A. T. Stewart's Business Methods

Mr. Stewnrt was a strictly just but not a generous man in his dealingfi. He always kept bis own word scrupulously, and required others to do the saino. If he promised to pay a dollar, he paid a dollar, and if a man promised hirn a dollar, nothiug less than the dollar would satisfy him. Henee he got the repututation of being hard and exacting, and consequently was rather impopular. He was also a strictly truthful man. Henever told lies, nor asked anybody in his em ploy to teil Ihem. The foundation of his business success was the reuutation, which his establishment gained at an early day, for describing goods exactly as they were, ofFering them at thelowost price intended to be taken, and then making no deviations. When he first opened his store it was the custom of sellers and buyers to charter over their transactions. The dealer asked move than he intended to take, and the bivyer oft'ered lefs than lie intended to give, and a long debate followed. The rosult was that timid people, womenandyoung persons, were vory glad to find a placo where thcy could look at goods, ask prices, aud then have nothing more to do than to make up their minds whether to take them or leavo them. Mr. Stewart also had the reputation of paying the lowest market rate of salaries" to his clerks. This was partly owicg to m natural shrewdness, and partly to the faefc that he was constantly overwholmed with applioations for situations. Having only to piek from a great numl'er who oftered theniselves, and who wero auxious for employment on any terms, he fouud it easy to secure clerks at salaries far below thoso that inany othor employers were compeled to pay. But whatever he promisod to pay was paid pimetually and fully. And in the course of his long career it has never been alleged against him that he ever defraudcd man or child of a cent. At the same time he required of all the fullest performance of the duties that they undortook, and a very slight failure was in his eyes sufíicient cause for dismissal. As au illustration of his business tiet, it in mi'utioned that on opening his great retail store he instructed his clcïks to pay particular attention to the poor women who entered at the Fourth avenue doors, hia object being to break up the L'owerv