Retailer's Voice

While waiting to argue a case before the U. S. Supreme Court one day ten years ago, Lawyer Newton Diehl Baker was asked if he could suggest a good man for city manager of Cincinnati. The Wartime Secretary of War recommended Lieut. Colonel Clarence Osborne Sherrill, who was then serving as director of the capital's grounds & public buildings by appointment of President Harding. A staff officer of the 77th Division during the War. Col. Sherrill had been an Army engineer for nearly 24 years, could have retired in a year and a half. Cincinnati's offer was $25,000 but the city's brand new reform Charter looked far from permanent. Forfeiting his retirement pay, Col. Sherrill took the job. During the next five years, Col. Sherrill's clean, efficient management of Cincinnati s affairs became an historical example of good city government. A handsome, tactful North Carolinian, he made his decisions carefully, stuck to them. And when he resigned in 1930 to become a vice president of Cincinnati's Kroger Grocery & Baking Co., he was the most famed city manager in the U. S.

Last week after another five years Groceryman Sherrill again changed jobs. He was picked to head a big new trade association, the American Retail Federation, representing the "unified voice of the entire field of distribution on national legislation and economic problems."

Col. Sherrill accepted the ARF presidency at the urging of Louis E. Kirstein, wise, liberal head of Boston's big Filene's department store. At present each important division of the nation's $20,000,000,000 retail business has its own trade group like the potent National Retail Dry Goods Association, the National Association of Retail Druggists, the National Council of Shoe Retailers, the National Association of Music Merchants. It is not even possible to learn with any certainty the total of U. S. stores. Recalling his experience on the NRA Advisory Board, Merchant Kirstein, prime ARF mover, said last week: "Everybody went down to Washington and began writing codes for retailers to observe. There was no single authoritative group to speak for retailers generally, and they were outshouted in the proceedings which followed."

With headquarters in Washington, Retail Lobbyist Sherrill is expected to bring unity out of the babel. "We merchants," said Merchant Kirstein with feeling, "dealing directly with more than 100,000,000 customers, would like to be consulted about national and economic problems. That will be the job of the American Retail Federation, and I believe that Mr. Sherrill will see that it is done."

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