The Washington times., 1931-07-21

IO'i' W.
It was about IS years ago
that Mr.. Maxwell came to this
country from Germany. He
wasn't overburdened with money
by any manner Of means-but
what he lacked in that direc.
tion he made up in plain bust
ness sense.
Over in the old country Mr..
Maxwell had worked in various
restaurants. He knew plenty
of angles about that business,
and, strangely enough. he de-
cided to stick to it when he
landed in America. He saved
and he worked. And when he
was through saving and work
ing he worked and he saved.
At the end of several years of
tireless labor, Mr.. Maxwell real.
lied the ambition Of a lifetime.
He became the owner Of his
own restaurant.
Mr.. Maxwell settled in Brook.
lyn. After looking over the New
York field, he came to the con-
clusion that he would be fool
iSh to pay most of the money
he might make to a landlord.
So he picked a site in what was
then a SparSely populated sec
tion Of Brooklyn. a section
where rentals were not hign and
a long lease was very cheap,
indeed.
AS the years went by his wis
dom was demonstrated in many
ways. His lease, for instance,
could have been sold over and
over again for many times the
price it had cost him. The
population was increasing at a
terrific clip and property was
growing very valuable. But Mr..
Maxwell refused to sell.
Prices Lower
He was serving the best meal
his customers could buy for the
money. His place was gaining
prominence - and prominence
meant more money in the till.
Little things he did, however,
annoyed his neighbors. AS he
grew, for example. he gave bet
ter service to the outsiders who
visited his place. He refused to
trust anyone at any time. He
was unwilling to serve the pa.
trolman on the beat with so
much as a cup of coffee. And
so on and so forth.
But did Mr.. Maxwell mind
what the neighborS said? Not
by several million miles. He
had no competition-and If
they didn't want to eat at
home, his was the spot they
would have to visit. So, with
each passing day, he grew Just
a little more bluStery.
IF you don't like it," he told
more than one customer, you
are invited to go somewhere
else. I'm giving you the very
best food in Brooklyn. You
have no reason to com.
plain.
The inevitable happened. A
new restaurant opened just
across the street. The prices
were lower than Mr.. Max
wells-and the food was very
fair. Our hero laughed at the
sport for some months, but in
his heart he knew that the
new place was putting a nice
hole in his profits.
Real Service
Then came another blow,
Still another restaurant opened
only two doors from him. This
third eating-house had prices
that were still lower. And in
the face of this extreme COM
petition Mr.. Maxwell'S business
fell away at an alarming rate.
No longer did Mr.. Maxwell
march about and bluster at
his customers. Now he smiled
at everyone who entered his
place and asked them about
the service and the food. He
couldn't do enough for his
patrons. And yet the business
continued to fall away.
Then, to cap the climax, Old
Man Depression came driving
along at a mile-a-minute clip.
Not only the Maxwell spot but
his two competitors were hit
Squarely below the belt. The
three of them were hardly able
to Stagger along. If they were
able to break even on q week
they thought they were doing
a million-dollar business.
Suddenly, one Of the COM
petitors had a brilliant idea.