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Show ing to put up a building for them, it does agree to take upon itself the responsibility respon-sibility of renting three-fourths of any building erected for the purpose by any real estate firm or contractor. So far, none has appeared eager to take the chance, but the committee has gone ahead and had an architect draw plans of the kind of a building it thinks the manufacturers would like one containing contain-ing hundreds of large windows and a roof garden on top for the benefit of the employees, most of whom are now forced out into the streets for their luncheon. In urging this special feature the committee exhibits a remarkab:e photograph pho-tograph of Eighteenth street and Fifth avenue during the noon hour, in which the pavements are so crowded tliat anyone any-one attempting to walk down town would Immediately be caught in the crowd, turned about and swept back in the other direction. Aft er t h Is vou are shown a map In which the space west of Seventh avenue, below the Pennsylvania station. Is played up as the logical residence of the manufacturers. manu-facturers. There is plenty of vacant land in this district, according to the coiumii-tee, coiumii-tee, and It ts comparatively inexpensive. It looks so neat and orderly and convincing con-vincing on the map that you no longer wonder why everybody Is joining the Save New York movement. 4 f 1 The Save New York Movement By Frederic J, Haskin. NEW YORK, Nov. 2. Recently throughout New York a small, mysterious mysteri-ous sign has appeared. In the hotel lobbies, lob-bies, in the department stores, the candy shops and tho restaurants it looms up conspicuously a red eagle with a red tablet, bearing the inscription: "Members "Mem-bers of the Save New York Movement." Only this and nothing more. Yet it is sufficient to leave the stranger staring curiously, and to cause a nervous tremor In the person who firmly expects to see New York collapse into Soviets at anv moment. Tho Save New York movement, move-ment, however, is not concerned with the menace of Bolshevism, but with the menace men-ace of manufacturers. Its sole mission is to prevent factories from moving into a certain zone sacred to retailers, and thus keep the streets in this zone safe and pleasant for the shopper and diner. This zone, known as the Save New "ork zone, stretches from Seventh avenue ave-nue on the west to Third avenue on the east, from Thirty-third street on the south to Fifty -ninth street on the north. Tho Save New York committee claims that the city has a heart, that this is it, and that If it is to go on functioning properly, it must be protected from the congestion to be found in the surrounding surround-ing arteries. In other words, this section sec-tion contains the greatest retail markets in the United States, possibly the greatest great-est in the world, for Fifth avenue and Its tremendous variety of wares is now Internationally famous. Some of the fin-oat fin-oat hotels in the country are also here located. Millions of dollars have been spent in erecting tremendous hostelries, department stores and buildings to attract at-tract a wealthy patronage, and the men who spent this money are now desirous of protecting their Investment by keeping keep-ing factories, with their noisy machinery, smoke and mob of workers, at a distance. This Is not a mere theoretical prejudice preju-dice on the part of the Save New York committee. Many of Its members speak from bitter experience. Because time was not so many years ago when the great shopping and dining district of New Y'ork centered about Fourteenth street. Here were tho largest department stores, here the" most popular hotels and restaurants. Thirty-fourth street was then the northern north-ern instead of the southern boundary of the greatest American retail district. Then the women's ready. made-wear Industry, whose spectacular rise had just begun, started moving its factories into this section, In order to be closer to the retailers, and thus cut down traveling and delivery expenses. With it came the noise of machinery and crowds of garment gar-ment workers, who proceeded to make themselves at home, taking up practically practi-cally all the available walking space on the streets at noon. It was not very long before the buying public ceased attempting at-tempting to compete for room and air on the pavements in this district, and showed an alarming tendency to stay at home. There was only one thing tor the department stores and hotels to do. They moved up town. In doing so they built most Impressive Impres-sive buildings and installed the most elaborate fixtures, spending lavishly though Judiciously in an effort to create a new purchasing zone which even the wealthiest residents of upper Fifth avenue ave-nue would find distinctly worth while. Within a few years all of the prominent department store concerns had moved up above Thirty-third street, in the wake of the first movers. The new zone proved a. great success. The public showed its appreciation of the new accommodations by a tremendous patronage, and the owners own-ers of the new establishments settled down comfortably to enjoy the profits of their Investment, when who should come along to disturb their contentment but the manufacturers. Several garment concerns had already secured lofts in the new district and Installed In-stalled their machinery and workers before be-fore Che hotel and department store men learned of their intention. One week one street in the Thirties did not own a M.urle factory, and the next week a department de-partment store president happened along and dlfit-ovcred three within a couple of blocks of his property- "We figured that it would be the seme thing over again." he said. In discussing the Save New York movement the other day. "and we knew we would have to do something to stop It. if the factories kept coming in. our stores, on wh'ch we had spent millions, would have been worthless In a few years." The first ant I -factory measure came from the state legislature, which adopted a zoning law, restricting the new section Sgahftet manufacturing. This law was passed only after many factories had been established In the section, but It has erved to keep the great majority out. In addition to the manufacturers of cloaks, suits, furs, waists, dresses, petticoats pet-ticoats and infants' wear, who were first affected by the law. th manufacturers of blocked hats, hat frames, hat braids. 1 ithfr goods, silverware and cigarets aro now also Included. "Neither the number num-ber of people employed, whether male or female, nor the number of machines operated by these Industries," says the Save New York committee, "has any besxtps in determining whether or not such manufacturers should be In the Bono, They are manufacturers, and that Is enough." Having secured this legal suthorlty with which to bar all factory newcomers, newcom-ers, the department store and hotel men then dc-ided that steps must be taken I th' m' who had already gained foothold In l?l5. twelve of the roost prominent merchants organised the Save New York committee and drafted its mods of procedure, which has proved ex-tremely ex-tremely efficacious In obtaining the desired de-sired results. It Is. briefly, this: When th commlttSS lrns that a factory's lease Is about to expire, they notify it that It WOUld bo greatly to Its ad van -i.iro to ni"c out of the zone They call attention to the many other desirnt'le location In which waists or Rata might h-- manufactured, and offer to assist the concern, ir neo,s4lstITi obtain a new loft. In most cases, if the factory people peo-ple aro wise. tlioy lake tho hint and depart, de-part, lint if thoy prefer to he stubborn stub-born and Insist that they have the tight 1 1 . ? o'hi In where t hey are, it t hey want to. thov usually have to puy for it. Vor the oommlttte then notifies all Hp members mem-bers of the faSJC, and all tho members mu'plv r.ie buying gnoda from this particular par-ticular hirtory until it seos the error or Its wavs and decides that another Iocs." Hon would ho much mors profitable. t I The war proved blow to the worl of iho committee. beomUM It created a . , -,i oil in naoe n ni b trtrnsndout tie rnnud for production at the Smi time, so thai rent riot Ions had tO bS HftS4 In tunny eases and manufacturing firms admit -tod to tho barred a rea Tho war over, huwevt r. the commit t es Immediately fi,iued large numbers of now member, and the fight 10 maintain a restricted dislrki la being parried on more vigor ousl than ever. l'u t I cly. inoM of the ma mifncturirl themsslvsa ire proving tractable in the matter and art feovlng out futl ns rapidly rap-idly as their leases expire, whenever other ,,ft .btalnabl'V "The inn tuifaotur- ors aro heartily In sympathy with tlu? Save New YorU movement,' says m F John Howoi Burton, chairman of the committee, "realising that II will not nnlv preserve the hontf, hotels and retail tor'ei 111 tnW section of the city from being eliminated by Ihe factory ovll, but Will be of great benefit to manufncl ur- tll Witt one manufacturer, how. BVOr. revealed the fact lh.it a few frtC-tory frtC-tory Owners, nl leant, are not as aym- patnetld M may bo imagined What tight have they got to Keen us from tnntnlllna our plant nnynimr u ;nit to In New York?" demanded thi" get 1 1 Ionian, a iigrHy, as he puffed rsaii fa' lignr WO sol our mOftlp In V SSi d hi our plant just the M mo s s I hem. a ud M costs us lota oT money to nio a. Ueiddes, there ain't no place lert to hum e to If the w ant UP to get nut, lei them pot up a building for us." I hlln the commttteo Is not quits waU- ' |
