The Coconino sun., 1921-11-04

away draw such comfort and inspiration from the fact that the central office is interested in them.
 Does sentiment, does regard for the other fellow in business, pay?
 Lest there be some close6sted business men who think being cIosefsted is the only way to make business success let is be said that in the present depression the J. O Penney company is operating without a cent of borrowed capital, notwithstanding the fact that last year hundred stores were opened.
 Bought Out Partners
 As J. C. Penney sits back in his chair and un- folds the great of his business; how he con- ceived it and how million dollar business was built the doctrine of helping the other fellow, it is almost like an unbelievable romance. He was raised in humble surroundings, the son of an im- pecunous Baptist minister in Missouri In 1899 he was working for $50 month in an Evanston, Wyo, store where he got the nucleus of his idea. The men he was working for believed in helping the other fellow and from time to time gave their boost in establishing stores with part interest. In 1902 he manager of store in Kemmerer, Wyo. His salary had been advanced from $50 to $90 and he had also managed to save $500, thereby getting interest in the store he running. The next five years were preparatory years; he was just getting foothold He succeeded in buying out his part in the business, and in 1907, he was ready to start the operation of the chain store idea which in
  develop into 3l3 stores
 The first man J. c. Penney started out was E C. Sans, now president of the J. C. Penney company MT. Sans was given the managership of store at Cumberland, WyO. Sans made good and was given the store at Eureka, Utah. to manage-with one third interest-Mr. ePnney holding two thirds inter- est, and owning outright the stores at Cumberland and Kemmerer. The next step came when store established at Price, Utah, with Mir. Thompson manager. Thompson had no interest in this stOre just the same Sans had interest to start with Sans owned onethird of the Price store and Penney two-thirds, since that was the way they had owned the Eureka store from whose profits the Price store was established.
 Thompson got along pretty well with the Price store, and soon Mir. Penney and Mr. Sans decided to give him start on his own account; so he was given the management of store at Alamosa Colo, with one-third interest, while Sans held onethrd and Penney one-third. Then Thompson began train- ing a young Mir. Clinton in his store, and soon Clinton given the management of a store at Aguilar, Colo. He had to work a salary there, just Sans and Thompson had done in managing their first stores Thompson, Sans and Penney each owned third interest in this store. But Clinton made good and he was started out in store at Roswell, New Mexico-this time with one-third interest. Mir. Penney dropped out of the Roswell store, Clinton owning a third In the next rotation Sans dropped out, and the next time Thompson.
 "In other words, the senior drops out each time store is established thereby making room for the next fellow that must be given interest" plained Mir. Penney. "If that not so, it would be impossible to give the man start. If the oldest kept retaining his interests indefinitely, it would mean that he would be pyramiding himself, while the men could secure only an infnitismal interest"
 Tha al nf AavaIn mi of fbo eff named above is the actual history of the early days of the Penney organization. But of course, mem- Der of the Penney organization is limited to part nership in three stores There many who interests in dozen, twenty, thirty forty stores It will be that the stores did not pro- duce themselves in straight line of succession. One store might in the course of a few years supply the capital for four five other stores. These four five stores in the next few years might be able with their profits to start, in the aggregate twenty or thirty more stores depending on how well they managed"
 'The great proportion of men that entered the Penney organization had no money of their own" Mr. Penney said "When it came time to start them out on their own hook, the company loaned them the money for their one-third interest. Suppose store started out with capital of $lS,000. If it should make $6,000 the first year, that would permit div idend to each of the three partners of $2,000 The man who had been advanced 5000 for third in- terest could then pay back part of the money loaned him, and if the business extremely successful, he might be able to pay back the loan in few years That would depend on his management
 Where does MT. Penney come in? That is what hundreds of people ask mo They forget that every man in the Penney organization is interested in string of stores if he is eliminated from certain groups at the third round.
 T believe that without my plan of giving a start in the business the success of company would have been comparatively small. You see when every man working for you either is man. ager expects some day to be given interest in the business, he is going to work lot harder than if he is just hired to da days work This, the cia1 cnff fho of0roe in xvhsr