,,sam ,,lambert ,,and ,,the ,,new ,,way 
,,store  ,a ,book for ,clothiers and    
,their ,clerks        ,published by     
,grand ,rapids ,show ,case ,co4 ,grand  
,rapids3 ,michigan  ,copyright1 #aiab1  
,grand ,rapids ,show ,case ,co4 ,grand  
,rapids1 ,mich4     ,,chapter ,i4   ,sam
 ,lambert had the best clothing store in
 ,medeena ,county--a corner store on the
 main street of ,medeena opposite the   
,court ,house ,square4  ,medeena had    
four clothing stores1 not counting ,the 
,blue ,front1 down by the ,depot1 with  
its collection of cheap watches in the  
window1 a yellow guitar1 two large      
accordions and a fiddle with a broken ,e
 string4  ,everybody in the ,county knew
 ,sam ,lambert4  ,as a merchant and a   
citizen he was a whole bunch of live    
wires4 ,a big-boned1 free-hearted       
fellow--lucky enough to just escape     
being run for sheriff1 as some thought  
he was too good natured1 the gang was   
afraid he was not pliant enough1 and    
,sam didn't want to be away from the    

store4  ,sam took great pride in his    
clothing business and kept pace with the
 most advanced ideas in the trade4  ,he 
was awake to the marvelous development  
of the ready-to-wear business4 ,he      
carried the best and took a positive    
delight in each season's new models4    
,he recalled the old days of            
hand-me-downs1 and he had lived to see  
the two best tailors in ,medeena take to
 bushelling ready garments1 with less   
and less of that to be done--principally
 changing a button or shortening a      
trouser's length4  ,sam was broad-gauge 
in everything he did4 ,he sold his goods
 at the marked price1 for cash only--got
 a decent profit and told you so4  ,why 
shouldn't he8 ,he had a sense of style4 
,he was keenly alive to the artistry of 
clothes and his enthusiasm was          
contagious4  ,sam was firmly convinced  
that a man has to spend money to make   
money in the clothing business4  ,he    
said that a part of the value you       
deliver to a customer consists in giving

 him a better opinion of himself3 making
 him feel like a king for a day and that
 the best is none too good for him4  ,a 
store1 he would tell the boys1 cannot be
 run on the low gear4 ,you must keep her
 keyed up4 ,relax when the store is     
empty1 but when you go to meet a        
customer put on the tension--take a     
brace--get spring into your step--learn 
to bunch your vitality and get it       
across4 ,but keep your energy inside4   
,don't bounce and don't talk too much4  
,keep yourself in hand4 ,be quiet but   
alert4  ,concentrate6 ,for the time     
being there is but one person in the    
world and that is the customer1 and the 
most interesting thing in life is the   
thing he came in to see4  ,you can size 
up your man while you are going forward 
to meet him4 ,but by all means take him 
easy4 ,undue interest might embarrass   
him4 ,suppose he only wants a pair of   
#ae;c4 socks2 if he does1 there is a    
test of your ability that you may not   
realize4  ,many a clerk who can close a 

,twenty dollar transaction with tact and
 dispatch never seems able to handle a  
,ten cent sale so that the customer goes
 out feeling pleased with himself4      
,nine men out of ten who come into the  
store are self-conscious4 ,the thing to 
do is to make your man feel that his    
requirement is important simply because 
it is his requirement4  ,a good salesman
 keeps his own personality in the       
background3 he keeps the store and the  
sale in the background4 ,he puts all the
 emphasis on service to the customer1   
and to do this he must mentally put     
himself in the customer's place4  ,try  
to be as interested in the customer's   
finding what he wants as if the article 
was for yourself2 but don't insist on   
his taking only the thing that appeals  
to you4  ,quietly dominate the sale1 but
 leave him plenty of room for the       
exercise of his own taste and ideas4    
,most men1 though they may not show it1 
are slightly on the defensive when they 
come into a clothing store4 ,that is why

 it is so very important that there be  
no talking or laughing among the clerks4
  ,you may find it hard to realize the  
effect of a whisper or a titter on the  
part of the store's help when a customer
 is present4 ,in nearly every case the  
man becomes sensitive or resentful and  
thinks he is being ridiculed4  ,try it  
yourself sometime by going into a       
strange store in another line of        
business in a distant city3 when you    
hear a laugh or a remark passed among   
the clerks1 see if you don't wonder if  
there isn't something wrong with your   
clothes or feel sure that comment is    
being made on your appearance or        
behavior4  ,there is another form of    
impatience or self-consciousness on the 
part of a customer who is more or less  
acquainted with the store4 ,he hurries  
past everyone in front1 headed for the  
part of the store where he thinks the   
goods he wants are kept4  ,it is bad    
policy to step in front of him or       
otherwise impede his progress4 ,if there

 is no one to wait on him follow quietly
 and be on hand when he lands at his    
destination4  ,a clerk often wonders why
 customers persist in doing this4  ,it  
is because they have an idea of the     
location of what they want and blindly  
strike out for it with a certain nervous
 desire to cover the intermediate ground
 as quickly as possible4  ,remember that
 while you feel perfectly at home in the
 store1 few customers do4 ,it is your   
business to put them at ease and        
certainly to do nothing to make them    
uncomfortable4  ,when a man comes in for
 a suit of clothes he usually has some  
sort of a mental picture of the thing he
 desires4 ,an idea1 clearly defined or  
hazy1 is in his mind as to the general  
color and effect of the suit he wants4  
,it is something he has noticed worn by 
someone else--looked at in a show       
window1 or seen in an illustration4  ,in
 most cases it will not be the thing he 
finally buys4 ,it may be a chalk-line   
stripe or a ,shepherd's ,plaid worn by a

 drummer who boarded the #f4cj          
,lightning ,express4 ,in the glow of the
 lamps and the bustle and excitement of 
the ,station platform the thing looked  
possible3 but confronted in the store   
with the very style and pattern he backs
 away from it1 though 'it looked good on
 the other man4'  ,find out what he has 
in mind2 meet it as nearly as you can   
and get it out of the way4 ,otherwise he
 will not concentrate on other goods4   
,he will hold to this mental picture and
 measure everything you show him by     
it--much to your disadvantage4  ,one of 
the worst possible things is to ask a   
man about what price suit he wants4     
,keep price in the background4 ,time    
enough to feel him out on that subject4 
,no man likes to have you take the      
measure of his pocket-book4  ,you must  
use your judgment in gauging him as to  
what to show him4  ,the important thing 
is to get at the picture he has in mind1
 and the price too1 if you can do so    
without asking him to name the figure4  

,never ask a customer how he liked the  
last suit you sold him4 ,let by-gones be
 by-gones4 ,this is a new deal4 ,whether
 he was entirely satisfied is not the   
point now4 ,don't raise dangerous       
questions4  ,there are a dozen reasons  
why his last purchase may not be        
remembered with pleasure--reasons that  
have nothing to do with the value he    
received or the actual merit of the     
clothes4  ,if he voluntarily mentions   
the last suit with praise take it as a  
natural occurrence and pass it over2 you
 will try to do even better by him this 
time4  ,if he complains of his last     
purchase don't argue4 ,leave the subject
 as soon as possible and get down to the
 question in hand4  ,have confidence in 
your goods1 in your prices and in       
yourself as a salesman4  ,there are more
 sales lost for lack of firmness and    
decision at the right time than for any 
other cause4  ,among the clerks in the  
best and biggest of stores there are ten
 good openers of a sale to one good     

closer4  ,be a closer4  ,it requires    
judgment and decision of character1 but 
you can learn to do it4  ,when a woman  
goes into a cloak and suit department1  
she is not satisfied to buy until she   
has been made to feel that she has      
pretty well canvassed the assortment1   
seen practically everything in the stock
 at the range and along the line she is 
seeking4  ,she has merchandise          
imagination and thinks of the possible  
garments back there in the stock that   
she might have liked better4  ,in this  
regard a man is somewhat easier to      
handle4  ,it is a fact often            
demonstrated that clerks can close a    
sale more quickly where the stock is    
kept on hangers instead of piled on     
tables4  ,the preliminaries are more    
quickly covered4 ,having walked down the
 line the customer is better satisfied  
that the whole selection is placed at   
his disposal4  ,there is no secret about
 it4 ,nothing held back4 ,no mysterious 
pile of garments on a table that he     

cannot see4  ,note the tendency of the  
customer to investigate a pile of       
coats--lifting up the corners and       
looking at the patterns4  ,a coat in    
plain view1 taken off the hanger1 is    
more obviously a thoughtful selection of
 a garment definitely suited for him and
 he is the more ready to make it his    
own4  ,the important thing in closing a 
sale is to narrow down the choice as    
soon as you can to one or two strong    
possibilities1 flanked by a bad         
one--that is1 a style or a pattern that 
you know the customer doesn't want4     
,when this point is reached it is well  
to move the customer away from the rest 
of the stock1 say to some distant corner
 where he can stand on a rug and look in
 the mirror--  ,where his whole         
attention can be given to one suit1 or  
at most a choice between two4  ,a sale  
must be opened easily4 ,the customer    
should never be made to feel that he is 
being restricted in his selection4 ,but 
the moment you can form an idea of what 

he wants you can probably think of just 
the thing for him4  ,if you handle him  
right he accepts your knowledge of the  
assortment1 instead of demanding a      
complete canvass of the stock4  ,it is  
then you may know that you have         
established his confidence4  ,in a      
comparatively short time you can narrow 
him down to a choice where by a tactful 
show of firmness you can help him       
decide4  ,in the handling of almost     
every sale there is a point beyond which
 the customer begins to flounder and    
show indecision4  ,the weak salesman    
leads him on and on with no stopping    
point--no place to close--and the       
prospective sale fades to a 'just       
looking today' excuse4  ,this is a      
universal fault among retail clerks4    
,the test of salesmanship is in closing 
a sale4  ,be a closer6  ,never guy a    
customer or 'kid him along' for the     
amusement of a by-stander or a fellow   
clerk4 ,this is a common practice in    
some clothing stores4 ,the offender is  

usually a self-satisfied clerk who has  
had just enough success as a salesman to
 make him egotistical4  ,he thinks he is
 a regular dare-devil and that by making
 sport of his customer he may win a     
reputation as the village cut-up4 ,his  
favorite victim is some half-witted     
fellow--tho' a customer who is partly   
deaf may do and he is always ready for a
 yokel or a foreigner4  ,there is no    
doubt1 said ,sam ,lambert1 that the     
medal for the longest ears and the      
loudest bray in the clothing business   
belongs to this ,smart ,aleck type of   
clerk known as a 'kidder'4  ,to say     
nothing of the respect he owes the      
customer1 it is astonishing how he can  
presume to work his cheap little        
side-play on any human being1 when even 
a dog is sensitive to ridicule and knows
 when he is being laughed at4           
,,chapter ,,ii4   ,no one questioned    
,sam ,lambert's power as a business     
getter1 nor the alertness of his        
store-keeping methods4  ,he was prodigal

 of his own energy--never spared        
himself4 ,he looked after the important 
things and left details to others4  ,as 
with every man who is a constructive    
force in the world of affairs1 ,sam's   
friends and relatives shook their       
heads--said that he needed a            
balance-wheel4  ,this was dinned into   
his ears so often that he finally came  
to believe it4 ,so after many ,sunday   
afternoon business discussions1 it was  
arranged that he was to take into the   
business his wife's cousin1 one ,lemuel 
,stucker1 who had spent twenty years    
saving #ijjj as general manager for a   
flour and feed concern4  ,stucker had   
worked out elaborate sets of figures to 
prove the needed economies of           
management4  ,he was so tireless and    
sincere1 so careful and exact1 that it  
was with a great sense of relief that   
,sam turned the store over to him4      
,here1 at last1 was a man who could lift
 from his shoulders the daily burden of 
management4  ,sam's real interest in the

 change1 as those who knew him might    
have guessed1 was a desire for new      
enterprise4 ,he had long had an eye on a
 fine opening for a clothing store in   
the neighboring town of ,bridgeville1   
twenty miles away1 and he lost no time  
in carrying out this project4  ,during  
the ensuing year he was so engrossed    
with the ,bridgeville branch that       
,medeena rarely saw him1 and ,lemuel    
,stucker's rather discouraging reports  
on the state of business were attributed
 to ,lem's conservatism and natural     
depression of mind4  ,lem was ,sam's    
opposite in almost every particular4 ,a 
small1 sallow man with a black          
shoe-string necktie and a look of       
general regret4  ,he spent most of his  
time untying knots in pieces of string1 
picking up bits of wrapping paper and   
sharpening short lead-pencils1 and he   
was great on buying brooms4  ,his effect
 on the store was one of immediate and  
prevalent blight4  ,you may wonder why  
the boys did not complain of conditions 

to ,sam1 but ,lem was manager--and there
 is something so virtuous and convincing
 about a first-class retrencher4 ,his   
wise saws and thrifty sayings are       
infectious and he makes everybody so    
low-spirited that they are ready to     
catch anything4  ,no more good window   
displays--tacks1 colored cheesecloth and
 other accessories cost money1 and the  
sun was bad for the goods4  ,no more    
trim on the counters and shelves4  ,stop
 the high-power electric light in front 
of the store and reduce the lamps       
inside4  ,these things did not all occur
 at once1 but so gradually that it was  
hard to realize just what had happened  
to the store4  ,the windows got streaky 
and the inside of the store looked dingy
 and cold4  ,then the conservative      
spirit got into the buying4 ,nothing but
 black cheviots with a few drab and gray
 worsteds4  ,perhaps it was just as     
well1 for when a customer came into the 
store and saw ,stucker he thought it was
 raining outside4  ,sam ,lambert had    

always prided himself on keeping alive  
what he called the buying spirit in the 
store4  ,nowadays a customer got a sense
 of caution4 ,the feeling was one of    
disapproval of all extravagance4        
,instead of purchasing a suit1 the man  
wondered where his next month's rent was
 coming from1 bought a pair of cottonade
 pants and hurried home4  ,trade fell   
off steadily4 ,affairs went on this way 
for a twelvemonth and then something    
happened4  ,two of ,sam's principal     
competitors were reported to be         
remodeling their stores--and what was   
more1 they were going to put in wardrobe
 systems and carry all their garments on
 hangers4  ,this aroused ,sam and he    
made an immediate investigation4  ,he   
found that one of the stores had        
contracted for the old type of wooden   
wall cabinets where the clothes hung    
behind panelled doors4  ,but the other  
was installing glass wardrobes1 where   
the stock would be on view4  ,this      
discovery cut ,sam like a knife4  ,he   

investigated further1 and was delighted 
to find that his wardrobe competitor1   
with the temptation to save a few       
dollars1 had ordered a second-rate type 
of glass wardrobe1 with pull-out rods   
that swing inside the case1 without a   
locking device to prevent them from     
breaking the glass4  ,without saying    
anything to ,stucker he telegraphed the 
best wardrobe concern in the country to 
send their representative at once4      
,,chapter ,,iii4   ,at eleven o'clock   
the following day a quiet man wearing   
double-lens spectacles and a            
pre-occupied air came into the store1   
asked for ,mr4 ,lambert and was directed
 to the rear where ,stucker was showing 
,sam the wisdom of leaving the night    
covers over the black goods during the  
day to protect the stock from dust4     
,sam was so keyed up on the wardrobe    
question that he heard only about half  
that ,stucker was saying4  ,when the man
 with the spectacles arrived ,sam       
guessed his mission without waiting for 

a word of greeting4  ,you1 said ,sam1   
are here to talk wardrobes2 let's see   
what you've got4  ,before ,i talk       
wardrobes1 or1 if you please1 the ,new  
,way system1 began the salesman1 ,i     
would prefer to get a fair idea of the  
amount and kind of stock you carry and  
how you care for it now4  ,just as ,i   
thought1 interrupted ,stucker4 ,you're  
afraid our stock is too big for your    
wardrobe capacity4  ,well1 ,i don't want
 to discourage you1 but when you count  
the suits on the table1 don't forget to 
add about #ej dozen pair of knee pants  
and odd trousers stored in case-goods   
boxes under the tables4  ,remember too1 
that when you take the tables out1 you  
must find another place for our last    
years sweaters1 mufflers1 caps1 gloves  
and underwear1 as well as all our       
advance stock of shirts1 hosiery and    
ties which we keep under the tables     
because we have no room for them on our 
side shelving4 ,you can see it is piled 
to the ceiling now2 and all that on top 

is active stock4  ,that reminds me1 ,mr4
 ,stucker1 of a joke your friend ,jones1
 over at ,dennisville1 played on ,sakes1
 his partner4  ,before we remodelled    
their store1 they had a lot of money    
tied up in stock piled under the tables 
like you have4 ,most of it was odds and 
ends--left overs of many seasons that   
,jones knew even a clearance sale would 
not clean up4  ,he inventoried the lot  
and shipped #gb dozen pair of knee pants
 to ,new ,york1 and wrote the auctioneer
 to send a check for whatever amount    
they brought4  ,the funny part of it1   
,sakes never discovered that the stock  
was gone until about three weeks later1 
when he noticed a check in the mail and 
asked ,jones what it was for4  ,you can 
do the same thing1 ,mr4 ,stucker1 with  
your stock under the tables1 and the    
check you will get will help buy ,new   
,way sectional shelving that will give  
you about three times the capacity your 
furnishing department has now2 so it    
will not be necessary to climb to the   

ceiling for your active stock or dig    
under the tables for your out of season 
goods4  ,before we discuss detail1 ,mr4 
,lambert1 continued the salesman1 ,i    
have something to say about the         
practical arrangement of the inside of  
the store4  ,the business of a store is 
to sell goods4 ,a customer may come in  
for one item4 ,you want him to buy two  
or three or a half a dozen4 ,the easier 
you make it for him1 the less he has to 
cross and recross the store to complete 
his purchases--the more goods you will  
sell him4  ,what you want--what every   
merchant wants--and what few have--is a 
practical1 natural selling arrangement  
of the goods4  ,the invention of a      
practical wardrobe merely made the right
 plan possible4  ,our business is to    
suggest the plan and fit the wardrobe   
arrangement to the needs of a store4    
,every clothing store has its own       
individuality4 ,each problem must be    
worked out on the ground with a full    
knowledge of the stock and the business1

 the history of the store1 the nature of
 its trade and the personality of its   
proprietor4  ,sam's interest was        
excited4 ,this point of view was new to 
him1 but he could see the truth of it   
and he was impatient to get at the heart
 of the matter as far as his own store  
was concerned4  ,you're right1 he said1 
about the personality and individuality 
of a store2 and for that reason don't   
tell me to put the furnishing goods     
shelving down the middle of the store4  
,this is a clothing store and not a     
haberdashery4  ,mr4 ,lambert1 said the  
salesman1 you have hit the nail squarely
 on the head4 ,this is a double room1 a 
very different problem from that of a   
single store4 ,i looked over the place  
of one of your competitors this morning4
 ,he also has a double store with much  
the same arrangement as yours and ,i    
find that he is making a                
mistake--adopting a plan that is about  
five years behind the times4  ,you see1 
in the earlier days of the wardrobe1    

there was no such thing as a center     
wardrobe4 ,therefore the clothing had to
 be hung against the wall in pull-out   
cabinets4 ,when the clothing went to the
 side walls the furnishings had to move 
to the center floor space4  ,such an    
arrangement is not practical for a      
double store and the effect is bad4 ,it 
kills the first impression of a big     
store4 ,the shelving will look bare if  
it is not trimmed1 and if it is trimmed 
your big double room looks like two     
small stores divided by a wall4  ,the   
center shelving will always have stock  
boxes piled on top and that will throw  
one side of the store always in shadow4 
,besides1 this arrangement divides the  
trade and screens half of it from view4 
,the stock is cut in two and looks      
small4  ,one salesman can not wait on   
the furnishing goods trade without      
neglecting half of it all the time4 ,if 
you have two clerks1 a customer must be 
taken from one side to the other for his
 ties or underwear1 and there you are   

again1 both on one side at the same     
time4  ,if another customer came along  
they'd have to stop in the middle of a  
sale and refer him to a clerk around in 
the other aisle4  ,a furnishing goods   
department should be continuous4 ,the   
sale of a shirt will lead to the        
purchase of a tie or a collar or        
hosiery4 ,the goods should be in sight  
so that they automatically suggest      
themselves4  ,you enter this store and  
the first impression you get is a big   
clothing store4 ,that is what you want4 
,clothing dominates the store4          
,furnishing goods and hats are important
 and necessary side lines4 ,no one would
 mistake it for a haberdasher's4 ,you   
have been known from the beginning as   
the leading clothier4 ,that's the       
reputation you want to keep4  ,mr4      
,lambert1 one of the important problems 
of this store is to house your stock in 
new fixtures and at the same time widen 
your aisles4  ,you can not see how that 
is possible4 ,it is really the only     

problem ,i have to solve for you1 and it
 is easy4  ,the little man with the big 
spectacles had things moving4 ,he was   
not much of a salesman but he knew all  
about merchandising in a retail store4  
,and he certainly was familiar with     
every store fixture and selling device  
that had ever been invented1 its good   
and bad points1 where it was practical  
and where it was not4  ,before a        
merchant puts money into store          
equipment1 said the wardrobe man1 he    
ought to be sure that he is getting the 
very latest and most improved models4   
,he owes this to himself as a protection
 for his investment4  ,there is always a
 temptation to save a few dollars by    
adopting a poor imitation or some       
out-of-date device4  ,the latest and    
best is the cheapest in the end1        
especially when you consider convenience
 and durability4  ,a pretty safe guide  
is to see what the biggest and best     
stores everywhere are installing today4 
,you will find such merchants as ,john  

,wanamaker in his ,philadelphia and ,new
 ,york stores equipping his clothing    
departments solely with ,new ,way       
,crystal ,wardrobes2  ,browning1 ,king  
,company in seventeen cities2  ,schuman1
 ,kennedy1 ,posner1 ,talbot ,company1   
,jordan-,marsh  ,company1 ,leopold      
,morse ,company1 ,mc,cullough  ,parker  
in ,boston2  ,george ,muse ,company in  
,atlanta2  ,mullen  ,bluett of ,los     
,angeles2  ,becker of ,san ,francisco2  
,burkhardt of ,cincinnati2  ,lazarus1   
and ,meyer ,israel of ,new ,orleans2    
,and more than a thousand others--all   
the representative stores of their      
localities4  ,these men have selected   
the ,new ,way ,crystal ,wardrobes after 
careful comparison with every other     
device on the market4  ,they have found 
the ,new ,way ,crystal ,wardrobe the    
most sightly and compact--having the    
largest capacity with the greatest ease 
of operation4  ,they find that they show
 the goods better2 that the clerks can  
work faster from them2 that half a dozen

 clerks can sell from one wardrobe at   
the same time2 that one boy can keep the
 stock in good shape where four were    
inadequate under any other plan4  ,they 
find that the ,new ,way people have     
basic patents on special features1 such 
as the ,new ,way disappearing doors that
 divide in the center1 and slide into   
the ends of the wardrobe and do not     
project into the aisle4  ,the ,new ,way 
revolving rack with the patent locking  
device1 which works loaded or unloaded  
with equal ease--no friction1 no        
leverage1 no noise4  ,they find the ,new
 ,way low center wardrobes give an      
unobstructed view all over the store and
 are the only wardrobes made that are   
entirely practical for grouping in front
 of a furnishing or hat department4     
,likewise the high double deck wall     
wardrobes have more than double the     
capacity of tables4  ,the wardrobe man  
illustrated his talk with photographs   
and backed his arguments with figures4  
,the upshot of it was that he made a    

complete ground plan of the ,lambert    
store with a modern selling arrangement 
and ,new ,way fixtures in their proper  
places4  ,but before ,stucker would     
admit the wisdom of the improvement1 he 
argued it from every point of view4     
,the farmer trade1 he said1 would       
imagine that they would have to pay     
higher prices for clothing to make up   
the cost of new fixtures4  ,this1 mind  
you1 today when the farmer is the most  
enlightened member of the               
community--when he is using progressive 
methods in marketing his own product1 to
 reduce his costs and increase his      
profits6  ,lem acknowledged that the    
clothiers who are handling the finest   
merchandise are fitting up their stores 
with ,new ,way ,crystal ,wardrobes1 and 
he didn't like to admit that the        
,lambert ,store didn't sell high grade  
merchandise4  ,he conceded that fine    
goods in every other line of trade are  
treated with the care and respect they  
deserve1 otherwise they would suffer in 

the handling and cease to be fine       
merchandise4  ,finally1 ,lem admitted   
that the discerning public does judge a 
merchant's stock by the way he treats   
it1 so that the store with ,new ,way    
,wardrobes as a feature is not only the 
most progressive store1 but in          
practically every instance the most     
prosperous in the clothing trade of its 
locality4  ,after ,sam had given the    
order his one thought was impatience for
 the completion of the job4  ,i must    
have that stuff all installed so that ,i
 can have my opening a week ahead of the
 other people4  ,here1 ,stucker1 called 
,sam to that gloomy soul1 who had gone  
behind a stock of work-shirts1 while the
 order was being signed1 we'll let you  
dispose of the old fixtures4 ,that's a  
job that's just about your size4  ,i    
tell you1 ,stucker1 a natural-born      
retrencher has his virtues4 ,but if you 
give him rope enough he will retrench   
you out of business4 ,he never builds   
anything4 ,if it wasn't for the creative

 man there would be nothing to retrench4
  ,the retrencher is all right if you   
don't pay him too much4 ,he is worth    
about #aj a month1 because you can find 
fifty of them in any old man's home that
 you can hire for less money than that4 
,no1 ,lem1 ,i won't be unfair4 ,you're  
not as bad as all that4 ,it takes all   
kinds of people to make a world and     
there is plenty of room for both of us  
in this business--there always will be  
leaks to stop and work to do for an     
earnest man who has the interest of the 
store at heart4  ,the fault has been in 
the division of our labor4 ,i'll show   
you the way we can get the best out of  
ourselves4  ,sam1 said ,lem1 ,i reckon  
,i've been looking at the world through 
a crack in the fence and ,i'll have to  
widen out my view a little4 ,you give me
 the books and the sales slips to look  
after4 ,in the meantime ,i'm going to   
make the most exact inventory this store
 ever had and be ready to check in the  
fresh stock that is to go in these ,new 

,way wardrobes4  ,my talents are all    
right if ,i don't try to cover too much 
territory4  ,the two men shook hands4   
,all was in readiness on the day set4   
,everybody in ,medeena ,county came to  
the ,grand ,opening1 and ,sam ,lambert's
 ,new ,way ,store is doing the business 
of the town4