The same process took place when the elevators were being loaded, but in reverse; the belts on the permanent platform pushed off and belts on the elevator pulled on the load at the same time. The elevator then was on its way to the down-going elevator shaft. When it got up to the shaft, the doors automatically slid open; all the down-going elevator platforms stopped; the rails to support the elevator shot into the shaft, and the elevator propelled itself into the shaft, firmly gripping with its gear wheels into the cogs of the beams. Then the floor rails pulled back, the shaft doors closed, and all elevators in that shaft started down. The destination of these platforms varied; some of them unloaded onto freight ships, some onto long distance railroad cars, and some, propelled at great speed, acted as railway cars on the rails of the city and suburban freight subways, and often went long distances to their final destinations. All these operations were done efficiently and by remote control, by a person sitting at a switch desk, thousands of miles away. After his long description of how the elevators worked, Mr. Amony led us to their main waiting room on the ground floor in the middle court, which, he explained, had an open roof during the summer season and was protected by skylights during the winters. We sat down and an attendant quickly served us refreshments. This room was nearly filled with people waiting to meet their friends. As we ate, Mr. Amony gave us more information. "This building is a sample of the hundred stores that run in a row on our southern water front from east to west for twenty-five miles. These two buildings, with fifty stories each, have fifty separate office suites on each floor, totaling two thousand five hundred suites per building. In this building, fifty store buildings from here west, are operated and controlled; in our sister building the fifty buildings from here east are operated." Leading us to the escalator, he said, "Let us go up and see one of the offices in action." In the office we visited, there was a personnel of five; a chief and four assistants. They had complete operating charge of an entire storage floor in a store building. Each one of them was responsible for one-quarter space of it. They not only were supposed to be experts in the special merchandise handled on that floor, but they also had to do the ordering from the production point and the inspecting of materials. They had to keep a full supply of stock at all times. Seated at their desks with an assortment of business machines, including a television set, they could clearly see the floor under their control. From their seats, they operated heavily loaded elevator platforms to the appointed portions of their floor. Loading and unloading, taking up and storing, and taking out units of merchandise to near or distant destinations were done by them.