THE RIDDLE OF THE JEW’S SUCCESS : X – Jewish Trade Specialities

The Riddle of the Jew’s Success

Chapter X

 

F. RODERICH-STOLTHEIM

 

THE RIDDLE

OF

THE JEW’S SUCCESS

Translated from the German by Capel Pownall

HAMMER-VERLAG / LEIPZIG

1927

 

 

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From Metapedia

[http://en.metapedia.org/wiki/Theodor_Fritsch]

 

Theodor Emil Fritsch (October 28, 1852 near Leipzig – September 8, 1933) was a German antijudaist whose views did much to influence popular opposition to Jewish supremacism in Germany during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

 

A believer in the absolute superiority of the Aryan race, Fritsch was upset by the changes brought on by rapid industrialization and urbanization, and called for a return to the traditional peasant values and customs of the distant past, which he believed exemplified the essence of the Volk.

 

In 1883 he founded the Hammer Publishing House.

 

One of Fritsch’s major goals was to unite all Jew-resister political parties under a single banner; he wished for opposition to Jewish supremacism to permeate the agenda of every German social and political organization. This effort proved largely to be a failure, as by 1890 there were over 190 various patriotic parties in Germany. He also had a powerful rival for the leadership of the patriots in Otto Böckel, with whom he had a strong personal rivalry.

 

In 1893, Fritsch published his most famous work, The Handbook of the Jewish Question also known as the Anti-Semitic Catechism which criticed the Jews and called upon Germans to refrain from intermingling with them. Vastly popular, the book was read by millions and was in its 49th edition by 1944 (330,000 copies). The ideas espoused by the work greatly influenced Hitler and his party during their rise to power after World War I. Fritsch also founded a journal – the Hammer (in 1902) and this became the basis of a movement, the Reichshammerbund, in 1912.

 

His better known book, The Riddle of the Jew’s Success was published in English in 1927 under the pseudonym F. Roderich-Stoltheim, and dealt with the negative impact that Jewish values and the centralization of the German economy in Jewish hands had on the German people. This book was recently republished by Noontide Press, and was the subject of a media controversy after it was banned by Amazon.com and other online book sellers.

 

Fritsch held the publication rights to the German edition of Henry Ford’s work The International Jew.

 

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Contents.

[Note: Clicking on a Chapter heading will take you to that post]

Chapter …………………………………………………………..……………………………………. Page

 

I Preface ………………………………………………………………………………………………… 5

II Jewish Methods in the Economic Life …………………………………………………. 10

III Particular Business Tactics of the Jew ……………………………………………….. 29

IV The International Connection and Secret League of the Hebrews ………… 39

V The Peculiar Morality of Jewdom ………………………………………………………….. 53

VI An Explanation with Sombart …………………………………………………………….. 68

VII Jewish Successes in Modern Times …………………………………………………… 72

VIII The Stock-Exchange …………………………………………………………………………. 84

IX How Sound Business Methods are Forced Out of the Field by the Jews … 98

X Jewish Trade Specialities ……………………………………………………………………… 111

XI Moral Principles in Trade …………………………………………………………………….. 141

XII The Hebrews as Supporters of Capitalism …………………………………………. 154

XIII Business and Religion ……………………………………………………………………… 183

XIV The Race Problem ………………………………………………………………………….. 200

XV Origin of the Jewish Entity ……………………………………………………………….. 220

XVI The Influence of the Jew Upon Womankind …………………………………….. 242

XVII The Jews and the World-War ………………………………………………………….. 277

Concluding Words ………………………………………………………………………… 283

Errata …………………………………………………………………………………………… 290

 

 

 

X.

Jewish Trade Specialities.

 

 

1. Professional Bankruptcy.

Bankruptcy means to the sound tradesman the severest misfortune which can befall him; in most cases, it spells for him not only economic, but also social and moral extinction.

The German tradesman therefore, devotes all his energy, and all his reserves, to avert this calamity; and, just as an honourable captain does not desert his sinking ship so long as he is alive, so many a German merchant has considered himself unable to survive the disgrace of his bankruptcy. In any case, a genuine German tradesman emerges from his bankrupt business as poor as a churchmouse, and shuns the public disgrace.

In this respect also, the Jewish morality and mode of thinking, which are of quite a different kind, have brought about a change which, unfortunately, has exercised a demoralising influence upon the conceptions of honour, prevalent amongst the German commercial community. In the eyes of the Hebrew there is nothing dishonourable about bankruptcy, which is to be regarded, in any case, purely as a business accident, and which, on that account, may evoke the sympathy of kindred souls, but which has not otherwise the slightest effect on the social position. No, indeed, the Jewish mode of thinking, which regards bankruptcy as a stroke of good luck, bringing rich profit in its train, is far from being an invention of the comic papers. This is in accordance, not only with the peculiar morality of the Jews, but also with the entire tactic of the Jewish business system or entity.*

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* In an article written in the year 1816, it is stated that “the Jew forces trading to a height where the sound Christian merchant grows giddy.”

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[Page 111]

The Hebrew knows well how to begin a business with somebody else’s money. According to his solution — often thoughtlessly echoed by people, who are not Jews — “Credit is equivalent to hard cash”, and he sets to work to obtain credit from other firms and banks — for preference from those who are not Jewish — assisted in this respect by his racial brethren, who extol his business capacity and reliability with all their might.

If the business succeeds, and reaches the stage where a quick and profitable turnover is assured, the Hebrew meets his engagements punctually, and, perhaps, works himself up into the position of a really sound business man. If, however, the site of the shop has not been well chosen, and the right class of customer does not present itself, the owner alters his tactics: he now steers a straight course for bankruptcy, and a bankruptcy, which shall be as profitable to him as possible.

He succeeds in this by the following manoeuvre: instead of reducing, or even entirely withdrawing his orders, so as to allow for the deficiency in the sale of his goods, he actually increases them. So long as he still enjoys credit, he intends to make the utmost use of the same. By a steady increase in his orders, he is desirous of creating the impression that the business is in a state of healthy development. He pays punctually for part of the goods received, but lays claim, at the same time, to more and more credit; and this is willingly enough granted to him, for the merchant or manufacturer, who supplies him, is loath to lose so good a customer. The Jew now disposes of the goods, which he has obtained on credit, partly below cost price, in which process, he can always find some of his racial colleagues, ready to lend a helping hand, either by relieving him of large quantities of the goods at half the original price, in order to sell the same at extraordinarily cheap prices in their own shops, or, by selling the goods again as “job-lots” to others, who profess the same faith. The expectant bankrupt takes care to lodge part of the proceeds where it will be safely guarded, and utilises the remainder to continue his part-payments to the manufacturer or merchant in order to retain the confidence of the latter, and to gradually screw up credit to its utmost limit.

[Page 112]

If he is successful in all this, and is satisfied with the amount of plunder, he finally suspends payment — with the profoundest regret that bad times and unlooked-for losses no longer allow of what was formerly a lucrative business being carried on profitably. The creditors find scarcely any stock and no cash, and have, moreover, the trouble and expense of the investigation. The man is practically safeguarded against any legal proceedings; the books are apparently in order; the selling-off at low prices of the “job-lots” is so far justified by the argument that the goods, in order not to become old-fashioned, had to be got rid of at any price; the considerable sums, which are entered up to the private account, are again justified by heavy expenditure in the household under the plea that, in the interest of the business and its inseparable social connections, it was necessary “to cut a dash”. Briefly; it is impossible to get hold of the man.*

Made shy by similar experiences, the creditors, for the most part, avoid the costly bankruptcy proceedings, fearing that, in the end, they will have to content themselves with less than five per cent, and prefer to conclude a forced settlement, meagre indeed, but which will leave them at any rate with 25 or 30 per cent of the value of their claims. It frequently happens that a special “bankruptcy sale” is arranged, which is kept going as long as possible, and by which means large quantities of goods, specially ordered for the occasion, are disposed of in the manner described above, so that the whole circle of “business friends” may benefit to the utmost by the favourable opportunity.

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* One can frequently read in the newspapers that Jewish business people, who have long been in a state of bankruptcy, still continue to live in a very expensive style, and to move in a very expensive social set, until they are at last declared bankrupt to the extent of several millions.

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[Page 113]

Recent legislation has, in some measure, checked this unsavoury practice, which had developed, during the last decades, to an incredible extent, but has by no means put a stop to it: for little as the Hebrew may have invented in other directions — he is a past master in the invention of new ways to circumvent or evade the laws.

The fortunate bankrupt knows well how to start business again — if necessary in another part — and probably on still more lucrative lines; if he considers it advisable, he will carry it on under the name of his wife, or one of his children, in order that his former obligations may not become a source of annoyance to him. And, if again the business fails to become a success, the ingenious fellow knows how to arrange for a second, and even a third bankruptcy. The money, which is lost in the process, never belongs to him, but always to other people, that is to say, it is invariably the properly of the confiding Goyims.

Wholesale merchants and manufacturers have been plundered systematically in this way for years by Jews, who have made a profession or business of becoming bankrupt; and this particular species of crime has contributed in no small measure to the enrichment of many Jewish families, and, at the same time, to the impoverishment of many honest Germans. For the sufferers by this kind of robbery are not only the merchants, who actually deliver the goods, but also the sound tradespeople, who are squeezed out of existence by this unclean kind of competition. The Hebrew, who has obtained his goods by evil tricks like those described, or who has, perhaps, not paid anything at all, can well afford to sell them more cheaply than the sound tradesman. And thus the “cutting” of prices and unsavoury competition are considerably promoted by those Jews, who have become professional bankrupts.

If complaints concerning these abuses have not been so frequent of recent years, this improvement is only partly to be attributed to the increased severity of the laws, and is due, to a very considerable part, to great mercantile organisations of all kinds, endeavouring to protect themselves against these abuses by uniting to form trade protection societies.

[Page 114]

The Jews of today, however, no longer find it so necessary to enrich themselves by such comparatively clumsy methods of deceit; they have acquired money enough in the last few decades, and to use the words of one particular Hebrew — “can permit themselves the luxury of trading respectably” — of course with exceptions!

Many a Jewish business-man has had his task made easy, when engaged in such practices as those just described, by the absolutely irresponsible and ridiculous ease, with which a change of name can be made legitimate in Germany. The official advertisement that, for instance, Hirsch Levi intends to call himself Hermann Winter, or that Aaron Feiteles wishes to be known as Arnold Krause, appears only in the German Imperial and Prussian State Advertiser, a paper, which is not read by anybody outside official circles, so that those interested seldom learn anything about what has taken place until the — for them — unpleasant consequences bring it to their notice.

A further advantage is taken by those owning Jewish names, which can be used both for Christian and surname. Thus, Moses Meier Aaron, after his first bankruptcy, can reconstruct the firm as Aaron Meier Moses, to be followed, when necessary, by a third reconstruction as Moses Aaron Meier, and is thus in a position to escape more easily the eyes of his old creditors.

The Hebrew, equipped with principles of this kind, together with a complete lack of even the slightest sense of honour, can engage in any business undertaking with a far lighter heart than a man of another race. It is scarcely possible to find a business opening anywhere, even of the most risky nature, which a Hebrew has not already taken in hand. The costly shop in the newly erected premises at the junction of two streets, a questionable invention, some speculation relying on the folly or curiosity of the public — all are taken up by Jews, while conscientious business people are still carefully considering and weighing the merits and drawbacks of the concern. A decision is actually far easier for the Hebrew than for anybody else, for, in event of a failure, the conscience of the former does not trouble him in the slightest, and he says to himself at the commencement as well:

 “you are not risking your own money.”

[Page 115]

The Jews certainly have the reputation of possessing great enterprise — one could also say: of possessing great temerity in business. It cannot be denied that they occasionally help to promote a sound undertaking and that many an inventor would have waited in vain for the realisation of his ideas if the Jews had not come to his assistance. And one may well wish that occasionally our German merchants and capitalists displayed less reserve where new plans and ideas are concerned, and did not leave this field of enterprise so completely at the disposal of the Hebrew. One must, however, take into consideration that the German promoter of any such undertaking not only risks his own money, but very often his own good name as well, whilst, in the case of the Hebrew, neither of these two all-important considerations enter into the question at all. Moreover, one must not forget a fact, which has already been mentioned; in all business undertakings the Hebrew is assured of the open, or, at any rate, the secret support and cooperation of his racial friends, whereas the German, in such matters, has in most cases to rely upon himself, and even, when peculiar and hazardous enterprises are concerned, has to reckon with the opposition of good friends and relatives, which arises from denseness of perception, and a dislike of novelty. The Hebrew, on the contrary, sets to work with a light heart and in a very different frame of mind:

“Risk it! — if you are not successful — well — it is only somebody else who is the loser!”

And further, one must take into consideration that, not only the business world, but that all public life, for the last forty years, has been infected with the Jewish spirit, and has taken on a Jewish aspect. Jewish tendencies are supreme everywhere, and Jewish ideas and views rule the mass of the population, in the towns at any rate. Everything, which is born of the Jewish spirit and pursues Jewish aims, is, on that account, readily assimilated into the current of public life, for it blends with it. The genuine German is completely out of the running; he is as a stranger in this new world; he cannot make himself at home amidst such surroundings.

[Page 116]

The best things which he can think of, do not seem to fit into this altered world; he is swimming against the stream. This holds good, not only for business, but in equal measure for Art, Stage, Literature and Press. Jewish work is in accordance with the disposition of the times, and the factors of public life, which come under the same influence, further Jewish enterprise. Thus, it is far easier for the Jewish business-man, just as it is for the Jewish author and for the Jewish artist, to “make a name”, than it is for the more conscientious, and, for that reason, more awkward German.

The surrounding world is now estranged in many respects from the German mode of thought and action; it is therefore harder for a German to get on than it is for the eel-like Hebrew, concerning whom Franz Dingelstedt (“Lieder eines kosmopolitischen Nachtwächters”) (Song of a cosmopolitan watchman) sang in 1840:

“He forces the farmer out of his farm, He scares the shop-keeper away from the market, And partly with gold, and partly with his servile wit, Purchases the pass-word from the Spirit of the age”.

If the German does not possess the power to create an environment for himself, suitable for his mode of thought and action, he will be lost in this Judaized world, and Hebbel’s words will come true:

“The German possesses every qualification to gain heaven, but none to maintain himself upon earth; and thus the time may well come when this people will disappear from the earth.”

 

2. The Instalment or Hire-purchase System

In nearly all the larger towns there are business firms, who, by means of brisk advertising, offer, as a special recommendation, that they are prepared to part with their goods on receiving a small preliminary payment, provided that the purchaser pledges himself, by a written agreement, to pay off the debt by regular — generally weekly — instalments. On account of the apparently so favourable offer this kind of business secures many customers, especially amongst small officials, and the more needy of the working-class.

[Page 117]

People, without any means, look upon these firms almost as benefactors, and as noble-hearted philanthropists because, for instance, they hand over an entire suite of furniture to a young couple, anxious to get married, against an undertaking on the part of the latter to pay a weekly instalment of from 3—5 marks. This type of business-man knows well how to pose in his advertisement as the friend of mankind. As a matter of fact, there lurks, behind this particular method of conducting business, unparalleled usury — in a shape, admittedly, which the law, as it now stands, finds extremely difficult to deal with. The next point is, that the goods, which are offered, have been hastily made out of inferior material; but in spite of this, the price at which they are invoiced, is high. The willing purchaser, however, pays little heed to the high price for the simple reason that he does not have to pay it at once; he imagines that the comfortable method of payment renders a dispute about the price unnecessary, for it becomes an easy matter to produce the money when the payments are spread over a considerable time. Accordingly, he signs the contract, laid before him, with a light heart, quite heedless of the snare, in which he is entangling himself. It is stated in the contract, amongst other conditions, that the seller is entitled to regain possession of the goods, which have been delivered, without refunding any of the money, which he has already received, if the purchaser does not pay each installment punctually.* The purchaser, who has every intention of paying regularly out of his income, is naturally unable to realise that such could ever be the case, and unhesitatingly attaches his name to the document. But unfortunately it only too often happens that the purchaser — perhaps through loss of his situation, perhaps through ill health or misfortune — is one day unable to meet his obligations, and suddenly he finds himself robbed, not only of the articles of furniture, which he has taken on this “hire-purchase” system, but also of all the installments, which he has already paid, and which are irretrievably lost.

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* Recent legislation interferes to a considerable extent with the easy operation of contracts of this nature.

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[Page 118]

An appeal to the Law Courts seldom avails, for the written contract has been drawn up in such a manner that, from a legal point of view, the seller is completely within his rights. Year after year large sums of money are sacrificed in this way by people of scanty means, who live, so to speak, from hand to mouth. It can scarcely be a pure accident that these “payment by instalments” businesses are, almost without exception, owned by Jews; they belong to the most objectionable inventions, with which the Hebrew has graced the modern age.

The whole operation is based on a well-thought-out plan; it is an important part of the great system to rob the people of their money, according to a carefully thought-out and prearranged scheme. The Hebrew is not content with depriving people of the money, which is already in their pockets; he forces them to pledge their future earnings. The anticipation of the profits of the future is entirely the product of the speculative Jewish mind, which conveys the taint of unreality into the economic life, and builds it up, so to speak, upon air. For an existence, which is founded upon such future values, must, of necessity, undergo shipwreck as soon as the slightest hitch occurs in the tranquil and natural development of affairs. It is said with truth in Goethe’s Faust:

“The Jew will not spare you for he creates anticipations.”

We learn that 27 of these great “Hire purchase” or “Payment by instalments” businesses in Germany are united under one control, that is to say, belong to one company, the chairman or managing director of which is said to be one Leskowitz of Dresden. It is further maintained that the yearly income of this man amounts to Marks 800,000 (£40,000). Enormous as this may sound, it is by no means improbable if one takes into consideration that not only must very high prices be paid for all the goods, which these businesses supply, but that those goods, which have been confiscated and taken back in consequence of failure to pay an instalment when due, are “touched-up” a little, and immediately supplied again to a new customer.

[Page 119]

In what plight is a community and its legislation when it is unable to check bare-faced plundering of its poorest members by such a system of thinly-disguised usury? Would one not do far better to substitute in the place of these innumerable laws, which eventually prove to be utterly inadequate, and which can be evaded on every occasion by experienced cheats, the healthy sense of fairness, inherent in properly-trained Judges i.e., men of long personal acquaintance with practical life, just like the English do, and which they find answers very well?

3. The “Stores.” 

The original of the “Stores” is the eastern “bazaar”, which, already more than a century ago, was represented in this land by the country “general-shop”, and the latter was really necessary in our remoter districts. Both of these satisfied an obvious need; but even in this direction an alien and degrading feature began to make itself visible in the sound development of trade, in the shape of the 50, 25 and 10 Pfennig bazaars, caricatures of the originals, which were started by the Jews soon after the establishment of the freedom of industry. It is worthy of note that the first “stores”, on a grand scale, arose in that most pleasure-loving of all world cities — Paris — in order to provide the world of frivolous women with a convenient establishment or depot where the hundreds of requirements of an elegant lady could be satisfied under one roof. Their field of activity was then extended into the United States in order to make it possible for the population there, who, though dwelling in the smaller towns and in the open country, separated from one another by vast distances and cut off, for the most part, from traffic, still wished to be “up-to-date”. The Hebrews have introduced their imitation bazaars into our larger towns, which were already amply supplied with shopping facilities, without any other justification than that of speculation, based upon the love of comfort, mania for enjoyment, confusion of thought and absence of any critical faculty, which characterise the great majority, especially of women.

[Page 120]

Not in one single case are our “Stores” necessary in the sense that the eastern bazaars, our country general-shops, and the American “Stores” are necessary, and it is worthy of note that in many countries — for instance Brasil — the erection of these great “Stores” is forbidden in the interests of sound, straightforward commerce, and therefore in the interests of the community generally.

Thus the great, dazzling, central shopping-establishments to be found in all our large cities, and into which the “Stores” gradually develop, owe their existence entirely to a deliberate violation of the practices of sound commerce, which forces a way for itself, regardless of everything and everybody, assisted by and in connection with an extensive association or combination of capital, i.e., great Bank-credit. It is undeniable that these establishments, by reason of the organisation upon which they depend, belong to the most remarkable creations of modern times, and it is quite comprehensible why the purchasing public seems to lose its head over these novelties, and is powerfully attracted by the real or apparent advantages of these establishments. What these advantages are supposed to be, is in everybody’s mouth, for the “Stores” themselves have taken very good care that the same should be adequately advertised. It is not so well known, however, that these great bazaars find it necessary to make use of a number of cleverly conceived manoeuvres in order to attract their public, and to secure a good profit, in spite of the apparent cheapness of their wares. Chief of all is the endeavour so to work upon the customer by dazzling the eyes, and generally by bewildering the senses with an extravagant and varied display of goods, and further, by enlisting the arts of persuasion and cajolery to such an extent as to make it almost impossible, or, at any rate, extremely difficult for the customer to leave the establishment without having purchased something, whether he actually required it or not. A number of special tricks, as well, have been invented to mislead the customers on the one side, and to exploit ingeniously the manufacturers and merchants on the other. A few examples only of these tricks are given below.

[Page 121]

1. Tricks to deceive customers. Articles to entice.

The “Stores” have found that the best means to attract customers is to offer certain articles of little intrinsic value at surprisingly low prices; at prices, in fact, which do not allow of any profit, or may even be less than the actual cost of the goods. They sell many of such articles for several Pfennigs less than the factory price — fully aware that by so doing they are brilliantly advertising themselves. What does it matter after all, if a few Pfennigs are lost each time that reels of cotton, hairpins, goldfish, gloves, buttons, glasses etc. are sold! Customers are drawn in by the enticing prices, and temptation is placed in their way to purchase other articles, the real value of which they are not nearly so well able to estimate. And thus the great emporium is richly recompensed for its small initial loss.

Moreover, it is the intention to create the impression amongst those, who are desirous of buying, that, in a business, where certain articles are so cheap, all must necessarily be cheap. And that is just what they are not. This is one of the most effective deceptions practised by the great “Stores” on the public. For, in the case of the larger and more costly goods, which are only occasionally purchased, and the value of which the ordinary layman is not experienced enough to judge, considerably higher prices are charged than would be the case if the article in question had been purchased at a genuine business of the usual kind, i.e., businesses which specialise in the sale of one kind of goods.

Also, it is worth remarking, that articles, intended to act as a bait, or an allurement, are always objects, which have but little value in a household, and, for that reason, are not purchased to any considerable extent by the public. However, if anybody, in order to take advantage of the cheapness of these goods, endeavours to buy more of the same than is usual, he is almost invariably met with the answer that the stock is sold out.

 

“Display articles.” — One occasionally notices in the windows of the great “Stores” articles of a larger size, which cause astonishment on account of their exceptional cheapness.

[Page 122]

So far as can be seen, these articles are made of good material and the workmanship is sound. On entering the establishment to buy one of these articles, one is usually shown something of similar appearance but of inferior quality. If the customer detects the difference, he is given to understand that all the better quality has been sold. If he then demands the article, which is displayed in the window, he is told that the same has been sold already, but that the purchaser has given permission for it to remain on display until a new consignment arrives. Certainly the law concerning unclean competition provides — in a measure — a remedy against tricks of this kind, but the customer scarcely ever avails himself of it, and, if he does, seldom with success. The rule is that one simply does not obtain the desired article at the stated price.

 

“Mixing of goods.” — The following practice is customary in the “Stores” when a quantity of articles are offered for sale in one lot: amongst a number of cheap goods such as articles of clothing, linen, crockery etc, several articles of a better quality than the majority are introduced. These better articles are, for reasons which it is easy to understand, placed on the top, and are handed, for hasty inspection, to likely purchasers. If a sale takes place the salesman endeavours to substitute the inferior article, or, if a large quantity is being dealt with, to mix the inferior articles with the better ones.

 

“Deception-and Exchange-articles.” — The “Stores” have introduced the following practice: they buy a parcel of goods of superior quality from a manufacturer of good reputation, and, armed with a sample from these, order articles, deceptively similar in appearance but made of inferior material, to be manufactured at another factory. As they then sell by turns from the superior and inferior stocks (but mostly from the latter) they are in a position to evade the reproach that they deal in inferior goods. Whenever a dispute arises, they simply produce one of the better articles, and assure the customer that this is their normal quality, and that the inferior specimen complained of has been introduced amongst the better goods by accident.

[Page 123]

What is related below as having taken place in a large “Stores” has been proved, beyond doubt, to be a fact: the business in question had bought a large quantity of well-made lace, the factory price of which was 10 Pfennigs the metre. Two inferior qualities of lace at the respective factory prices of 6 and 3 Pfennigs the metre, but of exactly the same pattern, were then ordered. The winding cards of these three different qualities of lace, which all appear to the ordinary superficial observer to be of the same quality, are placed, side by side, and are all offered for sale at the same price of 9 Pfennigs the metre. It is easy to understand that those who sold had received instructions to sell as much as possible from the winding-card, which contained the lace, which had cost 3 Pfennigs the metre; it was only when a customer entered, who displayed a certain amount of criticism, and appeared to understand something about the matter, that lace was taken from the winding-card, which contained the superior quality. The lady who, by chance, happened to receive a piece of the 10 Pfennig lace for 9 Pfennigs, would naturally continue for a long time to sing the praises of the superiority and cheapness of the article in question amongst the whole circle of her acquaintances, and, in this way, this particular “stores” recovered by the good advertisement far more than the value of the single Pfennig, which had been actually lost in the transaction.

 

“Prices which confuse and mislead.” — The great “Stores” often endeavour, by marking articles at unusual prices (such as 98 Pfennigs, 2 Marks 95 Pfennigs etc.) to create the impression that their calculations are made with the greatest nicety, and that they are satisfied with a very meagre profit. But this is also a delusion, for, amongst the articles marked 98 Pfennigs, there are many, which can be bought in genuine business for 75 or 80 Pfennigs. Moreover, the fact that a customer has allowed himself to be enticed by an apparent saving of 2 Pfennigs is scarcely an event to which he can refer with pride; it is so obviously a speculation of a mean nature, or — generally where women are concerned — is prompted by an absurd idea of economy.

The “Confectionär”, which issues the official organ of the union of “Stores” and Warehouses as its Sunday supplement, recently gave its readers the following good advice:

“the smaller articles must often be sold at cost price, and sometimes even for less, in order that so much the more may be charged for the larger ones.”

[Page 124]

“If a lady is enabled to purchase gloves or soap for a few groschen below the usual price, she is there and then convinced that all articles in that same business house are cheap, and continues, with complete confidence, to purchase in the same establishment also, mantles and silken garments.”

In the course of an action taken by the “Stores” called Stein in Berlin against the “Bund der Handelund Gewerbetreibenden” (Association of Commerce and Industry) a pronouncement was made by the Prussian Court of Appeal, when reversing the judgement of November 14th 1907, as follows:

“It is a matter of common knowledge to those engaged in law, that the ‘Stores’ endeavour to attract large numbers of customers, by offering for sale, at absurdly low prices, those particular goods, which are in daily use or consumption by the masses, but that when other goods are sold, far higher prices are demanded than are charged by the small and moderately-sized shops, which specialise in the particular kind of goods concerned.”

When a large Berlin “Stores” went so far recently as to offer Imperial 5 Pfennig postcards for 4 Pfennigs, the intention, which was to entice customers into the establishment and to force other articles upon them, was only too apparent. For, finally, the reduced price for the postcards was only granted to those, who could produce proof that they had purchased other goods. But the intention was also present to create the bewildering impression that this “Stores” was making the impossible possible, and was actually in a position to sell the Imperial postcards cheaper than the postal authorities themselves could. The success of this questionable kind of business depends, to a large extent, upon the suggestion that this “Stores”, by some incredible means or magic, could actually sell goods cheaper than those who manufactured the same. It is certainly only the most thoughtless, who can allow themselves to be fooled by such unbusiness like tricks, and the same may therefore be regarded as a speculation in stupidity. Whoever allows himself to be enticed by these “Stores” tricks is certainly not entitled to ask for a certificate stating that he — or she — is capable of sane and independent judgement.

[Page 125]

 

2. Injury done to the Producers.

It can be seen from the practices, which have just been described, how the “Stores” favour, for the most part, the production of inferior goods and thus react very oppressively upon certain branches of manufacture. The method of procedure is usually as follows: the “Stores” buyer puts in an appearance at the office of the factory, and producing a certain article says:

“I can order annually large quantities of this article if you can produce the same at from 20 to 25 per cent below the present price. It does not matter if the workmanship and the material are inferior, but the appearance must be the same.”

When a respectable manufacturer declines to accept this invitation, the “Stores” buyer threatens to take his order to some other firm. Many a manufacturer, apprehensive of being squeezed out of the market, ends up by consenting, and produces the inferior goods, which are desired. One inevitable consequence of the constantly increasing manufacture of shoddy and inferior goods is, that the production of goods of superior quality tends as steadily to diminish.

An expert in the manufacture of china reports:

“our factory has worked for years at a loss simply because the demand for a good class of ware, which is worth its price, is gradually falling off. The ‘Stores’ buy only ‘fourth selection’ and flawed goods, that is to say, refuse. They then mix several good pieces among the lot, in the case of plates, for instance, laying them on the top of the others, and the public buys this rubbish unsuspectingly. A sound line of goods, however, waits in vain for a purchaser. There is nothing left but to resign one’s self to the manufacture of artificially prepared refuse. On the other hand wages keep on rising, so that it is no longer possible to make the business pay, and this entire branch of industry goes from bad to worse.”

Numerous factories in other branches of trade have allowed themselves to be inveigled into manufacturing rubbish, especially for the “Stores”, and have found their ruin in the process. It was the invariable habit of the “Stores” buyer to endeavour to beat the price down each time he gave a fresh order, until there was no longer any possibility for the producer to make even the most meagre profit.

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The customers for the better class of wares had, however, disappeared in the meantime, so there was nothing to be done except to discontinue business.

Another decade like this, and we shall see the greater part of that branch of industry, which is dependent upon orders from the “Stores”, ruined likewise.

A sausage manufacturer, when asked how it was that he could deliver his sausages so cheaply to the “Stores” that the latter could sell a pair for 12 Pfennigs when 15 Pfennigs were charged everywhere else, answered laughing:

“just measure the things! they are certainly a fifth cheaper, but they are also a quarter shorter.” —

The purchasing public has no idea whatever of such proceedings, or behaves, at any rate, as if it had no such idea; it is bewitched by the fascinating and bewildering life of the great “Stores”, and does not pause to consider to what an extent the entire economic life is being undermined by such a questionable form of development. For, not only is industry reduced to producing rubbish, but also those sound businesses in the towns, which confine themselves to the sale of high-class specialities, are being ruined, because the “Stores” are gradually depriving them of their customers. In the vicinity of the “Stores” one good business after another disappears; in Berlin, for instance, in the year 1913, no less than 18,000 separate shops were standing empty. Development of this kind can only end in a gigantic economic catastrophe; and we shall be indebted for this to the magnificence of the “Stores”, as well as to the incredible shortsightedness of the public, which allows itself to be enticed into such man-traps, and which stifles every feeling of responsibility with arguments, which are prompted solely by its own laziness and vanity.

A lowering of quality in the type of all articles available for trade. — As the “Stores” have use only for great quantities of articles as much alike as possible, they endeavour, as far as they can, to reduce the number of the various samples and types. The whole of the Art-Industry suffers especially thereby, as it is wont to grant both fancy and personal taste as large a field as possible.

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The “Stores” like to have a suitable sample reproduced a thousand, or even a million times, and this naturally causes other good samples to be forced out of the market. The Art-Industry loses its individuality; all becomes mass-manufacture for mass-taste.

As inferior material is almost invariably introduced where the above course is practised, the Art-Industry suffers degradation and cheapening in every respect.

The French political economist, Trepreau, characterises the development in the following words:

“This change is causing the taste for what is good and beautiful, which formerly obtained such a good reputation for French trade, to disappear, and is substituting for it the mass-production of rubbish, which is degrading our industry, and the sequel of which will be the disappearance of all specialities of artistic handicraft in the immediate future”.

In the case of jam and preserves, for example, the factories were compelled, in consequence of the pressure, to reduce prices and to produce special lines of preserves for the “Stores” alone, whereby not only did the quality suffer but the difference between gross and nett weight was increased by improper filling.

Many textile fabrics are reduced, not only with regard to the quality of the yarn and the closeness of the mesh, but actually with regard to the breadth, customary in the trade. Thus velvet was woven 42 centimetres instead of 50 centimetres broad — a fact which quite escapes a hasty inspection. To what an extent the contents of the balls and skeins of yarn, thread etc, mostly stated in English yards instead of in metres, differs from what it ought to be, is seldom ascertained by our thoughtless women, although, in this case, the difference in money is considerable.

But enough; the manufacturers, whether they like it or not, are compelled to help the “Stores” to deceive the public, although they destroy their own business in doing so.

3. The overpowering and monopolisation of all economic means.

A further danger menaces our economic and social relations, arising from the circumstance that the “Stores”, by gradually concentrating the retail trade into their hands, have almost obtained a monopoly of the same. This can make it as bad in the future for the purchasing public as for the manufacturers.

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As soon as the “Stores” have driven the majority of competing shops out of the field, they will not find it necessary any longer to entice customers with cheap prices, because the public will simply be compelled to buy many things from the “Stores” on account of the total disappearance of the sound old businesses, which confined themselves to one kind of trade and specialised in the same. When this time comes, the “Stores” will raise the prices as high as they like, and this will be made all the easier for them, as they have already formed themselves into a trust, and are codifying their rules and regulations. And there is no doubt that the purchasing public will eventually have to pay the reckoning for the apparent favours which it enjoys today.

At the present day the great “Stores” exert a kind of monopoly-domination over the manufacturers. They claim the right to take all kinds of discounts — special “Stores” -Bonus etc — which the manufacturers are powerless to resist, as they are placed more or less at the mercy of these great undertakings, who can give or withhold orders. When a special tax of 2% was imposed on the “Stores” in Prussia, the “Stores” immediately passed it on to the manufacturers and merchants, by deducting 2% from all their accounts, even before the tax actually came into force. Thus it is clear how the monopolising nature of these great “Stores,” which is steadily increasing, is creating and inflicting a state of servile dependency upon the manufacturers, which, in its turn, will gravely endanger not only the economic but also the civic freedom — to say nothing of objections from the moral point of view. And it is not only the employers, who suffer, but the employees are threatened with the same evils and to the same extent. All those, who patronise the “Stores”, should make a note of this.

As a matter of fact the “Stores” and the great Banks, which work in close alliance with them, are obtaining, in consequence of the continually progressing concentration of the economic life, a dominating power, which gives cause for the gravest apprehension.

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They have the power to crush every smaller competing business, and to make the manufacturers and producers absolutely dependent on them. This means nothing less than steering a direct course towards an economic “right of the fist”, which is an end to every conception of justice and morality. Every kind of compulsion, which hurts the feeling of justice and wounds social sensibility, must of necessity lead to an undermining of public morality, and finally to anarchy, and consequently cannot be tolerated in any well-organised community. Since the great “Stores” already form an international trust, they are in a position to subject the citizens of any country to international machinations, and to interfere to such a degree with the means for upholding authority that they seriously menace the economic freedom and independence of the inhabitants.

This calls for objection and opposition. The state cannot sanction that private persons or companies should have a monopoly of commerce, and consequently of profiteering. But this is precisely what any further development of the “Stores” system will lead to.

Least of all, however, can an economic predominance of such a nature be tolerated, when it endeavours to attain its ends by questionable means, when it makes use of trickery and deceit, and thereby endangers public well-being.

 

4. Moral and Physical Harm.

The great “Stores” endanger not only the economic existence of the smaller and moderate-sized businesses, as well as the steady and regular production of goods, but are harmful to the public morality. It is a well-known fact that, side by side with the evolution of the great “Stores”, certain new and disquieting features have made their appearance in the moral attitude of the public. A new category of offences has come into being; the seductive influence leading to an improper appropriation of goods, the pathological appearance of that class of theft, which is peculiar to the “Stores”.

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Experience shows that this particular type of larceny is not confined to the poorer class of people and professional thieves, but is practised by individuals drawn from all stations of life, and more especially by females, even when the latter belong to the most prosperous grades of society. The phenomenon is accounted for by the peculiar nature of business as conducted in the great “Stores”. Everything is designed to excite cupidity, to bewilder and to ensnare. The whirl of business and the multitude of impressions raise excitement to such an extent that the senses become quite confused. Weak characters succumb entirely to these influences, and lose control of their will-power. They are tempted, when they feel that they are not observed, to appropriate something, and steal occasionally even from their fellow-customers. They are, however, nearly always caught, for the proprietors of the “Stores”, well aware of the insidious charm of their “shows”, keep a special staff of detectives to watch those whom they attract. Numerous cases have already occurred, where ladies of good position have been escorted into a private office, and have been subjected to the indignity of a personal search. It is easy to imagine what scandals develop out of such incidents.

But even if it does not lead quite so far as punishable offences, the influence upon the character of the public of the peculiar method of trading introduced by the “Stores”, is altogether bad, for the simple reason that it induces many to buy more than their circumstances warrant, and to spend money on useless things. The whole system connected with this method of trading is designed to create the impression on the customers that they are guilty of neglect if they do not at once recognise and utilise the opportunity to make a cheap purchase, or, in other words, a bargain. The cheap rubbish also, made to look like something better, seduces simple people into buying articles quite unsuited to their position in life; by so doing they accustom themselves to a mode of living, which far exceeds what their circumstances and means justify.

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One of the great “Stores” advertised for a considerable period with reference to one of their brands of cheap Champagne: “Champagne must become a popular drink!” — a phrase that one of the Social-Democratic members of the Reichstag actually made his own particular slogan.

The demoralisation, which arises out of the peculiar method of trading adopted by the great “Stores”, extends not only to the purchasing public, but even more to the staff or personnel of the “Stores”, to the salesmen and saleswomen who labour under the steady und unvarying influence of the lax morale prevalent in these establishments, and who are compelled to help to deceive and overreach the public. To the above remarks may be added some foreign criticisms, in order to show how the objectionable features referred to have already acquired an international significance.

The physical injury caused by the unceasing strain of the service is considerable, and this reacts on the character. D Paul Berthold says concerning it:

“The assistants live in unhealthy surroundings, in badly-ventilated apartments, which are crowded with people. In most of the great ‘Stores’ the number of cases of illness and of actual death is appalling, so much so, that those, who work for several years in these establishments without acquiring tuberculosis, form the exceptions.”

In addition moral perils arise from other causes. Dr. H. Lambrecht, Director of the Ministry for Public Works in Brussels deserves recognition for having published in a memorandum concerning “Stores and Cooperative Societies”, a number of facts dealing with these matters — facts which are all the more striking for having been scientifically corroborated. He makes inter alia, the following remarks with reference to this subject:

“This penning-in of a number of young females, and making them absolutely dependent on a person of the opposite sex, whether the latter may happen to be the shop-walker, inspector or manager, constitutes already a gross moral danger, which is all the more marked, when one takes into consideration that the saleswomen are drawn from the very class, which is most susceptible to the enticement of luxury and social pleasures”.

He goes on to express his opinion about the questionable “friendships”, which the great “Stores” offer both sexes so many opportunities of making, and which are utilised, not only by the salesmen and the saleswomen, but also by the customers.

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We have neither space nor time to refer further to the chapter dealing with this delicate subject. Lambrecht continues:

“The danger, however, is still further increased by the inadequate payment of the young girls employed, by bad advice, and by bad example. In these great businesses, in each of which several hundred people are employed, some of the older ones always find the means to dress themselves better than the others, and to visit the theatres and the restaurants after business hours, and soon the little girl apprentice, with her salary of 20 marks a month, allows herself to be deceived by what she imagines to be the brilliant prospect in store for her”.

J. Hennigsen (Hamburg) after portraying the questionable moral relations, which evolve out of the “Stores” system, remarks:

“I am convinced that if all this could only be published, far and wide, no German woman, who still preserved a spark of sympathy with her fellow-women, would ever set foot again in one of these ‘Stores’”.

And Baroness Brincard, after describing the same conditions, observes:

“Generally speaking, women are sympathetic beings, whose hearts are touched by all suffering. Therefore they do not act intentionally when they profit grossly from the misery and distress of other women, but unfortunately it is just the women of the well-to-do classes, who know nothing of these matters, who neither see nor think . . . .”

The great “Stores” are responsible for the production of a new nervous disease, a fact which Emile Zola has portrayed in his book “Au Bonheur des Dames”. The French physician, Dr. Dubuisson, has chosen as a theme for his book (“Les voleuses des grands magasins”) the injurious effect which the “Stores” have upon neurotic people; he says therein:

“It is impossible, even for people of the strongest constitutions, to spend any considerable time in these gigantic establishments without experiencing a peculiar feeling of nervous debility — of mental langour and bewilderment”.

In the case of neurotic people this condition amounts to a complete confusion of the senses, which, to a certain extent, deprives them of the control of their actions, and brings in its train mental and moral disaster.

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Dr. Laquer in “Der Warenhaus-Diebstahl” (Thieving at the Stores) says:

“Thieving at the great ‘Stores’ is very extensively carried on, and it is a matter of urgent importance that this fact should be made widely known, especially as children are taking a large part in it. The unguarded display of goods without any compulsion to buy, is a great temptation to those, who are deficient in will-power; for this reason alone it should be restricted. Whether this deficiency in will-power (notably in the case of women in an interesting condition), when brought face to face with the allurements of the great ‘Stores’, is to be regarded as a malady, must be decided by the evidence of medical experts in the Law Courts . . . .”

In any case, the “Stores” contribute to an enormous extent to undermine the morality of a generation, whose conscience is already blunted, and to multiply to a serious extent the already numerous social evils. The determining factors in the State ought to seriously consider, whether the trivial advantages of making one’s purchases under these luxurious conditions are sufficiently valuable to be placed in the scales against the economic and moral welfare of the population. And, before everything else, if it is consistent with the duty of those, who are in authority, to see that justice is enforced and that the interests of the commonwealth are guarded, that the brute force of money, combined with boundless selfishness, should be established as a system to enslave the whole nation. The evasion of our social politicians, who maintain that these results of modern life are inevitable, and must be “surmounted”, is equivalent to the consolation, given to a man, who is unable to swim, that, in any case, he would also have to learn how not-to drown.

 

5. Premiums for those employed and the cost involved in carrying on this method of trading.

How thoroughly unsound the business principles are in the great “Stores”, is shown by the evidence of Dr. Josef Lux, who maintains that many of the “Stores” have different prices for certain customers and for certain times of the day.

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A salesman, who had been employed in a “Stores”, informs us that the employees were instructed to exploit the weaknesses and inattentiveness of the public. A leading principle was that, if possible, no one should be allowed to leave the building without making a purchase. If a certain article was too dear for a customer, after several ingenious attempts had been made to persuade him or her to take something else, the same article would be produced again at a lower price under the pretext that it was of a different quality. Further, that salesmen and saleswomen were instructed, if the opportunity presented itself, to charge more than the goods had actually been priced at. In this case they receive special premiums for the excess profits, which they have been instrumental in obtaining.

How often the employees at the “Stores” are tempted to purloin the goods is only too well known. The Law Courts are incessantly engaged with cases of this kind*. Several years ago in the Berlin Courts, in one case alone, 54 salesmen and saleswomen as well as the head of a department out of the same “Stores”, received sentences.

The idea, that the working expenses of the “Stores” are lower than those of other businesses, is erroneous. The peculiar conditions, under which these great businesses are worked, call for all kinds of arrangements, which can be dispensed with in sound businesses.

In order to protect themselves in some measure against thefts, both by employees and customers, most of the great “Stores” engage and maintain a number of detectives, secret agents, inspectors and searchers, whose business it is to keep both the public and the staff under continual observation and control; and daily a number of the staff, as well as of the customers, are detained at the exits, and are conducted to a room, where they must divest themselves of their clothing in order to be thoroughly searched.

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* In No. 182 of the “Hammer” there is an article entitled: “34 Summonses in one ‘Store’, and in No. 239 an article under the heading: ‘Morality in the ‘Stores’”.

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The moral effects of this bodily examination need only be hinted at. It is by no means excluded that a perfectly innocent customer might have suspicion deliberately directed against her, and would consequently be exposed to a search of this kind.

In any case, the “Stores” are bound to maintain a large staff of people, whose sole duty consists in dealing with the moral damage, which follows as a matter of course in the train of this novel method of conducting business, and this, of course, increases the expenses enormously. If one also takes into account the continuous and costly advertising, which the “Stores” are quite unable to do without, it ought to be sufficiently clear that these modern undertakings cannot spell progress from an economic point of view, and that they are not at all in the position to deliver genuine goods at lower prices than other businesses. They are only able to keep themselves going by deceiving the public, and by lowering the quality of the goods.

Moreover, they have a devastating effect upon the economic existence of the middle-class, and, in this respect also, bring again a whole row of social evils in their train.

Trepreau ascribes the appalling falling-off in the number of marriages in France to the herding-together of the unmarried of both sexes in the enormous business barracks, which are called “business emporiums” or “stores”.

It is just the women and girls, who never think that by supporting the “Stores” they are sinning against their own sex. If one only pauses for a moment to consider that, owing to the growing power of the great capitalistic “Stores”, the possibility of a man of the middle-class ever establishing himself in a business of his own is quite precluded, marriage becomes more and more remote for many men, and more and more women are consequently driven to seek some means of making their own livelihood, one is finally bound to admit that, by reason of the development of the “Stores” system, the woman-question has become considerably more acute.

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Thus it is the women themselves, who help to destroy their own social position when they give their custom to the great “Stores”.

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Lambrecht thus sums up the result of his investigations: the system of concentration in retail-trade offers no social advantages, which are not far out balanced by other great disadvantages. The latter are leading towards a social condition full of danger, and which must be regarded as less advantageous and desirable when compared with the soundness and many-sidedness of the smaller businesses, each of which confines itself to one special branch of trade.

Regarded from the social point of view, it is the ethical forces, and not the economic, which must decide the issue.

Already all the older civilisations have gone to ruin because they would not recognise this truth about the accumulation of all wealth in a few hands, and the consequent impoverishment of the masses. What leads to decay cannot be called progress.

For us, however, material self-enrichment must not be carried on to the detriment of morality, and the general welfare must not be sacrificed in order that profiteering shall flourish.

The mission of the truly moral system of government remains unaltered, viz, to respect and protect the economically-weak man, who, at the same time, can well be the best man when judged from the physical and moral point of view. A particularly valuable social quality of the middle-class is moderation in all its needs and requirements, even in its aspirations after honours and riches; for, only in this case, can there be a fairly good distribution of prosperity, and a cheerful state of well-being be made possible for the community. The entire mechanism of acquisition, which has been placed at the absolute disposal of an unrestrained lust for gain, has not increased either the health, or the safety, or the happiness of human individuals.

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The social consequences of an evolution along these lines are: monotony, degeneration, and a gradual disappearance of the aesthetic sense and taste; degradation of personality and of the individual, and lack of an appropriate field of activity; suppression of the artistic industry. This whole series of appearances are the forerunners and symptoms of the decay of a nation, and of its culture.

It is almost superfluous to add that the great “Stores”, in all parts of the world, are almost exclusively in the hands of Hebrews, and that it is in this particular domain that the Jewish business spirit celebrates its questionable triumphs.

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A press, which represents every political party, and is always at the service of the great “Stores” on account of the rich harvest, which it derives from the advertisements of these establishments, has, up till now, helped to present these modern bazaars of rubbish in the most favourable light, and to write all manner of nice things about them. It has, in any case, refrained altogether from exposing the terrible nature of the economic, social and moral damage which is inseparably connected with the management and working of these great emporiums. Thus, for the sake of money, a grave crime is perpetrated against our nation.

When women, in particular, in the attempt to justify their patronage of these establishments, offer the excuse that it is so convenient to do their shopping at the “Stores”, they should be reminded that convenience is a property or quality, which ultimately can be used to justify any kind of indolence and carelessness, and that it becomes an absolute vice when it is referred to as an excuse for supporting dubious undertakings.

This much-praised convenience is, however, as all genuine frequenters of the great “Stores” will, without exception, admit, inseparably bound up with an incalculable expenditure of time, and with many other drawbacks as well, so that in reality, double as much inconvenience is experienced as if one had made the purchases in separate shops. The dawdling about in the “Stores” is already recognised as one of the modern feminine vices, which the Hebrew knows so well how to foster.

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If all the facts, which have been portrayed above, were only sufficiently known, the great “Stores” would soon lose their fascinating splendour in the eyes of all thoughtful people.

Most of all, it is to be hoped that the conscience will awake in our womankind, and will ask itself the question, if it is consonant with decency and morality to support, with their custom, these questionable emporiums of trash, and thus to condemn whole classes of our nation to economic and moral ruin. It is fully time that the customers realised at last their social responsibility. Whoever, for the sake of a paltry and often merely an apparent advantage, supports businesses founded on questionable principles, whoever shows favour to an unwholesome and immoral development, must not be surprised when the consequences of his ill-considered trading finally turn against him; for the morbid principle, spreading always further and further, endangers the social order and moral welfare, and helps to establish conditions, which most seriously menace social and national stability.

Our cultured ladies have opportunity enough to observe and deplore the growing laxity of public morals; it never seems to occur to them, however, that they themselves have helped to undermine the spirit, which makes for order and morality, by the support, which they give to these questionable business-undertakings, which pander solely to fashion. It is more especially the possessing and cultured classes, who ought to be conscious of their social duties, and who ought not — sometimes out of stinginess, and sometimes out of a lust for spending — to give their custom and support to these dubious trading concerns, and thereby to set a bad example to those below them in the social scale. The principle of the great “Stores” is uneconomic, unsocial and immoral; and out of these great lanterns of modern times, erected to attract and dazzle, issues a spirit, which threatens to poison and demoralise all society from top to bottom: the spirit greedy for gain at any cost, the spirit of vain boastfulness and of pleasure-seeking, the spirit of frivolity, of bodily and spiritual sickness, in fact of megalomania.

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Whoever has regard for our nation and its future, whoever has not already made it a habit to barter his moral consciousness for momentary enjoyment and momentary advantage, ought now to understand clearly, in which direction we are bound, if we continue to give our support to lax morality in business affairs, and other paths of life; for, all offence against good sense and morality, by destroying both state and society, attacks finally both us and our posterity.

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Version History

 

Version 1: Published May 17, 2014