THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



49 



Photograph by Paul Thompson 



NEWLY ARRIVED IMMIGRANTS AWAITING OFFICIAL APPROVAL: ELLIS ISLAND 



If every American whose father and mother were born in the United States were to 

 leave New York City, it would still be the second largest city of the earth, almost as large 

 as Paris and Berlin together. 



for "a place with a front," rents a room 

 in an office building, fills it with all sorts 

 of dainty and tasteful merchandise, and 

 makes her little bid for business. The 

 wise shoppers, who must count the cost, 

 seek her tiny emporium and soon she has 

 a comfortable trade. 



THE SHOCK OP NEW YORK'S COM- 

 MERCIAL LIFE 



The greatest shock Fifth avenue ever 

 had was when Woolworth decided to put 

 a ten-cent store in Fifth avenue near 

 Forty-second, right in the heart of the 

 aristocrats of shopdom. "Oh, no, it will 

 never do," said those who take pride in 

 the avenue's exclusive status. "Because 

 the people who visit Fifth avenue to buy 

 would never think of going into a ten- 

 cent store." Mr. Woolworth was a better 

 analyst of human nature, however, and 

 spent many thousands of dollars in ma- 

 hogany and walnut, outfitting his store 

 as if he were going to carry the most 

 expensive stock in the city. The result 



has been all he predicted. Women who 

 do their shopping in imported cars and 

 have chauffeurs and footmen seem to lovely 

 bargains as well as their sisters, whose 1 

 only conveyance is a street car and who 

 must wash their own breakfast dishes be- 

 fore joining the buying throng. This 

 store has enjoyed success from its open- 

 ing hour. 



From whatever angle it is viewed, 

 whatever facet throws back the light of 

 its activities to the beholder, New York 

 challenges one's interest and stirs one's 

 imagination. Of all cities, it is the inter- 

 national city. In size, in wealth, in finan- 

 cial operations, in manufacturing, in in- 

 ternational trade, in racial makeup, in a 

 hundred ways it is the twentieth century 

 Rome to which all roads lead — a city that 

 does not belong to the New Yorker any 

 more than Washington belongs to the 

 Washingtonian. All nations have con- 

 tributed to its population, and all Amer- 

 ica contributes to its financial, industrial, 

 and commercial greatness. 



