Page 135 - The_story_of_the_C._W._S._The_jubilee_history_of_the_cooperative_wholesale_society,_limited._1863-1913_(IA_storyofcwsjubill00redf) (1)_Neat

Wearinesses Long Forgotten.
Of the week-to-week trials of the Drapery Committee in these
years we have said nothing. On one occasion they had to face a
contempt of C.W.S. goods and prove their worth, which they did
after an investigation " anything but comfortable and pleasant."
In another instance the trouble lay in a considerable claim from an
outside firm for goods suppUed, of which they knew nothing until
too late. Or they were called upon to act as private detectives in
exposing cases of pilfering, and, now and then, benevolently to
decree that the pohceman who caught a burglar on the premises
and injured his boots should have another pair " from our stock,"
or (sternly) " that notice be given to the boy in our employ to leave."
"
Incidentally, no doubt they learned something of the economy
of high wages," and certainly of having employees who understood
the relation of the Wholesale to the societies, and whom they could
trust.
However, we may pass over wearinesses long forgotten by the
flesh, and conclude by noting how another business grew out of the
boot and shoe department as a younger sister to the drapery. It
began with iron bedsteads, and continued with brushes, domestic
ironware, and furniture generally. In July, 1876, this was made
into a separate department. The development naturally was slow,
but fairly steady. Meanwhile the boot and shoe department, freed
from its somewhat odd child, and now under the charge of Mr.
Henry Jackson, who had served from Halifax on the C.W.S.
Committee, also made better progress. The buyer and his assistants
were able to devote thernselves to a trade that was growing not only
with the London and Newcastle Branches, but also with the
progressive C.W.S. Factory at Leicester.

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