National Association of Chain Drug Stores, Hollywood Beach, Florida
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ADDRESS BY SENATOR HUBERT H. HUMPHREY, (D. -- MINN.) CONVENTION OF NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF CHAIN DRUG STORES, HOLLYWOOD BEACH HOTEL HOLLYWOOD BEACH, FLORIDA APRIL 12, 1950 It is a pleasure to JOln with you today at this lovely spot in Florida for what I understand is the biggest and most successful convention in the history of your or• ganization. l<or some time I have had the pleasure of knowing some of the leaders in your group and I welcome this opportunity of renewing old friendships and of be• coming better acquainted with many more people in the drug industry. One of the advantages of being a senator is that it gives you so many opportunities to talk as long as you please. If any of you are devotees of that perenniel best seller, the Daily Congressional Record, you know what I mean. And I am warning you frankly -- as some of you already know -- I like to talk just about as long, and as often, as any member of the Senate. I particularly like to talk to folks in the drug trade. You see, I have my roots firmly planted in the drug trade. One of my earliest memories is a family drug store with its array of fascinating bottles, packages and that great American insti tution, the soda fountain. The drug store lost none of its fascination for me even when I got old enough to pinch-hit for everything from bottle washer to soda jerker. Yes sir, I suppose I have done just about everything there is to do in a drug store, with particular emphasis on sweeping out. And I still have one foot squarely in the drug trade because the family drug store still stands on Main Street in Huron, South Dakota~ That store occupies a very special warm spot in my heart. 11henever I get a chance I go back there, roll up my sleeves and pitch in. This store is more than just a place of business to me -- it is a family institution, it is part of my father's heritage to me, and it is the best place in the world I know of to rub elbows ~nth the ..... neople of this nation real . I go back to this drug store at every possible opportunity. Like nothing else, it makes me feel that I have come to grips 1"1ith the every day problems of the people -· back in wv ashington, the fancy political writers like to refer to this as the "grass roots." Though the family drug store is not located in the state which has honored me with high office, I feel that the knowledge I gain and have gained of people and their problems fron1 my experiences in the drug store has helped me greatly in my political career. I know it has contributed significantly to my ability to better serve the people of my state and the people of this nation. It has afforded me the opportunity to acquire some of that practical knowledge about people -- their needs, their prob~ems and their desires. It has given me confidence in the vitality and the character of the people. A retail drug store is democracy on main street -- the vnshes of the people prevail. The store owner or manager di rects his business operation to serve the people -- or the people leave him. It's like politics -- either you serve the people -- give them quality and courtesy, or you close up shop -- or as we say, lose the election. The drug business is like politics in other ways. I only hope my business friends will see the similarity. For example -- a change in the economic scene requires change in the operation of your store or stores. You can't stand still and be in business for very long. Change -- yes, rapid change -- is the order of the cay. The merchant who heeds the signs of change and gets in step is the one who succeeds. Well, it's that way in politics too. This world of ours is not the world of yesterday. Our nation has changed from a predominately agricultural, rural, and pioneer society to a highly sensitive industrialized economy. The vast majority of our people live in cities. The farm of today is mechanized and electrified. Our people move from city to city, state to state. Our business economy becomes ever more centralized and concentrated Our banking and credit structure of today is vastly different from that of the early 1900's. Like it or not, we live in the age of bigness -- big business, big labor, big production, big money -- and this inevitably means big government. It does us little good to deplore these facts. It will do us good to ~~derstand them and know how to meet the problems inherent in such a modern day national economy. To close our eyes to reality is to live in a dream or, should I say, a nightmare. I have seen druggists spend 50% of their time complaining about their competition, particu larly if it was a chain store. They complained themselves into bankruptcy. But I've seen others who recognized the changes taking place in merchandising, and ther~ upon got busy to meet the competition. They are still in business and going strong. These druggists refused to be hypnotized by "hinds ight11 ; they were energized by "fores ight11 • They got in step with the 20th century and went to work. A moment ago, I mentioned that this was an age of bi~ness -- big business, big labor big finance, big production and consumption -- also big government. All of this bi~ •Speech, Convention of National Association of Ghain Drug Stores,4/12/50 --Page #2 ness bothers peopleo The bigness of government seems to frighten even the most courageous. But, my friends, government in this nation of ours is a reflection of the body IJOlitic and the economy. You can't expect to have model T government in the age of hydramatic drive -- or government geared to the covered wagon, in the age of atomic energy and jet propulsion. You, as practical business people, know that nith our nation changing from an agricultural economy to a highly centralized industrial economy, you can't have, nor should we have, a government geared to the needs and problems of the late 1800's. This is the mid-point of the 20th century - a century of turmoil, of tension, of change, yes even violent changeo Your govern ment has grown big not because any one person wanted it that way. It wasn't plan ned -- there was no conspiracy -- ;}'our government grew to immense proportions, be cause it is representative government. It represents, it reflects, it symbolizes the nature of the society in which you live. Yes, it symbolizes that society in man;tl ways. There is coffiusion at times -- uncertainty and indecision. 'lhat 's the world picture, too, isn't it? There are no patent remedies, no easy answers, no miracle cures~ Our century, the 20th century, has been one of social and economic convulsion, revolution, and painful adjustmento Look back over the yesterday - two world wars, a world-wide depression, revolution, communism, nazism and fascism, the break-up of empires, the collapse of world trade, a rapidly increasing popula tion, and incredible industrial and scientific advancement.. Is it any wonder that people are confused and bewildered? Is it any wonder that just as business has chru1ged, so has government? I believe the people of this nation are primarily interested in two things: (1) Freedom and opportunity (2) Security, both domestic and foreign Unlike some, 1 do not think that the two are incompatible. From my standpoint, one of the functions of government is to help provide people with the opportunity to achieve security. And I think that one of our most basic problems today is to find ways in which the government may keep open the avenues of opportunity which have served to make this nation great -- opportunity for the small as well as the large. I chose opportunity as the text of my sermon today because I believe it is the fun damental basis for the discussion of one of the most important issues in the drug trade today -- I refer to the much-maligned question of Fair Trade. As you know from the public press, I count myself as one of the staunchest advocates in the Con gress of independent small business. As such, you might wonder what I am doing here today. Fraru<ly, I have no sense of embarrassment or inconsistency in appearing be fore you. After all, each of the chains represented here today started at some time with a single store -- started by an independent small businessman who was abl£ to seize the op portun~ty provided by this country to build and grow by willi!ing fa vor from his customers, the public. I am not now and never have been, opposed to bigness for its own sake. Ii!y idea of helping the small businessman is not based on penalizing those that have been suc cessful in moving from the category of small to big. Rather, I favor the affirma tive approach of keeping the avenues of opportunity open so that the small man can become big if he has the ability and the energy to do so. I cross swords with bigness only when size is used as a means of restraining or hampering growth -- only when it is used as a means of curbing or restricting the opportunities available to the smaller independents.