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Quote by Ida Tarbell

“There is no gaming table in the world where loaded dice are tolerated, no athletic field where men must not start fair. Yet Mr. Rockefeller has systematically played with loaded dice, and it is doubtful if there has ever been a time since 1872 when he has run a race with a competitor and started fair.”

Quote by Ida Tarbell

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Ida Tarbell
Ida Tarbell

Ida Tarbell was an American author known for her investigative reporting on the Standard Oil Company. Her work, 'The History of the Standard Oil Company,' exposed the practices of the monopolistic corporation and had a profound impact on public perception of big business. more

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“One of the most depressing features of the ethical side of the matter is that instead of such methods arousing contempt they are more or less openly admired. And this is logical. Canonise 'business success,' and men who made a success like that of the Standard Oil Trust become national heroes!”

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Book:The History of the Standard Oil Company: Briefer Version
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“[On dishonest business methods:] ... frequently the defender of the practice falls back on the Christian doctrine of charity, and points out that we are erring mortals and must allow for each other's weaknesses! - an excuse which, if carried to its legitimate conclusion, would leave our business men weeping on one another's shoulders over human frailty, while they picked one another's pockets.”

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Author:Ida Tarbell
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“Now, if the Standard Oil Company were the only concern in the country guilty of the practices which have given it monopolistic power, this story never would have been written. Were it alone in these methods, public scorn would long ago have made short work of the Standard Oil Company. But it is simply the most conspicuous type of what can be done by these practices. The methods it employs with such acumen, persistency, and secrecy are employed by all sorts of business men, from corner grocers up to bankers. If exposed, they are excused on the ground that this is business.”

IfsMenLongHas BeensMadeCountryDoneStoriesGivenBusinessCompanyPracticeWrittenTypeStandardsConcernMethodCornersOilGuiltyExposedLong AgoEmployedScornSecrecyBankersOil CompaniesBusiness ManAcumenGrocersStandard Oil
Book:The History of the Standard Oil Company
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“The surprise of the fight on the long day, of the experiments with the shorter one, has been not only that the business could stand it, but that the business thrived under it as surely as the man did. It is but another of the proofs which are heaping up in American industry to-day that whatever is good for men and women - contributes to their health, happiness, development - is good for business.”

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Book:New Ideals in Business, an Account of Their Practice and Their Effects Upon Men and Profits
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“You cannot settle a new country without suffering, exposure, and danger. Cheerful endurance of hardships and contempt of surroundings become a virtue in a pioneer. Comfort is a comparatively new thing in the United States.”

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Book:New Ideals in Business, an Account of Their Practice and Their Effects Upon Men and Profits
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