For Love or Gold? The Story of a Great Department Store — page 177: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

CHAPTER XXXIV. MR. FORBES REACHES A DECISION. Early the next morning Mr. Denton was in his office. He was almost the first person at the store nowadays, and, as far as he could, he looked after every detail of business. At half-past eight the sample room was thronged with drummers, and each buyer was carefully inspecting the goods which he intended ordering for his Spee Ra ment. - More than once Mr. Denton interrupted some low con-| versation where he felt sure that a deal was being made which could not be adjusted to his newly awakened. con- science. ms Then came the opening of the morning mail. He bad always intrusted this to others; now he gave it Personal supervision. Quite frequently he intercepted letters that he did nce understand until he had investigated closely, with the aid of a detective, but in each instance the wrong-doer was treated with mercy, he was reasoned with and cautioned, a repetition would mean discharge on the instant. Thus, almost daily he found fresh evidences of dis- honesty, either in the firm’s dealing with manufacturers or customers, or some treachery of employees, whose op- portunity came to them in the form of mail orders. Goods were ordered in this way frequently which could not be supplied, and an inferior grade was almost invari- ably substituted. When this was done the “mail order _ clerk's” methods were simple—either he or the firm were _ profiters through the transaction. oie Mr. Denton “finally thought out the solution of this un- pleasant matter, and on this particular morning he sum- moned the advertising manager for the firm to his office. Picking up a daily paper, he pointed to one of their attractive “ads.” Eomicbooks.co