Vancouver Daily World from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada • Page 6

jfl VAJNU0DVJ2R DAILY WORLD the iewspaper or tnt Home, SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 1923 VANCOUVER DAIIX WORLD The Newspaper of the Borne. SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 1923 WOODWARD'S 32 YEARS OMPROGRESS IN VANCOUVER FEATURING THE BEST IN SERVICE FEATURING THE BEST FOR LESS COMMEMORATING THE OPEnNG OF OUR NEW BUILDING i Hastings and Abbott Streets and! nasungs aim rvuuuu streets aiiujjr on Gordova Street Phone Sey. 8000 Woodward's Limited Charles Woodward President and Founder of Woodward's, Limited Charles Woodward's First Store 53 Years Ago on Manitoulin Island, Ontario. Imagine the Task Mr. Woodward Had in Clearing This Bush Farm.

AN INSTITUTION which has grown steadily greater. And so it goes growing expanding but always on the finest founda tions values service, in its truest sense, the keynote of every successful enterprise. The vast community we serve will be interested to know of the progress of Woodward's, founded by Charles Woodward 53 years ago in a small way in Northern Ontario and continuing the onward march of progress as outlined by him on this page, with a success which has endured and grown steadily greater, reaching to the present vast business structure as it stands today a monument to the city of Vancouver, benefiting thousands of patrons by insisting on giving only the best quality of merchandise for less money, and all customers alike can rely safely upon the integrity of a House which has held fast to Us ideals for over fifty years. On this 32nd anniversary of Woodward's, we feel it an opportune time to give expression of our gratitude in thanking our numerous patrons for the wonderful support which has enabled us to occupy the position we do today. Mr.

Woodward's motto has always been "Advance Vancouver," and he has taken a great pride in serving so helpfully in its progress to greatness, ever striving to stimulate interest in the future progress of Vancouver by his support. 53 YEARS OF HA VE had seieral stores, but my first store in 1870 is one that I have very pleasant recollections of. It was situated in the Township of Bid well on Manitoulin Island, Ontario. Size of the store 10x12 which I also used as a bedroom, in the log dwelling as pictured on this page. This Island derived its name from the great Indian god, "Great Manitou" You will be interested to know that this Island, one hundred miles long and fifty miles wide, is situated in a bay of the great freshwater lakes.

The area is nearly as large as either Ireland or Scotland, and a distance of over one hundred and fifty miles from the Mainland in places. Some of the land is very rich and fertile, raising wonderful crops of grain and fruits; also great ranges for cattle and sheep. My customers were the early settlers and Indians, I traded mostly for mats, baskets, furs, fish, grain, potatoes and berries in fact anything that could be turned into a dollar. One dollar in those days was equal to ten dollars today. My next store was in Manito waning, carrying a stock between five and six thousand dollars, bought mostly on credit, to be used for trading purposes with the Indians and whites, as money was very scarce.

It was impossible to freight goods to the Island during the six winter months, as the water was frozen all round the Island, and we had to provide a six months' supply while navigation remained open, and very often we were on short allowances until opening up of navigation. The mail was despatched every three weeks from Perry Sound after the close of navigation, a distance of one hundred and fifty miles, and was carried over the ice by Indian guides, who at times ran great risks Charles Woodward's Second Store Manitowaning, Ont. Charles Woodward's First Store in Vancouver The Woodward Block, Main Street No Inflated Regular Price Values No Misrepresentation of Our Goods by the Salesforce. Charles Woodward's Second Store in Vancouver Built on the Present Site and Known as Woodward's Department Stores. Present Day Cordova Street Annex Sound Merchandise NO INTERIOR MAKES, NO SECONDS SUCH AS ARE OFTEN DESCRIBED AS SUBSTAXDARDS, BUT ALL QUALITY MERCHANDISE.

MB Please Note opening this, our new building, we venture to state that we have no thought whatsoever in our minds to use this opportunity to launch a Sale of any kind. Thereby not conflicting with our coming annual November Sale, a Sale that thousands of friends look eagerly forward to each year. WOODWARD'S LIMITED. artificial harbor which is closed nearly seven months of the year. Vancouver has a larger tonnage of shipments than Montreal.

Montreal was founded nearly three hundred years ago, and today has a population of something over seven hundred thousand people. Montreal, with all its advantages, being the Gateway to Canada on the Atlantic, Is not to be compared with our city here for future business. Vancouver is equal to any Seaport in the World for dimensions and for safety from storms. It is the Western Gateway to Canada. Vancouver has an abundance of coal, and has extensive water power from which electric energy can be generated.

Compare this with the climatic conditions of the east. We can manufacture anything here mom economically than can Eastern Canadian Cities. These goods can be sent to seven hundred and seventy seven million people of different nationalities on the Pacific Coast, as follows: One hundred million South American Republicans. Four hundred million Chinese. Fifty million Japanese.

Seven million Australians. Two hundred million in India. Twenty million Russians on the Siberian Coast. Some of these same seven hundred and seventy teven million people want our grain, our coal, our minerals, our timber, our fish, either in the raw or manufactured state. Besides increasing our British and European trade on this account that shipping can be made through Vancouver Port much cheaper than through the Atlantic ports for some of our productions which we are now sending them, CHARLES WOODWARD.

FOLD BY CHARLES WOODWARD, FOUNDER MERCHANDISING IN CANADA AS We have had three re organizations in the past 'if teen years, arranging our working capital to serve tur ever increasing business and to cope with the orosperity of the city. At the last organization the tame was shortened by cutting out "Department Store." We are now "Woodward's Limited," capitalized it one million dollars, all paid up, paying seven per ent. dividends besides a considerable rest account protect the company from any contingency that night arise. We sell products of nearly every nation, and we iave the best commercial credit all the world over md no firm in Canada has any better. The new part of this store just completed is built if concrete and steel, designed for four more itoreys, fire proof throughout and equipped with vater sprinkler system.

us new store added to mr old premises gives us well over two hundred liousand square feet of selling space, making shop ring much more pleasant. Every large store operates on a policy of its iwn. Some use British or foreign capital and iend their comings out of the country, while others yperate on a partnership basis where there are only i few partners retaining all the profits for them idves and very often they develop and grow to mmense proportions under this system. Our policy, we think, is the best for both the coun lry and our customers. FIRST There is no outside capital in this busi less, consequently all dividends are spent in the ity.

SECOND This store is owned by the employees cho work in the store. The employee who is ambi ions, loyal, with ability can secure stock if it is callable. THIRD Our employees art instructed to protect the customers' interests at all costs, so you can understand these instructions are more readily carried out if they are part owners. FOURTH Small profits and quick returns play an important part to keep the customers coming every day. FIFTH We always keep in view when buying goods how much our customers can afford to pay, and not the fact as to how much we can charge them when buying at this store.

A lot of changes have taken place in this city in our thirty two years of business here. Hundreds of business men have come and gone during that time. We are the, pioneer Department Store in Vancouver; only two firms were here in business when we came that are here now; the eery much respected firm of Clubb and Stewart, clothiers, and the Hudson's Bay Company, who operated a grocery and liquor business on Cordova Street. The population of Vancouver was in the neighborhood of thirteen thousand. In fact the population of British Columbia was less than eighty five thousand in the year 1891.

Vancouver today, including the suburbs, has now a population of over two hundred and fifty thousand. A marvellous growth, when you consider it was carved out of the big timber, and there was very little business on the Pacific Coast at that time. Today we have five transcontinental Railways that ship everywhere, besides the Pacific Great Eastern Railway now building into a vast, highly productive section of British Columbia only partly explored, namely the Peace River District. We also have ships coining to and from all parts of the world. Compare Vancouver's natural Harbor, which is open twelve months of the year, against Montreal's Building.

Cordova Street, between Carroll and Cambie, at this time, was the principal shopping centre, traffic turning north on Carrall Street to Cordova, and continuing on Cordova to Cambie and back to Hastings Street. This store was built over a frog pond. There were no street cars running on Hastings Street at this time, and not much other traffic. You can readily understand that business prospects were not very encouraging, and no wonder we were dubbed crazy fools for locating in such a place and yet to realize that today this section is the hub of Vancouver City. At this time we were an Incorporated Company, called "Woodward's Department Store," capitalized at $175,000.00, with a paid up capital of $82,000.00.

Loaded with a debt, nearly besides the operating expenses, taxes, this required some navigating and courage to make this business a success. We had visions of the great possibilities of Vancouver, and of its coming greatness. This stimulated us to greater efforts, and we have at no time lost sight of this. We knew that this store, to keep pace with Vancouver, would require much more land and a larger building to protect ourselves. We secured by option the adjoining eighty six feet immediately west of us for $32,000.00 and held it for nearly twelve months, hoping to get help to buif it.

The majority of people in those days were not quite so optimistic as we were and a greet many of them, like ourselves, lacked money, but we he'd to relinquish the option, and later it was sold to some other parties for a mere trifle. Nine years later we paid $350J000J00 for the same eighty six feet, and were pleased to get it. So this will give you some idea of the rapid growth of Vancouver at that time. and suffered extreme hardships in travelling over the ice and frequently lost the mail and their lives. The next winter a mail contract was let by the government for nine days, and since the building of the railway on the North Shore of the Bay, they have a daily mail service in winter.

My next stores were at Gore Bay and Thessalon River, both in the Province of Ontario. These were larger stores with a larger business which meant a heavier stock of mercliandise, and my turnover was greater. I suffered a loss at Thessalon by fire, and had very little left after paying my debts. Arriving in Vancouver in 1891, my next store was built on the corner of Harris and Main streets, Vancouver, and I started there with a stock purchased with nearly all borrowed money at nine per cent, interest. I sold medicines at cut prices, ging hams, cretonnes, flannelettes at five cents a yard, lace curtains at twenty five cents a pair, children's straw sailor hats at fifteen cents each, and other lines of merchandise, at proportionate prices.

Yet in eleven years in that old store I cleaned up commencing there with nothing. Main Street in those days was named Westminster Avenue, and that time a better business street than Granville Street. This was the beginning of our present establishment here on the corner of Hastings and. Abbott Streets. We, an Incorporated Company, bought this land and built the Store, four storevs high and basement, size of lot 66x132 feet.

The building was of solid brick. Hastings Street at this time had no retail trade between Carroll and Cambie streets, but a few frame buildings, a blacksmith shop or two and livery stables. These were far apart from each other with the exception of the Flack Block and Province.