By the way,
I have just read of two more failures, one a shoe store and the other a
grocery store, and both because of the department store evil! How can
small dealers, with only a few hundred dollars behind them, expect to
compete with firms whose capitals reach the millions? They are only the
poor little fishes in the sea, while the department stores are sharks,
sharp-toothed monsters of destruction!"
"I have heard of one department store in Philadelphia, I think, where
the proprietor gave situations to a lot of men after he had bought them
out or completely ruined their business. That is better than nothing,"
said Mr. Watkins thoughtfully.
"It is the only recompense possible in such an unjust transaction."
"They do not think it unjust; they call it simply business,'" said Faith
bitterly. "The one who sells the most goods is considered the smartest.
It is a case where might makes right--the survival of the fittest."
"In other words," replied Mrs. Marvin, "a rich corporation justifies its
methods on the grounds that it has a right to transact business on a
scale corresponding to its pecuniary ability--there is no question of
morality involved. Every man for himself, and the devil take the
hindmost. Yet there are people who believe that there is no future
punishment for these malefactors.
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