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I WANTED TO BE A MERCHANT
(Georgia)
"The past few years have brought many
changes in my way of living." John Robson said thoughtfully. "But all of
these readjustments came after I had realized my lifelong ambition of
coming to the city as a merchant.
"I was born and reared out in the country, where the sun shines brighter,
the air is purer and where one gets in closer touch with nature and God.
My father's farm was located near Louisville, a former capital of Georgia,
which prior to the War Between the States was a great slave market. The
old covered stand from which the slaves were sold is still standing in the
center of the square. One of the town's civic organizations has beautified
the old relic by surrounding it with flowers and shrubbery.
"My father and mother owned the farm. There were five children, three boys
and two girls. Only two of us are living now - one sister and myself.
"I don't recall anything very eventful or exciting during my childhood on
the farm. I helped my father and my brothers with the farm work and did
chores around the house. The principal event of the week was dressing up
in my Sunday clothes and going to Sunday school and "preaching," which was
held once a month.
"Of course, the young boys and girls had some social gatherings. In fact,
we always had a get-together after Sunday school. There were really not
many other opportunities for seeing the young people.
"All during my boyhood my ambition was to get grown and go to a city and
become a merchant. Fame and fortune kept constantly calling me to the
bright city lights. When I was 21 yours old I launched out for Augusta and
got me a job as clerk with a retail grocery store at a salary of $10 a
month.
"Wanting to be near me, my father and mother moved to Augusta and opened
up a boarding house. Thus I was able to continue to live with them.
"After one year the firm doubled my salary and I stayed with them for
another year. Then I received an offer from a wholesale and retail grocery
company which carried a salary of $45 per month. I worked on this job for
seven years. Then I resigned without hesitation at the end of that period
to accept a position with another grocery concern which would pay me $85 a
month. I worked at that salary for two years.
"By this time I had saved a little and was making a fair salary. I went to
Thomson, Georgia, married the girl of my dreams and brought her to
Augusta. The firm raised my salary to $100 a month and we were getting
along very nicely. Our happiness was short-lived, however, for my wife
died within less than six months after we were married.
"I stayed in the same position for several years longer until in 1921 I
accepted a job that paid me $125 a month. I worked for this grocery firm
for seven years, during which time I re-married. My second wife had some
money of her own and being very economical and thrifty she managed to
accumulate quite a nice savings account. Another offer from a grocery firm
with a $50 increase came at this time and for the two ensuing years I
received $175 a month for my services.
"My wife had continued to save and after several years she had quite a
nice nest egg in the bank. It amounted to about $18,000. With this and my
good salary we felt that we were very comfortable indeed.
"Then along came a man named Johnson, who had previously operated a
grocery business. He asked me to enter into a partnership with him on a
50-50 basis, each of us to put up a certain amount of cash. My wife did
her best to get me to reject his proposition but after several
conversations with him he over-persuaded me and I consented.
"In 1930 we opened a wholesale and retail grocery business under the firm
name of Robson and Johnson. Our capital stock amounted to about $10,000,
including fixtures, etc. The first year our sales amounted to $125,000,
and the business continued to prosper for several years. My partner looked
after the office, bookkeeping, making deposits, etc., and my duties were
to look after the buying, the stock, and the sales.
"I had complete confidence in Johnson and left all of the financial part
of the business to him. It took three years for me to realize what a
terrible mistake I had made for, when I did examine our affairs the firm
had become heavily involved. I exerted every effort to pull out of the
hole we were in. I, personally, borrowed $2,100 but it wasn't long before
I realized that in spite of this we were going further and further in
debt. We were finally forced into a receivership. I then persuaded the
Miller Brothers to buy out the business which they did in May 1935. They
changed the name of the firm and retained me as manager for two and a half
years. At the end of that time one of the Brothers became dissatisfied
with the return on his investment and they decided to close out the
business.
"There I was, left high and dry without even a job. After a short time I
secured employment with one of our large cotton firms. They paid me $20 a
week for one year. At this point the government took charge of the cotton
situation, with a resultant general slowing up of the cotton business and
my salary was reduced to $15 a week.
"The long seige of worry and trouble had taken its toll and my health
began to fail. I was compelled to undergo an operation on my leg.
The trouble was caused by varicose veins. Of course this hampered me and
as I was unable to get out in the country and collect bad accounts as I
had always done, I lost out altogether.
"Then the depression really got in its
work for as I was unable to meet the payments on my home, which was valued
at $8,000, I soon lost it. We moved to a downtown apartment and we are
still living there.
"My come-back has been only nominal, but despite being handicapped by a
lame leg, I am selling merchandise on a commission basis. My income is
sufficient to support myself and my wife and the two boys whom we have
practically adopted.
"We have been able to even save a little money, for my wife never lost her
thrifty ideas. After my health became involved we decided to go on one of
the personally conducted Canadian tours.
"We left Augusta by train. The rest of the party had left the day before
and gone to Savannah. They were going by boat to some seaport along the
way. We didn't feel that I could stand the water trip, so we waited and
joined the rest of the party later.
"We spent a day and a night at the National Capital, then went on to
Philadelphia, and on to Atlantic City. Then we went back to Philadelphia
and took the train for New York City. Next we sailed up the Hudson River
to Albany and from there we entrained for Niagara Falls where we spent a
day. From the Falls we went to Toronto, Canada. Then we took the train for
Buffalo, New York. As we had been away from home for 26 days, we felt that
it was long enough and so we started back to Augusta.
"It was really a wonderful trip and a very inexpensive one. We bought two
tickets for $196 apiece. I had $35 in my pocket, and I went down and drew
$300 out of the bank, six 50-dollar bills.
"We soon found that everything was planned so completely that it would be
unnecessary to spend any of our money except for the personal things that
we might wish to buy. We didn't even break one of the 50-dollar bills we
had drawn from the bank.
"During our stay at Washington, D. C., we were registered at the Chaselton
Hotel. After we had lunch we inquired of the clerk at the desk if he knew
anything or the whereabouts of Colonel Clark, who had been stationed at
the Augusta Arsenal for a number of years, but had been transferred to
Washington. Without hesitation, the clerk informed us that we would find
the colonel almost directly across the street at the George Washington
Hospital. We went over immediately to call on him.
"During his assignment at the Augusta Arsenal, his family and mine had
became very good friends, but we hadn't heard from them for a number of
years. He gave us a very hearty welcome. Then he called his wife over the
telephone and told her to come down as soon as she could, that he had a
very pleasant surprise for her and that she must be sure and bring the car
along. Mrs. Clark arrived in a remarkably short time and after exchanging
greetings, they drove us all over the city. We enjoyed it to the fullest.
"My wife and I have never had any children of our own but, in the course
of our wedded life we have partially raised and educated 10 children, all
of them relatives of ours. Four of these children were brothers who had
lost their mother at a very tender age and for a number of years their
father had drunk heavily. Since that time he has stopped drinking and has
married again. However, we still have two of these boys and, as I said
before, we have practically adopted them.
"When the four brothers I have already mentioned were making their home
with us, two of them have us quite a bit of trouble. They used to run away
and get into petty difficulties, etc., causing us a lot of anxiety and
quite a nice sum of money. When their father lived with us and drank so
much, we were greatly embarrassed at times, and paid out lots of money
trying to keep him out of trouble.
"This man was a splendid shoe salesman and could get a job almost any time
he wanted one. However, when pay day come around he would almost
invariably get drunk and in this way he lost many a good job.
"I recall one instance when he went to Atlanta and got in jail. He sent
for me immediately. I went up and got him out on bond and employed a
lawyer for him. This lawyer charged me $150.00 when I employed him and
another $150.00 in a few days. I considered this very unfair. Another
lawyer, a friend of mine from Augusta who was visiting in Atlanta, told me
that it was illegal, and that I should demand half of my money back.
"Before I even got to see the man he lost his life when his home burned
down. The chances of my getting my money back burned up with it as I had
no way to prove that he had gotten it from me.
"During all the years of misfortune and depression, my wife's courage and
faith had never failed. She met each now trial with great fortitude and
cut her garment to suit the cloth she had. She is always bright and
cheerful. Sometimes I get a little despondent, but she always manages to
lift me up again. We lost our nice home and are now living in a rented
apartment, but we have learned to be thankful that we can have a fairly
good living."
"Do you hold membership in any of our fraternal orders or clubs, Mr.
Robson?" I asked.
"No." He replied. "I have never joined any clubs or lodges because I have
been a very busy man, and in the days when I could have done things like
that, my work kept me closely confined at my store."
"But you are a church member?" I inquired.
"Oh, yes," he answered. I have been a member of the Methodist Church for
years and I have endeavored to be a good one. I have also given as
liberally to charity as my income would permit, and you may rest assured
that every merchant on Broad Street has many and varied calls for money.
"I am also a member or our Bible class and am intensely interested in the
work they are doing.
"I never missed a Sunday until my health began to fail to such an extent
that walking became difficult and the use of a stick imperative."
"Did I understand you to say that you have never attended High School, Mr.
Robson?" I asked him.
"Yes, I did say that, because in those days children on the farms were
fortunate to get a common school education. At that time there were no
consolidated schools in the country and sometimes we would have to walk
several miles to school. There were no such things as school busses in
those days.
"I have noticed all through our conversation that your English is good and
I know you write a beautiful hand." I told him.
"Well, it was this way. After I closed the store at night a friend of
mine, who was also a merchant, allowed me to come to his place of business
and he taught me for quite a while. That man wrote the prettiest hand I
ever saw. Then when I secured a better job with another firm, the
proprietor taught me practical bookkeeping, letting me learn by posting
his books at night after closing hours. He would stay at the store and
teach me, for which I was indeed grateful."
"I feel that the World War was the primary cause of the general economic
depression. As soon as war was declared prices began to rise and when our
country finally became involved, salaries increased and naturally, people
had more money to spend. Those who didn't have the money, anticipated
their wants and borrowed it. At that time the banks had ample money and
were eager to lend it. People spent lavishly and wanted luxuries in
addition to the necessities. Prices soared and credit was easily obtained.
While this period of inflation lasted everything went well, the rich
became richer, and the poor had many things previously unknown to them.
"Then came deflation. The mother banks in New York clamped down on the
smaller ones, refusing to let them have any more money; they were unable
to carry on and were forced to close their doors. Stocks and bonds hit
rock bottom, prices took a drastic drop, businesses failed and then came
the general depression. As a natural result many people lost their jobs.
"General Motors, the steel plants, automobile industries, the sugar
market, Coco Cola, and even the pepper market suffered. When the market
broke people had no money with which to meet their obligations and even
many millionaires became paupers overnight.
"During the inflation period, cotton soared as high as 42¢ a pound. Those
who had cotton anticipated 50¢ and held their cotton at these high
figures, then when the market collapsed they lost everything they had.
"The small banks that had made loans to farmers and others suffered
terrific losses and the majority of them were compelled to close.
"The government finally stopped in and took over the cotton situation.
Farmers were allowed to plant only a certain amount of cotton, and as a
result many cotton factors were forced out of business.
"During the war when prices rose so high it was often necessary for
merchants to contract for ahead. When the crash came we were loaded up on
a great many commodities that we were forced to sell at a terrific loss.
"White meat that was bought for 32 and 35 cents was sold for as low as 12
cents and some of it for 4 and 5 cents per pound. Sugar was another
commodity that brought heavy losses to grocery firms. Manufacturers held
merchants to their contracts, forcing them to pay and in many instances
brought suit against them.
"At one time we bought a lot of syrup for 35 cents a gallon and had to
sell it for 17½ cents. At that we considered ourselves lucky to get half
price for it, because later we found that it was fermented.
"Another firm bought two carloads of corn about the same time. It was
found to be weevil eaten and instead of realizing a profit on the cost
price of $1.55 a bushel, they were glad to sell all of it for 55 cents.
"Of course there were many contributing causes to the depression, but it
is my firm belief that the World War was the main one.
"And so, while it has left many scars, I still have much for which to be
thankful."
I WANTED TO BE A MERCHANT
A Depression Victim Story
Written by: Mrs. Daisy Thompson
Augusta
Edited by: Mrs. Leila A. Harris
Supervising Editor
Georgia Writers' Project
Augusta, Georgia
February 2, 1940
L. R. Allen
451 Telfair Street
Augusta, Georgia
January 23, 1940
D. T.
Text from: Library of
Congress, Manuscript Division, WPA Federal Writers' Project Collection
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