the young garnet had never indicated any intention of showing the same hands-on enthusiasm towards the family business as his father had done before him , but thanks to the loyal service and guidance of an experienced general manager the firm had been able to ride the potential hazards of the depression years , followed swiftly by the second world war , with nothing more serious to show in the company books by the intervention of these major historical events than a rise in profits and a widening customer base : everyone wanted something sweet in a time of crisis to take away the bitter taste of reality .