, by no means con- fined to real estate such financial operations and enterprises as he undertook outside of his wholesale and retail businesses. Some time prior to the period with which we are now dealing he had formed a close acquaintance with George M. Pullman, the inventor and manufacturer of the cars which bear his name, and this had brought Mr. Field into close contact with the railroad managements of the Middle West. He had also become acquainted with the heads of great concerns in other lines of enterprise. The foresight and the keen and accurate judgment for which Mr. Field was even then becoming noted were evinced in the judicious investment of the earnings he was personally deriving from the business. He selected for this purpose railroad bonds and stocks and the securities of banks and other institutions which had sprung up and were developing along with the growth and prosperity of the Western country. These ventures were all the more promis- ing and all the more profitable because of the progress the West was making. The era was that phenomenal one, unapproached elsewhere in the history of the world, when great cap- tains of industry were beginning to turn to account the vast resources of the United Quick Work Follows the Great Fire of 1871 37 States and of the Western country in particu- lar. Kailroads were being constructed, new territory opened, forests felled and mines dug. During the decade between 1870 and 1880 the Indians, with few exceptions, were with- drawn from the Northwest and placed on res- ervations. The virgin farm lands thus made available attracted hosts of settlers, men and In supplying the trade created by this in- flux the foreign offices established years pre- viously by Field, Leiter & Co., under the con- trol of Joseph N. Field, proved a valuable and effective instrument. The firm was thereby in a position to place before the settler and his family wares with which they were fa- miliar and to the use of which they were ac- customed. The building at State and Washington Streets erected in 1873 and occupied by Field, Leiter & Co. until it was destroyed by fire in 1877. The building measured 160 by 150 //. and had five floors and basement. families of sturdy stock, familiar with agri- culture and soon to create increase in the de- mand for merchandise. To Wisconsin and Minnesota came the Scandinavians and the Germans. The latter also selected Iowa and Nebraska for their dwelling place. From Po- land, from Italy and from other European countries also there were arriving men and women determined to settle down and "grow up with the country." During this period there was being devel- oped a separate personnel for the wholesale and for the retail, with a manager for each of the divisions. On these managers, in line with the method pursued by Marshall Field from the start of his association with the business, heavy responsibilities were laid, and these re- sponsibilities were augmented as time went on. 38 The Life Story of a Great Concern Relatively great responsibilities were vested in the heads of departments, with the result that Marshall Field himself is quoted as saying, "I have developed in these two organizations not department managers or buyers, but men who are specialists in the handling of merchandise." Having as chief directors of each branch of the business men who were themselves mer- chants of the highest order, men whom he could trust implicitly for the consistent carry- ing on of his dry goods businesses along the lines which had brought the concern to the commanding position it now occupied, Mar- shall Field was able to devote much of his time and energy to his other interests as well as to those of his city and community. His counsel was eagerly sought in various quar- ters. On the mooting of a project for the city's betterment — say, the extension of a promi- nent thoroughfare or the development of a new section — the City Council, real estate owners, builders and others turned instinctive- ly to Marshall Field for advice and inspiration. Among these instances, though of a later period than that we are now discussing, was the widening of Michigan Avenue below Jack- son Boulevard, as the latter thoroughfare is now named. To his counsel and influence was largely due the development in question and the consequent linking of the North Side with the South Side. In association with others he joined in the organization and development of a bank, which became one of the most important in Chicago. He also gave of his time and effort in the fostering of the love for art and took a promi- nent part in providing the means for its grati- fication. To him the city of Chicago owes the Field Museum, one of its most noteworthy institutions. This he established in 1893 and endowed with a gift of $1,000,000. He pre- sented the University of Chicago with land valued at $450,000. He was also a trustee of the First Presbyterian Church and a gener- ous contributor to that and other religious denominations. As above suggested, however, Mr. Field continued to supervise the management of his dry goods businesses from a broad stand- point and although so much of his attention was devoted to matters of national scope as well as to local civic affairs, he found time to maintain his contact with the employees of both of his establishments. CHAPTER VI JOHN G. SHEDD JOINS THE FIELD ORGANIZATION UNUSUAL interest centers not only the force to do more than maintain the house around the career of Marshall Field but of Marshall Field & Co. in the proud position also around those of some of his associ- which it had won. Despite the mighty changes ates. The most salient instance is that of one which were to come over business and busi- who as a young man became connected with ness methods in the United States, he suc- the concern in the late summer of 1872, during the rebuilding of the State Street store. Entering the store, the young man applied for a position. "What can you do?" Marshall Field inquired. "Sir, I can sell anything," was the confident reply. "Had any ex- perience?" was the next question shot at him. "Yes ; several years selling and merchandising in Vermont and New Hampshire." "You will do," decided the mer- chant. "We will give you a job at ten dollars a week as stock-boy and salesman in the linen depart- ment. What is your name?" "John G. Shedd," answered the young man. Thus there was brought into the organiza- tion a man who was destined to become in later years its head. As this story will clearly show, Mr. Shedd had the vision and John G. Shedd, President of Marshall Field & Co. ceeded in expand- ing its activities in a degree of which probably its great founder never dreamed and has raised the institution to a n extraordinar- ily high place in the estimation of the American public and of business men throughout the world. When he join- ed the forces of Field, Leiter & Co. Mr. Shedd was in his twenty- second year. Like his new employer, he had been raised on a New England farm, had learned through privation and lessons of in- dustry and self- denial. In short, his upbringing and early training had re- sembled in no small degree those of Marshall Field. Even as a boy John Graves Shedd had sensed the limitations of New England farm life, had realized the possibilities that lay out beyond the distant hills, had a vision of what 39 40 The Life Story of a Great Concern youth, energy and ability might accomplish amid the busy haunts of men and particularly in the new and rapidly growing West. The thought, the vision probably grew into determination without the boy being con- scious of the process. At any rate, his final decision was the immediate result of an ac- cident and was reached with what by the other members of his family must have been regarded as startling suddenness. With his brother he was sugaring in the New Hampshire woods. Winter is severe in the Granite State, and the cold was intense. The boys and their span of oxen hauling the heavy sled had wallowed through huge snow- drifts to reach the sugar maple grove. They carried the freshly gathered sap in heavy pails, hung from a "yoke" carried on the shoulders. Thus loaded, the young John G. slipped on the frozen ground and fell. The flowing sap ran from the pail into one of his high boots, filling it with the fluid. His brother, standing by, was convulsed with laughter. That accident turned the scale; the acci- dent crystallized the determination, the de- sire that had so long been latent. The future merchant rose from the ground, threw down yoke and pails and start- ed for the settlement. "Where are you going, John?" asked his brother, in surprise. "I'm going to quit the farm," was the curt reply. And quit he did, though not until he had looked carefully around for some promising opening. He had dreamed at times of becom- ing a lawyer or a minister, but sufficient funds not being available for the necessary college education both of these professions seemed out of the question. Business, however, required no matriculation, no previous years of burning of the midnight oil. So his dreams of success at the bar or ministry he put behind him and planned a career as a merchant. At that time he was sixteen years of age. He secured his first position on June 14, 1867. His employer kept a little shop, dealing in fruit and what we now know as delicatessen, at Bellows Falls, Vt. The lad's remuneration consisted of a yearly salary of $75 and his board and lodging. A year later he found a position in a gen- eral store run by one Timothy Tufts in Alstead, N. H., Shedd's native town. Three months later the store was burned to the ground. Shedd, however, had demonstrated his ability as a salesman, and found no trouble in finding another position in the town, his new employer being James H. Porter. He there received a yearly salary of $125, to- gether with board and lodging — a considerable increase over what Tufts had been paying him. While working in the Porter store young Shedd made the ecquaintance of the pro- prietor's niece, and subsequently married her. Shedd's industry and ability had attracted the attention of a man who was a silent partner in a store in Rutland, Vt., conducted by a merchant named C. A. Parkhurst. The young man was offered a position there, and this he accepted, removing to Rutland in April, 1870. This new position gave him a salary of $175 a year, with board. This re- muneration was increased at various times during the ensuing year or so. He was then offered a position by B. H. Burt, in Rutland, who at that time was credited with owning the best store in the State. The salary was $600 a year without board and lodging, but plus a commission which about made up for that deficiency. STILL the young man had his eyes turned toward greater things, and wider oppor- tunities. He asked and obtained leave to take a vacation and went to visit a brother and sis- ter in Illinois. Thus it was that he reached Chicago and held his first interview with Marshall Field. The conditions in Chicago in that year fol- lowing the great fire, together with those faced and surmounted by Field, Leiter & Co., have been traced in a previous chapter. Ref- erence has also been made to the strict scru- tiny extended to all of the merchants who John G. Shedd Joins the Field Organization 41 bought, or might desire to buy, of Field, Lei- ter & Co. on a credit basis. To what has been stated on this latter subject may here be added the fact that it was not altogether an uncommon thing to find in some center in the Middle West a merchant who would declare that he "had never bought at Field's." To this condition the new salesman at Field's owed a somewhat mortifying but high- ly instructive experience. He had been with the concern but a short time when a man entered the store and ap- ments made as to shipment. As luck would have it, Mr. Leiter was at the desk when sales- man and customer approached. Looking at the saleslip, Leiter noted the merchant's name, and turning sharply toward him bade him "Get out of the store and never come back in an attempt to buy goods of the Field concern." "You know your business is not wanted here," Leiter added. "Any man who failed as you did and tried to effect such a dishonest settlement is not welcome here. We not only Birthplace of John G. Shedd at Alstead, N. H. Courtesy Charles N. Vilas, Alstead, N. H. proached young Shedd with a view of pur- chasing a bill of goods. The man, it ap- peared, came from a progressive town and looked as if he would prove a desirable cus- tomer for the concern. Naturally, the young salesman was elated when on totaling up the order for hosiery he found it amounted to more than $800. In accordance with the rules of the house, he accompanied the customer to the credit desk, to have the sale O.K.'d and arrange- won't give you credit but we don't want any cash business from you." And get out the would-be customer did, much to the chagrin and discomfiture of the young salesman. "It was my first big bill," commented Mr. Shedd in relating this incident, "and it was the first time I had ever heard a customer ad- dressed in such a peremptory manner. But the incident taught me a lesson in credit granting — or rather credit refusing — and 42 The Life Story of a Great Concern moreover a lesson as to the value of a reputa- tion for character and integrity — which I have never forgotten. Not only that, but the words of Mr. Leiter gave me a very strong and distinct impression of the standards of Field, Leiter & Co." Little time elapsed before Mr. Shedd had demonstrated to the satisfaction of his new employers that his claim that he could "sell anything" had been no idle boast. He soon became recognized as one of the star sales- men in the concern's wholesale business. To Mr. Willing, who, as has been stated, was a partner in the Field-Leiter concern, and one of its most important managers, is attributed much of Mr. Shedd's progress dur- ing the period under consideration. The de- partment in which Mr. Shedd had been placed was one of those under Mr. Willing's direct supervision, and the latter possessed a keen understanding of young men and was eager to aid all who showed themselves worthy of his assistance. Mr. Willing was also en- dowed with the faculty of imparting to others the principles of business he himself so well understood. On this subject Mr. Shedd has remarked : "Henry J. Willing was a merchant of ex- ceptional ability, and he more than any other man was instrumental in teaching me the methods of merchandising as carried on in the Field, Leiter & Co. store and in helping me to apply the knowledge thus gained. It was through learning my first lessons from a ^ man so thoroughly grounded in the principles of business that I was able to grasp in their , full magnitude the operations carried on by '\ Field, Leiter & Co. and render effective aid in their expansion and further development." ON entering the employ of Marshall Field & Co. Mr. Shedd received a salary of $10 per week. This was considerably less than he had been earning in the Vermont center, for out of the $10 he had to defray the expense of his board and lodging. It had been agreed, however, that if the young stock-boy and sales man "made good" his salary would be in- creased to $12. It was but a short time sub- sequent to his engagement when tangible proof was given that he had more than ful- filled the expectations Mr. Field had enter- tained at the time of hiring. In other words, Shedd found in his weekly pay envelope not $10, or even $12, but $14. Believing that some mistake had occurred, he took the matter to Mr. Willing. To his inquiry that gentleman answered: "No mis- take whatever. That extra money is paid you because we feel that you are doing excellent work." Not content to be a capable stock-boy or even a successful salesman, young Shedd turned his thoughts to other phases of the business in which he believed his ideas could be useful. For example, he had noted there was fre- quently a considerable accumulation of odd sizes in various kinds of merchandise such as collars, hosiery, shirts, gloves, etc., the popu- lar sizes being sold out, leaving an accumula- tion in these slow selling numbers. He con- cluded from observation that this condition was attributable to the general rule then in vogue for the personal judgment of buyers to be the determining factor as to quantities and assortments in providing for future sales and to the lack of exact information as to needs based on previous sales. The method of having buyers go to either domestic or foreign mar- kets with only previous purchases instead of previous sales to guide them seemed entirely inadequate to the young salesman. Having proved the existence of this hap- hazard method, and shown how it could be remedied, Mr. Shedd obtained permission to go through the books and check up the sales in all lines through a considerable period. He was thus enabled to devise a systematic method of accounting of merchandise as ap- plied to the entire business, a system that could be employed as an accurate guide in buying. These data he took to Mr. Willing, who. John G. Shedd Joins the Field Organization 43 as already stated, had charge of a number of merchandise departments besides that in which Shedd was working. After careful examination and study Mr. Willing became convinced of the value of the results Shedd had obtained and Mr. Field had his ideas of merchandise accounting adopted by the house, and the buying policy of Field, Leiter & Co. came to be based largely on such data as the young salesman had devised and worked out. Later on, the system was fur- ther developed — especially in connection with the seasonal demand for certain goods — with Mr. Shedd, entering the wholesale business fresh from several years' experience in retail- ing, was able to recognize and surmount many of the difficulties in keeping an ordinary stock of merchandise well assorted without maintaining too large an investment. His practical experience in handling goods en- abled him to suggest new methods of arrang- ing and packaging which helped to facilitate the work of the retail merchant. In those days many lines of piece goods were folded with no regard for the convenience of the re- tailer. Large unwieldy lapped pieces of table Collecting Maple Sap for Sugar Looking at this photograph illustration, the original of which is among Mr. Shedd's treasured possessions, one may readily visualise the New Hamphire landscape and the activities of the boy and his brother or at the moment when the desire to be a merchant zvas developed by an accident into the determination which led the New England boy to Chicago and subsequently to the topmost round of the mercantile ladder. the result that overbuying of slow selling mer- chandise was reduced to a minimum. To the manufacturers also the analyses carried on by the Field-Leiter concern and its buyers were of decided value, for they gave a clear indication as to the proportionate quantities of each color, size, pattern, etc., which it was advisable to produce. linens and many other textiles seemed en- tirely unnecessary to Mr. Shedd, but the fixed habit of the manufacturer stood in the way of a change. By persistence and patience, how- ever, he obtained from the manufacturers bolts half the length of the old-fashioned pieces and carefully rolled on boards. This method of packaging piece goods has 44 The Life Story of a Great Concern long since become standard practice in the dry goods business and it remains as one of the many reminders to those who know the history of dry goods merchandising that Mr. Shedd was constantly devising ways and means to assist the retailer in stock keeping, money investment and many others of his problems. other matters. He still retained the direction of the sections that continued under his immediate charge, but he had succeeded in developing in them assistants so able and re- liable that to them he could with security delegate all but the principal details of opera- tion. It may readily be surmised that Mr. Field 'M.'M Jt jl^^^Ky ^ l4^ MT'' ^^^^B^M^^Mm ^ ^^BiHf^^^^B^&' ^'■«. ^ %! iSa) 9^^9t ^« ift-l^s ^Wi w - u^^^ W ^m ^ WL ^^^iwB^ ^^S^^^ JS^^^j* ■ ▼ #4 hS, ^-m'^:. ^^^■i»v^HHr W-i '^^<^J tI* ' ^ ^^ Ir^ w- vJ f^ r ' '^ v^ jj^H m ¥ IL-„ •^. V ' -■ "L* ..^^^ M^^^ -«Jh| ^^^^ ^Bfcig^^s^ k0 m S0^^ -""^ gi w^ \ Personnel of John G. Shedd's department, from a photo token Sept. 4, 1883 Mr, Shedd is seated in the front row, the fourth from the left Encouraged by the reception accorded to his ideas, Mr. Shedd went on to study other conditions and suggest improvements, with the result that his opportunities for useful- ness were broadened and increased. He was placed at the head of the neckwear sec- tion. Subsequently the lace section was placed under his charge and it gradually came about that without having direct supervision of other sections his advice was sought in connection with merchandise lines generally. In the early '80's he had won the reputa- tion of being one of the keenest merchandis- ers in the store. More than this, his judg- ment was sought and carried weight in many kept in sufficiently close contact with all de- velopments to be well aware of how valuable an aid the young man from New Hampshire and Vermont had become. The best proof that this was the case is furnished by the advance- ment of Mr. Shedd to partnership in the Field, Leiter & Co. firm. The qualities which enabled Mr. Shedd to reach this point and to reach still greater heights were recently summarized in an ef- fective way by the superintendent of Mar- shall Field & Co.'s retail store. In addressing a number of new employees, most of whom were young fellows just entering their busi- ness career — for it is one of the policies of John G. Shedd Joins the Field Organization 45 Marshall Field & Co. to employ young fel- lows and train them — the superintendent used these words: "Years ago there came into this store a young fellow who from the first demonstrated by the eagerness with which he set about his work his intense ambition to succeed. He was employed first as a stock keeper and sales- man, and at his first job this young fellow ex- celled. It was found that the stock over which he had charge was the best kept and most conveniently arranged in the store. He recog- nized from the first few weeks the importance of alert observation and of giving all his in- telligence to the study of his job. His ener- gies were bent on improving his methods of working. "Naturally enough, young John did not re- main a stock boy long. The creative effort he gave to all his work marked him for more important responsibilities. His knowledge of stock increased his ability as a salesman. His ambition was given fuller opportunity to be reflected in able work; and as the years went on he was rewarded by steady promotions. "From the first no task was too difficult or disagreeable to be accomplished; no problem was too involved to prevent a solution ; no un- dertaking was so trivial as to be unworthy of study. As his responsibilities grew, so also grew his capacity for work. And his rela- tionship with those above and below him in the business organization was characterized by friendliness, thoughtfulness and courtesy. As successive promotions gave him more and more executive responsibility, the fine quality of his attitude toward others became more and more evident. 'Come on,' not 'go on,' was always his counsel. Instead of pushing and driving, he guided and assisted his men to carry their responsibilities. He developed them by encouragement and example and wise direction. "In later years, when John G. Shedd had grown to be a man of fifty years, Marshall Field died and left the hardest job in the store — that of president — to be filled. Mr. Shedd was the man the business had to have. The spirit which had held his energies untiringly to each task of the many years of his rela- tionship with this company, fitted him for the post, and all who knew him knew confi- dently that he would carry his new responsi- bility better than any man. in the institution. To-day the former stock boy, John Graves Shedd, is president of Marshall Field & Co." Here is the reason why Mr. Shedd was so rapidly promoted from one department to an- other, as given by one of the older men of the Field organization: "As I see it, the reason Mr. Field pro- moted him was because Mr. Shedd developed in his department men who were so much better on details than he himself was; and so Mr. Field had to promote him, in order to give the new man a chance. "Let me tell you also that it became almost the rule that if a man was promoted to an important post, such as that of the head of a department, you could bet on his turning out to be one of those Mr. Shedd had picked out and trained." It is pertinent, also, to quote a remark let fall by Mr. Field on one occasion which is in- dicative of his views on this subject. It was during a Congressional hearing in the course of which Mr. Field gave his testi- mony, and in quoting certain statements he cited as his authority, "The man whom I be- lieve to be the greatest merchant in the United States." The members of the com- mittee were anxious to know who that man was; they had believed Mr. Field to be the one man entitled to that description. So they asked him to tell them whom he had in mind. "That man is John G. Shedd," was the reply. CHAPTER VII THE FIRM OF MARSHALL FIELD & CO. IS BORN IN July, 1877, the beautiful building which had been erected on the site of the original State Street store of Field, Leiter & Co. subsequent to the great fire of 1871, fell a vic- tim to the flames. A careless mechanic, who had been repairing the roof, on quitting work left his lighted blow-torch behind him. The roof took fire, and the flames spread until the their retail store subsequent to the fire of 1871 and up to the time of the new disaster. The Singer Co. at once tore down the rem- nants of the burned edifice, with the intention of rebuilding and in the expectation that Field, Leiter & Co. would desire to again become its tenants. Field, Leiter & Co. showed little interest The Exposition Building, where Field, Leiter & Co. temporarily located their retail business after fire had destroyed their store at State and Washington Streets. destruction of the building and its contents was complete. As in the case of the disaster of six years previously. Field, Leiter & Co. were prompt to take effective measures for the resumption of business. What was known as the Exposi- tion Building, situated on the lake front, at the foot of Monroe Street, was leased and fitted up for store purposes, and stocks of mer- chandise were installed. The wholesale branch, it is hardly necessary to remark, was a potent means of bringing about an immediate re- sumption of the retail business. The Singer Sewing Machine Co., as stated in a previous chapter, had put up the building which the Field-Leiter firm had occupied for in the proposition, and thus, although several conferences were held between members of the two concerns and offers and counter-offers were exchanged, no definite results were ob- tained. The fact was that the parties were unable to meet on a common ground as regards price, the Singer Co. asking for the building and site $700,000 and Field, Leiter & Co. offering half a million dollars for the property. Nevertheless, Field, Leiter & Co. were dis- satisfied with the facilities afforded by the Exposition Building. Business had not flowed into the store in that location in the antici- pated degree. Moreover, their lease of the Exposition Building was of a temporary char- 46 The Firm of Marshall Field & Co. Is Born 47 acter, the trustees of the Exposition desiring ultimately to return the building to its original use. Under these circumstances, Field, Leiter & Co. began to look around for a more suit- able location and one which promised to be so satisfactory that it would become the per- manent home of the firm's retail business. Premises were secured on Wabash Avenue, between Monroe and Adams Streets. This, however, failed to meet the requirements of the firm. Business did not develop as rapidly as had been expected, and in this case the city's retail business did not follow the firm to its new location on Wabash Avenue, as had been the case subsequent to its prior removals. Fortunately, circumstances developed which made feasible the reopening of negotiations for the purchase of the new building which the Singer Sewing Machine Co. had recently completed on the site of the former Field- Leiter store; that is, on the corner of State and Washington Streets. After considerable parleying, a deal was consummated. The price paid for the building and site was that which had originally been asked and adhered to by the Singer Co. In addition, a bonus of $100,- 000 was paid to another firm to whom a lease had been given, the wisdom of which de- veloped a difference of opinion between the two principal partners which was the principal cause of the delay in making the purchase. In this way Field, Leiter & Co. were enabled to obtain immediate possession of the historic corner property which has since continued to be a part of the Field retail establishment and on which now stands a portion of the present main building. The wisdom of the purchase by Field, Leiter & Co., despite the large outlay involved, an immense one for that day, has since been attested by the growth of the Marshall Field & Co. retail establishment. The deal proved a fortunate one not only for the Field-Leiter firm and its successors but also for other property ovraers in the vicinity, since it gave that lasting impetus which has made State Street to-day probably the world's most re- markable retail center. Following the purchase of the State Street B 1 m i 1 Li m 1 I- *" - - 1, A. \( ' *' '/'-■'' . I 11 : i 1 1 i'i n n flfirnm 3ll i! 1 !!.:l lli! -I'l^^^l i ■ ^"^ 1^ '^ "X. yz i\ 1 i i j r- •■' ■■ !■ •• 1 f!]!]!jLlj]iJl 3 1 1 ill 1 1 i ^ 1 ' fl i ii i i j fM i i;l zJmM m \\\^- ■ ' J'i ^^^^H^^ "^jurj-- ;'■- "-'■■?.'* 'S f^^W'^^ssis^Z.M: -r^mati ^^^^M The premises on \[' abash Avenue, between Monroe and Adams Streets, to which Field, Leiter & Co. removed from the Exposition Building. The illustrations are from the firm's advertisements of the period. 48 The Life Story of a Great Concern building and site and removal of the firm's retail business thereto, Mr. Field's interest in that branch of his institution — which, as al- ready stated, had always been keen — continued to increase, and he became more insistent on the development of that branch of the firm's affairs. competition was becoming more and more acute. Other stores, too, had adopted the progres- sive merchandising methods initiated .by Stewart and Field. Altogether, Marshall Field realized that if the pre-eminence of Field, Leiter & Co.'s retail store was to be main- The building at State and Washington Streets erected after the fire of 1877 and occupied by Marshall Field & Co. in 1879. Marshall Field had long been impressed with the growth of Chicago. The little city he had studied so carefully twenty years be- fore was fast developing into a metropolis. It was recognized as the gateway to the West and Northwest and was becoming the great railroad center which it has since continued to be. Moreover, A. T. Stewart had opened in Chicago a branch of his famous New York store, and with this, accompanied by the en- trance of a new Chicago house into the field, tained new and strenuous effort must be given to its development. Leiter, on the other hand, had consistently ' shown a preference for the wholesale branch of the business. He was apparently more deeply impressed by the development of the Western country than by that of his city, while Marshall Field, though by no means unob- servant of the way in which the West was building up or neglectful of the whole- sale end, realized that the possibilities pre- The Firm of Marshall Field & Co. Is Born 49 sented by Chicago were practically boundless. The two men differed in temperament as well as in views, and at various times during CHICAGO, Miiktt tnd Mtdiion Su. NEW YO«K, 104 Wonh SliMt. MANCHESTER. ]T Fiulknar Su«*t. PARIS, 46 Ruf d«f PatltM Eeuiiai <^Z««^^^»«, 3S, / .- Tliis advertiseiiiciit, fiublished on Oct. 26, 1887, and carefully preserved by one of the department heads of Marshall Field & Co., retail, affords incon- testable proof that at that early date Marshall Field & Co. conducted a bargain or under-price basement. thus preceding by many years other concerns which have adopted this method of merchandising. It is equally certain, however, that consid- erably over two years before that time the basement was used for the sale of lower-priced goods. To go back to the beginnings of the use of the basement as a salesroom by Marshall Field & Co., it will be re- called that in an earlier chapter we stated that in the early days the base- ment of the Field store was occupied largely by boilers, engines and other service essentials and in part also by reserve stock. Space for selling purposes was obtained by re- moving the reserve stock to the fifth and sixth floors, those floors being used at the time for work- room purposes only. On the sixth, or mansard roof, floor there was the car- pet and upholstery workroom and on the fifth floor the dressmaking work- room. The basement salesroom was open- ed on May 31, 1880. There were but four sections, viz., medium priced de- _j.0O 70 The First to Establish an Underprice Basement 71 pendable quality wool and cotton dress goods; prints and calicoes; domestics and cotton batts; and flannels. The first day's sales amounted to $507.84. For the first week the sales aggregated $3,583.30. The basement at Marshall Field & Co. was first used for the sale of goods at lower prices than those carried on the upper floors on Jan. 1, 1885, when linens were placed on sale in the basement. In September, 1895, the number of sections in the basement had increased to 29. In 1898 their number was 45. Among the added sec- tions was shoes. The main shoe section had been installed on the second floor in 1892. The area of the main store basement to- day is 187,144 sq. ft. The number of sections in the basement is 67. This statement may or may not convey an idea of the extent of space involved. To most readers, no doubt, it will be more illumi- nating to state, as is the truth, that Marshall Field & Co.'s basement is an immense depart- ment store in itself, but all on one floor. Moreover, due to the efficient ventilating system the air is as pure and as cool as that of an upstairs salesroom. Also attention is paid to the maintenance of quality in the base- ment merchandise just as consistently as is the case in connection with the goods carried in the upstairs sections. The observant visitor is astonished alike at the number of lines carried and at the size of the sections. There are women's, misses' and children's garments, of all kinds; there are yard goods — silks, wool dress goods, cottons, etc. — there are laces, millinery, gloves, shoes, corsets, underwear, draperies, lamps, china, glassware, toilet goods, stationery (in- cluding commercial stationery), candy — in fact, practically all the lines that are carried in a store having five or six floors and base- ment. And to this must be added all the men's wear and boys' wear lines, which are carried in the basement of the Store for Men. This basement is connected with the main store basement by a tunnel under Washington Street. The aisle leading to this tunnel is, it is safe to say, the longest aisle in any store in the world. Extending from Randolph Street, on the north, to the southernmost edge of the Store for Men, this aisle measures 604 ft. Spaciousness of sections is especially note- worthy in connection with the women's, misses' and children's apparel. This section is carpeted throughout, and the pillars, as elsewhere in the basement, are surrounded by mirrors. Goods are carried in cabinets and stock-rooms, with a liberal display of mer- chandise on reels. The women's and children's shoe section is also of great extent. Note- worthy for its size also is the millinery. That section also is carpeted. The silks, dress goods and other yard goods, being located under the wide sidewalk along the State Street front, have the benefit of a flood of daylight, although all the sec- tions ^re well lighted by artificial means, or otherwise. The equipment of all the sections is that of a high or medium-class store. Ma- hogany shelving and counters are the invaria- ble rule, and where carpet is not laid the floor is of marble tiles. Floor cases and showcases are freely used, so that there is excellent dis- play of merchandise. This is added to in ap- propriate departments by suitable merchan- dise exhibits. For instance, in the draperies and lace curtain goods sections there are ar- ranged against the pillars displays showing drapes and curtains as they will look in the home. Between the main store and the store for men — still speaking of the basement — there is a rest-room, and quite a spacious one, for the use of men as well as of women. The basement store for men is as fine a store in the matter of fittings and general ap- pearance as any average store or department. In short, the entire basement, though handling goods of lower price than the up- stairs sections, is a mighty good example 72 The Life Story of a Great Concern of a department store seeking the moderate- priced trade. The bargain atmosphere is en- tirely absent. It is a lower-price store, but lower price only in comparison with the class of merchandise carried on the upper floors. The same standards as to quality prevail in Inquiry shows that in 1882 Marshall Field & Co.'s retail deliveries were effected by means of seven wagons. Of these, three went south, two north and two west. The service was continually increased until it required 700 horses to take care of its In the width of its aisles, the character of its fixtures and the quality of the goods handled. Marshall Field & Co.'s basement is on a par with the upper floors of many a department store. the basement as are insisted on in connection with the merchandise handled in the other branches of the firm's business. The basement, too, has its own conveni- ences for the public. There is, for example, a post office, with parcel-post facilities, located close to the rest-room already mentioned. Altogether, the basement at Marshall Field & Co.'s retail store is something as distinctive in its way as any other feature of that re- markable establishment. IN an earlier chapter reference has been made to the delivery service afforded by Field, Leiter & Co. in that firm's early days. deliveries. The delivery section of Marshall Field & Co. now serves daily an area of 450 square miles. The number of trucks and wagons in normal use, all of which are motor-driven, is 411. There are six garages, as follows: One Central, two South, two North and one Main. With the exception of the Central, these garages are also sub- delivery stations. The Central garage is located at Polk and Desplaines streets. It was completed April 30, 1918. It is located in four build- ings, of one story and two stories. Each of these buildings measures 70 by 237 ft. They occupy an entire city block. In this The First to Establish an Underprice Basement 73 garage are housed and cared for 276 eledtric and 145 gasoline-driven vehicles. The smaller garages have a capacity of from 16 to 52 cars, respectively. Having glass roofs, the one-story sections are daylighted even in the most cloudy weath- er. The second floors of the other sections are also glass-roofed, thus affording the best con- ditions under which to conduct the machine shops which are there located. These shops are of the most complete char- acter, equipped with machine tools and all other appliances for doing any kind of work on a mo- tor, whether electric or gas driven. Steam power for compressing air for tires, for riveting and for other purposes is derived from two big boilers. There is a still for purifying the water for the batteries of elec- tric cars. The distilled water thus obtained is conveyed in bottles of many gallons' ca- pacity to the firm's wholesale and retail stores and their other garages. Gasoline and oil are handled by means of the most up-to-date ap- pliances. There is also provided means for filtering oil and thus making it available for continued use. Castings of all kinds are carried in two well-arranged stock-rooms, and these castings are made into the finished part by turning, threading, or whatever process is necessary. As an example of skillful work along these lines, the plant is now obtaining gear castings and cutting its own gears. Not content with making repairs of all kinds, this central garage is building trucks for the use of the delivery departments of the retail and wholesale businesses of Marshall Field & Co. Care for the comfort and health of drivers and garage men is shown in the provision of shower baths for their use in the central garage. In this central garage, again, one comes across instances of long service with Marshall Field & Co. The superintendent in charge of this and the other garages started in as a wagon boy thirty odd years ago. He intro- duced us to a fifty-year medal man who, he remarked, "had been his boss." Most of the mechanics in the plant started in as wagon boys or drivers and grew into their present positions. Always the same thing through- out the Field organization: opportunity! op- portunity! in some direction or other for the one who is able to recognize the opportunity and profit by it. As said, the vehicles in the Field delivery department are all motor-driven. The last horse was sold on the completion of the Cen- tral garage, and the delivery department manager's comment is that "it was a pa- thetic afternoon." "People used to call up," he added, "and report that a horse or team showed signs of being tired out. We thought we would thereafter be spared that; and we were. Nowadays, however, they ring us up and tell us (with just about as much accu- racy as in the matter of the horse) that our wagons are exceeding the speed limit, when the fact is that they can't run over twelve miles an hour." Evidently, the public of Chicago and vicinity take a keen interest in every opera- tion of the Marshall Field & Co. store. The selling departments are connected with the delivery department in the sub- basement by spiral chutes. Three of these are two-bladed; that is, they are so divided that C. 0. D.'s and "charge sends" are sep- arated from the "cash sends." These are dropped on to separate belt conveyors, thus expediting the sorters' work. Just what the Marshall Field & Co. delivery section can do in the way of well- planned and rapidly executed work was clearly shown when the time came for the removal of all the men's goods from the main building to the Store for Men in 1914. When the store closed at 5.30 p. m. all had been put in readiness and the workers on the tremendous job knew exactly where each truckload had to go. The result was that at 9.15 p. m. all the merchandise for men had been transferred to the new build- ing and put in place, ready for the opening on the following day. 74 The Life Story of a Great Concern The receiving and marking room occu- pies the eleventh floor. The oflSces of the retail management, the advertising manager, the superintendent and his aids, the delivery manager and his imme- diate assistant occupy part of the ninth floor of the retail store. All of these offices are fitted up in handsome style, the partitions be- ing of mahogany and plate glass. The appel- lation, "Mahogany Forest," has been given to this part of the ninth floor. It fails, however, to convey an impression of the quiet dignity and business-like atmosphere of this portion of the store. The editor of the Economist recalls visit- ing the store in 1904 and noting with interest the presence of a tube room on two or three of the upper floors, in addition to the main cashier's room in connection with the pneu- matic cash system, which was located in the basement. To-day the central station of the pneumatic tube system is in the sub-basement of the main building, with another central station in the Store for Men building. This system is operated throughout the establishment for various purposes. Among these is the supplying of change to the cash- iers and the salespeople who operate cash registers. Here it is proper to explain that cash is handled and change made in the Marshall Field & Co. retail store by inspector- cashiers, on what is known as the open-till system, as well as by salespeople using the multiple-drawer cash register. One hundred and sixty of these machines are in use in the store. Not at every inspector-cashier's desk, however, is there a tube outlet. The tubes also transport transfers that have been closed, by the customer's purchases having been completed, from the department where the last transaction took place to the place where transfer packages are assembled. The largest percentage of the cash credit, or refund, tickets go through the tubes to be cashed. Through the tubes also go notes be- tween stock-rooms and selling departments. It is found more convenient to handle requests for goods from stock-rooms by written memo- randa rather than by telephone. There is less opportunity for error and, moreover, the order may be filled direct from the stock room with the written order as a voucher. Charge "take-withs" are certified as to credit by means of the telephone automatic O.K'ing system. Charge "sends" are author- ized in the delivery department. These methods represent a long step from the days when the older members of the man- agement and employees began their long con- nection with the Marshall Field & Co. retail store. At that time in the Field store, as in others of the period, the cry of "Cash! Come, cash!" resounded, and the tapping of pencils on the counter was adopted for the same pur- pose of calling a messenger to run from the salesman at the counter to the cashier's desk and back again. Inquiry shows that Marshall Field & Co. did not adopt the gravity system, which was the forerunner of the caible cash system and of the pneumatic. In the gravity system the money was placed by the salesman in a large ball of wood, composed of two hollow hemi- spheres, around the edges of which screw threads had been turned. The salesman put the money and sales-check into one of the hemispheres, screwed the two together and placed the ball on a light double rail, along which it rolled gracefully but somewhat slowly to the cashier's desk. The ball and change, of course, were returned to the sales- man in a similar manner. Marshall Field & Co. did have a basket carrier system for parcels and cash at one time, however. This was in a room in one of the buildings on State Street, north of the original store, which, as has been related, were acquired and used for store purposes until the present twelve-story buildings were erected on their site. This basket system was used for hosiery and knit underwear, those lines, together with umbrellas, being carried in the room in ques- tion. Pneumatic tubes were first installed in the Field store in 1893, the year of the great Co- The First to Establish an Underprice Basement 75 lumbian Exposition, which was held in Chicago. The first belt conveyor system for handling packages was installed by Marshall Field & Co. in 1906. It was placed in the Middle Wa- bash Building, which was then in course of completion. The belt conveyor was looked upon with wonder at that time, and the in- stallation was regarded as extraordinarily elaborate — as no doubt it was for the period when it was installed. Doubtless, the introduction of this appli- ance by the great Chicago house did much to foster its adoption in other stores. Store hours in the 80's were from eight in the morning to six at night. Boys and girls went to work at an extremely early age — which accounts for the great number of men in the Field organization, wholesale as well as retail, who are hale and hearty and in active service, although they entered the employ of the concern thirty, forty and even fiifty years ago. For example, last year the house cele- brated, as is its wont, the fiftieth anniversary of consecutive employment of three men, and it was found that the average age at which the trio had become connected with the firm was twelve years. Besides the selling and service depart- ments, the ofl3;ces, receiving and marking rooms, the delivery department and other necessary features of a department store, the Marshall Field & Co. retail establishment in- cludes a large number of workrooms and fac- tories. On the tenth floor space is devoted to a room where skilled operatives repair jewelry brought in by customers. In another room engraving is carried on. On the same floor is the upholstery workroom, a veritable factory where portieres, awnings and other goods are made up from the store's materials. The millinery workroom is also on this tenth floor. On the twelfth floor are the fur workrooms, and it is fitting to. state here that on the same floor, and also on the thirteenth are located the fur storage rooms, or vaults as some call them, where customers' valuable garments and other pieces are preserved in a temperature "where moth cannot corrupt." On the twelfth floor, also, are the garment alteration rooms. On the thirteenth floor window shades are made. An unusual feature, one, we believe, that is unique, indeed, is a custom shoe department, and so we find on the thirteenth floor a fully equipped shoe making repair plant, with its up-to-date machinery and skilled workmen. There is on this floor, too, a laundry. There is a spacious plant for the making of candy. And even this is not all. There is on this same thirteenth floor a room for the de- velopment of photographs. There are also a number of plants making goods for the retail which are located outside of the store building. Prominent among these is a factory making clothing for men and boys. Another large plant is that which makes up rugs and furniture. Several of these retail manufacturing plants and workrooms will be described in de- tail in a subsequent chapter. CHAPTER XIII ADVERTISING POLICIES OF THE RETAIL STORE IN an early chapter of this series it was re- lated that Marshall Field eschewed Sun- day newspaper advertising, and the rea- son was given for this policy. Mr. Field, it was pointed cut, was actuated by the feeling that a house like that of which he was the head owed it as a duty to the community t o set what it might regard as a good example. He held that if Marshall Field and his firm did not show respect for Sunday many others would be equally lax and careless. Sunday he re- garded as a day on which busi- ness might tem- porarily be for- gotten and men's thoughts turned to higher things. He felt that in matters of this nature as in others his firm ought to be a leader and he realized that leadership carries with ii a great responsibility. Holding these views, Mr. Field not only did not advertise in the Sunday newspapers, but he did not allow his window displays to be visible on that day. This policy has been continued RECONS TRUCTION "TFT the wheels of industry hum! JL^ Mankind turns, freed from the grip of war, to rebuild the world. "Construction" is the slogan of the day. All the signs betbken expansive development — a busy world, resuming old tasks and creating new ones. There must be no shackles on produc- tion; no stinted labor; no idle hours. A new Americanism moves the nation. The spirit of Service, electrified by war, stirs in every heart. A new faith prom- ises new ideas, new standards, new ideab. Make way for progress ! Immediately after the armistice Marshall Field & Co. ran in the newspapers a series of advertisements designed to stabilize public sentiment and help in keeping the nation and its affairs on an even keel. This is the third ad in that series. until the present day. Doubtless, many people on seeing the shades drawn in all the show win- dows of the Marshall Field & Co. store on Sun- days have wondered why this was so. Here, then, is the ex- planation. Marshall Field had other ideas in regard to ad- vertising which are well worthy of attention. He looked upon ad- vertising as an essential part of the store's ser- vice to its com- munity, holding it to be as impor- tant to give the public informa- tion about the goods as it is to provide the mer- chandise. The dominant note of the Mar- shall Field & Co. publicity, there- fore, in the days when Mr. Field directed the ad- vertising was — as it still is — to give infor- mation, rather than to induce immediate purchases. Direct results in sales, traceable to the advertising of that particular moment, were only in a fractional degree the end that was sought. The idea that was in large measure back of the publicity was that whenever the store had made contact with a 76 Advertising Policies of the Retail Store n new customer it had created the opportunity for trade with that customer extending over a long period of years. In the early days, when his store was of moderate size, Mr. Field personally directed the advertising. He even used to give out the copy to the newspapers. He was extremely watchful as to the statements made in each and every advertisement coming from his store. He used to say that a merchant or a firm ought no more to misrepresent or mis- state in an advertisement than in a personally written letter. Statements made in an adver- tisement, he also used to aver, were like giv- ing a note. They must be lived up to, just as if they were the merchant's bond. The first word of instruction he gave to those who were to write and otherwise pre- pare the ads for the printer was: "Say less than you can conscientiously say, rather than more. Then those who buy the goods will say, 'It is better than I thought.' "Don't bring customers in with over- statement," Mr. Field would add; and time after time his blue pencil went through some over-enthusiastic statement written or passed by his advertising manager. Confidence on the part of the public Mr. Field regarded as the chief asset of a business, and any act that tended to destroy confidence he strenuously discouraged. "Try to make every transaction a means of increasing confidence," he would emphatically and frequently direct. It was because of these convictions, which lay so close to his heart, that Marshall Field & Co. in 1902 took the radical step of elimi- nating comparative prices. This action has since been taken by a number of retail stores in various centers. Whether such a policy is desirable or not is still a subject of controversy among retail merchants and publicity pien, however. It is proof, therefore, of the courage of Mr. Field and his immediate associates of nearly a score of years ago that they were the pioneers in this direction of "no comparative prices," as in so many others. Another view held by Mr. Field which in- fluenced the advertising policy of his firm was this: That there is a natural drift toward the most conspicuous institution. He realized that if a store is just one of a crowd it will get an average business little above that of its near- est competitors, but that if the store succeeds in rising only a little above its competitors in the public esteem it will draw additional busi- ness far in excess of the extra outlay through which that new business was obtained. With this in mind, there were occasions on which Marshall Field & Co. purposely did things which looked extravagant or actually did involve a very large sum. In 1902, in connection with the opening of the additional store building, souvenirs were given out in character and in quantities that must have run into a large sum of money for those days. Looking through the dusty ad- vertising files of that year, in one corner of the present store's attic, the editor of the Economist found the advertisements in con- nection with that event. And pasted in the scrapbook along with the ads was a generous write-up of the new addition and the opening. From this we learned that the Field store gave away on the day of the opening $10,000 in silver souvenir spoons and silver pin trays There were also given to customers and visit- ors vast numbers of souvenir postcards. To these were added 100,000 colored pictureSt and also quantities of lithographs showing the retail store of Marshall Field & Co. as it then was. And not content with all these various forms of souvenirs the store also pre- sented to visitors in commemoration of the occasion bird's-eye views of Chicago, each view neatly rolled in a pasteboard tube. Five years later — about the time of the opening of another new building — we find Marshall Field & Co. publishing a newspaper page ad showing little more than a beautiful wash drawing by Harrison Fisher, one of the most prominent artists of that day. Other Field advertisements of that day show a signed drawing by Frank Lyendecker or some other celebrated illustrator. It was also the practise with Marshall Field \ 78 The Life Story of a Great Concern & Co. in the early days of the present century to advertise the most expensive things in a way that seemed to indicate that despite their high cost the store management expected peo- ple to rush right in and buy them. ANOTHER tenet of Mr. Field's was that it was good policy to put the thought of the store as a whole before the public with a view to building up good-will and creat- ing the concept that Field's was a good store in which to do all of one's trading. He, therefore, was a strong believer in institutional adver- tising as a means of letting the people know more about the store and think more favorably of it. Looking again at the Marshall Field & Co. advertising of 1902, we find that it had many of the fea- tures of good pub- licity of the present day. Besides the illustrative matter above mentioned there was a great deal of really high-class art work. There was the use of the editorial. The page ads were skillfully laid out. The type faces were well selected and the typography was excellent. Where these old-time ads differ from those of the present day is in the decidedly limited use of white space. The page ads look crowded, and all the more so because the news- paper advertising of so many department stores in this year of grace 1921 reminds one of the familiar quotation relative to books in which "a neat rivulet of text meanders through a meadow of margin." In contrast with the large-space, general advertisements, the three-column, small space ads exploiting goods of only one department A department head of Marshall Field & Co.'s retail, who has been with the firm over thirty years, treasures this souvenir, a metal ash or pin tray in silver and gold finish, thousands of which were given away at the opening of the completed store as it noiv stands, on Sept. 30, 1907 are almost as "open" and as effective-looking as ads of similar size of the present day. As far back as 1907 there was considerable use of this department advertising by Marshall Field & Co. The policies and aims which actuated Mar- shall Field & Co. in their advertising during earlier years are the guides in the firm's ad- vertising methods of the present day. In the newspaper advertis- ing the purpose is not solely or directly the selling of merchan- dise. A great deal of space (and that means the expendi- ture of large sums of money) is devoted to making clear the in- stitutional nature of the Marshall Field & Co. business and the ideals by which the firm is actuated. Editorials are a feature of the adver- tising almost daily, and these in many in- stances deal with the store itself or with its m.erchandise only in so far as the last paragraph, or it may be the last line, points the application. In some cases the sole link between what has been written and printed and the firm and their institution is the sig- nature of Marshall Field & Co. This was especially the case in much of the advertising during the world war, as it has also been subsequently. Immediately after the armistice Marshall Field & Co. ran in the newspapers a series of advertisements de- signed to stabilize public sentiment and help in keeping the nation and its affairs on an even keel. The first advertisement in this series was entitled "Peace! A signal for the Great Start." The subject of the next was "Look- ing Ahead." The idea carried out in the text Advertising Policies of the Retail Store 79 of this advertisement was to the effect that the signing of peace was the signal for busi- ness and industry to take the helm. Emphasis was laid on the need for the spirit of service which had actuated people during the war be- ing maintained and even intensified during- peace. This same need was stressed in subsequent announcements of the series, for Mar- shall Field & Co. felt strongly that without the spirit of service, the will to work, the continued acceptance of self-denial and the practice of economy the war-time prosper- ity would be suc- ceeded by a period of depression and dis- content and of a gen- eral loosening of the old bonds by which the industrial and commercial fabric of this country had been held together. Thus, the third ad in the series began with "Reconstruc- tion: Let the wheels of industry hum!" The fourth was en- titled "Our Colossal Task," and it con- tained this wise coun- sel: "The backbone of all enterprise must be increased produc- tion." Another issued the call "America to Work!" and stressed the barrenness of Europe's cupboard and the need for in- creased production on the part both of farm- ers and of workingmen. Again, on Thanksiving Day, 1919, under the heading of "Americanism," the firm pub- lished an advertisement which in a few pithy AvirA"' n^^^muui^ and Even the envelopes in which small articles are handed to customers are' artificially adorned isnth advertising matter in Marshall Field & Co.'s retail store. This one is made of manila paper and is printed in black and red. sentences set forth reasons for pride and grati- tude on the part of Americans and also on the part of our alien population, because of our national wealth and still more because of our American ideals. The purpose of the firm's words was to strengthen confidence on the part of loyal people throughout the nation and to sound a note of warning among the disloyal element. This advertise- ment elicited from the Milwaukee Senti- nel an editorial ex- pression of warm ad- miration and appre- ciation. The keen effort to avoid misrepresenta- tion, as embodied in the elimina- tion of comparative prices in 1902, is ex- erted just as sedul- ously and just as continuously to-day. Conferences between the merchandise manager of the retail store, its section heads and its adver- tising manager are taking place more or less constantly. This is made easier by the fact that the mer- chandise manager and the head of the advertising bureau occupy adjoining offices. Merchandise department heads when seek- ing advertising space for special offerings are in numerous instances required to send a sample of the goods to the advertising bureau. If any doubt is felt there as to the accuracy of the department head's beliefs or claims, a member of the store's comparison depart- ment is sent out to ascertain the character 80 The Life Story of a Great Concern \ and price of similar wares in other stores. Such investigations are seldom required. The prevalence of the Field spirit throughout the store as a rule insures accuracy and fair- ness of statement by the department heads. Nothing is left to chance or accident, how- ever, for the Marshall Field & Co. business has been built from the very start on confi- dence on the part of the public in the store and its merchandise and this confidence is safeguarded by men who realize its inesti- mable value. It is only fair and proper to mention here that this same effort to insure to the customer absolutely fair and just treatment is pursued just as closely, constantly and intelligently in the wholesale branch of the business as in the retail. It is part of the Field policy and, in the very nature of things, it permeates the en- tire institution. CHAPTER XIV INDIVIDUALITY IN ADVERTISING AND ATTRACTIONS OF the several forms of advertising by means of the printed word newspaper publicity is regarded by Marshall Field & Co. as the most important. This form of advertising has two main di- visions. The one applies to the general de- partment store, the other to the Store for Men. The publicity for the latter is designed to typify strength, virility, masculinity; the former varies in type, as department store ad- Artistry, dignity and prestige-building power are characteristics of Marshall Field & Co.'s newspaper ads dealing with particular lines or events. An example taken at random from a large collection. 81 82 The Life Story of a Great Concern vertising must, in the very nature of things, according to the season, the period of the year, the merchandise advertised, the purpose of the ad, and other considerations. In the newspaper advertising illustration plays a prominent part. The editorial is also effectively employed. The advertising of merchandise for men frequently turns on some current affair in the sports world. One Saturday during the sum- mer an important polo game was to take place in Chicago. Marshall Field & Co.'s ad in the newspapers of that morning, directed at the men, showed a spirited illustration of polo players in action, while the type matter had reference to a few definite lines of men's mer- chandise. The advertising for men is invariably run in a separate part of the newspaper from that which is of a general character or which makes its appeal to women. Advertising ad- dressed to men is published daily. One of the most noteworthy features of the Marshall Field & Co. newspaper advertis- ing is the advertisement for children, pub- lished once a week in the evening papers. This advertisement occupies a page or so and al- ways bears the title "Juvenile World," with the sub-head, "Published for Boys and Girls and Their Parents." The advertisement is written for children, and in one or two in- stances the page has carried an editorial writ- ten by a child. It is based on the idea that anything which really appeals to the child will also appeal to grown-ups. This method of reaching the children was started in the fall of 1919, and, like many other ideas originated by Marshall Field & Co., it has since been followed by several other stores. Besides their newspaper advertising Mar- shall Field & Co. have, for many years, been accustomed to publish numerous booklets, folders, and other attractive forms of pub- licity. One of the most prominent of these is the fashion magazine for consumers' read- ing. It is entitled "Fashions of the Hour," and took the place of a number of booklets formerly published at more or less regular in- tervals. "Fashions of the Hour" is issued six times a year. In typography and art work it vies with the highest-class monthlies. Its reading matter also compares most favorably with theirs, and it is as accurate and as authentic as regards its fashion news. This is true even though most of the pages deal with mat- ters that are of more direct interest to the women who shop at the Field store, including merchandise on sale (sometimes with the price) or some article of merchandise that is of especial interest at the time of publication. That women the world over like to read "Fashions of the Hour" is proven by the num- ber of copies of each issue printed and dis- tributed, viz., 125,000. Moreover, an entire edition is exhausted within a week of its leav- ing the presses. Nor is the magazine of interest only to women. Each issue also carries reading mat- ter and illustrations that make an appeal to the men and tend to bring them, or their or- ders, to the Field store which supplies the needs of the adolescent or grown-up male members of the family. Carrying out the idea of advertising to the children, Marshall Field & Co. publish month- ly for the little ones the "Juvenile World Magazine." It usually consists of 16 pages, profusely illustrated and printed on coated paper, together with a cover. The front cover is usually in colors. The illustrations and reading matter are such as will appeal strong- ly to children. Needless to say, also, Marshall Field & Co.'s merchandise is laid before the children — and the parents — by means of illus- trations and descriptions, with prices. For the men also there are special forms of publicity. One of the most ambitious of these, issued in 1920, is entitled, "Man and His Wardrobe," with the sub-title, "An His- torical Impression of Attire." The page size is a little over 9 by 12 in. The cover, of the heaviest possible stock, reinforced, is printed in black and gold on a soft, neutral ground. In the upper center is a medallion design en- Individuality in Advertising and Attractions 83 dosing a silhouette, in black and white, of a man's head and bust, on a background of bright blue. On each left-hand page is a half-tone from one of those soft, somewhat impressionistic photographs now so fashionable, these illus- trations showing transactions be- tween customer and salesman in various depart- ments. Each of these illustra- tions occupies two-thirds of the page, with a wide margin above and on each side and a deeper space below. In this lower space are "thumb - nail" sketches of men's attire during dif- ferent historical periods, with brief explanatory notes in six-point italic. The right-hand pages carry read- ing matter occu- pying about the same space as the facing photo reproduction. On all of the pages there is a border or rule effect in a soft neutral tint, approaching that of the cover, which sets off the page contents. The text matter has to do with the early history and subsequent develop- ment of the line of goods to which the ad- joining photo relates. There are 31 pages of reading matter on a very high grade of heavy stock. This cover of one of the issues of the Jurvenile World Magazine, printed in several colors, is indica- tive of the scale on which Marshall Field & Co. do things. Note the appropriate introduction of the coat of arms, which is a trade-mark with the Field firm. This booklet, or rather book, has a strong appeal, more especially because of the draw- ings of costumes of ancient days. Such illus- trations are always of interest even to those who may be familiar with costumes of the long ago. Booklets clev- erly written and beautiful in their art work and photography are brought out by Marshall Field & Co. in connec- tion with spe- cial events tak- ing place in the store. One of these, entitled "A Page- ant of Centuries as Told in Silks," was brought out in connect ion with a silk exhi- bition held in the store during the spring of 1920. Each left-hand page bears an appropriate illus- tration while the right-hand page tells of silks in China, Japan, India, Italy, France and other countries. Still more elab- orate is a folder printed on heavy stock, with the text lettered by hand, which was issued in connection with the opening of a new costume room. This folder includes two exceptionally beautiful illustrations in color, indicative of the cos- tume room and of the merchandise sold therein. We also ha^e before us a booklet relative 84 The Life Story of a Great Concern to correct apparel for California and the South, the cover of which is printed in black and gold in a pine-leaf design, while in the center, on a ground of gold, is a conventional design showing a vase of flowers and flying bluebirds. Under the title of "The Romance of Lace," there was distributed by Marshall Field & Co., in 1920, a booklet containing 45 pages of read- ing matter covering the history of lace mak- ing, present methods of manufacturing with illustrations from its own manufacturing plant, the Zion Lace Industries, and descrip- tions of the kinds of laces in most general use. This booklet is illustrated with views of lace-making machinery and with photographic reproductions of different kinds of lace. The cover is particularly interesting, be- ing in heavy stock in a dark greenish blue, with a lace pattern accurately reproduced thereon in white. Color work showing various patterns in golf hose and other sports wear is employed in a booklet which has on the cover a repro- duction of a cartoon by Briggs. The title be- low the cartoon reads: "And then he took up golf and made a hole in one." The firm also have a way of reproducing in booklets a number of the editorials used in their newspaper advertisements. One such booklet is entitled, "Advertising Advertising" and contains just a score of Marshall Field & Co. advertisements. Going back to the booklets dealing with general subjects, it is proper to mention one which is entitled "The Store of Service" in which are described and illustrated many of the features of Marshall Field & Co.'s retail store. On the inside of the back cover is a view of the Marshall Field & Co. main whole- sale building, while on the back cover proper is a map of a portion of Chicago, showing the location of Marshall Field & Co.'s retail build- ing and their wholesale building. The opening page of the booklet is in color and illustrates the dome of mosaic glass above the rotunda in the South State Street Build- ing. Advertising is carried on by Marshall Field & Co. even in the envelopes into which small articles are placed to be carried away by the purchaser. One of these envelopes shown in connection with Chapter XIII, shows a skillfully drawn female figure, elab- orately dressed, while in the text there are a few words regarding the careful workman- ship and numerous betterments pertaining to all apparel sold in the Marshall Field & Co. store. IN addition to advertising by means of let- terpress, illustrations, and windows Mar- shall Field & Co. frequently have store at- tractions of one kind or another. Reference has just been made to a silk exhibit. On another occasion Japanese oper- atives were employed to exemplify to visitors to the Field store the methods employed in spinning silk. On another occasion there was a display of silkworms from Italy. The sections in the Field store are so spacious that displays of these kinds can be readily carried on in the appropriate section without interfering with selling. Recently, in the underwear section there was a display of Filipino embroidery, the work being carried on by a man and two women from the Philippines. The operatives were housed in a nipa, as the Filipino hut is named in the native language. Once in the wash goods section there was shown a loom in operation making ginghams. In what is knovra in the Field store as the household utilities section — that is, the one in which are sold household goods and especially vacuum cleaners, washers, ironers, kitchen cabinets, electrical cookers, percolators and other electrical goods — there was held some time ago a Labor Saving Exhibition. This show was designed to make known to the pub- lic the many ways in which science has light- ened the burden of the woman who does her own housework and has simplified the servant problem. An explanatory and informing booklet was issued in connection with this event. Individuality in Advertising and Attractions 85 In this Household Utilities section there is employed the year 'round a young woman f known as "The Girl in the Cap and Apron." \ She holds court in a kitchen, which is open, ) and in front of which there is a gallery of / chairs for visitors. In this kitchen she lec- l tures on foods, cookery and serving, and con- ducts a series of demonstrations. She also stands ready at all times to answer questions and to give advice on all household matters. At intervals, too, "The Girl in the Cap and Apron" has the assistance of two domestic science graduates. On the main floor there is an office occu- . pied by a lady who is known as the Gift Secre- / tary. She acts as the confidante for those ) who wish to give a present to some one but ( who find themselves unable to make a suitable selection. This Gift Secretary will write to the re- spective recipient of the gift telling them of the circumstance, without disclosing the name of the donor. When the donor does not wish this done the Gift Secretary will personally give advice as to the selection of a suitable present. This idea was adopted as a temporary serv- ice about two years ago. It proved so accept- able to the public that it was made continuous. The Field store makes welcome those who desire advice on how to give a party or to celebrate some event. Counsel of this kind is given in what is known as the "Party and Favor Bureau." The visitor who asks for counsel is not required or called upon to make a purchase in the bureau or in the store, yet the bureau will furnish the idea and plan as to how it is to be carried out. There is a Shopping Bureau, designed to aid customers who have not time to supply their wants by personal visits to diflferent de- partments. Those who do the shopping in customers' behalf are sedulous in taking care that all selections are made with the interests of the customer in mind. There is also a Home Furnishings Bureau which gives information and advice relative to the decoration of the home. One of the especially effective attractions carried out in the Field store is the Book Fair. The first of these was held in the fall of 1919, in the book department. There were in attendance twelve authors from out of town and a number of local and out-of-town pub- lishers. This Book Fair was entirely devoid of a commercial flavor, and had all the char- acteristics of a social affair, the visitors hav- ing an opportunity of meeting and convers- ing with the authors and publishers. Largely because of the absence of a com- mercial flavor as well as because of the new- ness of the idea at that time, the affair at- tracted a great deal of favorable comment in the newspapers of Chicago and near-by centers. During the last two years or so special efforts in the direction of publicity through store attractions have been exerted by the juvenile department. These efforts began with an Easter party, which was held in 1919. At that time various affairs calculated to appeal to young people and children were carried on in the book department, in the tea room and on the floor devoted to the sale of juvenile wear and accessories. Any section, however,, which carried goods which could be used by children or for children was called upon to< "do its bit." This idea has since been carried out in various ways. During the school year, every Saturday \ morning, children come to the store as guests of Marshall Field & Co. All receive the same treatment, whether they or their parents be- come purchasers or otherwise. The idea is to so treat the children that they will grow up with a real love for the store. Three weeks before St. Valentine's Day a Valentine Party was held for the little ones. A two-act play for children was given, and this play was printed in a booklet. Instruc- tions as to how the costumes could be made and illustrations of the costumes were in- cluded in this booklet. One of the latest developments is what is known as the "Field Nature Section." Chil- 86 The Life Story of a Great Concern dren are encouraged to bring in butterflies and other "finds" from Nature's haunts and receive information regarding them. It is noteworthy in this connection that stylish, well-to-do people are the ones who, with their children, are principally brought into the store by such attractions as above mentioned. Measures are taken to link up the Juvenile section with the Girl Scouts, the Camp Fire Girls, the Boy Scouts and other large organ- izations of young people, the idea being to make Marshall Field & Co., retail, headquar- ters for such bodies by having the store at all times in a position to give information and counsel as to the holding of meetings or other gatherings. One noteworthy affair was Indian Week, held in the Field store, for the Boy Scouts. On Washington's Birthday, 1921, the Girl Scouts were entertained and the life of Wash- ington was discussed from the angle of con- servation, it being pointed out that Washing- ton himself had done much for conservation in his day. Efforts have also been made by the juve- nile section to educate teachers and mothers in the importance of toys in children's de- velopment, both mental and physical and to induce parents and teachers to realize that toys are an essential aid in the child's de- velopment. During the pre-Christmas period of 1920 an experienced kindergartner was employed to give advice on the purchase of toys, with due regard to the child's age and temperament. So widespread has become the knowledge of what Marshall Field & Co. are doing in the children's behalf that on various oc- casions prominent men from other coun- tries passing through Chicago have volun- tarily visited the store and talked with those having charge of the juvenile merchandise and advertising. CHAPTER XV DISPLAY METHODS THAT HAVE WON RENOWN IN the Marshall Field & Co. retail store there are, in all, sixty-five display win- dows. Enormous as this figure is, the Marshall Field & Co. windows and the firm's tirely new to the merchandising world. And although since that time the Marshall Field & Co. windows have had many imitators not only in this country but also in Europe, the Perhaps the Most Beautiful IVindow Ever Produced. All the details and accessories of this wonderful setting were made in the studio and workshop of Marshall Field & Co/s display department. The back curtain was in a deep shade of nasturtium, the draperies in bronze brown em- broidered in gold. The wall_ was covered with cream silk "with the design in colors, in silk and z'elvet applique. The furniture was in turquoise and gold. The vase, which gives so striking a decorative note, was in light stone and a very pale shade of verde antique. The Hoor was finished in e.vact imitation of ornamental tiles. The un- usually beautiful as well as natural figures were designed and molded in the display department's workshop. display methods generally have become re- nowned throughout the world not because of their quantity but because of their character and quality. As far back as 1895 the firm be- gan to exhibit displays of merchandise that were then altogether unique— something en- Field displays still stand far and away ahead of those of any other store. There were good window displays twenty- six years ago. That is, they were good from a certain standpoint. They attracted atten- tion. But horseshoes or mill wheels made of 88 The Life Story of a Great Concern handkerchiefs bore no relation to the purpose for which the goods were made, nor did such exhibits tend to create in the beholder a de- sire for a better or more attractive handker- chief. Similarly, the crowded windows of that day, although they might impress the spectator with some conception of the size of the stocks carried in the store conveyed no idea of quality. Nor did exhibits of that character have any power in the direction of suggesting to the beholder new ways in which the merchandise might be employed. The purpose of the Marshall Field & Co. method of display was to do just what the ordinary display window had failed to accom- plish. In place of the mechanical showing of merchandise in a mechanical setting, the dis- play and its surroundings were conceived from the standpoint of art and also with due regard to a still more subtle consideration. This was that something of which we hear a great deal nowadays and to which, for want of a better name, we usually refer as "psy- chology." In other words, instead of striving for a direct influence or effect, the Field dis- play man — an artist himself — worked on the principle which actuates all true artists. This principle or plan is: To put into the picture a something which the beholder sees not with the eye of the body but with the eye of the mind. Expressing it in another way, the Mar- shall Field & Co. windows make people who see them think. These beholders are scarcely conscious of the mental process, but it is there; it goes on perhaps in spite of the be- holder's preoccupation with some other sub- ject. But in the back of the mind the woman — we will suppose it is a woman, though it may be equally true of one of her menfolk — is thinking, "There is an idea that I could have worked out in my home," or "That dress is just the right combination of materials and colors; I see now how I ought to have mine made if I am to get the proper effect." But the Field display man wanted to go further than this. He desired also to express the quality of the merchandise carried in the store. As he explained it in talking over the matter with the editor of the Dry Goods Economist some time ago : "One must have a due sense of proportion and values. If you have a $150,000 dining- room you must have a chef or a caterer cap- able of serving a meal in consonance with the surroundings. In this establishment, in which millions are invested, anything we do must be proportionate with the establishment^ itself." With this idea in mind, right from the inauguration of the new method wonderful settings for the displays were conceived and produced. Skilled artists — painters and sculp- tors — were called in from time to time. They were directed, moreover, by the display man- ager, who, through his constant study of the subject, had learned exactly what style of architecture or of furniture was appropriate for the exploiting of dresses or costumes whose creators had gone to this, that or the other source for their inspiration. If the dress showed the influence of the Louis XIV styles, then the setting was cor- rectly along the lines of that period, or if what are known as Empire fashions were in favor and were displayed, then the back- ground, the hangings and the furniture and all other accessories recalled the splendid simplicity of the ancient classic Greece and Rome, from which the dress and costume de- signers of the First Empire period in France went for their models. In the preparation of these settings no ex- pense was spared. Yet in them was displayed perhaps but a single garment with a few ac- cessories that might appropriately be worn J therewith. As the years have gone by the care given to the devising and the installation of dis- plays has been augmented and the facilities for their production have been increased. Seldom or never is a setting the result of sudden inspiration. The actual result is pre- ceded by a long period of thoughtful prepara- tion. Where "period" designs are to be em- Display Methods That Have Won Renown 89 ployed a careful study of the architecture, decoration and dress of that period is under- taken. After the atmosphere of the period has been fully absorbed it is reproduced not term, but also of sculptors, painters (using the word in the artistic sense) , carpenters, and so forth. Twenty display men are constantly em- A Persian Setting Adapted to Display of Modern Gowns Changeable color effects in green, blue and purples with iridescent and high lights in orange, salmon, lavender and gold, was the color scheme. The elaborate pillars were in polychrome. The drapery was in dark green ana blue with metallic orvaments. The arch and background uere of silk, while the moldings were colored to represent metals in polychrome effect. in the form of slavish copying or even of imitation, but in new and original designs which while reflecting the influence of the past, blend naturally and gracefully with the modern attire or home decoration, or what- ever it may be that forms the practical fea- ture of the display. THE personnel of the display department embraces a large force not only of win- dow trimmers, in the stricter sense of the ployed in dressing windows. There is an average force, in addition, of ten painters, three "casters," producing plaster statues and other decorations, and five carpenters. This force requires a large space in which to work, and height as well as longitudinal space is accepted as essential for the development of backgrounds. In some instances the back- grounds are fully 18 ft. high. During a recent visit of the Dry Goods Economist's editor an artist was at work 90 The Life Story of a Great Concern on a background 15 ft. square — a landscape with branching trees against the sky and blossoms on the boughs. Near at hand stood the sketch on a small scale by which the painter was guided. This was but one ex- ample of the minute care with which all the decorative designs are conceived and worked out. It is one man's job to assemble and put away the figures in wax or composition, after they have been used. Others take care of the wax heads and hands and keep them constant- ly in the best possible condition. There is also a workroom in which women are employed, when necessary in sewing or embroidering ma- terials to be used in display settings. Each window is regarded as a room or a small stage, and that room or stage is deco- rated and furnished in strict accord and harmony with the merchandise which is to be displayed therein. We noted a model of the State and Wash- ington Streets corner window which forms the setting for Marshall Field & Co.'s most re- markable displays, and nearby were models of other windows. Everything is worked out beforehand in these model windows and draw- ings are made to scale, so that when the time for installation arrives each part and accessory fits accurately into its proper place. The spacious room in which these model windows are kept is an artist's studio in every sense of the word, and in it one finds many examples of the wonderful work in carving, casting, sculpture and painting carried on in the department. Frequently the cost of the backgrounds and accessories runs into several thousands of dollars. In one instance, forms for the dis- play of gowns were modeled by a sculptor not singly but with the entire group of figures in mind. The poses were not only natural but each figure had its due relationship to the oth- ers. There was a total absence of stiffness; there were none of those bizarre poses or atti- tudes which are but too common in the display windows of stores where the importance of de- tails is unrecognized. In fact, the Field windows are really works of art in many instances, and any art lover will stand long before them and drink in their attractiveness and charm, just as he would linger in front of an exquisite painting or sculptured figure treasured in some art / museum. This, in part, tells the story of the new display method which has come to be known the world over as the Marshall Field & Co. type of window. Not by any means the least remarkable part of the story, however, is the fact that the artist-display man who origi- nated the style was discovered twenty-six years ago by one of Marshall Field & Co.'s road salesmen. This man, who is still at the head of the display department of the retail store, was at that time employed in a small store in a little town in Iowa, where he was doing all kinds of work, in addition to win- dow dressing. His work having been brought to the attention of Mr. Shedd the young man entered the Marshall Field & Co. organization, and ever since that time the Field displays while adhering to the type they have made famous, have continued to grow in beauty, in uniqueness and in character. For the young man of twenty-six years ago, as above stated, still designs and directs them, and, like all the successful men in the Field organization, he has kept up to date, ever striving for the new, the better, and the best. Thus it is, too, that wherever one goes — in America, in Europe, even in the Antipodes, one hears of Marshall Field & Co. windows. Constantly one hears also the name of the firm applied to displays of a certain type. The displays in question perhaps do not ap- proximate in any degree the Field creations, either in the character of the merchandise or of the setting. Every dry goods man knows, however, what is meant by the term "a Mar- shall Field window," and it is probable that as long as there are display windows in dry goods stores the Marshall Field & Co. style of setting and arrangement will be followed and men will describe that type of window by the name of the great Chicago firm. Display Methods That Have Won Renown 91 Retail merchants everywhere will be in- terested in learning that Marshall Field & Co. do not link up their windows with their advertising, as is done by many stores. When a special sale is held, for example, it is cus- tomary with many retailers to make a most extensive showing of the kind of merchandise that is being offered at unusually attractive prices. If it is silks, a whole battery of win- dows shows that kind of fabrics. That is not the Marshall Field & Co. way. Their policy, as we already have endeavored to make clear, is to use the windows for dis- playing the newest and the finest of wares and creations and to maintain among the public the conviction that Field's stands first, last and all the time for quality — quality because of honesty and care in construction, because of accurate interpretation of the fashion trend, or due to whatever other factor it may be that makes the merchandise fit in every way for the purpose for which it is to be purchased and consumed. Another method that is well worth noting is this : that windows are not used indiscrimi- nately for this, that or the other kind of mer- chandise. The windows of the State Street front, together with those in the Randolph Street and Washington Street fronts of the State Street building, all the way from Washington to Randolph, are employed only for the displaying of women's, misses' and children's apparel and accessories, such as millinery, neckwear, dainty handbags and so forth. The Randolph Street front of the Wabash Avenue building and the Wabash Avenue front of that building are invariably the lo- cation for window displays of home decora- tions and house furnishings. In the Wash- ington Street front of the Wabash Avenue building is the window space for jewelry, leather goods, stationery, combs and similar lines. During the world war the patriotism and the desire to help in every way possible which actuated the entire dry goods trade of this country were made manifest in window dis- plays urging citizens to save food, to contrib- ute liberally to the Red Cross, the Y. M. C. A. and other beneficent organizations, to pur- chase Liberty Bonds and to co-operate with the Government in every possible way. Mar- shall Field & Co., as was to be expected, were active in this work, and because of their ex- traordinary facilities for designing original, striking and impressive displays and carrying these out in the most effective manner their war-time windows attracted attention not only in Chicago, but also in near-by cities and towns to which word of these exhibits was carried by thousands of people who had vis- ited the store and been deeply impressed both by the displays themselves and the messages thus conveyed. These displays represented in the broad sense the application of that public spirit by which the firm is actuated and which, as a subsequent chapter will show, has been clearly exemplified throughout many years in all the channels through which its dealings with the public are carried on. CHAPTER XVI TRAINING OF EMPLOYEES AND PERSONNEL WORK BRIEF reference has been made in earlier chapters to the methods adopted by Marshall Field & Co. in connection with the training of employees in the retail store. In 1912 this form of activity began to take on a more definite and extensive character. In the third year the course vifas extended to include some study of textiles and also of the policies and methods of the concern. Later on the educational system was fur- ther broadened so as to take in older em- ployees. Inasmuch as among those who de- !ff? ^Tim, Marshall Field & Co.'s main retail establishmeitt as it is today. The view shows the Wabash Avenue and Washington Street fronts, including the buildings north of the first annex, which were completed in 1906 and are known as the Middle Wabash and the North Wabash. The State Street front was shown in connection with Chapter IX. In that year fifty of the youngsters of both sexes who had not had the opportunity to finish the eighth grade in grammar school were en- rolled in a school, known then, as now, as the Junior Academy. The course of instruction included grammar, arithmetic, penmanship, spelling and history. At the end of the first year twenty were graduated. During the second year fifty reached the point of graduation successfully. sired to take advantage of the instruction provided were a certain proportion of young men and women who had attended college and who might have rebelled at going back to "school" — the use of the latter word was scrupulously avoided. Thus the place of in- struction was entitled and invariably spoken of as the "conference room." And as such it is known at this present time. Six years after the educational work had 92 Training of Employees and Personnel Work 93 been instituted a law was enacted by the Illi- nois Legislature requiring that all children under sixteen years of age regularly attend school. The passage of the measure entailed no changes of method on the Field organiza- tion, for the firm's educational work more than met all the new requirements. The work done in the Field "academy," indeed, was recog- nized by the State officials as entirely in accord with requirements. Up to a recent period the Academy used to enroll 300 juniors. At the present time the firm avoids as far as possible the hiring of boys under sixteen years of age and does not hire any girls under that age. As a re- sult, the Academy enrollment is now less, varying between 40 and 60. The course has again been broadened, however, so that it now includes retail selling, business ethics, civics, commercial geography, hygiene and also stenography, typewriting and the use of calculating machines. Text books and other requisites, such as stationery, are furnished free of charge by the firm. Moreover, all of the classes are held on the firm's time, or in other words, during the store's working hours. High school courses are given each after- noon to those employees over sixteen years of age who care to attend. The educational and personnel work car- ried on in Marshall Field & Co.'s store occu- pies the greater part of the twelfth floor. BEFORE being accepted as employees ap- plicants are very carefully selected. The store of Marshall Field & Co. has so high a reputation for the care it takes of its em- ployees that a small "help wanted" advertise- ment will bring applicants to the employment department in shoals, and there are frequent occasions when those who make the first ex- amination spend a mighty busy time in the effort to accept only those who can prove themselves to be up to the Marshall Field & Co. standard. This first culling out is performed by two college women in the busy season; by one at other times. All applicants are looked over and interviewed by one of these women. If there is a chance of the applicant's meeting the requirements, he or she receives an application form and is told to fill it out. The information thus elicited tends to show the kind of work for which the applicant is fitted. If the statements written in the form indicate fitness, the applicant is passed on to a member of the staff who has charge of the hiring of people for certain divisions of the store work. One man hires all the employees for "sys- tem" positions, such as cashiers, inspectors and employees in the delivery system. Another engages all the office help. A third has under his charge the selection of porters and employees for work along sim- ilar lines. To a fourth is entrusted the duty of select- ing employees who are to start in when under eighteen years of age. The selection of sales- people is in charge of two men. In addition to this, floormen — and also salespeople for special purposes — are selected and engaged by two men of higher positions and long experience in the handling of the store personnel. The first thing attended to after a new em- ployee has been engaged is a medical inspec- tion or examination. This is performed in the Medical Bureau, which is an important part of the personnel work of Marshall Field & Co., retail, and to which reference in detail will be made later on. In accordance with the requirements of the city's Health Depart- ment the new employee is required to produce his or her vaccination certificate. If the examination proves physical fitness for entrance into the Field organization, a record of the engagement of the new employee is made on a form provided for the purpose, and this is filed in the personnel office. Then the new employee is sent to the Edu- cational Department to be initiated in the making out of saleschecks and other details. In the brief course for this purpose there are 94 The Life Story of a Great Concern presented to the student for solution a num- ber of problems, each of which is based on actual store work. Needless to say, the new member of the organization is fully instructed in the spirit and policies which actuate the management and which, in fact, permeate the entire Marshall Field & Co. quality of service to customers. These courses have a strong influence in getting salespeople interested in their work and giving them a vision and under- standing of what real salesmanship is cap- able of accomplishing. This main section of the restaurant or cafeteria for employees has a capacity of 6000. It is sunny and well ventilated and cheerful, and the food served is of the best at extremely moderate prices. Marshall Field & Co. organization. Not only with the newly engaged employee, but at frequent intervals in the case of all salespeople, instruction is given by means of demonstration sales. A course in salesmanship is conducted twice a year for a group of pioneering sales- people. The candidates are selected by the buyers and meet one morning a week for ten weeks. They study the history and policies of the store and analyze the parts of a sale and all those things that go into making the If it happens, as it sometimes does during the duller periods of the year, that the new- ly engaged employees are not sufficient in num- ber to form a large enough class just at the time of their hiring, they are allowed to go to work for a few days until enough recruits have accumulated to form a class. The extent of the educational activities of the Field store is indicated, in part, by the fact that at the beginning of June, 1920, seven teachers were employed in the Junior Academy and that twenty students were at Training of Employees and Personnel Work 95 c that time ready for the approaching gradua- tion. In addition, there were quite a num- ber from the store's system department engaged in the study of stenography, type- writing and the use of accounting machines. There was also a class in advanced English. In fact, the Educational Bureau, which is now located on the twelfth floor of the im- mense main building, is a mighty busy place, with its several class rooms and its numerous teachers. Another factor that is proving helpful is the sponsor system. Marshall Field & Co. were among the first to adopt this method, the primary purpose of which is to get new em- ployees to feel at home in their department and aid them in acquiring a knowledge of their duties. This tends to lessen the help turnover. The new employee sees from the start that the store management takes an in- interest in her and that the house desires to help her to progress. From the sponsor the novice derives in- struction in the details of her work. She learns of the location of elevators, stairways, etc., and acquires other information that en- ables her to answer intelligently questions put to her by customers. The sponsors assist the section managers in checking up all their people on the reports of errors on saleschecks. They work closely with the Educational Bureau in the effort to reduce the number of these errors. Being constantly in touch with the people in the section, sponsors are often the means of keeping up the standard of service, dress, etc., as set forth in the Employees' Manual. Through the sponsors over 400 people, many of whom had been in the store for some time, volunteered to join classes in English. These were organized and carried on from 8.45 to 9.30 in the morning, chiefly for the purpose of correcting errors of speech and enlarging the vocabulary. In selecting employees who are to act as sponsors attention is given to such qualifica- tions as friendliness, cheerfulness in receiving new people, maturity sufficient for good judg- ment, strong personality, plenty of tact, abil- ity to avoid friction, dependability, loyalty to the house, and ability to impart knowledge. To these is added a thorough grounding in the system and policy of the house. The aim is to have a sponsor in every sec- tion of the store, with additional sponsors in some sections during the busier months of November and December. The sponsor system at Field's has been de- i veloped in a thorough manner and has' brought excellent results. The Educational Bureau also has under its charge the facilities for the comfort and welfare of the employees. Among these is what is known as the Music Room. This is an extremely cheerful and comfortable gath- ering place. This Music Room is used as a rest-room as well as for practice meetings of the Choral Society, composed of members of the Marshall Field & Co. organization. At various times also meetings are held and lectures and enter- tainments of various kinds are given there. As many as seventy-five such gatherings have been held in the Music Room, outside of busi- ness hours, during the year, and every day of the working week not less than five hundred girls and women avail themselves of the op- portunity to spend some time there in rest cr recreation. The Educational Bureau supervises the loaning of over 500 warm black sweaters to girls and women whose work necessitates their standing near doors or other cold, draughty places in the winter season. A room registry is maintained whereby the employees may find comfortable, reliable lodgings. These as well as the vacation re- sorts recommended by the Educational Bu- reau are first carefully investigated. There is also a reading room for men. This is provided not only with newspapers and magazines, but also with writing ma- terials, and with chess and checker boards, etc. Very often, outside of store hours, many of the girl and women employees are brought 96 The Life Story of a Great Concern together by clubs which are not actually a part of the store's activities but which they are encouraged to join and support. Usually there are two outstanding organizations of this variety, the Y. W. C. A. and the College Girls Club. The College Girls Club is com- posed of young women members of the Field organization who have attended college and who enjoy getting together on a common level and talking over their problems, both as Field store employees and as college women. In short, there are abundant evidences of the thought prevailing among the heads of the Marshall Field & Co. organization that its employees shall be just like one big family. ANOTHER important feature of the twelfth floor is the great, big, airy restaurant for employees, which has an unbroken view of Lake Michigan. The greater part of this restaurant is run on the cafeteria plan. A smaller section is for the use of those employees who prefer to bring their lunch with them. In this small- er section, however, means are provided for the supplementing of the food brought from home with tea, coffee and other drinks and with ice cream or some other form of dessert. The main part of the restaurant, con- ducted on the cafeteria plan, has a capacity of 6000. This means, for example, that there are 6000 aluminum trays provided, besides plates, dishes, glasses, cups and saucers, knives and forks, and various other utensils. For transferring the soiled dishes, etc., to the dishwashing machine an endless belt is pro- vided, and the rest of the equipment is on a similarly up-to-date, time-saving plan. All the cooking is accomplished by means of elec- trical ranges, and the silver is polished after each using by means of a buffing machine. Everything about this cafeteria or res- taurant is spotless, and the food, though served at cost of purchase, preparation and serving, is of the highest character. After food for the body comes food for the mind. This need is admirably supplied in the Field store by an extensive library. It contains nearly 4000 books of its own, includ- ing many valuable and up-to-date works of reference. There are also on deposit in this branch of the Marshall Field & Co. personnel activities some 2800 volumes from the Chi- cago Public Library. In addition, the Field library has the use of books from the Public Library's circulating department. There is also a branch of this Field library in the firm's wholesale building. The average monthly circulation of the Field library is between 6000 and 8000 vol- umes. Both for use in the library and for cir- culation there is provided an extensive selec- tion of magazines and business papers. Many copies of each issue of the Dry Goods Econo- mist thus pass into reading and circulation, and during its editor's visit to the library he was informed "The Economist is read and re-read until it is almost worn out." The librarians publish lists of books on special subjects and give careful attention to research questions which are presented by sec- tion managers, or other employees. The library is open from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and is a center of rest and enjoyment for all employees. The retail store organization of Marshall Field & Co., numbers during the greater part of the year just about ten thousand. During the busier periods, such as the pre-Christmas weeks, the number is increased by fifty per cent. Naturally, amid such a great number of people there is at all times a certain per- centage who are in need of medical advice. Reference has already been made to the store's Medical Bureau, its origin many years ago and its work in connection with the new employees. Now there must be said something as to what is done right along, the year 'round, for em- ployees who are ailing or meet with an accident. The Medical Bureau is fully equipped to handle simple cases, to give first aid, and to furnish advice after a thorough examination of the patient. Wisely, as a little considera- Training of Employees and Personnel Work 97 tion will show, the Medical Bureau does not give treatment except to the degree above indicated. It does take care, however, that the employee who is sick shall be so directed as to obtain medical treatment from a proper- ly qualified practitioner — a specialist, it may be, in certain cases. Three doctors compose the medical staff, and at all hours throughout the working day one of them is in attendance. As the physician in chief explained it, this plan has the ad- vantage of permitting each of the doctors to practise at a hospital or elsewhere and thus keep in touch with all the newest developments in the treatment of disease. The personnel of the Medical Bureau also includes six trained nurses, a clerk to take care of the records of cases, and a stenog- rapher. This extensive staff is made necessary by the fact that a visit is paid by a nurse to each employee who goes home on sick leave and is absent more than a day or so. This feature of the bureau's work is known as "social service" and is under the direction of still another member of the Medical Bu- reau's personnel, who is not included in the foregoing enumeration. Among other things, the call brings out information as to whether the patient is under the care of the right kind of physician. This is a matter which obvi- ously has no small bearing on the speed of recovery. In some instances the employee who needs special treatment or an operation, it may be, is sent either to St. Luke's Hospital or to the Presbyterian Hospital, to both of which in- stitutions Marshall Field & Co. have for many years been generous contributors. Employees who are so unfortunate as to contract tuber- culosis are sent to the Valmora Sanitarium at Watrous, N. M., of which Marshall Field & Co. are part owners. All employees who have been absent on sick leave for a period of three days or more are examined by one of the physicians on re- porting for work. This is essential because in many cases the employee may return to work when still physically unfit. Further- more, the risk of other employees contracting a contagious disease is minimized. The Medical Bureau attends not only to the employees of the retail store but also to those in the wholesale branch of Marshall Field & Co., to employees in the concern's warehouses and garages and to workers in its factories in Chicago or in the vicinity of the city. It is hardly necessary to add that all of the employees are encouraged to avail them- selves of the services of the Medical Bureau whenever they so desire, just as they are wel- come to make use of all the other facilities which Marshall Field & Co. furnish for the instruction, health and comfort of their co- workers. The Field Choral Society originated in the following manner, as related by a member of the retail store force who has been with Mar- shall Field & Co. for over thirty years. Said 'he: "We were going to have an entertainment, with a male quartet. One of the fellows had a good voice, but was unable to read music. Also we needed a piano player. We happened to learn that there was a young man, em- ployed as a bookkeeper in the stockroom, who could play the piano. Further inquiry showed that he was leading a big choir in the city. He proved himself a good leader with us and worked up an excellent quartet. So when we started to organize our Choral Society he was given a chance at it. "On Washington's Birthday, 1907, we is- sued a bulletin, announcing the proposed formation of a Choral Society and calling a meeting of all members of the organization who desired to join. We had expected about sixty, but two hundred responded. This gave us enough to make the choir a success from the start. We have kept the membership at about two hundred ever since. "The man of whom I have just been speak- ing as the original leader still trains and con- ducts the Choral Society. He has a studio in the Fine Arts Building, and devotes three 98 The Life Story of a Great Concern days a week to his duties in the store and three days to the Society. "Practice is had by the members of the Society once a week in the season. After 5.30 p.m. we go up to the employees' restaurant, on the twelfth floor, and have our evening meal. This is paid for out of the funds of the Choral Society. The outlay causes a de- ficit in the funds of the Society of just about $2,800, and the shortage is later on made up by the firm. You might say perhaps that the firm might just as well assume the outlay in a more direct form. That, however, would savor of paternalism, which is something Marshall Field & Co. consistently avoid." For many years the Field Choral Society has been recognized far and wide in musical circles as one of the most brilliant organiza- tions in the choral world. It has rendered most difficult compositions before large audi- ences, in many cases being assisted by prom- inent soloists and accompanied by an orchestra of national reputation. Away back in 1912, for example, as reference to the Dry Goods Economist of that period shows, the Society gave a concert at Orchestra Hall, Chicago, presenting "Hiawatha's Wedding Feast" and Mendelssohn's "Hymn of Praise." On that occasion the Society was assisted by three soloists of prominence and by members of the Theodore Thomas Orchestra. Since then the reputation of the Society has been even farther enhanced. In April, 1919, the Chorus was assisted by several members of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. The program included Elgar's "The Light of Life." Practically every section of the Marshall Field & Co. organization is represented in the Society. CHAPTER XVII EARLY DAYS OF THE WHOLESALE BUSINESS THE history of the wholesale department of Marshall Field & Co., is one of unusual interest and fascination. In previous chapters of this "life story of a great concern" something has been told of the be- ginnings of this branch of the business and of its development during the earlier days. It has been shown how the retail store of Field, not exceeding six stories in height, with base- ment and in some cases with a sub-basement. The area of the Marshall Field & Co. whole- sale building also was enormous for those days. The building must indeed have seemed extraordinarily spacious to those associated with the firm on the removal from Madison and Market Streets. A Field, Palmer & Letter invoice of 1866 Leiter & Co. was aided and buttressed by the wholesale during periods of unavoidable stress. And reference has been made to the building at Madison and Market Streets in which this branch of the business was housed until 1887, when Marshall Field erected the massive building occupying the block between Adams, Franklin, Quincy and Wells Streets The foresight of Marshall Field & Co. was admirably illustrated in the 'erection of this great structure. An eight-story and basement building was rare in those days, even in Chi- cago, which a few years subsequently was the birthplace of the skyscraper as we know it these days. The big New York wholesale houses of the day were housed in buildings To-day, of course, the building is inade- quate to the needs of the enormous wholesale business which has developed. Its resources have long been eked out by the addition of large buildings across the street, wherein are housed reserve stocks and some of the auditing force, and by numerous warehouses. Yet no thoughtful man can visit the main building of Marshall Field & Co., wholesale, without consciously or unconsciously paying a tribute to the great merchant under whose direction it was planned and erected. One cannot escape the reflection, "Here is another proof that Marshall Field did nothing by halves!" One reason why Mr. Field made such ex- 99 100 The Life Story of a Great Concern tensive provision for taking care of the whole- sale end of the business was that in the early '80s the great bulk of the buying by retailers was accomplished during semi-annual trips to the market. At the proper time the merchant bought pretty nearly enough goods to supply his needs for the ensuing "spring" or "fall" season. As an example of the buying method in question, we have before us an invoice for goods bought of Field, Palmer & Leiter in 1866, by Butcher & Failinger, Waterloo, Wis. It is dated July 26 — which is about the date when many retailers to-day begin to place their fall orders. The invoice covers 130 items, totaling $1,613.63. The goods include linen, Russian crash, lace nainsook, lawn, Swiss, bobbinet, jaconet, cambric and various other bleached cottons, also denim, ticks, prints, wide sheetings, handkerchiefs, women's and children's hosiery, ribbons, damask, bedspreads, "tidies," mos- quito netting, twine and wadding. Some of the prices are: Pepperell R brown sheetings 23 cents ; Cabot A 40 in., 221/2 cents; Lyman C 40 in., 22^/2 cents; fancy embroidered handkerchiefs, $3 a dozen ; women's ribbed hose, $2.25 a dozen ; children's ribbed hose, $2.25 a dozen; taffeta ribbon, various prices per piece, from 25 cents to $2 ; linen, 60 cents to 90 cents a yard ; Rus- sian crash, 20 cents; nainsook, 45 cents a yard; bobbinet lace, 15 cents a yard; dotted Swiss, 371/2 cents; Masonville cambric, 23 cents; Lonsdale cambric, 221/2 cents; Clyde gingham, 21 cents ; figured alpaca, 371/2 cents ; Amoskeag C jeans, 231/2 cents; Allen prints, 19 cents; American prints, 21 cents. It was Mr. Field's aim to have in the wholesale store such a range of merchandise and such complete assortments that retailers would go to Field's in preference to any other wholesale house. And for such broad show- I j ings of merchandise plenty of floor space was among the facilities held to be essential. Service also, then as since, was a watch- word at Field's, and the best of facilities were provided not only for showing the merchan- dise and aiding the customer in making his purchases but also in the matter of rapid pack- ing, shipping and billing. Some traveling on the road was carried on, however. In the very early days the heads of Chicago wholesale firms took occasional trips among their trade. Marshall Field himself was no exception to this rule. In ad- dition, visits to their trade were made by the general salesmen. These general salesmen, it may be stated for the benefit of those who are unfamiliar with wholesale house methods, took care of the retailers on their arrival in the market, went with them from department to depart- ment in the store, saw that they were duly waited on by the department salesmen, and in every way possible did their best to make sure that their customer made at least the greater part of his purchases in the salesrooms of their concern. The general salesman also kept in touch with his customers by mail and acted as their intermediary with his house. He saw that their purchases or orders received prompt and proper attention, that their goods were shipped by the quickest or cheapest routes, as the case might demand — in fact, he held his customers by the attention he paid to their interests and by his close personal relations with them. It was largely for the purpose of developing and maintaining such relations that the general salesman, during the period between the buy- ing "seasons," went on the road. In the very early days there was not as- signed to each general salesman a certain ter- ritory, as was the case later on. On the con- trary, they were allowed to wait on customers whom they had met in any part of the coun- try. In addition to the general salesmen, in a few instances "special" salesmen, who carried only samples of goods handled in the particu- lar department to which they were attached, were sent out from the more important de- partments. During a number of years these methods brought satisfactory results. Conditions Early Days of the Wholesale Business 101 arose, however, which made essential a very considerable change in the selling methods of the Field wholesale institution, more espe- cially with regard to the selling of goods on the road. The growth of the firm's wholesale busi- ness had been greatly fostered by the con- tinued outspreading and upbuilding of Chi- cago's tributary territory, as also by the in- crease in the population of its cities, towns and villages. This same growth, however, had as a natural consequence the bringing into the field of a number of new wholesale concerns, especially in western localities : Kan- sas City, St. Joseph, Omaha, the Twin Cities, Denver, and other centers. These concerns, al- though they carried nothing like such exten- sive lines or assortments as Marshall Field & Co., were gradually cutting into the trade of the big Chicago house. *^ It was Mr. Field's idea — and one on which he strongly insisted — that the most satisfac- tory way of doing business, both for buyer and for seller, was to have the customers come to Chicago when they were in need of goods. They could thus, he argued, take full advan- tage of the immense stocks and complete ranges of designs, colors, sizes, weights, etc., carried by Marshall Field & Co., whereas the roadmen, in the very nature of things, could show only a limited number of samples. Mr. Field also held that the shipping and billing of the goods as well as the selection were simplified when the customer came to the market and placed his orders directly with the house. In a word, it was Mr. Field's plan to fa- vor house buying rather than road buying. Those men who were on the road for Marshall Field & Co. were deeply impressed when they found that the new jobbing con- cerns in other centers were rapidly increasing their business. The condition was re- ported by an observant salesman, who has since reached a high and responsible position with the house. He emphasized the fact that although Marshall Field & Co. had a marvel- ous wholesale business, housed in a spacious building, with a great organization and ex- ceptionally extensive lines of merchandise, the smaller wholesalers were able to send out men on the road with an equal number of samples and make almost as good a showing through their salesmen as could be done by any other concern, no matter how large and well equipped. He further pointed out that at that time a great many men who knew nothing of the dry goods business — some of them farmers, for example — had gone into the retailing of dry goods. These storekeepers, he reported, were accustomed to have their clerks select goods, and, obviously, their purchases must of ne- cessity be made from roadmen, seeing that such a storekeeper could not take his clerks with him to Chicago or other market on a buying trip. -^ In short, while it was admitted that the method advocated by Mr. Field might be the ideal one, conditions, it was urged, had clearly proven that it was not a practicable one. Thus, when the matter was laid before Mr. Shedd, he was quick to realize the logic of the situa- tion, and he at once made to Mr. Field a strong plea for an increase in the number of road salesmen. y The result was that within a short time new men, possessed of character and ability, many of them trained in retail stores and possessing a good knowledge of all lines, were added to the wholesale organization. A marked increase in sales speedily followed. Then the re-districting of the territory covered by the Marshall Field & Co. road force was under- taken, with the result that the wholesale busi- ness was further enlarged and extended. Mr. Shedd also approached Mr. Field with the importance of making radical changes in the concern's methods of supplying its mer- chandise needs. He argued that constructive merchandising should be the sole purpose of the vast organization into which he could see the wholesale developing. That the best intelligence and skill of the organization should be directed toward this end — that every inspiration be given it, and 102 The Life Story of a Great Concern that the great resources of the institution should be invested in it. That such a policy meant an intense and incessant struggle for the achievement of the ideal of quality in merchandise — to make each article the very best of its class, the best ob- tainable at its price. That it would mean the development of the highest possible efficiency in service — the creation, interpretation and adaptation of styles. The collection and distribution to its customers of authentic merchandise informa- tion. Prompt and complete assembly of lines — prompt deliveries. He held that to achieve such standards of quality it w^ould be necessary to conserve and minutely control process of production. From that time dates the adoption of the policy by which Marshall Field & Co. came to be not only a great retail and a great whole- sale house, but also one of the country's larg- est manufacturing concerns. CHAPTER XVIII PRODUCTION AND DISTRIBUTION POLICIES EXEMPLIFIED ONE obtains quite a vivid impression of the varied activities of Marshall Field & Co.'s wholesale branch as well as of its modern ways of doing business on step- time. The other is to present the goods in such a way that they will afford to the cus- tomer decidedly accurate conceptions and sug- gestions as to how goods may be selected with In the draperies and upholsteries section of Marshall Field &■ Co., wholesale, both the merchan- dise and the methods of showing it are well worthy of study and emulation. ping into the carpeted and rather richly fur- nished draperies section. Different indeed from the old-time wholesale house, where one would see the goods piled up on the counter in bolts and where the customer was apt to be shown goods only in that form! There are two ideas dominant in the show- ing of merchandise in this department. One is speed, so as to avoid loss of the customer's a view to fitting him out with a complete scheme for any kind of room. With the former end in view, there have been designed and made sloping-top fixtures. On these desk-like affairs are laid the large sample cards of cretonnes and other printed cotton draperies. Three different cards can be so placed as to be visible at one time. The customer can look at card after card without 103 104 The Life Story of a Great Concern effort or tiring, and the cards can be removed and others substituted in a twinkling. It is much less laborious to the customer than when the cards are laid flat on a table. We know how it works because we tried it. The other idea is carried out by means of racks with rounded tops covered with velour, so that the goods draped over them will not slip or slide off. Over these will be laid the material for the window drape, the valance, a fabric suggesting the wall paper, a velvet or tapestry for the chair cover or for the daven- port, and another fabric suitable for a pillow or soft cushion. For good measure the sales- man may throw in a silk suitable for the lamp shade. Incidentally, electric lamps, with the current turned on, and with silk shades, are among the equipment of this truly attractive as well as remarkable wholesale department. In half a minute the salesman will show you a complete scheme for a living-room, a chamber or a lady's boudoir. And all the fabrics thus brought together and displayed will harmonize with each other, the many- colored design with the plain-colored material, the velvet with the silk, and so on. The exact shade of the plain-colored goods will ba found in the design of the fancy fabric, because each of them has been designed, produced or se- lected with due regard to the other and the two or more have been worked out together. This is one of several Marshall Field & Co. departments in which constant effort is made to originate and produce the most novel and beautiful designs in all of the various fabrics, whether the design be woven or printed. Hand block printing is freely em- ployed, and, as is well known, the colors and effects thus obtained are apt to be deeper in tone and more characteristic than those which result from the use of engraved rollers and the printing machine. This section does business with a wide vari- ety of distributors on a large scale. It supplies the high-class home decorators as well as de- partment stores; it has among its customers hotels and theaters. And it supplies material to other departments of the wholesale branch, notably the one which manufactures and dis- tributes fine, upholstered furniture. This draperies department, moreover, sum- marizes and brings out in an exceptionally marked degree certain of the leading policies of the firm. One of these is the continuous effort, visible in every department, to create, produce and distribute merchandise that will in every way fulfill the purpose for which mer- chandise of that kind is manufactured and consumed. Another is to insure the merchan- dise being the best in every way — weave, design, color or whatever — all the way from the selection of the raw material down to the "put up" of the goods for sale. A third policy is to lay the goods before i the customer in such a way that he is made to fully understand and realize their good points and is thus placed in a position intelligently and accurately to pass on this knowledge to his own customers. And if you ask for a fourth policy, here it is: To show the goods in fitting surroundings, with equipment and other aids that make the merchandise look as it will and as it should both in the well-conducted retail store and in the home of the ultimate consumer. The whole process is educative to the cus- towers of the firm. They have the strongest possible chance to see that the merchandise is more than just something to put in stock and turn over to the people who ask for it. They learn also that price is not the prime factor, because they ascertain by experience that Marshall Field & Co.'s lines of quality mer- chandise sell on their merit more quickly than merchandise at a lower price that is not quite so desirable or so attractive. ANOTHER notable example of the display methods adopted by the wholesale divi- sion of the Marshall Field & Co. business is presented in the blanket department. Here the goods shown, because of their bulky na- ture, are confined to samples. Stock is carried in one of the firm's several ware- houses, and therefrom goods are shipped and billed. This blanket department, then, is a Production and Distribution Policies Exemplified 105 carpeted space about 55 by 60 ft. walled in with lighted, glass-fronted shelving, over which are display cases also brilliantly illumi- nated. Thus the goods are shown to the bef,t advantage and the sample blankets can readily be removed and laid on the table for inspec- tion by the customer. such a way that it looks much as if it were on sale in a first-class retail store. The dif- ference is, however, that in these wholesale sections each garment or other article dis- played is only a sample. Close approximation to the appearance of a well-conducted retail establishment is also EE^ 1 i > Ai ^i With its electrically lighted showcases, central fixtures and carpeted floor the blanket and outing flannel department is a fine example of the favorable conditions under which goods at Marshall Field &■ Co.'s wholesale branch are shown to visiting merchants. In this department, too, are central fix- tures, with drawers, in which are kept the outing flannels which, like the blankets, are made by the firm's North Carolina mills. Another mighty striking display, while we are on that subject, is one in the lining de- partment, where in showcases are seen the brilliant colors and rich designs of sateens and other weaves got up for the garment manu- facturers as well as for the retail trade. Again, in the women's coat, suit and dress de- partment and in the infants' and children's goods section the merchandise is handled in presented by the type of fixtures employed as well as by the carpeted floor in several of the departments, especially those to which refer- ence has just been made. One of the methods which deserve special mention was brought to our attention in the knit underwear department. The roadmen were instructed to report in writing all com- plaints made as to their merchandise. Twice a year the roadmen for the depart- ment are brought together and these criti- cisms and all other appropriate matters are discussed. In addition, the roadmen are given 106 The Life Story of a Great Concern information as to competing lines, so that they can talk their own goods more intelligently. Also they are instructed as to matters of which their merchant customers need to be made aware, so that the salesmen may be in a position to give worthwhile advice as to turn- over, selling cost and various other points that are of vital interest to the merchants to whom they sell. Such conferences last several days. In the knit underwear lines developed by the firm under their brand there has been a constant endeavor to improve the merchan- dise. In the early days the garments were tried on hundreds of different figures so as to find out defects or see where betterments could be effected. This idea of the importance of fit and serviceability is impressed on the retailer by the firm's roadmen. In particular, care is taken to explain the features of the goods to salespeople that have recently been taken on in the retail store. One of the lines of merchandise for which Marshall Field & Co. have long been cele- brated is kid gloves. The production of these is supervised through the firm's Paris organ- ization. In addition to distribution among its customers the wholesale supplies a large per- centage of the glove needs of the Marshall Field & Co. retail store. In the case of fabric gloves also the firm are insistent on keeping their sources of sup- ply in reliable hands. The same is true in re- gard to hosiery, of which Marshall Field & Co. are large distributors. Each line, be it lisle or silk or fiber-silk or wool, comes from the same sources year after year, insuring the same standard of quality in the respective lines. In these two departments, gloves and hosiery, which adjoin each other, the fixtures, as in other sections, are designed to make buying easy and save the customer's time. Samples are shown on narrow stands, about four feet high, the tops of which slope on each side, on the order of a rather high pitched roof. Thus the samples are in plain sight, ind in the case of hosiery — the demand for which from house customers is very great on certain days of the week — the sizes in stock are marked on the ticket. As a result, the customer can almost make up his own order. One of the many strong departments In the wholesale is that of the fancy cotton and silk and cotton fabrics, including dress goods, skirtings and shirtings in woven and printed patterns, percales, cotton challies and other wash goods. These are converted by the house, the gray goods being obtained from selected mills and the department constantly striving to develop the most attractive and novel patterns. It was particularly interest- ing during a visit to this department in mid- summer to discuss with its head the styles, de- signs and fabrics that would probably be in best demand for the spring of 1922 and note the keen insight into what affects demand for a certain pattern or weave. In this department, too, as in others, the effort was to produce the best possible article, to have the work done where one could be surest of getting the best, making the price question secondary to the desirability and fit- ness of the merchandise. The same is true of the other dress fabrics departments, including the wool and worsted section and the gingham sections. The wool- ens and worsteds are made exclusively for the firm. The ginghams are produced in the firm's mills in North Carolina. In these every at- tention is given to getting the best possible effect in patterns by means of careful bleach- ing of the white yarns and selection of the best dyes for the colored warps and fillings. Many of the plaid patterns are woven on five and six-box looms, which means that the number of colors entering into the pattern is decidedly above the average. The firm's mills in North Carolina and Virginia will form the subject of a subsequent chapter. In the silk department supplies are ob- tained not only from the firm's own silk mill and other domestic mills, but at this time the buyers are making trips both to France and the Orient. The purpose is to carry such a range of qualities and weaves that the aver- age retailer can look to Marshall Field & Co. for at least the greater part of his silk needs. CHAPTER XIX INSISTENCE ON QUALITY IN MERCHANDISE TO Marshall Field & Co.'s insistence on quality in their merchandise, their un- remitting efforts to see how good and not how cheap the goods could be made, is at- tributed in large degree the high position as to how this improvement was made, what steps were taken to get that line of goods just a little better (or a great deal better, it may be) ; how designs, originated in the department, are furnished to one manufac- Erccicd in 1887, the eight-story and basement buildiny. covering an entire square and which, today, forms part of the firm's wholesale establishment, testifies to the foresight ivhich has consistently characterised the flans and policies of Marshall Field & Co. which the house has attained and held. To get a clear idea of how consistently this policy has been adhered to and carried out, one needs to visit the firm's wholesale insti- tution and not only examine the merchandise but talk with the merchandise managers and merchandise department heads. Time and time again one will be struck with the statements made by these gentlemen turer, or how material of the essential char- acter is supplied to another. Needless to say, too, the efforts to produce merchandise that is distinctive, beautiful, artistic and reliable are just as constant and unremitting in connection with the wares that the firm's own factories or other plants turn out. In the case of Oriental rugs, for example. 107 108 The Life Story of a Great Concern these are not only bought by Marshall Field & Co.'s buyers, who visit India, Persia and China for the purpose; the designs for rugs are sent over or taken to the makers. In ad- dition to this, the rugs are made according to Marshall Field & Co.'s specifications. The nap, for instance, must be of a certain length — considerably longer than that of the stock rug. These specifications and requirements can be enforced, because in these days Oriental rugs are made, even in the undeveloped coun- tries, on the factory system. There is no operation of machinery, but the weavers work in a large shed under the direction of their employer. One such factory in Amritsar, British India, has in operation three hundred looms, or, to speak more accurately, frames on which the warps are stretched and at which the rug makers work. In order to make sure of getting the best goods and designs that can be produced, both the buyer for the wholesale and the buyer for the retail visit the Orient at suitable intervals, and these department heads are ac- companied by one or other of their immedi- ate associates. Just to show how original are the ideas conceived by these men and how undeterred they are by any difficulties that may be in- volved in carrying out their conceptions, take the case of a rug recently made to their order in China. This rug is of large size, 12 by 14 ft., and is of extraordinarily close and even weave. The quality is as fine as it is possible to produce. Whereas the best regular grade of Chinese rug has 100 "strings" to the foot, this Lama rug, as it is called, has 120 "strings" to the foot. The chief feature about it, however, is the de- sign, which includes 150 figures copied from the idols in a Buddhist temple in Pekin. The Marshall Field & Co. buyers visited the temple, and the thought occurred to one of them, "What a wonderful thing it would be to have this picture that we see worked into a rug!" The idea was laid before the most skillful rug makers in China. At first they declared it could not be done. They were pre- vailed on to try, however, and after a year's labor the rug was produced. The colors are beautifully harmonized, figures of the gods and goddesses are reproduced with rare fidel- ity, and, altogether, the rug makes a show- piece that will unquestionably become famous the world over. Another example — also accomplished in the Orient. In order to insure uniformity of quality in hairbrushes made for the firm in Japan, rules governing the manufacture of such brushes were drawn up in the Field department. These were translated into Japanese and through the firm's offices in Kobe copies of the rules were placed in the dwellings where the brushes are made — the making of brushes being a home industry in Japan. The results of this action were so satis- factory all around that a representative of the Japanese Government personally made a request for copies of the rules. Subse- quently the Japanese Government estab- : lished a bureau charged with the inspection of brushmaking, the Marshall Field & Co. rules being used as the basis for the require- / ments imposed on the operatives by their/ own Government. Marshall Field & Co. went further, how- ever. In the brushes made in Japan the bristles are drawn through holes in the wood block, being doubled so as to form a loop, and through this loop a cord is passed, which holds the bristles in place — so long as the cord does not wear out. In many of the Japanese brushes the cord was of such poor quality as greatly to shorten the life of the brush. Marshall Field & Co. started in to remedy this defect. Numerous tests were made until a cord of sufficient strength and one which could be fur- nished in adequate quantities was available. This cord was then supplied to the brush- makers, with the result that Marshall Field & Co. have certainty that in their brushes of Japanese origin the bristles will stay in until the other parts are worn out. To still further prolong the wear of their Insistence on Quality in Merchandise 109 Japanese brushes the firm buy selected bristles and supply them to the brushmakers. To make sure also that the brushes are of the most acceptable design Marshall Field & Co. supply the brush operatives with either models or designs for the blocks, or wooden parts. They have also conducted various ex- periments to ascertain which woods and fin- ishes are preferable. In the same department also was found one of the numerous instances of designs be- ing furnished by Marshall Field & Co. to the manufacturer. This was in the case of pyroxylin goods, or so-called imitation ivory — a mirror of attractive shape, which has be- come "popular" to-day because of its adop- tion by other makers. As another example of how the firm works for the improvement of domestic merchan- dise one may cite an imitation ivory con- tainer for a powder puff. Unlike the ordinary article, this container is polished on the in- side. A small matter, perhaps, but it makes the container look much more attractive, and, furthermore, it is another example of the dogged persistence of Field folks when they go after something — for in this case, as in others, the manufacturer said it could not be done. IN the development of numerous lines of merchandise Marshall Field & Co., whole- sale, have the advantage of being able to draw the needed materials from their own stocks as well as the aid of their own fac- tories or workrooms. In the furniture de- partment one may see examples of this in upholstered chairs and davenports of the highest as well as medium grades. In one expensive suite the hand-block printed mo- hair is drawn from the drapery department. The bases, by the way, are made in the firm's factory from designs developed in the furni- ture department itself. Similarly, there is wicker furniture show- ing marked originality in shape and coloring, devised by men in the department and pro- duced under their direction, while the up- holstering of seat and back is done in fab- rics which also come from the wholesale drapery section. Furniture that is not upholstered, such as dining-room suites, is made for the firm from their own special designs. As an example of how the house takes steps to overcome promptly any hitch that may arise in connection with the supply of any kind of merchandise, one may cite the following: During the war, as many will recall, the use of metal for other than war purposes was forbidden by the War Industries Board. This put a stop to the making of metal smok- ing sets, among other things. The depart- ment of Marshall Field & Co. which handled such sets went to work, therefore, to produce the stands in mahogany. Then came the problem of producing a glass ash-receiver which should have a circu- lar flange so as to set properly in the place provided for it in the top of the stand. This was finally accomplished, and the manufac- ture and sale of the stands went merrily on — a godsend, no doubt, to thousands of mer- chants who had been wondering how they were going to supply the demands of their public for smoking sets. Then the department went farther. They took up the manufacture of lamps and can- dlesticks in mahogany. And that led them still farther. They began to make these ar- ticles in polychrome and also in ivory en- amel finish. And, having the lamps, why not make the shades? The more so as the silk or other fabric necessary could be obtained from other departments right in the house. So now the customer in the Marshall Field & Co. wholesale can supply his needs for lamps and shades of the highest class and most attractive character. He can even get these in extraordinarily novel forms. For ex- ample, the idea suggested itself to some one in the department. Why not. use for a lamp- shade a rich velvet brocade, the figure in velvet and the ground in silk? This was 110 The Life Story of a Great Concern made up, with suitable fringe and silk ruch- ing, and lo and behold, there was a shade of entirely novel style that would grace any par- lor or drawingroom. Another product of this same workroom is book-ends in a variety of designs. Still an- other is the long-handled decorative mirrors which in many houses find a place on the hall rack for the use of callers. Other lines of merchandise made from Marshall Field & Co. designs are china and silverware. For china, designs are sent to Japan and to Holland. Domestic manufactur- ers are shown that they can approximate the finest imported ware. We were shown, for example, a vase that might have come from Copenhagen, but was made in the U. S. A. In the designing of silverware, models are first made in one of the firm's workrooms in the retail store and the design embodied therein is made up by the manufacturer. The old conception of a wholesale house was more or less to the effect that it handled goods of a quality not higher than medium and possibly lower. Any one who needs to have this idea dispelled as regards Marshall Field & Co. may have the operation per- formed by a visit to many departments, but perhaps in none more readily or strikingly than in the jewelry. As a matter of fact, it ought to have been clear to readers of this story long ago that Marshall Field & Co., wholesale, is "different" in its methods and in the character of its mer- chandise. Still, if any new light on the sub- ject is needed it bursts upon one in a dazzling way when one is shown diamond pins in plat- inum that retail for the tidy sum of $1,500 or watch movements no thicker than a silver dol- lar — hardly that, indeed — and which are sold in platinum cases for some $300. Then, too, there are women's wrist- watches in oval shape, with the movement also oval, instead of round. Or if the dealer is looking for something to sell for the lowly sum of $5 he may be shown what the department head describes as "the Ford of the watch business" — a watch made in Switzerland and for the devising and production of which the firm's office in St. Gall was largely responsible. The movement is of the simplest possible design compatible with accuracy and dura- bility. The dial and case are as beautiful in design and form as those of watches of the most expensive type. The crystal ring and the back are attached by ingenious devices that are perfectly effective and yet tend to save labor. This jewelry department and its merchan- dise afford evidence not only of the kind of goods the house handles, but also of the wide diversity of its trade. Few department stores handle jewelry that sells for the high prices above mentioned. A few do ; yes, but they are the rare exceptions. So in this case, as in that of certain other departments, furniture, for example — it is the specialty stores that com- pose the great bulk of its customers. In connection with the doll department im- provements in the character of the merchan- dise have been made. The dolls are dressed in material supplied by the Marshall Field & Co. fabric departments, and care has been taken to see that these dresses are better made and trimmed with better materials than the ordi- nary run of such merchandise. There is study devoted also to the dolls' hair. The wigs are of the best material In many cases the dolls are shown with the hair in two braids. For toy tableware, dishes, etc., the firm supplies the manufacturers with special draw- ings and other designs, these drawings being forwarded to the potteries and reproduced especially for Marshall Field & Co. Even in the matter of Christmas tree ornaments the patterns are specially made for the firm. Thus their assortment contains many original designs. In children's embroidery or needlework sets, the goods are supplied by Marshall Field & Co.'s own factory, located at Monticello, Ind. CHAPTER XX CAREFUL SUPERVISION OF MANUFACTURING PLANTS IN the last chapter reference was made to Marshall Field & Co.'s yam, crochet cot- ton and spool cotton mill at Monticello, Ind. Attention will be given in later chap- ters to the firm's other manufacturing plants. At this stage also they call for mention, how- department heads have the benefit of close contact with enormous numbers of critical consumers. This is obtained through co-operation with the merchandise department managers of the firm's retail store, who naturally learn of any This busy scene was photographed in one of the packing rooms on the eighth floor of the main building of Marshall Field &■ Co., wholesale. ever, because of the important part played by the wholesale not only in the sale and distri- bution of the products but also in informing and directing the mills or factories as with regard to the character of the merchandise that will sell most readily and the quantities the market bids fair to absorb. In this matter of information as to the kind of merchandise to be manufactured the criticisms or other comments that may be voiced by the public while shopping in the de- partment. Such expressions are reported to the wholesale department and are embodied in suggestions and new ideas which are turned over to the mill or factory management. As typical of the methods pursued by mer- chandise department managers in directing the mills or factories, let us take the activities 111 112 The Life Story of a Great Concern along this line of the department which han- dles the products of the Monticello plant. The plant in question manufactures a wide range of needlework materials, including knit- ting yarns, mercerized crochet and embroidery cottons, and mercerized spool cottons. The head of the wholesale department through which the mill product is sold makes a care- ful study of the demand for all of these lines and prepares schedules, on which the mills' production is based. The advantage of this planning is evident, since it is clear that the wholesale branch can more readily than the mill keep in close touch with the market and the demand. Thus the mill is run on the prospective production for a certain period and the out- put is proportionate to the volume of business. Accurate control of the mill is further carried on by constant checking-up of stock records. The corset department being located close to the needlework supplies, it is fitting to state here that the corsets (which the wholesale branch sells under its own brand), are made from fabrics purchased by Marshall Field & Co. and supplied to the manufacturers and from desig.is prepared by the firm. From the lace department also the lace manufacturing plant owned and operated by Marshall Field & Co. receives direc- tions and suggestions. To enable women to make lace collars and thus make a demand for the laces suitable therefor the head of the department had designs gotten up in motif, or medallion form, so that the pattern could be cut out or detached, leaving a decorative end to the collar without the need for sewing. Another suggestion of his that was succes- fuUy carried out was the putting of beading into the lace as part of the lace, thus making it unnecessary for the consumer to sew the beading to the lace, as was formerly done. An example of the encouragement given to men connected with the business to evolve and introduce new ideas was recently afforded in this same department, which, besides laces, handles veilings, women's neckwear, chiffons, and other evening fabrics. One of the men in the department noted the use of organdies embroidered in check or square designs for the making of collars and cuffs. He accord- ingly suggested that plain organdies could be embroidered in Chicago. This idea was taken up and a number of beautiful designs were produced, all of which simplify the mak- ing of collars, as the embroidered line forms an edge along which the goods can be cut, thus giving to the ends of the collar an attractive shape. To the manufacturers suggestions were offered by this department as to producing goods in the proper width for vestees. Marshall Field & Co., wholesale, claim the distinction of being the first concern in this country to import hair nets. The firm sent representatives to the Orient, where the goods are made, and developed standards of produc- tion. They established a converting room, where the nets are inspected and put up, with a view to having better merchandise as well as a more sightly package. This method is still maintained, yet the goods sell at no higher price than the ordinary hair nets. The mat- ter of quality was also taken up with pin man- ufacturers, with special reference to the point. While we are on the subject it is well to note the careful attention given to the mode of putting up notions as practised by the wholesale branch. Every effort, by means of short-cuts in buying and saving of profits, is exerted, so as to keep down the cost of the article; but neither trouble nor expense is spared to have everything just right. For example, an outlay of $500 and a study extending over a period of several months were involved in designing and having worked out a trademark design for so apparently triv- ial a matter as a five-cent package of pins. All of this, however, it is held, tends to better results not only for the concern itself but also for the retailers who are its custom- ers. It all makes for better merchandising, and usually merchants are quick to appreciate this. An incident is related of a buyer who made a determined effort to obtain a price Careful Supervision of Manufacturing Plants 113 concession. After the policies of the firm in the matter of merchandise and their reasons therefor had been explained to him, he said: "I see that I am better off without the extra discount. Put it into the merchan- dise." which handles handkerchiefs. The range is so extensive that it seems impossible that any- thing in the nature of a handkerchief cannot be obtained there. Switzerland, Ireland, Ar- menia, Madeira, Porto Rico and Japan, as well as our own land, are among the countries from which goods are obtained. Yet even with this At inventory time Marshall Field &• Co. employ temporary help in large numbers, among these being many school teachers as well as accountants. In the fancy leather goods line handbags are made according to specifications drawn up by experts in the wholesale organization. In each handbag there is a silk tag into which is woven the Field trademark. The tag can readily be removed. It is put there, however, as proof of the firm's effort to maintain and improve quality. ONE of the largest and most interesting departments of the many that make up the Marshall Fie'.d & Co. wholesale is that information probably the average reader would hardly figure that the number of hand- kerchief styles carried in the department num- ber fully 8000. Here, again, there is a constant effort to improve the quality of the merchandise. The embroidering done in Switzerland is carried on under the firm's supervision. This is a peasant or cottage industry, as also are the em- broidering and hemstitching done in Ireland. The handkerchief material is given out to the Swiss workers in a large building owned by 114 The Life Story of a Great Concern Marshall Field & Co. after the cloth has been carefully examined by the firm's trusted and expert employees. The goods are examined again after the embroidering has been accom- plished. The cloth, moreover, which is sent to Switzerland to be embroidered is woven in England to the firm's order and specifications and is bleached in Ireland. In the Emerald Isle also the hemstitching is done before the goods go to Swiss workers to be embroidered. So in many cases a handkerchief is quite a traveler even before it crosses the Atlantic on its final trip to this country. In Ireland handkerchiefs are made, hem- stitched and embroidered under what is prac- tically the control of the Marshall Field & Co. management. That is to say, the manufac- turer works for the Chicago firm alone, and, moreover, he makes regular trips to this country to confer with the Marshall Field & Co. management and the handkerchief depart- ment head or his immediate assistant makes visits at stated intervals to Belfast. Beautiful hand block printed handkerchiefs are produced in Ireland under these forms of supervision, the patterns being developed and controlled by Marshall Field & Co. Linen fabric for the making of handkerchiefs in the Zion Lace Industries plant owned by Marshall Field & Co. is brought over from Ireland. The various lines of handkerchiefs, those 8000 styles above mentioned, which include handkerchiefs for both sexes and all ages, and which, in their diversity, compel each road man to carry two large trunks, packed tight with samples — these various lines have a mighty broad distribution. The medium grades are bought by stores all over the country; the highest qualities and most beautiful kinds in point of sheerness of material and delicacy and artistry of em- broidery are stocked by the more exclusive stores of national reputation. Extreme care is given to the way in which the handkerchiefs are put up, it being an axiom with the firm in the case of this line as of others that better appearance in even what some regard as trifling details exerts a powerful influence on the sale of the merchan- dise. Even the little matter of printing the designating numbers on the ticket instead of putting them on with a rubber stamp is re- garded as important. In boxing the fine goods, too, the handkerchiefs are pinned to a card, so that they cannot slip around in the box and become wrinkled or mussed. Marshall Field & Co. also have a handker- chief organization in Japan, where silk hand- kerchiefs for women and for men are made. Similar attention to details is seen in the damasks and towels made in the firm's plants in North Carolina and which are handled in the same department as the handkerchiefs. Always the question is not how cheap the ar- ticle can be produced but what can be done to make it a better article. Careful compari- son is constantly made between the goods of other manufacturers and those which the Marshall Field & Co. plants are turning out, and the products of others are subjected to rigorous test along with the Field products to see which has the greater wearing quali- ties. It is not possible in the limits of this story to tell in detail the features of all the depart- ments. Attention needs to be given, however, to a section which is not usually found in a wholesale house. This is what is known as the house furnishings department. The fact is that this term, comprehensive as it is, is very far from expressing all the lines car- ried in the department in question. There are automobile supplies, there are electrical house- hold appliances, and there are vacuum cleaners, washing machines and refrigerators. Table oilcloth, manufactured under the direction and control of the firm, is an especially big factor. One would be surprised at the quantity of this one item distributed by the department dur- ing each year. Roller and ice skates form an- other quite important line. Then there are aluminum and enamel ware. Mops, their pro- duction controlled by Marshall Field & Co. and sold under the firm's brand, should also be noted. Careful Supervision of Manufacturing Plants 115 Hardware sundries for household use and for drapery purposes, tools, fancy baskets, kitchen cutlery, hammocks and electric fans add to the diversity of the lines in this depart- ment. It includes other kinds of merchandise, however — quite important ones, too. Among these are sporting goods, and there is quite an extensive line of the larger toys, such as velocipedes, kiddie cars, wagons and toy fur- niture. And still the end has not been reached. There is furniture hardware. For this there is a big outlet right in Chicago. It is claimed by Chicagoans that their city is a bigger producer of furniture than that town of which one instinctively thinks when any- body says "furniture," viz.. Grand Kapids. Another interesting fact about this "om- nium gatherum" department is that it origi- nated with the handling and sale of drapery hardware. Thus it is one of the oldest de- partments in the house, having a record of some thirty years. It has been said that when a new line came along and they did not know where to put it they said at once, "Oh, that'll go in the house furnishings." And so it was done. And that just reminds us that there is still one line in the "house furnishings" to be mentioned, and that is, window shades, made in the firm's factory right in Chicago. CHAPTER XXI VILLAGE AT FIELDALE AND OTHER TEXTILE PLANTS A MOST important step in the direction of acquiring and operating manufac- turing plants in line with the views of Mr. Shedd as outlined in Chapter XVII was taken in 1905. The action in question re- Carolina, at Spray and at Draper. Three years later the firm purchased the remaining interest in these plants, and thereupon began to develop plans for manufacturing textile fabrics on a large scale. i^ ' r^!Zzr —rr^, Twgus «s=\ '' ■■**' •^i,,mL£mm, -... '«»^^^K^if3^n;?^^^i» *^ If •r»ar > --' _^^i„ '. i' .-%^r LiS'- /J section of Mnrsliall Field & Co.'s mills at Spray, A'. C, viewed from an airhhinc. suited in Marshall Field & Co.'s developing in North Carolina and Virginia not only large mills and finishing plants but also model towns inhabited by happy, progressive and intelligent workpeople. What has been accomplished in this direc- tion and what is planned for the future form one of the outstanding features of the prog- ress and growth of the Marshall Field & Co. organization. Early in the year named Marshall Field & Co. had acquired a tontrolling interest in certain blanket and gingham mills in North Later on extensive tracts of land were ac- quired at Leaksville; Spray, Draper and Leaks- ville being within two miles of each other. A marked advantage possessed by these mills was their location adjacent to water power as well as to coal deposits. A still greater advantage was the supply of intelli- gent white labor. Many who are unfamiliar with textile manufacturing conditions in the South are under the impression that the mills in that section employ colored operatives. This is far from the case. Colored people have been found unadapted for such work — for one 116 Village at Fieldale and Other Textile Plants 117 reason, because they could not be depended upon to work constantly or regularly. South- ern cotton mill operatives are whites, and in many cases are the descendants of English, Scotch and Irish settlers. Their forebears were skillful in the use of the spinning wheel and handloom, and this dexterity in the pro- duction of fine textiles has been handed down from generation to generation. In the Mar- shall Field & Co. plants the workers are of this admirable type. It should also be noted that during recent years the employment of child labor in South- ern mills has been reduced to a minimum. In fact, this long-desired change had come about prior to Marshall Field & Co.'s pur- chase of the North Carolina plants. It will be shown later in this chapter that, so far from any child labor existing in their mills, attention is given to employees' health and comfort in an unusual and most praise- worthy degree. In 1910 the firm's original investment in Southern mills was greatly increased. In June of that year they purchased a number of other mills. Since then practically the entire mechanical equipment has been scrapped and replaced by machines of the most modern type. The mills at the points named include the Lily Mill, the Nantucket Mill, the Rhode Island Mill and the Spray Woolen Mill. The Lily Mill manufactures fine dress ginghams and zephyrs. The Nantucket's output consists of staple and dress ginghams and outing flannels. Both mills have complete spinning, dyeing and weaving plants. Cotton blankets are manufactured in the Rhode Island Mill. In addition to spinning and weaving equipment, this mill has a complete dyeing plant. Its production of cotton blankets is about 2600 pairs per day. The Spray Woolen Mill produces wool blankets, the average production being about 1000 pairs a day. All of the processes of manufacturing, from the raw wool to the finished blanket, are carried on in this plant. The expert in textile manufacture will be interested in knowing that much of the spin- ning accomplished is not on ring frames but on mules. At Draper the firm owns two plants. One of these is the Wearwell Blanket Mill, the product of which is indicated by the name. These are cotton blankets with wool finish. The average daily production is 5000 pairs, and these are brought out in more than 300 patterns. The mill's own spinning plant sup- plies all of the yarns used in weaving. The weaving room has 480 looms and is the largest blanket weaving room in the country. To go through this immense weaving room, with its tremendous number of looms in op- eration, is an experience that few ever for- get. The roar of the machinery in operation is almost deafening, with the rise and fall of the loom harnesses which direct the warps, the racing back and forth of the shuttles and the bell-like clanking of the endless chain which is part of each loom's mech- anism. In this mill, as in the other Field plants, the old-time overhead belting has been re- placed by the electric drive, so that through- out the floor there is a clear and unobstructed view and there is no oil to drop down from the shafting and soil the product before it ia completed. Special grades of cotton are used in this Wearwell Blanket Mill in order to make possi- ble the napped surface which makes these blankets so unusually soft and wool-like. The cotton, moreover, is dyed in the raw stock in standard colors, the darker shades being pro- duced later by mixing with cotton already dyed in the color. Grays, for instance, are produced by mixing black and white, tans by combining brown and white, and so on. The total floor space of this mill is 221,224 sq. ft., which is equivalent to a room 100 ft. wide and almost half a mile long. The other Marshall Field & Co. plant at Draper is the Wearwell Sheeting Mill. This mill has a floor space of 109,560 sq. ft. Its product is v/ide sheetings. Here, again, spe- cial care is exercised in the selection of the 118 The Life Story of a Great Concern raw material as well as in the way it is worked up. In addition to sheetings and pillowcase tubing, dimity bedspreads are woven in this plant. A Marshall Field & Co. mill is located at Leaksville, N. C. In this mill over 17,000 satin and crocheted bedspreads are turned out week after week. In their production Jacquard looms are employed, so that the most beautiful and intricate patterns can be embodied in the product. At Leaksville also is located a knit under- wear plant, where yarns are spun and knitted and where the fabrics thus made, after being washed, shrunk, bleached and napped, are made into garments for children's wear. And at the same place is a spinning mill which supplies the yarns for making the knitted fabrics. At Fieldale, Va., Marshall Field & Co. have a mill producing fine mercerized cotton dam- ask and napkins, huck towels and terry towels. The latter are of the kind often referred to as Turkish towels, with a surface composed of small loops. This mill is equipped with 19,200 spindles and 530 looms, of which 130 are of the Jacquard type. In addition to the mills for producing tex- tiles, Marshall Field & Co. own the Spray Bleachery, for the bleaching and finishing of their mill products. At Spray, also, is the firm's American Finishing Mill, where their blankets, ginghams and outer flannels are finished. And at Eoanoke, Va., is a plant for finishing their muslin and knitted under- wear. THE entire replacement of the old ma- chinery with new is in line with the spirit by which the entire Marshall Field & Co. organization has continuously been actuated. In their own plants, as in their dealings with manufacturers, it has been the firm's constant aim to see not how cheaply the goods could be produced but in what way they could be improved. "Quality" is the // is amid such scenes as these that the Marshall Field &■ Co. mills in North Carolina and Virginia are located. The photograph shows the Blue Ridge Mountains near Fieldale. Village at Fieldale and Other Textile Plants 119 watchword, and the means for producing bet- ter merchandise are constantly being in- stalled. Nor are Marshall Field & Co. satisfied with having their salesmen merely know the goods they have to handle. They must know, also, how the goods are made. With this end in view, after the purchase of the additional In these days of giant business organizations, critical analysis of all which makes for profit or loss in a business is of vital interest; hence, anything which stands out as a master stroke in this direction merits, and will surely receive, the attention of every business man. A practical demonstration of this is afforded by the action taken within the last few days by the manage- ment of the great selling organization of Mar- shall Field & Co. Typical of the extent of Marshall Field & Co.'s room in the Wcarwcll Blanket Mill at Draper, N'. C. mills in 1910, the firm sent to their Southern plants their general salesmen and several other members of their wholesale selling force. The salesmen had the opportunity of looking over all of the plants, studying the manufacturing processes and noting the care used in production. In addition, some of the firm's new plans in connection with the manufacture of textiles were laid before the gathering, and the advantages derived from owning the means of production were empha- sized, so that the salesmen would be in a position to pass all this information on to their customers. In commenting on this trip, in its issue of Dec. 31, 1910, the Dry Goods Economist said, in part: Southern manufacturing plants is the weaving This was a trip made a week or two ago by some thirty members of the general sales depart- ment of Marshall Field & Co. to the North Caro- lina mills of that concern, in order that these sale producers might learn all about how the goods are made — from the selection of the raw materials, through the spinning of the yarn, the dyeing, the designing and the weaving, down to the finishing, inspection, packing, etc. This, we believe, is the first time that such a large force has been placed in a position to re- ceive a real merchandise lesson, the first instance of the management of a wholesale house going to great expense for the purpose of giving its sales- men accurate, direct information in regard to the product they are called upon to handle. In inviting every manufacturer, wholesaler and retailer to mark well the introduction of this new and progressive policy in connection with wholesale distribution and the influence which it is bound to exert, the Economist extends its hearty congratulations to those who have been the first to put it into practice. 120 The Life Story of a Great Concern Early in the ensuing year the Dry Goods Economist further expressed its admira- tion for the firm's action by presenting to Marshall Field & Co. a gold medal. This medal bears on its face a design showing Mercury, the god of commerce, pinning the erate rentals. Fuel is supplied to the work- ers at actual cost. The land holdings of Marshall Field & Co. in and about the towns of Spray, Draper and Leaksville aggregate 4000 acres. This has made it possible for the eleven plants In front of the Graded School at Spray, N. C, maintained hy Mar- shall Field & Co. The scholars arc having a "sing." The leader is in the foreground but is hardly distinguishable in the engraving. medal on the breast of a figure representing the dry goods industry. On the reverse are five medallions, surrounded by the words: "Progress," "Originality," "Thought," "Tal- ent" and "Energy." These surround a raised portion bearing an inscription showing to whom the medal was awarded and the reason for the award. THE mills at Spray and the other centers are located in a beautiful section of the country — in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, along the picturesque Smith and Dan rivers. It is a region rich in history and tradition, with an excellent climate and a plentiful supply of pure water. The employees live in clean, comfortable houses, leased to them by the firm at mod- to be spread over a sufficiently large area to avoid congestion. Every effort, moreover, has been made to provide for the physical, moral and mental welfare of the operatives. Problems of housing, sanitation, educa- tion, recreation and general community de- velopment have been studied, and solved. This is as true of Fieldale as it is of Spray, Dra- per and Leaksville. This work has been car- ried on by a separate department of the firm, organized especially for the purpose. It is in charge of an able executive, who is supported by a staff of assistants of experience and abil- ity. With this department the secretaries and assistants of the Y. M. C. A. co-operate. As in the other activities of the firm in behalf of its workers, however, paternalism is strictlv avoided. The aim is to foster and Village at Fieldale and Other Textile Plants 121 develop initiative on the part of the people themselves and to so handle each undertaking as to create harmony between the operatives and the management — in this case, the mill officers and the managers. The homes in which the employees live and which, as stated before, are leased to them by the firm at a moderate charge, are comfortable, well-constructed cottages, with electric lights and other conveniences. At Spray and also at Fieldale these homes form a residential suburb. In styles of archi- tecture the dwellings vary widely, so that in place of the deadly monotony and uni- formity too often characteristic of work- people's living sections, there is a pleasing and stimulating diversity. Each of these homes is surrounded by a spacious lot, and the tenants enjoy develop- ployed, and give instruction in the preven- tion of disease, the care of the sick, home economics, and so forth. Special attention is devoted to the water supply. Educational facilities of a broad charac- ter are also provided. In Spray there is a graded school which has been described by some of those who have seen it as the finest J of its kind in the country. It accommodates 575 pupils and has a large auditorium, a gym- nasium and baths. There is also the Leaksville-Spray High School, with provision for 120 pupils. And there is the Draper School, which can take care of 450. Vocational education, too, is provided for the mill employees. These classes are free and embrace technical courses on a number of subjects, among these being all the Here is a happy crowd of mill workers. They are employees of the Marshall Field & Co. plants at Draper, N. C, enjoying a May Day Festival ing their own gardens, flower-beds and lawns. A staff of trained nurses looks after the health and sanitation of each of these com- munities. The nurses visit the homes of the workers, without charge to those em- branches of manufacturing cotton and wool textiles. During one year some two hundred men were enrolled in these classes. There is also, for managers, superintend- ents and foremen, a course in scientific pro- duction methods. This course is of three 122 The Life Story of a Great Concern months' duration, and each time it is given it is availed of by something like two hun- dred. Excellent boarding-houses have been built by the firm and are conducted along home-like lines for single people who are not members of local families. These houses are located where they are most convenient for the workers. Each home or boarding- house is in charge of a competent matron, and the meals are planned and prepared by a graduate dietitian. Following out the principle which has proved so potent a factor in the development of other branches of the Marshall Field & Co. organization, the executives in the mills, as a rule, have been drawn from the ranks of the employees. Some of the managers and superintendents were working in the mills at the time the plants were purchased by Marshall Field & Co., and it is since then that they have reached their present posi- tions. In this development the vocational courses to which reference has just been made have proved valuable factors. At Fieldale, Marshall Field & Co. under- took the arduous project of building an entirely new industrial city. Fieldale is located about twenty-five miles northeast of Spray, just across the dividing line between North Carolina and Virginia. Lying a little farther up the Smith River, the new town is located in a long valley formed by high hills, through which runs a river. Having purchased 2000 acres, Marshall Field & Co. own the entire valley and the crests of many of the hills by which it is enclosed. At the edge of the river there has been built a power plant, as well as the mill wherein damasks, napkins and towels are produced. Close at hand are a bleachery and a packing and shipping plant. Back a short distance from these works is a plant for the clarifying and purifying of water for the bleachery and for other purposes. The homes of the operatives are on the hill, several hundred feet above the river. Looking into the future, Marshall Field & Co. estimate that in time Fieldale will have a population of 15,000 people and will become a model for industrial cities in the United States. Houses of the Swiss chalet type have been erected and, as is the case at the North Carolina plants, these are rented to employees at a moderate charge. There are also churches, schools and recreation centers. Plans are also under way for the erection of a six-story cotton spinning plant at Fieldale. Equipped with 250,000 spindles, this will be one of the largest spinning plants in the world. Adjacent to it will be a weav- ing room containing 5000 looms. Roanoke, where is located the plant for the finishing of muslin undergarments and knitted underwear, above mentioned, is sit- uated a few miles north of Fieldale. CHAPTER XXII ZION LACE INDUSTRIES AND OTHER FACTORIES STRESS has been laid on the Southern duced three grades of wool rugs, the highest mills owned and operated by Marshall grade being probably the finest grade of Field & Co. both because of their location, Wiltons made in the United States. This equipment and products and because they grade is particularly noteworthy because of include the development of model towns as the lustrous sheen which is one of its char- Lace machines in the Zion Lace Industries plant. well as industrial plants. These Southern plants, however, are but a part of the great manufacturing enterprises carried on by Marshall Field & Co. In New York City there is a Field fac- tory manufacturing undermuslins. In close proximity to the metropolis, too, viz., at Union Hill, N. J., there is a silk plant owned and operated by the Field firm. One of the most important manufactur- ing plants owned by Marshall Field & Co. is in Philadelphia. In this plant are pro- 123 acteristics, giving it a beautiful velvety effect. Not only at the plant but in the de- partment of the wholesale business in Chi- cago skilled and clever designers are en- gaged in the production of new designs and color combinations. In this they have the co- operation of the managers of the firm's Orien- tal rug departments, both the wholesale and the retail, with the result that the Field prod- ucts are marked by exceptional originality and beauty. 124 The Life Story of a Great Concern It should particularly be mentioned that in the third or lowest grade of rugs made in the Philadelphia plant the designs and color com- binations are just as artistic and just as beau- tiful as those brought out in the first-quality goods. Many manufacturers and many re- tailers, too, hold that inartistic patterns must be produced in rugs that are to be sold to cer- tain classes of trade. This is not the way with Marshall Field & Co., however. Carrying out the principle inaugurated and continued during his lifetime by Mr. Field, the rug mill, like all other departments of the business, is actuated by a keen desire to edu- cate the public, to teach all consumers that artistry is just as desirable in low-priced mer- chandise as it is in the most costly products of Oriental looms. It is almost startling, in- deed, to one familiar with rug lines to go through the range of the third grade of rugs made by the Field mill and learn how artistic are the effects that prove acceptable to what is known as the "popular" trade. Another manufacturing plant owned and operated by Marshall Field & Co. that holds special interest for distributors and for the general public is the Zion Lace Industries at Zion City, 111. For this interest there are several reasons. One of these is presented in the conditions under which the plant was established and for some years operated. Another is that the plant was the pioneer in the manufacture of laces in this country. A third reason lies in the won- derful degree of improvement in the product subsequent to the plant's becoming the prop- erty of Marshall Field & Co. Readers of somewhat advanced age will recall the rather spectacular career of Alexander Dowie, "the Evangelist," as he was generally called, including his efforts to es- tablish a lace industry in the United States. It was Dowie's idea to found a city whose inhabitants should consist of his followers or converts, and which should be conducted along religious lines. In this he was par- tially successful. His purpose is carried out and bids fair to be perpetuated, in a measure. in the city of which he was the founder — the City of Zion — and in the lace plant which he succeeded in organizing and equipping. One of Dowie's aims was to make his people self-supporting. To this end he brought over from England the machinery needed for lace manufacturing, together with a number of operatives who had the training that would fit them to train his followers in the operation of the machines and the performance of other lace-making operations. That Dowie was a pioneer in the manu- facture of lace in America is attested by a diploma certifying to this fact by the Chi- cago Historical Society. An interesting reminiscence of Dowie and his lace plant can be seen to-day in the lace curtain department of the wholesale house of Marshall Field & Co. This is a large portrait of Dowie, bearded and venerable- looking, as befits an "Evangelist," and woven in lace on a background of similar material. With the death of Dowie, in 1905, his en- terprise languished, and his lace plant, with all its equipment, was purchased by Mar- shall Field & Co. Thus the Zion Lace Indus- tries became one of the Marshall Field enter- prises, and, as in the case of the other indus- tries taken up by the firm, great improvements have been effected, both in the plant and in its product. To-day the lace department in the Marshall Field & Co., wholesale, can show you beautiful laces in various forms, from narrow Valen- ciennes up to wide, shadow lace flouncings, made in one branch of the Zion Lace Industries. In another division are produced lace cur- tains and curtain goods. At the present time this part of the Zion plant is running on yard- age goods for the making of curtains, more especially Nottinghams and filet nets. Since 1911 this lace curtain fabric divi- sion has been running night and day, and at all times since that year has experienced a demand greater than it could supply. For this reason, while the division can produce any ordinary type of lace curtain material. Zion Lace Industries and Other Factories 125 its product is confined to staple merchandise. In another branch of the Zion Lace In- dustries plant fine qualities of lace handker- chiefs are produced. Since the Zion Lace Industries were taken over by Marshall Field & Co. their output has been trebled, and in their lace product, especially, there has been a wonderful de- velopment of quality and design. In fact, the plant produces laces so fine that it is difficult to distinguish them from imported laces of similar kinds. Zion City being within an hour's ride of Chicago, Marshall Field & Co.'s salesmen, both in the wholesale and in the retail, fre- quently visit the plant and familiarize them- selves with the processes of manufacturing, thus acquiring a fund of information which they can pass on to their customers. Fre- quently, too, visiting merchants and buyers are taken through the plant. Women's clubs and other organizations have also visited the plant and the processes of lace manu- facturing have been explained to them. Recently a motion, picture was produced showing how fine laces are made. These films have been shown in many moving pic^ ture theaters as well as before a number of clubs and other associations. IN Chicago itself Marshall Field & Co. have eight manufacturing plants, these being distinct from the workshops and workrooms which form part of the retail establishment. One of these plants is devoted to women's neckwear, another to wash dresses. In a third sheets and pillowcases are made and in a fourth window shades. Burlap bags are the product of a recently built well- equipped factory, in the new southwest side manufacturing district. Cotton and wool bat- ting is produced under another roof, and com- forters, pillows, mattresses and box springs in still another. The eighth plant in Chicago consists of laboratories in which are produced a wide range of perfumes and other toilet prepara- tions. One feature of this plant is its utter cleanliness, something which diflferentiates it in no small degree from some of the lab- oratories which pride themselves on the quality of their product and yet which do not manufacture under the most hygienic conditions. The capacity of the sheet and pillowcase plant is 1000 dozen of these kinds of mer- chandise per day. The comforter factory dur- ing the season turns out 100 dozen per day. The burlap bag factory, which was recently constructed, is equipped to care for the manu- facture of 100,000 bags per day. The batting factory makes large use of by- products from the Marshall Field & Co. mills in the South. To this purpose the waste prod- uct from the napping machines especially lends itself, so that the batts produced in the firm's Chicago plant are of exceptionally good quality. A part of the sheeting used in the sheet and pillowcase plant is supplied by the firm's mills at Spray. Other material of this char- acter is obtained from other sources in the gray and finished in the Marshall Field & Co. bleachery at Spray. Incidentally, all of the goods finished at Spray are sold direct to their trade by Marshall Field & Co. or consumed in the firm's own factories. One proof, among many, as to the care exercised to have the product exceptionally meritorious is found in the tape edge or selv- edge which characterizes the sheeting woven for the sheet and pillowcase factory. This sheeting mill has been running night and day since 1915 and has difficulty in supplying the needs of the firm. As to the outlet for the burlap bags, these' being a class of merchandise that is not dis- tributed through retail stores, inquiry elicited the statement that large quantities of them go to potato raisers and to grain growers. Many of the bags go to onion growers, and we were informed that these bags as made by Mar- shall Field & Co. enjoy an especially high reputation. The toilet goods plant, in addition to the cleanliness already referred to, is equipped 126 The Life Story of a Great Concern with machinery of the most modern type. All of the tanks are of burnished copper tin-lined. The perfumes are extracted from the pomade or grease form in which the odor of the flowers of Grasse and Cannes in the south of France, are preserved and shipped to this country in the same manner as that in which this work is performed by the best French perfumers. It is characteristic of the methods pur- sued by Marshall Field & Co. that in every instance the establishment of a factory has been the result of the initiative of some de- partment head and of his insistence on the soundness of the project to which he had com- mitted himself. The firm has furnished the capital but the responsibility of fitting up and equipping the plant, putting in operation and keeping it running has been entrusted to the originator of the idea. As just one example of this take the bag factory. The firm had always been a large importer of burlaps. They had a representa- tive in Calcutta looking after the supplies of this article. The department head who was handling the burlap saw that there were pos- sibilities in a bag factory. He put the propo- sition up to the firm, and after they had con- vinced themselves that he was possessed of the necessary resolution and determination to make it a success they placed the entire project in his hands. To him was entrusted the acquisition of the necessary real estate and the erection and equipment of the factory. And when everything was ready for opera- tion he was given general supervision of the plant and was made responsible for the mar- keting of the product. Still another important manufacturing plant in this country owned and conducted by Marshall Field & Co. is the one at Monti- cello, Ind., mentioned in Chapter XX and in which is produced a wide range of crochet and embroidery cottons, yarns and other material for fancy needlework, as well as spool cotton and sewing silks. Mercerization is one of the important features. The crochet yarns include silk and worsted and mohair and worsted. This plant also produces warps for the use of weaving plants. Long ago Marshall Field & Co. recognized the growing importance of Philippine hand- embroidered wear for women and children and established facilities for the production of embroidered waists, undergarments, etc. A long and varied list of industries, in- deed, in which Marshall Field & Co. are suc- cessfully engaged. A mighty development, too, from the early days of the concern's business. CHAPTER XXIII WONDERFUL WORKROOMS IN RETAIL STORE IT is important to note that besides the fac- tories whose products are distributed by the wholesale there are workrooms and fac- tories owned and conducted by Marshall Field tories and are located outside of the retail store building. One of the most remarkable of the work- room factories, to coin a sufficiently expres- Floorcases of special design are a feature of the candy section in the retail store of Marshall Field & Co. & Co. which produce goods for the firm's re- tail store. Reference to these was made in Chapter XII. They well deserve extended de- scription, however. Some of these retail plants, though known as "workrooms" have developed into actual factories; others are still workrooms, while there are other plants producing for the re- tail which were originally established as fac- sive phrase, is that which is still known as "the jewelry workroom." It is much more than that, however, as the following statement will show. It is, indeed, a fully equipped factory, em- ploying a large number of men and women and having several important departments. The factory is capable of starting with the raw metal and turning out anything in the 127 128 The Life Story of a Great Concern jewelry or silverware line. It produces rings and pins set with diamonds and other precious stones; it makes magnificent cups and com- plete services of solid silver. It has a foundry for casting all kinds of pieces, and for these the factory makes both the designs and the models from which the castings are made. It has the equipment for plating silver, copper and nickel. Incidentally, it uses from three to four tons of copper a year, with a propor- tionate use of silver and gold, as well as platinum. Much of the copper is employed in the making of brass, and this alloy is employed for many purposes, among these being picture frames, artistic figures for decorating large mantel clocks, book-ends, metal plates, and so on. There is "spinning" machinery which produces metal plates that are famous for ^their quality. Said the merchandiser of the department in which the products of the factory are sold, as he pointed out the good qualities of one of these plates or platters, "The reason we make these is because we can't buy them good enough. We can't get them good enough out- side." That expresses the Marshall Field & Co. purpose just as many another department head in the retail and in the wholesale ex- pressed it during interviews had for the ob- taining of facts for this history. But to continue with the things this so- called "jewelry workroom" can do. /^ It grinds lenses, on prescriptions from the store's optical department and on prescrip- tions from outside oculists. It has for this work machinery of the most delicate character capable of complying with every requirement. It fits the lenses into frames of various kinds. It has a large department where clocks and watches are repaired. At the time of our visit a dozen men were at work in this department alone. The factory has many workers employed in engraving silver and gold pieces of all kinds. The designs for such work are drawn on the watchcase, spoon, pin or whatever the article may be, by a young woman artist. This for the reason that there must be a de- sign expressive of the firm's identity and not evolved by the engraver. Designs for rings, pins and other jewelry are drawn in colors and submitted to the cus- tomer at the retail counter, who can thus make her selection and have the article made to suit her individual taste. The engraving section also works on call- ing cards and copper-plate engraving for other purposes. Wonderfully fine and delicate lettering, or "text", to use the technical term, is a feature with this branch. It is further noteworthy that Marshall Field & Co. have succeeded in perfecting machines which print this fine and delicate "text" with greater sure- ness and accuracy than can be done by hand. Another important and most rich and ar- tistic line for which this factory is respon- sible is engraved stationery. The monogram designs worked out and applied, in colors, in gold, in silver or in combinations of some of these are most original and beautiful. They are truly a delight to the eye and the more so as they harmonize or contrast most ef- fectively with the hue of the paper to which they are applied. One of the newest and most alluring of these monogram designs is the "mosaic", so- called because it faithfully reproduces the mo- tifs of the mosaic jewelry made in Venice and so greatly admired by tourists when visiting Italy. Near to the engraving section may be seen young women painting designs in colors on small glass trays. Others are also painting designs on glass pieces, but these designs are painted on the gold decoration of the glass and when the pieces have gone through the proper process the designs alone will be in the gold. The factory not only makes metal handbag frames ; it also makes the bags — in leather as well as in fabric. It repairs traveling bags and suitcases. It makes another kind of bag, viz., those of cotton, in close semblance of chamois, for the protection of silver articles. There is much that is practical as well as Wonderful W orkrooms in Retail Store 129 artistic about this "jewelry workroom." It looks after its own shipping and delivery. It takes care that its goods shall reach the cus- tomer in the best possible shape. To this end, every article goes under the careful and ex- pert eyes of an inspector before being sent away, and special forms of protection are em- ployed. Note particularly the way the factory puts up large clocks that have been entrusted to it for repair. These do not go into a package surrounded by excelsior. They are placed in fiber-made containers made for the purpose, and around and above and below the timepiece is placed a thickly wadded cloth. This "jewelry workroom" doubtless de- rives its everyday appellation from the fact that when it was established eighteen years ago it was a jewelry workroom — just that and nothing more. Like every other division of the Marshall Field & Co. institution, it has grown and developed. And, as in every other division of the great, far-spreading institu- tion, men have grown with it. The man who has direct charge of the fac- tory was formerly employed at the desk in the store where articles of jewelry and kindred nature were received for repair. He was found to have a good head for manufacturing and was transferred t6 the factory. He has now been at the head of the plant for several years, though, as above suggested, under the general direction of the merchandiser of those departments of the Marshall Field & Co. re- tail store which handle the factory's diversi- fied and costly products. The boot and shoe plant, in which, in addi- tion to repairing, custom footwear is made for customers of the retail store, is another ex- ample of Marshall Field & Co. thoroughness and determination to produce only the best. When we entered this workroom we fairly gasped with astonishment. We were far from being prepared to find a plant of such magni- tude, even though we well knew that with up- stairs and basement shoe sections of such ex- tent as those in the Marshall Field & Co. store the repair demand would be a tremendous factor. Inquiry of the department head elic- ited the statement that the area of the shoe sections is as follows: Upstairs in the main store building, 20,500 sq. ft.; basement in main building, 10,600 sq. It.; shoe department in the Store for Men, 8000 sq. ft. Not only does the shoe workshop do all kinds of repairing. It is also a complete shoe- making plant. It turns out some thousands of pairs annually and in so doing performs all the operations of shoe manufacture, including the cutting and sewing of all uppers. A large proportion of the custom shoe business carried on by the Field store is in the making of orthopedic footwear, and it is surprising as well as pitiful to observe some of the lasts on which shoes for deformed feet are made. While the production of footwear prescribed by physicians constitutes a large part of the plant's business, it is by no means in the majority. The normal-footed custom- ers who go to Field's to have their footwear made to order are numerous also. That those who deal with this shoe fac- tory, for such it really is, are well pleased with its work is unmistakably manifested by the number of times they come back for more. Many of the customers have their private lasts. Picking up one of these at random, the de- partment head pointed to the numbers placed on it for keeping track of orders. These num- bers showed that orders had been placed by the customer in question no less than fourteen times. Orders are received from all parts of the country. This plant, which now employs from 75 to 80 skilled workmen in repairing and making shoes, was started in a small way as a repair shop many years ago. It was developed largely through the initiative of the depart- ment head, who saw the opportunities pre- sented in the making of orthopedic footwear to order and began to seek the co-operation of physicians. The first pair of shoes turned out in the shop was made by the department head himself. Another example of Marshall Field & Co.'s 130 The Life Story of a Great Concern entering on manufacture at the instance and insistence of a member of the store personnel is presented by the candy department and fac- tory in the retail store. The man who many years ago was chiefly instrumental in getting this branch of the business started, and who still directs it, was employed in the account- ing and systems offices. He was desirous of getting into the merchandising end and saw that in the making and selling of candy there was an opportunity both for himself and the firm. Thus there has been developed and built up what is believed to be the largest candy factory in this country which produces high- est quality goods. The character and extent of the candy business in Marshall Field & Co.'s retail store is evident to any one who visits the department and observes the mer- chandise and the scale on which the business is carried on. There are numerous points about the de- partment itself which are well worthy of note by merchants. All of the candy handled in the department is made in the firm's plant, which is located on the top floor of the main retail building. Behind the wall shelving in the department space is provided for the carrying of stock and the wrapping of goods. This stock is carried in spotlessly clean trays, in covered tin canisters, or, in the case of small hard candies, in metal bins above the counters. From these bins the candies drop at the touch of a lever. The purpose of these stock and packing spaces is to quickly supply a customer with any kind of candy she may ask for, even if she does not see it in the floorcases in which goods are carried as well as displayed. These floorcases were specially designed by the department head. The woodwork is re- duced to a minimum, and instead of the flat top and wholly straight-up-and-down front, the floorcase slopes backwards from a point about half-way between the floor and the top of the case. This gives increased display space and high visibility ; there is no reflectica to interfere with the view of the goods within. To insure perfect cleanliness there is in connection with each stock and packing space a washstand with towels. Specialization in candies is carried to a fine point. There are birthday boxes — a dif- ferent color for each month in the year, these colors matching those of the birthstone : sap- phire, emerald, topaz, or whatever. For the diamond there is a white box with high lus- trous finish; pearl is represented by white with a soft, mat finish. For each month there is an appropriate verse of poetry daintily printed on the inside of the lid. There are boxes wherein the candy is ar- ranged so as to suggest the national emblem, the stripes in red and in white and the union in blue candy interspersed with fragments in glittering, star-like effect. There are baskets of candy put up for convalescents. There is the bridal box, in which the candy is emblematical of matrimony. There is an old shoe made of chocolate. The choco- lates of ordinary shape bear the initial of the bride or groom. Inside the lid is printed in- formation relative to wedding customs and their origin; the casting of the shoe, the throwing of rice, and so forth. And on re- moving the tray the newly-weds are reminded that even matrimony has its crosses by an emblem of this shape made by duly arranging dark chocolates and white bonbons. Candy made in the retail store factory is also sold in the basement. There, however, the goods are handled more in the ordinary way. Absolute cleanliness, daylight in every sec- tion and the use of modern methods and ap- pliances mark the plant, on the. thirteenth floor, in which the goods are made. Skylights and windows make the rooms bright. The ventilation system makes them airy. Washing sinks and a liberal supply of fresh towels in- sure the absence of dirt or other foreign mat- ter on hands or in utensils. The floors are tiled. Whiteness is everywhere. To provide a low temperature in which to carry on the flnal operation of "dipping" there Wonderful Workrooms in Retail Store 131 is a spacious room in which refrigerated, washed air is forced through ducts and drawn out by means of fans. In this room we saw pure white of egg used for chocolate creams. Stock is kept in this same low temperature on shelves behind glass. The cream used in the plant is of the finest quality and direct from the farm. It contains 22 per cent of butter fat. Hard candies are made before open fires. The cool- ing of candies is done on slabs of steel or marble refrigerated in the proper degree. We were informed furthermore that no preservatives are employed in the making of Marshall Field & Co. candies. All of the workrooms in the Field store are well lighted, but to none does this statement apply more fully than to the one in which skins and furs are treated and made into gar- ments or pieces and customers' garments, etc., are cleaned and repaired. North light is a decided advantage in the handling of furs and in the selection of garments made there- from; so in this workroom we find plenty of windows facing in the right direction and counters and other appliances set close to these windows. The equipment includes blowers, using compressed air, for removing dust, moths, etc., and also machines combining beating as well as suction devices for what might be termed "obstinate cases." There are circular revolving bins in which pelts are softened and various other appliances. The fur storage rooms are close at hand. Of these freezing temperature vaults there are three, each with four tiers or floors. These vaults handle in the course of a year about 40,000 pieces and figured on the value set on the garments and other articles by the customers this represents a value of not less than $12,000,000. The garments and pieces made up in this plant and sold in the retail store of Marshall Field & Co. are of the very highest type. The number of operatives employed averages 200. The plant in which millinery is designed and made up for sale in the retail and also for custom orders placed by women who desire something exclusive, is as light and airy as the other factories and workrooms. It is divided into five rooms, or sections, each of which is under the guidance of a head trimmer, the whole being under the direction and supervision of a manager. There are made up for stock in the retail during each year no less than 60,000 hats, in addition to all the hats made up to suit indi- vidual or exclusive ideas on the part of cus- tomers. All operations in hat developing are carried on. In some cases the hat frame is molded to fit the customer's head. Many orders are taken for hats to be de- signed and made up for weddings or other important functions of a fashionable nature. Frequently the entire millinery outfit for the bride and her bridesmaids is thus furnished by the Marshall Field & Co. millinery section, with the aid of the workrooms. A number of ideas and methods have been conceived and put into practice in this milli- nery workroom that are well worthy of study and emulation on the part of department stores and millinery concerns. There are in the machine section several complete equip- ments, each of which serves certain units. Thus, if a girl needs to use an ironing table, for example, she has to travel but a short dis- tance. This saves both time and energy. Flowers, ornaments and ribbons are dis- played in floorcases, just as they would be in a retail store. These displays are changed from time to time. The purpose of this is to keep goods before the eyes of the trimmers. Often a girl will stop in passing one of the displays. Something there has caught her eye and given her an idea. It has just occurred to her that she can use that flower or ribbon or whatever in work on which she is engaged. One result of this method of displaying goods is that a demand can be created on the part of the trimmers for materials which are perfectly good but are perhaps not quite so new as those the trimmer would naturally choose were it not for the suggestions which the displays provide. 132 The Life Story of a Great Concern Another idea that is bringing splendid re- sults is the use of specially made boxes. These boxes have glass inserted in the front, so that the contents are visible. In the case of flow- ers and plumage there is a partition near the front, in which a sample is placed. In the case of silks and velvets no such partition, of course, is necessary. The boxes are placed In plain wood shelving built to accommodate the box without waste of space. These boxes are of solid, substantial char- acter. They are easy to open and close, and thus minimize the danger of carelessness which leads to injured or damaged merchan- dise. Moreover, in connection with the dis- plays they tend to create in the minds of the workers a respect for their merchandise. This is a mighty valuable attitude from several standpoints, more especially when, as in this Marshall Field & Co. workroom, the average number of workpeople is around 250. The foregoing are just a few conditions which cause this millinery workroom of Mar- shall Field & Co. to differ from those in far too many retail stores in this important par- ticular: that it is a profit-maker. As already indicated, in addition to the plants located on upper floors of the main re- tail building, there are several workrooms and actual factories operated in behalf of the re- tail and located in some other structure. In one of these outside factories are manu- factured clothing for men, young men and boys. This plant, located on Western Avenue, is wholly modern in equipment, having been put in operation in 1919. The rug, carpet and furniture workroom is located in a ten-story building at Fulton and Desplaines streets, this building also serving as the warehouse for the retail re- serve stocks of those lines. This last men- tioned plant employs 275 operatives, making goods to order for customers of Marshall Field & Co.'s retail store. CHAPTER XXIV SYSTEM AND METHODS IN WHOLESALE BRANCH WHAT may be termed system methods can be touched on in a history of this kind only in so far as they tend to demonstrate the care for the customers' in- terests which has been so important a factor in the upbuilding of the business. the orders that have thus come in. This saves a delay of several hours that would otherwise occur. In the packing and shipping rooms, too, accurate track is kept of the progress being made in the filling of each order. Conse- Part of the extensive hading platform which runs aluny the Quiitcy Street side of the mam wholesale building. Among such methods in force with Mar- shall Field & Co., wholesale, is that of keeping a night force engaged in opening the mail and segregating the orders according to depart- ments. Under this plan the mail is brought into the building at various times during the night and, as a result of this immediate han- dling, the order-filling force, on arriving at eight a. m., is enabled to get right to work on quently, if a request comes in for hurry-up work on a certain shipment it receives im- mediate attention. Saving of time and labor is effected wher- ever possible in the handling of goods. A quaint sight in the basement of the warehouse and service building across Quincy Street from the main wholesale building is a tractor hauling a string of the wheeled hampers 133 134 The Life Story of a Great Concern which in most if not all other establish- ments are propelled by man power. Tractors equipped with an elevating device are also used in the firm's warehouses for the stacking of heavy cases. A partial conception of the magnitude of the wholesale business of Marshall Field & Co. is afforded by the loading platform which ex- tends along the greater part of the Quincy Street side of the main building. This plat- form is protected by a roof or canopy of steel and glass. All day and every day motor trucks and wagons are backing up to this plat- form, receiving their loads and departing for freight station or pier. The number of vehi- cles that can be loaded at one time is 18. The trucks and wagons employed by the wholesale are housed and cared for in the cen- tral garage, to which reference has been made in an earlier chapter. The number of vehicles charged to the wholesale is 111. The number in use varies, of course, according to the sea- son and the amount of business being done. IT can readily be realized that to dispose of such vast quantities of merchandise, in so many and such diverse lines, a force of sales- men that is skilful as well as numerous is essential. Inquiry shows that in the division of the country into selling territories and in the division and control of salesmen's work Marshall Field & Co. have worked out a sys- tem which is well conceived and carefully planned and which functions to the advantage of the firm's customers as well as to that of the house itself. Several years ago, with a view to the elimi- nation of needless expense and unremunera- tive trips, a careful investigation and analysis was made of the country-wide territory to be served and the trade possibilities of various cities and towns. Through such analysis there was devised a system under which great distribution can be effected at minimum cost, to the advantage of the firm's customers, who share in the economies effected through the lower prices which the economy makes pos- sible. The country served by the Chicago house is divided into territories, fifteen in all, each under the direction of a competent head. Each territory has been sub-divided into a number of sections according to the number of towns to be covered, and each of these sections is taken care of by a gen- eral line salesman, who is permanently lo- cated in his section. These general line sales- men work under the immediate direction of the division manager of the territory in which they are located. In addition to the general line salesmen there are special salesmen, who four times a year or so cover certain territory in behalf of their departments, and combination salesmen who sell the goods of two or possibly more de- partments. Neither the special salesmen nor the com- bination salesmen make all the towns covered by the general line salesmen. The special salesmen cover centers wherein the stores are departmentized. Where the merchandise is bought by the merchant himself or by himself and one of his aids the needs of such a store can be looked after by the combination sales- man and the general line salesman. The aim of Marshall Field & Co., wholesale, has been to specialize where specialization is essential or desirable in the interests of the customer, but to avoid lost motion, and duplication of effort as well as conflict between the general line salesman and the special salesman. Moreover, the special and the combination salesmen have to do with advance orders, while the general line salesmen take care of the mer- chant's immediate wants, or, in other words, his duplicate and fill-in orders, except in towns into which the special and the combination salesmen do not go. The division managers make periodical trips through their territory, maintaining contact with the customers as well as counsel- ing and directing the work of the salesmen. Curiosity will, no doubt, be felt as to the sources from which a house of the magnitude of Marshall Field & Co. draws its recruits to the ranks of its wholesale salesmen, more es- System and Methods in Wholesale Branch 135 An Added Distinction to Men's Dress pecially in view of the long records of so many of the employees of this firm. Well, many of the salesmen have come up from quite minor positions. The order filling de- partments aiford observing and ambitious young men exceptionally good opportunities for becoming well informed both with re- gard to the mer- chandise and as to the custom- ers. These young men learn of the kinds of goods this or that merchant or concern is in the habit of buy- ing. Many suc- cessful sales- men, especially among the gen- eral line men, have come orig- inally from re- tail stores. These were young men who had through some years of experience be- hind the counter become familiar with all lines of merchandise. Good oppor- tunities for ad- vancement also are offered to the house assist- ants of the division managers. They spend some time each day visiting departments, studying the merchandise. Altogether, the selling force to-day is about equally divided between men who have come in from the out- side and those who have been developed in the house. It should be noted, however, that Marshall Field & Co. do not seek the services of men who are connected with other concerns. The young men with whom they are willing to talk in connection with a position are those who are desirous of connecting themselves with Marshall Field & Co. through a strong belief in the opportunities such a connection will afford. And that An example of the advertising of Marshall Field & Co. wholesale. the opportuni- ties to men of ability and en- ergy are great the large in- comes earned by many men in the organization to-day as well as those who have been able to retire with a competency most emphati- cally attest. Between their trips the special salesmen spend their time in the house. The general line salesmen visit Chicago at least twice a year to revise their samples and hear talks from merchan- dise men and de- partment heads with a view to their being kept up to date at all times. At such times there is a formal dinner and the men are addressed by some speaker of local or national prominence on subjects vital to the progress of the business. MARSHALL FIELD &" COMPANY- CHICAGO , w furnishing their customers with the means for pushing the sale of the goods are adopted by Marshall Field & Co., wholesale. 136 The Life Story of a Great Concern An example of more elaborate provision for aiding retailers in selling is a fixture, sup- plied with merchandise bought from the firm, which enables a store to set up a complete gift shop. This fixture is in dark oak. It is about 6 ft. high and has four shelves on the outside as well as on the inside. It is made in units, so that the gift shop can be large or small, as desired. For ex- ample, a square room with entrance and exit can be formed, sufficiently spacious to accom- modate a round table in the center. The com- pleteness of the outfit is shown by the fact that it is wired for the displaying of boudoir lamps. A sign is provided, to be placed at the en- trance. Advertising matter, bearing the cus- tomer's name, is supplied, together with a high-class illustrated booklet on gift merchan- dise, which is issued every second month. This gift shop has been availed of not only by department stores but also by furniture stores. In connection with the sale of books there is a fixture which was designed by the head of that department and certain others. This is in the form of a bookcase. It is sold at cost to the retailer who buys an assortment of books. The advertising department of Marshall Field & Co., wholesale, is more than an ad- vertising bureau. Its aim is to be of real service to the customers of the house as well as to keep them informed in regard to its merchandise. It supplies merchants with advertising ideas, plans, layouts, copy and other sugges- tions, thus not only giving the idea but show- ing in every detail how it can be carried out. And, as these outlines are distributed month- ly, they come to the merchant just at the right time for him to use them in getting out pub- licity that is appropriate for the period or season. Under the title of "Field's Quality News" the firm publishes monthly a magazine and catalog or price list, in which are printed instructive and stimulating articles for the merchant's reading. In these articles the merchant is counseled to adopt the very same methods that have proved so successful with the firm itself. In one way or another he is informed as to the advantages inherent in selling merchandise not on a basis of price but on that of value; he is urged to try to sell as fine an article in each price classification as possible rather than being content to push the cheapest article. This same method underlies the advertis- ing plans, copy and cuts supplied to the mer- chant. In every editorial furnished by Mar- shall Field & Co. a suggestion for the mer- chant to run the word "quality" appears and emphasis is placed on that feature of his mer- chandise. This in itself tends to educate re- tailers to handle merchandise that can be re- lied on and depended on in every way. It is all the more educative and impressive because the merchant knows by his contact with the house that insistence on quality has always been one of the most potent factors in the de- velopment of Marshall Field & Co.'s own great business. Stress is also laid on the importance of the merchant advertising the character of his business. He is shown how to advertise his store in an institutional way. Not only news- paper advertising but booklet publicity for stores also receives attention. So it is not surprising to find that the force in this ad- vertising bureau of the wholesale runs all the way from fifteen to twenty in number, accord- ing to the period of the year. In a measure the advertising bureau of the wholesale links up with that of the retail. In other words, some of the best ideas put into effect by the retail are passed on to the mer- chant through the wholesale. In pursuing this course the firm of Marshall Field & Co. may be actuated by a purpose and aim that are of the broadest and most patriotic char- acter. In a previous chapter dealing with the policies and work of the retail store's adver- tising bureau attention was directed to a series of advertisements published by Mar- shall Field & Co. just after the armistice. System and Methods in Wholesale Branch 137 These ads were reproduced by the wholesale, in lessened size, reprinted in a 9 by 12 in. booklet and mailed to merchants, with the sug- gestion that they run the series in their local newspapers. To help them do this the price at which mats or electros were offered by Mar- shall Field & Co. at cost of making and the price was stated under each reproduction. The purpose of this was to obtain wide publicity for a ringing call to the people of this country not to slack off because the war had come to an end, but to keep up the good work during the coming reconstruction period. Another booklet of similar size to the one just mentioned contains reproductions, in actual size, and in the type form as printed, of editorials on broad subjects taken from the firm's retail advertising. This booklet is en- titled "Character Builders." Its inspirational and educative purpose is clearly indicated in those two impressive words. Reference to other printed matter ad- dressed to the trade by Marshall Field & Co. will be made in a later chapter dealing with the broad forms of public service carried on by the firm during many years. CHAPTER XXV EFFECTIVE PUBLIC SERVICE ON MANY OCCASIONS THE methods by which Marshall Field & Co. were able to develop so many able and successful men have been fully maintained by the present management. Giving men re- sponsibility and requiring them to work out their own problems is still the custom alike in the wholesale and in the retail, and this explains in a large measure the progress which the house is making to-day. Quite recently one of the department heads, in referring in an enthusi- astic way to this method and its results, said: "I once asked Mr. Shedd for some advice in connection with the man- agement of my depart- ment. He replied : '"My dear fellow, I put you in charge of the department. You are the man to run it and to solve its problems.' " It was not that Mr. Shedd was at all brusque or unsympathetic in making this response. He evidently desired to emphasize the de- gree in which department heads and others are thrown on their own resources and ex- pected to exercise self-reliance as well as originality. One of the merchandise men, also in the wholesale, in a conversation along the same lines laid stress on the fact that the firm, as he put it, "is constantly making salesmen into merchants." Furthermore, it should be noticed that when a vacancy occurs Marshall Field & Co. do not go outside of their own organization in search of an experienced man. For one rea- son, the Field point of view is regarded as an essential for everyone who holds a position of The fifty-year diamond Iwenty-five-year button. responsibility. Each must understand the "soul of the institution," and this cannot be gained on the outside of the organization. / Reference to this same policy was made in the course of a conversation had by the editor of the Economist with other members of the organization, in the retail as well as in the wholesale. The results are apparent. The knowledge that promotion is the reward for willing and intelligent work is a wonderful incentive to effective activity. It also leads the majority of employees to remain with a concern where such opportunities are presented to them. It is due to the consistent ad- herence to this policy, among others, that the Field organization num- bers among its members so unusually large a per- centage of men and women who have been with the house for the greater part of their lives. To it also is at- tributable the great number of present de- partment heads, merchandise men and men in even higher places who started in the business in a humble capacity. Long years ago the management realized that an additional incentive would be pre- sented if there were adopted a more general mode of recognizing length of service. Ac- cordingly, after five years of service and at intervals of five years thereafter up to 45 years there is presented to each employee a pin, to be worn on the coat lapel or on the dress. This pin bears a suitable inscription. To each employee who has been with the concern fifty years there is given what is medal and the 138 Effective Public Service on Many Occasions 139 known as the diamond medal. This is in gold, set with two % carat brilliants. It is significant of the degree in which Marshall Field consider the services of their co-workers that the number of people who had received the diamond medal prior to August 7, 1922, was forty-one, of whom seven had passed away. On that day, as will be told in a later chapter. President Shedd was invested with this badge of half a century's service, making the number of medal wearers still living thirty-five. Furthermore, there is sent out from the superintendent's office, in the retail store, to each employee of long standing in every branch of the business, and no matter what his position, on the anniversary of entering the concern's employ, a letter of congratula- tion, the wording of which is changed each year. Here is the letter used for this purpose during 1921 : Dear Mr. : Once upon a time Marshall Field & Company were looking for just the right person to occupy a certain position. You appeared upon the scene and became a part of this great organization. That was twenty-five years ago to-day. Many changes have taken place since then — the buildings are not as they were and many of the good friends of the days gone by have severed their relations with us ; but the ideals for which the house stood then and for which we, as individuals, have stood, are still with us — an inspiration to the business world. I congratulate you on the part you have played in maintaining these high standards, and I hope that the coming year may be one of the best of your life. While the letter above quoted goes out, as said, from the superintendent's office, each member of the management takes an active interest in these anniversaries. On one occa- sion President Shedd sent to a lady at the head of one of the departments forty-two American Beauty Roses, one for each year of her service with the house. Many years ago the firm adopted a bonus plan or percentage division of profits. Early in 1911 there was put in force a system under which a considerable number of the depart- ment heads and others holding managing posi- tions and who had been connected with the business for many years had an opportunity to purchase stock in the organization. Those not in a position to purchase the stock out- right were given time in which to pay for the shares allotted to them. It was further announced that as time went on other em- ployees who had displayed marked ability would have a similar opportunity offered to them. In November, 1917, the members of the firm took over all the common stock from the trustees of the Marshall Field Estate, thus acquiring complete control of the business. Thus the holdings of the trustees are now confined to the preferred stock bearing a fixed return. Under this plan the par value of the shares of stock were reduced from $100 a share to $10, the number of shares being increased from 60,000 to 600,000 and the capital stock of the corporation thus remaining unchanged. Under the new arrangement one-half of the shares of the stock are preferred and one-half common. All of the preferred stock was taken by the Estate of Marshall Field, by John G. Shedd and by Stanley Field. However, a considerable share of the pre- ferred stock held by the trustees of the Field Estate was set aside by them in order to give employees who were not owners of com- mon stock an opportunity to invest in the firm's securities. At that time it was an- nounced that in addition to the regular divi- dends on the preferred stock Marshall Field & Co. would pay $2 per share per annum on the preferred stock held by the employees un- der the plan, thus giving them a return of 9 per cent on their investment. Under the plan, moreover, the common stock of the company came into the ownership only of persons actively engaged in the man- agement of the business. With such incentives it is no wonder that the employees everywhere throughout the wholesale and retail buildings — in merchan- dise departments, in offices, in the delivery de- partment, in packing rooms, etc., keep con- stantly before them, and before customers 140 The Life Story of a Great Concern also the following expression of the Marshall Field spirit: THE MARSHALL FIELD & CO. IDEA To do the right thing at the right time, in the right way; to do some things better than they were ever done before; to eliminate errors; to know both sides of the question; to be courteous; to be an ex- ample; to work for the love of work; to anticipate requirements; to develop resources; to recognize no impediments; to master circumstances; to act from reason rather than rule; to be satisfied with nothing short of perfection. THE firm indeed has a record for public service which goes back many years. Marshall Field & Co. have never been found wanting in an emergency in which they could render aid to the community. In December, 1903, when the Iroquois Theater burned, Marshall Field & Co. sup- plied blankets in which to wrap the hundreds of dead, and aided the living by furnishing with clothes the many whose garments had literally been torn from their backs in the struggle to escape from the burning audi- torium. The theater was situated on Randolph Street between State and Dearborn, only a stone's throw from the retail store of Mar- shall Field & Co. The fire occurred about three in the afternoon, during a matinee per- formance, on a day closely preceding New Year's. The cold on that day was so intense as greatly to add to the sufferings of the sur- vivors. Many of these made their way at once to Field's for shelter. These sufferers were taken upstairs to the rest-room, while the most serious cases were cared for in the store's hospital. As soon as the survivors began to enter the store one of the men on the street floor went to the theater, and from what he saw realized that many hundreds of bodies would be taken from the burned building. He re- turned to the store and reported to the man- ager the need of blankets in which to wrap the bodies. These were already being re- moved and, as he says, "were being stacked like cordwood on the sidewalk." By order of the manager blankets in quantities were des- patched from the store by truck, and the wholesale branch of Marshall Field & Co. also was promptly called on to increase the supply. Thus respect was paid to the dead and the ghastliness inseparable from the removal of the bodies was minimized. In the store the caring for the survivors was carried on amid hysterical outbursts of joy as well as of grief and terror, for com- munication was effected with relatives and friends of many of those who had escaped and these rushed to the store to greet those who they feared had been among the hundreds of victims. When the great fire devastated San Fran- cisco in the spring of 1906, shortly after Marshall Field's death, the first message promising substantial help was wired from Chicago, the Ways and Means Committee of the Association of Commerce telegraphing that $100,000 would be contributed for sup- plies of food and clothing. This large sum of money was expended in Chicago. The great- est need was for food and clothing not money, so that the large sum subscribed in Chicago, nearly a million, was laid out in supplies which were sent out by express to the devas- tated territory. Mr. Stanley Field acted as supervisor of the expenditures and saw to the shipping of the various kinds of supplies, devoting practi- cally all of his time to this work during a period of several weeks. Marshall Field & Co. were prominent in furnishing women's underwear as well as blankets, for the reason that the firm had large stocks of these badly needed articles. During the flood which caused such havoc in Dayton and other cities in the great Ohio River Valley in March, 1913, Marshall Field & Co. were requested to loan a man to super- vise the purchase and distribution of neces- saries with a view to relieving want and suf- / fering. W. F. Hypes, general sales manager/ of the firm, immediately undertook the work. The Red Cross was not eauipped at that time. Effective Public Service on Many Occasions 141 / as it has been since, to handle a calamity of such magnitude. Mr. Hypes commandeered the services of all the workers in charitable and philanthropic fields in Chicago and sent them into the flooded district with instruc- tions to send orders to him by telegraph and telephone for the items most needed. The flood occurred on a Friday, and on Saturday morning all available stocks of typhoid antitoxin in the Central West had been shipped to the nearest possible point where it could be utilized. On the Monday morning telegrams asking for supplies were received from the representatives above men- tioned, and on the afternoon of the same day a solid train of seventeen cars left Chicago for Columbus, Ohio, from which point distri- bution was to be made. Men had not realized that the supplies could be gotten together and forwarded with such speed. Again on July 24, 1915, when a large ex- cursion steamboat, the Eastland, foundered at its dock, with hundreds of casualties, the city Health Department found that it lacked stretchers and other means for caring for the injured and removing the dead. While the of- ficials were at their wits' end as to whom to call on for these essentials the trucks of Mar- shall Field & Co. began backing up to the scene of the accident, these trucks bearing hundreds of stretchers and bale after bale of blankets. A department manager at Field's, in the retail store, on learning of the disaster, real- ized that stretchers would be needed. There were no stretchers in the store, but he im- mediately informed one of his assistants where a quantity of 12-oz. duck would be found and instructed him to have a dozen bolts of it taken to the basement at once. He directed another of his men to go to the drap- eries department and have sent to the base- ment as many curtain poles as possible. "Get several hundred poles down there," he said, "and I will be waiting there for you." When the men arrived with the curtain poles not only was the department head there, but he had with him a number of young men armed with hammers and heavy tacks. The duck was cut into the right lengths and tacked onto the poles. Thus in the brief- est time hundreds of stretchers were impro- vised. Meantime, trucks had been ordered to the store and in them were placed not only the improvised stretchers, but over a thou- sand pairs of blankets. The ability to take responsibility so char- acteristic of Marshall Field employees occupy- ing a managerial position was evinced in this incident as well as the desire of the firm to be of service. This department manager, without consulting with any one of his su- periors, took the chance of using and probably destroying many dollars' worth of the com- pany's property. Later on, the cost of the canvas, curtain poles and blankets was recov- ered, but the recovery was something which the department manager could not foresee and probably did not have in mind at the time the emergency arose. Again, late at night during a severe bliz- zard, when the hotels in Chicago were filled al- most to their capacity, a number of trains brought several hundred more people into the city. Only for a few of them could accommo- dations be obtained. At one hotel, the La Salle, over a hundred people were standing in line and no accommodations were to be had. As said, it was late at night. None of the stores were open. There was no way by which the hotels could increase their store of blankets and other bed-coverings. In this emergency, the manager of the La Salle turned to Field's. He succeeded in getting the head of the blanket department in the retail on the 'phone. The department head was snowed in at his home, thirty miles away from the store. It looked like a hopeless case. The department head assured the hotel man, however, that the blankets would be gotten there somehow. The department head got in touch with his assistant at the latter's home in Winnetka, as far to the north of Chicago as the mana- ger's home was to the south. The telephone line between the manager's home and that of his assistant was kept open for over two hours 142 The Life Story of a Great Concern and, between them, they succeeded in finding truckmen who would attempt to reach the store. The store was reached. The night watchman was duly instructed over the 'phone, and at 1 a. m. the blankets were delivered to the hotel. In lesser emergencies, too, Marshall Field & Co. proved that they would go to any lengths to be of service. During the war the firm had a branch re- tail store at Fort Sheridan, in the northern outskirts of the city. It happened one day that 15,000 small banners bearing a special color arrangement were needed at the camp on short notice. At 3 o'clock in the afternoon the commanding officer sent a messenger to the Field branch store, asking if he could get the banners in question by 10 the following morning. There were no banners of the kind in Chicago, but the man in the branch store said the order would be filled. It was filled, and in the following way: The fabric was taken from the stockroom, cut up and sewed together in one of the work- rooms of the retail store. Sticks were sup- plied by taking them from the rolls of oil- cloth, both in the wholesale and in the retail. The banners, after being made, were tacked onto these sticks, willing hands working all night. At 8 o'clock the following morning delivery began. By 10 a. m. the entire quan- tity of banners had been receipted for by the officer in charge. About the same time there came to the store an order for a pair of general's stars. Colonel Nicholson had been made a Brigadier, and had been ordered to report at once to Washington. His fellow officers desired to give him a pair of silver stars, but there were none to be had. Telephone inquiries showed that there were no such decorations in Chicago. The sit nation was explained to the manager of Field's retail. He at once gave orders to the jewelry department to have the stars made in its workroom. To comply with instructions, a mold of the right size and shape had to be made, the silver poured and the stars cut and polished all within a few hours. The task was a difficult one, but it was accomplished. That this spirit of helpfulness is not con- fined to the firm members or management, but spreads throughout the organization was proven within a recent period. When the ffood struck Pueblo, Col., in June, 1921, two of Mar- shall Field & Co.'s men were the first travel- ing salesmen to reach the city. They went there not with the immediate purpose of sell- ing merchandise but with a view of being use- ful. And useful they were. Regardless of the effect on their clothing and footwear, they struggled knee-deep into the mud which had been deposited everywhere by the receding waters and assisted the merchants and store- keepers in recovering such goods as could be disinterred from the accumulated earth and slime. "We couldn't tell whether we were pulling out pieces of silk or bolts of cotton, so cov- ered with mud were they," said one of these roadmen in reporting on his return to Chi- cago, "but we helped in every way we could." Some of the efforts put forth by Marshall ^ Field & Co. in the direction of helping to win the war have been cited elsewhere, notably in the chapter relating to window display and advertising methods. Even before this coun- try entered the war, however, the firm utilized its windows and other facilities for impress- ing the public with the importance of conserv- ing food. Similar means were taken in con- / nection with the need for men for the United States Navy. During the war, in addition to displays and advertising, there were set apart, in the retail store building, sections which provided oppor- tunities for meetings of war relief work or- ganizations and facilitated the raising of funds for war relief activities. Bazaars were held in the store by such or- ganizations as the Association for the Father- less Children of France and the Swiss-Allies Commission. Entertainments were given for the benefit of Belgian orphans and other war sufferers. Frequently there were entertain- ments and parties for men in the Government / Effective Public Service on Many Occasions 143 service, and in some instances refreshments were served free of cost to the soldiers and "jackies." Reference has already been made to the work of the firm's vice-president in connection with Liberty Loans and Red Cross. Needless to say, his efforts were supplemented by the use of all facilities that could be provided by the stores, wholesale as well as retail. Marshall Field & Co. also aided in ths sell- ing of Liberty Bonds by inviting famous per- sons to make appeals to the crowds gathered in the store. Popular actors and actresses took part in these affairs. On one occasion Leo Ditrichstein took subscriptions at a booth on the main floor, and during the Third Lib- erty Loan campaign Mary Pickford sold bonds in the Men's Grill. With the aid of the Women's Committee of the Liberty Loan campaign the firm was enabled to announce that through the retail store there was subscribed by the public a total of $1,509,400. Work of this kind on the part of Marshall Field & Co. was, of course, not exceptional; it was general among the dry goods and de- partment store trade of the country. Yet the firm is none the less entitled to credit for un- usual efforts in these various patriotic direc- tions. It should be noted, too, that of the em- ployees of the concern no less than 1789 en- tered the service of the United States during the war, and of these 27 made the supreme sacrifice. A memorial service in honor of those fel- low workers who had given their lives for their country was held by the Marshall Field & Co. employees on Sunday, Dec. 8, 1918. This was held in the Auditorium, in place of the regular Central Church Sunday morn- ing service. In addition to the church organ- ist and three soloists, the Marshall Field & Co. Choral Society participated and musical selec- tions were rendered by the First Regiment Band. The sermon was preached by Dr. Frank W. Gunsaulus, the noted minister of this con- gregation and president of Armour Institute. Inasmuch as the seating capacity of the au- ditorium did not exceed 4500, notice was issued that preference would be given to employees according to their length of service with the firm. The audience was strictly confined to employees. Not even wives of employees were admitted, and though, as said, the seating ca- pacity was 4500, it was found that for none of those who had joined the organization sub- sequent to 1913 was there a seat available — a striking proof of the length of service which is a characteristic of so many of the Marshall Field & Co. employees. This memorial service was held entirely at the expense of the firm, and the outlay in- volved was no light one by any means. It amounted to somewhere between $6,000 and $7,000. In line with its public activities the firm has consistently evinced a keen interest in the development of its home city. Recently, Mar- shall Field & Co. got out a handsomely bound book of 50 pages, 18 in. wide by 12 in. high, delineating the development of Chicago, illus- trating many of its institutions, and further- more making clear, by art work and text, the plans for the further improvement of the city that is already a great metropolis and supreme in many of its industries and mercantile af- fairs. The interest which Marshall Field & Co. take in the improvement of their city is clearly exemplified in this book, which costly as it is has been distributed among thousands of the concern's customers, despite the fact that it says but little in regard to the firm of Mar- shall Field & Co. or its business. Among the improvements to which the firm has given its support are: The modern- ization of South Water Street, which forms the northern boundary of Chicago's central business district; the widening or extending of several other thoroughfares; the rehabili- tation of the terminal of the Illinois Central Railroad ; the reclamation of a part of the lake front, so as to complete Grant Park, and the erection of the new Union Station and of the new post office. 144 The Life Story of a Great Concern To the Field Museum, which, as already stated, was endowed with $1,000,000 by Mar- shall Field and which under his will received a further sum of $8,000,000, has been given the support of the firm. In particular, the Museum now includes an auditorium, seating 1000, presented to the institution by Mr. Simp- son as a gift of appreciation to the memory of Marshall Field. This auditorium is con- sidered an architectural gem. Equipped with a stage, it is used not only for lectures and for the holding of meetings of scientific or- ganizations, but also for music recitals and dramatic performances. Taking so high a viewpoint as it does in regard to its own responsibilities, and recog- nizing so intensely and with such practical re- sults its own opportunities for service, it is no wonder that the firm of Marshall Field & Co. has reached out and endeavored to bring about a more general understanding and ap- preciation of what a merchant ought to do and of what he can do in the way of con- structive citizenship. In 1920, under the title of "The Merchant and the New National Spirit," the firm pub- lished a handsome book "as a tribute," to quote the foreword, "to the merchants of the country for their aid in a period of national crisis; and to record the new and better con- ception of the merchant's responsibility and his influence in community and national life." This book tells of the reaction of retail merchants throughout the country to the war, and emphasizes the importance of maintain- ing the new attitude toward his community and the nation with which the average mer- chant had become imbued. "Good citizen- ship," Marshall Field & Co. evidently are convinced, "is the companion trait of good merchandising." They regard the merchant as "a. permanent constructive influence whose interests are those of his community and who is deeply rooted in the local soil." They be- lieve, further, that in the degree that he accepts his basic responsibility to his com- munity as a merchant, viz., to furnish mer- chandise of the highest character, in that same degree will he inevitably accept the fur- ther responsibility and the honor of being more to his community than a seller of goods, — of being, indeed, its natural leader. The well-conceived effort of Marshall Field & Co. to further the acceptance of this view in every section of this country constitutes in itself a public service. For it is clear that the adoption of the policy outlined must re- dound to the advantage of the community and of the nation as well as to that of the mer- chant himself. CHAPTER XXVI THE NEW YORK OFFICE AND ITS MANIFOLD OPERATIONS THE desirability of keeping in the closest possible touch with the primary mark- ets was recognized in a practical way by /Field, Leiter & Co. soon after the formation of the firm. In the year 1868 or so a New \York office was established. At first, it was tirety. The New York office remained at 104 Worth Street until 1917. Up to 1902 the functions of the New York office had been confined to the purchase of merchandise and observing and reporting to headquarters the conditions in the market. Draperies section — main floor of New York office. located at 25 White Street. Three years later it was removed to 104 Worth Street — in the heart of New York's older wholesale dry goods district. During the earlier years of the New York office's location on Worth Street the firm occu- pied the second and third floors. Later on, the building was purchased by Marshall Field & Co. and was thereafter taken over in its en- There had been some selling at wholesale of one line of merchandise, viz., gloves, through the New York office ever since 1881 or so. Still, as said, the New York office had been maintained chiefly to perform the func- tions of resident buyer for the Chicago firm. In 1902, however, a sales department in New York was established as a definite or- 145 146 The Life Story of a Great Concern ganization. This was located at 87 Fifth Avenue. So rapid was the growth of this branch of the business that a substantial en- largement became necessary. This was ef- fected in 1907. Ten years later, or in 1917, the New York buying and selling facilities of the firm were consolidated and both offices were removed to the present location at Broadway and Twenty- fourth Street, where they occupy the street floor and the second and third floors of about one-half of the building, which extends along the entire block, from Twenty-fourth to Twen- ty-fifth Street, together with the building's entire basement. This gives the New York oflSce an aggregate floor space of 85,000 square feet. The street floor and the floor immediately above are used for selling purposes and the third floor for buying purposes and as offices, where the buyers from the wholesale and re- tail stores in Chicago make their headquar- ters while in the New York market. The basement is used for receiving and shipping and for stock purposes. The goods sold are those manufactured or converted by Marshall Field & Co., the various kinds of which have been enumerated in pre- vious chapters. All of the Atlantic coast from Hudson Bay to the Gulf comprises the selling territory of the New York branch. It is a remarkable fact and one that again bears witness to the long terms of service which are the rule in the Marshall Field & Co. organization that during the fifty-three years of the existence of the New York branch only three men have directed its activities. The first, Lorenzo G. Woodhouse, a member of the firm, has been previously mentioned in the course of this life story of Marshall Field & Co. He was succeeded in 1890 by R. B. MacPherson, who, in turn, was followed by H. C. Smith in 1907. It is proof of the continual grow^th of the Marshall Field & Co. business that whereas when the New York office was opened two men sufficed to carry on its operations and in 1879 the staff numbered only thirteen, to-day more than 325 are required to carry on its activi- ties. The New York office, so-called, is, in truth, a great wholesale house as well as a fully equipped resident buying organization for Marshall Field & Co.'s retail and wholesale businesses. It must, therefore, be considered under each of these aspects. AS a wholesale concern this office does an annual business exceeding that of many jobbing houses in New York City and other centers. The staff of salesmen at this writing numbers 63 and the packages shipped out as a result of their work aggregated 30,000 in the first six months of 1921, with a total weight of 1,300,000 lbs. These large figures result, in a measure, from the fact that on all goods originating in the Eastern territory above mentioned orders are sent to the New York office. The invoices for such transactions, however, go to Chicago, where they are checked. Payment also is made to the Chi- cago headquarters. A further idea of the extent of these functions of the New York office is ob- tained by a visit to the basement, where the amount of space devoted to reserve stock will surely impress every beholder. It may also be said for the benefit of those who have not the opportunity to make such a visit that of the total floor space of 85,000 sq. ft. the basement space makes up two-thirds. In their arrangement and "equipment the selling departments in the New York office are on a par with those in the firm's main whole- sale building in Chicago. All of the woodwork is of the highest grades of mahogany, and the display cases are of mahogany and plate glass. One-half of the main floor is devoted to draperies, rugs and carpets, the other half to blankets and other products of the firm's North Carolina and Virginia mills, together with linings. Both of these sections are car- peted throughout, the floorcovering being in a soft shade of tan. The draperies section is, if anything, more The New York Office and Its Manifold Operations 147 sumptuous in its furnishings and its display fittings than is the corresponding section in the wholesale house in Chicago, this because the New York oiRce was equipped within a later period. Goods are shown to customers on fixtures similar to those used in the drap- eries section in Chicago and described in a previous chapter. There are handsome elec- one part of this floor there have been con- structed around the posts display cases of ma- hogany and plate glass. The bases of these fixtures are provided with sliding doors, and thus provide suitable receptacles for samples in addition to those on display. There are also on this second floor display cases so spacious and handsome that they fre- Blanket section — main floor of New York ofUce. trically lighted wall cases, inside each of which is a construction similar to the window of a dwelling and on this "window" are shown drapery, lace curtains, etc., as if in actual use in the home. There are also unusually large and spacious showcases in which displays of drapery fabrics are constantly on view. The blanket and lining section is equipped with swinging racks for quickly showing goods to customers, as well as with showcases, tables and other fixtures. The second floor also approximates in its arrangement a high-class retail store. Like the street floor, it is carpeted throughout. In quently elicit admiring comment from custom- ers. The lines on the second floor include hand- kerchiefs, silks, towels, cotton damasks, men's, women's and children's knit underwear, and men's, women's and children's gloves. This New York wholesale business of Mar- shall Field is not merely a branch of the firm's great business; it is in many respects a sep- arate entity, having, as above stated, its own selling territory, and also functioning in its own behalf in the matter of credits, shipping, etc. In connection with its work as a resident 148 The Life Story of a Great Concern buying office for the retail store and the main wholesale business of Marshall Field & Co. the New York office is the headquarters of the firm's buyers on their frequent periodical trips to the Eastern market. Purchases are made by the New York office in the intervals between these trips, in co-operation with the merchandise managers and section heads in Chicago. To this end the office constantly em- ploys a staff of from twelve to fourteen ex- perts in various lines of merchandise. The assembling, casing and shipping of small shipments which if shipped singly would entail great unnecessary expense is one of the important functions of the New York office. This work is taken care of by a department in the basement. Some 3500 large cases are thus packed and shipped from New York to Chi- cago in the course of a year. An interesting section in the basement is what is known as the label department. It is the duty of this department to take care of the supplying of the proper label, where neces- sary, in the case of goods going through the New York office to Chicago. Because of the great diversity of labels, both printed and woven, required in connec- tion with the numerous lines of merchandise handled by Marshall Field & Co. this little de- partment fulfills a task that is both onerous and important. The New York office has other functions the due performance of which vitally affects the success and progress of the entire Mar- shall Field & Co. business. These are di- rected by the traffic department, whose man- ager is widely recognized as one of the ablest and most experienced traffic men in this coun- try. To this department are intrusted the classifying of merchandise shipments so that each shipment shall pay no more than the rate to which it is entitled. The department also looks after the routing of shipments. It di- rects the receiving and forwarding of mer- chandise coming to the firm from all parts of the world. Allied with the last named duty is the matter of making arrangements for haul- ing. The filing of claims with transportation companies for shortage, damage, etc., is also attended to by the traffic department. The New York office also has much to do with the movement of the vast quantities of merchandise imported by Marshall Field & Co. in the course of each year. It keeps a ;i_ ill • '^ly^-'^ I ■* ill Mi. "-a i^ N^^Hlm^ ■ ^^ !!■■» I ^ r . , --■ %-'< 'lH fc^,> •^•-- «-«■ ^ if Ij^^^^J Iv^ PI f ■ 1 LiUi i:,.u /.,;;,\//.r/'i/nV/ Si'itimis — St\'iiiiJ lioor of A cTi.' iurk ufiu' The New York Office and Its Manifold Operations 149 watch on transportation rates within foreign countries and on the ocean. It looks out for the arrival of foreign shipments and sees that they are duly forwarded. Chicago being a United States port of entry, practically all of the firm's goods of foreign origin are shipped to that center in bond and are there examined, appraised and assessed for duty by the cus- toms officials just as they would be if "en- tered" at the port of New York. Marine insurance has the attention of the New York office along with fire insurance for Furthermore, in order that the New York office may be kept constantly informed as to what is going on the traffic manager receives from Chicago a copy of each letter sent by a department head in the firm's retail or whole- sale establishment there to any one of the firm's foreign offices or to other destination abroad. The New York office decides as to the rout- ing of incoming foreign shipments arriving at the Atlantic or the Pacific seaboard. This is especially true of such bulky but low-priced The New York offices of Marshall Field & Co. occupy the three low- est floors and basement of one of the city's most modern skyscrapers. territory on a line east of Pittsburgh and Buffalo and other matters of allied nature. The New York office is in almost instan- taneous touch with the wholesale branch in Chicago by means of a direct wire with an operator in the Marshall Field & Co. plant at each end of the line. Messages applying to the retail branch are transmitted from the wholesale house in Chicago. Cables and wire- less messages to the firm's offices in Europe and Asia are telegraphed from Chicago to the New York office, and relayed from there to- destination. merchandise as palm-leaf fans, rattan and sea- grass furniture and burlaps. Great savings may at certain times be effected in connection with goods of this character, on which the cost of transportation, because of their bulk and low value (ocean freight rates are based either on weight or on cubic measurement) is a matter of very considerable moment. Also by shipping such goods from the Pacific Coast to a storage warehouse in Omaha, Minneapolis or some other point west of Chicago, instead of to that city itself, dis- tribution can be effected with a considerable 150 The Life Story of a Great Concern reduction in the outlay for freight charges. Study of these matters is all the more de- sirable because the imported merchandise handled by Marshall Field & Co. includes not only goods for sale, but materials for use in the factories of the firm, such as raw cotton from China, which goes to the blanket mills at Draper and Spray, N. C, and the aforemen- tioned burlap which is a "raw material" em- ployed in the firm's bag factory in Chicago. IN previous chapters reference has been made to some of the foreign offices main- tained by Marshall Field & Co. Such offices are now maintained in London, Notting- ham, Belfast, Paris, Calais, Lyons, St. Gall, Hong-Kong, Shanghai, Yokohama, Kobe and Manila. The London office takes charge of the ma- jority of matters relating to England, includ- ing some of those connected with the firm's transactions in Nottingham. The office in the latter center, however, is responsible for cer- tain work, notably the supplying of yarns to the Marshall Field & Co. lace plant at Zion City, 111. The Belfast office has to do with the development of handkerchiefs, a line of mer- chandise which, as shown in a previous chap- ter, has come to be a big factor of the Mar- shall Field & Co. business. The firm's affairs in Scotland are also taken care of by the Bel- fast office. The Paris office is a mighty busy place. One reason for this is the periodical trips to the European markets made by numerous members of Marshall Field & Co.'s retail and wholesale organizations. Many of the section heads of the retail store in Chicago visit Eu- rope once a year and some of them twice a year. The Paris office, too, comes into close contact with the firm's offices in Calais and Lyons, the former in connection with laces and the latter with silks, ribbons, veilings, etc. Still more important are the functions of the Paris office in relation to the production at Grenoble and other French centers of kid gloves, of which Marshall Field & Co. are large importers. What has been accomplished by the firm's offices in St. Gall, Switzerland, in connection with the production of handkerchiefs and watches, and by its offices in Japan with re- gard to brushes and other goods, has been touched on in previous chapters. Similar in- stances of co-operation with the manufacturer might be related in connection with all of the firm's offices abroad; for the principal func- tions of these offices include not only the ac- quisition and shipping of merchandise, but also a constant effort to make sure that the merchandise turned out for Marshall Field & Co. shall meet all of the firm's requirements. These, as we have shown, are stringent in the extreme. CHAPTER XXVII THE CHIEF EXECUTIVES OF THE INSTITUTION AMONG the many outstanding character- istics of the Marshall Field & Co. in- stitution is its permanence. When one considers the number of great institutions en- gaged in various lines of business that have disap- peared since the death of their founder one is able to realize that there must have been some- thing out of the ordinary in the development of Marshall Field & Co.'s business, some vital, virile quality which made possible the foreseeing of trade develop- ments and the ready adaptation of policies and methods to each new condition as it arose. How different from the record of Marshall Field & Co. has been that of A. T. Stewart & Co., for example! This New York institution grew and flour- ished; it became famous the country over; its transactions ran into the millions. Yet shortly after the death of the man who had built it and directed its operations it passed out of existence. The Marshall Field business continued its President John G. Shcdd From a recent photograph healthy, pulsing, living existence because Mr. Field knew how to develop capable, aggressive and progressive aids and understudies. His confidence in the results of what he was constantly accomplishing in this direction is graphically illus- trated in a re- mark attributed to him. "Mr. Field," some one asked him, "what would you do if Mr. (one of h i s partners) were to leave you?" "I guess we'd have to hire an- other office boy," was the unex- pected answer. This reply was made with no deroga- tory meaning or intent, we may be sure. What the great mer- chant had in mind, no doubt, was this : that such a contin- gency was fully provided for by his consistent method of train- ing his people and continually having men in line to take the place of anyone, no matter how high up, who might from one cause or another drop out. Mr. Field was like a great general, who knows that casualties are unavoidable and 1.51 152 The Life Story of a Great Concern keeps in reserve not only troops but also men who are able to command them. In short, the idea Mr. Field meant to convey was just this : that if one near the top were to leave the in- stitution there would be such advancements all along the line that the last vacancy would be — perhaps not that of an office boy; that V term was probably a figure of speech, but one that could readily be filled. The continuance of the business of Mar- shall Field & Co. is remarkable from another standpoint. Older men in the dry goods business can recall the many New York whole- sale or jobbing houses that passed out of ex- istence years before Marshall Field's death, houses like Bates, Reed & Cooley; E. S. Jaf- fray & Co.; Sweetser, Pembrook & Co.; Lee, Tweedie & Co., and TefFt, Weller & Co. The trade of these houses dwindled away and gradually they dried up. Why? Partly be- cause they were "one-man" concerns and when their leaders became superannuated (there was no one to take their place, and partly because they had not adapted them- selves to the changes in trade currents and in, buying methods. To these cases may be added the extinction of more than one large wholesale fiouse in St. Louis — notably that of Samuel C. Davis & Co. During the period in which these business casualties occurred Marshall Field & Co.'s business kept on increasing and growing stronger and stronger. A third and still more remarkable char- acteristic of Marshall Field & Co. is apparent in the fact that since the death of its founder the business has not only continued on a suc- cessful basis but has grown and expanded in a degree which it is doubtful whether Mr. Field himself fully foresaw. In an earlier chapter the story has been told of the broad manufacturing and convert- ing activities of the firm. The purchase of the cotton mills at Spray, N. C, in 1908, is a striking instance of foresight on the part of the management. It shews in an unmistak- able way their alertness, their keen realization of the course that must be pursued in order to make permanent the life and progress of their great institution. This purchase, as has also been related in this narrative, was the beginning of the firm's development of great manufacturing plants in the South. And, as also has been told, in addition to the development at Spray, Draper, Leaksville, Fieldale and Roanoke, the firm has acquired other factories and brought their products to the highest possible standard. Along with the extension of the firm's manufacturing activities there has been con- tinuous expansion of the older branches of the business. The retail store to-day has won such myriads of customers that its sales volume is beginning to approximate that of the wholesale. This, again, is proof of the foresight continually exercised by the management. They were fearless in providing the physical facilities which increasing business would re- quire. The addition of the six floors used for retail purposes in the 21-story annex opened in 1914 is but one proof of the will to serve acceptably the ever-increasing throngs. The firm's wholesale business, though cramped by lack of space — even though it occupies not only a block square 8-story and basement building, together with adjacent buildings, also shows continuous growth, as earlier chapters have shown. With these facts in mind, readers of previ- ous chapters in this eventful history will nat- urally ksk: What manner of men are they who during the later years have had the ability not only to maintain the firm's high standing in the mercantile world but to broaden it out in various directions? President Shedd's record and characteris- tics have been discussed in previous chapters. He continues to be a tower of strength to the business and a source of inspiration to the en- tire organization. One has only to mention Mr, Shedd's name to anyone connected with the house, no matter what that man or woman's position may be, and the reaction will be the same: the face lights up with animation and the voice is indicative of admiration of Mr, The Chief Executives of the Institution 153 Shedd's business qualities, and of love and re- spect for him as a man. Many of those talked with had known Mr. Shedd for long periods, having in some instances been connected with the house for upward of forty years. THE diamond medal was presented to Mr. Shedd, and his fiftieth anniversary was celebrated on Aug. 7, 1922; thirty-four men, each with a fifty years' service record, partici- In presenting the diamond medal to Mr. Shedd, Mr. Simpson said: "J. M. Barrie, the great Scotch dramatist, in an address to the graduating class of St. Andrew's University in Scotland in June of this year said: 'God gave us memory so that we might have roses in December,' and added that the people he cared for most and who seemed most worth caring for — his December roses — were very simple folk. At the luncheon on the occasion of the celebration of President Shedd's fiftieth anniversary. pated. This group represented practically every division of the wholesale, retail and manufacturing branches of the business, from shipping departments to executive offices. The celebration took place at the home of Mrs. Charles H. Schweppe, Mr. Shedd's daughter. It was preceded by a luncheon. The fifty-year medal was pinned on the breast of Mr. Shedd by James Simpson, first vice-president of the company, amid the ap- plause of the thirty-three other medal bear- ers. Mr. Simpson himself has been with Mar- shall Field & Co. for thirty-one years. "I think that Mr. Shedd's December roses must, too, be the memory of very simple folk. His December roses, next to his immediate family, must be memories of the men who were with the business when he first came to it, back in 1872— Mr. Marshall Field, J. N. Field, Leiter, Higinbotham, McWilliams, Templeton, Fair, Woodhouse, and last but not least in Mr. Shedd's memory must stand clearly out- lined the figure of Mr. Henry J. Willing, who, in some respects, stood out from all the others, and who, perhaps more than any other one, unless it be Mr. Field himself, exercised 154 The Life Story of a Great Concern the greatest influence on Mr. Shedd's life. "Again, not the least of Mr. Shedd's De- cember roses must be the memory of his close, intimate personal contact through the years with the men who sit around this board to-day. More of his December roses must be the memory of those many years of hard work, honest toil and successful accomplishment. "One of my December roses," continued Mr. Simpson, "will be the memory of this oc- casion, as well as the memory of my life asso- ciation with Mr. Shedd. "I always looked to Mr. Field as a son would look to a father, and I have always re- garded Mr. Shedd as my big, older brother. These two men have had a greater influence on my life than any others. "Mr. Barrie also said on the occasion of this same address that the AJmighty might have provided us with better fun than hard work, but he didn't know what it was. He said to be bom poor was probably the next best thing. Both of these luxuries Mr. Shedd ,and everyone at this table have enjoyed. "I know of no business institution in the world that can present such a scene as this — a living record of thirty-four men who have been with it continuously fifty years or more. It speaks eloquently of the rare spirit of fidel- ity and loyalty both on the part of the em- ployees of the institution and of the institu- tion itself. "The happy atmosphere created in this business by its founder and perpetuated by his successors has created a bond that unites us all into one great, happy family. "This occasion presents to us the rare op- portunity of extending our congratulations to our chief executive on the fiftieth anniversary of his coming to the business. It is a source of great satisfaction to all of us that he him- self, vigorously active, finds happiness and joy in entertaining similarly alert, capable and youthful pioneers in this organization. "There must be some good reasons for men serving so long and so faithfully the same em- ployer. It is a tribute to the ideals and policies that have been the guiding force of our insti- tution. Nothing could more discredit that oft- repeated fiction that there is no sentiment in business than this gathering. Our business has thrived on sentiment, and cherishes it as a priceless possession. The institution holds in high regard each employee. It gives special attention to character-building, it encourages self-reliance, it inspires effort and it is always ready to recognize merit. These are the chief factors in its wonderful success in developing character in men as well as character in mer- chandise. "I feel it is a great honor to be the one whose privilege it is to express to our chief congratulations and good wishes on the com- pletion of this cycle of his noteworthy career, and I want to congratulate you men who have aided him so faithfully these many years in serving the institution that is so proud of all of you. "In closing, I venture to express the hope that when I have completed my own fifty years of service I may have earned the right to wear this badge of distinction by the same kind of fine, honorable service which Mr. Shedd and all the others have given this great institution. I hope that Mr. Shedd and all of you will have many years of health in which to enjoy the honors you are all so justly entitled to." In responding, Mr. Shedd said: "I am very happy to have you gentlemen here. We have been associated so long that it seems as if we were members of the same family, rather than business associates. Fifty years is a long time, and we have seen many changes in our business, in the community and in the nation. But, whatever changes have occurred, we have observed one thing in com- mon — the growth of our institution. We have seen it develop from early beginnings in fron- tier days to become the foremost institution in the world, reaching to every continent for its merchandise, distributing to the nation's lead- ing retail merchants through its wholesale house, serving the great metropolis of Chicago through its retail store, and manufacturing for itself on a large scale in order to put quality in merchandise at its source. The Chief Executives of the Institution 155 "Our institution is what the people of Chicago and the Central West have demanded and co-operated with us to build. From the beginning it has been an expression of the public's taste and need — an institution of service. "It is working out the ideals of this insti- tution that has kept us happy and young, and these policies, also reflected in the treatment of every member of our organiza- tion, have kept us loyal. While single minds may have directed, the composite ac- tivities of many of you have been the real founda- tion of our suc- cess. Being fifty years at Field's means some- thing. To-day we have a picture of the results achieved by the policies of our house. It is a great lesson to the ambitious young, eager for a career. It Vice-President shows that pa- tience, perseverance and integrity have their sure reward. "I do not have to go back to the remote past to find the many opportunities for success our institution affords. They exist to a far greater degree to-day. We never go outside to fill re- sponsible positions. Every high official in the organization to-day began here in some humble capacity and worked his way up. And there are just as good opportunities now, for you and I will some day make way for younger men, and they will be men who are now in our organization. "You and I have seen Chicago grow from a sprawling town to its present gigantic size and become a wonder city in beauty as well as greatness. We are joyful to be still active while the city is unfolding plans for greater splen- dor — greater progress. "I heartily thank you gentle- men who con- gratulate me to- day, and I want, in turn, to con- gratulate you on being so active after fifty years or more of serv- ice in an absorb- ing business." 1^ First Vice- pre s i d e n t Simpson reference was made in an- other chapter in connection with his election as second vice- president after the death of Marshall Field. It was also stated that Mr. Simpson had been Mr. Field's secretary for business, had thereby acquired an exceptionally close intimacy with the affairs of the house and by contact with prominent financiers and other men of large interests had gained broad viewpoints and a clear understanding of affairs. In his early years Mr. Simpson showed ex-^ traordinary initiative. He was originally em- ployed in the office. He had been with the James Simpson 158 The Life Story of a Great Concern concern only a short time when one day he learned that Mr. Field was in need of a young man for his office. For that position he made application to the office manager, but was laughed at for his pains. However, young Simpson was not daunted by this refusal. He approached Mr. Field and told him he would like to have the position. After in- quiring as to the young man's capabilities, Mr. Field acceded to the request, and so sat- isfactory a secretary did the young fellow prove that he became Mr. Field's right-hand man, and occupied that post until his em- ployer's death. Especially good opportunities were af- forded to Mr. Simpson to familiarize himself with merchandise because the greater part of the mail from the New York office passed through his hands. This mail had to do with a large proportion of the merchandising ac- tivities of the firm. Of these opportunities he availed himself in the fullest degree, and, not content with thus acquiring information, he sought knowledge from other sources. He made it his business to interview frequently merchandise men, department heads and sales- men. By such means he acquired so full and accurate a knowledge of the business that when asked a question by Mr. Field he could nearly always give a satisfactory answer. Mr. Simpson's association with the firm extends over thirty years, and he is credited with having played an especially important part in the expansion of the business during the latter half of this period. He is to-day rated as one of Chicago's most prominent business men. The estimation in which his abilities are held is attested by his appoint- ment in January, 1918, as a director of the Federal Eeserve Bank of Chicago and also as deputy chairman of the bank's Board of Di- rectors. During the early stages of the war Mr. Simpson had charge of several Lib- erty Loan organizations in the Seventh (Chicago) Federal Reserve District. When the United States entered the world war Quartermaster General Goethals urged Mr. Simpson to take charge of purchases for the Army. Mr. Hoover was eager to have him as an assistant in the Food Administration. The Red Cross also sought Mr. Simpson's services. He felt, however, that for the time being at least he ought to remain in Chicago and devote most of his attention to the busi- ness of the firm, and at the same time be in a position to aid these various war activities with his advice and counsel. While in France for the Red Cross Mr. Simpson came closely in touch with the fight- ing forces. On many occasions he was under fire, acting for hours at a time as a stretcher bearer. Once he was in the front line for seventy-two hours before being relieved. Reference has been made to Mr. Simpson's strong belief in the future of Chicago. He is an active member of the organization which is pushing toward completion the waterways project which will connect Chicago with the Mississippi by way of a canal and the Illinois River. Still more impressed is he with the possibilities for Chicago that lie in the pro- posed ship canal connecting the Great Lakes with the St. Lawrence. Stanley Field, who had been 1st vice- president, retired from active participation in the management in November, 1917, and has since devoted his time to the management of his private affairs and the discharge of his duties as trustee of the estate of his father, Joseph N. Field, and as president of the Field Museum. Mr. Simpson then entered on his present office of first vice-president. John McKinlay was employed by Marshall Field & Co., retail, Aug. 29, 1888, when just fourteen years old, as a cashboy, at $2 a week. During the following thirteen years he held consecutively the following positions: Office boy in the credit office, collector, bookkeeper and credit man. In 1901 he was made office manager for the entire retail business. This position he held until 1911, when he was trans- ferred to the wholesale department as an ac- countant in the executive offices. In January, 1916, he was given the title of treasurer, and The Chief Executives of the Institution 159 on Nov. 15, 1917, that of 2nd vice-president. D. M. Yates, now general manager of the retail, entered the employ of Marshall Field & Co. thirty-four years ago, or, to be exact, on Oct. 4, 1887, as a salesman in the lining department of the retail store. In 1893 he went into the house furnishings department and was placed in charge of the basement up- holsteries section. This change brought Mr. Yates in contact with Mr. Shedd. At that time Mr. Shedd had charge of a number of departments in the wholesale, among his goods being lace curtains, which naturally were handled in the basement upholsteries section. In 1900 Mr. Yates became connected with the superintendent's office. He also had to do with the maintenance of the building and with the buying of supplies. He became gen- eral manager of the retail on the death of Lindsay T. Woodcock in 1915. One of the strongest men in the Marshall Field & Co. organization to-day is W. H. Mann, general manager of the wholesale. Mr. Mann has been connected with the firm since 1912. He is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin. He began his business career with the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad. Three years later he went into the publishing busi- ness, where he won a reputation for foresight and executive ability. On entering the Mar- shall Field & Co. organization he was con- nected with the department handling the products of the firm's mill at Monticello, Ind., which, as has been said, manufactures knit- ting yarns, crochet cottons, spool cotton and other needlework supplies. After acting as a salesman in the department for some time, he went on the road, subsequently being made assistant general sales manager. Mr. Mann became general manager of the wholesale in December, 1917. Frederick D. Corley was made merchan- dise manager of the retail, which position he now occupies, on Feb. 8, 1916. He was born at Tower Hill, 111., Dec. 19, 1881, and entered the employ of Marshall Field & Co. July 23, 1900, as a stock boy in the millinery department, at a salary of $4 a week. Shortly afterwards he became book- keeper in the same department. In 1903 he was made assistant department manager of the basement millinery, and from 1905 until 1911 was assistant manager of the millinery for the entire store. In 1911 Mr. Corley was made manager of the sections for women's suits, skirts and dresses, and in 1912 manager of women's, misses' and children's outer apparel sec- tions. On Aug. 5, 1915, he was appointed assistant general manager under Mr. Yates and assistant merchandise manager. W. G. Burt was bom July 4, 1876, in Chicago. His parents were of old New Eng- land stock, of English and Scottish descent. He was educated in the public schools and at Northwestern University. Mr. Burt was first employed by Marshall Field & Co., wholesale, Sept., 1896, as stock bookkeeper in the prints section, where he became a floor salesman. After about two years he was transferred to the wholesale linens, white goods and handkerchiefs. He represented these sections in the Western States for five years. This was followed by inside office and department merchandise ex- perience for two years. He was then trans- ferred to New York, in charge of opening wholesale selling organizations. In 1910 he was transferred to Chicago and placed in charge of the prints and the printed-and-dyed decorative fabrics, widely known under the branded name of Colonial Drapery Fabrics. In 1916 Mr. Burt was placed in charge of all the higher class interior decorative and up- holstery goods in the wholesale and in the following year he was appointed associate general merchandise manager of wholesale sections. Mr. Burt has been especially connected with the development of the New York selling organizations, converting work and styling and creating of merchandise. Geo. L. Veatch was first employed by Mar- shall Field & Co. in July, 1887, as office boy in the auditing department. After two and a half years' experience in the auditing depart- 160 The Life Story of a Great Concern ment, the upholsteries section and stock room Mr. Veatch was made a city salesman. Six months later, at the age of 19, he covered the Far-Western territory with the upholstery and bedding lines. He was returned to the house at the age of twenty-seven as assistant manager of the upholsteries section and was active in the establishment of the bedding factory in Chi- cago and the bedspread mill in Zion City, and subsequently in the development of the do- mestic lines manufactured by Marshall Field & Co. at Spray. In 1910 Mr. Veatch was placed in charge of bedding, and in 1915 was made the head of the entire group of domestic sections. In 1917 he was appointed associate gen- eral merchandise manager of the wholesale. Thomas H. Eddy entered the employ of Marshall Field & Co. in September, 1888, in the general office. He was in that office about five years, doing all the kinds of work now done in Auditing No. 2 and Accounting Office — office boy, invoice clerk, merchandise ledger, bank accounts, stock and sales statements, re- mittances and general work in closing books. Entering the foreign office in 1893 as Mr. Barnhart's assistant, doing all the various branches of the foreign work, Mr. Eddy, about 1909, also began assisting Mr. Barnhart in employing help. In 1912 or 1913 he took over the employing of all department employees and salesmen. He assumed his present position in 1917. This entails sup>ervision of wholesale proper- ties, wholesale and retail delivery systems, wholesale packing, shipping and receiving, wholesale and retail warehouse systems, and wholesale traffic matters. It is manifest, indeed, as President Shedd recently remarked, that "the founders of a business stamp their individuality on that business, it never fully outgrows them," He continued: "Marshall Field, with his great example of what high purpose and character should be, gave to this firm its ideals. Levi Z. Leiter, Henry J. Willing, Lorenzo G. Woodhouse, Harlow N. Higinbotham, all imbued with these same ideals, also stamped their char- acter, their individuality on the business; and thus those ideals have become the very back- bone of the organization. "The men now in charge of this business," added Mr. Shedd, "were thoroughly schooled under Marshall Field and his lieutenants, and these present managers are training another set to take their places when they will be gone. Thus, the Marshall Field ideals, both in the conduct of the business itself and in the mci- chandise it carries, will be perpetuated." R T [C University of California Library NORTHERN REGIONAL L?BR?ry FACILITY BIdg. 400, Richrr^ond Field Stain '"^ University of California Richmond, CA 94804-4698 ALL BOOKS MAmi^^J^II^^T^^^j^T— I;^0r6?2!675^r^^^--wed'.y^'^^^ ' bo^Ts^Xr ^ '^ "^'^^^^^ ^y b^'nging ^tsXrd;rS--V^--e4 DUE AS STAMPED BELOW M ;eley ®s 4 97923 YE 15256 UNIVERSITY OF CAUFORNIA UBRARY