Evening Star Newspaper, September 27, 1936, Page 52

By -4 MAKING HONESTY BEST POLICY KEEPS HUNDREDS BUSY. THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C., HUMAN FRAILTY FRUST RATED Professional Shopping Service Employed by Retailers Keeps All Clerks on Their Toes and Weak Ones From Putting Hands in Clutches of Temptation. By Vesta Cummings. ODERN department stores may be iced and scented, with lacquer - fingered ladies behind the counters and tranquil organ music at the luncheon hour, but few persons realize that a whole new profession has grown up in the last 20 years to assist in wachieving service standards to match the surface splendor of retailing. Hundreds of investigating shoppers whose function is a sort of insurance against human frailty—upon which insurance companies have never yet announced premiums—are employed to promote courtesy and make honesty easy among the thousands of clerks engaged daily in exchanging mer- chandise for your money. Putting himself (or more often herself) in the position of both customers and merchants, here are some of the matters professional shoppers are asked to consider: Are you a housewife who drefids shopping in certain departments of certain stores because you are likely to get that clerk who makes it plain that you bore her? Are you one of the women who would rather wait an hour in a dress shop than let any one other than Miss Jones serve you, because you are better dressed and have enjoyed more compliments since she had been help- ing you select your clothes? If so, how are more Miss Joneses created? Must you summon courage to say fo some salesladies, “I do not want to pay $50 for a dress, I prefer one around $20?” Are you then some- times made to feel that further serv- ice is a personal favor and that the clerk is despising you for your poverty, although she, you have reason to be- lieve, lives on a comparatively modest income? Are you a store owner who wishes that he really knew how his clerks approached customers? They seem alert when he strolls through the | store, but the complaint department relays tales of negligence. Or are you a merchant who has come to regard stock shortages at in- ventory time as an act of God, and doesn't know what more to do to keep people from robbing him? Olling the mechanism of trading, in which ancient pursuit both the per- son buying and the person selling are sometimes inclined to regret that the passing of barter makes of shopping no longer a free-for-all sport, is the Job of “service” shoppers all over the United States. It has been dis- covered that the atmosphere of a tea table by a wood fire on a rainy after- noon is the most desirable for a de- partment store counter, and that al- though the customer may not be ad- | vised how to keep calm when a mil- linery saleswoman does not under- stand her type, the clerk may be in- structed and tested on the art of painless selling. For this reason service shoppers are employed. UPPOSE you are & linen sales- woman who has just waited on an exacting customer, one demanding the limit of service and apparently knowing a great deal about materials end their durability. She has asked lots of intelligent questions and given you every opportunity either to rush her or to advise her patiently accord- ing to the needs of her household. In that case let it be hoped that you struck that nice balance of sales- manship, leaning neither toward in- sistence nor indifference. That dis- criminating customer might have been a trained shopper employed by your store through a Nation-wide organiza- tion known as Willmark Service Sys- tem to write & report on your man- mers, integrity, honesty, resourceful- ness, knowledge of stock, skill at “sug- gestive” selling, and whether your blouse is fresh, your slip showing, or you pronounce ‘“madam” correctly but not too often. If you failed to please your cus- Somer the reasons for your lack of suc- cess will be explained by your train- ing department, while if you were in- terested and helpful you will be com- mended for superior counter tech- nique and the triumph may help to smooth the rough selling road to pro- motion and pay. Don't, salesladies and gentleman— please don’t misunderstand when you learn about service shoppers you may ‘wait on unawares, employers urge. It isn’t espionage, but rather resembles testing a student, the principal differ- ence being that the student knows full well he is in a spot to put forth his best efforts. These trials by jury not only in- erease the owner’s profits, but are for your own good, it seems. You won't be fired for lack of skill in your deal- ing with one operative unless you show flagrant antagonism or pocket the proceeds of a cash sale before her eyes. You may, at the worst, receive extra instruction from your personnel department. Consistently unfavorable reports might put you at the top of the list of clerks who would be dis- pensible if the force had to be cut. The so-called “customer” who re- ports on your selling manner is in- structed not to irritate you and evoke your snappiest squelching lines, but to act like an average customer. Snatching, noises of derision about goods displayed, or comments about stock in other shops are frowned upon. Service shoppers, of course, take into consideration the class of mer- chandise and type of customers in various stores and sales methods rec- ommended by store executives. Any- one who has entered some cash ap- parel shops knows that an exit with- out a package requires more stamina than in stores where charge cus- tomers look over Fall dresses without being made to feel a selection is im- perative. 'Puvmm'mezhemuormmmm o” dollars worth of cash and merchandise annually also is an im- portant function of service operators, according to Richard J. Leven, general manager of the Southern division of Willmark Service, with offices in Wash- ington. While honesty is said to be the best policy, hundreds of persons besides law enforcement officers are kept busy all over the country trying to make sure that it is the best policy to keep hands off greenbacks and chiffon hose belonging to others. . Coveting other persons’ | soulless corporations, is so universal among folk employed by these con= cerns th* old concepts about being born with a predisposition toward honesty scem to break down. Given an opportunity to confiscate desirable things with a minimum of risk about getting caught brings out the pirate in many individuals whe have lived law-abiding existences until they passed their days close to temptation. Largely through the service's efforts is dishonesty reduced to a very bad policy. Numerous department stores, markets, restaurants, chain grocers, chain drug stores, cigar stores, gaso- line stations and auto repair shops employ such agencies on a yearly con- tract to check selling activities of their employes. To qualify as a shopper for this company, that employes more than 600 analysts, a mdn or woman must be of more than average intelligence and must possess & rounded educa- tional background. To achieve re- sults he must have an analytical mind, a keen sense of observation and a retentive memory. Crews of four, under supervisors, rotate and inter- change all over the country to provide fresh interests for the shoppers and maintain their enthusiasm for the work. Before being allowed to do investigation work operatives take eyesight, memory and adaptability tests and go through a training period of at least six to eight weeks. Every one in the politness manu- facturing business is eager to stress that they do not spy on employes. Indeed, it's only a country store clerk these days. who doesn’'t know about service shoppers. Stores using the service system are posted with a metal plaque announcing that fact, the em- blem depicting & magnifying glass and a test tube bearing the mottoes, “Test- ing to Prevent” and “Builders of Personnel,” and new clerks are in- formed that such shoppers will check the results of training. D!PARTMENT store clerks some- times refer to service shoppers as “goaders,” it is said, despite the fact that the shopper is instructed never to be ill-tempered. Human nature being what it is, Mr. Levin points out, studied rudeness on the part of a cus- tomer might easily provoke inferior service or retalitory wise-cracks, and | it is not with such exceptional cases that the store is primarily concerned. Many retail stores are concentrating not only on fostering courtesy, but on increasing sales through “suggestive selling,” about which their training departments give lectures and the service company issues pamphlets periodically for distribution among clerks hired by their clients. Rules for the proper handling of cash regis- ters, the correct method or time for recording cash transactions, the value of an effective approach in selling, spotlighting the shoplifter, protection against the short-change manipulator and the power of suggestive selling are high lights in the educational plan. Twenty years ago there was no sug- gestive selling, it seems. You just went into a shop and asked for some- thing, and if they had it you bought it. Today, with merchandise appear- ing on the market for uses heretofore unfulfilled, clerks are sometimes asked to promote new products. The sales- person trained in this twentieth cen- tury art no longer asks, “Anything else?” at the completion of every sale: instead she shows some additional item. When a customer selects hose it is the proper procedure to ask “How many pair would you like?” Service shopping was practically unknown until 1916, when Will and Mark Bernstein of New York, both in charge of personnel and service work for chain stores, decided to in- corporate as Willmark. Today, in addition to more than 600 shoppers working the United States and Can- ada, they service more than 10,000 business units. This concern oper- ates from a home office in New York, where master records are kept, and new methods are developed by the research department to be carried out through branch offices in 23 cities, from which crews of testers cover 1,500 cities. Two decades ago Willmark was largely concerned with honesty, at- tempting to stem the tide of cash and clothing disappearing annually around American bargain counters, employers having discovered that hir- ing men and women with spotless rec- ords did not always guarantee that they would never steal. From facts garnered all over the country, changes were suggested in store systems for handling cash and merchandise— changes that plugged loopholes mak- ing dishonesty too easy. ‘HE ingenuity of man in getting something for nothing is awe- some, Mr. Levin says. Did you know that the rubbish leaving most de- partment stores is examined? Hun- dreds of thousands of dollars worth of goods has been carted out of de- partment store alleys in waste through collusion of employes, porters and rubbish collectors, while managers desperately searched for lost mer- chandise and profits. It was fairly simple for clerks to deposit articles in waste containers any hour of the day. Rubbish men, looking as guile- less as garbage collectors always look, could then go through the waste of that store in some out-of-the-way spot and split profits with inside workers. Besides making the exam- ination of rubbish a routine in many shops, it is now frequently a rule in large stores that no merchandise boxes shall be thrown away without first being broken or crushed. In one store a porter had used a trash bag to convey $2,400 worth of stuff from the premises when insect exterminators were asked to examine the basement. The exterminator peo= ple found umbrellas, bath robes, clocks, suits of clothes and stacks of silk hose secreted along the ceiling beams. When the porter came upon the astonished - exterminators with flashlights trained on his hiding place he offered to divide the booty, but they happened to prefer reporting their findings to the manager. Another man who was credit man- ager and head cashier of a prosper- ous establishment had stolen $3,000 by lowering figures on sales checks and pocketing the difference before apprehension by service system peo- ple. The store had not suspected the credit manager himself, but had been watching all the clerks. ‘When all sorts of things are miss- belongings, “more particularly the property of|ing at inventory time—ean annual, large department stores and so-called ! semi-annual or monthly event in all b ol fa stores—the manager’s fancy turns to a study of his employes. A pharmacy manager, driven to asking the ex- perts for a solution, discovered that vanishing aspirin and tooth paste was due to the errand boy, who was mak- ing a nice thing of answering the order telephone during rush hours. He filled orders obtained in this fash- ion, delivered them with legitimately taken orders and made a clear profit for himself. Clerks in chain stores have been known to charge customers 2 or 3 cents more on canned goods than the indicated price in order to make sure of a little income outside their sal- aries. If the customer protests it is simple to apologize for the mistake. Service-system shoppers watch the prices struck off by the adding ma- chine when they enter busy shops, select a load of canned goods and dairy products, topped with celery, and return to their office to write the story of the trip. Auto repair shops and gasoline sta- tions are businesses dependent on the service shopper for information. When you repair a service shopper’s car and charge him for parts he goes into its inside and finds out whether those new parts were actually in- stalled, which is contrary to the prac- tice of most motorists. HE stellar instrument for supple- menting one’s salary remains, however, the cash register. In one instance it was found that a little juggling with some matchsticks and the leaping digits showed & profit of $1,900 for one man clerk. Whenever his cutomers didn’t seem to be notic- ing he rang up $1 less than the amount of the purchase on the reg- ister, placing all the money in the till, since it is risky to be seen pocket- ing cash around retail stores. In or- der that he wouldn't lose #rack of the unrecorded amount and leave his cash register with an inexact bal- ance at closing time, the salesman placed & match in one pocket each time he underscored a sale. At the end of the day he counted his matches and removed the same number of dollars from the till at an opportune moment. An unannounced raid on the cash register, when this man’s department was under suspicion, re- vealed to astonished officials that there was $12 more in the register than had been rung up. The clerk had 12 matches in his pocket. Another stealing system which met with success until it became known to owners was that of pocketing part of the bank handed out each morn- ing for change. Sales might then be underrung until the sum pilfered was| made up. The riskiest system is said | to pe ringing up less than the amount | of the sales and pocketing the dif-| ference for each transaction. But the habit grows. Take a dollar for a finger wave when broke and by the end of the year you are likely to be stealing several times daily. SEPTEMBER 27, 1936—PART FOUR. Poor dwellings in the slums were razed to make way for the clean, modern living quarters of Techwood, shown above. Tllusions of store owners about their old, trusted employes sometimes must be shattered, it is regretted. ‘It can't be Mr. Brown, of course, he's been with us for 20 years,” is typi- cal of the remarks owners make to service representatives when they know that goods is disappearing, but cannot find why, Often alas! it turns out that Mr. Brown has taken ad- vantage of the trust placed in him, and his employer is more surprised to unearth this breach of faith than Mr. Brown is in being discovered. After a crew had finished checking | a store the supervisor placed on the manager’s desk evidence that the head of the toilet goods department had failed to record a sale of $3.75. The manager refused to believe it. “That's ridiculous,” he scoffed. “Miss Blank has been with us for 16 years. Besides the inventories from her department are perfect.” Miss Blank was called and ques- tioned. She had indeed sold a lip- stick and rouge a short time before. | ‘The recording? To the astonishment of the manager she soon admitted that she had kept the money and that she had misappropriated $400 in this manner in one year. “But that's impossible!” the man- ager exclaimed. “If you didn't re- | bridge tables, cord $400 worth of sales and kept the money for yourself there would be $400 worth of goods missing. Your inventories are perfect!"” ‘The service supervisor asked who took the inventory for this depart- ment, “Why, Miss Blank does,” was the reply. ' JDARING and originality marked the activities of a warehouse worker for a department store who married and furnished his new flat nicely at the cost of the store, ap- propriating his own wedding gifts from the management. He had taken rugs, radios, lamps, chairs and pictures. His system in- volved telephoning departments of | the store and asking them to send a | coffee pot or a few handkerchiefs to his address, charging them to him. When the package arrived at the warehouse he tossed the ordered ar- ticle aside and changed the delivery | notice to cover an article more sub- stantial to present to his bride. After eliminating all other possi- bilities the investigating crew was forced to recommend that packages for employes be opened, even when accompanied by a sales check, before dozen wash cloths finally turned out to be a carpet and that was that. Have you wondered impatiently why you cannot give girls in department stores $2 cash for a $2 purchase and leave without waiting for a sales check, which you usually toss on the floor without glancing at the figure. She is instructed to present you with that copy of the amount recorded in the salesbook. If you found & $3.95 slip in a bag with a hat for which you had paid $595 probably you would ask the store manager about it. ‘The desire for money and pretty clothes, added to an incapacity to' ful- fill those desires, plus temptation ever present before clerks, combine to form triology presenting a grave danger to every retail store. The crux of the problem lies, apparently, in not try- ing to destroy human desires but in minimizing temptation. Frequently dishonesty starts as a result of carelessness or a mistake. On a busy day, with cash registers crowded, a clerk may lay aside money. She still has it at the end of the day. She shrugs her shoulders and keeps it. ‘There apparently are no seasons, no localities, where dishonesty is un- known. During the worst part of the depression clerks stole more than in A half the culprit was discovered. Photoplays in Washington Theaters This Week good times, and stealing increased to “Earthworm Trace 645 Pa. Ave. SE. tors.” ne Tra "llnhworm Trac- tors.” e Cary Grant in “Suzy."” Cary Grant in Ysary n uzy. “The White Angel.” WEEK OF < . SEPTEMBER 27 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday . Saturday “The, Vole of Busle| "The Volce of Bugle| jeanneite MacDonald Jeannette MacDonald ~Gentleman From | “Genileman Prom | "The Casing Murder Academy Apn. L Barrymore.|Ann.* L. Barrymore.|"and Nelwon Eddy. |“and Nelson Eddy. | Louisiana. quiln.|Louisiena.’ Quil an.| Case” Paul Lukss. “The Border Fatrol- he Border Fatrol in in “Private Number.” | “Private Number.” |“Toll of the Desert.” 8th and G Sts. S8E. _O'Brien. o e “Rose Marie." “Rose Marie.”___|R. Taylor. L. Youns.'R. Taylor. L. Youns.|__Fred Kohler. jr. RaPasead Fred Machiurray and Fred Ml:l(unly “and Fred MacMurray'and Wagner Baxter and | Warner Baxter and | Wapner Baxter and | Gene Raymond and assador Jack o-kne x o kie akie Myrna Loy in Myrna Loy in Myrn. Y in Ann Sothern in % | “To Mary With “To Mars With *“To vny with | “Walking on Alr. 15th and Columbla Rd. |*"The Texas Ransers.” “The Texas Rangers.” |“The Texas Raners.” Love.’ i ___Love ! lal. Bing Croshy and Bob!'Bing Crosby and Bob Bing Crolby and Bob Bette Davis and | F role.” - Apollo Burns in “Rhythm on Burng in “Rhythm on Burns in “Rhythm on | Simone Simon tn | Simone Simon in Warren Will [“Thes, Met in & Taxt.” the Range." the Range." | “Girls' Dormitory.” | “Girls’ Dormitory.” -4 of “Phantom 624 H 8t. NE. Mickey Mouse. Mickey Mouse. Mickey - Mouse. an_Met 2 Lad: ider.” Shirley Temple and | Shirley Temple and | Shirley Temple and | Shirley Temple and | Pat O'Brien and | _Pat O'Brien and | Johnny Downs in | Arcade Michael Whalen in | Michael Whalen in | Michael Whalen in | Michael Whalen In | Beverley Roberts in | Beverley Roberts in | “First Baby . “Poor Little Rich | “Poor Liftle Rich | “Poor Little Rich | -Poor Little Rich | “China Clipoer. | “China Clipper. |Peter s Kyne's M Hyattsville, Md. Girl." Cart. News. | Girl." Cart. News. | Girl" Cart _|_Girl."_Cart. News. |Cartoon. Band. News. Cartoon. Band. News.| terious Avenger.” Ashi = | Robert _ Mont ir i | Spirley Temple in |'hirley Temple, in | Shirley Temple. in ton Dark. Madge Ev | Melvyn Douslas. in | “*Poor le” Rich | “Poor Little Rich | “Poor Little Rich nd So They S | Girl.” Clarendon. Va. ok __Were_Married.’ Gang Comedy. __|__ Gang Comedy. _ Glnl comedy 1 Shirley Temple in | Shirley Temple Shirley Temple in~ | Robert Montgomery ( Robert Montgomery _Henry Fonda and Avalon “Poor Little Rich | “Poor Little Kich Poor Litile Rich | and Madge Evans | “and Madse Evans Pat Paterson Anne shirley in in in 5612 Connecticut Ave. | Mickey Mouse.” _|__Mickey Mouse.” iceadilly Jim.* iccadilly Jim™ | “Spendthrift” | | | Joe E. Brown and " Jean Harlow. Fracis and June Travis and | Avenue Grand June Travis in Pranchot_Tone and an Hunter Craig Reynolds |“High Tension” and “Second Wife." in “Jailbreak." Jean Harlow, Franchot Tone. in uzy . News_and_Comedy. Dumbarton 1343 Wis. Ave. N.W. 11— C ge)r't‘ Prgnme{: Robert yewome{y beesrlt Kent ln% G‘flo- Chester Morris and .}vznx.;hwhx‘:hers azd | Jame withers and | Larry t:m:b‘efl n am¢ an e Evans adee Evans In |ria ua; l’l “Crime 4l jorgan in alpl g 3 eo Ceadilly Jim.” iccadilly Jim “Little_Miss Nobody " | Little Miss Nobody.” (Paul Kelly in_‘‘Song Mount Rainier. M. _|Care. Novelts. News. Novelty. News.|Cartoon. n.nu N nd Cart. Noveity, News. Novelty. News.| and Dance Man."_ Carch Margaret sm van in| Marearet t Sullavan in|Cary Grant in “Big Cary Grant in “Big| Joe E. Brown and Paul Kelly in arolna “The Moo ur|“The Moon'’s Our(Brown nu "> Bauline | Brown Eves.” Pauline| ' June Travis in Country Beyond. Home " Jane Withers Home. Jane Withers | Lord o her Lord in_ * her| “Earthworm Trac | “Bartnworm Trac- | Joan Blondell in 11th and N.C.Ave.SE. | in “Gentle Julia.” | in_“Gentle Jul o Brer sa tors tors.’ ss_Pacific Fleet Warner Baxter and | Warner Baxter and | Bing Crosby and nd |~ Bette Davis and | irls” Dormitory"” Central Myrna Loy in M>tna Loy in Burns 1n Bob Burns in Warren William | Frances Langiord in and “To Mary With “To Mary With | “Rhsthm on the | “Rhythm on the i |""“Palm Springs.” ‘Walking on 425 oth 8t. N.W. Lov £ Range.” _ Satan Met a Lady." | E Alr” 2 5 Tobert, Monteomery | Rebert Montl mery |~ Anne ammy and_ |~ Anne Shiriey nd ™ Warner Baxter and | Warner Baxer and | Walter Abel and Clrcle Madge Evans in | and Madge Evans in Beal in hn Beal in Myrna Loy in Myrna Loy in Edith Atwater in "Plecldflly Jim." “Piccadilly Jim.” R Lise, iss, “To Mary WithLove.” “To Mary With Love."” “We Went to College.” 2105 Pa. Ave. N.W. News. | entarch of “Time. | “March of Time» Cartoon. Chase_comedy. C”l“ Bing Cmsbg and Bob| Bing Crosby and Bob Bing Crosby and Bob! T i Fentaiand olony Buths in “Rhythm on Burng in “Rhythm on Burng in “Rhyihm on| Simone Simon in, | Simone, Simon in | Ravmond Massey in | “Pat Paterson in the Range. e Range “Girls' Dormitory.” | “Girls' Dormitory.” | “Things to Come.” “Spendthrift.” Ga. Ave. and Farragut l(lckey Mouse Mickey Mt mcku Mouse. Serial. Jean Harlow, Franchot Tone. in uz: Y. News_and Comedy. Owen Davis. Louise Lattimer. “Bunker Bean.’ Comedy. i Jin Joe E. Brown. Joe E. Brown, Junr‘ Travis, in Jum\ Trl\ts in ‘‘Earthwo “Earthworm Tractor.” Tract Comedy. | Tionel Barrymor Buck Jones. in Maureen _O'Sulliv: “Cowboy and the in_“The Devil Doll Kid.” |_News and Comedy. Comeds. B Glorla, Stuart, Gloria Stuart, | Chester Morris, Fairlawn in in n All_Comedy Anng Shirley, in | Bobby, Breen. in “36 Houu to “36 _Hours to “They Met 1n & “Public Enemy's Night. “MLiss."” “Levs Sing. Atain.” Anacostis, D. O. Rill."™ Xill. = | 5 Alfred Lunt and Alfred Lunt and | John s tart Tl | ~ohn Hosasdian | | WaEner Oland i [ OwEars Olana i > Fields ai Hippodrome Lynne Fontanne in | Lynne Fontanne in | “Border Flight.” wBorder Flight." |<Chap in Shanghai."|<Chap in Shanghat" Rochrlle Hudson in “The Guardsman.” | “The Guar: * | warner Baxter in | Warner Baxter in |Vic. McLag] 70-| Vic. McLagl K near 6th Cart. Novelty. News.|Cart. Novelt; ing_of Burlesaue.”' Klnl of nunmue | Vieastana - Soldier | ‘fescional Soidier | “March of Tin Fobert, Monteomery | Robert Monteo W. C. Fields and Fields and | June Travis and | Buster Crabbe and |~The Last Outla Home and Madge Evans in | Rochelle Hudson Bochellz Hudson Craig Reynolds Marsha Hunt in e i | ““biccadtiiy Tim in Ay “Arizona Raider: 13th and C Sts. N.E. | _ silly Symphony. Silly Symphony. Jailb ___our G t Montgomery | Robert Montgomery Rex Ingram Bette Davis and _ Jesse Boa Madge Evansin | and Madge =$.n. in ‘Warren William in | _“Shakedown. ®icoadily Jim." “Green P-sturu“ “Green Plnum » |-Satan Met a Lady”| William Boyd in 18thnr. R.I. Ave. N-E. Novelties. Novelties. Novelt Novelties. Senial Com. ‘Novelty. | “Three on the Trail. Lee Dark. Edward Arnold. in ldnrd Arnold. in | Bing Crosby. in Bing Crosbs. in Buck Jones, in Randolph Scott. In “Meet Nero Wolf.” t Nero Wolt."” “Mississippi.” “'Mississippl.” | “Sunset of Power.”|“And Sudden Death. Falls Church, Va. Little Oth between F and G Conrad Veigt in Conrad Veigt in “Power.” “Power."” Jeanette MacDonald n Conrad Veigt in “Power.” “Naushty Mari- e Jeanette MacDonald "Nlulhly Mari- Jeanette MacDonald in “Naughty Mari- . G Wl H. G, Wells' Pat O'Brjen and Mar-| Brian Donlevy and |Warren Will | Warren wmum snd|~ Tarey | cmme in Milo “Things to Come.” | “Things to Come.” |"garet Lindsa tte ¢ Gold, artoon. “Public Ene “Satan Met Rockville, Md. Novelty. News. | _Novelty. News. _ 5 Cs and. | 45 Pal “Sutter's Gold-™ | ~<sutter’s tter’s Gold." | “The Show Boat | “The Show Boat. alm Dark. Edyard Armold, | Bdward Amold. | Irene Dunn. Allan | Irene Dupn. Allin ki Tracy. Lee Tr Jones.Cartoo: Jones. _Cartoon. ‘Sally Eilers. Del Ray, Va. Cartoon. cnnoon Show_starts at .|Show_starts_at 5:30.| Comedy. Noveltie t P Katharine Hepburn | Katharine Hepburn | Katharine Hepburn | Pat O'Brein ai Pat_O'Brien ~Pat O'Brien and | D Costello Bar- Penn and Prredlflc Tarch | and 'r'mfn Tiarch | and Fredric March Beverly Roberts In | Beverly Rober Beverly Roberts Ia | rymore guu?:am 650 Pa. Ave. 8B |“Mary o Beotland.|“Mary _of Bcotiand.|“Mary _of"Beottana. | “Marclt of Hime. | “March of &1 . the_Asking." Richmond Joan Crawford and | Joan Crawford and Josn Crawford and | Adolphe ueumu and. Adolphe Menjoy and & Rert s Hosey™ | “argeous. Hussy: ooy Hores™ | “Sing Baby, Sif Sins Baby, Sine." Alexandris. Vo, ___| Cart. Novelty. News.|Cart. Novelty. News. ovelty. News.| Cart. Novelty. New smnm‘::" lml" Fa v . y and|Eleanore Whit: Shirley Temple in Savoy Chener Morietn | Chemter Morrls i | Rosers cum Wmm'- o Bomen Cummiars 1n {gmmy.uxe& 1| e g | FOOF Gittle Rien s00 0w ww,_| g s | CREMTR Y PG o B et e 50,0, C = = o = 35 Walks | The Bride Walks | Comedy. Comedy. Cartoon, »_ Cartoon. | _Bed.” Cartoon. Adunm;. il Silver Spring. Md. . News. Feature. News. Feature. News. Short, Pathe News. | Short. Pn'xdu r:lewL Merriwell. = .'.',2": 11 11 \wiord. 1 Joan Cra . in | “Broadway Melody o S g, | TS (PG R *?'5'3"1""%'.,2 E sy At o L in o # Y e g oth and © ste. nx. | Hhe® Batvewer | Hhe’ Hitvese Across | slo P FatborAstar | son.” “Tatoot-Asior. | Hobert Tavior Coni wally. 0| Richard Dix, in || Richard Dix. State Jespette MacDonald, Jesnette_MacDonald, Jeanette, Machonald, w‘“": "Rich." “Devil’ ron. | «Devils * squadron.» “San Francisco.” | an Prancisco.” |James 't 't Eqward E. "in| Edward E. Horton, in Bethesda. Md. er Foraon *&er Personal .| Nobody's Foor “Nobody's Fool." 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Ave. and Quebes ' Anng Snirley 1 R B @ WOMEN OF AMERICA Those of “Techwood,” First Low-Cost Hous- ing Project, Show Love for, and Pride in, Home-Making—Hundreds Made Happy. By Mathilde Bahar. ATLANTA, GEORGIA. 'OMEN of Atlanta are wit- nessing the realization of their great hope for bet- ter housing conditions. Atlantan families now are moving into Techwood, the first public slum-clear- ance and low-rent development in the country. Much has been written and spoken in bitter partisan rivalry and emo- tional agitation of the Government's erection of this low-cost housing project. But the Atlantan mother in her new Techwood home cares noth- ing about this. She feels that the gates of Paradise have been opened | to her. And her gratitude and belief in the greatness of her country for creating this haven and opportunity | for her family is overwhelming. T spent several hours talking to the tenants and watching other families move in. Some came with just a few | miserable sticks of furniture, while | others brought many nice pieces, of which they are very proud. But on the whole their own things mean lit- | tle at the moment, for they are ab- | sorbed by the riches of their new liv- ing quarters. | While the chilaren siid over shining new floors and raced up and down the stairs, mothers admiringly opened | closets, or with tired, loving hands | patted the electric refrigerator (a most | cherished ambition realized) and| me, “I used to get so tired of putting having to live with it all day.” The but it llood for so much to her. It was most interesting to see the established at Techwood toward the | newcomers. They sensed their emo- tional as well as the physical strain | and at once offered words of welcome. | “You will love it here,” said a young mother, tightly holding’ a squirming toddier and greeting a new tenant who sank wearily on the lawn bench be- side her. “All of us get out in the yard, it a greater extent in cities hardest hit. In smaller cities, where the store manager knows Mary, the clerk, and the first names of every member of her family, Mary is nevertheless sometimes tempted by the stream of silver passing through her hands. In large cities like Washington there is Just as much danger of dishonesty in May as in December. Many of us,f it seems, are honest only because it | is the best policy, rather than be- cause of superior moral equipment. Psychologists say that no one is born with respect for the possessions of others. It is acquired with train- ing. Witness, they say, the rage of Billy, 5 years old, when told that he may not take a teddy bear home because it belongs to Johnnie. Every one recalls that pillaging swept Bos- ton a decade ago during the famous police strike, and that property losses Were enormous. Stealing to meet a specific obliga- tion is commonest, it has been found. A gambling debt, a bill undertaken in a spirit of optimism, a relative out of a job, hospital bills, a girl friend with high notions about entertain- ment—such circumstances make pil- ferers of honest folk. URTHER explaining why employ- ers are inclined to try to prevent stealing rather than hire personnel | above reproach, Mr. Leven said that he asked the vice president of a large company, & man of wealth, what he | would do if, when making a $2 long- distance call on a pay telephone, the money was returned accidentally. Would he redeposit the $2? The man thought for some time and said that he would not. He would figure, he said, that he wasn't taking anything from an individual, but from a large company. He'd pocket the $2 and g0 about his business, he said. Re- tailers have found that employes, trusted beyond their strength like the vice president in the telephone booth, are likely to develop a similar atti- tude. Hotels are extensive users of shop- ping services, which test every one from managers to bellhops about service. For an annual fee computed according to size, location and num- ber of employes, the hotel is shopped from 4 to 12 times a year, usually by a man in the guise of a traveling salesman. A hotel that can please a traveling salesman can cater to any one, it seems. He worries the manager more than any other class of patron, be- cause he regards hotels as home, spending so much of his life in them, and expects to be made to feel at home as soon as he signs his name at the desk. Making his reservation ahead, the hotel shopper arrives. He proceeds to his room and calls for all kinds of service, never giving more than a small tip, and sometimes none at a These methods, it is agreed, are di of any hostelry. Then he goes out and calls himself up several times, leav- ing complicated messages whose ac- curacy he checks when he returns. He sends a suit to the valet with cash in a pocket, to see if the money is returned. He gets conversational with chambermaids to check whether or not they will break the rules of the house by encouraging friendship with guests. In the dining room he demands fruits out of season. When in Seattle he wants Florida stone crab, when in Florida he wants reindeer meat. In fact he tests the ingenuity and courtesy of every one without crossing any one’s palm with silver. He makes an inventory of everything in the room, even the dust. Are the needles in the pincushion rusty? Are they threaded? Are the pen points instru- ments that will elicit curses rather than neatly written notes? Are “do not disturb” signs handy? He makes notes on all his observations and sets them down in a complete report, which is forwarded from the com- pany’s divisional office to the hotel r | OWner or manager. Thus the management gets & guest’s-eye view of the hotel staff in (Continued on Page 7.) A that stern messiah of the innkeeper, | children whose head is a citizen of the singed to spot the service escutcheon | gazed happily upon the new lhn.e from town by the bus. And we h: electric stove. One stood opening nnd schools for my boy and girl. closing the incinerator, with unshed |I am also fixing for them to go to tears glistening from her eyes. The | Sunday school tomorrow, for its only only way she could find expression |a short way. Yes, there are lots of for her joy at these great changes in | churches around here and the library her mode of life was to keep telling | is near, t00.” is so pretty, and the children have the grandest time.” It is easy to understand why mothers who have all their lives struggled with a low income and have been forced to live in substandard or slum housing conditions feel that they and their family have been given & new lease on life. And when I spoke to them, I sensed a personal pride in the Techwood homes, for they would invariably ask me if I did not think the place itself was beautiful. It is a very handsome project of two and three story red-brick, fire- proof buildings covering an area of 221, acres. There are 13 apartment houses, 7 two-story row houses and 14 miscellaneous buildings, including 8 stores, so that the housewife will have a nearby shopping center. The | administration building has & clinic and doctor and dentist offices to rent. The streets are wide and all of the | open spaces around the buildings are neatly landscaped. What appeals to Mrs. Housewife most is that the buildings cover only 22 per cent of the area. The rest is used for park, playgrounds, tennis courts and a wad- ing pool. No wonder she is planning to spend most of her time out of doors with the children! One mother went into lengthy details about how splendid the location was. “Usually, | wheh they fix places for poor folks to , live,” she said, “it is located far out. Now, here we are only 10 minutes ve Now, 1 visited Mrs. X, wife of a soft the garbage out in the back and then | grinyg salesman, who earns about $900 | a year. Incinerator was but one small detall | p g jiveq in a rickety old house. They in this splendid community project, | pag Jittle fire in the Winter and were , For the last three years they always suffering from colds, because | the woman who rented them the two friendliness of the women already | | rooms could not afford to keep a fire | continuously. | she, her husband and the two young- Mrs. X explained how sters slept in one bed in a small room having one window, and that this | terrible place was costing them 30 per cent of their income. There is a carcity of low-rent houses in Atlanta and she could not find anything better for the money. IMAG!NE her joy in her new, beau- tiful three-room apartment cost- ing about $23 a month, in which elec- tric and central heating is included. She cannot get over the Kitchen equipped with white electric stove and refrigerator, metal cabinet and beau- tiful porcelain sink and wash tub. “I never before had a floor covered with such beautiful linoleum,” said she excitedly. Among these women, wives of order clerks, salesmen, stenographers, book- , keepers, ambulance drivers, collectors, gas station attendants, bell boys and other low wage white collar trades, you find a definite modest gracious- ness and gentility that befits the Southern lady in such lovely sur- roundings. Here afternoon tea is offered with all the ease and airs of the Southern traditions. They re- gard themselves as favored to have their country do so much for them and in return they fully intend to hold up their end in both co-opera- tion and hospitality. In the South it is considered a misery to do your own work. But ‘Techwood has made every provision t) ease the women's work. Everything is simple, sanitary and easy to main- tain. There are also five central laundries where the women have every convenience for their washing and ironing. Certain days are set aside for use by each of the residents. Not realizing I was a stranger to Atlanta, the women assumed I had -~ come to rent an apartment. Every- one on leaving me just hoped I would be lucky enough to get in, and wished me good luck. For like all Govern- ment projects there is a certain amount of red tape involved. Here it is a question of keeping & atrict adherence to the standards for ad- mittance set up by the commission, together with choosing the most de- serving cases. For, although there are only 604 dwelling units, more than 3,000 applications were received. An experienced case worker investi- gates each case and those eligible must be passed by an advisory com- mittee which consists of certain prominent, civic minded Atlanta citizens. Preference is given to self- sustaining low income families with United States or who has taken out first papers and who has been a resi- dent of the city for at least one year before applying for a dwelling. As a matter of form all persons applying for a dwelling must show by making a signed statement that the net in- come of themselves and family is ir- sufficient to enable them to live in a decent, safe and sanitary home with no overcrowding. Families to be eligible for the proj- ect must come from bad housing con- ditions and then are only considered if their income does not exceed five times the rent of the home which they can, according to their number, oc- cupy. Both of these regulations are mandatory with the George-Healy bill passed by Congress. The income must range not lower than $700 and not more than $1,800, varying with the size of the family. Five persons must " take a four-room apartment and their wage cannot exceed $1,500. Seven persons have a five-room apartment or a six-room house. Mrs. Housewife is not allowed, as a number complained, to augment her income with & boarder. All families must consist only of relatives, includ- ing dependents, established as a part of .the family group. From the First Lady of the Land, who sent a rose bush to be planted by the Girl Scouts at the formal opening of Techwood, to the poorest housewife in Atlanta, there is a feeling of prid® that their city has been honored witn this project. When the mayor of At- lanta proclaimed Techwood day, all joined in to celebrate. A proud young mother showed me the Techwood Home News, a paper published by the Housing Administration, which they are hoping will be taken over by the residents. When I left Techwood, I carried away & picture of the American mother, proud and loving, always the homemaker, always striving to bring>. to her husband and children the hap- piness of education and cultured sur« roundings.