The Coconino sun., 1921-11-04
J. C. Penney Company, Inc.

By R. c Crawford

wouldn't want to stay in business minute
 "No man ought to have right to advance in the world unless he is willing to take others along with him. If we had of that sort of thing the country over, would have less dissension.
 We lay the emphasis on manipulating in organization, for we feel that money is merely by product, and that, if get the right kind of men and develop them properly, we will be assured of the financial return. Ten or twelve years ago used to tell people that day would probably have around fifty stores; we have over three hundred. We have succeeded beyond our fondest hopes and dreams"
 J. c. Penney, chairman of the board of directors of the J. C. Penney company which operates chain of SIS stores throughout the United States selling at retail mems and women's clothing, shoes, dry goods, and miscellaneous articles of merchandise, leaned back in his chair.
 "Ask me anything you will," he said There are no secrets about business"
 Mir. Penney declares frankly that he has made his big by helping the other fellow-a sue cess and an organization far beyond his most san- guine dreams of ten fifteen years ago There are men in the Penney organization who, ten years ago, had hardly dollar to their names and yet today are rated well beyond the hundred thousand dollar mark The best part of it is that the Penney organ ization is perpetual; young men starting in without
 
 few years hence.
 Is it any wonder that, with an organization such as this of men have been willing to give up positions paying into the thousands of dollars to start in at the bottom of the Penney ladder? The Penney organization has office in St. Louis which picks most of the young men for the company
 Work for Future
 "We have generally found that the young men coming from the small towns of the middle west make the best all-arOund men in our organization" Mir. Penney told me. "They have not been spoiled by the big cities and for the most part know how to live within their means. The harder pull man has had the better he can make good with us.
 "We look for clean qualities in the young men we pick, man in our organization must not drink, gamble smoke cigarettes. prefer a young man who has religious stamina. We like college men, when they willing to start at the bottom of the ladder and work up; in fact, we willing to take all that kind of men can find provided they measure up to the other qualifications as well. For instance, have in mind young grad uate of Cornell University who has been holding rather lucrative position an instructor of Latin at a preparatory school back here in the east. He resigned that position to come with us at $100 per month. He is making satisfactory progress and look forward to the time when he will be of the partners in the business.
 q promise young anything when he starts in with We aim to pay him enough to live in fair degree of comfort I usually prefer to underpay rather than overpay man in our organ ization-so far as salary is concerned When man realizes that his future does not lie in just his salary but in something bigger, he is willing to work much harder than if he simply came with us because we paid little more salary than John Jones, down the street.
 "we start man in as salesman behind the Lorc. .<.,r.u L..~ :u<o learn to know him and he learns to know If he is made of the right stuff and has character, the time will when he will be placed in charge of a store manager, usually ofshoot of the store where he has been working. Then the next time he changes he gets interest in his first store If he doesn't have the money we are only too glad to loan it to him. If he is big in that store, he can establish other stores in which he has interest. Then his material fortune begins to accumulate.
 Furthermore it will be seen that in our organ ization does not the same risk of failure that he would if he had to start business his own account There is chance of his being closed out since he always has the backing of the corporation. We pay all the bills from New York office and keep all the books here"
 Mir. Penney told me that he did not know how many of the stores he has interest in-would not know without looking them up. Those who know him best say that he does not look upon money as anything particularly desirable in itself
 In spite of the business depression, the Penney organization expects to do bigger business this year than last Total sales of the SIS stores last year were $43,0O0, ,000-and the company expects to pass the $50,00O,00O mark this year. In July, it's business for the year running about s5,O0O,0O0 greater than the year before.
 'We took our big loss in December and marked everything down." MT. Penney explained. 'The in- in business which resulted enabled us to get money out of the goods and it for buying at lower prices. We make more frequent turn-overs; of stores turn their goods ten times in year. We not borrowing single dollar today to carry business; in order to keep out of debt we long ago made it rule that another stOre in chain unfiI if