Justice vs. Corruption "Taking PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY to uphold what is pure, right, and true"     JUSTICE - A One-Minute Testimonial Announcement Faith Committee, Character Council of Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky Contributed from Encyclopedia of 15,000 Illustrations J.C. PENNEY—GOLDEN RULE MERCHANT The first venture of James Cash Penney (1875-1971) as a retail proprietor—a butchershop in Longmont, Colorado—opened in 1899 and failed almost immediately, after he refused to bribe an important local hotel chef with a weekly bottle of bourbon. “I lost everything I had,” said Penney, “but I learned never to compromise.” Penney’s unwavering faith in the copybook maxims of his youth roused skepticism in a mercenary age, but his credo underlay his success. At his death in 1971 Penney, 95, left a 1,660-store empire that he built without compromising the stiff principles he had absorbed from three generations of Baptist-preacher ancestors. He neither smoked nor drank, and for years demanded the same abstemious conduct from his employees. “I believe in adherence to the Golden Rule, faith in God and the country,” he often said. “I would rather be known as a Christian than a merchant.” With annual sales of $4.1 billion, J. C. Penney grew to be the nation’s fifth largest merchandising company. Penney’s personal holding of its stock was worth $24 million. To aid religious, scientific, and educational projects he set up the James C. Penney Foundation. [Adapted with permission from Encylopedia of 15,000 Illustrations, by Paul Lee Tan, Communications, Inc., Dallas, TX, 1998, #1089, 3601]   This material is published by the Faith Committee of the Character Council of Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky. Reproduction and Adaptation is encouraged.