eliminating the independent merchant the events of the last
20 years clearly show. Indeed, the independent merchant is
not only just as strong numerically today as he was back in
1929, when the "chain-store question" was beginning to gain
nationwide attention, and enjoying the same share of the to-
tal retail business as he accounted for them, but he is actually
doing a much better job. The spur of competition provided
by the chains has proved his salvation rather than his ruin.

The purpose of this book, then, is not to attempt again to
answer the "chain-store question," which has answered itself,
but to record the history of a movement which has meant
and means so much to our domestic economy.

The book naturally divides itself into three parts: (1) the
birth and growth of the system; (2) its struggle for self preser-
vation in the face of violent and sustained opposition; and
(3) its maturity.

Both the history of the chains and the so-called chain-
store problem have been well covered in several recognized
works. Particularly valuable were Chain Stores, by Hayward
& White, 1928; The Chain Store Problem, by Beckman &
Nolen, 1938; Chain Stores and Legislation, by Daniel Bloom field
, 1989; and The Chain Store Tells Its Story, by John P. Nichols
, 1940. The only trouble with these books is that they
are all out of print, besides being to some extent out of date.
More recent works covering retailing or marketing in general
devote some space to the chain-store system, but obviously
the treatment is necessarily limited.

In undertaking the task involved in preparing this book the
author has been moved by a sense of responsibility based on
his own connection with the chain-store field since 1925 as
editor and one of the publishers of Chain Store Age. In that
capacity it was his privilege to know and to work with many
of the chain store leaders whose names appear in these pages
and to play a part in some of the events recorded. Much of
the data used herein is based on material gathered through

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