T HE E M P I R E

OF

B US IN ES S

By
AN D RE W CA RNE G I E

C I T Y NE W
D O UB L E DAY P A G E
, C O M PANY
I 9 I 3
 Copyrigh t, 19 0 2 , 1 9 0 8 , by
D OU B AY P AG C OM ANY
LED ,
E P

A ll igh t
r : d in l ding th t f
r es e rve ,
c u a o

t n l i n int f
ra x az o ignl ng g
o ore a u a e:,

inl ding th S ndin vi n

c u e ca a a
 C O NT ENT S

TH E R O AD To B US I N E S S S UC C E S S
A Ta lk to Y ou ng M e n

TH E C O MMO N I NT ER E S T OF LA B O U R A ND
CA P I TAL
E m ploye r pl oye i nt d p e nd nt Th e ad
a nd em e er e e
'

Th e m pl oy wh o h e l p s
.

v n t g s f m u t u l t ru t
a a e o a s . e er
h i w r k m e n t h u gh
s o d u cat ion re c e a t ion and
ro e r
i l u pl ift h lp s h i m s e l f
,

s oc a , e .

TH R I F T As A D UT Y
Th e D u tie: f
o Rich M e n
T r h ift n v i d n of c iv i l i z t ion S avi ng one of
a e e ce a .

the h i gh t d t i es f cit iz n h i p
u T h a c cu m u l a
es o e s e

d u t y ; t h a cqu i re me nt of
.

t i on of co m p t n
a e e ce a e

v st w
a l t h n t a vi t u e b u t g at re sp ons ibil i ty
ea o r a re .

H ow To WI N F O RT U N E
Th e a dv
nt a ge s of a n e a rl y s t a rt
a C oll e g e e duca .

t i on no t ne c e s s a ry t o b u s i n e s s s u c ce s s P oo r boys .

t h e s u cce s s fu l m e n O f t o d ay M e n of bu s m e s s
-
.

a b i l i t y s u re o f re co g ni t i on .

WE ALT H A ND US E S I TS
P ov rt y a n I nce nt i ve t o g a t a ch i e ve m e nt S ii r
’

e re .

pl w l t h llow m re l y a n l a b o a t io n O f th e
us ea a s e e r

si m pl n e d s of l ife W e al t h h e l p s consol i d ation

e e

nd h e p e ns p ro d u cti on
.

a c a .
 C O NTE NT S

A NG L O A M ER I CAN TRAD E R E LAT I O N S

-

Cont ra s t i ng the i l m t h d of t h e two

c o m m e rc a e o s
cou nt ri e s T h p t t h t i ff pl y s int d
e ar e P ar a ra e ro
i ff in t h Uni t d S t t e s ; free t rad e in
. .

t e c t ive tar e e a

B i t i n;
r a a com p a ri onof e s ul t s
s r .

B US I N E S S
B usin s l g w d and init s p i m ary m e ani ngs
e s is a ar e or r

t h e wh l e ng f m ns ff ort s Th e s a m ’
c ov e rs o ra e o a e e

p ri n i pl of t h ift e ne gy on nt t ionand b a i n
.

c es r ,
r ,
c ce ra r s

win u c c s ina ny b a nch of b u s i ne s s f rom me d i ci ne

s es r

t o d ry good s .

TH REE L E G G E D S T O O L
-

Sc h e me of t h e wo ld s w k Th e t ri pl e a ll i ance
r
’
or

l b ou r p i t l a nd b u i n s b i l i t y is ne ce s sa ry
.

Of a ca a s es a

t o p od u e su c e s fu ll y E a h d e p e nd e n
,

c t on t h e c
—
r c s .

ot h e s co m b i n
r ed invi nc i bl e , .

RA I LRO AD S PA S T A ND P RE S E N T
R a i l roa d i ng int h e e ve nt i e s ; ra i l s y s t e m s s p e e d s
s s, , ,

s a l ari e s a nd m e t h od R a il roa d i ng in t h e fu t u
s re .

Th e ne e d s of t h e ra i l roa d m an a nd h is re s po ns i
.

b ilit ies .

WE A LTH

LA B O UR

WA G E S
 CO NTENT S

TH R I FT
TH E LAN D

I N D I V I D UA L I S M V ER S U S S O C IA L I S M
V AR I E TY V ER S U S U N I F O RMI TY

FAM I LY R E LAT I O N S

TH E L O N G MA RC H U P WA R D

M Y EX P ER I E N C E W I T H RA I LWAY RA T E S A ND

R E B AT E S
Th e R o ad To B u s ine s s S u c c e ss
 TH E R O AD TO BU S I NE S S S U CC E S S

A TAL K T O Y O U N G MEN

T I S well that young men should begin at the

beginning and occupy the most subordin ate
positions Many O f the leading bu sines s men O f
.

Pittsbu rg had a seriou s responsibility th ru st upon

them at the very threshold O f their ca reer They .

were introdu ced to the b room and spent the fi rs t

,

hou rs O f their bu s ines s lives sweeping out the O ffice .

I notice we have j anitors and j anitres ses now in

offices and ou r you ng men u nfortu nately mis s th at
,

s aluta ry branch of a bu sines s edu cation B ut if by

.

chance the p rofessional sweeper is absent any morn

ing the boy W h o has the geniu s of the futu re p artner
in him will not hesitate to try his h and at the broom .

The other day a fond fashionable mother in Michiga n

as ked a young man W hether he had ever seen a young
lady sweep in a roo m S O grandly a s her Priscilla He .

s aid no he never h ad and the mother w a s gratified

, ,

beyond measu re bu t then s aid he after a p au s e

, , ,

What I shou ld like to see her do is S weep o u t a

room .
” It does no t hu rt the newest comer to sweep
4 TH E E MPI RE O F BU SINE S S

ou t the Offi ce if neces sary I wa s one O f thos e .

sweepers myself and wh o do you suppose were my

,

fellow sweepers $ D avid M c C a rgO now s u pe rin ,

tendent O f the Alleghany Valley R ailroad ; R obert

Pitcairn Sup erintendent O f the Pennsylvania R ail
,

road and Mr Moreland City Attorney We all

,
.
,
.

took tu rns two each morning did the sweeping ; and

,

now I remember Davie wa s s o prou d of his clean

white S hirt bosom that he u sed to sp read over it an
O ld s ilk bandana h andkerchief which he kept for
the pu rpose and we other boys thought he was put
,

ting o n airs SO he was N one of u s had a silk

. .

handkerchief .

As suming th at you h ave all obtained employ men t

“
and a re fairly sta rted my advice t o you is aim
, ,

high ”. I would not give a fig for the young man

wh o does not already s e e himself the p artner o r the
head O f an important fi rm Do not rest content for .

a moment in you r thoughts a s head clerk o r fore ,

man o r general manager in any concern no matter

,

h ow extensive S ay each to you rself : My place

is at the top B e h ing in you r dre a ms
. Make .

you r vow that you will reach that position with ,

u nta rnished reputation and ma ke no other vow to

,

distract you r attention except the V ery commend

,

able one that when you a re a member O f the firm or

before that if you have been p romoted two or three
,
 TH E R OAD TO BU SI NE SS S U CCE S S 5

times you will form ano t her p a rtnership with t h e

,

loveliest O f her sex — a pa rtnership t o which o u r

new p a rtnership a ct h a s no application The lia .

b ilit y there is never limited .

Let me indicate two or three conditions es sentia l

t o su ccess Do not be afraid that I am going to
.

moralize o r inflict a homily upon you

,
I spea k .

upon the subj ect only from the view o f a man O f t h e

world desirou s of aiding you to become su cces sfu l
bu sines s men You all know that there is no genu
.

ine p raiseworthy su cces s in life if you a re not honest

, ,

truthful fair dealing I a s sume yo u a re and will

,
-
.

remain all these and also that you a re determined to

,

live pu re respectable lives free from perniciou s o r

, ,

equ ivocal as sociations with one s e x o r the other .

There is no creditable futu re for you els e O ther .

wis e you r learning and you r advantages no t only

go for naught bu t serve to accentu ate you r failu re
,

and you r disgrace I hope yo u will not take it

.

amis s if I warn you agains t th ree of the gravest

dangers which will beset you in you r upward p ath .

The first and most s edu ctive a nd the destroyer O f ,

most young men is the drin king O f liquor I am no

,
.

temperance lectu rer in disguise b u t a ma n wh o ,

knows and tells you W hat O bse r vation h a s p roved to

him ; and I s a y to you that you a re more likely t o fail
in you r career from a cquiring the habit O f drin k ing
6 TH E E MPI RE O F BU S I N E S S
liquor than from any o r all the oth e r te mptations
, ,

likely t o a s sail you Y ou may yield t o almost any

.

other temptation and reform may brace up and ,

if not recover lost ground at least remain in the race

, ,

and secu re and maintain a respectable position .

B ut from the insane thirst fo r liquor escape is almost

impos sible I have known but few exceptions to
.

this rule First then you mu st not drink liquor

.
, ,

t o excess . B etter if yo u do not tou ch it at all

much better ; but if this be t oo h ard a rule for you ,

then ta ke you r stan d fi rmly here : R esolve never

to tou ch it except at meals A glass at dinner will
.

not hinder you r advance in life o r lower you r tone ;

but I implore you hold it inconsistent with the
dignity a n d self respect o f gentlemen with what is
-

du e from you rs elves t o you rselv e s being the men ,

y o u are and especially the men yo u a re determined

,

to become to drink a glas s of liquor at a ba r B e

,
.

far too much O f the gentleman ever to enter a ba r

room Y ou do not pu rsu e you r careers in s afety
.

u nles s you stand fi rmly upon this ground Adhere .

to it and you have es caped danger f rom the deadliest

o f you r foes .

The next greatest danger t o a young bu sines s man

in this commu nity I believe t o be that of speculation .

When I wa s a telegrap h operator here we had no

E xchange s in the city but the men or fi rms wh o
,
 TH E R O AD TO BU S I NE S S S U CC E S S 7

specu lated upon the E astern E xchanges were meces

s a r ily known to the O perators They could b e .

cou nted on the fingers of o ne hand Thes e men were .

no t ou r citizens o f first repute : they were regarded

with su spicion I h ave lived to s e e all O f these
.

speculators irrep arably ru ined men ba n krupt in ,

money and bankru p t in ch a racter There is s carcely .

a n instance o f a man wh o has made a fortu ne by

speculation and kept it Gamesters die poor and
.
,

there is ce rtainl y no t a n in s tance O f a sp eculator wh o

h as lived a life creditable to himself o r a dva ntageou s ,

t o the commu nity The ma n wh o gra sp s the morn

.

i ng paper to see first h ow his sp ec u lative ventu res

upon the E xchanges a re likely t o result u nfit s him ,

self for the calm cons ideration and p rop er solution of

bu sines s p roblems with which he ha s to deal later
in the day and s ap s the sou rces o f th at p ers is tent
,

a nd concentrated energy u pon which dep end the

p ermanent su ccess and O ften the very s afety O f h is
, ,

main bu siness .

The speculator and the bu sines s man tread d ive rg

ing lines The fo rmer depend s upon the su dden
.

tu rn o f fortu ne s whe e l ; he is a millionaire to day

’
-

a bankrup t to morrow B ut the man O f bu s iness

-
.

knows that only by yea rs o f p a t ient u nremittin g ,

a ttention t o a ff airs can he ea rn his rewa rd which is ,

the result not of chance but of well devised mean s

, ,
-
8 TH E E M P I RE O F BU S I NE S S
for the attainment of ends During all these years
.

h is is the cheering thought that by no possibility

can he benefi t himself withou t carrying p rosp erity
to others The speculator on the other hand h ad
.

better never have lived s o fa r a s the good of others

o r the good of the community is concerned Hun .

dreds O f young men were tempted in this city not

long S ince to gamble in O il and many were ru ined ;
,

all were inj u red whether they lost or won You may .

be nay you a re certain to be simila rly te mpted ; b u t

$

, ,

when 8 0 tempted I hop e you will remember this

a dvice S ay to the tempter who a s ks you to ris k
.

you r s mall s avings that if ever you decide to S p e e n

,

late you a re determined to go to a regular and well

condu cted hou se where they cheat fair You can .

get fair play and about an eq u al chance upon the

red and black in su ch a place ; upon the E xchange
you have neither You might a s well try your l u c k
.

with the th ree ca rd monte man There is another

- -
.

point involved in sp eculation N othing i s more .

essential to young bu sines s men than u nta rnished

credit credit be gotten o f confidence in their p ru
,

dence p rinciples and stability o f character Well

, ,
.
,

believe me nothing kills credit sooner in any B ank

,

B oard th an the knowledge th at either fi rms or

men engage in speculation It matters not a whit .

whether gains o r losses be the temporary result of

 )
TH E E MPI RE O F BU SI NE SS
rega rd fo r the su cces s o f friends S hould cease and
regard fo r you r own honou r begin .

If you owe anything all you r capital and all you r

,

effects are a sole mn trust in you r hands t o be held in

violate fo r the secu rity o f those wh o h ave tru sted
you N othing can be done by you with honou r which
.

j eopardizes thes e first claims U pon you When a .

man in debt indorses for another it is not his own ,

credit or his o wn cap ital he ris ks it is that of his ,

o wncreditors He v iola t e s a t ru s t Mar k you then

. .
, ,

never indors e u ntil you h ave cash means not re

quired for you r own debts and never indors e be ,

yond those means .

B efore you indors e at all consider indorsements ,

as gifts and a s k you rselves whether you wish t o ma ke

,

the gift to you r friend and whether th e money is

really you rs to give and no t a tru st for you r creditors .

You are not s afe gentlemen unless you stand

, ,

firmly upon this a s the only grou nd which an honest

busines s man can occupy .

I beseech yo u avoid liquor speculation and in

, , ,

d o rs e m e nt Do not fail in either for liquor and

.
,

speculation a re the S cylla and Charybdis of the

young man s bu siness s e a and indorsement his rock
’
,

ahead .

Assuming you a re s afe in regard to these you r

gravest dangers the qu estion now is how to rise from
,
 TH E RO AD TO BU SI NE S S S U CC E S S I I

th e subordinate position we hav e imag i ned you in ,

through the successive grad e s t o the position for

which you are in my O pinion and I tru st in you r
, , , ,

own evidently intended

,
I can give you the secret
. .

It lies mainly in this : Instea d of the qu estion ,

“ ”
What mu st I do for my employer $ substitute
What can I do $ ” Faithful and cons cientiou s
dis charge of the duties a ssig ned you is all very well ,

but the verdict in such cas es generally is that you

p erform you r p resent duties s o well that you ha d
better continue p erforming them N ow young .
,

gentlemen this will not do It will not do for the

,
.

coming p artners There mu st be something beyond

.

this We make Clerks B ookkeep ers Treasu rers

.
, , ,

B an k Tellers of this C la ss and there they remain

,

to the end o f the chapter The rising man mu st do

.

something exceptional and beyond the range of

,

his sp ecial depa rtment H E M U S T A TT RA C T A TT E N

.

T I O N A shipping clerk he may do s o by dis cover

.
,

ing in an invoice an error with which he has nothing

to do and which ha s es caped the attention of th e
,

p roper p arty If a W eighing clerk he may s ave for

.
,

the fi rm by doubting the adj u stment of the s cale s

and having them corrected even if this be the p rov,

ince o f the master mechanic If a mes senger boy .

,

even he can lay the seed of p romotio n by going

beyond the letter of h is instru ctions in order t o secu r e
 THE E M P I RE OF BU S I NE S S
the desired reply There is no service s o low and
.

S imple neither any s o high in which the young man

, ,

o f ability and willing disposition cannot readily an d

almost daily p rove himself capable of greater tru s t

and u sefulnes s and what is equ ally important S how
, , ,

his invincible determination to ris e Some day in .

,

you r own dep artment you will be directed to do or

,

s ay something which you know will prove d is a d v a n

t a ge ou s to the interest of the firm Here is you r .

C hance . Stand u p like a man and s a y s o S ay it .

boldly and give you r reasons and thu s p rove to

, ,

you r employer that while his thoughts h ave been

,

engaged upon other matters you have been st u dy ,

ing du ring hou rs when p erhap s h e thought you

a sleep how to advance his interests You may be
,
.

right or you may be wrong bu t in either case you,

have gained the first condition of succes s You .

h ave attracted attention You r employer has found

.

that he h a s not a mere h ireling in his service bu t a ,

man ; not one who is content to give s o many hours o f

work for s o many dollars in retu rn but one wh o ,

devotes his sp are hou rs and constant thoughts to the

business Su ch an employee mu st p e rforce be thought
.

o f and tho u ght of kindly and well

,
It will not be long .

before his advice is asked in his special b ranch an d ,

if the advice given b e sound it will soon be a s k ed ,

and taken upon questions of b roader bearing Thi s .

 TH E RO AD TO BU S I NE S S S U CC E S S 13

means p artnership ; if not with p resent employers ,

then with others You r foot in su ch a cas e is upon

.
, ,

the ladder ; the amou nt of climbing done depends e m

t ire ly upon you rself .

O ne false axiom you will often hea r which I wis h ,

“
to gu ard you against : O bey orders if you break
owners . Don t you do it This is no rule for you
’
.

to follow Always b reak orders to s ave owners

. .

There never was a great cha ra cter who did not some
times smash the routine regu lations and ma ke new
ones for himself The rule is only suitable for su ch
.

a s h ave no asp irations and you h ave not forgotten

,

that you a re destined t o be owners and to ma ke

orders and brea k orders Do not hes itate to do it
.

whenever you are su re the interests o f you r emp loyer

will be thereby p romoted and when you a re s o su re
o f th e resu lt that you are willing to ta ke the r e s po n

s ib ilit y
. You will never be a p artner u nles s yo u
know the bu sines s of you r dep a rtment fa r better
th a n the owners pos sibly can When called to .

a ccou nt for you r independent a ction S how him the ,

result of you r geniu s and tell him that you knew

,

that it wou ld be s o ; S how him how mistaken th e

orders were B O S S you r bos s j u st as soon a s you can ;
.

try it o n early There is nothing he will like s o well

.

if he is the right kind of bos s ; if he is not h e is not ,

the man for you to remain with leave him when

:4 TH E EMP I RE OF BU SI N E S S

ever you can even at a p resent s acrifice and find o ne

, ,

capable of discerning genius O u r young p artners

.

in the Ca rneg ie firm have won their spu rs by showing

that we did not know half a s well what was wanted
a s they did Some o f them have acted upon occa
.

s ion with me a s if they owned the firm and I was b u t

s ome airy N ew Yorker p resuming to advis e u pon

what I knew very little about Well they a re not

.
,

interfered with mu ch now They were the tru e

.

bos ses the very men we were looking for .

There is one su re mark of the coming p artner the ,

futu re millionaire : his revenues always exceed his

expenditu res He begins to s ave early almost a s
.
,

soon as he begins t o earn N o matter how little it

.

may be pos sible to s ave s ave th at little Invest it

,
.

securely not neces sarily in bonds but in anything

, ,

which you have good reason to believe will be profit

able but no gambling with it remember A rare
, ,
.

chance will soon p resent itself for investment The .

little you have s aved will p rove the basis for a n

amou nt of credit utterly su rp rising to you Cap ital .

is t s tru st the s aving young man For every hundred

.

dollars you can p rodu ce as the result of ha rd won -

s avings Midas in search of a p a rtner will lend or

, , ,

credit a thou sand ; for every thou sand fifty thou s and ,
.

It is not capital that you r seniors require it is the ,

man wh o ha s p roved that he has the business habits

 TH E RO AD TO BU S I NE S S S U CC E S S 15

which create capital and t o create it in the best of

,

all pos sible ways as far a s s el f d i s c i pline is concerned

,
-

is by adj u s ting his habits to his means Gentlemen .

,

I t I S the fi rst hu ndred dolla rs s aved which tells .

B egin at once to lay up something The bee p re .

dominates in the futu re millionaire .

O f co u rse there are better higher aims th an s aving , .

As a n e nd the ac qu isition of ignoble in th e ‘

m ” m u n a flW
-
‘ “ V a. $

g u m e that you s ave and long for wealth

e x t r e mg
la
only as a m e a fim
” \M

blifi gyo u The better to do some

on Ma ke a note of this .

essential rule x pe nd it u re always within income .

Y ou may grow imp atient o r become dis coura ged ,

when yea r by yea r you float on in subordinate posi

tions There is no doubt that it is becoming ha rder
.

and h arder as bu sines s gravitates more and more to

immense concerns for a you ng man withou t capita l
,

t o get a sta rt for hims elf and in this city especially

, ,

W here large capital is e s s e nt ia l it is u nu su ally di ffi cult ,

.

Still let me tell you for you r encou ragement th at

, ,

there is no country in the world W here able and e n ,

e rge t ic you ng men can s o readily rise a s this nor any ,

city where there is more room at the top It ha s .

been impos sible t o meet the demand fo r cap able ,

fi r s t clas s bookkeepers ( mark the adj ectives ) ; the

-

supply has ne ve r been equ al to the demand Young .

men give all kinds of reasons why in their cases

16 TH E E MP I RE OF BU SI NE S S
failu re clearly attributable to exceptional cir
wa s
c u m stan c e s which render su ccess impos sible Some .

nev e r had a C h ance according to their own story

, .

This is simply nonsen se N o young man ever lived .

wh o had not a chance and a splendid chance too if

, , ,

he ever was employed at all He is as sayed in the .

mind O f his immediate sup erior from the day he be ,

gins work and after a time if he h a s merit he is a s

, , , ,

s ayed in the council cha mber of the firm His ability .

,

honesty h abits as sociations temper d isposition

, , , , ,

all these are weighed and ana lyzed The young .

man wh o never had a chance is the s ame young man

wh o has been canva ssed over and over again by his
sup eriors and fou nd destitute of neces s a ry q u a lifi c a
,

tions or is deemed u nwo rt h yo f closer relations with the

,

firm owing to some obj ectionable a ct h abit or as so

, , ,

c ia t ion o f which h e thought his emp loyers ignorant

,
.

Another clas s o f young men a ttribute their failu re

to employers having relations or favou rites whom
they advance un fairly They also insist th at their
.

employers dislike brighter intelligences than th eir

o wn and a re disposed to discou rage aspiring genius
, ,

and delight in keeping young men down There is .

nothing in this O n the contra ry there is no o ne

.
,

su ffering S O mu ch for lack of the right man in the

right place nor so anxiou s to find him as th e owner
, , .

There is not a fi rm in Pittsbu rg t o day which is not

 TH E E MPI RE O F BU SI NE S S
'
capital exclu sively upon the bu sines s in wh ic h you
a re engaged Having begu n in o ne line resolve to
.
,

fight it o u t o nthat line to lead in it ; adopt every im

,

p rovement have the best machinery and know the

, ,

most about it .

The concerns which fail are those which have

s cattered their cap ital which means that they h ave
,

s cattered their brains also They have investments

.

in thi s or that or the other here there and every

, , , , ,

where .
”
Don t put all you r eggs in one bas ket is all
’

“
wrong I tell you put all you r eggs in one bas ket
.
,

and then watch th at bas ket Look rou nd you and

take notice ; men who do that do not O ften fa il It is .

easy to watch and ca rry the o ne bas ket It is trying .

to ca rry too many b as kets that breaks most eggs in

this country He who ca rries three bas kets mu st put
.

on e o n his head which is apt to tumble and trip him

,

up . O ne fault of the American bu sines s man is

lack of concentration .

To summarize wh at I have said : Aim for the

highest ; never enter a ba rroom ; do not tou ch liquor ,

o r if at all only at meals ; never speculate ; never

indorse beyond you r surplus cash fund ; make the

fi rm s interest you rs ; break orders always to s ave
’

owners ; concentrate ; pu t all you r eggs in one basket

and watch that bas ket ; expenditu re always within
revenu e ; la stly be not imp atient for a s E merson
, , ,
 TH E R O AD TO BU S I NE S S S U CC E S S 19

“
says N o o ne can cheat you ou t o f u ltimate su cces s
,

but you rs elves ”

.

I congratulate poor young men upon being born to

that ancient and honourable degree which renders it
neces sa ry that they S hould devote themselves to
hard work A b as ketfu l of bond s is the heaviest
.

bas ket a young ma n ever ha d to ca rry He generally .

gets to staggering u nder it We h ave in this city

.

creditable instances o f su ch young men wh o have ,

p res sed to the front rank o f o u r bes t and most u sefu l

C itizens These deserve great credit B ut the vast
. .

maj ority o f the sons o f rich men a re unable to res ist

the temptations to which wealth subj ects them and ,

s ink to u nworthy lives I wou ld almost as soon leave

.

a young man a cu rse a s bu rde n him with the a l

mighty dolla r I t is no t from this clas s you have
.

rivalry to fea r The p a rtner s sons will no t trouble

.
’

you mu ch but look ou t th at some boys p oorer mu ch

, ,

poorer than you rselves whose p a rents c annot afford

,

to give them the a dva ntages o f a cou rse in this in

S t it u t e,
advantages which s hould give you a decided
lead in the ra de look ou t that su ch boys d o not
challenge you at the post and p as s you at the grand
stand Look ou t for the boy who ha s to p lunge into
.

work direct from the common s chool and who begins

by sweep ing out the O ffice He is the p robable .

dark horse that you h ad better watch .

Th e C om m o n I nte r e s t o f L a bo u r
and C a pita l

E m pl o y er a nd em pl yo ee i nt d p nd nt Th dv n
er e e e . e a a

g
t a e s of mut u al t ru s t . Th m pl y
e e wh h lp h i
o er o e s s

k
wor m e n t h gh d rou e u ca ti n r
o , t i n nd
e cre a i l p
o a so c a u

l ift h lp h i m l f
e s se .
TH E C O MM O N I NT ERE S T OF LAB OUR
A N D CAPI TAL

ADD RE S S T O WO R K I N G M E N

G RE AT ph ilosopher h a s pointe d out t o u s

that in this life the chief the highest reward
,

that we can obtain is the pu rchas e of J a ns

'

f a ct io.n r I have pu rcha sed a great satisfaction o ne ,

o f the greatest I have ever acqu ired I have bee n

.

p rivileged to help some of my fellow workmen hel p -

themselves This Lib ra ry [B raddock P a ] will giv e

.
,
.

them an O pportu nity to make themselves more

valu able to their emp loyers and s o lay u p intellectu a l
,

capital that cannot be imp aired or dep reciated .

It is very u nfortu nate that the irresistible ten

d e nc y O f ou r age which draws ma nufa ctu ring into
,

immens e establish ments r e quirin g the work of thou

,

s ands o i men renders it impos sible for employers

,

who reside nea r to obta in that intimate a cqu aintance

with employ e e s which u nder the O ld system of manu
,

f a c t u ring in very small establishments ma de t h e ,

relation of ma ster and man more plea sing t o both .

,

Wh e nart i c l e s we re m anufa c t ured insma ll s hops b y

23
24 TH E E MPI RE O F BU SI NE S S
employers wh o required only the assistance of a few
men and app rentices the employer had opportunities
,

to know every one to become well acquainted with

,

each and to know his merits both as a man a nd as

,

a workman ; and o nthe other hand the workman

, ,

being brought into closer contact with his employer ,

inevitably knew more of his bu siness of his cares

,

and troubles of his eff orts to su cceed and more im

, ,

portant than all they came t o know something of

,

the chara cteristics of the man h i mself All thi s .

is changed .

Thu s the employees become more li k e human

machines a s it were to the employer and the em
, , ,

p loyer becomes almost a myth to his men From .

every point of V iew this is a most regrettable result ,

yet it is o ne for which I s e e no remedy The free .

play of economic laws is forcing the manufactu re of

all a rticles o f general consumption more and more
into the hands of a few enormou s concer ns that ,

th eir cost to the consumer may be les s .

There is no longer any room for conducting th e

manufactu re o f su ch a rticles upon a small scale ;
expens ive works and machinery costing millions a re
required a s the amount p er ton or per ya rd of what
we call
”
fixed ch arges is so great a factor in the
t otal cost that whether a concern ca n run su cces sfully
o r not in man y cases depend s upon whether it
26 TH E E MPI RE O F BU SI NE S S
which formerly distinguished the relations between
the employer and his men We are yo u nger than
.

E u rop e and have still something t o s e e from the

,

older land in this respect ; but I rej oice t o s e e that

many manufacturers in this country are awaking t o
the sense o f duty to their employees ; and what is even
still more important are the evidences which we find
among ou r workmen of a desire t o establis h societies
which cannot but be beneficial to themselves It is .

all well enough fo r people to help others but the ,

grandest res u lt is achieved when people p rove able

to help themselves .

Another important featu re which may be referred

,

to is that in Pittsbu rg labou r generally is paid s o

, , , ,

well that the workman can s ave something every

month if he only will make the e ff ort N othing can
, .

exceed the importance of s aving pa rt of his earnings .

The workman who owns his own home ha s a lre a d v

a su re fou ndation upon which to build the competence
which is to give him comfort and independence in old
age .

I h ave s aid how desirable it was that we should

endeavou r by every means in ou r power to bri ng
, ,

about a feeling of mutu ality and p artnership between

the emp loyer and the emp loyed B elieve me the .
,

interests of Capital and Labou r a re one He is an .

ne m y of Labou r who seeks to a rray Labou r against

 I N TERE S T OF LA B O UR AN D CAP I TAL 27

Capital He is an enemy of Cap ital who s eeks to

.

a rray Capital against Labo u r .

I h ave given the subj ect of Labou r and Capita l

careful study for years and I wish to quote a few
,

p a ragraphs from a n a rticle I published ye a rs ago

“
The greatest cau s e of the friction which p reva ils
b etween Capital and L abou r the real es sence of the
,

troub le and the remedy I have to propos e for this

,

u nfortunate friction :
“
The trouble is that men are not paid at any
tim e the compens ation p roper to that time All .

large concerns necess arily keep filled with orders s a y ,

for S ix months in a dvance and these orders are taken

, ,

o f c ou rse at p rices p revailing when they are booked

,
.

This year s op erations fu rnish perh ap s the best illu s

’

t ra t io nof the di fficulty Steel rails at the end of last

.

yea r for delivery this yea r were $ 29 per ton a t the

works Of cou rs e the mills entered orders freely at
.

this p rice a nd kept on enter i ng them until the de

,

ma nd growing u nexpectedly great ca rried p rice s U p

t o $ 3 5 per ton N ow the variou s mills in Ame r i ca
.

a re comp elled for the next s ix months or more to ru n

upon orders which do not average $ 3 I pe r ton at the ,

seaboa rd and Pittsbu rg and s a y $ 3 4 at Chicago

,
. .

Transportation iron stone and p rices of all kinds

,
-

have advanced upon them in the meantime and EI h CY ,

mu st therefore run for the bu lk of the yea r upon Eve ry

28 TH E E MPI RE O F BU SI NE SS $
small margins o f p rofit B ut the men noticing in the
.

“ ”
p apers the great boom in steel rails very natu ,

rally demand their share of the advance and under ,

o u r existing faulty arrangements between Cap ital

and Labou r they have secu red it The employers
.
,

therefore have gru dgingly given what they know

,

under p rop er arrangements they S hould not have

been requ ired to give ; and there has been friction
and still is dissatisfaction upon the part of the em
p ylo e
. rs R everse this pictu re The steel
. rail mar -

ket falls again The mills h ave still S ix months

.
’

work at p rices above the prevailing ma rket and can ,

a fford to p ay men higher wages than the then existing

state of the ma rket would app arently j u stify B ut .

h aving j u st been amerced in extra p ayments for

l abou r which they should not have paid they nat ,

u r a lly attempt to reduce wages a s the market p rice

o f rails goes down and there arises dis content among

,

th e men and we have a repetition of the negotiations

,

a nd s trikes which have ch aracterized the beginning

O f this year In other words when the employer is
.
,

going down the employe e insists on going u p and ,

vice ve r s a What we mu st seek is a plan by wh ich

.

men will receive high wages when their employers

a re receiving high p rices for the prod u ct and hence
,

a re making large p rofits ; and per contra when the ,

em ployers a re receiving low prices for p rodu ct and ,

 I N TE R E S T O F LA B O UR AN D CA P I TAL 29

therefore small if any p rofi ts the men will receive

,

lo w wages . If this plan can be found emp loyers ,

‘
and employed will be in the s ame boat rej oicing ,
’

together in their p rosperity and calling into p lay

their fortitude together in a dversity There will .

be no room fo r qu a rrels and instead of a feeling of

,

antagonism there will be a feeling of p artnership

between employers and employed There is a s imple .

means o f p roducing this result and to its general

,

introdu ction both employers and emp loyed should

steadily bend their energies Wages S hou ld be based
.

upon a sliding s cale in p roportion to the net p rices

,

received for p rodu ct month by month It is im .

pos sible for Capital to defrau d Labou r u nder a sliding

s cale
.
”
O ne a dvantage of this Libra ry [Ca rnegie Libra ry
at B raddock P a ] will be that it will bring befo re you
,
.

every local newsp aper and every trade j ou rn a l and ,

I beg you all to read these carefully You will find .

many mis statements many blunders Thes e are

, .

ins ep a rable from the newsp aper pres s wh ich mu st ,

work h astily and report even ru mou rs B ut by .

studying the p rincip al j ou rnals the tendency o f

affairs can be correctly s een N ews pap ers will not
.

give you a correct statement of the p rices of m aterial ,

Manufactu rers are disposed to give the brightest

c olou ring t o:the s itu ation t o report the highes t
3 0 TH E E M P I RE O F BU S I NE SS
s ales made with a view to maintain p rices and indu ce
cu stomers to pu rchase They will p robably not
.

report how low they have been compelled to sell in

order to meet competition and keep works running .

N evertheles s a careful perusal of the newspapers and

,

trade j ou rnals as I h ave s aid will enable you to

, ,

form a general op inion of the trend of events in the

commercial world If you read the p apers to—
. day ,

y o u will know th at out o f thirteen mills engaged in

the manufactu re of steel rails in this country not ,

more than three are running to their cap acity O nly .

one m ill in all the West is making rails ( N orth

Chicago) and I am sorry to s ay that it s eems p rob
,

able th at even that one will not be able to run

continuou sly .

The most melancholy featu re in all the disputes

between labou r a nd capital is that it is s carcely ever
capital that succeeds in breaking down the p rice of
labou r b u t alas $ it is labou r which stabs labou r
, ,
.

Look around you and s e e labou r working for 10 2 0 , ,

and even 3 0 p er cent les s in some mills and at Johns

.
,

town and Harrisbu rg for less than o ne half what we -

p ay for S killed labou r in this district ; and then in

you r hearts blame not capital but consider employers
,

who regret thos e reductions in wages wh o stand out,

against them and run for years at higher p rices a s ,

the best friends of labou r even although at last they

,
 I N TERE S T OF LA B O UR AN D CAPI TAL 3 1

mu st frankly confes s th at if th ey are to give thei r

men steady employment and s ave their capital and
works they are forced to as k them to work at the
,

rates obtained by their competitors The firs t .

employer who redu ces labou r is labou r s enemy ; but ’

the last employer to reduce labou r may be labou r s ’

stau nchest friend The fatal enemy of labou r is la

.

bou r not capital

,
.

The greatest character in the public life of B ritain ,

and the stau nchest friend of the R epublic in it s hou r

o f need the R adical John B right being once as ked
, ,
“
what wa s his most valu able acqu isition replied A , ,

ta ste for reading ” I can truthfully s a y from my

.

o wn experience that I agree with that great man .

lVI o s t anxiou s to give you the best advice in my

power I advise you to cultivate the taste for reading
,
.

When I wa s a boy in my teens in Allegheny City ,

Colonel Anderson whose memory I mu st ever re

,

vere who had a few hundred books gave notice that

, ,

he would lend these books every S atu rday afternoon

to boys and young men Y ou cannot imagine with
.

what anxiety some of us who embraced this o ppo r

t u ni t y to O btain knowledge looked forward to every

Satu rday afternoon when we could get o ne book

,

exchanged for another The p rincipal p artner with

.

me in all ou r bu siness Mr Phipp s equally with

,
.
,

myself had Obtained acces s t o the stores of knowl

,
3 2 TH E E MPI RE OF BU S I NE S S
edge by means of this benefactor It is from per .

sonal experience that I feel that there is no h u man

a rrangement s o powerfu l fo r good there is no benefit
,

that can be bestowed upon a community s o great as ,

that which places within the reach o f all the treasu res
o f the world which a re stored u p in books .

We occasionally find traces even at this day of the

o ld p rej udice which existed against educating th e

mas ses of the p eople I do not wonder that this

.

should exist when I reflect upon what has hitherto

pas sed for education Men h ave wa sted their
.

preciou s years trying to extra ct edu cation from an

ignorant p ast whose chief p rovince is to teach u s not ,

what to adopt but what to avoid Men have s en t

,
.

their sons to colleges to waste their energies upon

obtaining a knowledge of su ch langu ages as Greek
a nd Latin which a re of no more p ractical u s e to
,

them t han Choctaw I have known few college

.

graduates th at knew Sha kespea re o r Milton They .

might b e able to tell you all about U lys ses or Aga

memnon o r Hector but what are these compa red to
,

the chara cters that we find in ou r own clas sics O ne

$

s ervice R u s sell Lowell h as done for which he should

,

be than k ed he has boldly said th at in Shakespea re

alone we h ave a greater treasu re than in all the
classic s o f ancient time They have been crammed
.

with the details of petty and insignificant s kirmi s he s

34 TH E E M P I RE OF B U S I NE S S
keeping or chemistry o r the law of mechanics in
, , ,

these days $ N ot that any kind of knowledge is t o

be u nderrated All knowledge is in a sense u seful
.
, , .

The point I wish to make is this tha t except for th e , ,

few wh o have the taste of the antiqu arian and wh o

, ,

find that their work in life is t o delve among the du sty

records of the past and for the few that lead profe s
,

s io na l lives the e ducation given to day in ou r college s

,
-

is a p0 8 1t 1V € disadvantage .

The lack of edu cat i on I n I ts true sense h as don e

more than all the other causes combined t o preven t
the u nivers al recognition of labour I remember .

that the great p resident the greatest of all railway ,

managers E dgar Thomson after whom the work s

, ,

here are called once as ked me to remove from Pitts

,

bu rg to be ma ster o f machinery of the Pennsylvania

R ailroad Well you may smile And I s aid to
.
,
.

M r Thomson
.
“
Why Mr T homson you amaze
, ,
.
, ,

me I know nothing whatever about machinery

.

“
That is the reason I want you to take charge of it ,

“
he replied I have never known a mechanic with
.

j udgment and good sense except one ” This wa s .

before th e time of Captain Jones so he cou ld not ,

have refe rred to the Captain This lac k of j udg .

ment in mechanics was becau se at that day in th is

cou ntry t hey h ad failed to receive an all round educa -

tion I mean the tru e education and knowledge of

.
 I N T ERE S T OF LA B O UR AN D CA P I TAL 35

matters and things in general by which we a re s u r

,

rounded and with which we h ave to deal The .

unp recedented su cces s wh ic h i h a s attended the de

v e lopm e nt of the B essemer works in this cou ntry ha s

a risen from this cau se above all others th at u nlike

, , ,

the manufactu re of iron it ha s fallen into the h ands

,

o f men o f great scientific knowledge The s ervices

.

o f these men a re recognized throughout the world and

receive compens ation which a few years ago would

h ave been considered enormou s and in consequence
,

they have lifted mechanical labou r with them and

“
served to dignify it in the eyes of the world The .

mechanic ” “
the mech an i cal engineer ” “
the mana
, ,
”
ger of steel mills are now titles of honou r If you
, .

want t o make labou r what it should be educate ,

you rself in u seful knowledge That is the moral I

.

would e mph asize Get knowledge Cultivate a .

ta ste for reading th at you may know what the world

,

has done and is doing a nd the drift of a ff airs .

The value of the edu cation which young men can

now receive cannot be overestimated and it is to this,

education as given in tech nical s chools to which I

, ,

wish to call you r attention Time w a s when men

.

had S O little knowledge th at it was easy for one man

to embrace it all and the cou rses in colleges bea r
,

—
p ainful evidenc e of this fact t o day Knowledge is .

now so v a riou s so e xt e nsive s o m i nute t hat it is im

, , ,
3 6 TH E E MPI RE OF BU SI NE S S
possible for any man to know thoroughly more than
one small branch This is the age of the specialist ;
.

therefore you wh o have to make your living in this

world S hould resolve to know the art which gives you
support ; to know that thoroughly and well to be an ,

expert in you r specialty If you are a mechanic , .

then from this library study every work bearing upon

th e subj ect O f mechanics If you are a chemist then
.
,

every work bearing upon chemistry If you are at .

the blast furnaces then every work Upon the blast

,

furnace If in the mines then every work upon

.
,

mining Let no man know more of your S p ecialty

.

than you do you rself That should be your ideal

. .

Then far les s important but still important to

, , ,

bring sweetness and light into your life be sure to ,

read promis cu ou sly and know a little about a s

,

many things as yo u have time to read about Just .

a s on his farm the fa rmer must fi rst attend well to

his potatoes and his corn and his wheat from which ,

he derives his revenue s o he may spend his spare

,

hou rs a s a labou r of love in cultivating the flowers

that su rround his home O ne domain you r work.
,

and the other you r recreation .

In thes e days O f transition and of s truggles b e

tween labou r and capital to no better purpose ca n
,

you devote a few o f you r spare hou rs than t o the

s t ud y O f economic q uestions T h e re a re c e rtai n .
 I N TERE S T OF LA B O UR AND CAPI TAL 37
‘
3
great laws which will be obeyed : the law o f supply
and demand ; the law of competition ; the l aw o f
wages and o f p rofits All thes e you will find laid
.

down in the text books and remember th at there i s

-

no more pos sibility of defeating the operation of these

laws than there is of thwarting the laws O f natu re
which determine the hu midity of the atmosphere o r
the revolution O f the earth upon its axis .

The s evere stu dy of s cientific books mu st not be

permitted to exclude the equ ally important duty o f
reading the masters in literature ; a nd by all means of
fiction The feeling which p revails in some qu a rters
.

against fic t iOn is in my opinion only a p rej u dice

, , .

I know th at some ind e e d m o s t of the most eminent

,
'

men find in a good work of fiction o ne of the bes t

means of enj oyment and of rest When exhau sted .

in mind a nd body a nd especially in mind noth ing

, ,

is so beneficial to them as to read a good novel It is .

no disp aragement O f free libraries th at most of the

works read a re works o f fiction O n the contra ry .
,

it is doubtful if any other form of literatu re would so

well serve the important end of lifting h ard working -

men o u t of the p ros aic and routine duties of life .

The works of S cott Thackeray E liot D ickens

, , , ,

Hawthorne and others of the s ame clas s a re no t

,

to be rated below a ny other form O f literatu r e for

wo rkingme n .
3 8 THE E MPI RE O F BU SI NE S S
all know how much manufactu ring science is
Y ou
indebted to th e imp rovements and inventions which
owe their fi rst suggestion to the workman himself .

N ow ma rk this important fact : These imp rove

ments a nd inventions come from the educated
educated in the true sense and never fro m the
i gnora nt workman They must come a nd they d o
.
,

come from those who a re in their sp ecial dep artmen t

,

men of more knowledge than their fellows If they .

h ave not read then they have obs e r ved which is the
, ,

best form of education The important fact is th at

.

they mu st k now; how the knowle dge is acquired ,

it matters not The fact that they know more about

.

a p roblem th an their fellows and are able to sugges t

,

the remedy o r imp rovement is what is of value to ,

them and their employer There is no means so su re

.

for enabling the workman to rise to the foremanship ,

managership and finally p artnership as knowledge

,

o f all th at has been done and is being done in the

world to day in the S pecial dep artment in which h e

-

labou rs From the highest down to the lowest a

.

better gra de of servic e is rend e red by the intelligen t

man than it is pos sible for the ignorant man t o ren
der His knowledge always comes in and whether
.
,

you have knowledge o nthe part of the manager wh o

,

directs o r of the man wh o only h andles a shovel you

, ,

h ave in him a valu able employee in proport ionft o h is

 I N T E RE S T OF L AB O U R AND CAP I TAL 3 9

k nowledge other things being equ al I n the cou rs e

,
.

o f my exp erience a s a manufa ctu rer I know o u r firm

h a s made many mista kes by neglecting o ne simple

“
ru le : never to underta ke anything new u ntil you r
mana gers have ha d an opportu nity to examine every
thing th at h a S been done throughout this world in
th at dep a rtment ” N eglect o f this h a s cost u s
.

many hundreds of thou s and s of dollars and we h ave ,

b ecome wise Now I s a y h ere t o the man wh o is

.

a mbitiou s to lea rn wh o p erhap s thinks th at he h a s

, , ,

s ome i mp rovement in his mind here in th e room s O f ,

this lib rary there is o r I hop e soon will b e th e whole

, ,

world s exp erience upon that subj ect brou ght right
’

before you down to a recent d ate I n any qu estion .

o f mechanics o r any qu estion o f chemist ry a ny ,

question Of fu rnace p ractice you will find the record s ,

o f the world at you r dispos al here If you a re o nt h e .

wrong tra ck these boo ks will tell you ; if you a re o n

,

the right tra ck they will tell you ; if you a re o n th e

,

right track they will a ff ord you encou ragement

, .

Y o u can go th rough hall after h all in th e p atent

O ffice in Wa shington and see thou sand s o f mod el s
,

O f invention s bea ring u pon all b ranches o f hu man

indu stry and ninety nine ou t o f every hundred

,
-

would never have been placed there h ad the ignoran t

i nventor had at command su ch facilities a s will be
you rs in this libra ry .
4 0 THE E M P I RE O F BU SI NE S S
I h ave heard employers s ay th at there wa s great
d anger th at th e mas ses of the people might become
t o o well edu cated to be content in their u seful and

neces sa ry occup ations It h a s required an eff ort

.

upon my p a rt to listen to this doctrine with p atience .

It is all wrong ; I give it an unqu alified contradiction .

The trouble between cap ital and labou r is j u st in

p roportion to the ignorance of the emp loyer and t h e
ignorance of the employed The mor e intelligent
.

the employer the better and the more intelligent the

,

employed the be tter It is never education it is

.
,

never knowledge th at p rodu ces collision It is

, .

always ignoran ce o n the p a rt of o ne o r the other o f

the t wo forces Sp ea king from an exper ience not
.

incon siderable I make this statement : Cap ital is

,

ignorant of the necessities and the j u st dues o f labou r ,

a nd labou r is ignorant O f the neces sities a nd d anger s

o f cap ital
. That is the tru e origin o f friction between
them More knowledge o nthe p art o f cap ital of t h e
.

good qu alitie s o f thos e that serve it and som e ,

knowledge upon the p a rt O f the men o f the economic

l aws which hold the cap italists in their relentles s
gra sp would obviate most o f the di fficulties which
,

a rise between thes e two forces which are ind is pe n

,

s ably necess a ry to each other I hop e that those of

.

o u r men wh o pos ses s th at inestimable p rize the ta ste

,

fo r reading will make it a point to study carefully a

,
4 2 TH E E MPI RE OF BU S I NE S S
the you ng men around him most anxiou s to find o ne ,

of exceptional ability N othing in the world S O .

desirable for him and s o p rofitable for him a s such

a man E very manager in the works stands ready
.

to gra sp to utilize the man t hat can do somethi ng

,

that i s valu able E v e ry fo re m a n wants t o h ave u n

’

der him in h is dep artment able men upon whom h e

can rely and whose merits h e obtain s credit for ,

becau se the greatest test O f ability in a manager is

not the man himself b u t the men with whom he i s
,

able to s u rroun d himself These books o n the .

shelves will tell you the story of the rise o f many men
from ou r own ranks It i s not the e d u cated o r s o
.
,

called cla s sically edu cated man it is not the a ris t o c

ra cy it is n
,

,
o t t h e monarch s th at have ruled the ,

destinies o f the wor ld either in camp council , , ,

laboratory or workshop The great inventions th e .

,

imp rovements the discoveries in science the grea t

, ,

works in literatu re h ave sp r u ng f rom the ranks o f the

poor You can s carcely name a great invention or
.
,

a great discovery you can s ca rcely n ame a gre at

,

pictu re o r a great stat u e a great so ng or a great

, ,

sto ry nor anything great th at h a s no t been the

,

p rodu ct o f men w h o started like you rselves to earn

an honest living by honest work .

And believe me the man whom the forema n does

, ,

not a ppre c ia t e a nd the foreman whom the manager

, ,
 I N T ERE S T O F LAB O UR AN D CAP I TAL 43

does not app reciate and the man ager whom the,

fi rm does not app reciate ha s to find the fau lt not in ,

the fi rm nor the manager nor the foreman b u t in

, , ,

himself He cannot give the service th at which is s o

.

invalu able and s o anxiou sly looked for There is n o .

man wh o may not rise to the highest position no r is ,

there any man wh o from lack o f the right qu alities

,

o r failu re to exercise them may not sink to the lowest , .

E mployees have chances to rise to higher work to ,

rise t o be foremen to be superintendents and even

, ,

to rise t o be p artners and even to be chairmen in

,

ou r serv ice if they p rove themselves poss es s ed of the

,

qu alities required They need never fear being dis

.

p e n s e d with It
. is we who fea r th at the abilities O f
such men may be lost to u s .

It is highly gratifying to know that the hou rs of

labou r are being gradu ally reduced throughout the ’

country eight hours to work eight hou rs to ,

eight hou rs to S leep seems the ideal division If we

,
.

co u1d only establish by law that all manufactu ring

concerns which ru n day and night should u s e three
turns it wo u ld be most desirable You know we
,
.

tried to do S O for several years at a cost of some h u n

dreds of thou s ands of dollars b u t were finally c o m ,

d by competitors to give up the struggle

'

p e lle o u r .

The best plan perh ap s is to reach it by S lO W degrees

, ,

through State laws N o one fi rm can do m u ch A ll

. .
44 TH E E M P I RE O F B U SI NE S S

it s comp etitors in the variou s state s mu st be com

p e lle d to d o likewise for in
,
o u r days p rofits are upon
s o narrow a margin that no firm can run its works

except under similar conditions with it s competitors .

It is necess ary therefore that laws should be secu red

, ,

binding upon all We shou ld be glad to support su ch

.

a law ; but even as at present if workmen u se well

, ,

the time they h ave at their disp osal they will soon
ris e to higher positions You need not work twelve
.

hours very long ; most of u s h ave worked more hour s

than twelve in ou r youth .

The workman has many adva ntages to day over -

h is p redecesso rs A sliding s cale fo r his labou r

.

ra nks him higher than before a s a man and a citizen .

Th e p roportion of the j oint earnings of cap ital and

labou r given t o labou r never wa s so great and is
constantly rising ; the earnings of capital never were
s o low.

I h O pe the future is t o add many more advantages

and that the toilsome m arch which labou r has h ad
to ma ke o n its wa y from serfdom when o u r fore ,

fathers were bought and sold with the mines and

factories they worked u p to its present condition is
, ,

not yet ended but that it is destined to continue and

,

lead to other important r e sults for the benefit a nd

dignity of labou r .
 T h rift as a D u ty

Th e D u tie s of R ich M e n
T h ift n vi d n f i vi l i t i n S vi ng n f t h
r a e e ce o c za o . a o e o e

h i gh t d t i f i t i n h i p T h
es u es O m l ti n f
c ze s . e a c cu u a o o a

co mp t n e ed ty ; th
ce a q i m nt f v t w l t h
u e ac u re e o as ea

n t vi t
o a b t
r ueg t p n i b il ity
u a re a re s o s .
 TH R I F T AS A D UTY
TH E D UT I E S OF RI CH M EN

H E importance of the subj ect is suggested by

the fact th at the h abit of thrift constitutes
on e of the greatest di ff erences between the

s avage and the C ivilized man O ne of the fu nda

.

mental di fferences between s avage and civilized life

is the absence of thrift in the one and the p res ence of
it in the other When millions of men each s ave a
.

little of their daily ea rnings these petty su ms com

,

b ine d make an enormou s amou nt which is called ,

capital about which so mu ch is written If men

,
.

consu med each day o f each week all they ea rned a s ,

does the s avage of cou rse there would be no capital

,

that is no s avings laid u p for futu re u s e

,
.

N ow let u s s e e what cap ital does in the world

,
.

We will consider what the shipbu ilders do when they

h ave to build great ships These enterp rising com
.

p ani c s Off er to build an ocean greyhound for let u s ,

s ay
,
to be p aid only when the ship is
delivered after s atisfactory trial trip s Where or .

how do th e shipbu ilders get this su m of money to

47
4 8 TH E E MPI RE OF BU SI NE SS
p ay th e workmen the wood merch ant th e steel
, ,

manufactu rer and all the people wh o fu rnish ma

,

t e r ia l for the bu ilding of the ship $ They get it from

the s avings o f c 1viliz e d men It is p art of the money .

s aved for investment by the millions of indu striou s

p eople E ach man by th rift s aves a little p u ts the
.
, , ,

money in a bank a nd the bank lends it to the S hip

,

builders wh o p ay interest for the u s e of it It is the

, .

s ame with the building of a manufactory a railroad a , ,

c anal or anything costly

,
We could not have .

had anything more than the s avage had except for ,

thrift .

TH R I FT TH E F I R S T D UTY
Hence thrift is mainly at the bottom of all im
,

p rovement Without it no railroads no canals no

.
,

S hips no telegraphs no chu rches no u ni ve r S I t I e S

, , , ,

no schools no newsp ap ers nothing great o r costly

, ,

could we h ave Man mu st exercise thrift and s ave

.

before he can p rodu ce anything material of great

valu e There wa s nothing built no great p rogres s
.
,

made a s long a s man remained a th riftles s s avage

,
.

The civilized man has no clearer duty than from early

life to keep steadily in V iew the neces sity of p roviding
for the future o f himself and those dep endent upon
h im There a re few rules more saluta ry than that
.

which ha s been followed by most wise and good men ,

5 0 TH E E M P I RE OF BU S I NE S S

T H R I F T D U TY HA S I TS L I M IT
As a rule you will find that the s aving man is a
,

temperate man a good hu sband and father a p eace

, ,

ful law abiding citizen N or need the s aving be

,
-
.

great It is su rp rising how little it takes to p rovide

.

for the real necessities of life A little home p aid for .

and a few hu ndred pounds a very few make all

the di fference These a re more easily acqu ired by
.

frugal p eople than you might suppose Great wealth .

is quite another and a far les s desirable matter It is .

not the aim of thrift nor the duty of men to acqu ire
,

millions It is in no respect a virtue to s e t this before

.

u s as an end Duty to s ave ends when j u st money

.

enough h as been put a side to p rovide comfortably

for thos e dependent upon u s Hoarding millions is .

avarice not th rift

,
.

O f cou rse under ou r indu strial conditions it is

, ,

in evitable that a fe w a very few men will find , ,

money coming to them fa r beyond their wants The .

a ccumulation o f millions is u su ally the result o f

enterp rise and j udgment and some exceptional ,

ability for organization It does not come from .

s avings in the ordina ry sense of that word Men .

wh o in o ld age strive only to increase their already

great hoa rds a re u su ally S laves of the h abit of
hoarding formed in their youth At firs t they own .
 TH R I F T AS A D UT Y 5 1

the money they have made and s aved Later in life .

the money owns them and they cannot help them

,

s elves s o overpowering is the force of habit either for

, ,

good o r evil It is the abu se of the civilized saving

.

instinct a nd not its u s e that p roduces this cla s s o f

, ,

men .

N o one need be afraid of falling a V l C t l m to this

abu se of the habit if he always bears in mind that
wh atever su rplu s wealth may come to him is t o be
regarded a s a sacred tru st which he is bound to a d
,

min ister for th e good o f h is fellows The man should .

always be master He should keep money in the

.

position o f a u seful s ervant He mu st never let it

.

master and ma ke a mis e r of him .

A man s first du ty is to ma ke a competence and be

’

indep endent B ut his whole duty does not end here

. .

It is his duty to do something for his needy neighbou rs

wh o are les s favou red than himself It is his duty .

to contribute to the general good of the community

in which he lives He has been p rotected by its
.

laws B ecau se he has been p rote cted in his va riou s

.

enterp rises he h a s been able to ma ke money suffi cient

for his needs and those of his family All beyond this .

$
belongs in j u stice to the p rotecting power that has
,
fostered him and enabled him t o win pe c u nia ryi
su cces s To try to ma ke the world in some way
.

better than you found it is to have a noble motive

5 2 TH E E MPI RE O F BU S I NE S S
in life You r su rplus wealth S hould contribute to the
.

development of you r own character and place you

in the ranks of nature s noblemen
’
.

It is no les s than a duty for you to understand how

important it is and how clear you r duty is to form
, ,

the habit of thrift When you begin to earn always

.
,

s ave some p a rt of you r earnings like a civilized man

, ,

instead of spending all like the poor s avage

,
.
 H ow to Win Fo rtu ne
Th e a dva nt a g e s o f a ne a rl y s t a rt . C o ll e g e e d u c a
t i o nn ot n e c e s s a ry t o b u s i ne s s s u c ce s s
. P o o r b oy s
t h e s u c ce s s f u l m e n of t o d a y
-
. M e n of b u s i ne s s
a b i l ity s ure o f re co g n i t i on .
 HOW TO WI N F O RT UNE

A B O UR is divid e d into t wo great arm i es

the agricultu ral and the indu strial In these
.

divers e forces a re in operation In th e fo r

.

m e r everything tends t o a fu rther distribution O f la nd

a mong the many ; in the latter everything tends t o a

concentration of bu sines s in the h ands of the fe w .

O ne of the two great fallacies upon which Progres s

and Poverty ” Mr George s book
’
is founded ,
.

is that the la nd is getting more and more into t h e

hands o f the few N ow the only sou rce from which
.

Mr George co u ld obtain correct information upon

.

this point is the censu s ; and this tells u s that in 1 8 5 0

the average extent of fa rms in the U nited S tates wa s
20 3 acres ; in 1 860 1 99 acres ; in 1 8 70 1 5 3 a cres a nd
, , ,

th at in 1 880 it wa s still fu rther redu ced t o 1 3 4 acres

. .

The reason is obvious for this rapid distribution o f the

land The fa rmer wh o cultivates a s mall fa rm by h is
.

own labou r is able to drive out o f the field the a m

b it iou s capitalist wh o attempts t o farm upo n a la rg e

s cale with the labou r o f others In Great B ritai n
.

nothing h a s been more sign i ficant th an tha t the

tille rs of small fa rms h ave p assed through t h e agricu l
55
5 6 TH E E MPI RE OF BU S I NE S S
tural depression there fa r better tha n those wh o
c ultivated large farms . So in both countrie s we have
p roof that under the free play o f equ al laws land is
becoming more and more divided among the mas se s
o f the people . In the whole range of social question s
no fact is more important th an this and nothing ,

gives the t h oughtful student greater s atisfaction .

The triumph of the s mall p roprietor over the la rge

p roprietor insu res the growth a nd maintenance of
that element in society U pon which civilization can
most securely depend for there is no force in a nation
,

s o conservative of wh at is g ood s o fair so virtuous a s

, , ,

a race of men wh o till the soil they own Happily .

for mankind experience p roves that man cannot

,

work more soil profitably than h e can till h imself

with the aid of his own family .

When we tu rn to the other army of l abou r the

industrial we a re obliged to confes s that it is
swayed b y the oppos ite law which tends to c o nc e n
,

trate manufacturing a nd bu sines s a ff airs generally in

a few vast establishments The fall in prices of man
.

U f ac t u re d articles has been startling N ever were

.

the princip al a rticles of consumption s o low a s they

a re to day This cheapening p roces s is made
-
.

possible only by concentration We find .

watches per day turn ed out by o ne company an d ,

watches a re sold for a few dollars apiece We hav e .

5 8 THE E MPI RE OF BU SI NE S S
himself It is no longer possible for o u r class W ith
o u t capital to rise beyond the position of employees

upon salaries There is a lion in the p ath which leads

.

to indep endent commands or to p artnership and this ,

lion is the huge establishments already existing which ,

a re an imp as sable barrier to ou r advancement ” .

The man engaged in the agricultu ral a rmy a s we have ,

s een has nothing to fear from capital With a small

, .

s um
,
which is not very di fficult for him to s ave o r
borrow he can begin farming the only comp etition
, ,

with which he has to contend being that of others

o f his own class S ituated like himself It is certainly
.

more di ffi cult f o r a mechanic or p ra ctical man to

establish a new bu siness or to win p artnership in one
,

that exists than it is for the young farmer to begin his

,

bu sines s ; yet the di ffic u lties are not ins u perable nor ,

greater than h ave hitherto existed They a re not .

such a s to stimulate the ambitiou s ; and this is always

to be ta ken into accou nt that if the race in the in
,

d u s t ria l and bu sines s world be harder to win the ,

p rize is infinitely greater .

B efore considering the p rospects of the mechanic

in th e indu strial of the clerk in the mercantile com
, ,

m e rc ia l and financial worlds let me S how that no

,

clas ses Other than these two have ha d mu ch to do

with establishing the factories bu sines s hou ses and
, ,

financial institutions which a re best known in the

 H OW TO WI N F O RTUNE 59
U nited States to day And fi rst a s t o the p art of -
.
,

trained mechanics I select the best known indus .

-

trial establishments in each dep artment many of ,

them the most extensive works of their kind a nd o f

world wide reputation : B aldwin Works for loco
-

motives ; Sellers 8: C o B ement Dougherty for .

, ,

mechanical tools ; D is s t o ns Works for s aws ; works o f ’

,

the Mes srs Dobson a nd o f Thoma s Dol an Phila

.
, ,

delphia and Gary of B altimore textile fab rics ;

, , ,

Fairba nks fo r s cales ; Studeba kers for wagons wh o

, , ,

count their wagons by the acre ; Pullman of Chicago ; ,

Allison of Philadelp hia for ca rs ; Washbu rn Moen

, , ,

and Cleveland R olling Mills steel wire etc ; B artlett , , .

iron founder B altimore ; Sloanes also Higgins car

p ets ; Westinghou se electrical app a ratu s ; Peter H e n
, , ,

d e rs on C 0 and Landreth C o s eeds ; Harper

. .
,

B rothers publishers ; B abbitt for B abbitt s metal ;

, ,
’

O tis Works Cleveland boiler steel ; the R emington

, ,

Works and Colt s Works Ha rtford fi rearms ; Singer

,
’
, ,

Comp any Howe Grover S ewing machines ; Mc

, , , .

Cormick Works of Chicago ; B alls of Canton and , , ,

Walter A Woods for agricultu ral implements ;

.
,

steamship building R oach Cramp Ne afie o n the , , , ,

Atlantic Scott U pon the Pacific ; Pa rkhu rst Wheeler

C ofl
, , ,

Kirby l\ /I c D u ga ll Craig
, i nb e rry Walla ce the, , , ,

leading O fficials of shipbu ilding comp anies o n o u r

great lakes horsesho es B u rdens Atterbu ry Works
, , , ,
60 THE E MPI RE O F BU SI NE S S
for glas s ; G ro e t z inge rs tanning ; Ames Works for
, ,

shovels ; Steinway Chickering and Knabe pianos

, , .

E very o ne of thes e great works wa s founded and

managed by mech anics men wh o served their a p ,

p renticeship The list could be greatly extended

.
,

and if we were t o include those which were created

by men who entered life a s ofl —
i ce boys or clerks we ,

should embrace almost every famou s manufacturing

concern in the country E dison fo r instance wa s.
, ,

a telegrap h O perator Corlis s of Corlis s engine ;

.
,

Cheney o f Cheney S ilk ; R oebling o f W I re fame ;

, ,

—
Spreckels in sugar re fining all and many more
,

captains of industry were poor boys with natu ral

aptitude to whom a regula r apprenticeship was
,

s ca rcely necess ary .

In the mercantile commercial and financial

,

branches o f bu siness which a re all u nder the law

,

which drives bu sines s a ff airs into large concerns the ,

poor clerk takes the place of the trained mechanic

in the indu strial world C la fl ins J a ff ra ys Sloans
.
, , ,

the Lords the Taylors the P h e lps e s the Dodges the

, , , ,

gigantic hou ses of Jordan 8: Marsh in B oston of ,

Field in Chicago B a rr in St Louis Wanamaker in

,
.
,

Philadelphia Meldru m ,
Anderson B uffalo ; N ew ,

comb E ndicott
,
C o Detroit ; Taylor Cleveland ;
.
, ,

D aniels 8: Fisher Denver ; Horne and Campbell

, ,

D i ck Pittsbu rg
,
— all these and the corresponding
 H OW TO W I N F O R TUNE 61

hou ses th roughout the cou ntry a s fa r as I am abl e t o ,

trace their history h ave th e s ame story t o tell

Wanamaker C la fl
, .

,
in Jordan Lord Field B a rr a nd
, , , ,

th e others all poor boys in the store a nd Phelp s and ,

Do dge both poor clerks .

In banking an d finance it is an oft rep ea t ed story

,
-

tha t ou r Stanfords R ockefellers Goulds S ages

, , , ,

Fields Dillons Seligmans Wilsons and Hu nting

, , , ,

tons came from the ranks The millionaires wh o .

a re in active control s tarted a s poor boys and were ,

t rained in that sterne s t but most e ffi cient of all school s

poverty .

W H ERE IS TH E C O LL E G E M AD E M AN $ -

I as ked a city b an ker to give me a few names o f

p residents a nd vice p residents and cashiers of o u r
-

great N ew York city banks wh o h ad begun a s boys

o r clerks . He s ent me thirty s ix names and wrote -

h e would send me more next day I cannot ta k e t h e .

r eader s time with a complete list but here a re a few

’
,

of the best known : Williams p resident Chemical ,

B ank ; Watson and Lang B an k of Montre al ; Tappen

, ,

president Gallatin N ation al ; B rinkerhoff p res ident ,

B utchers and Drovers B an k ; Clark vice p res ident

’ ’
,
-

American E xchange ; Jewitt p resident I rving N a ,

t io na l ; Harris p resident N as sau B ank ; Crane

, ,

p r e sident S ho e a nd Leather B ank ; N ash p res iden t ,

62 TH E E MPI RE O F BU SI NE S S
Corn E xch ange B ank ; Cannon p re sident Chase ,

N ational ; Cannon vice president Fou rth N ational ;

,
-

l\
/ I o nt a gu e president Second N ational ; B aker p resi
, ,

den t First N ational ; Hamilton vice p resident B ow,

-

ery B ank and s o on

,
.

The absence of the college gradu ate in this list

should be deeply weighed I have inqu ired and .

se arched everywhere in all qu arters but find sma ll ,

trace of him as the leader in affairs although not ,

s eldom O ccupying positions of tru st in financia l

institutions N or 18 this su rp rising The p rize
. .

takers h ave too many years the start of the gradu ate ;
they h ave entered for the race invariably in their
teens in the most va lu able of all the years for learn
ing from fou rteen to twenty ; while the college stu dent
has been learning a little about the barbarou s and
p etty squ abbles o f a fa r distant p ast o r trying to
-

ma ster lang u ages which a re dead su ch knowledge as ,

s eems adapted for life upon another planet than this ,

a s far as busines s affairs are concerned the futu re

c a p t a l n of indu stry is hotly engaged in the school of

exp erience obtaining the very knowledge required

,

for his futu re triumphs .

I do not S p eak of the eff ect of college education

n
.

U pon you ng m e training for the lea rned p rofes sions ,

for which it is u p to a certain point almost indis

, ,

p ens abl e in ou r da y for t he average youth bu t t h e ,

 H ow TO WI N F O RTUNE 63

almost total absenc e of the gradu ate from high

position in the bu sines s world s eems to j ustify the
conclu sion that college edu cation a s it exists s eems
almost fatal to su cces s in th at domain It is to be .

noted that s ala ried o fficials a re not in a strict sens e

in bu sines s a captain O f indu stry is one wh o ma kes
his all in his bu sines s and d ep ends upon succes s for
comp ensation It is in this field that the gradu ate
.

h a s little chance entering at twenty against the

, ,

boy who S wept the o ffi ce o r who begins as S hipping

,

clerk at fou rteen The facts p rove this There a re

. .

some instances of the sons of bu sines s men graduates ,

o f colleges who addres s themselves to a bu sines s life

,

and su cceed in managing a bu s ines s already created ,

but e ven these a re few comp ared with those wh o fa il

I n keeping the fortune received .

There has come however in recent years the poly

, , ,

techn i c and scientific s chool or cou rs e of S tu dy for

, ,

boys which is beginning to S how most valuable

,

fru its in the ma nufactu r i ng b ranch The trained .

mech anic of the p as t wh o h as a s we h ave s een

, , ,

hitherto ca rried off most of the honou rs in ou r ind u s

trial works I S now to meet a rival in the s c 1e nt 1fi c a lly
,

educated youth who will pu sh him ha rd

,
— very
h ard indeed Th ree of the largest st e el m a nu fa c t u r
.

I ng concerns in the world a re already u nder th e

management of three you ng educat ed m e n s t u —
64 TH E E MPI RE OF BU S I NE S S
dents of th es e s chools who left theory at s chool for
p ractice in the works while yet in their teens Wal .

ker Illinois Steel Comp any Chicago ; Schwab

, , ,

E dgar Thomson Works ; Potter Homestead Steel ,

Works Pittsbu rg are types of the new p roduct

, ,

not one of them yet thirty l\ I o s t o f the chiefs of

. /

dep artments u nder them a re of the s ame class .

Su ch young educated men have one important ad .

vantage over the apprenticed mechanic they a r e

open minded and without p rej udice The s cientifi c
-
.

attitu de of mind that of the s earcher after tru th

, ,

renders them receptive of new ideas Great and .

invaluable a s the working mechanic h as been and ,

is a nd will always be yet he is disposed t o adopt

, ,

n arrow views of a ff airs for he is generally well u p

,

in years before he comes into power It is di ff erent .

with the s cientifically trained boy ; he has no pre j u

dices and goes in for the latest invention o r newest
,

method no matter if another has dis covered it He

, .

adopts the plan that will beat the record and dis card s
his owndevices o r ideas which the working mech ani c
,

sup erintendent can rarely be induced to do Let no .

one therefore u nderrate the advantage of education ;

, ,

only it mu st be education adapted to the end in V iew ,

and mu st give instruction bearing U pon a man s ’

c areer if he is to make his way to fortune .

T hu s in the financial commercial and mercantile

, ,
66 TH E E MPI RE O F BU S I NE S S
and have means sufficient to insu re a livelihood the
writer is the last man to advise its rej ection
comp ared with which all the pe c uniary gains of the
m u lti millionaire are dross
-
b u t for poor youth ,

the earning of a competence is a duty and duty done ,

is worth even more than university education p reciou s ,

a s that is Liberal education gives a man wh o really

.

absorbs it higher tastes and aims than the a c I S l t l o n

of wealth and a world to enj oy into which the mere
, ,

millionaire cannot enter ; to find therefore that it is

not the best training for busines s is to prove its clai m
to a higher domain True education can be obtained
.

outside o f the schools ; geniu s is not an indigenou s

plant in the groves academic a wild flower found
in the woods all by itself needing no care from society
,

b u t average man needs u niversities .

ARE C O R PO RA T I O N S To D I S A PP E A R $
The young p ractical man o f to day working at the-

bench o r counter to whom the fair goddess Fortune

, , ,

h as not yet beckoned may be disposed to conclu de

,

that it is impossible to start bu sines s in this age .

There is something in that It is no doubt in .

, ,

finitely more di fficult to start a new bu sines s of an y

kind to day than it wa s B ut it is only a di ff erence
-
.

in form not in substance It is infinitely ea sier for a

, .

young p ractical man of ability to obtain an interes t

 H OW TO WI N F O RTUNE 67

in existing fi rms th an it ha s ever been The doors .

h ave not closed U pon ability ; o n the contra ry they ,

swing easier upon their hinges Cap ital is no t .

requ isite Family influence a s before p a s ses for

.
, ,

nothing R eal ability the cap acity for doing things

.
, ,

never wa s so eagerly sea rched for a s now and never ,

comma nded su ch rewards .

The law which concentrates the leading indu stries

and commercial mercantile an d fin ancial aff airs in a
, ,

few great fa ctories or fi rms contain s within itself

another law not les s imperiou s These va st concern s .

cannot be su cces sfully condu cted by s alaried em

p ylo e .e s N o great bu sines s of any kind can s core a n
u nu su ally brilliant and p ermanent su cces s wh ich
,

is not in the h and s of p ractical men p ecuniarily inter

e s t e d in its results . In the indu strial world the days
o f corporation s seem likely to come to an end It .

h a s been neces s ary for me to watch closely most o f

my life the op eration s o f great establish ments owned
by hundreds o f ab sent cap italists and condu cted by ,

s alaried o fficers Contrasted with these I believe

.

th at the p artnership condu cted by men vitally in

t e r e s t e d and owning the works will make s atisfactory

dividends when the corporation is emba rra ssed a nd

s carcely knows upon which S ide the b al ance is to b e
at th e end of a yea r s operations The great d ry
’
.
»

o o d h u t h t i nt t t h i mo t apabl e me n
g s o ses a e re s e r s c
68 TH E E MPI RE OF BU S I NE S S
in the profits of each dep artment su cceed when those ,

fail that endeavour to work with salaried men only .

E ven in the management o f o u r great hotels it i s ,

found wis e to ta ke into p artnership the p rincip al

men In every branch of b u sin es s this law is a t
.

work and concerns are p rosp erou s gen erally sp eak

, ,

ing j u st in p roportion a s they su cceed in interesting

,

in the p rofits a la rger and larger p roportion o f their

ablest workers Cooperation in this form is fa st
.

coming in all great establishments Th e manu .

f a c t u r ing bu sines s that does not h ave p ractical manu

f a c t u ring p artners ha d better supply the omis sion
without del ay and p robably th e very men requ ired
,

a re the bright you ng mech anics wh o h ave distin

g u is h e d themselves while working for a few d ollars
p er day o r the youths from the polytechnic school .

Instances constantly occu r where th e corporation

u nwilling to interest a p romising p ractical man loses
his services an d s ees an interest given him by some
,

able individu al manufactu rer o r commercial fi rm wh o

a re con stantly o n the lookout for th at indisp ens able
a rticle ability It h a s not h itherto been th e
.

p ractice for corporation s p rop erly to rewa rd these

emb ryo managers b u t this they mu st come to if
, ,

t hey are to stand the competition of wor k s O p era t ed

b y t hos e interes t ed in the p ro fit s
.

C orpora ti on s , on t h e o t h e r h and as I d esi r e to

,
 H OW TO WI N F O RT UNE 69

point o u t to practical young men h ave o ne a dv a n

,

tage Their S ha res a re sold freely If a worker

. .

wishes to become interested in any b ran ch o f manu

f ac t u ring in America t o day the p ath i s ea sy
-

,
For .

5 5 0 to $ 10 0 he can become a stockholder It is b e .

coming more an d more common for workers s o to

invest their s avings There a re many well ma n aged
.
-

corporation s whose as sets an d p restige enable

them to ea rn satisfa ctory retu rn s an d no better ,

evidence of c ap acity and o f good j udgment ca n a

'

workman give to his employers than th at fu rnished

by th e p res ence of his n ame U pon the books a s a
shareholder in the concern .

Workingmen h ave a p rej u dice again st showing

their employers that th e wages they ea rn s u ffi c e to
en able them to s ave ; bu t this is a mistake The .

s aving workman is th e valu able workman a n d the ,

wis e employer rega rd s the fa ct th at h e does s ave a s

p rima fa cie evidence th at there is someth ing ex
c e pt ion a lly valu able in him It should b e the effort
‘
.

O f every corporation to indu ce its p rincip al workers

'

to inve s t their s avings in its sh ares O nly in thi s .

way can corporation s h O pe to cop e su cces sfully with

.

i n dividual manufa ctu rers who h ave alrea dy d is c ov

ered one o f the valu able s ecrets o f u nu s u a l su cces s
~

v iz : to sha re their p rofits with those w h o are most

.

inst ru mental in p roducing them The d ay o f the

.
7 0 TH E E MPI RE O F BU S I NE S S
absent capitalist stockholder wh o takes no interest ,

in the operation of the works beyon d the receipt of

'
his dividend is certainly p as sing away The day
, .

of the valuable a ctive worker in th e indu strial

world is coming Let therefore no you ng p ractical
.
, , ,

workman be discou raged O n the contra ry let him

.
,

b e cheered More and more it is becoming ea sier

.

for the mech an ic o r p ra ctical man o f real ability to

dictate terms to his employers Where there wa s .

on e avenu e of p romotion there are now a dozen

, .

The enormou s concern of the futu re is to divide its

profits not among hu ndreds of idle capitalists wh o
,

contribute nothing to its success but among hun ,

dreds of its ablest employees upon whose abilities

and exertions succes s greatly depends The cap .

it a lis t absent stockhol d er is t o be replaced by the

able and p resent worker .

As to the qu alifications neces sary for the p ro

motion of young p ra ctical men one cannot do better ,

than quote George E liot wh o put the matter very

,

“
p ithily : I ll tell you how I got on I kept my ears
’
.

and my eyes open and I made my master s interest

,
’

my own .

The condition pr e cedent for p romotion is that the ,

man must first attract notice He mu st d o some .

thing u nu sual and esp ecially mu st this be beyond the

,

strict boundary of his duties He mu st suggest o r .

,
 H O W TO WI N F O RTUNE 7 1

save o r perform some s ervice for his employer which

,

he could not be censu red for not h aving done When .

h e h as thu s attracted the notice of his immediate

sup erior whether that be only the foreman of a gang
, ,

it matters not ; the first great step ha s been ta ken for ,

upon his immediate sup erior p romotion depends .

H ow high he climbs is h is own aff air .

We often hea r men complaining that they get no

chance to S how their ability and when they do S how
,

ability that it is not recognized There is very little

.

in this S elf—
. interest comp els the immediate supe
rior to give the highest place u nder him to th e
man who can best fill it for the o fficer is credited
,

with the work o f his dep artment a s a whole N o .

man can keep another down It will be noticed .

th at many of the p ractical men wh o h ave earned

fame and fortune have done s o through holding on t o
imp rovements which they have made Imp rove .

ments a re easily made by p ractical men in the b ranch

in which they are engaged for they have th e mos t
,

intimate knowledge of the p roblems to be solved

there It is in this w a y that many of ou r valu able
.

imp rovements have come The man who has made

.

an imp rovement should always have an eye U pon

obtaining an interest in the bu sines s rather than a n
increase o f s alary E ven if the bu sines s u p to this
.

time has not become v e ry p rosp erou s if he ha s th e

,
7 2 TH E E MP I RE OF BU SI NE S S
p roper stu ff in him he believes that he could make
,

it s o and s o he cou ld All forms of bu sines s have

,
.

their U p s and downs Season s of dep res sion and

.

buoyancy su cceed each other one year of great ,

p rofits several years with little or none This is a

,
.

law o f the bu sines s world into the reasons of which

,

I need not enter Therefore the able young p ractical

.

man sho u ld not have much regard as to a choice of

the branch of b u sines s Any bu sines s properly con
.

du cted will yield du ring a period of years a handsome

retu rn .

D A NC E R S T O Y OU NG M EN

There a re three great rocks ahead of the p ractical

young man who has his foot upon the ladder and is
beginning to ris e First d ru nkenness which of
.
, , ,

cours e is fatal There is no u s e in wasting time

, .

upon any young man wh o drinks liquor no matter ,

how exceptional his talents Indeed the greater .

,

his talents are the greater the disappointment mu st

be The second rock ahead is specula t ion The
. .

bu sines s of a speculator and that of a manufactu rer

or man of affairs a re not only distinct b ut inc om
,

p atible To be su cces sful in the bu sines s world the

.
,

manufactu rer s and the merchant s p rofits only

’ ’

should be sought The manufactu rer should go

.

forw ard steadily meeting the market p rice When

,
.
74 TH E E M PI RE OF B U SI NE S S

you r tru s t I t is a s afe rule therefore t o give the

.
, ,

cash direct that you have to sp are for others and

never your indorsement or gua rantee
O ne great cau se of failure of young men in bu s ines s
is lack of concentration Th ey are p rone t o seek
.

outside inves tments The cau se of many a s u r

.

prising failu re lies in s o doing E very dolla r of .

cap ital and credit every bu sines s thought should

, ,

be concentrated upon the o ne busines s upon which

a man h a s emba rked He should never scatter his
.

shot It is a poor bu sines s which will not yield

.

b etter retu rns for increa sed cap ital th an any out
s ide investment N o man o r se t of men or cor
.

o ra t ion can manage a bu sines s man s capital ’

p a s
“
well a s h e can manage it himself The rule Do .
,
”
no t put all you r eggs in one b as ket do es not apply ,

t o a man s life work Put all you r eggs in o ne

’
.

b as ket and then watch that bas ket is the tru e

, ,

d octrine — the most valu able rule of all While .

bu sines s of all kinds ha s gone and is still going

r apidly into a few va st concerns
, it is nevertheles s
,

demonstrated every day th at genuine abili ty inter ,

e s t e d in the p rofits is not only valu able b u t indis

,

p ensable to their su ccessful op eration Throug h .

corporation s whose sha res a re sold daily upon

the ma rket ; through p artnership that finds it
neces sary to interest their ablest wor k ers ; through
 H OW To WI N F O RTU NE 75

merchant s wh o can manage their va st enterp rises

su ccessfully only by interesting exceptional ability ;
in every qu arter of the bu sines s world avenu es ,

greater in nu mber wider in extent ea sier of a cces s

, ,

than ever before existed stand open to the sober , ,

frugal energetic and able mechanic to the s c ie nt ifi

, ,

cally educated youth to the office boy a nd t o t h e

,
-

c lerk
’

avenues through which they can reap

gre ater su ccesses than were ever before within th e
rea ch of these clas se s in the history o f the world .

When therefore the young man in any position

, , ,

or in any bu sines s explains and complain s that h e

,

ha s not O pportuni ty to p rove his ability and to r is e

to p artnership the old answer su ffices
,

Th e f ult d
a , ear B ru t u s , is no t ino u r ta rs
s

B u t inou r s e l ve s , t h at we a re und e l i ng s
r
”
.
 We al th a nd I ts U s e s
i iv
P overty a n nc e nt e to g re at a c h i ev em ent S u pl us
. r

we al t h ll w m l y
a o s e re n l b
a e a or a t i o nof t h
e s i m pl n d
e ee s

of l if
e W lt h h lp
. ea e s c ons o l i d at i o n a nd c h e a p ns p o
e r

d u ti on
c .
 WE ALTH AND I T S U S E S

E ALTH , as Mr Gladstone h a s recently

.

“
s aid is the bu sines s of the world ” That
, .

t h e a cquisition o f money is the bu sines s of

t h e world arises from the fact that with few u nfo r ,

t u na t e e xceptions young men a re born to poverty

, ,

a nd therefore u nder the s aluta ry operation of that

.

rema rkably wise law which makes fo r their good

“
Thou shalt ea rn thy b rea d by the sweat of thy

It is the fa shion no wadays to bewail poverty a s a n

evil to p ity the young man wh o is not born with a
,

s ilver spoo n in his mouth ; but I heartily sub scrib e

“
to President Ga rfield s doctrine that The ri chest
’
,

heritage a young ma n can be born to is p overty ” .

I make no idle p rediction when I s a y that it i s fro m

that clas s from whom the good and the great will
spring It is not fro m the sons of the millionaire o r
.

the noble that the world rece i ves its teachers its ,

martyrs its inventors its states men its poets o r

, , , ,

even its men of a ff airs It is from the cottage o f th e

.

p oor tha t all these sp ring We can scarcely rea d

.

“
on e a mong t h e fe w immorta l na m es that were not
79
80 TH E E MPI RE O F BU S I NE S S
born t o die ,
o r wh o ha s rendered exception al
service t o our race wh o h ad not the advantage of
,

being cradled nursed and reared in the stimulating

, ,

s chool o f poverty There is nothing so enervating

.
,

nothing s o deadly in its e ff ects upon the qu alities

which lead to the highest achievement moral or ,

intellectu a l a s hereditary wealth And if there be

,
.

a mong you a young man wh o feels that he is not

compelled to exert himself in order to earn and live
from his own e ff orts I tender him my p rofoun d
,

symp athy Should su ch an one p rove an exceptio n

.

to his fellows and become a ci t izen living a life credit

,

able to himself and u seful to the State instead of my ,

p rofound symp athy I bow b e fore him with p rofoun d

reveren ce ; for one wh o overcomes the sedu ctive temp
t a t io ns which su rroun d hereditary wealth is O f the
“ ”
s alt o f the earth an d entitled to double honou r .
,

O ne gets a great many good things from the N ew

York S u n the distinguished p roprietor and editor of
,

which you had recently the pleasu re benefit an d , ,

honou r of hearing I beg t o read this to you a s one

.

o f its nu merou s rays of light :

OUR B OY S

E v e r y moralist hard u p for a t heme asks a t

i n t erval s : Wh at is the matter with the son s o f ou r
ri c h a n d great m e n$ The question is followed b y
82 TH E E MPI RE OF BU SI NE S S
done everything fo r them and yet they h ave d is a p
,

pointed him He wh o gives to his s o n an o ffi ce

.

which he has not deserved and en ables h im to dis

grace his father and friends deserves no more s ym ,

p athy than any Mr Fagin deliberately educating a

.

boy to be dishonest .

“
The fat useles s pu g dogs which young women
,
-

d rag wheezing about at the end o f strings are not t o

blame fo r their condition and the s ame thing is true
,

o f rich men s sons The young women who overfeed

’
.

the dogs and the fathers wh o ru in their son s have

themselves to thank .

“
N o ma n would advocate the thing p erhaps ; but ,

wh o can doubt that if there could be a law making it

n
impos sible fo r a ma n to i herit anything bu t a good
education a nd a good constitution it would supply ,
”
U S in S hort order with a better lot o f men $
“
This is sou nd I f you s e e it in the S u nit is s o
. .

At least it is in this ca se .

It is not the poor young man who goes forth to his

work in the morning and labou rs u ntil evening th at
we should pity It is the son of the rich man t o
.

whom Providence has not been s o kind as to tru st

with this honourable task It is not the bu sy man.
,

but t h e man o f idleness who should a rouse o u r

,
“
sympathy and cau se u s sorrow Happy is the man .

wh o h as found his work ” says Carlyle I s ay

,
.
,
 WE ALTH AND I TS USE S 83

H appy is t h e man wh o has t o work and to wor k

h a rd a nd work long ” A great poet has s aid : He
.
“
,

p rayeth best who loveth best Some day this may

.

“
be p arodied into : He p rayeth best wh o worketh
best.
” An honest day s work well p erformed is no t
’

a bad sort of p rayer The cry goes forth often now

.

adays “ ”
Abolish pove rt yl but fortunately this
,

canno t be done ; and the poor we a re a lways t o have

with u s Abolish poverty and what wou ld become
.
,

of the race $ Progres s development would ceas e

,
.

Consider its future if dependent U pon the rich Th e .

supply of the good a nd the great would ceas e and ,

hu man society retrograde into barbaris m Abolis h .

luxu ry if you plea se but leave u s the soil u pon

, , ,

which alone the virtues and all th at is p reciou s in

human character grow ; poverty honest poverty .

I will a s sume for the moment gentlemen that you , ,

were all fortunate e nough t o be born poor Then .

the first question that p res ses upon you is this :

Wh at S hall I learn to do for the commu nity which
will b ring me in exchange enough wealth t o feed ,

clothe lodge a nd keep me independent of ch a ritable

, ,

a id from others $ What shall I do for a living $

And the you ng man may like o r think that h e woul d
,

like to do o ne thing rather than another ; t o pu rsu e

,

on e b ranch o r another ; t o be a bu sines s man o r crafts

man of some kind o r minister physician electrician

, , , ,
84 TH E E MPI RE OF BU SI NE S S
ar chitect editor or lawyer I have no doubt som e
, , .

o f you in you r wildest flights aspire to be j ournalists .

B ut it does not matter what the young man likes o r

dislikes he always ha s to keep in V iew the main
,

point : Can I attain su ch a measure of proficiency

in the branch p referred a s will certainly enable me to
earn a livelihood by its p ractice $

The young man therefore wh o resolves to make

, ,

himself u seful to h is kind and therefore entitled to

,

receive in return from a g ratefu l comm u nity which

h e benefits the s u m neces sary for his support sees ,

clearly one of the highest d u ties of a young man He .

m eets the vital question immediately p res sing upon

h im for decision and decides it rightly,
.

So far t h e n t h e re is no difference about the acquisi

, ,

tion of wealth E very o ne is agreed that it is the

.

fi rst duty of a young man to s o train hims elf a s t o b e

s elf supporting N or is there difficulty about the
-
.

next step for the young man cannot be s aid to h ave

,

performed the whole o f his duty if he leaves o u t of

a cc ou nt the contingencies of life liability to accident , ,

illnes s and trade dep ressions like the present Wis

,
.

dom calls U pon him to h ave regard for these things ;

a nd it is a p art of his duty that he begin to s ave a
portion o f h is ea rnings and invest them not in s pe c u ,

lation but in s ecu rities or in p rop erty or in a le git i

, ,

mate bu sines s in su ch form a s will perhap s slowly , ,

 W E ALTH AND I TS USE S s5
i

bu t y e t surely grow l nt o the res erve Upon which he

can fall b ack in emergencies or in o ld age a nd live ,

U pon h is own s avings I th ink we are all agreed a s

.

to the advis ability nay the duty of laying u p a

,

competence and hen ce to retain ou r self—

,
resp ect .

B es ides this I take it that some of you h ave

,
“
already decided j u st a s soon a s poss ible t o as k a
,
”
certain you ng lady to sha re his lot o r p erhap s h is ,

lots and o f cou rse he S hould h ave a lot or two t o

, , ,

s hare . Ma rriage is a very seriou s bus ines s indeed ,

an d gives ris e t o many weighty considerations .

“
B e su re to marry a woman with good common
”
s ens e wa s th e a dvice given me by my mentor a nd
, ,

I j u st hand it down to you Common sense is the .

most u ncommon and most valu able qu ality in man

o r woman B u t b e fo re you have occasion to p rovide
.

y ou rself with a help mate there comes the subj ect ,

upon which I am to addre s s you — “

Wealth ”
not wealth in millions but simply revenu e suffi cient
,

for modest indep endent living This op ens u p the

,
. .

entire s ubj ect of wealth in a greater or les s degree

’

N ow wh at is wealth $ How is it created and dis

,

tributed $ There a re not far from u s imm e ns e b eds

of coal which h ave lain for millions of yea rs u s eles s ,

and therefore valuele s s Through some exp eriment .

,

or p erhap s accident it was dis covered t ha t bla c k

,

s t on e wou l d b u r n a nd gi v e f or t h h e at Me n s ank .
86 TH E E MP I RE O F B U SI NE S S

sh afts erected machinery mined and b rought for t h

, ,

coal and sold it to the commu nity It displaced the

, .

u s e of wood a s fuel s a y at o ne half the cost

,
I m m e di -
.

ately every bed of coal became valu able becau s e

u s eful or cap able of being made s o ; and here a new
,

a rticle worth hu ndred s yes thou sands of millions was

, ,

a dded t o the wealth of the community A Scotch .

mechanic o ne day a s the story goes gazing into the

, ,

fire upon which water wa s boiling in a kettle s a w ,

the steam raise the lid a s hu ndreds o f thousands h ad

,

s een before him ; b u t none s a w in that sight wh at he

did the steam engine which does the work of the ,

world at a cost s o infinitely trifling comp a red with

what the plans k nown before involved that the ,

wealth of the world h as been increased o ne dares not

estimate how mu ch The s aving that the com
.
~

munity ma kes is the root o f wealth in any branch

of material develop ment N ow a young ma n s .
,
’

l abou r o r service to the community creates wealth

j u st in p roportion a s his service is u seful to the com
mu nity a s it either s aves o r imp roves upon existing
,

methods Commodore Vanderbilt s a w I think

.
, ,

thirteen diff erent short railway lines between N ew

York and B uffalo involving thirteen di ff erent man
,

a ge m e nts and a disj ointed and tediou s service

,
.

Albany S chenectady U tica Syracu se Aubu rn

, , , , ,

Roche ster etc were h ea ds of s ome of t h e se com

, .
,
 WE ALTH AND I TS USE S s7

p ani c s He consolidated them all making one direct

.
,

line over which you r E mp ire State E xp res s flies fift y

,

on e miles an hou r the fastest time in the world ; and

,

a hundred p assengers p atronize the lines where one

did in olden days He rendered the commu nity a
.

special service which being followed by others

, , ,

reduces the cost o f bringing food from th e p rairies

o f the West to you r doors to a trifling su m p er t o n .

He p roduced and is every day p rodu cing u ntol d

, ,

wealth to the community by so doing and the p rofit ,

he reaped for himself wa s but a drop in the bu cket

comp ared with that which he s howered upon the
S tate and the n ation .

N ow in the olden days before steam electricity

, , , ,

or an y other o f the modern invention s which unitedly

h ave changed the whole a spect of the world every ,

thing wa s done U pon a s mall s cale There wa s no .

room for great idea s to operate upon a large scale ,

and thu s to p rodu ce great wealth t o the inventor ,

discoverer originator o r executive N ew inve n

, ,
.

tions gave this opportu nity and many la rge fortune s ,

were made by individu al s B u t in ou r day we a re .

rapidly p as sing if we h ave not already p assed thi s

, ,

stage of develop ment and few la rge fortunes can

,

now be made in any p art of the world except from ,

on e cau se the rise in the value of real estate

,
Manu .

f ac t u ring transportation bo t h U pon the land an d

,
88 TH E E MPI RE O F BU SI NE S S
U pon the s e a banking insu rance h ave all p a s sed
, , ,

into the h ands o f corporation s composed of hu ndreds

and in many ca ses thou sand s of sha reholders The .

N ew York Central R ailroad is owned by more than

ten thou sand sha reholders the Pennsylvania R ail ,

roa d i s owned by more people than the vast a rmy

which it employes and nearly o ne fou rth o f the
,
-

nu mber a re the estates of women and children It is .

s o with the great manufactu ring comp anies ; so with

t he great steamship lines ; it is so a s you know wit h , ,

banks insu rance comp anies and indeed with al l

, ,

branches of bu sines s It i s a great mistake for

.

“
young men to s a y to themselves O h $ we canno t
enter into bu sines s If any of you h ave s aved a s
much a s $ 50 or $ 10 0 I do not know any b ranch o f
,

bu sines s into which you cannot plunge at once You .

can get you r certificate of stock and attend the meet

ing o f stockholders ma ke you r speeches and s u g
,

gestions qu arrel with the p resident an d instru ct the

,

management of the a ff airs of the comp any an d have ,

all the rights and influence of an own e r You c a n .

buy s hares in anything from ne wspapers to tene

,
‘

ment hou ses ; but capital is s o poorly paid in thes e

-

days that I a dvise you to exercise mu ch c irc u m s pe c

tion befor e you invest A s I h ave s aid to working
. l

men an d t o minister s college p rofessors a rtists

, , ,

mu s i cian s and physicians and all the p rofe s siona l

, ,
99 TH E E M P I RE OF BU S I NE S S
it is not tru e Wealth is being more and more dis
.

tributed a mong the many The amount of the com

.

b ine d p ro fits o f labou r and capital which goes to

labou r wa s never s o great a s to day the amount going
-

t o cap ital never s o s mall Whi le the ea rnings of cap i

.

t al h av e fallen more than one half in many ca se s -

h ave been entirely obliterated statistics p rove th a t,

t he ea rning s of labou r were never s o high a s they

were p reviou s t o the recent unp recedented d e pre s
s ion in bu sines s while the c o st o f living
,
the
necessaries o f life h ave fallen in some cases nea rly
‘

on e half
-
Great B ritain h a s an in come tax and ou r
.
,

c ou ntry is to be subj ect to this imposition for a time .

The B ritish retu rns S how that du ring the eleven yea rs
from 1 8 76 to 1 8 8 7 the nu mber of men re c eiving from
$ 750 to per year increased more than 2 1 per
c ent W hile the number re c e l vm g from
.
,
to

actu ally decreased 2 1 2 per cent -

.

Y ou may be su re gentlemen th at the question o f

, ,

the distribution o f wealth is settling itself rapidly

u nder p resent conditions and settling itself in the
,

right direction The few rich are getting poorer and

.
,

the toiling mas ses a re getting richer N evertheles s .

,

a few exceptional men may yet make fortunes but ,

these will be more moderate than in th e p ast This .

may not be qu ite as fortu nate for the mas ses of the
p eople a s is now believed becau se great a ccumula
,
 WE ALTH AND I T S USE S 9 1

tions of wealth in the h ands of one enterp ris ing ma n

who still toils on are sometimes most p rodu ctive o f
all the forms of wealth Ta ke the richest man the
.

world ever s aw wh o died in Ne w York some years

,

ago What wa s fou nd in his c as e $ Th at with the

.
,

exception of a s mall p ercentage u sed fo r daily expenses ,

his entire fortune and all its su rp lu s earnings were

inve sted in enterp rises which develop ed the railway
system of ou r cou ntry which gives to the peop le the
,

cheapest tran sportation known Whether t h e mil ,

.
i -

lio na ire wishes it or not he cannot evade the law

'

which under p resent conditions compels him t o u se

, , 0

his millions for the good of the p eople All th a t h e .

gets du ring the few years o f his life is that h e ma y

live in a finer hou s e su rround himself with fi ner
,

furniture a nd works of a rt which may be added ; h e

,

could even h av e a grander libra ry more of t h e gods

,

a rou nd him ; bu t a s fa r a s I h av e k nown millionaires

,

the library i s the leas t u s ed p a rt o f wh at h e would

“ ”
p robably consider fu rniture in all his mansion .

He can eat richer food and drin k richer wines which ,

only hu rt him B ut tru ly the modern millionaire is

.

g e ne r a llya man of very simple ta stes and even miserl y

habits He sp ends little upon himself and is t h e
.
,

toiling bee laying up the honey in t h e industri a l hive ,

which all the inmates of that hiv e t h e community ,

in general will certainly enjoy Here is the tru e

,
.
94 TH E E MP I RE O F B U S I NE S S

Ta ke R u ssia with its population little better th a n

,
.

s erfs and living at the point of starvation upon the

,

mea n est fare — such fa re a s none of ou r people

could o r would eat and you find comparatively few
millionaires excepting the E mperor and a few nobles
,

wh o o wn the land It is the s ame to a great extent

.

in Germany although in recent years industrial

,

development has p roduced a few pound sterling

millionaires I n B erlin in 190 2 three had more
. .

than and in Pru ssia s ix persons had an

i ncome of In France where the p eople ,

a re better off th an in Germany yo u can cou nt but ,

f e w millionaires In the o ld home of ou r race in

.
,

B r it ia n wh ich is the richest country in the world

,

s ave on e o u r own there are more millionaires in

pound s sterling ( wh ich may b e considered the
E u ropean standard ) th an in the whole o f the rest o f
E u rop e and its people are better off than in any
,
'

o ther . You come to o u r own land : we p robably

h av e more millionaires and multimillionaires both ,

in pou nds and dolla rs than all the rest of the worl d
,

p u t together although
,
w e h ave not one to every

ten that is reputed so I have seen a list of

.

s upposed millionaires p repared by a well known -

lawyer of B rooklyn which made me laugh a s it

, ,

did many others I s aw men rated there a s mil

.

lionaire s Wh o cou ld n ot pay t h e i r d e b t s Some .

9 6 TH E E MPI RE OF BU S I NE SS
h aving an immense factory and thou sands of men
an d women aiding in the p roces s The great e lectric .

establishment here in you r town succeeds becau se it

h a S s pe nt million s and is p rep ared to do its work
'

upon a great scale U nder such conditions it is im

.

possible but that wealth will flow into the hands of

a few men in p rosperou s times beyond their needs .

B ut ou t of fifty great fo rtunes which Mr B laine ha d .

a list made o f he foun d only one man who wa s re

,

p u t e d t o have made a large fortune in manufacturing .

Fortunes are most often made from real estate ; nex t

follow transportation banking The whole manu ,
.

f a c t u ring world furnished but o ne millionaire .

B u t a ssu ming that su rplu s wealth flows into t h e

h ands of a few men what is their duty $ How is t h e
,

s truggle for dollars to be lifted from the sordid atmos

p h e r e s u rrounding bu siness and made a noble career $

Now wealth ha s hitherto been d istributed in thre e
,

way s : The first and chief o ne is b ywilling it at death

t o t h e family N ow beyond bequeathing to thos e
.
,

dependent upon o ne the revenue needful for modes t

and independent living is su ch a u se o f wealth either
,

right or wise $ I a s k you to think over the result a s ,

a rule o f million s given over to young men an d

n
,

women and so s and daughters of th e millionair e

,
.

You will find that a s a rule it is not good for t h e

, ,

d augh t er s ; and this i s s e en in the ch aracter and con

 WE ALTH AND I T S USES 97

duct of the men wh o m a rry them As for the s on s .

,

ou have their condition s a s described in the extract

y
which I read yo u from the Su n N othing is truer . ,

“
th an this th at a s a rule th e almighty dolla r b e ”
,

u at h e d to son s o r daughters by million s p rov e d

q e

an almighty cu rse It is not the good o f the chil d

.

which th e million aire p arent con side rs when he ' ‘

makes th es e bequests ,it is h is own vanity ; it is not

a fi e c t io n fo r the child it is self glo r ifi c a t io n for the
,
-

p arent which is at th e root o f this inj u riou s disposi

t ion of wealth There is only o ne thing t o be

’

s aid for this mode : it fu rnishes o ne o f the most

e ffi caciou s m e an s o f ra p id distribution o f weal th eve r
k nown .

There is a s eco n
'

d u se o f wealth les s common th an ,

t he first which is not s o inj u riou s to the community

, ,

b ut which should bring no credit to the testator

‘
‘
.

M oney is left by million air es to public institution s

whe n they mu st relax their grasp U pon it There is .

no grace a nd Ca n b e no bles sing in giving W

,
hat ,

c annot be withheld It i s no gift becau s e it is not

.
,

c heerfully given but only granted at the stern s u m

,

m on s of de ath .The mis carriage o f thes e bequ ests ,

t h elit iga t io nconnec t ed with them an d the manner in

’ '

,
'

Which they a re f rit t e re d away s eem to p rove that the

F ates do not regard them with a k indly eye We .

a re n ev e r wi t hout a l e s son t h at t he o nly mod e of pro

.
9 8 TH E E M P I RE OF BU SI NE S S
d u c ing la sting
good by giving large su ms of money is
for the millionaire to give a s close attention to it s
distribution du ring his life a s he did to its acquisition ,

We have t o day the noted case o f five o r s ix million s

o f dollars left by a great lawyer t o found a publi c

libra ry in N ew York an I nst i tut i on needed s o greatl y

,

that the failu re of this bequ est is a misfortune It is .

yea rs S ince h e died ; th e will is p ronounced invali d

through a flaw although there is no dou bt of t h e
, .

intention of the donor It is s a d commenta ry up on

.

the folly of men holding t he million s which they c a n

antil they a re u nable t o put them t o the en d
not u s e g
they desire Peter Cooper Pratt of B altimore a n d
.
, ,

Pratt of B rooklyn and others a re the typ e of men

,
'

wh o should be taken by you a s you r model ; the y

distributed their su rplu s du ring life .

The third u s e and the only noble u se o f su rplu s

,

wealth is this : Tha t it be rega rded a s a s a cre d

,

tru st to be adminis t ered by its possessor into who s e

, ,

hands it flows for the highe st good of the peopl e

,
.

Man doe s not live by b read alone and five or t e n , ,

ce nts a day more revenu e s cattere d over thou s and s

would p roduce little o r no good Accu mulate d in t o a
.

great fund and expended a s Mr Cooper expend e d it .

for t he Cooper Institute it e stablishe s someth i n g

,

tha t will last for ge nerations It will e ducate t h e

.

brain t he s p i r itu al p art of m an It furnishe s a

,
.
100 TH E E M P I RE OF BU S I NE S S
The epitaph which every r ich man shou l d wish
himself j ustly entitle d to is th a t see nupon t he monu
ment to Pitt :
H e l i ve d w i t h ou t oste ntati on ,

And h e d i d p o r e o .

Su ch i s the man whom the futu re is t o honou r ,

while h e wh o die s in o ld age retired from busines s ,

posses sed of million s of available wealth, is t o d ie

u nwept unhonou red and u nsung
, ,
.

I may j ustly divide young me n into fou r c l ass e s

First those wh o mu st work for a living and set
'

, ,

before them as their aim the acqu isition of a m ode st

competence — of cou rse with a m odest but pic t u
,

re s qu e cottage in t h e country and one as a comp anion

“ ”
wh o ma keth su nshine in a shady pla c e a nd is t h e
good angel of his life The motto of this clas s N o I , .
,

might be given a s Give me neithe r poverty nor

riches . From th e anxietie s of poverty a s from t h e
responsibilities of wealth good Lord deliver u s ”
, , .

Clas s N o 2 comprising thos e among you are wh o

.
,

d etermined t o a cqu ire wealth whose aim in life is t o

,

belong t o that much talked of a nd grandly abu sed

- -

clas s th e millionaires those wh o start to labou r fo r

, ,

the greatest good of the greate st number but the ,

greate st nu mber always number o ne the motto o f ,

this clas s bein gshort and t o the point : P ut money

“

i n th y pu rse ” .
 WE ALTH AN D I TS U S E S 10 1

N ow the third clas s come s along The god they

,
.

worship is neither wealth nor h appines s They are .

“ ”
inflame d with noble ambition ; the des ire of fame
is the controlling element of their liv e s Now whil e .
,

this is not s o ignoble as the de sire for material we alth ,

it mu st be s aid that it betrays more vanity T h e .

s hrine o f fame h as many worshippe rs The element .

o f vanity is see n in its fie rce st ph as e among thos e

wh o come before the public It is well known for

.
,

instance that mus icians actors and eve n p ainters

, , ,

all the a rtistic clas s a re p e culiarly p rone to e x c e s

s ive personal vanity This h as ofte n been wondere d
.

at ; but the r e ason p robably is that the mu sician and

the actor and even the painter m ay be transcendent
, ,

inh is s pecia l l in e without b eing e ven highly e ducated ,

without having a n all around b rain Some pe c u

-
.

lia r it ie s some o ne element in his characte r may giv e

, ,

him prominence o r fame so that his love of art o r of

, ,

u s e through art is entirely drowne d by a narrow

, ,

s elfish ,
p ersonal vanity B ut we find this liability
.

i n a lesser degree all through the profe s sions t h e ,

politician the lawyer and with reve rence be it

, , ,

S po k en sometime s the minister ; les s I think in t h e

, , ,

p hys ician than in any of the p rofe ss ions p robably ,

becau s e he more than in any other p rofes sion is

, ,

c alled t o deal with the s a d re alitie s o f life face t o

fa c e
. He o f all m e n see s the vanity of vaniti e s .
10 2 TH E E MP I RE OF BU S I NE S S
An illu stration of this class is well drawn in
Hotspu r s addre ss
’

B y h v ns m t h i nk it w e a n asy l e p
ea e , e s er e a ,

To pl u k b i gh t h n u f r m t h p l f c d m oo n;
c r o o r o e a e -
a e

O d i v i nt t h b t t m of t h d p
r e o e o o e ee ,

W h f t h m l i n c ld n v t ou c h t h e g ound
e re a o -
e ou e er
'

r ,

And p l u k p d w ne d h onou by t h e l oc k s ;
c u ro r

S h th t d th
o e d m h t h e nce m ig ht we ar
a o re ee er

Wi t h u t corr iva l ll h e r d i gnit i e s

o a .

h/I a r k ,young gentleme n he care s not for u s e ; h e ,

cares not for state ; he care s only for himself and a s , ,

a vain pe acock struts acros s the stage

,
.

Now gentlemen it doe s not seem t o m e t hat t h e

, ,

love o f we alth is the controlling de sire of so many a s

the love of fame ; and this is matte r fo r s incere con
gratulation and p rove s that u nder the irre sis tible
,

l aws o f evolutio n the race is slowly moving onwa r d

a nd U pward Take the whole range of the artisti c
.

world which give s sweetne s s and light t o life which

, ,

refine s and adorns and surely the great composer , ,

p ainter p i an i st lawyer j udge state s man all those

, , , , ,

in public life ca re less for millions th an for profe s

,

s io na l reputation in thei r re spe ctive fields of labou r .

Wh at cared Wa shington Franklin Lincoln o r , , ,

Grant and Sherman for we alth $ N othing $ What

cared Harrison or Cleveland t wo poor me n not u n , ,

worthy successors $ What care the Judge s of ou r

Su p reme Cou rt or even the l e ading coun s e l th at
,
'
10 4 TH E E MPI RE OF BU S I NE S S
giv e you for t his clas s the fitt i ng illustr a t i on fro m
th eword s of a S cot c h po e t wh o di e d altogeth e r t oo

you ng :
I w i ll go f th
or mong me n, not m a i l e d in s corn,
’

B u t int h e a rm ou r of a u re i nt e nt p .

G re at d u t i e s a re b e fore m e a nd gre at s ong s ;

,

And wh e t h e r c row ne d o r crownl e s s wh e n I fa ll ,

I t m a t t e r s not , s o a s G o d s w or k is d one
’
.

I ve l e a rne d t o p r i z e t h e q u i e t l i gh t ni ng d e e d ,
’

Not t he a ppl au d i ng t h u nd e r a t it s h e e l s,
W h i ch m e nc a ll f am e .

Then gentlemen standing upon the thre shold of

, ,

life you have the good be tte r be st pre sented to you

, , ,

the three stage s of development the natu ral , ,

spiritu al and cele stial they may fit lybe called O ne

, ,
.

has succes s in material things of its aim not with

o u t benefit this for the race a s a whole be cause it ,

lifts the individu al from the animal and demands t h e

exercise of m a nyv a lu able qu alitie s :s ob rie t y ind u s t ry ,

and self dis cipline The se cond rise s still highe r

-
.

the rewa rd sought for being things more of the sp iri t

not gros s and material but invisible ; and not of the ,

fle sh but of the brain the spiritual p art of man ; a nd

, ,

this brings into play innumerabl e vir tu e s wh i ch

make good and u seful men .

The third or celestial clas s stands upon ane nt i re ly

diff erent footing from the others in this that sel fi sh ,

c onsiderations are subordinated in the select bro t h e r

 W E ALTH AND I TS U SE S 19 5
hood of t h e bes t t h e s e rv i ce t o be done for oth e rs
,

being t h e fi rst consid er a tion Th e re wa rd of eith e r

.

wealth or fame is u nsought for thes e h av e learne d

,

and know full well that virtue is its ownand the only
exceeding great reward ; and this onc e enj oyed all ,

other rewards are not worth seeking A nd so wealth

.

and even fame a re det h roned ; and ther e s t and s

enthrone d the highest standard of all — you r own
app roval flowing from a faithful discharg e of dut y
a s you s e e it fe aring no c ons e quences see k ing no
, ,

reward .

It doe s not ma t te r m u ch wh a t branch of e ff o rt

y ou r ta ste s or j u dgmen t draw you t o the one great
,

point is t hat you should be drawn t o so me one branch .

T h e n p e rf orm y ou r whol e duty in it and a littl e

m or e — th e
“ ”
littl e more b e ing vastly impor t a nt .

We have t h e words of a gre at poet for it that t h e m an

,
.

wh o doe s t h e best h e can c an while s d o mor e

, .

Ma intai n you r s elf respe ct a s t h e mos t p re ciou s

-

j ewe l of all and t h e only tru e way to wint h e re sp e ct

o f oth e r s, a nd then remember wh at E mer s on s ay s ,
“
for wh at h e s ays here is tru e : No young m anc a n
b e ch e at e d ou t of a n honou rabl e c a re e r i n life u nl e s s
h e c h e a t hims e lf
.
”
 ANGLO A MER I CAN
-
T RAD E R E LAT I O N S
P ON the th reshold o f this great question we
en cou nter that eve rgreen subj ect of discu s
sion Free Trade versu s Protection There
, .

is only o ne kind of Free Tra de but there a re ,

two kinds of Protection First : the B ritish k ind

.
,

and then t h e America n va riety v e ry di ff erent indeed

,

in theory and in p ractice Protection in B ritain

.

simply means that the food of the people s hould b e

p ermanently ma de dearer t o the consu mer a n d ,

consequently that the valu e o f land should b e p er

m a ne nt ly and a rtificially enhanced N ow t h e Amer
.

ican idea of Protection is th at foreshadowed by

Mill It a dheres to Adam S mith s great doctrin e
'
’
.

t h at the end to be aimed at is the best supply of a n

a rticle at the lowest p rice under the free exch ang e

o f commodities Thu s h e keep s ever in view t h e

.

consu mer If w e h ave rea son to believe that t h e

.

resou rces of a cou ntry a re su ch a s only need deve l op

ment to fu rnish a better and cheaper supply of a n
a rticle than ha s ever been o r could ever be obta i ned
from other lands we believe with Ada m S mith th a t
,

it is s ome t im e s a dvisab l e t o pay d e are r for t h at

109
1 10 TH E E MPI RE O F B U S I NE S S

a rticle for a time if the end be the conquest o f a

,

greater market Ada m Smith was not a wil d dog

.

m a t i s t upon the subj ect of Free Trade : indeed h e ,

h as r ecorded his opinion that he might as well exp ect

U topia U pon earth a s the establishment of complet e
Free Trade even in B ritain ; and where changes were
,

to be made in fiscal laws he is clear always U pon this

,

point : that these mu st be slowly made and without

seriou s inj u ry to trade a s it exists Here are t wo
.

exa mples to illu strate the di ff erence between P rot e c

tion in E ngland and America Du ring the wa r for
.

the U nion the American people were hu rt and in

censed by hostility shown not by the B ritish people
, ,

but by the B ritish Government They determined.

to limit the u s e of B ritish p rodu cts a s mu ch a s possi

ble and especially to be independent in the supply o f
iron and steel the sinews of war S ince by E ngland s
, , ,
’

warlike attitude and the building of the Ala ba m a i t ,

wa s not a s certain a s thank the Fates $ it is now tha t

,

war between the two cou ntries could not come

thu s does wrong done n ations or people bring retri
bu t ion and every foe created is a dan g er ready t o
explode The A la ba ma gave U S thirty yea rs co n
.
’

t inu ou s p rotection and enables U S to inva de B ritain

,

succes sfully with ou r steel The Government a sked

.

manufactu rers h ow mu ch duty would be required to

indu ce them to enter the new bu sines s of making
1 12 TH E E MP I RE OF BU S I NE SS
these trials Ju st a s the U nited States abandoned
.

the p rotection of suga r s o I believe other nations wil l

,

come to the American idea of Protection that it is ,

folly t o p rotect forever th at the attempt o f a nation

,

t o benefit itself by a p ermanent tax upon any articl e

a s a ma tt er of p rotection is akin to the attempt of a

man to rais e himself by pulling up his su spenders .

Thorough believer a s I a m in the theory that some

times it i s wise for a young nation to indu ce cap ital
an d brains t o engage in the experiment of manu
f a c t u ring s omething new which is always attende d
,

with special risks I a m none the les s a believer in

,

Adam S mith s great doctrine that the end mu st be

’

the free exchange of commodities by all the n ations

of the world subj ect only t o the necessity of revenu e
, ,

but this matter of revenue is important .

Y ou remember Mr Ch amberlain wa s a t o ne time

.

carried away with the idea of a $ ollverein of th e

E mpire ; y ou were t o have free trade within its
bounds a s we h av e within the forty five States em
-

braced in the U nion a brilliant idea at fi rst sight ;

,

bu t after conferring with the Colonials at the Jubilee ,

Mr Chamberlain annou nced that he could not be

.

induced to touch the subj ect with tongs It is well

.

for a statesman t o ch ange his opinions when he fi nd s

t hem wrong The B ritish colonies t o day feel that
.
-

they h ave to raise most o f their revenue from taxing

 —
A N GL O AM ER I CAN T RAD E RE LAT I O N S 1 13

i mpor t s and therefore a $ ollverein did no t seem

,

p racticable an d there a re other obj ections Fo r .

instance the U nited States a dds to it s duties upon

,

s uga r an amount equal to the bounty p aid b y any

n ation upon it s growth — this is considered only

fair t o o u r own p roducers of s uga r .

It is p robable therefore th at for the p resent p rob

, , ,

ably fo r ou r own day the needs of revenue and the

,

imp ra cticability of collecting it from int e rna l t ax e s

will cau se the B ritish colonies to continu e high
duties U pon imports esp ecially su ch a s may be
,

clas sed as luxuries which mean the finest things of all

,

grades ; in other words things used not by the mass es

,

o f the po or bu t by the rich few

,
Su ch is certainly a .

popular policy and it is well k nown how potent

,

votes are to the politician T he s ame influences .

,

will I believe p revail in the U nited States I know

, ,
.

o f no mode o f raising revenue so easy o r o n e so s atis ,

factory to the voters It may be a su rp rise but I

.
,

believe it is true th at under ou r p resent ta riff policy

,

the masses of the American peop le p ractically es cape

taxation They u s e almost
.
— indeed I might s a y ,

wholly — home made articles : home tobacco wine

-

, ,

spirits and beer home made cotton and woollen

,
-

cloth s and silks serviceable but not s o fine as the

, ,

foreign and all thes e are to day su rp risingly cheap

,
-
.

I had a p roof of that recently A family in comfort .

1 14 TH E E M PI RE OF BU SI NE S S
able circumstances not rich went to E ngland each
, ,

yea r with their five children to visit p arents For .

merly the cost of their pas sage was s aved by the

,

pu rchas e of clothing and other articles The lady .

told u s s h e bought nothing o n th e other side now ,

s h e could clothe her children cheap er in N ew York .

There is much testimony tending to bea r this o u t .

We fi nd ou r servants wh o p as s with U S to and fro

buyi ng many a rticles in N ew York but p ray re ,

member not fine luxu r i ou s articles in which people

, ,

with ample mean s indulge U pon thes e about

.
,

which there need be no fea r ou r rich clas s will ever

forego we can by high duties raise a large amount
,

o f needed revenue without greatly restricting t h e

,

demand The r i ch clas ses of the R epublic h esitate

.

little about cost in their luxu ries and fine S ilks , ,

fine linen fine lace finest woollen fabrics fi ne

, , ,

wines or Scotch whiskey and B ritish beer are among

,

ou r luxuries .

Pray note this policy will no longer be pu rsue d

p rimarily for p rotection but for revenu e only E ven
,
.

if Protection as a policy were dis carded it is p robable ,

such a rticles would be taxed the masses would de

mand this It is a great mistake to think th at it is
.

the few and not the many wh o favou r taxing the

i mported articles u sed by the few rich It i s my .

opinion th at there can be no abolition of such dutie s

 TH E E M PI RE OF BU S I NE SS
~

1 16

th e foreign trade of n ations nothing comp arable;

,

for in stance to the growth of their domestic t rade

, ,

s ince the tendency is for nations to supply their chief

wants still I believe that the increase of the popu
, ,

lation and of wealth creating new wants and extend

,

ing th e field o f p res e nt wants mu st be such a s to ,

keep the exchange o f articles not only at it s p resent

volume but with a small ratio o f increase How
,
.

s mall foreign trade is at best as comp ared to internal

trade $ In the case o f the U nited States no t wit h ,

standing it exported manufactures last year ( 1 8 99)

to the extent of 80 millions sterling
this wa s not quite a p altry 5 per cent o f the total .

valu e o f its manufactu res above ,

millions .

There is little to fear a s to the wants of the world ;

B ritain s only concern is to remain and become the
’

country which can best supply them .

So much for Anglo American trade rel ations In

-
.

these days of bitter p artisanship and sectarianism ,

it seems almost es sential that there should arise a

body of intelligent men in each centre wh o know
neither ran k wealth p a rty nor creed in their de
, ,

liberation s as members of such body wh o s u bo r d i ,

nate all other is sues to those which concern the peace

and p rosperity o f their country ; which extends its
view to all peoples of all lands rightly regarding men
,

eve ywhere a s a brotherhood bound together and

r
,
ANGL O AM ER I CAN
-
T RAD E RE LAT I ONS 1 17

t herefore dependent in greater o r les s degree in a

common p rosperity ; and which sees in the peace and
p rosp erity of other n ation s results not antagonistic
but tributary to their own discarding these n arrow
,

conceptions of the ordina ry politician who sees in

wa r against other land s benefit to h is own and I , ,

fea r sees even more clearly popularity for himself

,
.

It is essentially tru e concerning commercial nations ,

C specially such a s Great B ritain long ha s been an d

,

mu st remain and su ch a s ou r newer R ep ublic is b e

,

coming which is fa st S haring with th e mother cou n

,

try the bu sines s o f th e world — that there i s no

measu re o f p rosp erity in any p art o f th e world in
which we do not share The whole world p ay s
.

tribute t o the n ations which supply in any cons ider

able degree its wants Hence the greate s t interest
.

o f B ritain and of America is p eace Hence also a

.
, ,

wise policy to su stain p eace a grave error of p olicy

,

t o distu rb it since we cannot destroy th e p rosp erit y

,

o f any n ation withou t imp airing ou r own Any seem

.

ing tempora ry gain from the inj u ry o f others is really

los s in the end This is p erhap s what may be called
.

a view for the futu re bu t step s toward its a ccep tance

,

a re being taken even in ou r own day Th e first step .

lies in exploding the idea th at trade follows the flag ;

t he fact is th at trade s cents the best ba rgain Trad e .

i s no resp ec t e r of flags ; loy al C anad a bu y s h e r U nio n

1 18 TH E E M P I RE OF BU SI NE S S
J acks in N ew York . She trades with the R epublic
t o three times the extent s h e trades with E ngland

and to a greater extent than with all other nations

combined In vain does a ny nation seek political
o r nominal control over foreign territory with a view

to p ermanent commercial advantage under free

trade o r equ al laws for all She secu res o r holds
.

only t he market which s h e can best supply To .

spend million s of money and thou sand s of lives for

the political control of new territory may be con
s id e re d neces sary sometimes for political reasons but ,

never for the requ irements o f trade . We shall have

gained o ne step forward then when it is freely recog
niz e d that political acquisition is not es sential for
acquiring the trade o f new territory Thi s truth
.

even America j u st now needs t o relea rn since she i s

,

trying to acqu ire political control o f the Philippines .

B ritish and American interests are s afegu arded when

equ al laws for all n ations are secu red Thu s the .

interests of both cou ntries in foreign trade have b e

come the same and S hould lead to a co mmon policy
the O pen D oor and Peace allowing all nations
, ,

all peoples to follow their own laws of develop ment

in p erfect freedom We have h ad many p roofs
.

recently of the familiar adage th at blood is thicker

than water very mu ch thicker a s I believe between
, , ,

t h e me mb e r s of ou r ownra ce .I nt h e evi d e nt draw ~

1 20 TH E E MPI RE O F BU S I NE S S
new sentiment of race p atriotism which seems dawn
ing U pon u s O u r own race especially is p rone to
$

the disease known a s land hunger Great B ritain .

ha s sp read the red spots o f sovereignty all over the

world ; we h ave stretched from the shores of t h e
Atlantic three thou sa nd miles to the Pacific from the ,

St Lawrence to t h e Gulf of Mexico and not content

.
, , ,

I fear following B ritain s perilou s example we a re

,
’
,

trying to annex foreign territory The truth is that

.

we h ave taken the Scriptu re much to heart which ,

tells U S that the meek shall inherit the earth and ,

which ou r hu mou rist Mark Twa i n s aid explained it

, ,

all ou r race is so meek ; at all events we seem t o

have lost no time in d is cove ringt h at the true and only

reliable p roof of the tru e inheritors wa s whether they
spoke E nglish .

This exp anding epoch mu st soon p a ss It is the .

law of develop ment that each count ry s h a ll e ve nt u a lly

’

ru le itself Canad a does s o Au stralia is about t o

.
,

a s su me sovereign sway both have their own fiscal

,

tari ff s against even E ngland s p roducts The seven

,
’
.

teen republics of South America only recently

governed by Sp ain a re now all independent and self
govern ing It is only du ring the periods o f de
.

ve IO pm e n t th at d i stant P owers can govern and hold

sway over a p eopl e bu t during this stage such may be

,

the benign e ffec t s of t he government tha t e ven a ft er

ANG L O AM ER ICAN
-
T RAD E RE LATI ONS 12 1

p ractical control h a s been taken over by t h e new

community the tie s between mother and child
may not only remain u nbroken but stronger th an ,

ever before Of this Canada and Au stralia give

.

a mple p roof B y the wise kind peaceful and con

.
, , ,

c ilia t o ry policy pu rsu ed a race p atriotis m h a s been

created within the E mpire which dep ends upon

moral force s t h e most endu ring of all not upon law
, ,

b u t U po n love The su cces s of B ritain s colonial ’

.

policy inrec ent times is one of the grandes t triumph s

ever achieved by a n ation perhap s the grandes t of all
, .

I t ha s been pos sib l e only by peaceful no t by wa rlike,

means a vic tory mu ch more renowned than any

,

conqu est b y for ce and mor e endu ring a s the futu re

\
,

is t o show .

The flag of gr e at B rita i n float s over Canada and

Au stralia ; by the desire o f their people they are p art
o f t h e s olid u nited whole
, and the qu estion now i s
,

wh e ther this federation of the race is t o stop within

the E mp ire o r fin a lly develop into a federal cou ncil
,

fo r the entire rac e governing international relation s

which involve the p eace of the world and leaving ,

home ru le t o each country in all other a ff airs even a s ,

t o the form o f government itself a crowned o r u n ,

c rowned republic I a m on record a s h aving p re

.

dic t ed years a go th at ou r E nglish spea k ing rac e -

wou ld one da y be agai nu ni t ed and it wa s not so very

,
 TH E
* E M PI RE OF BU SI NE S S
long since Here i s a fit field fo r ou r Chamber of
.
'

Commerce to cultivate for it lie s in the direction of

,

p eace and goodwill Fo r the p resent at lea st th ey

.

can exert their influence to stre ngthen the good1

'

feeling the drawing together of the t wo branche s

, .

I failed t o mention one o f the best perh ap s the best , ,

o f all the results of o u r temporary policy of P rot e c

tion It has brought to u s so many B ritish m anu f a c

.

t u re rs to establish indu stries and thu s d e ve lO p OU r re

'

sou rces the Cla rks and the C o at s e s of Pais ley the ,

Dolans of Yorks hire the Sanders on s of Sheffi eld and

, ,
‘
la st but certainly not least 2 great p rize from Hali
, ,

fax Who could expect u s not to extol ou r idea of

.

Protection if we captu re the Firths $ “be mu st not

line them u p for a king s ransom we need as ina ny o f
’
,

the Halifax qu ality a s can be had Whenever ou r .

tariffs suit all may take a sweeping revenge , come

,

over and enj oy a perfect free trade in the forty five -

n ation s of the U nion and be happy The R epublic .

calls them to come o ne come all I t taxes highest

'

.
,

the gems and p reciou s things imported but these ,

j ewels beyond price are admitted duty free .

It is not only fo r their value indu strially that they

should be valued but a s links binding the old a nd the
,

new lands the mother and child together Some

$

'
.
,

o f the y o unger members of the firm settle among u s ,

their children marry Americans o r when they visit ,

 B u sine ss

B i n i l g w d nd init p i m y m n
us e ss s a ar e or a s r ar ea
i ng t h wh l
s co ve rs ngef m n ff t Th
o e ra e o a
’
s e or s e
m p in ipl
.

sa e r f t h ift n g y
c es o n n i n nd
r ,
e er ,
co ce t r at o a
b a i ns win
r s u cce s s ina ny b ra nch of b u s i ne from
ss

m e d i ci n t e o d ry goo d s .
12 8 TH E E MPI RE OF B U SINE S S
bank a salaried offi cer of any kind in bu sines s
, or ,
$

Strictly speaking h e is no t ; fo r a man to be in

, ,

bu sines s mu st be at least p art owner of the enterprise

,

which he manages and to which he gives his atten

tion and chiefly dependent for his revenues not
,

U pon salary bu t upon its p rofits This V iew rules .

ou t the entire s alaried clas s N one o f thes e men .

is now a man in bu sines s bu t many of them have ,

been and most s u ccessful therein The bu siness

,
. .

man pu re and S i mple p lunges into and tosses U pon

the waves of hu man a ff airs without a life p reserver -

in the shape o f s alary ; he risks all .

C H O I CE OF A C A REER
There is no great fortune to come from s alary how ,

e ver high and the bu s i ness man pu rsues fortune

,
If .

h e b e wise he puts all his eggs in o ne basket and

'

n
,

t he watches that bas ket If he is a mercha n t in .

c o ff ee he attends to co ff ee ; if a merchant i n s uga r

, ,

he attends to sugar a nd lets coffee alone and only ,

m ixes them when he drinks his co ff ee with sugar in

it. If he min e coal and sell it he attend s t o the
bl ac k diamond s ; if h e ownand s ail ship s he att end s ,

t o s hipp i ng and he ceases t o insu re his own ship s

,

j u s t a s s oo n a s h e h a s su rplu s capital and ca n s tand

t h e los s of one without imperilling solvency ; if h e

m anu fact ure s t ee l h e s t ic k s to steel and severel y
, , ,
 BU S I NE S S 1 29

lets copp er alone ; if h e mine ironstone he sticks t o ,

th at and avoids every other kind o f mining silver

, ,

a nd gold m ining especially This is becau se

.

man can thoroughly master only o ne bu siness and ,

only an able man can do this I have never yet .

met the man wh o fully u n derstood two di ff erent

kinds of bu siness ; you cannot find him any sooner
than you can find a man who thinks in t wo langu ages
equ ally and does not invariably think only in one .

Subdivision specialization is the order of the d ay

, ,
.

E V ERY MAN T O HIS T RAD E OR HIS S P EC I AL T Y

I h ave b efore me many rep resentatives o f all

cl as ses of stu dents If I could look into you r hearts
.
,

I should find many differing ambition s ; some aiming

at distinction in each o f the p rofession s ; some wou ld
be lawyers some ministers some doctors some
, , ,

a rchitects some electricians some engineers some

, , ,

teachers and each s ets before him a s models

, , ,

honou red n ames th a t h ave reached th e highest ran k

in these professions The emb ryo lawyers b efore
.

me would rival Marshall and Story of the p a st o r ,

Carter and Choate of the p resent ; the p reacher

would be a B rooks o r a Van Dyke ; the physician a
J aneway o r a Garmany ; the editor would be a D ana ;
the architect a R ichardson and having reached
, ,

t he top of h i s darling p rofess i on h is a mb i t i on then

,
13 0 TH E E MPI RE O F BU SI NE S S
would be s atisfied At least so he thinks at p resent
.
, .

With these clas ses I h ave nothing whatever to do

directly t o day becau se all these are p rofessional
-

e nthu sia s t s N evertheless the qu alities essential

.
,

for su ccess in the p rofes sion s being in the main t h e

s ame which insu re su cces s in bu sines s mu ch tha t I ,

h ave to s ay applies equ ally to you all .

There remain among you those wh o would sai l

the u ncertain sea of bu sines s and devote themselves ,

to making mone y a great fortu ne so th at you shall

, ,

be millionaires I am su re that while this ma y be

.

chiefly in you r thoughts it is not all you seek in a ,

bu sines s career ; you feel that in it there is scope for

e xercise of great abilities of enterp rise energy judg, , ,

ment and all the best traits of hu man natu re and

, ,

a lso th a t men in bu sines s perform u seful service t o

s ociety .

I am to try to S hed a little light upon the p ath t o

s u cc e s s t o point o u t some o f the rocks and S hoals in
,
~

that treacherou s s e a and give a few hints a s to the

,

mode of s ailing you r ship o r rowing you r shell , ,

whether for instance the qu ic k o r t h e s low s trok e

, ,

is su rer t o winin th e long race .

TH E S TA RT I N LINE
Let us begin then at the beginning I s any
, ,
.

would -
be bu sines s man before me content in fore
13 2 TH E E MP I RE OF BU SI NE S S
father or still more dangerou s rich mother wh o
, , , ,

can an d will support him in idleness should he

, ,

p rove a failu re ; he has no life p reserver and therefore

-

mu st sink or swim B efore that young man leaves

.
'

college he is a marked man More than o ne avenu e

.

is open for h i m The door opens before he is ready

.

to knock ; he is waited for by the sagaciou s employer .

N ot the written certificate of his p rofessor for cer

t ifi c a t e s h ave generally to be read and are read ,

within the lines but a word o r t wo spoken t o the

-

bu sines s man wh o is always o n the lo okout for the

exceptio nal young gradu ate ha s secu red the young
man all th at a young man needs a start The .

most valu able acqu isition to his bu sines s which an

employer can obtain is an exceptional young man ;
there is no bargain s o fru itfu l for him a s this .

It is o f cou rse mu ch more difficult for only t h e

, ,

average student ; h e has generally to search for em

p loyment but finally he also gets a start
, .

OP E N I N G S T O S U CCE S S

It is the career of the exceptional stude n t which

ill us trates the p athway to succes s We need not .

'

render ou rselves anxiou s about him ; he is a ll right .

He ha s been thrown into the sea but he does not need ,

any life p reserver ; he does not need to be coddled ; h e

-
'

wi ll swi m ; h e was not b ornto be d rowne d , and you

 BU S I NE S S 13 3

see him brea st the Waves year after year u ntil h e i s

at the head o f a great bu sines s His sta rt o f cou rs e
.
, ,

is no t at the head he is at the foot ; fortunately s o

, ,

for that is the rea son hi s p rogres s ha s always been

Upwa rd If he had started high he would not h ave
.

had the ch ance to make a co n tinu al as cent It does .

ri ot matter mu ch how he sta rts for th e qu a lities in

,

him a re su ch a s to p rodu ce certain effects in any field

h e enters He goes forward upon a very s mall s alary
.

p erforming certain small u ses indeed mu ch smaller

, ,

th an he thinks himself cap able of p erforming but ,

these he performs thoroughly .

Some day in some wa y something h app en s th at

brings him to the notice o f his immediate sup erior .

H e obj ects to some plan p ropo sed and thinks it can ,

be bettered in some way or he volunteers to a s sist in

,

a dep artment other th an his own ; o r he stays o ne , ,

d hy later at his work th an u sual or goes some morn

, ,

ing sooner becau s e there wa s some p art o f the bu si

,

nes s that h ad not been entirely settled the night

before o r there wa s something to start next morning
,

that he wa s a fraid might not be ready o r j u st right ,

“
and h e j u st goes down ea rly t o b e su re ” His em .

ployer h a s been somewh at anxiou s upon the s am e

point and he t oo goes down early that morn ing an d
, , ,

find s his s ala ried young man showing th at h e doe s

not work for salary alone ; it is not solely an aff air of
13 4 THE E MPI RE OF BU S I NE SS

hire and s alary with him ; he is not that kind of a

young man ; he i s working for the su cces s of t h e
bu sines s O r it may be that some day his employer
.

p roposes a certain mode of action in regard to a c u s

t o m e r s account ; p erhap s the young man ha s sta rted
’

in the o fl i c e and ha s been as ked to look after the

,

credits a most important p art His employers wish

,
.

to close this credit which perhap s would embarra s s

, , ,

th e cu stomer This you ng man known to the c u s

.
,

tomer h as had to V isit his place occa sionally in the

,

cou rs e o f bu sines s collecting his accou nts o r trying

,

to collect them and the young man modestly s ays

,

he is a splendid fellow bou nd to succeed does hi s , ,

bu sines s U pon fair and wise methods and only ,

needs a little temporary indu lgence to come ou t all

right .

Th e employer ha s faith in the you ng man s j udg ’

ment and ability thinks it a rather strong s u gge s t iOn

,
“
for a clerk to ma ke but s ays to him Y o u look ou t
,

fo r this matter and s e e th at we do not lose ; but o f

, ,

cou rse we do not wish to inj u re one o f ou r cu stomers ;

,

if we can help him without ris k we wish to do it ” .

The young man takes the matter in hand and results ,

p rove he wa s qu ite right ; the cu stomer becomes one

o f the very best of all their cu stomers and o n e that it ,

would require a great deal to take away from the firm .

O r p erhap s the bright young man may h ave noted

, ,
13 6 TH E E MPI RE O F BU SI NE S S
the great manufactu rin gconcern s o fortunate a s to
secu re his services he ha s to do with some humbl e
branch o f the work but he discovers that there are a
,

few boilers which a re not qu ite s afe and that the,

engines o r motors are built upon false mech anical

p rinciples and are very wa stefu l of fuel and that
, ,

one of the engines will soon give trouble ; there is a

fou ndation u nder it upon which he finds that the

contractor h as not done honest work ; o r dropping
into the works o ne night j u st to s e e that all is going
well perhap s he discovers th at a man tru sted by the
,

firm has fallen into bad habits and is not fit for duty
, ,

or perhap s is not on duty and that an accident might

,

thu s h appen He feels it to be his duty to take

.

a ction here and s afeguard the busines s from the dan

ger of an accident He d raws the plans which S how
.

some defects in the machinery lays them before ,

his employers with suggestion s h ow to cu re these ,

made upon the latest scientific pr i nC I ple s that he

had been taught in Sibley The employer of
.
,

cou rse i s very averse to spend money and angry

, ,
’

to learn th at his machinery is not wh at it S hould

be B ut although h is anger Cxplodes and envelop s
.

the young man for a moment he is not shooting

,

at him ; when the debr i s clears off he s its down

and learns from the youn gman what a few thou
s and dollars now might save and the r esult i s that
,
 BU SI NE SS 13 7

he te ll s t h e S i bl e y boy h e wi s hes him t o t a k e U p

this subj ec t a nd a t t e nd t o it and b e s u r e t o make
,

all right .

Already tha t young man s fortune is almost a s ’

good a s made He could not hide his light under a

.

bushel if he tried and the coming bu sines s man i s

,

not exces sively liable t o that s in and does not want ,

t o ; he is bu sines s all over There is no affectat i on o r

.

false modesty about him He knows h is bu sines s .

,

and he feel s fully consciou s and p rou d of the fact

that he knows it and th at is o ne of the many a d
,

vantages S ibley gives him and he is determined th at

,

his emp loyer should not at least upon th at point

, ,

k now les s than h e doe s Y ou mu st never fail to

.

enlighten you r employer Y ou cannot keep su ch a

.

y oung man a s that bac k ; and this let me tell you no ,

employer wishes t o k eep him back There is only .

on e p erson a s happy a t fi nding this young man a s the

young man i s in fi nding himself and th at is his em ,

p loyer He is wort h a million mor e o r less but of

. .
,

cou rse it would not b e goo d fo r him to ge t it whil e

, ,

s o young .

He h a s now made two step s upwa rd First h e .

,

h a s got a start and ,

secondly he h as s atisfied
, ,

his employer th at he renders exceptional s ervic e ,

“
a d ecisive step ; a s the French s ay he h a s arrived ”
, ,

an d h e is t h e r e t o s t ay H is foo t is up on t h e lad
.
13 8 TH E E MPI RE OF BU SI NE S S
der ; how high he climb s is his own a ff air He is .

among the few within the ve ry threshold of t h e

whole bu siness .

There is a good deal to be done after this however , .

This young man has zeal and ability a nd he h a s ,

shown that he ha s also that indispensable quality

j dgment ; and he ha s shown another indispensable
u

qu ality t hat h is heart is in the bu siness ; that no

oth e r cau s e takes him from it ; that he pu shes a side
t h e ve r y seductive temp tat ion s which surround
young men and concentrates his attention his time
, , ,

his efforts upon the p erformance of his duties to his

,

employer All other studies occup ation s and all

.
, ,

amu sements are subordinate to the bu sines s which ,

holds p aramount sway His salary of cou rse

.
, ,

increases If h e ha s happened to engage with an

.

employer wh o does not fully app reciate such services

a s he h as rendered and is ready to render other
, ,

employers have not failed t o note that here is that

rare article the exceptional young man in the service
, ,

of their rival and it is possible that ou r young hero

,

may hav e to change employers It does not often .

h app en bu t it does sometimes that a young man

, ,

h a s to do s o As a rule the employer is only t oo

.
,

thankfu l that such a young man h a s come t o him ,

and he makes it his interest to remain Confidence

.

i s a matt e r of s l ow growth how e ver and it is a

, ,
140 TH E E M PI RE O F BU S I NE S S
the narrow p ath even t o serve him would only forfeit
his confidence I S he intelligent $ I s he cap able o f
.

forming a correct j udgment based upon knowledge , ,

U pon distant and far reaching issu es $ Young men

-

yes and o ld men also sometimes marry i n haste

, , ,

which is very foolish in both clas ses B ut there i s .

this t o be s aid for the p artnership — it is rarely

entered U pon in a hu rry It is not one or two qu ali
.

ties which insu re it but a n all round c h a ra ct e r d e s ir a

,
-

ble in many respects highly obj ectionable i n none

, ,

and with special ability in one or two .

W e often hear in ou r day that it is impossible fo r

young men to become owners becau se bu sines s is ,

condu cted upon s o great a s cale that the cap ital

”
necessary reaches millions and therefore the y ou ng
, , ,

man is doomed to a s alaried life N ow there i s .

something in th at V iew only s o far a s the great

corporation s are concerned becau se an interest in ,

these is only attainable by capital ; you can bu y so

many sh ares for s o many dollars and a s the cla s s of ,

young men I addres s a re not willing to remain forever

s alaried men bu t are determined sooner o r later to
,

become bu sines s men upon their o wn accou nt a s ,

ma sters I do not believe th at employment in a great

,

corporation is a s favou rable for them a s with p rivate

owners becau se while a young man can look fo rward
, ,

t o a lar ge salar y in t h e i r s e rv i ce , th at is all t o which

'
 BU S I NE S S 14 1

he can a spire E ven th e p residents of these c or

.

p o r a t io ns being only
,
s ala ried men a re no t t o b e ,

cla ssed a s strictly bu sines s men at all How then .

, ,

can a young man under them be anything but a

s alaried man h is life long $

W H ERE T O L OO K FO R O P P O RT U N I T I E S

Many a bu sines s which ha s long been su cces sful a s

a p artnership is put into a j oint stock concern and ,

the sh ares a re offered in the ma rket and p rofessional ,

men guileles sly innocent of bu sines s and som e

, , ,

t imes women o f a S p eculative tu rn and I a m sorry

, , ,

t o s ay many times clerg y men and a rtist s a re

, , ,

deluded into pu rchasing The public buys the .

bu siness bu t they should h ave bought t h e man o r

,

m e nwh o made the bu sines s .

Y ou remember the Travers story $ A friend called

T rav e rs in t o s e e a dog th at he wished to bu y t o clea r
his conservatory o f rats and when the d og fancier,
-

u ndertoo k to S how him how this dog demolish e d

these pests o ne great big o ld rat cha sed the d og
, ,
.

Tr a ve r s s friend said to him

’

“
What would you do $ ”
“
Tr avers replied : B b b bu y the rat -
” - -
.

The public often buys the wrong thing .

.

It would be an excellent stu dy for you t o re ad

frequ ently the stock lists of miscellan e ou s comp a ni e s
-
.
14 2 TH E E MP I RE OF BU SI NE S S
Y OU will find some of the newspapers g i ve the lists ,

then note the p ar valu e of the shares and the p rice at

which you may pu rchase them It may be said .

that this p ar value is U pon fictitiou s cap ital That .

is so only in some instances ; in manufactu ring com

p ani c s especially I think the reverse is the r u le The .

cap ital does not fully rep resent the cost of the p rop
i
e rt e s .

B ut there are many corporation s which are no t

corporation s many instances of p artnership in which
,

th e corporate form h as been adopted and ye t the ,

bu sines s continues sub stantially a s a p artnership ,

and comp aring such institution s with the grea t

corporations whose ownership is here there and , ,

everyw here we find a most notable di ff erence Take

,
.
,

for instance the great steamship lines o f the world

,
.

Most of these a s those of you wh o read well know

, ,

fail to make retu rn s to their sha reholders The .

s h ares of some o f the greatest comp anies h ave been

selling at o ne —half and sometimes one third their -

cost These are corporations pu re and simple but

.
, ,

if we look at other lines engaged U pon the s ame

oceans which a re managed by their owners and in
,

which generally o ne great bu sines s man is deeply

, ,

interested an d at the head we find large dividend s

, ,

each yea r and amounts placed to the reserve fund .

It is the di ff erence between individualism and co m

1 44 TH E E M P I RE OF BU SI N ESS

banker whose bu sines s is to take care of and invest

,

capital .

There is no line of bu siness i nwhich su cces s i s not

attainable .

A S ECRE T O F S U CCE S S

It is a simple matter o f honest work ab ility and , ,

concentration There is no qu estion about there

.

b eing room at the top fo r exceptional men in any

p rofession These h ave not to seek p atronage ; the
.

question is rather how can their services be secu red $

, ,

and a s with every p rofession s o in every line o f

,

bu sines s there i s plenty Of room at the top You r

, .

p roblem is how t o get there The answer issimp le :

.

condu ct your bu sines s with j u st a little more ability

than the average man in you r line If you are only .

above the average you r su cces s is secu red and the ,

degree of su cces s is in ratio to the grea ter degree o f

ability and attention which you give above the
average There a re always a few i n bu sines s wh o
.

stand near the top bu t there are always an infinitely

,

greater nu mber at and near the bottom And should .

y o u fail to a scend the fault is not

,
in you r stars bu t ,

in you rselves Those who fail may s a y that this o r

.

th at man h ad great advantages the fates were ,

p ropitiou s the condition s favou rable N ow there

,
.
,

is very little in this ; o ne m a nlands in the middle of a

stream which he tries to j ump a nd is swept a w ,
ay ,
 BUSI NE SS 14 5

and anoth er tr i es the sam e fe a t and l a nd s upon t h e

,

other side .

E xamine these t wo men .

Y ou will find that the o ne wh o failed lac k ed j udg

ment ; h e had not calculated the mean s t o the end ;
wa s a foolish fellow ; had not trained h imself ; could
not j ump ; he took the ch ances He was like the .

young lady wh o wa s a sked if s h e could p lay t h e

“
violin ; sh e s aid s h e did not k now she had never ,

tried. Now the other man wh o j u mp ed the strea m

,

had carefully trained himself ; h e knew abou t h ow

“
fa r he could j ump and there was o ne th ing dead
'

,
”
su re with him : he knew h e could a t any rate j ump , ,

far enough to land at a point from which he could

wade a shore and try again He had shown j udgment
,
. .

Prestige is a great matter my friends A young

, .

man wh o h as the record of doing wh at h e sets ou t t o

d o will fi nd yea r after y ear his fi eld o f op erat i o ns
exte nded and the tas ks committed t o him greater
,

a nd greater O n the o t h e f h and th e man wh o h a s

.
,

t o admit failu re and co mes t o friends trying t o ge t

a s sistance in order to ma k e a second s t art is in a very

b ad position indeed , .

C O LL E G E G RAD UATE S I N B U S I NE S S

Th egradu ates of Ou r colleges and univers i t i es in

former years gr adu ated whil e y et in their t e e n s .
146 TH E E M P I RE OF B U S I NE S S

We have changed this and gradu ates are older a s a

, ,

rule when they enter upon life s struggle but they

,
’
,

are taught much more U nles s the young universit y

.

man employs h is t ime to the very best advantage in

ac i ri ng knowledge upon the pu rsu it which h e i s t o

m a k e the chief bu sines s o f his life he will enter ,

b u s i ne s s at a disadvantage with younger men wh o

e nte r in their teens although lacking in u niversity
,

ed u cation This goes without s aying N ow the

. .
,

qu estion is : Will the gradu ate wh o h a s dwelt in the

region of theory overtake the man wh o h as been fo r
a year or t wo in a dvance of him engaged in the hard
,

and stern edu cative field of p ractice $

That it is poss ible fo r the gradu ate to do so also

goes without s aying and that he S hould in after life
,

pos ses s views broader th an the ordinary b u sines s

man deprived of u n i vers i ty edu cation is also cer
, ,

tain and of cou rse the race in life is to those whos e

, , ,

record is best at the end ; the beg i nn i ng i s forgotten

and is of no moment B ut if the grad uate is ever t o
.
.

overta k e the first starter in the race it mu st be by ,

possessing stronger s taying powers ; his superior

-

knowledge leading t o sou nder j udgment mu st be

depended upon t o win t he race at the finish A few .

disadvantages he mu st s trenuou sl y gu ard against :

—
the lack o f severe self d iscipline of strenuou s con
,

c entration and intense ambition which u su all y

, ,
1
4 8 THE E MPI RE O F BU SI NE S S
a nd thu s performs a u seful fu nction His services .

a re neces sary and benefit the commun i ty ; besides ,

h e labou rs s teadily in developing the resou rces of

t h e cou ntry and thu s contributes t o the advance
,

ment of the race This is genu ine coin S pe c u

. .

lation o n the contrary is a p ara site fastened upon

, ,

th e labou r o f bu sines s men It creates nothing .

and supplies no want When the speculator wins .

he t akes money Wi thout rendering service or giv ,

ing value therefore and when he loses his fellow

, ,

speculator takes the money from him It is a pu re .

gambling operation between them degrading t o ,

both Y ou can never be a n honest man o f bu sines s

.

and a speculator The modes and aims of th e o ne

.

car e er are fatal to th e other N o bu sines s man can .

honestly speculate for thos e wh o tru st him have a

,

right to expect strict adherence to bu sines s methods .

The creditor takes the u su al risks of bu siness but ,

not those o f speculation The genu ine and the .

counterfeit h ave nothing in common .

Th at 9 5 p er cent fail of those wh o start in bu si

.

nes s upon their o wn account seems incredible and ,

yet su ch a re said to be the statistics upon the s u b

j e c t Although
. it is s aid that figu res will s a y any
thing still it is a fact that the p roportion is very
,
‘

great D o not think that I wish to discou rage you

.

a gainst at t emp t ing to be you r own masters and

 B U S I NE S S 149

h aving a bu sines s of you r own; very fa r from it .

B esides the coming bu sines s man is not t o be dis

,

cou ra ge d by anything that anybody can s ay He .

i s a t ru e knight who s ays with Fit z j a m e s

I f t h e p at h d ange rou s k nown
be ,

Th e d ng e s e l f is l u re a l one
a r .

The young man wh o is de t ermined to b e a bu s i

ness man will not b e thwarted neither will he be di ,

verted into any other ch annel and he is go i ng t o ,

“
start and have a trial ; he will make a spoon or
S poil a horn
” trying to make it He mu st go ahea d .

and fi nd it ou t Time enough to confine you rself

.

to a life long bondage a s mere receivers o f a s alary

-

after you have tried bu siness and really discovered ,

whether o r no you are o ne o f the gifted wh o pos ses s

all the neces s ary qu alities .

I have tried to s ketch the p ath of th e exceptional .

gradu ate from s alary to p artnership It i s no fancy .

s ketch ; there is not a day p as ses without ch anges in

many firms which ra ise young men to p artnership ,

and in every single city no fi rs t o f Janu ary p a sse s

without su ch p romotion s B u sines s requires fres h
.

y oung blood for its existence If any of you a re d is .

c ou r a ge d U pon this point let me give you t wo

,

stories within my ownex per i e nce , wh i c h s h ou ld ce r

t a inly ch e e r you .
15 9 THE E MP I RE OF BU SI NE SS

A S K ETC H F RO M L I F E
Th e r e is a large manufactu rer the lar gest in t h e
,

world in his line I k now him well a S plendid man

.
,

wh o illu strates the bu sines s career at its be s t No w .

like all sensible bu sines s men as he grew in years he

,

realized that fresh blood mu st be introduced into his

bu sines s ; th at while it wa s comp aratively easy fo r
him to manage the exten sive bu sines s at p resent it ,

wa s wise to p rovide for its continu ance in able hand s

after he had ret i red R ich men seldom h ave sons
.

wh o inherit a ta ste fo r bu sine s s I am not con .

cerned to s a y whether this is well o r otherwise .

Looking at the hu man race a s a whole I believe i t ,

i s fo r good
.

If rich men s sons had poor men s necessities an d

’ ’
,

h ence their ambitiou s abilities there would be les s

,

ch ance fo r the stu dents of colleges than there is It .

wa s not to any member o f his family that this man

looked for the new young blood A young man in .

the service o f a corporation had attra cted his atten

tion in the management of certain bu sines s matters
connected with the firm The young man had to
.

call upon this gentleman frequently The wise man .

did not move ha stily in the matter About his .

a bility h e wa s s oon satisfied b u t that covered only

,

on e
p o i n t of man y .W h at w e re t h e
youn g man s
’
152 TH E E MPI RE OF BU SI NE S S
Th e bu sines s went on B efore the t wo years ex .

p i re d the employer w a s satisfied that he h ad found

that exceedingly ra re thing a young bu sines s man , .

What a nu mber of qu alities this embraces including ,

j udgment for without j udgment a bu sines s man

,

amounts to nothing Th e employer stated to the .

young m a nthat he wa s delighted Wi th him p leased ,

Wi th his s erv i ces and exp res sed his j oy at h aving

,

found him He had now arranged to interest him in

.

the firm B ut to his amazement the young man re

.

plied
“
Than k s t han k s bu t it is impos sible for me t o a c
, ,

c e pt f
’

“
Wh a t is the m a t ter $ Y ou suit me ; do I not su it
ou $
”
y
“
E xcu se me s ir bu t for reason s which I cannot
, ,

explain I am to leave you r service in s ix months

, ,

when my t wo years a re u p and I intended t o give you ,

notice of t his that you might fi ll my place ” .

,
“
Where a re you going $ ”
I am going abroad ” .

Have you mad e an y e ngage men t $ ”

N o sir ” .
,

D o you not k now where you are going $

”
N o s ir ” .
,

Nor wh a t you a re t o do $”
No, s ir
” .
 BU S I NE S S 153

,
Sir I h ave treated you well and I do think I am
,

entitled t o know the real reason I thin k it is you r .

”
duty to tell me .

The reason wa s dragged ou t of the young man .

You h ave been too good to me I would give any .

thing to be able to remain with you Y ou even .

invited me to you r hou se ; you h ave been ab sent trav

elling ; you as ked me to call often to take you r wife
and daughter to such entertainments a s they wished
to attend and I cannot stand it any longer ” .
,

Well the million aire of cou rse dis covered wh at

, , ,

all of you h ave su sp ected j u st wh at you wou ld have

,

done u nder the circu mstances ; he had fallen in love

with the d aughter N ow in this country th at wou ld
.

no t h ave been considered mu ch o f a n indiscretion ,

and I do not a dvise any o f you to fig ht mu ch again st

it If you really love you should overlook th e ob
.
,

j e c t io n th at it is you r employer s d aughter wh

’
o ha s
conqu ered and that you may h a ve to bear the bu r
,

den o f riches ; but in the land o f which I S p ea k it

wou ld have been considered dishonou rable fo r a
young clerk to make love t o any young lady withou t
the p arents p ermis sion
’
.

“
Have you spoken to my daughter $ ” wa s th e
q uestion The young man s c a rce lyd e igne d t o reply
'

t o th at
.

“
Of cou rs e not ” .
 THE E MPI RE OF BU S I NE S S
N ever said a word o r led her t o su spect in an y
,

way $ ”
“
O f cou rse no t ” .

”
Well he said I do not see wh yyou shou ld not ;
, ,

you a re the very kind of s on inlaw I want if you - -

can win my daughter ” .

Very strange bu t somehow o r other the young

,

lady did not di ff er from p ap a ; he wa s the kind o f

husb and S h e wanted Now that young m a is a
. n
—
happy bu sines s man t o d ay .

R OMAN CE I N B US I NESS

I have anoth e r story which h appened in another

cou ntry B oth the fathers in law told me these
.
- -

storie s themselves and p rou d men they a re and

, ,

p rou d a m I of their friendship Y o u s e e bu siness i s .

not all this hard p rosaic life that it is pictu red It .

bears roman ce and sentiment in it and the greater ,

the bu siness the more su cces sful the more u seful

, , ,

in my exp erience there i s fou nd more romance

,

and imagination The highest triumph s even in

bu sines s fl
.

ow from romance sent iment imagina , ,

tion p articularly in the bu sines s of a world wide

,
-

firm .

Th e o ther s t ory is s o S imilar t o th e first th at s u c

c e s s fu l t elling is impos sible Y ou will all j u mp t o
.

t h e conclu sion , a nd t h e d e tails in thes e cases are

156 TH E E M P I RE OF B U SI NE S S

wo n the confidence and captu red the j udgmen t and

admiration of their emp loyers bu sines s men
fi rs t and then fell in love with t h e daughters
, Y ou .

will be p erfectly safe if you take matters in the s ame

order of p recedence .

V AL U E OF A B US INE SS C A REER
Pe rhap s I may be permitted without going too
, ,

fa r beyond the scope of my text to make a few r e

.

marks u po n t h e influence of a bu sines s career U pon

1

men a s compa red with other pu rsuits

, .

First then I have learned that the artistic career

, ,

i s most n a rrowing and p rodu ces su ch petty j ealou s

,

ies unbounded vanities and sp itefulnes s a s to fu r

, ,

nish me with a great contra st to that which I hav e

fou nd in men of aff airs Mu sic p ainting sculptu re
.
, , ,

on e would think S hould p rove most powerfu l in their

,

b e ne fic e nt e ffects upon those wh o labou r w ith them

,

a s their daily vocation E xperience however is .

, ,

against this Perhap s becau se the work o r the

.
, ,

p erformance of artis t s i s so highly personal s o

, ,

clearly seen being brought directly before th e public

, ,

that petty p as sion s are stimulated ; however tha t

may be I b e lie ve it will not be controverted that the
,
‘

a rtistic mind becomes p rej u diced and narrow B ut .

,

u nderstand I spea k only of clas ses and o f the general

,

e ff ect ; ev e rywhere We fi nd exception s which render

 BU S I NE SS 1 57

t he average still m ore unsatisfac t ory In regard to .

what are called the learned p rofes sions we not ic e t h e ,

'

effect p rodu ced by specialization in a very marked

degree .

In the ministerial cla s s this i s not so marked in ou r

day becau se leaders in th at great fu nction p ermit
,

themselves a wider range of subj ects than e ve r be i

fore and a re dealing les s with creed s a nd formu la s

,

and more and more with the p ractical evils a nd S hort

comings of hu man life in its va riou s pha ses This .

n atu rally b roaden s the mind It ha s been held th at

.

t he legal p rofes sion mu st tend to ma ke clea r but n a r ,

row intellects and it is pointed out th at great law

, ,

e rs h ave seldom a risen to commanding position and

y
p ower over their fellows . This does not mean th at
men wh o study law become u ns atisfa ctory legislators
o r statesmen and rulers . If it did ou r cou ntry o f
, ,

all others shou ld be in a b ad way becau se we a re

, ,

governed by lawyers B ut th e most famou s Amer

.

ic a ns wh o h ave been great men we r e no t great law

’

r s ; th at is they have seldo mattained the fore most

y e ,

rank in the p rofes sion b u t h ave availed themselve s

,

o f the inestimable advantage which the study of law

confer s upon a statesman and develop ed beyond

,

the bou nds o f the p rofession We are re m inded th at

.

the great lawyer and the great j udge mu st deal with

r u le s a nd p r e ce d e n t s a l r e a d y e s t a b l ish e d ; t h e l a w y e r
158 THE E MP I RE O F BU S I NE S S
follows p recedent s but , th e r uler o f men ma k e s
p recedents
M ERC H ANT S A ND P RO F E S S I O NAL M EN

The tendency of all p rofessions it wou ld seem , ,

mu st b e t o make wh at is known a s the p rofes siona l

mind clear b u t n arrow Now what may be claimed
, .

f or bu sines s a s a career is that the man in bu sines s is

c alled upon t o deal with a n ever changing va riety o f -

question s He mu st have a n all rou nd ju dgment

.
-

based upon knowledge of many subj ects It is not .

su ffi cient for the great merchant and bu sines s man

o f ou r day t hat he know his country well it s physical ,

conditio ns its resou rces statistics C l ops wate rways

, , ,
'

, ,

its fina nces in S hort all condition s which affect not

, ,

only the p re s ent bu t which give him data U pon which

,

h e can p redict with some degree of certainty the

, ,

futu r e.

Th e m erchant whose operations extend to variou s

c ou ntries mu st also know these countries and also ,

t he chief things pertaining t o them His view mu st .

be world wide ; nothing can h appen of moment which

-

—
had not its bearing upon his action political c o m
plications at Constantinople ; the appearance of the
cholera in the E ast ; monsoon in India ; the supply o f
gold a t Cr i pp l e Cree k ; the appearance of the Colorado
b e et l e s or th e fall of a mi ni st ry ; t h e d an ge r of war;
,
1 60 TH E E M P I RE O F BU S I NE S S
careers if entered U pon in the wrong spirit To make .

money i s no doubt the p rimary con sideration with

most young men who enter it I think if you will
.

look into you r hearts you will find this to be true .

B ut while this may be the first it should not be the

,

last consideration .

There is the great u s e which a man ca n p erform in

developing the resou rces of his country ; in fu rnishing
employment to thou sands ; in developing invention s
W hich prove of great benefit to the race and help it
,

forward The s u c e s s fu l man o f a ffairs s oon rises

.

above the mere desire t o make mo ney a s the chief end

o f h is labours ; that is supersed e d by thoughts o f

the u ses he p erforms in the line which I have j u st

mentioned The merchant soon find s his stronges t
.

feeling to be that of p ride in the extent o f his inter

n ational op erations ; in his ship s s ailing every s e a .

The manufactu rer finds in his emp loyees and in his ,

works in machinery in imp rovements in the p er

, , ,

f e c t ion of his factories and methods his chief interes t

and reward The p rofitable retu rn they make i s
.

chiefly acceptable not becau se this is mere money

but becau se it denotes su cces s .

There is a romantic a s well as p rosaic s ide t o bu si

ness The young man wh o begin s in a fi nancial firm
.

and deals with capital invested in a hundred di ff erent

—
ways inbonds upon ou r rai l way sys t e ms in money ,
 BU S I NE SS 16 1

lent to the merch ant and to the manufactu rer to e n

—
able them to work their wonders soon finds roman ce
in bu sines s and u n limited room for the imagination ,

He can fu rnish credit world wide in its range His -

.

S imple le t t e r will carry the traveller to the farthest

t

p art of the earth He may even be o f service to h is

.

cou ntry in a crisis a s R ichard Morris the great mer

, ,

chant in Philadelphia w a s to General Washington in

,

the R evolutionary cau se or a s in ou r own day ou r

, , ,

g reat bankers h ave been in p roviding gold t o o u r

Government at s everal crises to avert calamity .

TH E V AN I S H E D P RE J U D I CE A GA I N S T T RAD E
If th e young man does no t find romance in his
bu siness it is not the fau l t of the bu sines s but the
, ,

fault of the young man Consider the wonders the

.
,

mysteries connected with th e recent develop ments i n

—
th at most sp iritu al o f all agents electricity with
its unknown and perhap s even u nguessed of powers
, , ,
.

He mu st b e a dull and p rosaic you ng man wh o being ,

connected with electricity in any o f its forms is not ,

lifted from hu mdru m bu s ines s to the region o f the

mysteriou s B u sines s is not all dollars ; these are
.
[

—
but the shell the kernel lies within and is to be e n
j oyed l ater a s the higher faculties of the bu sines s
,

man so con stantly calle d into p lay develop and ma

, ,

tu r e There wa s in the reign o f militarism and b ar

.
162 TH E E MP I RE O F BU SI NE SS
barou s force mu ch contemp t for the man engaged in
trade H ow completely h a s all this changed $ B u t
.
,

indeed the feeling wa s of recent origin fo r if we look

, ,

fu rther back we find the oldes t families in th e world

p rou d of nothing but the p art they played in bu sines s .

Th e wools ack and the galley still flou rish in their

— —
coat of arms O ne of the most perhap s the most
-
.

influ ential sta t esman in E ngland t o day is t h e Du k e -

of Devon shire becau se he ha s the confidenc e of both

,

p arties He is the p resident of the B arrow Steel

.

Comp an y The members of the p resent Conserva

.

tive cabine t were fou nd to hold s ixty fou r director -

ship s in variou s trading manufactu ring and mining

, ,

comp anies In B ritain t o—

. day not h ow t o keep ou t
o f trade b u t h ow t o get in it is the qu estion
,
Th e
, .

President of the Fr e nch R epublic a man with a ma r ,

ve llou s career h a s been a bu sines s man all his da y s

,
.

The o ld feeling of aversion h a s entirely gone .

Y ou remember th at the late E mperor of Germany

wished to make his friend th e steel manufactu rer , ,

Krupp a P rince of the empire bu t th at bu sines s man

, ,

wa s t oo p rou d o f his works and the s o nof his father

, ,

and begged the E mperor t o e x cu se him from degrad

ing the ran k he a t p re s en t held a s King of S t eel .

Herr Krupp s s on wh o h a s now su cceeded t o h is

’
,

father s th rone I doubt not , wou ld ma k e t h e s am e

’
,

r epl y t o d ay A t pre se nt h e is a monarch e q u a l t o

-
.
164 TH E E MP I RE O F BU S I NE SS

scientific development and p ride o f su ccess in these

,

important matters ; s o that the dividend which the

bu sines s man se e ks and receives to day is not alone -

in dollars He receives with t h e d o lla r s om e t h ing

. .
'

better a dividend in the S hape of s atisfaction in

,

being instrumental in carrying forwa rd to higher

stages o f development the bu s i nes s which he mak e s
his life work -
.

RE WA RD S OF A BU SINES S CA REER
I can confidently recommend t o you the bu sines s
career a s o ne in which there is abundant room for the
exercise of man s highest power and o f every good
’
,

qu ality in human n atu re I b e lie ve t h e career of the

.
’

great merch ant o r banker o r captain of indu stry to

, , ,

be favou rable to the development o f the powers o f the

mind and to the ripening o f the j udgment upon a
,

wide range o f general subj ects ; t o freedom from pre j

U di e c and the keep i ng of an O pen mind And I d o
,
.

know that p ermanent su cces s is not obtainable ex

cept by fair and honou rable dealing by ir re proa ch ,

able habits and correct living by the display of goo d

,

sense and ra re j udgment in all the relation s o f human

life for credit and confidence fly from the bu sines s
,

m a n foolish in word and deed o r irregular in habits , ,

o r even su sp ected o f sh arp p ractice There may be .

roo m for a fooli s h m a n in every p rofess ion — foo l i sh

 B U S I NE S S 16 5

a s a child beyond the range of his S pecialty and yet ,

—
su cces sfu l in that but no man ever s aw a foolish
bu sines s man su ccessfu l If without sound all.
,

rou nd ju dgment h e mu st fail

, .

The bu sines s career is thu s a stern school o f all t h e

virtu es and there is o ne sup reme rewa rd which it
,

often yields which no other ca reer can p romise : I

point t o noble b enefaction s which it renders possible .

It is to bu sines s men following bu s ines s careers th at

w e chiefly owe ou r u niversities colleges libra ries an d
, , ,

edu cation al institutions a s witnes s Girard Lehigh

, , ,

Chicago Ha r vard Yale Cornell and many other s

, , , ,
.

What monu ment can a man leave behind him p ro

d u c t ive o f s o mu ch goo d and s o certain to h and his
,

name down t o su cceeding generations hallowed with ,

the bles sings o f thou s ands in each decade who h ave

within its walls received th at most p reciou s pos ses
s ion a sound and liberal edu cation $
,
These a re the
works of men wh o recognized that su rplu s wealth wa s
a s acred tru st to be administered du ring the life o f
,

its pos sessor for the highest good of his fellows .

If then some bu sines s men may fall subj ect to the

, ,

reproach o f grasp ing w e can j u stly claim for them a s

,

a cla s s what honest Thoma s Cromwell cla imed fo r

“
the great cardinal and s ay: ,
If they h ave a greed
o f getting yet in bestowing they a re most p rincely
, ,
”
a s witnes s these seats o f learning .
 Th e T h re e L e gge d Stoo l -

S C H E M E O F TH E W O R L D S W O R K Th t i pl e ll i
’
. e r a
an ce f l b u
o a p i t l nd b u i n s b i l i t y a e
o r, ca a a s e s a r

n y t p d
e ce s s a r o ro f ll y E h d e p e n
u ce s u cce s s u . ac

d e nt nt h e t h e s com b i ne d i nvi nc i bl e
o o r , .
 TH E E MP I RE O F B U S I NE S S
*

17 2

Now, volum e s can b e writ t en which o ne of as to

t he three p artners is first second or third in impor

,

tance and the subj ect will remain j u st a s it wa s b e

,

fore Political economists speculative philosopher s

.
,

an d p reachers h ave been giving their views o n the

s ubj ect for h u ndred s of yea rs bu t the an swer h a s
,

not ye t been found nor can it ever be becau se each

, ,

o f the three is a ll im po rt a n
o
t and every o ne is equ ally
,

e s sential t o the other t wo There is no first s econd

.
,

o r la st There is no p recedence $ They a re equ al

.

m embers of the great triple alliance which mo ves the

indu strial world As a matter o f history Labou r ex
.

is t e d before Cap ital o r B u sines s Ability for when ,

“ ”
Adam digged and E ve sp an Adam h ad no cap ital ,

a nd if one may ju dge from the sequel neither of the

two wa s inordinately bles sed with bu sines s ability ,

but this wa s before the reign of Indu strialism began

and huge investmen t s of Cap ital were neces s ary .

In ou r day Cap ital B u sines s Ability Manu al

, , ,

Labou r are the legs of a th ree legged stool While -

.

the three legs stand sound and firm the stool stands ; ,

but le t any o ne o f the th ree weaken and break let it ,

be pulled ou t o r stru ck ou t down goes the stool to ,

the grou nd And the stool is o f no u s e u ntil the

.

third leg is restored .

Now the cap italist is wrong wh o thin k s th at Cap i

,

ta l is mor e i m por t an t t han e i t her of the other two

 —
TH E TH REE L E GG E D S TOO L 1 73

legs Their support i s es sential to him Withou t

. .

them or with only o ne o f them he topples over

, , .

B u sines s Ability is wrong when it thinks th at the

leg which it rep resents is the most important With .

o u t the legs o i Cap ital and Labou r it i s u seles s .

And last let it not be forgotten that Labou r al so

, ,

i s wrong wildly wrong when it a s su mes that it is of

, ,

more importance th an either o f th e other t wo legs .

Th at idea h as been in the p a st the sou rce o f man y sa d

mista kes .

The th ree are equ al p art ners of a grand whole .

Combined they work wonders ; sep arate neither i s o f ,

mu ch accou nt Thu s far notwith standing the dif

.
,

f e re nc e s that from time to time h ave u nfortu nately

rent them ap art they h ave made th e closing cen
,

tu ry more b e ne fic e nt th an all th at h ave p receded it .

Hu manity th e world over i s better th an it h a s ever

, ,

been materially and morally and I h ave th e faith

, ,

that it i s destined t o reach still h igher and loftier

p lanes th an even the most sangu ine h ave imagin ed .

Cap ital B u sines s Ability and Labou r mu st b e

, ,

united He is a n enemy to all three wh o seeks t o

.

s ow seeds of disu nion among them .

 RAIL RO AD S PAS T A N D P RE S EN T

T I S a matter o f great s atisfaction and some

p ride to me th at I began in the railroad service
a s telegraph operator and rose t o the position
o f s uperintendent of the Pittsbu rg D ivision o f the

Penn sylvania R ailroad Perh ap s it wou ld be inter

.

esting t o contra st in a few p articu lars the condition

o f a ff airs in the railroa d world then and now . We
are alway s u rged to look well ahead in railroading .

It is o ne of th e chief ru les but it is also well to ca st a

,

look back and s e e th e p rogres s th at h a s been made .

When I had th e honou r to become a railroad man ,

t h e Pennsylvania R ailroad wa s not y et finished to

Pittsbu rg B y mean s o f some miles of staging b e

.

tween t wo points and a climb over th e mou ntain s

, .

b y mean s of ten inclined p lanes the p a s senger w a s

,

enabled t o reach Philadelphia by rail The rails o n

.

the mou ntain s were iron fou rteen feet length s im

,
-

ported from E ngland lying on huge h ewn blocks o f

,

s tone,
although the line p as sed through woods and ,
‘

ties would h ave cost little The Comp any had no

.

telegraph line and wa s dep endent upon the u s e o f the

I 77
178 TH E E MPI RE OF BU S I NE S S
Western U nion wire Mr Scott the s u pe r int e n
. .
,

dent the celebrated Thoma s A Scott wh o w a s after

,
.
,

ward p resident often came to the telegraph office in

,

Pittsbu rg t o talk to his super i or in Altoona the ,

General Superintendent I wa s then a you ng op er

.

ator and made his acqu aintance by doi ng thi s tele

graphing for him .

I wa s receiving the enormou s s a la ry of twenty five -

d olla rs p er month then and h e o ff ered me thirty h y e

,
-

to become h is secreta ry and telegrapher which meant ,

fortu ne Let me congratu late you upon t h e great

.

a dvance in you r own wages and s alaries s inc e then .

Mr Scott received $ 1 2 5 a month

.
5 00 a year ,

and my wonder wa s wh at a man cou ld do with th at

amou nt o f money I h adn t thought then o f o ne
.
’

u se — h e might su cceed by g i v i ng p art o f it away .

What are the advantages a man receives from wealth

i s often discu s sed bu t the best o f wealth is not what
,

it does for the owner but w hat it enables him to do

for others I served for some time before I received
.

a n advance o f Salary o f ten dollars p er month That .

gave me a n enormou s revenu e comp ared with th e

a week at which I stated in the cotton factory .

It is o ne of the most cheering facts o f ou r day that

u nder p resent conditions the wages of labou r tend t o
rise and the p rice o f the neces saries of life tend to
,

fall There never wa s a nation so splendidly situ

.
1 80 TH E E MPI RE OF BU S I NE S S
and the roadbed wa s something to
c o m o t iv e s

frighten o ne It wa s laid with light rails and cast

.
,

iron j oints were u sed I have known 4 7 broken

.

j oints found o ne morning in winter on my division ,

a nd it w a s over su ch a line that we ran ou r train s It .

i s no wonder th at brea kdown s were frequent We .

h ad no cabooses on freight trains Trainmen had .

to be o u t in all weathers It wa s single track and

.
,

not h aving a telegraph line in ca se o f delays train s

ran cu rves ; that is a fl
,

a gm a n went ahead and th e

,

train followed and met when they cou ld and some ,

times met with con siderable force o n the sharp ,

c u rves There is nothing app arently takes so long

.

to lea rn by the average railroad man a s this p roposi

tion that two trains cannot pa s s each other su cces s
,

fu lly o n a single track We never did qu ite learn

.

t h at les son even o nthe Pittsbu rg Division

,
.

B eing a telegrapher I took charge of ou r ownrail

,

road telegraph wire when it w a s c onstru cted and I ,

believe th at I placed the first you ng woman tele

graph stu dent a t work on a railroad ; so I s e e it
stated In those days the superintendent h ad to
.

do everything ; there w a s no d i v i s i on o f r e s po ns ibili

ties I t wa s supposed th at no subordinate could be
.

t ru sted to run trains by telegraph or attend to a

wreck and Mr Scott and I his su cces sor were t wo
,
.
, ,

o f th e most foolish men I have ever k nown in thi s

 RA IL RO AD S FAST AND P RE S ENT 18 1

respect We went ou t t o every wreck worked al l

.
,

night ; often I wa s not at home for a week at a time ,

s carcely ever S leep ing except a few snatches lying

, ,

down in a freight ca r I now look back and s e e what

.

p oor sup erintendents we were ; bu t I had a great ex

ample inMr S cott It took me some time to lea rn
. .
,

but I di d lea rn tha t the sup remely great managers

, ,

s u ch a s you h ave these d ays never do any wo r k t h e m

,

selves worth sp eaking about ; their point is t o make

others work while they think I app lied this les son .

in after life so th at bu sines s with me ha s never been

,

a care My young p artners did the work and I did

.

the laughing and I commend to all the thought th at

,

t here is very little su cces s where there i s little laugh

ter The workman wh o rej oices in h is work an d
.

laugh s away its discomforts is the man su re t o ris e for ,

it is wha t we do ea sily and wh at we like t o do th at

, ,

we do well When you s e e a p resident or s u pe rint e n

.

d ent o r a trea su rer loaded down with h is duties o p ,

p res sed with care with a cou nten ance a s seriou s a s

‘
,

a j u dge uttering a death sentence be su re th at h e ,

h a s more respon sibilit y than he is fi t for and S hou ld

get relief .

Comp a re the speed of t rain s fo r in s t anc e On t h e .

great Pennsylvania R ailroad we thought th at we h ad

reached p erfection when a p a s senger train wa s pu t o n
wh i ch ran be twee n Pittsbu rg and Philadelphia in 1 3
18 2 TH E E MP I RE OF BU S I NE S S
hou rs abou t 27 miles an hou r It wa s christened
,
.

“
the Lightning E xp res s That w a s not becau se
w e thought the lightn i ng wa s s o slow but becau se we ,

thought the train wa s so t e rrific a lly fa st To day .

-

the E mpire State E xp res s is ru nat double thi s S peed ,

which holds the world s record B ut do not let u s

’
.

make the mista ke again o f thinking th at we have

reached p erfection The next generation will ru n
.

train s at a hu ndred miles an hou r double the p resent

,

speed j u st a s train s a re ru nat double the speed of 3 0

,

y ears ago The line will b e straight In th e lan

.

“
gu age of Scriptu re the crooked places that is th e
, ,

cu rves “
S hall be made straight ” .
,

In the imp rovements made to day on the variou s-

lines I don t th ink many managers look fa r enough

’

ahead They a re spending on some p arts p erh ap s

.

h alf a m illion dollars where they ought to S p end

d ouble and easing the cu rves which they should
,

abolish and some futu re p resident is to s ay that they

,

wa sted a good deal of money N othing bu t a .

straight line will be u p to date in 19 5 0 or before that ,

.

B ut there is a nother dep artment in which p rog

res s h a s been a s great and even of greater impor
,

tance th an in that which h a s been referred to It i s .

in the ca re o f railroad employees their position , ,

their advantages their ea rnings and in the p ension

, ,

sy ste m which t he l e adin g r ail r oad s of th is cou ntr y

1 84 TH E E M PI RE OF BU SI NE S S
The railroad man is t o be congratu la t ed also upon
this fact that wherever improving agencies h ave
,

been established the men h ave endeavou red t o S how

their app reciation by u sing them to t h e fullest ex
tent R ailway comp anies can make no be t ter u s e of
.

money th an in establishing additional institution s of

this kind and enlarging those which already exist
a nd a re crowded It will be th at comp any which
.

does most for i t s men in t h e direction indicated

,

which will do best for it s s h areholders and on the

,

other h and it will be upon th at lin e t h e workingman

will feel most at home and in wh ich they will take
,

t h e greatest p ride and for which t hey will be mos t

,

willing t o inc ur the exhau sting labo u r and danger

incident t o the railroad man s calling thu s giving
’
,

another p roof that their interest and t h e interest of

those whose cap ital is invested a re not an t agonistic ,

but mutu al It is a great delu sion t o s a y th at la

.

bou r and cap ital a re foes th ey mu st b e allies o r

, ,

neither su cceeds I h ave before u sed t h e S imile of

.

likening Capital B u sines s Ability and Labou r t o t h e

, ,

legs of a three legged stool ; the stool will not stan d

-

u p without the support o f all these three legs and t o ,

dispute a s t o which of these th ree is mos t importan t

i s u seles s I t can n ever be determined a nd if deter
.
,

m ined it wou ld be o f little consequ ence since t h e ,

great f a c t re m ain s t h at they a re all ab solu t ely ne ce s

 RAIL RO AD S FAST AND P RE S EN T 18 5

s ary fo r su ch su cces s a s we s e e o nthe great transpor

t a t ion lines o f o u r country .

The men o f the railroad world a re to b e c ongra t

u la t e d o n occupying th e p rou d pos i t i on a s I believe , ,

o f the most temp erate body of employees in the world .

They are an examp le to the workingman in other

branches o f the outsp reading tree o f labou r an d ,

their influ ence cannot fail to p rove of i ncalculable

benefit N o ru le that a man can adopt will bring
.

greater reward than this to ab stain from th e u s e o f

,

alcohol a s a beverage A drinking man ha s no p lace

.

in the railway system Indeed he shou ld h ave no

.

place an ywhere .

The s atisfactory relations which exist upon th e

whole between the railroads and their men shou ld be
g r a t if y g
i n t o them both It is always su
. re to be
created and to exist where the o fficers a re intelligent
and symp athetic and feel themselves p a rt of the one
,

organ ization which manages th e line comp rising all ,

employees from the track labou rer to the locomotive

engineer and u p through all grades t o the p resident
himself every o ne a N Y C o r a P R R o r a C ,
, . . .
, . . .
,
.

B & Q o r a D L 81 W man
. 1 .
,
.
,
. . . .

There is no room for antagonism U pon a railroad

between employer and employee for the p resident ,

and superintendent do not own the p rop erty any

more th an the e mp loyees do ; therefore all a re a s j u st , ,
1 86 TH E E MP I RE OF BU S I NE S S
s aid members o f the same corp s ; all are equ ally the
,

servants of the comp any The o fficial therefore .

, ,

:
recognizes in the train man the road man o r the , ,

engineer employees like himself t o whom he mu st

, ,

natu rally feel the glow of comradeship whil e they ,

cannot but regard the o ffi cials a s their fellow mem

bers and feel that in all matters o f co m pens ation or
discipline what their fellow members in ofl i c e p re
'

scribe ha s not for its end their own self aggrandize -

ment bu t the su cces sfu l operation o f the line

, .

There is another featu re of cheering import : The

road to p romotion is clea r and direct All can cer .

t ify to that ; fo r I doubt not many o f those now in

, ,

authority began in subordinate positio n s and h ave

wo ntheir way by merit no t by favou r E very man
,
.

in the R ailway Indu strial Army a s N apoleon said ,

o f his a rmy ca rries a marshal s baton in his knap

’
,

s a ck U pon railroaders there rest grave re s po n

.

s ib ilit ie s ; they h ave in their keeping th e lives o f

th e public I need not s a y the travelling public fo r

, ,

with u s all travel Strict sobriety unceasing v igi

.
,

lance staunch cou rage faithfulnes s t o duty are

, , ,

demanded of them and that these are ch aracteristic

,

o f the force is testified at recu rring intervals and

by the position they have reached a nd occupy in

the estimation of their grateful fellow citizens -
.
 WE ALTH

H EN President R oos evelt sent his notable

mess age to Congres s seven years ago cal l
, ,

ing attention to the u nequ al dis t ribu

tion of wealth and recommending high p rogress iv e
, ,

taxes upon estates at the death of th e owners the ,

“
writer sent him a copy o f Th e Gospel o f Wealth ” .

“
Th e President wrote in reply that he wa s greatly
struck with the fact th at s eventeen yea rs a go you
had it all ” . This led the writer to p roceed a step
fu rther and a dd another ch ap ter which appeared in
,

1 90 6 .

In like manner the writer held and exp ressed a d

v a nce d views U pon
” “ ”
Labour an d Land before he
could be ran ked a s one o f th e multimillionaires He
.

cannot therefore be regarded a s only a recent con

vert to some o f the doctrines which a re now pro
m u lga t e d s o freely
.

A s time h as only served t o confi rm the views then

exp res sed it is believed that readers will p refer to
,

learn wh at wa s written before thes e question s had

co me so p rominently to the front .

1 89
190 TH E E MPI RE O F BU S I NE S S
The unequ al distribution o f wealth lies at the root
o f the p resent Socialistic activity This is no surpris e
.

t o the writer It wa s bound to force itself to the

.

fro nt becau s e exhibiting extremes unknown before

, , ,

it h a s become o ne of the crying evils o f ou r day .

mechanical inventors app eared and adapted the

forces and materials o f natu re to the uses of man ,

followed by the commercial and industrial age in

which we live in which wealth has been p roduced
,

a s if by magic and fallen la rgely t o the captain s of

,

indu stry greatly t o their own su rp ris e Multi

,
.

millionaires a new genus have appea red laden with

, , ,

fortunes of su ch magnitude a s the p ast knew n othing

of. The extremes in the distribution of wealth have
n ever been so great a s they a re t o— day although
,

s alaries and wages h ave never been s o high This .

h a s n atu rally attracted the a t t e nt io n o f the wage

’

earners and others not deluged by the golden

“
showers and the Socialist s B udget appears a s
’ ”
,

on e o f the remedies p roposed .

“
In the Gospel of Wealth ( 1 8 89 ) the writer a d
vo c a t e d graduated taxation upon estates at death

o f owners s aying
,
“
The growing disposition t o tax more and more
heavily large estates left at death is a cheering indi
cati onof t h e growt h of a s a l u t a r y ch a n ge in pu bl ic
19 2 TH E E MPI RE O F BU SI NE S S
during h is life which is the end that soc i ety sho uld
’

always h ave in V iew a s being by far the most fruit

”

ful fo r the p eop le No r need it be fea red that this

.

policy would s a p the root o f enterp rise and rende r

men les s anxious to a ccumulate for t o the clas s , ,
.

whose ambition it is to leave great fortunes and be

talked about after death it will be ev en more a t ,

tractive and indeed a so mewhat nobler ambition

, , ,

to h ave enormou s sums p aid over t o t h e State from

their fortunes ” .

Long entertaining such views there is no t hing in ,

“
the Socialist s B udget ”
’
a s p resented by Mr .
,
“
Snowden in the Labou r Ideal series which does ,

no t commend itself to t he writer It will be noticed .

“ ”
it p roposes ( a s the Gospel of W ealth did nineteen
—
yea rs ago ) th at one half of th e deceased millionaire s ’

hoa rd should go to the State when the estate exceeds

M r Snowden s p rotest against indirect t axation

.
’

of commodities is also sound becau se this favours

th e rich O ne individual does no t con sume much
.

more o f these than another while the ability of the ,

rich t o p ay duties is infini t ely greater than t h at of

the mas ses .

Th e American B ritish and Germ an tariff s pre

, ,

s ent a great contra st much to the benefit of the,

masses of t h e Amer i can people and this although ,

 WE ALTH 1 93

America li k e Germany is Pro t ective and B rit

, ,
~

“
a in is Free Trade ” .

America taxes imports heavily but these a re t h e ,

luxuries of the rich which the mas ses do not co n

,

sume The American mas ses eat wea r drink an d

.
, , ,

smoke American p roducts O nly the rich wea r for .

~

e ign silks linens fine cotton s broadcloths etc

, , , ,

drin k French wines o r s moke Havana tobacco It

, .

is by taxing the importation o f these and S imila r

a rticles that America ra ises revenu e Thu s in 190 7 .

wa s collected upon such luxu ries ,

all paid by the r i ch who alone u s e them Tea , .

chocolate and coffee a re free Sugar formerly

,
.
,

free alone of all food p roducts y i elds much revenue

, ,

a s a p rotective duty of two cents p er pound exists

upon it at p resent intended to stimulate the growth
,

o f be ets Half a million ton s of domestic suga r

.

were p roduced in 190 6 and production is rapidl y ,

increa sing .

Thu s the Am e ric a n wo rk m a n if he neither smoke

'

nor drink p ractically escapes tari ff duties excep t ,

upon suga r In B ritain the workman p ays no t only

.

U pon suga r but also U pon imported tobacco tea

, , ,

and coffee The American excise tax upon tobacco

.

”
is only S ix cents p er pound as comp a red with s ev
e rit y five cent s in B ritain
-
.

G ermany in 190 5 imported articles for cons u mp

, ,
1 94 TH E E MPI R E OF BUSI NE SS j

tion valued at To p rotect h e r a gri

cultu rists S he taxes all imported food p roducts ,

which a re consumed by rich and poor alike The .

German mas ses a re here more h eavily taxed than

the B ritish .

The distribution o f wealth and taxation in

B ritain according to Mulhall and later authorities
, ,

is estimated a s follows ( see Wes tmins ter Re view ,

Febru ary 190 8 p 172)

, , ,

P E R S O NS

1 5 , ooo, ooo, ooo

44 9
000 2000

This result is obtained by a combination of imposts ,

which taken collectively tax the diff erent clas ses o f

, ,

t h e people on the average in proportion t o the i r i n

c o mes o r wages B ut if an a s sess ment were made

.
,

a s it should be in p roportion to a ccumulated wealth

, ,

the figures would appea r a s follows :

WE AL TH

I
19 6 TH E E MPI R E O F BU S I NE S S .

tax ation upon it in the interest of the workers them

selves The greatest single evil in B ri tain to day is
.
-

intemperance Seven hundred and eighty fiv e mil

.
-

lion dolla rs yearly is the drink bill H ow much o f .

this is p aid by the working clas ses is we believe u n , ,

known but even if it be only o ne h alf here is th ree

,
-

hund red and ninety two and a ha lf million s worse

-

than wa sted by them The liquor interests h ave .

now received title to their d rin king places Wh e n be -

, ,

fore they had only licen ses from year to yea r a '

p resent made to them a s estimated by some equ a l, ,

to fifteen hundred million dollars When o ne a s k s .

himself what would most benefit the worker there is ,

no hesitation in the reply — To avoid liquor a n d

gambling The workingman who indulge s in either
.

is to the extent he does s o the ar chitect o f his own

, ,

poverty Here is the issue of greatest moment to the

.

workingmen O ne cannot help thos e who do not

.

help themselves O ne man can n . ot p u sh another

u p a ladder The moment he release s his grasp :the
.

a ssisted one falls It is only possible to really he lp

.

those who co operate with the help er It is not the .

submerged b u t the swimming tenth that can be .

s teadily and rapidly imp roved by the a id o f their .

fellows The former S hould be the special c are o f

.
-

the State and should be isolated

,
.

Vi e wi n
g Soc i a lism u po n i ts fi na ncia l s id e as
'

,
1
 WE AL TH 197

shown in Mr Snowden s budget its demands are

.
’
.

j u st .

A heavy p rogressive tax upon wealth at death o f

owner is no t only desirable it is strictly j ust So is ,
.

it j ust to exemp t from taxation the minimum amount

neces s ary to supply the phys ical wants o f men an d
their families j u st as a minimum is exempt from in
,

come tax in B rit ain and the modest homestead is

,

from foreclosu re u nd r mortgage in America There .

i s howe v er nothing S p ecially Socialistic in this It

, ,
.

i s soun d Adam Smith doctrine that all should p ay

t axes only in p roportion to their ability to do s o ,

and revolutionary Socialism is succes sfully t o be

combated only by promp tly conceding the j u st claims
o f moderate men .

W ealth is undoubtedly a great factor in civilized

life '
a very great factor indeed S ince civilization ,

itself rests upon it as it s foundation In his ess ay .

“ ”
U pon the Gospel of Wealth in the N ine te e nth
Ce ntu ry M r Gla d stone p ronounced it
“
,
'
. 1 the bu si
nes s of the worl d Wh en there wa s no wealth
there w a s no civilization ; none wa s possible All '
.

wa s necess a rily s avage or barba ric As long a s the .

first stage existed and man consumed all th at h e

,

captu red nothing permanent could be built there

, ,

being no reserve fund to draw upon Man lived .

in the wildernes s almost a s he found it S helterin g ,

1 98 TH E E M P I RE OF BU SI NE S S
himself in huts made of branches o r in caves .

During the second stage faint traces of individual

is m i be ga n to appear In the p rogres s of the race
.

men displayed diff erent aptitudes ; one man could

forge swords and make a rrows better than another ,

on e could capture more fish another kill more ,

game and it finally became p rofitable for these t o

,

apply themselves s olely t o their re sp ective branches .

Specialization began the root o f individualism .

Then came exchange of p roducts but after a tim e ,

ba rter ceased and certain a rticles

,
—wampum ,

beads s kins shells

,
— “
bec ame money in which
, ,

were invested th e s avings of men Then was slowly .

develop ed in due p rogres s of time th at be ne fic e nt

, ,

gospel “
as a man soweth s o shall he reap ”
, ,

reward according to service Many things hitherto .

held in common became p rivate p roperty and at ,

la st ou t of the s avings o f men ( cap ital ) du rable

, ,

things were built and civilization dawned E ven in

,
.

o u r owntime n o t a ton no r a yard o f anything can be

p roduced not a ship no r railroad no t a house

, , ,

school university nor chu rch built without draw

, , ,
~

ing upon stored u p cap ital which is wealth At

-

, .

fi rst for a short period all was the s avings of manual

, ,

labour but very soon wea lth came in much larger

, , ,

amounts to certain individuals from various sources

increased value o f land minerals etc and then , ,
.
,
20 0 TH E E MP I RE OF BU S I NE S S
is t sto day w h o rej ect h is speci al contributions to
-

pure economics His theory of value me ets with

.

little B ut the great mas s of Socialistic

workingmen h ave not yet reached this stage .

Still the error h aving been wounded must soon die

, , ,

among its worshippers a s error always does It is , .

easily demon strated to be an error For in stance .

,

the greatest increa se of any single dep a rtment in

wealth arises from increased value o f land .

Th e ratable val u e of the City o f London in

1 8 70 wa s and is now
The corresponding fig
u res for the whole metropolis are
and 9944 3 5 1 0 0 0 1 1

The valu ation of N ew York City h a s increased

from in 190 3 to in
1 90 7 .

In the whole o f the U nited States a s quoted else ,

where the census S hows th at from 1 8 90 to 1900 the

,

value o f real estate increased from

'

to an increase o f
three and a h alf times the n ational debt of
B ritain .

It is clea r th at wealth mainly created by increase

o f population is not to be credited to labou r
-
for ,
“
little additional labour was exp ended Th e la .

*S i d n y W bb Th G p l f S o i a l i m
e e .
”
ep 14
os e o c s , . .
 WEALTH 20 1

bou r of tilling the soil was comp ens ated for b y th e

crop s and did not add to the valu ation
,
.

“ ”
Th at value dep ends upon and is th e result of
labou r can be exploded thu s :
Th e late Duke of Sutherland in his p raiseworthy
,

desire to imp rove condition s U pon his vast Highland

estates by ma king the lan d support h is p eople a t
home expended for yea rs the labou r o f many men
,

and vast sums in the e ff ort Few dollars of value

.
“ ”
were created The e ff ort failed
. .

Chantrey spends a yea r U pon a statu e and it ,

brings five thou sand dollars Another man works

.

twice a s long and twice a s h ard yet his statue is ,

“
p ractically worthles s B oth laboured but pu r
.
”
,

C has ers wanted the o n e statue and did not want th e

,

other Thu s the wants of the pu rchaser and not the

.

“ ”
labour exp ended fixes value .

So with all forms of labou r ; if there be a deman d

’

i a pu rch as er for it at a certain p rice — for

( . . e , )
p rice is a potent factor — wh at labou r p roduces
h as value If not labour exp ended is labou r lost
.
,
.

The result is th at labou r is no t employed upon

a rticles not in demand Thu s labou r neither
.
”
creates nor fixes valu e ; the law of supply and de
mand does so .

The employer engaged in manufactu ring is com

ll d t o mee t the wants of the people his cu stomers
p e e .
,
20 2 TH E E MPI RE OF B U S I NE S S

The interes t of employer and employee capital and ,

labou r in doing s o are mutual no t antagonistic

, , .

Marx p redicted th at machinery would extend the

.

hou rs of labou r and dep res s wages s o much t hat he

fores aw the time when emplo yers would get t h e l a
bou r of awhole family for what they h ad p aid for the
'

head a lone He denied that any sh are of increased

.

p ro fits could fall to th e workers s o long a s capital

h a d control of machinery The revers e of all this.

ha s been the result : hou rs of labou r h av e been re

d u c e d wages increased and a great advance ha s
, ,

been made in the pos i t i on of wage earners under th e -

new condition s of p roduction Th e p roofs o f this .

gratifying result especially during the p ast twenty

,

years a re amo ng the most welcome evidences th e

,

opt i m i st i c well wisher of the working clas s receives

-

th at all goes well though not qui te s o fa s t a s we and

,

other reformers most ardently wish .

After making full allowance for differences in men ,

it still remains true that contras t s in their we alth are

infinitely greater th an thos e existing between them
in their di ff erent qu alities abilities education and
, , , ,

except the sup reme few their contributions to th e

,

world s work I t S hould be remembered alwa y s

’
.

that weal t h is not chiefly the p roduct of the individ

u a l u nd e r pre s e nt conditions but largely th e j oi nt
'

p roduct of th e c ommunity .
20 4 TH E E MP I RE OF BU S I NE S S
m a kes the children of the younger millionaire s while ,

those of the elder remain S imple farmers in comfort

able circumstances but fortunate in this beyond
, ,

their cou sins still of the clas s who h ave t o p erform

,

s om e s ervice to t h e ir fe llows and thu s earn a liveli

h ood .

1 N ow who o r wh at made this differen ce in wealth $

,

o t labo u r not s kill N o nor superior ability

,
.
, ,

is a ga c it y nor enterp rise no r greater public s ervice

, , .

$ T h e m m ni created the millionaire s wealth ’

c o u ty .

hile he S lept it grew a s fa st a s when he wa s awa k e .

t would have a risen exa ctly a s i t did h ad he been o n

\the Harlem and h is brother on th e Manh attan farm .

Th e younger farmer now a great p roperty hol der

,
-

d ies a nd h is children in du e time p as s away each

, ,

leavin g millions s ince the farm h a s become p art of a

,

great c ity a nd immense buildings upon it p rodu ce

,

a nnu al re nts of hundreds o f thous ands o f dollars .

When thes e children die wh o h ave n eith er toiled ,

nor spu n wh at canon o f j u stice would be violated

were t h e n ation to step in and s a y th at since the
‘
,

aggregati on o f their fellowmen called the c o m m u

”
nity c re ated the d e s c e nd a nt s we a lt h it is entitled to’
,

a large p0 r t io nof it a s they p ass away The c om m u .

nit y h a s refrained from exacting any p art during

their live e Th e heirs have been allowed to enjoy it
‘

all, bec aus e although in their case the wealth was a

 20 5

pu re l y communal growth yet in other cases wealth

,

often comes largely from individu al eff ort and ability ,

a nd hence it is better fo r the community t o allow

s uch ability to remain in charge o f fortune making -

becau s e more likely to succeed and in s o doing de

,

v e lo p o u r country s resou rces

’
.

It would be u nwis e to interfere with the working

bees ; better allow them to continu e gathering honey
du ring their lives When they die the nation should
.
,

h ave a large portion of the honey remaining in the

h ives ; it is immaterial at wh at date collection is
m a de s o th at it comes to the N ational Trea su ry at
,

last .

T h at by fa r the greatest amount of wealth crea t ed

in any branch comes from enh anced value s of real
p roperty is especially tru e in a p rosp erou s cou ntry ,

increasing rap idly in p opulation li k e t h e U n ited

,

States Th e censu s shows th at from 1 890 t o 190 0

.

the value of real estate increased from $ 3 9 5 44 5 44 , , ,

333 to an increa s e o f
83 I p er yea r over ,
p er day .

The obviou s creator o f this wealth is not the in

dividual but the community a s we s e e in th e cas e of
, ,

the two brother farmers Prop erty may p as s th rough

.

many p rop rietors ea ch p aying more for it th an

,

h is p redecessor ; but wh ether each succeeding own er

sells t o h is successor at a p rofit depen ds a lmos t
20 8 TH E E M PI RE O F BU SI NE S S
Th e s econd s on i s s o fortunate a s t o Se t tle in
'

P ittsbu rg when it h ad j u st been dis covered that

'

some of the c oa lfie ld s o f which it is the centre p ro

, ,

d u ce d a coking coal admirably adapted for iron o re

- -

s melting Another vein easily mined p roved a

.

splendid steam coal Sm a ll iron mills soon sprang

-
.
-

up . E verything indicated that here indeed was the

futu re iron city where steel could be p roduced more
,

cheaply th an in any other locat i on i n the world .

N atu rally his attention was turned in this direction

,
.

He wooed the geniu s of the place This wa s not .

anything extraordin arily clever It was in t h e air

. .

He is entitled to credit for h aving abiding faith in

the futu re of his country and of steel and fo r ris king ,

with his young comp anion s not only all he h ad ,

which wa s little o r nothing but all they could indu ce

,

timid bankers t o lend from time to time He a nd .

his p artners built mill s and fu rnaces and fi nally ,

owned a large concern making millions yearly This .

s o n and his p artners looked ahead They visited .

other lands and noted conditions and finally con ,

cluded that a large supply of raw materials wa s

the key to p ermanent p rosperity Accordingly they
.
,

bought o r leased many mines of iron o re many ,

thous ands of a cres o f coal and of limestone and also

o f natu ral gas territory
-
and at last had for many
,

l on g years a full supply o f al l t he minerals required

2 10 TH E E MP I R E O F BU SINE S S
could h ave been no great fortune fo r the th ird son .

Here a s before it wa s the magnitude of the bu siness

, , ,

b ased solely upon t h e wants o f the population that ,

swelled the yearly profits and p roduced prodigiou s

fortune s .

T he four t h s o n attracted by the stories o f Hec

,

l a and Calumet and other rich mines which fa r

,
”
surpas s the wealth of O rmu s or o f Ind settled in ,

Montana and wa s lucky after some years of rude

,

experien ce His ventu res gave h i m the coveted mil

.

lio na ire d o m The amount of copper and S ilver re

.

quired by the teeming population of the country

and of other lands kep t p rices high and hence his ,

enormou s p rofits mined from land for which only a

trifle wa s p aid t o the general government not so long
a go . H e did not create his wealth ; he only dug it
o u t of the mine a s th e demands of the people gave

value to the p reviously worthles s stones Here e s .

p e c ia lly we cannot b u t feel th at the people who cre

ated th e valu e should share the dividends when
these must pas s in to other hands .

The fifth s onhad a melancholy ca reer He settled .

in N ew York City while young and nfortunate

u ,

ly began his labou rs in a stockbroker s Offi ce where

’
,

h e soon became absorbed in the fluctu ations o f

the E xchange while his fond mother p roudly a n
,
“
nou nce d t o all she met that he wa s in busines s ” .
 WEALTH 21 1

From this the step wa s easy t o ta ki ng ch ances

with his small ea rnings His gambling adventure s
.

p roved succes sful It wa s a n era o f ris ing values

.
,

and h e soon acquired wealth without increasing

values for speculation is the p a rasite o f bu sines s
,

feeding upon values creating none A few year s

,
.

and the feverish life of the gamester told upon him .

He was led into a s cheme t o corner a certain stock ,

and as wa s t o h ave been exp ected he foun d th at m e n

, ,

who will consp ire t o entrap others will not hesitat e

t o deceive their p artners upon occa sion if sure it

will p ay and is s afe from exposu re He ended h is.

life by h is own hand His end serves t o keep h is

.

brothers resolu te in the resolve never to gamb l e .

Th e sp eculator seldom leaves a millionaire s fortune ’

,

unles s he breaks down o r p as ses away when his ve n

tu res a re momenta rily succes sful In such a cas e
.

h is ill gotten gold should be levied U pon by t h e

-

State at the highes t rate of all even beyond th a t

,

imposed upon real estate values W ealth is often

-
.
,

we may say generally a ccumulated in such manner

,

a s benefits the n ation in the p rocess ; here it de

moralizes the getter a s well as the people and lower s ,

the standard o f eth ics ; it is ta ken without retu rning

any valid considera t ion and ranks with gamblers
,
’

games .

Ther e is one cla s s of millionaire s wh o se wealth in ,

21 2 TH E E MPI RE O F BU S I NE S S
very mu ch greater degree than others may be cred ,

it e d to themselves : inventors — Graham B ell of

the telep hone E dis on of numerou s inventions
, ,

Westinghou se of the airbrake and others — who

,

originated or fi rst applied p rocesses hitherto unused

and were sufficiently alive to their pecuniary inter
ests to hold large sha res in the comp anies formed to
develop and introduce them to the public Their .

we alth h ad its origin in their o wn inventive brain s .

All honour to the inventor $ He stands upon a

hi gher platform than the others .

It may be s aid th at in greater o r les s degree ou r

leading manufacturers railroad builders dep a rt
,
-

ment store proj ectors meat p ackers and other

-

,
-

specialists in o ne line o r other had to adopt new

methods and with few if any exceptions there
, , , ,

can be traced in their careers some special form of

ability upon which their su cces s depended thu s d is ,

t ingu is h ing them from the mas s of competitors No .

d oubt this is correct yet the inventions or p rocesses

,

u sed were the work o f others s o that all they did

,

wa s to introduce new methods of man agement o r to

recognize and utilize opportunities This the inv e n .

tor clas s h ave also done if they have become million

aires but in addition they h ave invented the new
,

p roces ses So th at these deserve to reap beyond

.

the other clas s yet only in degr ee becau se both

, ,
2 14 TH E E MP I RE OF BU SI NE S S

of the sma rt or fast s e t is abstemious re ti ring and

, , ,

little of a spendth rift Th e millionaire himself is

.

p robably th e least exp ensive bee in the industrial

h ive ta king into account the amount o f honey he
,

g athers and wh at he consumes .

Practically every t hou sand of his money is a t

wor k for t he develop ment of the country a nd e arn ,

i ng interest much of i t p aying labou r

, .

In t h e interest s of the community therefore h e , ,

s hould n ot b e distu rbed wh i l e gathering honey ,

p rovided it be desti ned largely for t h e general h ive ,

u nder a j ust system of t ax a t ion wh e nhe p asses away

, .

Those wh o h ave not had oppor tunity t o study the

‘

operation of wealth in the world a re natu rally led

a stray . They s e e its pos sessors in their p alaces s u r
rounded with every lu x u ry th eir gorgeou s ca rriages
,

in the pa rk ; they read of their ex travagant balls ,

o f riotou s living and in o rdina t e expenditure and , ,

wors e than this of gambling a t cards and upon

, ,

h orses horse rac i ng i n B ri tain unfortunately is

-

s t ill under th e highest p atronage sigh t s natu ra l l y

h ard to bea r by t hose su ff ering fo r the neces s aries of
life . The writer h a s no desire t o minimize this s a d
contra st nor t o s ay one word in its defense It is
,
.

on e of the s addest and most indefensible of all c o n

t r a s t s presented in life ; but when we p roceed to trace

t h e wor k of wea l th as a whole it is soon found that

,
 WEAL TH 2 15

even these extravagances absorb but a s mall fractio n

o f it The millionaire s funds a re all at work ; only a
’
.

small sum lies in ban k subj ect t o check Ou r rail .

ways and steamship s mills and fu rn aces industria l

, ,

structu res and much of the needed working cap ita l

,

to keep these in operation a re the result of invested ,

wealth The milliona ire with t wo o r the new multi

.
,

millionaire with twenty mil lion s sterling k eep onl y

, ,

trifling sums lying idle All els e they put t o wor k

.
,

much of it employing labou r They cannot es cap e .

th is unles s th ey tu rn misers and keep the gold to

gloat over which no rich man does whom the writer
,

knows or h a s heard of On the contra ry the mill

.
,

iona ire a s a rule is both mindful and sh rewd more ,

apt than thos e of s maller fortune t o invest his cap ita l

carefully B esides he is u suall y a man of simple
.
,

t astes and avers e t o display .

Wh atever imp res sions t h e work e rs may rec e ive of

the wealthier classes t h e fact is indisputabl e th at
,

their su rplu s money m i nu s a s mall fraction mu s t

, ,

augment the wage fund and in some line or other ,

bene fi t those wh o labour E ven their extravagances .

m u st in their cou rse contribute t o t h e bu sines s of

‘

many p eople struggling t o obtain a comp e tence and ,

h en ce t o the employment of labou r Little can be .

spent by th e rich without drawing upon th e labou r o f

o th e rs w h i ch mu s t b e pa i d for
, All th a t t h e m illion .
2 16 . TH E E M PI RE OF BU S I NE S S
a ire can get ou t o f life is sup erior food raiment and , ,

shelter O nly a small a very small p ercentage of

. .
, ,

all his millions can be absolutely wasted When the .

Socialist therefore spea ks of all wealth going back

, ,

to the State he p roclaims no great change in its

,

mission The State sole owner would u s e it j ust as

.
, ,

the owners now u s e all but a fraction of it ; that is ,

invest it i nsome of the multiform ways leading to the

r éwa rd o f l abour It i s S i mp ly a question whether
.

State a s against Individual control of wealth would

prov e more p roductive which j udg i ng from e x pe ri
, ,

ence o f State and Individual man agement s o far a s

yet tested may gravely be doubted It could not
,
.

make much di ff erence to the workers whether the

'

title to the wealth rested in the State o r in individu als

if the State decided as individuals now do t o re
, ,

compense labou r according to value as determined by

demand the fairest standard All would remain
, .

very much a s now ; o ne would still get five talents ,

on e ten and a few would get very many talents and

, ,

individu alis m would reign The bridge h as yet to .

be found that sp an s the gulf between equ al and u n

e q ual comp ens ation for varied service ; yet until ,

this be found we believe it to be non existent and -

i mpos sible t o devise there can be no Communism ,

no r indeed any milder form of Socialis m to which

s e r i ou s obj ecti on need be made by earnest i mp rovers
 2 18 THE E MPI RE O F B U S I NE S S
egard
s great rwe a lth a s t h e c hi e f p rize
, p rofes sion .

Its ac q u i s ition is not their aim Cons ider t h e phy .

s ic ia n: wh e n a m an s elects tha t nob l e care e r k now ,

i ng a ll it s trials and con secra t es himself to the

,

amelioration of huma n s nfi e ring h e k now s well fo r ,

tune is not there t o be found He h as a much higher .

p r i ze than wealth in V i ew Consider the minister .

,

he wh o feels that he ha s a message t o deliver t o his

fellows and answering embraces the call Wealth
, , .

d oes not allure him So with the lawyer Wealth

. .

is not in his mind as the rewa rd of his labours T h e .

Chief Ju stices of the Sup reme Courts a re above pe

cu n ia ry gain The inventor the a rchitect t h e
.
, ,

engineer and the scientist all have nobler rewa rd s

,

before th e m than riches Only a modest comp e .

tenc e is the reasonable expectation of all th e s e

classes The great teach ers of their fellows t h e
.
,

p res idents and professors of ou r seats of lea rning ,

and t h e teachers of ou r common s chools — wha t

thought h ave they of bowing before the vulga r ido l
o f weal t h $ Ou r poets authors statesmen the ver y
, , ,

highest typ es o f humanity are above the allurement s

,

o f money making -
T hes e know o f higher s a t is f a c
.

tion s an d nobler lives than thos e of t he mer e m illion

aire H aving their nobler mis sion s they h av e no
.
,

time t o waste accumulating dros s .

All th ese men a re quite right for beyond a com ,

 WEALTH 2 19

pe t e nce for age which need not be great a nd

o ld ,

may be very s mall wealth les sens rather than i n

,

creases human happ iness Million aires wh o laug h .

a re ra re Th e deplorable family qu arrels which s o

.

often affl ict the rich generally h ave their rise in

s ordid di fferences about money The most miser .

ab le o f men a s old age app roaches are those wh o

, ,

h ave made money ma king their god ; like flies boun d

-

to the wheel thes e u nfortunates fondly believe d

,

they were really driving i t only to find when tire d ,

and craving rest th at it is i mp os sible fo r them to ge t i

off,
and they a re lost plenty t o retire upon bu t
nothing t o retire t o and s o they end as they began
, ,

striving t o add t o their u seles s hoa rds p as sing into ,

nothingness leaving their money behind for heirs t o

,

quarrel over only becau se they cannot ta k e it wit h

,

th em a melancholy en d much les s enviabl e tha n

that of th eir poorer fellows .

Wealth confers no fame alth ough i t ma y buy ,

titles where such p revail No r a re the memories of

.

millionaires a s a clas s fondly cherished It is a low .

an d vulgar ambition t o ama s s money wh i ch s ho u l d ,

always be th e S lave never th e master of m a n

, ,
.

Ther e is one fundamental diff erenc e betwee n

R an k and Wealth There can be no heredita ry
.

a ristocracy of wealth W here it i s left free a s a rul e

.

it p a s ses in thre e generation s fro m s hir t s l e ev e s to -

22 0 THE E M PI RE OF BU SI NE S S
Shirt sleeves in all E nglish spea king lands except t h e
- -

U nited Kingdom where the law o f p rimogen itu re

,

and legal settlements gu ard a h ereditary clas s an d

.

defeat the O peration o f the n atu ral law In fre e

.
.

land s the children of millionaires and their childre n

m a y be s afely tru sted to fulfil the l aw ; to keep a fo r
t u ne is scarcely less difficult than to a cquire it
‘

We alth is dispers ive where unbuttres sed by special

laws designed t o keep it in certain ch annels all of ,

which laws S hould be p romptly repealed .

Wealth in America the land o f greatest fortunes

, ,

never yet h as pa ss ed beyond the third g eneration .

It se l do m gets s o fa r We have a few a very few

.
, ,

fa m ilies of the third generation now spending t h e

fortunes made by their grandfathers The t wo o r
.
.

t h ree greatest fortunes of their d ay a re now b e ing

freely distributed a mong the children and grand

children and will be reduced t o moderate sums fo r
,

each when the p r esent children reach matu rity ; a s

certain a s fate many o f their des cendants will be
-

fo u nd t o ilingas their able ancestors did in their shirt

sleeves We may s afely tru st those wh o h ave not
’

made the money to p rove adepts in s qu andering it .

Great fortunes a re few The aggregate of wealth

.

embraced in these is small comp ared with the amount

in very moderat e fortunes The former attrac t at .

tention fa r beyond their importance .

222 THE E MP I R E O F BU SINE S S
th at the fi rst and indisp ensable wor k of t h e S ocia l ist
i s the elevation o f humanity t o that standard of Con
duct which would insu re the wise and sober use o f
be nefactions $ W e would all agree that when this
neces sary elevation wa s reached the discussion o f ,

further step s t o relieve distres s would be in order

‘
.

Meanwhile the foolish distributor would h ave d one

,

m ore inj ury t o his fellows in o ne day than he could

“
p robably do good all the rest of his life Down .

o n you r knees and crawl for p ardon

” a re the words ,

on e would undoubtedly apply to such a ph ila n t h ro

pist Imagine every man woman and c hild in

.
, ,

B ritain receiving £ 2 5 0 sterling which is

one s p roportion o f the nat i onal wealth if equally
’
,

d ivided What would be the result $ S aturnalia

.

for a time then rich and poor a s before slowly

,

emerging the last state wors e th an the first It

,
.

is self evident that th ere is at p resent no fou nd a

-

tion U pon which wealth can be equally distributed

'
.

T h e soil ha s not been p rep ared Seed sown upon it .

would be c hoked by t h is t le s Meanwhile ou r im

«
.
,

m ediate duty is t o distribute su rplu s wealth to the

best of ou r abilities in su ch forms as we believe best
calculated to imp rove existing conditions and to ,

se cure its more equitable dis t ribution hereafter by

h eavy pro g ressive death duties and by a ssessing
-

the p eopl e in p roporti on t o their ability t o support

 WE ALTH 2 23

the Government This policy President R oo sevelt is

.

strongly a dvocating in America It is much more .

u rgently needed in B ritain .

Socialists generally write of wealth a s if posses sed

by the few but the fact mu st never be lost s ight of
,

th at the labouring clas ses in the aggregate a re great

, ,

capitalists T he s avings ban ks of N ew Yor k State

.

a lone in 1906 held owned by

2 3 5 depos itors Average depos its
. This ,

is all the s avings of the workers fo r busines s men and ,

cap italists u s e their money to better advantage .

These banks are strictly con fi ned by ch arter to

investments in fi rs t clas s s ecu rities a re ca refully
-

managed and posses s the confidence o f the p eople

,
.

In the U nited States the deposits in s avings ban k s

amounted t o the gran d total of but
this is no measu re of the total s avings of the wor k ing
p eople becau s e in America especi ally in the Wes
, ,

tern States opportu n ities for more p rofitable in

,

ves t ment of s avings a re numerou s and the rapid ,

increase of values in real estate leads wor km en t o

p refer investing in homes .

When we consider the va st sums invested by

the workers in homes insu rance c o Ope ra t ive and
, ,

friendly societies and in other ways and add

, ,

thes e to the foregoing the p roblem which the

,

Socia l ist write s ab ou t so glib l y of tr ansferring a ll

’
224 THE E MPI RE O F BU SI NE S S
wealth t o t h e S t a t e begins to assume its true pro
portions .

W e quote from The Service of Friendly Socie

”
ties by Alexander Cargill :
,
“
Here is a s brief a summary as pos sible o f th e ,

position o f the registered societies throughout the

country ( I mean in Great B ritain and Ireland ) as at ,

t h e date of the last public retu rn n amely 3 l s t , ,

December 190 2 First of all we have the frien dly

,
.

soc ieties pure and simple including all their branches , ,

collecting societies benevolent societies working

, ,

men s clubs medical etc an d it will interest you to

’
, ,
.
,

know th at the number o f friendly society members

o n the date mentioned w a s their fu nds
at th e s ame date being Next there ,

a re the c o Ope r a t iv e societies for indu stries and trades ,

bu sines ses and land societies The membership o f

,
.

these wa s and their funds

Then we h ave the trade unions which have a ,

m embership o f and funds amounting to

workmen s compensation s chemes with
’
,

a membership of and funds

F riends o f Labour societies with a mem b ership of ,

and funds Coming to the build

ing societies of which t here a re two k inds viz :
,
-

,
.

the incorporated and the unincorporated together .

t h e se i h ave a t otal membership o f with

'
2 26 TH E E MPI RE OF BU S I NE SS
d eposits to the rightful owners or allow interest ,

upon them would create a large capitalistic clas s

,

apa rt from the general Socialistic community which ,

would involve clas s distinctions a s before f at a l t o ,

the Socialistic idea .

The B ritish Islands with their eleven a nd one

,

h alf million s of depositors and a population of s ay

forty five millions h ave a n average o f a fraction more
-

th an one depo sitor in every family allowing five t o ,

each Seriou s t rouble might be expected if t h e

.

Socialist ceased t o confine himself t o writing about

placing all wealth in the h ands of the State and be ,

gan t o a ct Fortunately o f this there is no da n

.
,
ger .

One of t h e chief obj ec tions t o p resent day Social -

i s m i s t h at whil e it lends itself t o endles s tal k it is yet

doomed t o in actio n a s a system until and unles s
human na t ure itself is change d in the countles s ages
t o come . E arnest and good men touched t o fine ,

is sues S hould no t occupy themselves gra sping at

,

d istant shadows whil e the substance imp rovemen t ,

o f the p resent lies at their feet ready fo r treatment

,
.

There a re three classes of men Th e first are born

.

in poverty and p robably have t o s e e the harrowing

,

sight of father and mother s ister a nd brother s u f

, ,

fe ring from want A s a holy duty they resolve t o

.

d rive the wolf from the door a nd ma k e fortunes .

You ng m e n with s uch e x p e rienc e go i nto t h e wor l d

 WEALTH 2 27

resolved t o win they mus t win a n d t h e bu s ine s s

,

life fu rnishes their best chance o f victory in o u r

ti m e Their foot once upon the ladder it wa s com
.
,

p a r a t iv e ly ea sy climbing even in B ritain until recent

times for it wa s the centre of material development
,

in the early p a rt of last centu ry In America it h a s

.

long been and still is mu ch ea sier t o a ccumulate

wealth than elsewhere Th e R epublic is s oon to
.

dwarf all other civilized countries in wealth and pop

u la t io n . It is the land of millionaires and the new ,

genu s of multimillion aire has j u st made its app ea r ‘

an ce there N otwithstanding this wh at ha s been

.
,

s aid of the p rofes sional cla sses is eminently true o f

thos e o f the R epublic Its best men and wom en
.

h ave little in common with the ma kers a nd poss es

sors of va st fortunes a s a clas s ; not th at thos e born
in poverty s hould no t aspire to higher positions e n
abling them t o influence others more potently fo r
“
good not that they s hould not gather gea r by
,
”
every wile that s j ustified by honou r fo r it is a s a
’
, ,

rule only after man h as p rovided for himself and

,

family th at he can be of mu ch la sting good t o others .

He must su rely recognize this t o be his fi rs t duty .

“
B ut if any p rovide no t for his own an d specially ,

fo r t hos e of his own hou se he h ath denied the faith

, ,

an d is wors e than an infidel

” A few a ver y few, ,

e x ce pt ion a l i me n a nd wo me n appea r a t in te rv al s in
 TH E E M P I RE O F BU S I NE S S
'

2 28

th e wor l d wh o s eemingly need t o t a ke little though t

o f themselves or those dependent upon them ; their

fellows a re captivated with their devotion to the

general weal and p rovide for them ; but such ch ar
,

a c t e rs a re rare and as a rule i t i s neces sary for all

,

to take care of themselves a s t h e first duty The .

never to be forgotten truth is t hat huge fortunes so

- - -

far a s their owners a re concerned a re a s u seless a s ,

Star and Garter are to their posses sors and not s o

ornamental ; and this truth above all th at these for ,

tunes cannot give their owners more out o f life worth

h aving th an is secu red by a competence s o modes t
that men beginning a s workers can Wi th health , ,

ability and sobriety W i n for old age We h ave

, ,
.

p rominent instances o f this among the workin gmen

Members of Parliament scattered throughou t B rit
ain America Canada an d Au stralasia
, ,
John , .

B u rn s Cabi ne t Minister o ne of the most re

, ,

markable workingmen ; the late Sir W illiam R andal

Cremer Thomas B u rt and others stand at th e head
, ,
.

Several have reached the highest offi ce upon earth

the Presidency of the majority of the E nglish
speaking people T his is only wh at we have a right
.

t o expect for not a few of the greatest geniu ses h ave

,

been manual workers In new co u ntries millions o f .

men who began as m anu al workers h ave achieved

m oderate c om petence Almost with ou t e x ception .
 3 0 THE E M P I RE or B U SI N E SS
essential and when it does come it is only a sacred
,

tru st t o be administered for the general good .

When this lesson is truly learnt the thirst for

wealth will lessen and it will cease to be the obj ect
,

o f keen pursuit by men in general which it never ha s

,

been with p rofes sional cla sses People will soon s e e

.

that it does not bring happines s to its pos ses sors and ,

is generally inj u riou s to their children The wise .

man engaged in busines s will seek only a moderate

competence and then devote himself t o public a ff airs ,

labou ring for the good of others esp ecially in his

,

o wn community .

The writer has h ad occa sion t o visit many cities

and meet the civic authorities Mayors and mem
bers of Councils Deeply imp ressed he has been
.

with their characters and abilities and especially ,

with the large number wh o have risen from the ranks

of the poor to eminence not seldom the Mayor h as
don e s o Much o f their time is devoted to the care
.

ful management o f municip al a ffairs although few ,

h ave ceased to pursu e their regula r occup ations .

They are h appy in leading u seful worthy l ives co n

, ,

s ciou s th at they labou r no longer solely for them

selves but for thei r les s fortunate fellows It is .

cheering to find that workingmen can and do rise s o

often to high positions and perform great public s e r
vice intheir m atu rer years U seful and happy lives
.
 WE A L TH 23 1

thes e men lead striving in their later years to im

,

p rove the conditions of life for their neighbours thu s,

ma king o ne little spot of earth j u st a little better

th an they foun d it that spot in many cases the dear
,

est spot on earth to them — th e spot where they

were born Fo r u seful s ervice to others for persona l
.
,

h app ines s and swee test s atisfaction for all tha t

,

makes life des irable an d h allows dep a rtu re at last ,

millionaires a s a clas s h ave good caus e to envy th e

Town Councillors Mayors Provosts an d Coun
.
, ,

c ilm e n should hesitate long before desiring exchange

o f position s even with multimillion aires There is

.

nothing inherently valu able in mere money worth

striving fo r unles s it is t o be a dministered a s a s acred
,

tru st for th e good of others ; otherwis e the moderate

competence suffices t o give to honou red old age th e
crown .
 LAB O UR

TH E U PW A RD MA R C H OF LAB O U R

H E p rogres s of man from the earlies t day u p

t o the p resent h as been o ne steady march u p

ward now and then in divers regions seem

,

ingly checked receding for the moment only t o be

'

, ,

swept onward again like th e waves by the advancing

tide.

If it were still thought that the U n known h ad made

man perfect but with an instinct fo r his own de
,

gradation which insu red his fall a call t o retu rn t o

,

the p ast would no t have been a stonishing but when ,

we in o u r enlightened age know th at man is an o u t

growth from lower orders o f life and h as imp l anted
,

within him the in stinct which compels him to tu rn

his fa ce t o the s u n and slowly move upwa rd towa rd
that which is better rej ecting in his p rogres s after
, ,

test all that inj u res o r debases the call upon u s by

, ,

o u r Socialistic friends t o exchange the individu alistic

civilized p res ent which we h ave reached after many

hundreds of thou sands o f years of p rogres s for th e
sys t e m of c ommu ni sm of t h e s ava ge past , is i nd e e d
23 6 THE E M P I R E OF B U S I N E S S
startling There is no phase o f human exis t en ce
.

upon which we look to day which does not S how e n -

c ou r a gi ng i mp rovement over the p a st This p rog .

res s made in obedience to the very n atu re of man

, ,

created to ascend in intelligence tastes and condu ct

, , ,

h as made all the di ff erence between the savage and

t he civilized be i ng .

Let u s never forge t th at under p resent condition s

t h e world has grown and I S growing better and we ,

t here s o much of the spirit of brotherhood a mong

'

men never so mu ch kindness never s o much help

, ,

extended by men and especially by women to their

, ,

l es s fortunate fellows The writer scarcely knows a

.

family intimately of which o ne or more members

are not earnestly engaged spending their time and
mean s in doing good thu s giving not only their wealth
, ,

but themselves to ma ke brighter and better the

,

lives of the les s fortunate There a re many of his .

a cqu aintances treading the p ath th at leads to mak

“
ing earth a heaven les s solicitous about heaven ou r
,
”
home than hitherto b u t more about ma king home “
,

o u r heaven
” here in this life .

M any indeed in ou r day will merit the epitaph

I f t h e re s a no t h e r wo ld h e l i ve s in bl i s s ;
’
r

I f t h e re be none h e m a d e t h e b e s t of t h i s
,

.
,

It is not , therefore, to the s ava ge pas t t h a t we

23 8 TH E E MPI RE or B U S I N E SS
were that day conferring upon the wage question .

“ ”
O nly a hundred years ago the writer replied , ,

you r forefathers would have been transferred with

th e mines in cas e o f s ale N ow masters and men .

meet to day a s equ als buyers and sellers Wh at

-

,
.

would be thought if the masters p roposed a return to

”
the o ld conditions $ With a twin kle in the eye ,
“
never to be forgotten came the words ,
Ay there , ,

wu d be twa at that ba rgain I m With ’

,

their trades unions cash p ayments ,

masters of
themselves and the i r labou r
,
it is clea r that
workingmen h ave shared in the general advance .

The wand o f p rogres s h a s no t p as sed them by u n

touched no r a re we W ithout evidence that the march
,

o f thei r imp rovement is n o t t o stop .

“
Following th e same course with Labou r a s with
”
Wealth the writer will make free u s e of what h e
,

h as s aid in years gone by rather than give his views

in ne w form since they remain to day substantially
,
-

a s they were then exp ressed .

“
From An E mployer s V iew o f the Labou r Q ues
’

”
tion F0m m Ap ril 18 86
, , ,
“
The influen ce of trades unions upon the relation s
between the employer and employed ha s been much
discu ssed So rhe establishments in America h ave r e
.

fused to recognize the right o f the men to form them

s elves into thes e union s although I am not awa re
,
 LAB O UR
th at an y concern in E ngland would da re t o ta k e t hi s
pos ition This policy however may be rega rded
.
, ,

a s only a tempora ry pha s e of the s itu ation Th e .

right of the workingmen to combin e and to form

trades union s is no les s s acred th an the right of th e
manufactu rer t o enter into a ssociations and confer
en c e s with h is fellows an d it mu st be s ooner or later
,

conceded Indeed it gives o ne but a poor op inion

.
,

o f th e American workma n if h e p ermits himself t o

be dep rived o f a right which h is fellow in E ngland

h as conquered fo r himself long s ince My e x pe ri
.

ence has been that trades union s upon the whole a re

beneficial both to Labou r an d t o Cap ital Th ey .

certainly educate the workingmen an d give them a

truer conception o f the relation s of Capital an d
Labou r than they could otherwise form Th e ablest
.

a nd best workmen eventu ally come to th e front in

th ese organizations ; and it may be laid down a s a
rule that the more intelligent the workman th e
fewer the contests with employers It is no t th e
.

intelligent workman — wh o knows that Labou r

without his brother Cap ital is helples s — but t h e
blatant ignorant man wh o rega rds Cap ital a s t h e
, ,

natu ral enemy of Labou r wh o does s o much to em

,

bitter the relations between employe r and employed ;

and the power of this ignorant demagogu e a rises
chiefly fro m the lack o f p roper organization amon g
240 TH E E MPI R E or B U S INE S S
th e m e n through which their real voice can be ex
p res sed This voice will always be found infavou r
.

o f the j udicious and intelligent rep resentative Of .

c ou rse
,
as men become intelligent more deference
mu st be p aid t o them personally and to their rights ,

and even to their opinion s and p re j udices ; and upon

the whole a greater share of p rofits mu st be p aid in
the d ay of p rosp erity to the intelligent than to the
ignorant workman He cannot be imposed upon s o
.

readily O n the other hand he will be fou n d mu c h

.
,

readier to accep t redu ced comp en s ation when bu S I

nes s is dep res sed ; and it is better in the long run for
Cap ital to be served by the highest intelligen ce an d ,

t o be mad e well aware of the fact that it i s dealing

with men who know what is due to them both as t o ,

t reatment and compen sation I therefore

.

r ecogn ize in trades union s o r better s t ill in organ

, , ,

iz a t ions of the men o f each establishment wh o s elect ,

r e p resentatives t o speak fo r them a means not o f ,

further embittering the relations between employer

an d employed but of i mp roving them
,
.

It is a stonishing how s mall a s acrifice upon th e

p a rt of the employer will sometimes greatly benefit
the men I remember tha t at o ne o f ou r meetings
.

with a committee it was incidentally remar k ed by

,
'

on e speaker th at th e necessity for obt aining credit

a t th e stores in th e neighbou rhood wa s a grave ta x

24 2 TH E E MPI RE or B U S I NE S S
thought of by the employer and p robably neve r
,

a s ked fo r by the men . For these and other rea son s

I attribute the greatest importance to an organiza
tion o f the men through whose duly elected r e pr e
,

sen t a t iv e s the managers may be kept informed from

time t o time of the i r gr i evances and suggestion s N o .

matter how able the manager the clever workma n,

can often S how him h ow beneficial changes can be

ma de in the specia l bran c h in which that workman
l abou rs U nles s t h e relations between manager a nd
.

workma n a re not only amicable bu t friendly the ,

owners miss much ; nor is any man a fi rs t clas s man -

ager wh o h as not the confidence and respect a nd ,

e ven the admiration o f h is workmen

, N o man is a
.
.

true gentleman wh o does not inspire the a ffe ction and

devotion of his servants .

Wh atever the futu re may h ave in store for Labou r ,

the evolutionist wh o sees nothing bu t certain an d

,

steady p rogres s for the race will neve r attempt t o

,

s e t bounds t o its triumphs even to its fin al form o f

,

complete and u nI ve rs a l indu strial cooperation which ,

I hope is some day to be reached .

The following extract is from an addres s delivered

o nopening the Library p resented to the workmen of

Homestead
“
A p artnership o f th ree is required in the indu s
t rial world when a n enterp rise is planned The .
 LA BO UR 24 3

fi rst of these not in importance but in time is

, , ,

Cap ital .

“
Without it nothing costly can be built From it .

comes the first breath o f life into matter p reviou sly

I nert .

“
The stru ctu res rea red by outside workmen ,

equipped and ready to begin in any line o f in

d u s t r ia l a ctivity the second p artner comes into
,

op eration That is B usines s Ability Capital h a s

. .

done it s p art It ha s p rovided all the instruments

.

o f p roduction ; but unles s it can command the ser

vices of able men to manage the b u s m e s s all that ,

Cap ital h as done crumbles into ruin .

“
Then comes th e third p a rtner in the works la s t ,

in order of time but not least S killed Labou r If it

, , .

fail to p erform it s p a rt nothing can be a ccomp lished

, .

Capital and B usines s Ability brought into pl ay with

o u t it are dead The wheels cannot revolve unles s
.

S killed Labou r sta rts them .

“
N ow volumes can be written a s to which one o f
,

the three p a rtners is first second o r third in impor

, ,

tance and the subj ect will remain j u st as i t wa s be

,

fore Political economists sp eculative philosopher s

.
,

an d p rea chers h ave been giving their views o n t h e

,

subj ect for hundreds o f years but the an swer ha s not ,

yet been found nor can it ever be becau se each of

, ,

t h e th re e is all important a nd every o ne i s e q u a l l y

-

,
2 44 TH E E MP I RE or B U SI N E SS
essential to the other t wo L abou r C ap i tal a nd
.
, ,

Ability are a three legged stool There is no first

-
.
,

second or last There is no p recedence $ They are

, .

equal members o f the great triple alliance which

moves the indu strial world ” .

W e have seen the position which Labour has

reached in o u r day E mployee and employer meet
,
.

upon equal terms It wa s the writer s p rovince to

.
’

confer with Labour for twenty S ix years and the -

more h e knew o f the working m en the higher they rose

in h is estimation and regard Sometimes but not .
,

often the worker may be misled by ex treme men ;

,

bu t as a rule a maj ority can always be depended

, ,

upon to be fair and reason able The following a re .

extracts from an a rticle the writer published in the

For u m Ap ril and Augu st 1 8 86
, ,
“
A strike or lockout is in itself a ridiculou s affair
, , .

Wh ether a failure or a su cces s it gives no direct ,

proof o f it s j ustice or inj ustice In this it resembles

.

wa r between two n ations It is s imp ly a question o f

.

strength and endurance between the contestants .

The gage of battle or the duel is not more senseles s

a s a means of establishing what is j u st and fair than
an indu strial strike or lockout It would be folly .

t o con clude that we h ave reached any permanent a d

j ustment between Capital and Labou r until stri kes

and lockouts a re a s much things of the p a st as the
2 46 TH E E MPI RE or B U S I NE S S «
3

dep artments of labou r it is unnecessa ry and I thin k , , ,

imp roper to subj e c t men to su ch an ordeal I n

, .

the ca se of railways and a few other employments

it is o f cou rse essential for the public wants th at no
, ,

interruption occ u r and in su ch ca se substitutes mus t

,

be employed ; but the employer of labou r will find it

much more to his interest wherever possible to , ,

allow his works t o remain idle and await the result

o f a dispute th an to employ the clas s of men th at
,

can be indu ced t o ta ke the place of other men wh o

h ave stopp ed work N either the best men a s men
.
,

no r the best men as workers a re thu s to be obtained

, .

There is an unw ritten law among the best workmen

“
Thou sh alt not take thy neighbou r s j ob ” No ’
.

wise employer will lightly lose his old employees .

Length of service counts for much in many ways .

Calling upon strange men should be th e last resort .

The writer never attempted to run works with

ne w men In his op inion strikes generally a ris e not
.
,

s o mu ch owing to disputes about wages a s to the

lack o f knowledge o f the one party by the other .

The employer does not know the men and their

point o f V iew and their troubles a nd the men do not
,

know their employer and h is troubles N either does .

the employer know the virtues of the workingman ,

nor the workingman the good qualities of the em

ployer E ach loo k s onl y a t one side of t he p rob
.
 LA B O U R 247

lem : Lac k of p roper recognition of the worker s

by the employers a s fellow men cau ses most o f t h e
-

labou r disputes In domestic s ervice where t h e t wo

.
,

clas ses employer and emp loyed d o get t o k now

, ,

e ach other a s men and women there a re fe w q u a r ,

rels simply becau se each finds the other posses sed

,

o f many endea ring traits Few a re the families in

.

which a re no t found valued servants living in their

o ld age a s members o f the hou sehold o r pensioned ,

and living near by in their cottages often visited .

TH E FI NA L R E LA T I O N B E T W EEN C A P I TA L A ND
LAB O U R

L a bou r a nd Ca pita l P artner:

While we h ave s aid th at Labou r h as sh ared i n t h e

p rogres s of the race considering from whence it
,

started an d th e position it now occup ies it cannot b e ,

claimed th at condition s a re s atisfactory a s they

e x ist . In the futu re Labou r is t o rise still higher .

Th e j oint stock form op ens the door t o the p artici

-

p atio u o f Labou r a s sh areholders in every branch of

bu siness In this the writer believes lies the final
.
, ,

and enduring solution of the Labou r question The .

Carnegie Steel Comp any made a b eginning by ma k

ing from time t o time forty o d d young p a rtners ; -

on ly one wa s r e l at e d t o t h e o rigi nal p a rtn e rs bu t a ll ,

2 48 TH E E MPI RE or B U S I NE S S
were selected upon their p roved merits after long
service N one contribu ted a penny Their notes
. .

were accepted p ayable only o u t of the p rofits of the

,

bu sines s Great care wa s taken to admit workers

.

of the mech anical dep artment which h ad hi t herto

,

been neglected by employers The first time a s u.

p e r int e nd e nt of one o f the works wa s made a p artner

attracted attention but a s we kept o n admitting
,

men wh o h ad risen from the ran ks a s mech anics we ,

found it more and more advantageous The sup er .

int e nd e nt s now s a t in conferen ce at the board with

the managers in the office From this policy sp rang
.

the custom of bonuses awarded yearly t o men in s u b

ordinate position s wh o h ad done exceptional work .

This clas s naturally felt th at th ey were on the u p

ward road to admission a s p ar tners ; their fee t upon
the ladder .

The p roblem p resented by the combination of

many steelworks into the o ne U nited States Steel
Corporation was not altogether new for individual ,

and corporate management h ave co existed since -

j oint stock comp anies were formed The former

-
.

h ad undoubtedly great advantages over the latter .

Able men managing their ownworks in competitio n ,

with large bodies of sh areholders employing s alaried

man agers were certain to distance their corporat e
,

co mp etitors , a nd did so N oth i n g c ans tand again s t

.
2 50 TH E E MPI RE OF B U SI NE S S
o both This view a s expres sed by the writer in
f .
,

the addres s referred t o we rejoice to s a y h a s bee n

, ,

adopted by the Steel Corporation and its last off er ,

o f shares gu arantees the men against loss .

Th e managerial dep a rtment is given bonuses

every yea r upon the p rofits of the concern .

All this wa s hailed by the writer with intense de

light a s in his day dreams he h ad often meditated
,
-

upon the plan of employees becoming joint owners

with himself and p artners Perh ap s he may be p er .

m it t e d to quote from the address referred t o ( May ,

190 3 London ) :
,

I cannot speak t oo highly of this experiment no r ,

give the Steel Company too much credit fo r ma kin g

it since it is declared to be in the experimental stage
, ,

and subj ect to future improvement a s all n ew ,

s chemes should be Its able and p rogres sive author

.
,

Mr George W Perkins is to be heartily c ongra t

. .
,

u la t e d .

“
Thu s we s e e gentlemen that the world moves on
, ,

step by step towa rd better conditions Ju st a s the .

mech anical world h as changed and improved so the ,

world of labou r ha s advanced from the slavery of the

labou rer t o the day o f his absolute independence ,

and now t o this day when h e begin s t o take his

,

p roper place as the cap italist pa rtner o f his employer -

.
 LAB OUR 25 1

W e m ay look forwa rd with hop e t o the day when it

s hall be the rule fo r the workman to be partner with

c apital the man o f aff airs giving his busines s e Xpe

,

r ie nce the workingman in th e mill his mechanical

,

s kill t o the comp any both owners o f the sh ares an d

, ,

s o fa r equally interested in the succes s o f their j oint

eff orts each indispen s able a nd without whose co

, ,

op eration succes s would be impossible I c is a splen .

’

did vista alon g which we are p ermitted to gaze .

Perhap s I may be considered mu ch t oo s anguine

in this foreca st which no doubt will take time t o
,

realize but a s the result of my experien ce I a m co n

,

v ince d that the huge combin ation and eve n t h e

,

moderate corporation ha s no chance in comp etition

,

with the p artnership which embra ces the p rincip al

o fficials a nd ha s adopted the system of p ayment by
bonu s o r rewa rd throughout its works Th e latter .

may be relied upon as a rule t o ea rn h andsome

, ,

dividends in times o f dep res sion du ring which the

,

former condu cted upon the o ld plan will incu r

, ,

a ctu al lo s s and perhap s lan d in financial embarras s

,

ment In sp ea king of corporation s we must not

.

forget however that there are many which a re co r

, ,

po t ation s in n ame only their management being t h e

,

life work o f few owners These rank with p artner

.

s hip s ,
having all t he a dvantages o f this form Th e .

tr ue corporation is th at whose sha res are u po n t h e

252 TH E E MPI RE O F B U SI NE S S
Stock E xchange and whose real owners change c o n
,

s t a nt ly an d a re often unknown even to the p res

ident and direc tors while to the workmen they are

,

mere abstractions It is impossible to infuse through

. ,

'

their ranks the sentiment of person al regard and

loyalty in all it s wonderful power The step ta ken .

by th e U nited States Steel Corporation is therefore

no surp rise to me fo r I h ave long believed th at su ch
,

corporations would be compelled t o adopt the best

a ttain able substitute for the personal factor of the

older system o r su ff er In the sagacious policy of

, .

th e U n ited States Steel Corporation I see p roof of

that O pinion nor can I suggest a better form than
,

that it ha s adopted a lways p rovid e d the working

,

ma n sha reholder be s ecu red a ga in st loss .

“
I n the p ercentage allotted by the plan t o rewa rd
exceptiona l offi cials we have fo r the huge corporation
pe rh a ps th e be st sub stitu te attainable fo r the magic
o f pa rtnership which noth ing however ca n a p
, , ,

p roa ch The rewa rd o f depa rtmental o fficia ls may

.
‘

readily be secured under this p rovision I n the *

.

bonu s gra nted yea rly upon shares held by the em

l
p y o ee s
.
w e have proof o f rega rd f o r the m which
ca nnot bu t tell a nd the d istribution of s ha res in th e
,

concern a mong them gives an advantage which s o

‘

fa r no partnership even ha s enj oyed T he latter .

will no doubt a dopt the plan or fi nd some e qu iva

,
2 54 TH E E M P I R E OF B U S I N E S S
rendering exceptional service will p robably e ncou n,

ter the opposition o f the extremists o n both s ides ,

th e violent revolutionist of cap italistic condition s

an d the n arrow gra sping employer whose creed is t o
,

pu rchase his labou r as he does his materials p aying ,

the p rice agreed upon and ending there B ut this .

opposition will we believe amount to little It

, , .

will even speak well fo r the new idea if s couted by the

extremists and commended by the mas s of men wh o
a re on neither dangerou s edge but in the middle , ,

where u su ally lies wisdom .

“
Meanwhile here is the germ of a p romising plan
,

o ff ered as a solution for one of the p ressing p roblems

o f ou r age which may p rove cap able o f development
, .

Let u s receive stu dy and discuss it with open mind

, , .

That the p roblem will be solved and th at the two

actors are some day to live in friendly co operation ,

e t no o n e doubt Human society bears a cha rmed

.

ife It is immortal and wa s born with the inherent

.
,

ower or instinct a s a law o f its being t o sol v e all

, ,

ro ble m s fin ally in the best form an d among these ,

none more su rely than th at vexed question o f ou r

d ay the relation s between thes e Siamese Twins
, ,

which mu st mutually p rosper o r mutually decay

E mployer and E mployed Capital and Labou r .

“
Two and a h alf million dollars worth of additional
’

s t oc k wa s off e re d by t h e S t e e l Comp an y t o wor k me n

 LAB OUR 255

this yea r ( 190 8 ) and all ta ken and twenty five thou
,
-

s and more o f the employees applied fo r sh ares many ,

f o r one share only and these are to be p rovided s o

, ,

th at nearly o ne hundred thou sand workmen of thi s

comp any are soon to be shareholders i e p art owner s
,
. .
,

h aving a right to vote with their fellow p rop rietors -

and sharing in the p rofits These workers h av e

.

their feet upon th e ladder and a re bou nd t o rise

, .

They are very likely to s ave and invest more an d

more This is the answer reached by evolution
.
,

under p resent conditions to pessimists and re vo lu

,

t io nis t s which o u r Socialistic friends should ponder

,

well.

“
The strict poli t ical economist o f ou r day may look
as kance at the idea o f a minimum wage and a gua r
antee fo r the workmen against los s upon their shares
in comp anies in which they hold a minority interest ;
but wh atever final form the merger o f Labou r an d
Cap ital may a s sume in the distant futu re thes e ,

featu res seem t o be essential u nder p resent condi

tion s If taxation should be borne only according
.

t o abil ity to p ay it is not wholly u nreasonable tha t

,

the workman should no t be subj ect to los s fo r hav , ,

ing only a minimu m wage he h as no ability t o incu r

,

los s The exemption of a stated sum from income

.

tax in B ritain and in America the exemption of t h e

,

s mal l hom e stead are e x ample s of this p rinciple

,
.
2 56 TH E E MPI RE OF B U S I NE SS
“
Should the workmen h old the maj ority o f shares
an d really manage the business exemption from ,

sharing loss should ceas e .

“
This is only a beginning The Filene Stores of .

B oston a shareholding comp any employing seven t o

,

nine hundred men has gone farthest o f all in t h e

,

direction of making its employees j oint owners The .

c ap ital stock is held only by employees and is re ,

tu rned to the corporation at its value should the ,

employee leave the s ervice E very share of stock .

belongs to some one working in the stores The .

most important advance is th at all questions a re

submitted t o a rbitration not only complaints or
,

disputes but wages s cope of work and tenure of

, , ,

emp loyment More than fou r hundred ca ses of a r

.

b it r a t ion have arisen and the result is that both

,

managers a nd employees have been satisfied th at

this is the true plan When an employee is dis
.

charged h e h a s the right to appeal t o an arbitration

board composed o f fellow e m p love e s o f di ff erent
grades All wage disputes have been s atisfactorily
.

s ettled There is a profit sha ring dep artment hav

.
-

i ng nothing to do with wages which has been able to ,

distribute varying amounts each year .

“
There is also a Welfare Committee of the share
‘

holders which manages a club house and maintain s

,

lun ch and recreation rooms The Ins urance Com .

258 TH E EMP I RE or B U SI N E SS
I ts no dragging of the latter down but the rais ,

ing o f the former up .

We never s e e a fishing fleet sail without hailing it

a s th e fi nest illustration of the p erfect relationship
which is one day to p revail between Cap ital an d
Labou r generally E very man in the ship from t h e
.

captain down is a p artner p aid by sharing in the

,

p rofits of the catch a ccording to the value o f his

,

labou r E ven the lowest p aid p robably a youn g

.
,

h and not yet an ablebodied s e a m an cou ld be a

, h

p artner in the busines s .

“
Here is a field cap able o f immediate and wide ex
tension p rovided employers agree to fix a minimu m
wage sufficient to maintain economically the work
er s hou sehold and to this it is believed every fair
’
,

minded employer would gladly agree .

“
So fa r we h ave a list o f I 8 9 manufactu ring concerns
in the U nited States which h ave welfa re departments
s ales of stock to workmen o r other modes o f a d,

d ing to their wages o r forms recognizing th e com

,

munity o f interest between employers and employed .

“
Gilman in his book on profit sharing publishe d
,
-

in 1 8 99 gave the following n umbers of pro fit sharing

,
-

fi rms in the different countries of E u rop e :

Fr n
a ce 1 20 It ly a

B it in
r a 94 H ll nd o a

G m ny
er a 4 7 B lg i m e u

S w i t z rl a nd
e 14 A u t i Hungary s r a -
 LAB O UR 259

It will soon be the exception for employers upon a

great s cale to ignore this feature E ighteen o f th e .

p rincip al railroad comp anies in America h ave estab

lis h e d systems o f pensions for their employees a s
extra recompense the cost borne exclu sively by the
,

corporations The pension featu re like profit sha r

.
,
-

ing is making great headway and p romis es soon

, ,

t o be univers al .

“
So ma rches Labou r up the heights to equ ality ,
”
with the millionaire as his p artner in busines s .

It will be seen th at the writer s views a re no t of ’

yesterday ; h e h as had con siderable experien ce with

the labou r p roblem and thought much over it ,
.

Whether th e Communists ideal is to be fin ally ’

reache d u pon earth after man is so ch anged th at

,

self i nterest which is now the main sp ring o f hu man

-

action will give place t o heavenly neighbou r

,

interest cannot be known The futur e h a s not been

,
.

revealed He who s ays yes and he wh o s ays no

.
, ,

a re equally foolha rdy N either knows ; therefore .

neither should p resume t o consider mu ch les s to ,

legislate in their day fo r a futu re they can know,

nothing of E ndowed a s man is with th e I n st i nct

.

for imp rovement fortunately no limit t o his march

,

toward perfection can be s et bu t wh at p erfectio n i s ,

t o be we k now n ot T he wri t er how e ver believe s

.
, ,
2 60 TH E E MPI RE O F B U SI NE S S
one point to be clear v iz : that the next step towar d
,
.

imp roved labour conditions is through t he stage of

shareholding in the indu strial world the workman ,

becoming j oint owner in the p rofits of his labou r .

Payment to slaves and s erfs by p roviding shelter ,

and food and clothi ng for them then by orders upon ,

the stores for a rticles u p to p ayment by cash t o ind e

,
'

—
p endent workmen to day each a great step fo r ward
, ,

h ave all been tried and now the co ming day dawn s
,

wh en p ayment is to be made wh olly or in p art by

p r o fi-
t sharing the workman
,
h aving the status o f th e
sha re owning o fficial a nd a voice in managemen t a s
-

joint owner He will be gu aranteed a minimu m

.

wage when finally p aid b yp rofits entirely t o keep

, ,

his mind easy and free for his wprk the proper s u p ,

port of himself and o f his family b eing thu s insu red .

It may be mentioned that the investments o f

workmen p artners in the U nited States Steel Cor
-

p o r a t io n h ave been very p rofitable to both th e m en

and the comp any .

To the sober minded workmen we s ay again hold

-

, ,

fast to th at which h as p roved itself good Keep .

marching upon the p ath of decided and c ontinuou s

p rogres s a p rogres s which can be p roved by simp ly
,

glanci ng backwa rd to conditions under which L a b ou f ‘

started when work was the p art of slaves and con

, ,

t ras ting t h ese wit h it s pr es ent i ndep e nd ent pos iti on ;

26 2 TH E E MPI RE O F B U SI N E S S
its troubles and disappointments which come at in ,

t e v a ls to the most successful concerns will teach

r
,

the workman much that h e d id no t know before .

—
Co p artnership tends t o bring a realizing sense o f
the truth to both Labou r and Cap ital that their
interests broadly considered are mutu al ; and a s
, ,

fa r a s the latter is concerned it may finally in some

, ,

cases be all furnished by those engaged in t h e

,

works which is the ideal that should be held in

,

view the workman both Cap i t alist and Wor k er ,

E mployee and E mployer .

T his however is not for ou r time W e are only

, ,
.

p ioneers whos e duty is t o start the movement leav

, ,

ing to ou r succes sors its full and free development a s

human society advances .

The first comp any s o owned will mar k a new era i n

the relations of L abour and Capital W e may no t .

h ave t o wait long fo r th i s experiment since it is i n ,

line with recent develop ments The writer h a s no .

desire t o embark again in bu siness but nothing ,

would app eal to him s o strongly a s this ideal He .

should li ke to address a body of workmen many ,

“
tho u sands in number as all fellow p artners ” He -
.
,

addresses forty odd at dinner once every year by

-

th at endearing term — p artners of his youth and

dear friends o f his old age ; only t wo ever pu t a dollar
i n the business All the others .
— many o f them
 LA B O U R 2 63

wor ki ngmen ea rned their sha res by brilliant ser

vice Most of th em are dollar mil l ionaires
. a ll a re-

rich .

Thus is Labou r soon to attain its deserved pla ce

an d recompen se and Workman and Capitalist b e
,

come o ne — the wage system except a minimum , ,

b eing displaced by division of p rofits .

T he foregoing was written before the following by

J o hn Stu art Mill attracted the writer s attention : ’

The form of a s sociation however which if , , ,

m an kind continu e t o imp rove mu st be expected in ,

th e end t o p redominate is not th at which can exist

,

between a cap italist a s chief and workpeople without

a vo i c e l n the management but the a ssociation of ,

the labou rers th emselves o n terms of equ ality col ,

le c t iv e ly owning the cap ital with which they ca rry

o n th eir O perations and working under manager s
,

elected and removable by

It is most encou raging that s o great an authority
a s Mill fores aw that the ideal condition o f the futu re
l ay not in State owned fa ctories and mines uniform
-

,
~

wages to workmen and the abolition o f p rivate

,

capital as Socialists u rge but in uniting the work

, ,

man and the capitalist in one and the s ame p e rson .

The writer is convinced th at this is to be the highly

’

s atisfactory an d fi nal solution Th e first step in .

*P li ti l E n my ” (M ill ) P p l E di i n 9 45 5
“
o ca co o , ee
’
e s t o .
2 64 TH E E MPI RE OF B U S I NE S S
a dvance h as already come in the n atural progr es s of
evolution — no revolution necessary — and it i s
earnestly p ressed upon the attention o f t h e int e lli
gent workingman and his leaders som e o f whom ,

seem to h ave been misled into devoting themse lves

to the advocacy of a system admittedly unsuited to
,

o u r day which requires an organic change in th e r e

'

la t io ns o f society and indeed inv olves a complete

,

revolution in the nature of man — the tas k o f a '

thous and years .

Th e exp eriment o f Labour an d Ca pital U nion

'

- - -

Workmen Capitalists-
— ha s exceeded so fa r all ex
t a t ions E ven the convinced S ocialist might
p e c .
,

therefore hail it a s at least a step in t h e T ight d ire c

,

tion making Labou r s position better than before,

,
’

“
s aying to himself : Let the future b ring wh at it
may a bird in the hand is o ft e n wo rt h more than a
,
'

whole flock in the bu sh O u r socialistic remedy is

.

fo r the futu re ; let u s not forget this in o u r dealings

with the p resent ” .

Such seems to the writer the p art of wisdom .

 WAG E S

HE t wo s choo ls of Socialism evolutiona ry ,

a nd revolutiona ry differ upon the cru cial ,

question of wages although it is fu nd a m e n,

tal and mu st be settled o ne wa y or the other fo r ,

until it is wh at Socialism really mean s cannot be

,

known If wages a re not t o be equ al all classes

.
,

cannot b e merged and kept u niform — th e basis

o f Socialism We quote from several Socialistic
.

sou rces
“
Socialism forbids the futu re u s e of p roperty a s
p rivate mean s of p roduction o r p rivate sou rce of
income and thu s necess arily puts an end t o ine qu ali
,

ties of
“
Socialism is that mode of social life which based ,

upon the recognition o f the n atu ral brotherhood an d

unity of man kind would h ave lan d and capital
,

owned by the community collectively and operated ,

”
c oOpe r a t ive ly fo r the equ al good of a ll T .

“
Ou r aim one and all is to obtain for the whole
, ,

community complete ownership and control o f th e

$ ‘
Q in
u n
t e s sef S i li m
ce o p 34oc a s , . .

liturg ic : F bi nS i t y F m S fd m t S i li m p n
“
al a a oc e ro er o o oc a s , . o .

26 7
2 68 TH E E MPI RE O F B U S I N E S S
mean s of transport the means of manufactu re the
, ,

mines and the land Thu s we look to put an en d .

forever to the wage system to sweep away all d is t inc

tions o f clas s and eventually to establish n ational
,

an d intern ational Communis m on a sound

The land being the s t o re h ou s e of the ne c e s
,
t

s a r ie s o f life should be declared and treated a s public

p roperty .

“
The cap ital neces s ary for indu strial O p erations
should be owned and u sed collectively .

“
Work and wealth resulting therefrom should be
‘
e quitably distributed over the population 1 .

“ ”
Controversy writes M r s Annie B esant will “
, ,
.

probably a ris e as to the division ; shall all the sha res

be equ al o r shall the workers receive in p roportion
,

to the supposed dignity or indignity of the i r work $

Inequality however would be odiou s
, ,
.

The imposs ibility of estimat i ng the sep arate value of

each man s labou r with any really va li d result the
’
,

friction which would a rise the j ealousies which ,

would be p rovoked th e inevitable dis content fa, ,

vo u r it is m and j obbery th at would p revail : all these

,

things will drive the Communal Council into the

right p ath ”
equ al remuneration of all wo rk e rs I .

*J i n M nif
o t a B i i h S i li i B d F m S fd m S i li m
e s to, r t s oc a st c o ies ro er o to oc a s ,

p
.

1 10

y F m S fd i li m
.

TI nd e pe nd e nt L abo r P a rt , ro er o m to Soc a s , p . 1 11 .

I Th e Case a ga ns t Soc a
“
i i li m p 8
”
s , . 22 .
2 70 THE E M P I RE OF BU S I NE S S
third clas s men There will be no need fo r thi s
.

when c i t i es cease to compete with each other and o ne ,

may n aturally expect th at Socialist cities would

abolish this least vestige of comp etition still remain
ing between differ e nt municip al corporations .

The as sociated corporations will be able t o p ay

sufficiently large s alaries and each individual co r
,

p o r a t io n requiring a specialist s as sistance might

’

p ay consultation fees into a common pool Joint .

action in this direction will tend t o steady the mov e

ments of experts and o fficials ; and fo r the rest it ,

should be looked upon as a dis creditable p roceedin g

o nthe p art of a man holding s a a responsible post
, y , , ,

as engineer surveyor architect o r other simila r

, , ,

profes sion to transfer h is services after committing

,

the community to some large s cheme involving

great outl ay until the work is su fficiently near co m
,

p le t io n for th e res ponsibility t o be p roperly placed

in case of failu re .

“
It is no p art o f the Socialist plan to ru n munici
p al concern s under the control of t h e managerial
leavings of p rivate e nterp rise for th a t way disas t e r
,

l ies .
”
Here we h ave a revelation N othing new is t o be
.

obtained by Mr J owe t t s brand of Socialism e x cep t

.
’

th at Socialistic cities are t o combine which they d o ,

no t d o under p resen t conditions and agre e not t o ,

 WA GE S 27 1

'

ofi e r a higher r e wa rd for labou r thu s robbing other

,

c ities of their valu able men No competition fo r

.

labou r $ Valuable men a re t o be comp elled to remai n

where they a re N o chan ce o f escape $ Wh at d o
.

o u r friends o f labou r thin k o f this $ Ability a s ,

to day will look for and receive high rewa rds a nd

-

, ,

cities through their governors will condes cend to

combine to thwart service receiving the rewa rd wh ich
u nder the free play of forces it would command .

“
In The N ecessa ry B asis of Society ( Conte m ”

p o r a r
y Re vie w
,
June 1 90 8 p ,
Mr . Sidney Webb .
,

wh o tells u s he is a Socialist writes a s follows :

,
“
The most democratic Government of the en su i n g
centu ry based a s it mu st neces sarily be o n th e
, ,

very idea o f p roviding for each of the s eries of mi

no rit ie s o f which the world is made u p is a s likely
to p rovide fo r one minority a s fo r another for it s ,

poets a s fo r it s app rentices fo r its s cientists as fo r its

,

soldiers for its artists as for its a rt ific e r s and with

, ,

the advance of a ctu al knowledge in the administra

tion is even more likely t o know h ow they can be
fostered and really well p rovided for than t he irre
sponsible plu tocratic patron ever did ” .

Another eminent authority Mr H G Wells in ,

. . .
,

his recent book diff ers from both sides quoted

,
.

The State is not t o take over all bran ches of indu s

trial p rodu ction b u t only half He declares
,
.
2 72 TH E E M P I RE OP B U SI N E S S
A moiety or little short of a moiety of t he
, ,

bu sines s of su ch a country a s E ngland mu st always

be in the h ands O f men who are the masters o f
their own enterp rises and a re not the s alaried
,

o ffi ci als of a ny la rger organization wh atsoever .

Labour i s not to be p aid equ al wages or a ccording

to its needs .

“ ‘
Socialism does not p ropose t o abolish competi
tion a s many h asty and foolish antagonists decla re
,
’
.

If the reader ha s gone through wh at has p receded

this h e will know that this is not s o Socialis m
, .

tru sts to comp etition for the service and imp rove
ment of the world And in order that competition
.

between man and man may h ave free play Socialism ,

seeks to abolish one pa rt ic u la r fo rm of competition ,

the competition to get and hold p roperty even to

marry p roperty th at degrades ou r p resent world .

B ut it would leave men free to compete for fame for ,

service for s alaries for position and authority for

, , ,

leisu re for love and

,

Socialism mu st either establish equ ality of wages ,

fo r thus only can it maintain uniformity o f living o r ,

retain the p resent system of inequality o f wages in

volving va riety of living .

If the former were adopted human life would be

ch anged with results unknown N o wonder Mr
,
. .

*NCW Worl d
“
s for Old (We ll )s .
 274 THE EMP I RE OF B U SI N E SS
S ocialists a pp re h end ed th a t they a re fata l to t h e
realization of t h e Socialisti c state with it s uniform
incomes and abolition of p rivate p roperty no t o nly ,
L

“
d uring ou r tim e but until or unles s t he organic
s tructure be completely altered
” .

M an s p rogress in the past has been steady a nd

’
,

h e h as travelled upward from s avagery but lon g is ,

the road and devious the way to complete ch an ge o f

th e organi c structu re of the economic and p ersonal
r ela ti onship s o f human society Yet this mu st be
.

r eached b e for e Socialism as a system can be intro

d u ce d S t range th at such men as we h ave quoted

.

fi t for leaders o f their fellows in ass aults Upon the

numerou s evils of o u r day should waste their
powers upo n a system which they admit cannot be
adopted until organic changes ta ke place in the
stru ctu re of human society .

We have before u s the work of ou r own day and

generation and only this can we pu sh forwa rd during
,

o u r lives To this it is ou r duty to devote ourselves

.
,
[

ileaving the work of the distant future to o u r succes

i s o rs . R are are the men capable of dealing wisely

lwit h the needs o f their o wn time E ven with these
.

their success is often not su rp risingly b rillian t W e .

h ave not been blest with men capable of legislating

p roperly fo r generations t o come They do not and .

cannot ex ist .
 WAG E S 27 5

M eanwhile in view ,
of conflicting views ex
th e

p ressed we shall su rely be excused for a s king th e

,

Socialists for an authoritative an swer to the question

whether Socialis m involves equ al wages o r whethe r
th e p resent individu alistic mode of p aymen t accord :

ing t o service rendered is t o be retained or Mr , .

Wells s h alf and half system to be adopted

’
- -
.

The most devoted dis ciple of Socialis m mu s t

realize that this constitutes one of the t wo vital
d ifl e re nc e s between the Individualistic and S oc ia lis

tic systems — th e other being the right o f p rivate

p roperty — th at it is fundamental and lies at th e
,

root of the whole matter N o equal wages no.

,

Socialism possible ; equal wages no Individualis m

,

possible ; half equal and half unequal wages e n dles s ,

confusion We leave the revolutiona ry the e volu

.
,

t io na ry and the h alf and half Socialists t o study

,
- -

the p roblem and decide ; until it is solved Socialis m

remains a mere babble of words signifying nothing ,

for this is not a mere incident in its p rogres s i t s tands

,

at t h e th r e s hold a nd d e mands settl e ment .

 THR I FT

E Soc i a l is t ic system a s , h all s e e d oe s

we s ,

not h arm onize with ou r p resent hom e a nd

family relation s which ma ny of u s t re a s ure
, ,

f or the i r ho l y and ennobl ing influenc e u po n hu man

li fe a s the mo s t p recious of al l in s titu t ion s
, .

We fi nd it also attac ks or belittles one of th e vir

tue s which a s we believe lie s at t h e roo t of the pro
, ,

gre ss of ou r race th at of Thrift

,
.

M os t men and wom e na re b ornto pover ty C om .

p a ra t ive ly few a re p rov i ded fo r a n d fre e t o s p e nd

live s of e as e The vas t majority must wor k to l iv e
. .

For tuna t e l y for himself in all p robabilit y Keir

, ,

Hardie is no exception If h e h ad been one of t h e

.

few born t o competence h e might never h av e a t

,

t a ine d eminence th rough se rv i c e t o his fellows In .

h is booklet in t h e
“
L abou r I dea l s e rie s ( p 3 8) .

after writ i ng th at the Sermon ont h e Mount is full y

o f th e spir i t of pu re S ocialism h e continue s
“
, Nay
, ,

in its lofty contemp t for th rift and fore t hought it ,

g oes far in advance o f an yt hing e v e r pu t for w ard b y

an y Communist ,
ancient o r mod e rn .

T h r ift cannot comme nd it s e l f to th e true S oci al i st,

3 79
2 80 TH E E MPI R E OF B U S I NE S S
wh o forbid s private cap ital but th e story of t he
,

talent hid in the ground inculcates the duty of man

not o nly t o gua rd his cap ital but to increase it and ,

we a re told tha t h e th at p rovides not for those o f

his own hou se h ath denied the faith and is wors e
n
,

than an i fidel $
Proper p rovision cert ainly requires a reserve fund
fo r contingenci es If We were to divide the vast
.

a rmy o f workers of ma tu re age into t wo classes the ,

s avers a n d the spendth rifts , we should p ractically

'

s ep a ra t e the c r editable fro m the discreditable the ,

e x emplary fro m the pit iable the p rogres sive from

,

t h e backsliders the sober from the intemperate

,
.

A visit to their respectiv e homes would confirm this

clas si fi cation The t h rif tywou ld be found not only
.
r

the best wor k men and foremost in the shop but the
, ,

b es t citizen s and the best h usbands and fathers the ,

lead e rs and exemplars o f their fellows Many a re .

those wh o h ave risen from the ranks o f manu al 1a

bou r a rid a c h ie ve d r e pu t a t ion for useful wor k per
formed fo r the com munity and been held in general
,

e steem a s mod e l citizens Much good h ave they

' '

a ccomplished fo r their fellows That they were

.

t hrifty thoughtful men goes without saying They

,
‘
.

c ould n o t o t h e rwis e h ave ris en If the workmen

'

n
.

d epositors in s avi gs banks members of friendly ,

an d of buildi n g socie t i e s c
, oOpe ra t ive stores and ,
L and
2 86 THE EMP I RE or B U SI N E S S 5
it is t a x ed a t all Th e wor l d may be ran sac k ed in
.

vain f or equally large n umber s of men women a nd , ,

c hildren residing u nder such favourable conditio n s .

Hom e swee t home i s t h e spo t round which cen tre

,

t h e i r fondes t hop es their deares t wishes and thei r

, ,

ea t est happiness Th e few wh o rent f or t he ti me

g r .

'
h ave t h e desire a nd r eason able hop e of s oonowning
t heir homes the wisest pu rchase that can be mad e
, .

Similar con ditions pr e vail in Canada Au s t ralia and , ,

N ew $ ealand .

France has five and a h alf million peas ant p roprie

tors ; Germany has over S ix millions average holding ,

t hir ty acres . It is only in the United Kingdom that

the land question i s acute The p resent condition s
.

of land holding in the countries n

-
amed p rove t o the
p eople o f the o ld land wh at can be done ; bu t the
favoured people of the fou r new co untries n amed ha d
a clean s l ate t o begin with nothing t o obliterate .

T hey do not therefore teach th e needed les son t o

, ,

the mo therland which Denmar k does That won .

d e rfu l little country not ong ago wa s in t h e hands of

a fe w own ers wh o rented it in p ortions to farmers
, ,

whos e p osition wa s th a t of fa rmers in t h e U nited

Kingdom t o da y B u t it i s now very di ff eren t
-
. .

The y are now on the same plane a s farm owners in -

America and o ther E nglish spea king nations T h e -

.

l a nd t h at s e ve n ty odd ye ar s ago was i n t h e h an d s 0 f

-
 TH E LAN D 2 87

th e few is now owned by no less than p eop le ,

an d a s t o
,
of the holdings the law prevent s
,

their being merged t o form larger fa rms or e states .

The area of the country is les s than ten mil l i o na c re s

and the population t wo and a half million s .

Denmark s exports o f butter eggs cheese bacon

’
, , , ,

beef and pork to Great B rita in alone in 190 4

, , ,

amounted t o more tha n fi ft een millions sterling A .

sta rtling statement $ One wond e rs wh at B ritish

farmers are doing .

No revolution wa s neces sa ry t o p roduce the

change no Government ownership It wa s all
,
.

quietl y done o ne step after another The country

,
.

w a s divided into farms o f a certain size and a p ro

g r e s s ive land tax
-
levied F
. o r o ne man cultivating
on e fa rm the tax was small .If he had another th e
tax wa s much greater upon the second and so o n ,

until addition s became p roh ibitive the obj ect being

,

t o favour the owning o f farms by those wh o cultivated

them The p roduce o f the land is now th ree times

.

a s great a s u nder the former system o f large p rop rie

tors still existing in th e U nited Kingdom Th e
, .

magic s aid to be in ownership wa s really found there .

B y following the example of Denmar k which in ,

volves neither dangerou s exp erime n t nor violent

distu rb ance the land of the U nited Kingdo m canb e
,

owned and wor k ed by the owners thereof ea ch man ,

2 88 THE E MPI RE O F B U SI N E SS
with a reasonable acreage and thu s many happy and
,

endearing homes established This is well but it is .

,

not all nor even the best result D enmark s policy

, .
’

h a s cre ated an independent p rosp erous h appy and

, ,

contented p eople .

Instead of o ne great mammoth landowner th e ,

State a s Socialists p ropose B ritain should have

, ,

hundr eds of thou sands o f small owners necessa rily ,

developing into men of a much higher typ e than

mere tenants o r employees can ever become Th e .

magic of ownership works wonders not only upon ,

the soil but upon the happy working owner thereof

,
.

T he typ e of men developed in America upon fa rms

they own taken all in all is not to be equalled a s
, , ,

f ar as the writer h as known large clas ses of men .

The s ame qu alities characterize the land owning -

wor k ers of Canada Au stralia N ew $ ealand and

, , ,

Denmark .

Land in thes e countries is everywhere free a s ,

other p rop erty is The laws of p rimogeni t ure and

.

'

settlements exist only in B ritain N o E nglish .

sp eaking people elsewhere Would tolerate them .

We h ave a striking instance o f land development

going forward in America at p resent Forty od d .
-

years ago there were fou r million slaves owned by

other p eople They owned nothing and could own
.

nothing They did not even ownthemselves The y

. .
290 TH E E MPI RE OF B U SI NE S S
To trans fer the land now cultivated and mainly
owned by these p eople into the h ands of the State
and degrade the p resent working owners into menials
working for and paid by State agents is unthin k
able O ur Socialistic f riends would require larger
.

armies to coerce them than h ave ever yet assembled ,

and then they would fail for men fi ghting in defence

,

o f their homes in which many o f them and most of

,

their children were born would h ave their quarrel

,

j ust N o o ffer on the p art of the State to insu re

.

their continued residence undisturbed would be e n

t e r t a ine d.They would never agree t o come under
any restriction of their right to do a s they p leased
with their own homes It is the s ame with Cana
.

dians and Au stralasians .

In every E nglish sp ea k ing land other than

-

B ritain estates are generally divided about equ ally

among the children ; but the farm u sually goes t o t h e
member best qu ali fied to work it the other member s ,

ta king other p arts o f the estate o r mortgages upo n

the farm .

Th e p roposed exclu sive taxation of land p ropo sed ,

by Henry George wa s denounced by the peop le of

,

Canada and America a s keenly a s would be a propo

sitio u to ma ke America a mona rchy o r Canada a
colony minu s self government In both lands t h e
-
.

agricultur i s t s rul e Le t th e most e l oq u e nt S o ci al i s t

.
 TH E LAND 29 1

endeav our t o conv i nce t hes e owne rs of t he soil tru e ,

landlord farmers th at they a re not p art an d the

-

, ,

best p art o f the most highly develop ed and mo st

,

desirable society k nown to man and he will have a

,

rude awa kening No Socialism for them

. .

Much is to be s aid against the B ritish landlord

s ystem It h a s little to commend it It is a s u rv i
. .

va l o f the p ast but let no t Socialists imagine th at

,

recou rse to State ownership is the p rop er substitute .

Let them follow the example of Denmark and by ,

the creation o f farmer landlords each with o ne farm

-

, ,

give to B ritain o ne of the greates t o f bles sings a ,

land owning and land tilling people instead of a few

- -

land owning squires who neither toil no r sp in

-
.

Here lies before B ritain a tas k easy of accomplish

ment It is no experiment ; neither is it revolution
.

a ry O u r own race in other lands and the p eople o f

.

D enmark have p roved the valu e o f small fa rms

owned and cu ltivated by own e r s O ne reads with .

wonder th at
“
Th e cultivated land of the United Kingdom
( including p arks and perma n ent p astu res b u t not ,

mountain o r wa ste ) amounted in 1 8 80 t o

a cres Th e total acreage is
. acres B y .

th e D oo m e s d a y B ook of 1 87 5 it app e ared th at one

fourth o f the total acreage ( excluding plots under 1
a cre ) is held by owners at an average for each
,
29 2 THE E MPI RE or B U S I NE S S
of acres ; another fourth by persons a t ,

an average of acres ; another fourth is held by

persons averaging 3 80 acres each ; and the
,

remaining fourth by persons averaging 70 ,

a cres each ( Caird ) Peers in number about 60 0

.
, ,

h old rather more than o ne fif t h of all the land in -

th e kingdom Thus o ne h alf o f the whole territory

.
-

i s in the h ands o f only individuals ; t h e

o ther h alf is divided among in

In Scotland the contrast is even greater Twelve .

p ersons in 1 8 76 held more than a qua rter of S cot

land ; seventy held h alf N ine tenth s of S cotland
.
-

wa s held by fewer than person s .

As upon the vital question of equal or unequal

wages Socialists are divided they are al so upon the ,

equ ally important question of the confis c ation of o r

p ayment for the land which a ccording to their ,

theory the n ation should acquire

,
.

Mr Sidney Webb testified before the R oyal Com

.

mission o n Labou r
“
Q 3 88 7 Supposing it ( the rate ) h ad to go s o
. .

fa r a s t o a mount to 20 shillings in the pound what ,

then $
“
Am That is a consummation I shou ld view
.

without any al arm whatever .

Enycl op di B i t n i
“
c e a n V l X1V p 265
r a ca, o . .. . .
2 94 THE E M P I RE OF B U S I N E SS
to the land for no man made it My only hop e
,
.

is tha t compen s ation be k ep t as low a s possible ” .

“
Mr Jowett M P says that Socialists recognize
.
, . .
,

the expediency in all and the j u stice in some cases , ,

o f paying for land rather than c o n fi s c a t i ng it

’
.
,

The truth is that the Socialistic leaders have not

h es itated t o p ropos e the most sweep ing changes ,

a mounting t o a revolution o f existing conditions ,

without having first considered how these were to b e

a ccomplished They diff er upon equ al and unequ al
.

wages a fundamental question ; and up on p ayment

,

for or confiscation of the land pu rchase o r robbery

another fundamental question These t wo ques .

tions determine wh at Socialism is o r is not They , .

are the pillars of the Socialistic edifice and not yet ,

agreed upon U pon o ne point however there is

.
, ,

unanimity The land mu st in one way o r another

.

be n ation alized All agree in this

Lord Wolverh ampton h as re c e nt ly fl
. .

a s h e d light ,

upon this subj ect of p ayment for o r confiscation o f

the land by t e llinga story o f Gladstone The world s .
’

foremost citizen being a s ked about Socialism re

, ,
“
plied that it had to meet this query Did it pro ,

pose to buy the land or t o take it $ If the first it ,

was folly ; if the second it wa s robbery ,

.

Let us as sume for the p resent th at t h e demand for

*Th“
e i li
So c a st a nd t he C iy t , P o 24 °
 THE LAN D 295

c on fi scation made by the radical section of t h e

Socia list p arty will be rej ected by the moderates .

The query then arises How is the land to be p aid

,

fo r $ The great bulk of it h as been acqu ired u n

der law a s it then existed and a s it exists t o day ,
-
.

Territory won by force in bygone ages a s a whole is

now in the posses sion o f innocent pu rchas ers It .

ha s been p aid for N ow if there be o ne tenet of

.
,

honest dealing firmly rooted in the cons cience o f

civilized men it is th at the title to su ch pu rcha se is
,

valid The pos ses sor mu s t be p aid a fair price for

.

what the law ha s declared t o be h is He can b e .

robbed o f h is p roperty of cou rs e but an advan c e

, ,

towa rd heaven upon earth founded upon robbery

would infallibly be a step in the other direction
backward no t forward ; downwa rd no t upward
, ,
.

Civilized man ha s advanced already under p resent

co ndition s beyond the idea of robbery I t s a dvocacy .

would shock him and the entire Socialistic move

,

ment be discarded as not only visionary but c onfi s ,

c a t o r y a p ropos al t o r o b the neighbou r

, If it b e .

clear th at the p roperty mu st be bought it is equ ally ,

clea r that honesty compels the State to p ay a fair

value fo r it As the State alone could be the pu r
.

chaser it mu st deal fairly in forcing compulsory

,

a cquis ition To whom will p ayment go to whom

.
,

c a nit go except t o the owners of the p roperty ta ken $

,
2 98 TH E EMP I RE or BU S INE S S
Ah there s t h e rub $ Wh at becomes of the S ocia l ist
,
’

s tate in that event $

“ ”
Where is the equ ality upon
which such State is to be founded $ Impos sible be ,
-v

cau se the rich and the poor we would still h ave with
u s and the p resent division into clas ses be revived ;
,

for it is wealth no t birth in o u r day whic h creates

, ,

clas s distinction s The claims of birth in ou r race

.

only su rvive in the U nited Kingdom ; they would be

l aughed at elsewhere if p resented .

It is not only the land that the State has to pu r

chas e The mills and fu rnaces the shipyards the
.
, ,

rail ways all mean s of p roduction an d distribution

, ,

mu st also be a cquired and p aid for To s a y that all .

p rodu ctive p rop erty could be rented and p aid for o u t

o f the p rofits does not a ff ect the question The .

rents would go to the owners and they would rem ain ,

r ich Wh at j ust power could compel them t o leave

.

their present homes and modes of life surrender ,

their rents t o the State and become Socialists $ T he

,

p ayment made for their p rop erty would become a

mockery if they were not allowed to spend what was
their own Yet unles s the p ayment made to the
.

o wners with o n e h and be p romptly taken away by

the other no Socialism would be possible for it mus t

, ,

be ba sed not upon the capital of the few but upon

, ,

wealth in common owned not by the individual

, , ,

b u t by the State B esides this as before q uoted in

.
,
29 8 THE E MPI R E OF B U S I NE S S
libertie s then denied at hom e a nd p rivate p roperty
,

wa s inviolate .

After s ettling the land p roblem through pu rchase ,

with freedom t o spend p roceeds a s former owners

desire or th rough confiscation under compulsion o f
,

uniformity o f living th er e is another step a s men

, ,

t ione d which Socialism mu st overleap o r else fall

, ,

down U ntil officials superintendents foremen and

.
, , ,

s killed me chanics a re willing t o accep t t h e re com

pens e e arned by the sweep ers of t h e factories ,

there can be no success for Socialism for upon this ,

foundation it is comp elled t o stand The moment .

“ ”
equ ality o f p ayment is dropped and a commission,

is formed t o found and enforce inequality of p ay

”
ment the phantom vanishes W e a re back again.
,

to o u r p resent system with all its inequalities U n .

equ al income means unequ al outgo hence ine qu a li ,

ties ; o r a s we individualists would put it healthful ,

va riety neces sa ry for the imp rovement of man in his

m a rch upward towa rd p erfection .

—
The cry o f the Socialist of to day in B ritain should
no t be against p rivate ownership of land bu t again st ,

there being s o few p rivate owners To distribute .

the land by abolishing p rimogeniture and settle

ments and through p rogressive taxation is surely
, ,

the next practical step B eing s o p alp ably t h e rem

.

e d y fo r t h e p re s ent un s atisfac t ory cond i ti on of t h e

 TH E LAND 2 99

p roblem it would seem th at the needed legis l atio n

,

could not be long denied .

When the interests of t h e mas ses of the p eople re

quir e ch ange in land tenu re the few owners can
,

j u stly be required t o forego their p references o r ,

submit t o increas ed taxation if they decide to enj oy

p rivileges inj uriou s t o the community a s a whole .

In all other E nglish spea king countries the p eople

-

work the land ; in B ritain the landlords wor k t h e

p eople.

Th e write r c anno t but b e l ieve tha t i f once t h e

U nited Kingdom h ad its people s ettled u p on t h e
land a s owners and cultivators a s other p arts of th e
,

E mp ire and America h ave it s n ationalization would

,

never be thought of .
 I N D I V IDUAL IS M V E R S U S SOCIAL I SM
H E alacrity displayed by Socialists in p asting
their labels upon the p roducts of Individual
i sm is su rp rising in view of the fact that
,

many of the mea su res claimed a s Socialistic h ave

long been in O peration in E nglish spea king lands -
.

Mr Snowden fo r instance gives wh at h e claim s

.
, ,

t o be the Socialist s ideas o f taxation

’
.

“
1 B oth local and national taxation s hould aim
.
,

p rima rily at secu ring fo r the communal bene fi t all

,
‘ ‘
unearned or social increment o f wealth
’ ’
.

“
2 Taxation should aim deliberately at p reven t
.
, ,

ing the retention of large incomes and great fortunes

in p riva t e h ands recognizing th at the few cannot be
,

rich without making the many poor .

“
3
. Taxation should be in p roportion t o ability t o

p y
a a nd t o p rotection and bene fi t conferred by t h e

State .

“
4
. N o t a x at i o n shou l d b e imposed which e n
c roac h e s upon t h e individual s m e an s t o s at ify h is
’

physical needs .
”
He is quite en t itled t o N umber One No one but .

a S oc ialist would dream o f taxing wi th a v i e w of s e

3 03
304 T H E EMP I RE O F B U SI N E S S
”
curing a ll unearne d or soc i al incre ment of
wealth fo r Communism .

As t o N umber Two : Graduat e d t a x ation in

B ritain is an attempt t o equalize t h e p resent unfair
d istribution of wealth and is already at work in the
death duties and in the d ifl
,

e re nc e in the in com e tax

between earned and unearned wea lth both the work ,

o f Individu alism T he strong and e pe a t e d re co m

. :

m e nd a t ions of this policy by President R oosevel t

a re soon to bea r fruit in the U nited States He .

and his truste d advisers a re Individualistic t o the

core .

N umber Three is only Adam Smith s doc t r i ne in ’

d ifferent words The non taxation o f i mported

.
-

food by B ritain under Individualism a s fa r as it ha s

gone is in accordance therewith .

N umber Four is another application o f A dam

S mith s doctrine U ntil physical needs of individual
’
.

an
“ ”
d family a re p rovided for t her e is no a bility to
,

p ay taxes .

Thu s th ree of these ideas are the p roduct of In

“
dividualis m and should bear its hall mark not ”
, ,

the Socialist label .

M r Jowett p astes the Socialistic label upon the

.

”
p roper rating of site values a s if this did not p re
,

vail under Individualism throughout ou r E nglish

speaking race ex cept int he old home
,
.
3 0 6 THE EMP I RE O F BU S INE S S
j ury than good : when o r if a wor k a ble Act i s pro
, ,

d u c e d p arties will then take their positions .

“
Third O ld Age Pensions ” Mr Macdonald is . .
,

here a day behind the fair These have been estab

.

lis h e d in B ritain before this appears in print both ,

political p arties being favou rable Socialism will .

“ ”
hav e lit t le righ t to label O ld Age Pen sions a s its
p roduct O n the contrary it is the p roduct of t h e
.
,

best elements of both political non Socialistic p arties -

.

“
N umber Fou r is the abolition of indirect taxa
tion ( and the gradual transference o f all public bu r
dens to unearned Here we must read th e
bracketed words in the light o f Mr Macdonald s .
’

philosophy This is a consummation which cannot

.

be reached until the organic structu re h as been

completely changed ”. As far as the doctrine o f
lessening indirect taxation is concerned it has been ,

in p ractice s ince the repeal of the Corn Laws gave

free food for the people It is a wise policy In
. .

America there a re no duties of moment except such ,

a s bear upon the rich who alone u s e imported

,

a rticles ; a p rotective tax recently imposed upon

sugar t o test the ability of the country to produce it s
o wn supply being the only exception
,
.

N umber Five is a series of land acts ( aimed a t

the ultimate n ationalization of the See note
t o N umber Fou r a s to the words bracketed B ritai n .
 I ND I V I D UALI SM vs . SOC I AL I S M 3 7
9

needs a series land acts t o bring her where all

of

other E nglish sp eaking lands stand N one h ave p ri

-
.

m o ge nit u r e or settlements All rate sites at market .

p rices
. Land is everywhere free except in B ritai n ,

an d this h a s lon g been the cas e u nder Individu alism .

Sociali sm h as no right to the label of Free Land ,

except as applicable to B ritain and even here a ,

large nu mber of non Socialists h ave long u rged the

-

policy .

Sixth N ation alization o f R ailways and M ines

,
.

As far a s railways are concerned Individualism has ,

p receded Socialism in this dep a rtment Many coun .

tries own their railways India under B ritish con .

trol does a s also do some o f the colonies

,
So d o .

Au stria France Germany Switzerland etc M ines

, , , ,
.

a re p recarious p roperties and should be lea sed upon,

royalties when owned by the State In some ca ses .

this is already done .

“
Seventh Democratic p olitical reforms
,
This .

is s o indefinite that nothing can be s aid upon the

subj ect The reforms are in supposition s o fa r an d
.
,

mu st be j udged upon their merits when announ ced

from time to time In all E nglish sp eaking land s
.
-

un der Individualism democratic reforms h ave long

,

been the order of the day never more s o th an now ,

.

Mr Hardie claims there i s perfect agreemen t

.

among Socialists on two lead ing points the fi rst be ,

3 08 THE E MPI RE OF B U SI NE S S
ing hostility to M ilitarism in all its forms and to ,

wa r a s a method of s ettling disputes between na

tions ” .
,

'

Such of u s as have inherited this do c t rI ne under

Individualism and p roclaimed it all ou r l ive s rej oice
th at any body o f men agree with u s but we of the ,

Peace and Arbitration Societies in every E nglish

speaking land wh o h ave upheld the doctrine re ,

spe c t f u lly p rotest against the Socialists u s e of a label

’

to which the Individualistic men of p eace have p rior

claim Opposition to war and support of arbitration
.

h ave developed under p resent conditions and grow ,

stronger with leap s and bounds these days and a re ,

soon to triumph One great victory is seen in Chile

.

an d Argentina ceasing to wage wa r and agreeing to

settle disputed boundar i es p eacefully ; they did so
a nd both conquered There now stands upon the
.

highes t pea k of their boundary line a statu e of

Christ as Prince o f Peace cast from their dis
,

c arded cannon The pedestal bears this ins cription

.

“
Sooner s hall these mountai n s crumble t o dust than
Chileans and Argentines shall brea k the peace which ,

at the foot of Christ the R edeemer they have sworn

”
to maintain So c ialism h as no place in these lands
. .

Scarcely a week passes without one o r more

treaties o f arbitration between n ations being e n
t e re d into .
3 10 THE E MPI R E OF B U S I N E S S
more in that line in B ritain were the laws like those
o f America and other E nglish spea king n ations -
.

W e h ave p erhap s one of the best examples o f

, ,

t his b e ne fi c e nt policy in the city of N ew York now ,

containing more than fou r million s o f people It .

never parted with it s rip arian rights and owns thes e ,

a round the island giving it more th an twenty miles

,

o f water front Some years ago it began building

.

docks issuing bonds therefor with a sinking fund

, ,

for their redemption The rentals obtained for the

.

d ocks meet the interest and sin king fund and leave a
p rofit s o great that it is estimated the city will
posses s the gigantic p roperty free of cost before the
bonds matu re The city is contra cting for rap id
.

transit subways the building and operati ng c o n

,

tractors agreeing to p ay the interest and s inking

fund and hand over the subways to the city free of
,

cost at the end o f fifty yea rs N o franchises will .

hereafter be bestowed by N ew York City except for

stated periods It is becoming the general policy o f
.

cities in America to avoid giving perpetu al leases .

M unicip alization to this extent is steadily winning

its w ay The water supply is another instance
. .

The foresight of N ew York h as secu red a t comp ara

t iv e ly small cost becau se taken in time one hundred
, ,

gallons per head daily for eight millions of people .

T he city owns all this supply fu rn ish ing a great ,

 I N D I VID UALI SM V S S O CIAL IS M .
3 1 1

con t ra st to London It also secu red years ago at

.
,

s mall cost seven thou s and a cres of land admirably

,

adapted for city p arks which are now being rap idly
,

utilized a s population sp reads a round them .

The c o Ope r a t ive movement wholes ale and retail , ,

in which manufacturing begins t o ma ke its appear

a nce is another development upon which the Social
,

is t ic label is often put but c o Ope r a t io n wa s a dopted

,

many ye a rs a go The members thu s get control to

.

some extent in one branch of the means of p roduc

, ,

tion and distribution In this field there is desirable

.

p rogres s but we note in all that has been done s o fa r

,

in this direction the p arting of the ways between

Individualism and Socialism T he latter ha s a s its .

“
a im a State in which every man renders service a c
cording to his ability an d receives according to h is
needs . The needs o f men in the main a re common .

A mong a hundred men thrown upon an island

there would be found little difl
,

e re nce All could b e .

treated alike T his would be pu re Socialis m ; but in

.

working municip al tramways gas and waterwor k s , , ,

and in th e management of co op erative societies the ,

compens ation p aid ha s no referen ce t o common

needs I t is p aid a ccording t o the value of s ervice
.

ren dered t h e e ssence of Individu alis m T he sup er

,
.

int e nd e nt o f t h e f a ctory the merchant in cha rge o f

,

t h e coOpe rative s tore t h e e mp l oy ee s do wn t h r ou gh

,
3 12 T HE E MPI RE OF B U S I N E S S
th e whole list are p aid ex actly upon the s a me basis
,

a s i n all p rivate agencies of p roduction There is .

no t a trace of Socialism here In this va st field o f

.

p rogres s all remain s Individualistic .

Socialis m versu s Individualism is the race be

tween the hare and the tortoise over again Indi .

v id u a lis m the tortoise h as found and kept the

p ath upon which i t h as made and is ma king steady
p rogres s upward N ever h as the tortoise h ad to
.

stop long in its as cent but always ca refully putting

, ,

o u t i ts limbs intuitively t he steadily moving crea

,

tu re finds an d treads the way onward and u p wa rd ,

moving neither t o t h e right nor left until certain it

is right and then s t eadily pushing forwa rd
, .

T he h are ha s not yet made a start It remain s .

j u st where it wa s years ago fris king round a circle

,
.

It k nows where it wishes to end t ells u s that clearly ,

but no t how when o r where it is to begin One

, , .

point it h as s ettled however It will not tread t h e

, .

tortois e p ath o f Individualism nor any p ath but ,

th at which o u r p rehistoric ancestors trod many

thousands of yea rs a go and which their p rogeny
,

abandoned after yea rs of trial and failu re Th e .

fris k y h are to day insists upon opening up again this

-

ab andoned p ath and keep s scratching the ea r t h an d

—
,

raising a du st a s if it were p rep arin g to start but ,

th e re is no s aying whether it will do s o i n our genera

3 14 TH E E MPI RE OF B U SI NE S S
they h ave failed There h ave been some attempts
.

to live together by small p arties o f matu re age ,

s eeking a retreat from active life These ventu res

.

lay in the eddies out o f the ru shing current of human

existence their members s t rI V I ng to content them
,

s elves with the p resent while the p art which active

,

men have to play on ea rth is th at of imp roving c on

d it ions i n every direction making new discoveries
, ,

inventing new machines and p rocesses and extend ,

ing the boundaries o f knowledge This is man s life

.
’

work o n earth one of development toward the more

'
,

perfect day : nothing yet finished but all growing,

better th rough his strenuou s exertions R est and

.

”
b e thankful is for another existence U ntil Social .

is t s can point to su ccessful communities based up on

their p rincipl es fulfilling this mis sion of p rogres s th e ,

S ocialistic question is not within range of co ns idera

tion all is mere speculation vain imaginings of a
,

supposed heaven upon earth as illusory a s other

,

d reams .

All that is desirable and even possible as man

exists t o day is being accomplished — too slowly ,

we agree mu ch too slowly

,
but in no small mea s
u re realized from generation to generation under

the p resent system which always h as been a nd i s

,

b eing now and a lways must be steadily modi fi ed an d

imp roved a s man correspondingly advances and i s
 I N D IVID UA L I SM vs . S OCIALI S M 3 15

himself modified and imp roved but not otherwis e ,

.

Man an d h is condition s mu st march abrea st a cting ,

and reacting upon each other th at imp rovement may ,

be evolved This is the law of his being

. .

In c onsidering the wisdom o f change from ou r

p resent Individ u a lis tic to the proposed Socia lis tic
system ou r first inquiry should be How ha s the ,

former resu lted $ H a s the human ra ce marched

backward and deteriorated o r h as it advanced and ,

imp roved $ If the former we should welcome a ,

p romising change and give it a trial tentatively upon

,

a moderate s cale If the latter common sens e

.
,

p rompts u s t o refu se to make any revolutionary

ch ange and to continu e in th e p ath upon which we
,

have ma rched an d are still marching steadily upwa rd ,

a lways pushing ha rd that th e p ace may be hastened .

We fin d th at from the dawn o f history until

now man overcoming temporary interruptions h as
, , ,

steadily developed making great p rogres s in every

,

fi e ld
.
.
Contra st his condition at variou s p eriods in
the p ast with the p resent and we h ave one unbroke n
,

record o f imp rovement morally intellectu ally an d

, , ,

phys ically Infant mortality is very much les s th e

.
,

death rate h as fallen the average of life h a s length

-

ened Pestilences which swept awa y o u r p rogeni

.

tors a re to day unknown Many dis eases on ce u n

-
.

c ontrollable a re now conquered The homes of .

 3
9 5
3
6 ;
THE E MP I RE OF BU S INE S S
th e p eople h ave improved and the poor are now ,

ta ken ca re of The food and clothing of t he peop le

.

a re better hou rs of labou r les s wages much higher

, ,
.

F ree education leaves no child in ignorance ; illit e r

a cy is almost un known Carlyle only ventured t o .

imagine a futu re wh en every considerable town

would h ave a collection of books ; now they h ave free
public libra ries E ven the p rison s have been im
.

p roved Sentences for crime h ave been lightened

. .

Man h a s become more law abiding and better b e -

h aved There is les s intemp erance and crime is

.
,

les s frequent In every domain the comforts of life

.

h ave been increased its miseries mitigated Th e ,

.

mas ses o f the people a re better housed better fed , ,

better clothed better educated and better p aid t han

, ,

e ver before a n d the sums in the s avings ban k s were

,

never s o great .

In the field of labour ma n ha s risen from s erfdom

and controls his labou r a s an equ al with his employer ,

and in ou r own day is beginning to rise from wor k '

man t o p artner Labou r unions co Ope r a t ive stores

.
, ,

friendly societie s and p ensions funds h ave all been ,

d eveloped .

In all E nglish sp ea k ing lands the rule of th e

-

people p revails ; only in B ritain is heredita ry p rivilege

allowed t o exist and obstruct their rule E very pu b .

lic office is O pen to ability Power is now in the .

3 18 TH E E MP I RE O F B U SI N E S S

p g
a i n,
therefore th at is to be feared no r even th e
, ,

attempt to establish the Socialistic state becau se ,

neither is pos sible as long as hu man natu re remain s

wh at it is .

Mr R ams ay Macdonald s warning before quoted

.
’
,

we hop e will sink deep i nto the minds of the ea rnest

, ,

symp athetic able men wh o j u stly enj oy the c o nfi

,

dence of the masses and a re numbered among their

leaders but who at the p resent j unctu re are devotin g
,

their time and attention to the Socialistic system ,

“
which cannot be established except by a steady r e
a dj u stment o f existin g relation s until the organic
structu re ha s been completely altered To effect .

th is ch ange would be th e work of centuries .

Th e Socialist should reflect it wa s u nder immuta

ble law decreed th at there should be evolved o u t of
the bu rning mas s of matter the fair earth with all
,

its charms ; o u t of the bea st the higher organism

,

man with godlike powers ; and that man should not

eat the bread o f idleness but labou r from morn
,

till night in the noble tas k of making o ne small spot

o n ea rth o ne small circle o f his fellows j u st a little
, ,

better than he found it a high m i s sion none too

great none too small to lose the p rivilege or to
,

neglect th e duty Man does the latter at his peril

.
,

be he cottager or king .

So long a s man on ea rth can aid in the smallest

 I N D I V ID UAL ISM vs SOCIALI S M .
3 19

degree th e p rogres s o f h is ra ce h e shou ld rejoice ,

.

H ow mu ch fame o r fortun e he acquires o r how little , ,

matters no t s o long as he contributes by his labou r

,

a nd example to the general good This is the tru e .

end an d should be the a im o f life

, ,
.

Why should any man desirou s o f benefiting his

fellows neglect the work of his own time which it is
h is duty to perform and waste h is abilities upon
,

pu rely sp eculative ideas which it may o r may no t

become the duty o f futu re generation s o f m e n to
adopt $ O ur duty of to day is with t o— -
day s p rob ’

lem s We h ave nothing to do with thos e o f the

.

d istan t futu re We cannot legislate wisely for po s

.

t e rit y It is s a d indeed to see able and good men who

.
,

could aid in improving th e p res ent expending their ,

talents upon a new system for a distant futu re of ,

which they can know nothing .

It is in this world tha t all ou r duties lie and o nly ,

o u r own generation can we know h ow t o serve .

Upon it o u r thoughts an d eff orts s hould therefore

be concentrated It is a s eriou s wa ste of time to
.

con cern ourselves with any system which we know

cannot be introdu ced u ntil the organic relation s o f
human society a re altered U pon the men of t o day
.
-

only the work of to day devolves-

.

“ ”
Not Heaven o u r Home o u r mot t o s o mu ch a s ,

H ome ou r H e av e n Fra nkl inwa s righ t wh e nh e

.
3 29 THE E MPI RE or BU S INE S S
p roc l aimed that The highest worship of G od is
service t o man . Power to render service to the
U n known is not given u s except by serving those of
His creatu res here with u s in o u r own day and
generation .

The man is not born who can legislate wisely for a

futu re which ha s not been revealed t o him and of
,

which therefore he can know nothing

Su fl
.
, ,

i c ie nt unto o u r own day a re the evils thereof

.

These we should endeavou r to abolish or mitigate ,

leaving the futu re t o ou r successors .

 VA R I E TY VER S U S UN IF OR MITY

Socialist needs to revolutionize human

n ature before h e can even test his theories ,

for n atu re abhors a vacuu m not more tha n

s h e does uniformity .No t wo blades o f gras s a re
alike and the higher we go in c reation the greater
,

the variations : no t wo fishes no t wo animals a re

,

alike Huber tells u s he wa s able t o distinguish the

.

individu al ants in the hill s o di fferent wa s o ne from

,

another When humanity is considered no two

.
,

children but display wide di fferences the more in ,

t e llige nt being the more individu alistic N o two .

families a re alike and were all p laced under s imilar

,

condition s houses an d grounds alike in comes equ al

, , ,

next d ay diff erences would begin t o appe ar a nd to

increas e a s time went o n The children o f able
.
,

p rudent p arents would be differentiated from those

whose p arents were les s able No laws o f the State
.

could p revent this U n iformity to—

. day would in
e vit a bly become var i at i on to morrow B efore So
-
.

c ia lis m can introduce uniformity o f living men must ,

be born duplicates of each other ; yet in non e of n a

ture s p roduction s is diversity s o great becau se man
’
,

is the highest and most complex of all .

2
3 3
3 4
2 TH E E MPI RE or B U S I NE S S
We can no more ma ke men equally comfo rtabl e
th rough equ al incomes than we can make them
equal in fortune by distributing the wealth of the

b u t io n there would be thousands penniles s and be g

B ecause revolution ary Socialism requires a change

in h uman n atu re it calls for scant atte tion It is
,
n .

impossible to introduce much less to maintain the

, ,

Socialistic state un t il human natu re becomes totally

,

di fferent from wh at it is now When the So cialist

.

h as e ff ected this ch ange but not before is the aban

, ,

d o nm e nt o f the present system worthy of the

slightest attention It is not in order a s lo n
. g as
men di ffer from eac h other no two alike b u t all
equally determined to live each his own life in his
o wn way this being h is natu re
,
Th is is t h e la w of
.
«

p rogres s of his race a s it is o f plant and animal life

,
.

B y selection and c u lt iva t l o n of the exceptional

an i mal o r plant that s h owm g the greatest va r i a
“

”
tion from the ordina ry typ e breeders and culti
v a t o rs develo p the higher orders of life Thu s ha s .

come man from the brute The race has been a l

.

lowed to develop in freedom hence while still savage

, ,

th e stronger phys i cally was the foremost and later , ,

u nder civilization the strongest mentally h ave be

,

c ome the leaders from whom have a risen the select

,
3 2 9 T HE E MPI RE or BU S INE S S
Many indeed h ave contributed thereto and in t h e ,

widest sense no individual can live a good u seful ,

life without contribut i ng his mite t o the general

weal but those who h ave achieved a decided a d
,

vance in any one of th e i nnumerable p aths of human

eff o rt have been few in number although they built
‘

upon the work o f m any p redeces sors B urbank .

grows hundreds of thousands of plants sometime s ,

m illions befor e the exception al variation appears

,

f rom which a new variety can be developed capable ,

o f p roducing s up erior fruit 8 0 with man wh o

.
,

mu st be left in perfect freedom a s long a s he in

,

fringe s not upon the freedom o f others nor I n j u res

,

the State free t o choose his career and live his own
,

life in his own wa y the rule being p erfect freedom

, ,

limitation of that always excep tional and only e x e r

c is e d when overpowering rea sons arise rendering
interference necessary to protect the freedom o f
others and thu s p revent greater evils to the body
,

politic .

U nder p resent condition s which give t o all men

,

liberty t o ca rve o u t their ca reers a woolc a rd e r hea rs

,

and obeys the imperiou s call from on high a nd gives ,

t o man the ma sterp ieces of literature a p reciou s

,

legacy according t o Lowe ll wor t h m or e th an a ll t h e

,
‘

a ncient cl assics .

“
A poor ploughm an h e wh o of all m e n ne s tl e s
,
 VA R I E TY VS . UN IF OR MITY 3 7
2

clos e st t o t h e bosom of humanity sees the lovely ,

“ ” “
vision that comes to him in his auld clay big
gin ” and u nder her guidance he p roclaims the
,
“
R oyalty o f Man ” exalts “
Honest Poverty ”
, ,
“ ”of
s trikes down t h e cruel Theology his day an d ,

h ail s the unfortun ate mou se a s his poor ea rth born -

”
comp anion and fellow mor t a l t o him all life bein g
-

kin A young man ordered t o manage a farm rebel s

.

and follows his destiny and i n one word gravita ,

“
,
”
tion reveals t o the world the law t h a t p ervades th e
, _

universe To t wo E nglish lads both remar k ab le

.
,

fo r originality and h ard to place while still grop ing , ,

the revelation came ; each found his destiny an d ,

from their seclusion after yea rs o f labour they pro

, ,

claim the word which brought order o u t o f ch aos ,

“ ”
E volution ; and man no longer the supposed de ,

graded creatu re fallen from his high estate stand s ,

forth to day in his maj esty the mon arch o f all cre
-

ated things endowed with sublime a spiration fo r

,

continu al ascent no limit t o his future elevation

,

short of perfection .

Fou r hundred years a go a Scottish boy s oo n left , ,

a n orphan in poverty the spirit moving within him

,

a t matu rity lived to publish the first germ o f Dem o

,
“
c ra cy in B rita in p roclaiming th at
,
all po wer res ided
int h e people and kings were only t o be supp o rted a s
,

l ong as th ey wrought their people s good Forty ’

.
3 28 TH E E MPI RE OF B U S I NE S S
y ea rs la ter came one o f his pupils soon al so left an ,

orpha n wh o he a rd the call o f destiny a s a disci ple o f

,

his p redecessor When as ked by King James if it

.

“
were not an o ffence against God to oppose the
Lord s anointed
’ ” he replied Man you are
, , ,
”
only the Lord s silly va s sal and largely t o these t wo
’
,

pioneers o f democra cy supported seventy years ,

“
l ater in E ngland by him o f the organ voice a poor ,

s crivener ou r race owes con stitutional government

,
.

The son of a French tanner finds his mis sion and

“
consecrates hi s life to it The most horrible of all .

diseases ” hitherto incurable is conquered ; the

, ,

death rate reduced t o I per cent Surgical p ractice

-
.

is revolutionized Later he rescues the s ilk industry

.

from an epidemic o f fatal character A w orki n g .

wh a rfinge r in Genoa fired by the gods sees in im , ,

a gina t ionwhat lies over the seas and reveals the new ,

world .

A poor student getting acces s at last t o a small

,

telescop e follows the stars and revolutionizes human

,

conceptions of the planetary system .

A German physician giving gratuitou s s e rv i ce t o,

the poor and perforating the walls of his humble

dwelling that he might note the stars in thei r p ass age ,

keeping fo r many years the momentou s secret i n his

boso m lest the stake were his destiny a t la s t re veal s ,

t o t h e world the Copernican th eory .

33 0 TH E E MPI RE O F B U SI NE S S
the god s into the mysteriou s realm p roduces duplex ,

telegraphy gives to the world imp roved electric

, .

lighting the phonograph and other wonders and is

, , ,

still diving into the un known Another Scot still . .

,

bu sy with the gods p roduces the telephone A n

,
.

other Scottish mech anic discovers coal gas and u ses -

it fo r the first time to light his humble home .

An E nglish I ronmaster invents plan s for the use o f .

pit coal in stead of ch arcoal fo r smelting ironstone ; a

S cottish lad wh o left school at fourteen invents the
hot blast ; and these t wo B riton s revolutionize the
-

manufactu re of iron .

A German after yea rs of effort finally invents a

, ,

new p roces s of steel making cheapening that indis

-

pens able article A Scottish workman adds the o ne

.

la cking ing redient Another German follows with

.

anothe r p rocess and steel becomes the indi s pensable

,

s lave o f p rogres s .

Three E nglishmen a hand loom weaver a -

reedmaker and an app rentice — through their in

the fl
,

ve nt io ns y shuttle the-
spinning j enny,
and -

t h e spinning frame-
give the world modern we av .

ing of all manufactu ring industries the greatest em

,

p loyer o f labou r .

A poor young American employed upon the

-

M ississippi in a trading ba rge sees fo r the first ti me ,

m e n and women b ought and s old upo n the auction

 VA R I ETY VS . UN IFO RMITY 33 1

bloc k and is stirred by the Divine mes senger Leav

, .

“ '
ing the s cene he vows If ever I get a chance t o
, ,

strike th at a ccu rsed system I shall hit it h ard ”

,
.

He concentrates himself to h is holy mission and ban

ishes the last vestige o f slavery from the civilized
world .

Pages more could be fi lled with such in stances o f

b e ne fic e nt leadership develop ed under Individ u ali sm .

Seldom if ever t o the palace o r stately home o f

wealth comes the mes senger of the gods t o call men
t o su ch honou r as follows sup reme service to th e race .

R an k h a s no pla ce Wealth robs life o f th e heroic

.

element the sublime con se cration the self s a c rifice

, ,
-

of eas e n eeded fo r the steady develop ment o f o u r

,

powers and the performance of the highest service .

Let workmen note h ow many of the excep tion als ,

indicated in the p receding p ages wh o h ave carried ,

the race forward were workers with their h ands :

,

SH A K E S P E A R E G U EN
TT B ER G C O L UM B US KA Y
M O R TO N E I N
D SO W A TT M UR D O CH
J ENN ER S I E M EN S BE LL H A R G RE A V E S
NE I L S O N BE SS E M ER AR KW RIG H T S T E P H EN S O N
LI N C O L N M USHET FR A N KLIN S Y M N G TO N
I
B URN S

All these began a s manu al workers There is not .

on e rich n o r titled leader in the whole list All were .

c ompelled to ea rn their bread Most o f them h ow .

,

e v e r, bu t not all, in due t i m e abandoned labou r o f t h e

33 2 THE E MPI RE O F B U SI NE S S
h ands , a s aluta ry development and o ne which every
,

wo rkingman S hould aspire to Honourable and .

necess ary a s manual labou r is let u s gladly greet

,

p roductive labou r of the m i nd a s of a higher order as ,

the s pirit is above th e flesh although it mu st never

,

be forgotten th at in the s killed labour of ou r day a

union o f both brain and muscle is imperatively
needed The trained firs t clas s mechanic now works
.
-

as much with his brain a s with his hands and if in , ,

charge o f machinery mu ch more,

.

The dingy room the close laboratory the crowded

, ,

workshop and the home o f honest poverty contain ,

the exception als cap able o f carrying forward the

,

mis sio nof th e race upon ea rth which is ine a c h s u c

,

c e e d ing generat i on to make this life a little higher and

better .

In ou r day it is very far from t ru e th at la bo ur

creates all wealth and still further from the truth
,

th at labour fixes values ; but it is very close t o the

truth th at s o far the young man reared in poverty ,

who mu st work th at he may eat ha s developed the ,

q u alities upon the exercise o f which the p rogres s of

o u r race depends .

Little h a s been co ntributed in th e p a st by either

the rich o r the titled to the world s a dvancement and
’
,

little can be expected in the futu re These classes .

lack t he spu r of nece s sity and b e ing we ll placed

,
‘
334 TH E E MPI RE OF B U SI N E S S
the preceding N ot one of u s can feel his duty done
.
,

u n less he c a nsay a s he app roaches his end that be , ,

c a use he ha s lived ,
some fellow creatu re o r some
-

little spot of earth or something upon it h as been ,

made j u st a little better Nor is this be yond the

.

r e a ch o f the humblest for all can at least render to

,

othe rs
T h t b e t p o t i on f a goo d m ns l ife
a s r o a
’

Hi l i t tl e na m e l e s s u nre m m b e d act s of ki nd ne s s and of l ove

,

s , , e re
Fam il y R e l ations
33 8 THE E MPI RE O F B U SI NE S S
The writer would gladly h ave omitted reference t o
this featu re of Socialism but he felt it co uld not be
,

ignored O ne looks in vain through the booklets so

.
,

far published for a repudiation of the sentiments of

,

Socialistic leaders both p ast and p resent who admit

, ,

th at family relations mu st be greatly changed under

Socialism .

The writer confes ses it wa s with su rp rise that he

found several modern and well known writers going
-

s o far in the direction o f accepting the doctrine that

Socialism compelled this change .

The first exponent o f modern Socialism Fou rier , ,

is responsible for thi s taint a lthough even O wen

,

qu arrelled with the accepted views of ma rriage s o ,

that I t 18 not a recent development .

It appears advisable that the best known writers -

among acknowledged Socialists especially those o f

,

o u r o w n race occupying eminent positions should ,

give to this featu re p rompt attention and we tru st , , ,

public repudiation
We q u ote from The Case Again st Socialism ,

PP 3 74 3
-

9 8 :

We have the admission o f the leading E nglish

Socialist historian o f Socialism in no less a work
,
” “
than the E nc yc lo pze d ia B ritannica that In the
,

Marx school which in Socialism is by fa r the most

,

important in this as in other countries there is a ,

 F AM I LY RE LAT I O N S 339

tendency to denounce the legally binding contra ct in

The connection however ba ses itself upon this a s

, , ,

treated by Lamartine in h is celebrated history of th e

Fren ch R evolution of 1 84 8 : Communism o f good s
leads as a necess ary consequence t o communism of
, ,

wives children and p a rents and t o the brut alization

, , ,

of the species ” .

O ther historians have a rrived at a like conclusion .

N ot only this but Socialis t leaders have themselves

,

admitted all that Lamartine here a sserts s ave only ,

“
his last conclusion Jager in his Soc ia lis m u s .
, ,

observes th at the pos session of land and soil in c o m

m on if it a rises o u t o f Materialis m leads also t o
, ,

community of wrve s a s being another exp ression of

materialistic Communism .

In his es say treating of Socialism and Sex ,

Profes sor Ka rl Pea rson said to be one of the most ,

distinguished of Socialist writers in this country ,

“
writes : W ith the centuries as the last traces of th e
p a t r I a r c h a t e vanish as woman obtain s rights
,
as an
individu al when a new form of posses sion is coming
,

into exist en ce is it ration al t o suppose th at history

,

will brea k its hitherto inva riable law and th at a new ,

s e x relationship will n
-
o t replace the o ld

*
M Th r. o m as Kirk u p nt ,
i ’

h e E nc y l p di B i
c o e a r ta i
nnca , V ol XXII
. .
, p . 2 19 .

t T h e E t hi c h
‘
f Free Th ” p
o ou g t , .
43 1 .
 THE E MPI RE OF B U SI NE S S
In a later p as sage Profes sor Pearson th rows fu r
“
ther light upon the n atu re of this n ew s e x relation -

ship ”
.

In his es say he informs u s that woman will be th e

” “
physical and mental equal of man in a ny s e x r

p artnership they may agree to enter upon Fo r .

s u ch woman I hold that the s e x relationship both a s -

t o form an d substance ought to be a pu re question ,

o f taste a simple matter of agreement between th e

,

man an d her in which neither Society no r the St a te

,

would h ave any need or right to

This latter conclusion P rofe s so r P e a r s on p roc e e d s
'

“
to modify in the case where the s e x relationship ” -

“
d oes result in children ; then s o Professor Pearson ,

emph atically declares the State will h ave a right ,

interfere ”
to T and app arently in t h e , ,

writer s opinion will be forced t o interfer e :

’
,

O ne the greatest of French Socialist writers

of ,

M Gabriel Deville in advocating the supp ression of

.
,

marriage under Socialism and the sub stitution o f

“ ”
free love summa rizes the princip al rea sons which
,

account for the inherent antip athy to the continu

ance o f marriage o n the p art o f Socialism saying ,

*
I bid .
, p
.
440 .

p 44 2
hi y i li m
. .

ISee as to t s e s sa o n So c a s a nd S e x , pp .
4 27 -

4 46 .
34 2 THE E M P I R E OF B U S I NE S S
u nne c es sary from t h i s s t andpo i n t , as we ll as from
a ll others
’
.

The existing monogamic relation writ e two of ,

t h e foremost leader s o f E n glish Socialism Mr .

B elfort B ax and Mr H Quelch concerning ma r . .

“
r ia ge ,is S impl y the outcome of th e institution of
p rivate o r individu al p ropert y Wh e n p ‘

vate p roperty cea ses t o be th e fulcru m a rou nd which

the relation s between the sex e s t u rn an y attempt at ,

coercion moral o r material

,
mu st ne c e s ,

s a r ily become repugnant t o t h e mora l sen se of t he

c om m u n
”
it y T .

“
Lecky s ays : It is p erfectl y tru e th a t marriage
and the family form the tap root ou t of which the -

whole s y stem of heredi tary p roperty grows a nd th at ,

it wou ld be u tterl y impos sible permanentl y t o e x t ir

p ate heredity unless famil y stability and family af
”
f e c t ionwere annihilated I .

Mr Hepworth Dixon wh o ha s devo t ed sp ecial

.
,

study t o the act u al working of communistic societies ,

“
observes that The fact remained and in time it, ,
'

became known that Fou rier s s y stem could not be ,

’

Pp . 23 1, 23 2. Q uot e d in W . H . Le c k y s
’
Dm e ocrac y a nd Libert y ,

i
Cab ne t E d ii nV
t o ol. II p 3 49 .

i li
. .
, ,

1 A Ne w C at e ch s m of S ocia s m p 3 5 ( Th e l e ntie t h Ce nt u ry P re s s )
“ '

”
. . .
,

“ ” i
1 Democrac y a nd L be rty Cab net E d t on V 0 H p 3 5 0 . i ii , $ ' '
 F A MILY RE LATIO N S
reconciled an y more th an O wen s s y s t em could be ’

reconciled with the p artition of mankind into those

,

S pecial group s called families in which people live ,

togeth er a life devised by nature u nder the close re ,

lation of hu sband and wife o f p aren t and child ” .

,
“
The very first conception o f a Socialistic State
is su ch a relation of the sexes again writes Mr ,
.

“
Hepworth Dixon a s sh all prevent men and women
,

from falling into selfi sh f amily group s Family life .

i s eternally at w a r with social life When you h ave .

a private hou sehold you mu st h ave personal p rop erty

t o feed it ; hence a communit y o f goods the first
idea of a S ocial State ha s been found in every
ca se to impl y a community of children and t o pro
mote a commu nit y of wives Th at yo u cannot h ave .

Socialism without introdu cing Communism is the

teaching of all experience whether the trials have ,

been made on a large scale or o n a small scale in the ,

o ld world or in the

The late Mr William Morris in company with

.
,

Mr B elfort B ax h a s written in denu nciation of the

.
,
“ ”
p resent sham morality the aim of which is the “
,

p erp etu ation of individu al p ropert y in we a lth in ,

workman in wife i n ch ild I

, ,
.

*Spi it
“
r ual Wi ves ,
”V ol .
p 220
l Wi
. .

“
t Spirit u a ve s
, V ol . II .
, p . 209 .

I S o c ia lis m : I ts Growt h
“
a nd O ut co me, 9 . 10 .
3 44 TH E E MPI RE O F B U SI NE S S
La t er the same authors tell u s on the advent of
s ocial e co n Om ic f r ee do m B t li a t children would cea se
’
r

t o exist .
“ ” “
Thu s they state a new development
’

, ,

o f the family would take place on the ba sis n ot of a , ,

p redetermined lifelong b u sines s arrang ement t o be

, ,

formally and nominally held to irresp ective of cir ,

c u m s t a nc e s
.

b u t on mutu al inclination and a ff e c

,

tion an a s socia t ion terminable at the will of either

,

p art y There would be no vestige o f re

p rob ation weigh ing o nthe dis solution of o ne tie and
the forming of another ” .

M r s Snowden
. in her recently published book
, ,
”
The Woman Socialist informs h er readers : ,
“
It is more than p robable th at the ordinary
chu rch marriage service will be abolished B u t it .

ought to be abolished U nder Socialism .

the marriage service will p robably be a simp le dec

la r a t io n on th e p art of the contracting p arties before
the civil rep resentatives of the

To mu ch the s ame e ff e ct writes Professor Karl

P earson
“
Su ch then seems to me the Socialistic solution of
the s e x p roblem : complete freedom in the s ex
*S
“
oc ai li m
s : I t s G rowt h a nd Out com e , pp . 29 9 , 3 00 .

“
1 Th e Wom a nSoci alis t ,
”pp . 60, 6 1 .
346 TH E E M P I RE O F B U S I N E S S
The op inions e x p res s ed we tru st are not acc e p te d b y , ,

man y Socialist s of ou r own race Wh at concern s u s .

is whether the result of the Socialistic s y stem tends

t o change o r destro y marriage and p resent family

life a s it exist s to da y -
.

Socialism with it s equ al c ondition s of life and

,

equ al income s mu st tend t o evolve the common a s

,

sembling room t h e aggregation of members in one

,

common bu ilding and all the featu res of the ba r ,

rack s M r s B esant p ictures these condition s

. .

“
publi c meal rooms ” “
la rge dwellings which are ,

to repl ac e old fashioned cottages -

” “
on e great ,

kitchen ” “
one dining hall
“
and o ne plea sa nt tea -

, ,

arden ”
g .

T he resu lt of all this mu st be to destro y the home

a s we know it and ten d t o substitute the ideal of the
,

Socialist all peopl e being breth ren and member s

,

of on e famil y a nd one home ; hereditar y wealth and

h e reditary blood relation ship s abolished father and ,

so n wife and mother

,
sisters and brothers no more ,

t o each o t her than other members o f the o n e grea t

S ocialistic hou sehold The ties of kindred even of .

,

fath e r and mother and ch ild re n mu s t even tu ally sin k ,

into one common a ff ection for all .

A ll a re t o stand upon an equality of relationship ,

on e t o the other under the swa y of Socialism in

, ,

re s p e ct of ho me s p rop ert y food dress a n

,
d all oth e r , , ,
 F AM I L Y RE LAT I ON S 3 47

th i ngs E ven t h e childre n are t o be ta k en c a re of

.

by the State B ut if any p rovide no t fo r his own

.
,

an d specially for thos e of h is o wn hou se he h ath ,

denied the faith and is wor se th an an in fi del b e

, ,

comes ob solete for the hom e of So c i alism is not t o be

,

Individualistic but Communistic It become s the .

Socialist s duty henceforth t o p rov i de for all a s for

’

his o wn they being memb e r s of o ne gre at hou sehold

,

and one family Su ch is app arentl y the fi nal a im of

.

the extreme Socialist This would m ean a s e cond .

fall of man Farewell to hu man happines s in it s

.

purest most e levating most entranci ng fo rm

, , .

Destroy ou r hom e life a s it e x i s t s t o d ay and we -

may well lament th a t

Th e w i n f l if i d r w n and t h e
e o e s a , m e re l ee s
Is l ft t h i s v lt t o b r g f
e au
” a o .

Ju st a s Socialis m goes b ac k to t h e s ava ge p a s t and

u rges man to retu rn t o Comm u nism so s eemingly i t ,

contemplates the retu rn o f men an d wo m en t o ba r

b a r is m in their holiest relation s if we are comp elle d ,

to accept literally some of the writer s quoted in

“ ”
The Case Against Social i sm a s tru e e xponent s of
the new s y stem .

Th e law s of B rita in com p are d wi th th o s e of

America are les s favou rable t o woma n a nd t h ose of ,

c ontinental n ation s s till le s s s o ; u nd e r Ame ri c a nl a ws

 34 8 THE E M P I RE O F B U S I NE S S
nding, p r oving the estima t ion i n
“

s has prO p
he e r rst a
'
$

which s h e is held by Americ an men in all the relation s

Of life 1 Socialism being a continenta l outgrowth
. .

the references m a d e t o woman b y French a nd Ge rman

S o c ia lis t ic 'wr ite rms ofne o f which we h ave ventu red . «

to quote shock ou r s e ns e of wh at is d ue t o beings

,
'
s

w h o int heir uh igh e s t development a re cap able Of

'

-
.

rea c h ing h e igh t s un attainable b y men

r . .

'

I t is e a rne s t ly t o be hoped th at the respected

'

ie a d e rs of So c ia lis m wwill deal e ff ectively with this

.

ph a s e of the q u estio n b y rep udiating the sentiments

e xpr es sed
‘

p agan p hilosopher weighing the cl aims o f

.

IA
“
s «
,

Christ to rank amon gthe great teachers would p rob ,

ably give first place to wh at He did for the elevation

o f woman Civilized man I n h is upward march h a s
.

not only outgrown he h a s reversed the Miltonic ,

i dea oi Adam a nd E ve
.
r
.

“
F or
'
n
cont e m pl a t i o h e and va l or fo rm e d .

For so ft ne s s s h e a nd s w e e t a t t r ac t i v e g ra c e ;
H e fo r G o d o nl y , S h e for G od in h im
,
'
.

happi est nd
‘
I n the holiest homes f da y it is a o tto -

no t t h e ma n wh o leads the wife upward b u t the in

‘
‘

finitely pu rer a nd m ore angelic wife whom the h u s

band re ve ren t ly fo llow s upon the heavenly p ath a s
'

th e highest; embodiment of a ll the virtu es th at h av e

b e e h r evealed t o him h e fo r G o d in her Through
’

-
.
Th e Lo ng M arc h U pward
3 54 TH E E MPI RE or B U SI N E S S
v id u a lis t ica degree bey ond ordina ry m e n and
to

worked in p erfect freedom ; each and every o ne a

character u nlike anybody else ; an original gifted ,

beyond others o f his kind hence his leadership

, .

Men are no t created alike : o n the contrary there ,

is infinite variety not only in the powers bestowed

,

but also in their degree fo r the fru its of men s lives

,
’

depend a s mu ch upon the amount of the same powers

S hared with others a s upon diff erent powers inherited .

The earth wa s at first only a ball o f fire thrown off

from ou r s u n no life possible upon it till it cooled
, ,

million s o f yea rs p robably elap sing before a green

leaf could app ear Then after vegetation arose came
.

life from the ooze of th e sea ; and finally from the

higher order of life there wa s developed p rimitive
man of whom the V edda remains ou r nearest typ e
, ,

d escribed a s living in trees and crawling down t o

feed o nwh at he can find unable to walk up right u n
,

til he gain s more food a s su mmer advances Man .

lingered long in the savage state and like other wild ,

bea sts h is chief gss upa tiou m s war Bp gnh s ki nd

, .
_ - .
,

eating a s well a s killing his captives Subsequ en tly .

he developed into the barbaric stage not qu ite s o ,

mu ch o f the wild beast He began bu ilding huts

.
,

s ometimes cultivating the ground always imp roving ,

u pon never permanently falling so low a s his pred e

,
‘
C C S SO I
 TH E LO N G MA R CH UP WA RD 3 55

Af ter unnumbered y ears of su ch stor mand stres s ,

we of to da y have become more civilized more p eac e

-

able ; the arts O f p eace not those of war ou r occup a

, ,

tion We have reached the indu strial age with its

.

p roblems These we a re called upon to stu dy an d

.

discu s s never fearing that the power within u s which

, ,

decrees unceasing imp rovement will not enable u s ,

t o continu e t o tread the upwa rd p ath We shall .

make mistakes a s u su al bu t the human organism ,

feel s its way surely though S lowly drawing ba ck its ,

t entacles whenever the y tou ch deleteriou s soil grop ,

ing again until fertile ground is found and then the ,

next step forward is taken Thu s the organism .

never moves fa r u ntil the right p ath i s discovered .

It i s on the con stant search fo r nutriment and dis ,

c ard s all th at i s inj u riou s I f it now and then .

swallows an indigestible mouthful it p romptly spews

it ou t Hence its constant march onward and u p
.

ward I t h a s never met a di ffi cu lty which it h a s

.

not su rmounted It bears a charmed life All this

. .

Herbert Spencer h a s clearly revealed .

It is a healthful S ign when there is unrest and dis

s atisf action and zealou s even extreme advocates of
, , ,

change clamou ring for better things and qu ic k er

ma rch D ivine discontent is the root of p rogres s
.
,

and even o u r Socialistic friends with their r e vo lu l

'

t iona ry ideas stir the waters for ou r good if we

, ,
35 6 TH E E MPI RE OF B U S I NE S S
reason soberly together and test their proposed r eme
dies before we fors ake th e p ath which has s o fa r led
,

ou r race U pward from the brute to civilized manhood .

B y the n atu re o f its being the o ne rule which the

'

human race never can p ersistently violate is th at

“
which p roclaims Hold fast to that which h as
,

p roved itself good .

Complaint again st ou r Socialistic friends is not

th at they d o not mean well On the contrary no .
,

class is moved by worthier impulses Their hea rts .

a re in the right place and o ne cannot bu t sometimes

,

admire their a spirations Thu s Keir Hardie writes .

“
Su rely it is rea sonable t o hop e that a da y will
dawn in which a desire to serve rather th an to be
served sh all be the spur which shall driv e men o n
ward t o noble deeds ” .

There is p erfec t agreement ontwo leading points

o f p rinciple : hostility t o militaris m in all i t s forms ,

and t o war a s a method of settling disput e s b e tween

nations is the
George E liot s ay s somewhere that s h e c o uld .

imagine a coming da y when the e ff ort t o a ss ist a ‘

fellow being in trouble wou ld be a s inv ol untary a s i t

-
.

now is t o clutch o ne stu mbling and in da nger of fal l .

,
«

ing to the grou nd Such hop es and a s pirat ions j a re

.

*F m S fd m t S i lism p 95
“
ro er o o oc a . . .
35 8 TH E E MPI RE OF BU S INE S S
i n B ritain Th e e x t re m e Soci alists themselves a re
.

on e o f the obstacles t o sub stanti al p rogres s t o day -

.

On the other h and the timid and con servative

,

mu st not fail to remember that grave and unj u st in

equ alities p revail in connection with the land : non
taxat i on of site v a lu e s p lu ral voting and unequal
v

, ,

electoral districts in B ritain ; also in taxation not

a ccording t o a b ilit y t o p ay and u nequ al distribu t ion
,

o f wealth com m on t o a ll countries And they al so

, .
“

should remember th at the su res t and indeed the on ly

, ,

wa y of insu ring a contented p eople is p romptl y to “

r ecognize and redres s these and other evils . a

It would be futile to indulge the belief tha t t h e

ma sses of B ritain will mu ch longer be content t o s e e
their fell ows in Canada Au stralia N ew $ ealand
, , ,

an d America enj oying free land without pr im oge ni

,

tu re or settlements and S ites taxed at tru e valu es

, ,

e qu ality o f voting power through equ al electoral

districts o ne man one vote p ayment o f members

, , ,

complete control over th e liquor tra ffic y early li ,

censes at high rates and freel y cancelled and local ,

option rap idly sp reading E quality with their fel

.

lows acros s the sea s mu st soon become th e cry and ,

the sooner t his is granted the b etter th at th e steady ,

march of evolutionary development s o fruitful in ,

”

the p a st so neces sar y for the futu re ma y continu e

, ,

t o hold p eaceful sway in th e l and where freedo m

 THE L ON G MA R CH U PWA R D 3 59

broaden s slowly down The p ace o f reform for som e

.

years ha s been much too slow a s comp ared with

p rogres s in idea s The day is coming when kindred
.

institu tion s sh all p revail in all the n ation s of o u r

race th at which p roved advantageou s in one being
,

p romptly a dopted b y all the others Thu s S h all b e .

laid the fou ndations o f a la sting an d b e ne fi c e nt im

p e r ia lis m o f race whose influ
,
ence in the council s o f
th e world alwa y s pleading for p eacefu l a rbitration of
,

disputes will lead t o the reign o f p ea ce and th e

,

b rotherhood of man .

O ne p a rting word to ou r well meaning b u t a s I-

believe misled Socialistic friends To b e born to

,
.

honest poverty and compelled to labou r and strive

for a livelihood in y outh is the best o f all s chool s for
develop ing latent qu alities strengthening ch ara cter
, ,

and making u sefu l men ; hence from this school h ave

come ou r leaders It is well th at man shou ld go
.

forth to his work in the morni ng and labou r u ntil the

evening Work is no puni shment ; it i s a blessing
. .

Steady work i s also the best p reservative o f the

virtu es N o sub stitute fo r it ha s yet been fou nd
. .

Man h a s not been placed in this world to p lay and

a mu se himself He is entru sted with a seriou s mis
.

s ion an d ha s onerou s duties to pe r form not t o a ,

fut u re generation but to his own a nd h e who fa ils to

,

labou r for the imp rovement of this o u r o wn life o f ,

3 60 THE EM PI R E OF B U SI N E S S
to day does not deserve another To advocate
-

sp eculative s chemes for a futu re o f which w e can

.

know nothing is folly and worse for th e revolutionary

,

ideas so ra shly p roclaimed b y th e Socialist ala rm

sober minded conservative men and drive them into
-

, ,

the ran ks of those who oppose th e s al utar y reform s

needed in ou r da y which could oth erwise be ea sil y
,
‘

won .

Socialists E volutiona ry Socialists Halfwa y So

, ,

c ia lis t s R evolutionar y
— we a re here t o attend t o
the p res sing wants of ou r own a ge not t o ob stru ct
,

th e stead y orderly march o f p rogres s b y bas ing

,
‘

a ction upon the sta rtling a ssu mption th at in a d is

tant and un known fu tu re Individu alism under ,
‘

which man h a s steadily advan ced is t o b e s u p ,

planted by Communism This is to los e the s u b

.

stance by gra sping for the sh adow and waste ou r ,

time like children cha sing rainbows and cr y ing for

t h e moon
 M Y E X P ER I EN C E WITH RAILWAY
RATE S A N D REB AT E S
HI S subj ect carries o ne back to hi s early
days It wa s in 1 8 5 6 th at my chief Thoma s
.
,

A S cott sup erintendent o f the Pittsbu rg

.
,

D ivision o f the Pennsylvania R ailroad wa s made ,

general sup erintendent with headqu arters at Al

,

toona I w a s his secretary and telegraph op erator

.
-

in Pittsbu rg and h e took me with him

, .

The duties of th e sup erintendent o f the line then ,

in its infancy inclu ded th e making o f local freight

,

rates These I entered in th e rate book a nd n atu r

.
-

ally grew to ta ke a sh are in their making : O u f

great aim in those days wa s t o develop local tra ffic .

O f th rough traffi c little wa s exp ected althou gh ,

President Thom son th e great ra ie a d man of hi s

,
’

'
da y h ad ventu red to p redict that a hu ndred c arload s
,

o f throu gh frei g ht wou ld in tim e p a s s Pittsbu rg

’

daily This p rop hec y wa s often quoted to S how the

.

length to wh ich that s anguine bu t fa r S ighted ,

-

o ffi cial could go Now every day thou sand s p a s s

.

th rough th e city in each direction .

Loca l t raffi c th at is traffic originating and e nd

,
'

3 63
 6
3 4 THE E MPI RE OF B U S I NE S S
ing upon the line —
wa s then depended upon to
y ield revenue O ne enterp rising man would write or
.

call to s a y tha t he w a s thinking of opening a stone

qua rry o n the line and shipping dres sed stone to th e
town s and cities if he could get rates enabling him to
,

do s o B ecau se tr affi c p aying mu ch les s than we

.

might think fair wa s better than no tra ffic at all we

$

wo uld hold ou t every indu cement to p ioneers with ,

the result that the q uarry wa s O pened .

Another wa s willing to make the experiment of

cutting bark and S hipp i ng 112 t o tanneries inten ding
‘

later however t o erect a tannery in the forest

, ,
.

Here wa s a tempting new enterprise a nd rates were ,

readily agreed upon Another thought a pec uliar

.

qu ali t y o f sand w a s su itable for glassmaking and ,

wa s willing to open the deposit and test it He wa s .

p romptly accorded a siding which wa s u s ually

,

necessary and rates low enough to p ermit him to

,

begin .

The plot began to thicke n when a second man

c ame with a p roposition to open another similar

factory o r qu arry which he could no t do u nles s h e

,

r eceived rates e qu al to those given t o his pre d e c e s

s o r although his railway h aul might be longer
,
If .

two factorie s were to be only a few miles a pa rt it '

,
o

wa s obviou s that they had to receive the same rates ,

“
an d s o the question o f special rates starting very,
3 66 TH E EMP I R E OF B U S I N E SS
once began At first it wa s a scramble and each
.
,

road got what it could at the best rate it could re

, ,

a d le s s o f everything The position w as peculiar

g r .

and is so still and mu st long remain so E astbound

,
.

tonnage from Chicago St Lou is and other points in

,
.
,

the West to the Atlantic seaboard is far greater th an

th at from the E a st to the West ; hence long trains of
empty freight cars have t o be hauled westward
-

empty .

It i s evident wh y westward bound freight wa s -

eagerly sought by all lines E ach had it s freight .

agents all scrambling t o secu re the p rize What

, .

rates might be obtained for west bound freight was a -

secondary consideration fo r any rate wa s clear gain

, ,

since cars mu st go west in a n y case and migh t a s

«

well go loaded a s empty .

Hence bitter wars broke ou t between the roads at

intervals and the fou r p residents would meet a nd
,
“
make wh at wa s called a gentlemen s agreement ” ’
.

These worthy p residents would give their word o f

honou r that certain rates wou ld be strictly a dhered
t o and gave orders to th at e ff ect we may be su re in
, , ,

good faith to their su bordinate s B ut it i s a rema rk .

“
able fa ct notwith sta nding th at th es e gentlemen s
, ,
’

”
agreements did not l a st long but requ ired renewal ,

at short interval s Th e rates agreed u pon were t o o

.

ea sily evad ed T h e a s sistant freight agent o r o ne

.
 RAILWAY RATE S A N D REB AT E S 6
3 7

o h is staff cou ld p romis e cert ain favou rs t o sh ipp er s

f
u p on oth er tra ffi c wh ile adhering s trictl y t o t h e
,

agreed upon ch arge fo r th at h e wa s secu ring or

-

could remit ch arges upon oth e r freigh t not involve d

in the agreement .

8 0 gentlemen s agreements wer e made and remade

’
,

bu t meanwh ile freight from P ittsbu rg wa s often

s en t b y w a y o f th e O h io R ive r s om e five h u n dred
,

miles to Cincinnati transferr ed from boat to rail

, ,

ro ad c ar there a nd tra nsported back to Pittsburg

,

by rail p as sing through its streets t o the s e a

,

b o a r d fo r l e s s th a n th e fi xe d ra t e u p o n th e s ame
,

a rticles from Pittsbu rg direct to th e seaboa rd It .

wa s th e s ame with freight from the E a st t o th e

West Many a trainload o f iron from th e E a st
.

h a s p a s sed th rou gh the streets of Pittsbu rg p a y ing

,

l es s freight th an wa s ch a rged upon the s ame

a rticles from Pittsbu rg to the s am e poin ts west .

Th e Penn sylvan ia R ail road h ad a monopoly o f

th e traffi c a nd mu ch grievou s wrong h ad we manu
,

f ac t u re rs in th at state to su ff er in consequence .

We mu st not be u nderstood a s blaming th e

Penn sylva nia o ffi cials severely They did not .

raise ou r Pittsbu rg rates and these in themselve s

,

might be con sidered fair ; b u t they lowered th e rates

t o ou r competitors in their warfa re with th e tru nk

lines This bore hard upon the manufactu rers of

.
3 6 8 THE E MPI RE or B U SI NE S S
P e nnsylva nl a ,and especially o f Pittsburg It woul d .

have been a wiser and broader polic y if t h e P e nns yl

“
vania R ailroad h ad been bold enough to s a y : Come
what may we will p rotect manufactu rers upon ou r
,

o wn lines
” but it requ ired more th an the ordinary
,

ra ilroa d official o f th at day t o reach thi s height .

A p erfect system of rates over th e va riou s routes

cou ld not b e reached withou t first p a s sing for a
sea son th rough great irregu lar i t i es and ma king many
mistakes O rder h ad to be h ammered ou t of ch aos
. .

These were the days when the mu ch talked o f -

”
rebates had their origin “
Gentlemen s agree
.
’

”
ment rates were ch a rged an d th e bill s of lading
,

were fair and squ a re on the su rface bu t th e u n der ,

standing with the sh ipper wa s that reb ates wou ld b e

allowed and settled fo r at som e fu t u re t im e The '

ke ener members soon discovered th at e videnc e

might be called for b y comp eting lines and t h e ,
“
qu estion a s ked Have an y rebates been p aid on
,

this shipment $ ” The p a rt y con cerned might b e

able to s ay th at h e h ad p aid none bu t h a d he been
,

qu estioned a month o r two afterward p erh ap s o r , ,

a sked if advantages in oth er direction s h ad n ot been

granted to th e sh ipp er h e cou l d no t h av e so stated

,

t ru thfu ll y In short every con ceivable wa y o f

.

‘
,

keeping the word o f p romise to th e ear and b reaking

it t o the h O pe wa s indu lged in A t lea st we S h ipp er s
.
370 THE E MPI RE O F B U SI NE S S
rate between th e seaboa rd a nd Chicago and othe r
points That i s to s a y Pittsbu rg tra ffic wou ld b e
.
,

ch a rged only a sh ade les s for h alf th e distan ce th an

Phila delp hia and Chicago th rough traffic p aid for
double the distance R ates a c c o rd ingt o distan ce
.

were denied With this th e Pittsbu rg m a nu f a c

.

t u r e rs had to b e content Matters went along .

tolerably well u ntil railwa y rates were again thor

ou ghl y demoralized b y wa r between th e tru n k lines -
.

O u r Ca rnegie Steel Comp an y u pon thi s occa sion

h ad h ad wh at it thou ght the certaint y o f a contra ct
o f great valu e for material with th e N ewport N ews

Shipbu ilding Comp an y freight from Pittsbu rg to

,

N ewport N ews being mu ch les s th an from Chicago .

The contra ct however went t o Chicago an d upon

, , ,

investigation we foun d tha t the rate given to ou r

Chicago comp etitor to N ewport N ews wa s les s th a n
the Penn sylvania R ailroad rate from Pittsbu rg th e ,

distan ce not one half s o grea t President Ingalls

-
.

o f the Chesap eake 8: O hio then beginn ing his bril

,

liant career h ad made th e lower rate for his new

,
“
line not yet emb raced in the gentlemen s agree
,
’

ment ” We investigated and fou nd several rates

.
,

o f a similar n atu re p revailing t o other points and ,

having a lis t o f th ese made the writer ca rried it to

‘

President R oberts o f th e Penn s y lvania R ailroad ,

w ith a request that he place u s upon his own l i ne o n

 RA I L WAY RATE S AND RE BATE S 37 1

a n e q u alit y with manufactu r e r s on other lines .

When the p ap er wa s p resented to him showing the ,

o vercharges we labou red u nder h e pu shed it aside

, ,
“
s a y ing : I have enough bu sines s o f m y own t o a t
’
tend t o ; don t wish t o h av e anything to do with
y ou rs Andy .
”
,
“
I s aid : All right Mr R oberts ; when you wish t o
,
.

s e e me again yo u
,
will a s k an interview Good .

morning .
”
Th e sit u ation h ad become intolerable and we ,

looked about fo r the best mean s of p rotecting ou r

s elves. A railroad line of ou r own from P ittsbu rg
to the Lakes wou ld be an invalu able a cqu i s i t i on ,

rendering u s indep endent of an y monop ol y and e n

abling u s to tran sport all ou r iron stone tra ffi c from
the lakes t o Pittsbu rg and ou r coal an d coke from
,

Pittsbu rg t o th e Lakes also giv i ng u s connection

,

with the other through lines I pu rcha sed th e .

h arbou r at Conneaut and a few miles of rai l road

connected with it and began extending the line t o
,

Pittsbu rg .

My p artners had good rea son to d read the c ons e

q u e n c e s o f the reckles s challenge t o t h e mon ster

monopoly and I could not blame th e m ; for it u n

,

doubtedly h ad t h e power t o c rippl e ou r O peration s .

An intimation t o the sup e ri n t e nd e n t th at the car

sup l
n
p or o u r works o r the movem e nt o f ou r tra ffi c
37 2 TH E E MPI RE OF BU S INE S S
need not receive u ndu e attention would be ser iou s ,

indeed As a p recaution I took good care that the

.
,

authorities in Philadelphia were advised of the polic y

I h ad determined to pu rsu e if there w a s the slightest
interruption to ou r bu sines s ; all ou r works would be
.

stopped I would visit each in su cces sion and inform

, ,

th e workmen why they were idle ; publish the mon

O po ly rates ; explain w h y Pittsbu rg needed ou r new

railroad ; and a s k them and all the workmen from

,

other mills to stand with folded arms upon th e

,

streets over which the Penn s y lvania t rain s p a s sed

‘

for mile s in p eacef u l p rotest and a s an intimation

,

that j u stice had better be done to Pittsbu rg NO .

interference with o u r O perations came .

It wa s not long before I received a note from Vice

President Thomson s aying that President R oberts
and himself would like an interview I agreed t o call
.

a s I p as sed through Philadelphia and did s o I write

,
.

this in the first person becau se my p artners did not

s e e th eir wa
y to fight the great Penn sylvania R a il
road ; but my Scotch blood wa s u p and I wa s in to
,

fight to the death determined no longer to stan d

,

wh at we h ad been gro aning under It wa s indeed a

.

fearful thing to fall into the hands O f a railroad

monopoly in those ea rly da y s and y et this is to be
,

s aid for the railroad : while its rates for competitive

tra ffi c were being redu ced be yond reason by comp e
3 74 T HE E M P I RE OF B U SI NE S S
Wha t a re you fightin g th e P enn s y lvan i a R ail
r oad for $
” h e a sked “
Y ou wer e b rought u p i n its
.

s ervice. We were bo y s together ” .

“
Well Fran k I knew you would a s k m e th a t
, ,

qu estion and here i s th e an swer ” “

, .

I h anded him the p acket O f s ecret ra te s , a nd b eg ,

g ing t o be excu sed for a few minutes le ft th e room , ,

desirou s of giving th em an O pportunity of looking it

over together U pon m y retu rn the y were s till
.

s itting with the p acke t l y ing before them .

Fran k raised his head and excla i med : A nd y I “

,

feel like R ip Van Winkle ” .

“
F ran k the P enn s y lvania R ai l road offi c i al s h av e
,

s lep t j u s t about a s long

” .

“
Well tell u s what you want ”
,
.

I don t want anything I did not a s k t o s e e you

’
. .

Y ou a sked to s e e me
” .

“
Don t talk th at wa y Wh at do you want $ W e
’
.

wi sh t o make a n arrangement satisfa ctor y t o you .

W e did not know these th ings were going on We .

c a n ha rdly believe it ; b u t we sh all n ow fi nd ou t .

T ell u s wh at you th in k we ought t o d o ” .

“
I s aid : Gentlemen all we h ave ever a s ked wa s
,

th at the rates ch a rged u s sh all be at all ti mes a s low

a s those which comp etitors onother lines are p a y ing
o n the s ame a rticles fo r similar distances W e a sk .

for nothing e l se Oth e r l i n e s a re carry ing freight

.
 RAI LWAY RATE S AN D R EB ATE S 3 75
fo r ou r comp etitors cheaper t han you are carry ing
it for u s and you take p art O f this f reight at the cu t
,

rates W e cannot stand th at We h ave never

. .

a s ked for lower rates th an ou r comp etitors but we ,

s h all never rest s atisfied with les s

”.

“
If you will stop bu ilding th at lin e f rom the La k e s
t o y ou r wor k s we will d o what you a s k
” wa s h is
, ,

response .

“
Gentlemen th at cannot be I h ave a greed to
,
.

build that line and certain p arties h ave t a k en a ction

,

in con sequ ence of my p romise It ha s t o be built

.
” .

R ep eated eff orts were made to indu ce me t o forego

bu ilding until fin ally I s aid to President R oberts :
,

Y ou h ave j u st given a rival concern abou t t o bu ild

wor k s on y ou r line in P ittsbu rg an agreement t o giv e
them everyt hing you give u s We ma k e no c om
.

p laint ; but if I had come t o you and a sked you Mr ,

.

R oberts t o withdraw that agreement and you had

, ,

told me you wer e pledged t o give it I should sa y no ,

more ; I should exp ect you t o keep your word If .

abandoning th e new l ine is a condition of anything

will w mu st p ar ” N o mor e wa s
y o u d o fo r u s ,
e t .

s aid upo n th at subj ect .

Th e n came t h e extension of t h e lake lin e we had

decided t o build from P ittsb urg t o o u r coke ovens -
.

They wished that s topped and a s I wa s not y et

,

p l e d ge d t o b u i ld it
,
I s a i d t h a t was a mat te r for nego
376 TH E E MPI RE OF B U SI NE S S
t ia t io n . If they wished to carry o u r coke over their
line from the ovens to ou r works at Pittsbu rg at the
s ame rate ag reed upon with the new p roposed line
for that service they could have the contract This
,
.

the y gladly accepted .The result of the meeting

wa s that I got all I as ked fo r and greatl y obliged the
,

Penn s y lvania R ailroad by allowing them to retain

tr ansportation o f ou r own coke tra ffic from the
c o k e fi e ld s to Pittsburg E verything wa s s a t is fa c
.

t o r ily arranged and we were all

“
boys together ”
,
'
a gain . I wa s the all y of the P R R much t o my
. . .
,

delight .

It wa s estimated th at the agreement saved u s

abou t one and a half millions of dollars pe r year a ,

large s u m upon ou r bu sines s then R ailwa y O ffi .

c ia ls
,
free from re s t i ct i ons could ma k e or unma k e
,

mining and manufa cturing concern s in those da y s ,

an d cou l d d o SO still ha d we not at la st a co u rt of

app eal an d l aws again st O bviou s dis crimin atio n s .

Th e I nt e r s t a t e Commerce Commis sion is to be

come o ne of ou r greatest s afegu ards
.
.

I mu st not forget to mention th at o ne part of the

u nderstanding wa s that s o long a s the Penn s y lvania
R a ilroad ga ve u s the s ame rates ou r comp etitors p aid
for simil ar di stances an ywhere in the U nited States ,

we wou ld no t be p arties to bu ilding an y additional

lines in the Pittsbu r g district in comp etition wi t h
37 8 THE E MP I RE O F B U S INE S S
Ca rnegie Steel Comp an y onl y go t wh at the new line
was to give it .

The eff orts O f Pittsbu rg manufactu rers to e s cap e

th e th rall of th e great monopol y were first th e mak , ,

ing of an indep endent l in e to th e Lakes an d conn ect ,

ing with th e N ew York 8: E rie N ew York Centr al , ,

etc wh ich wa s done bu t sub sequ entl y sold to th e

.
, ,

V anderb ilt interests who o ff ered thr e e do lla rs for on e

,

invested It p roved to b e a great mista ke to s el l

.
~

becau s e it p ermitt ed th e tw o ra il road systems to con

fer and come to term s up on fixed rates a nd p rob ab ly
divi sion O f tra ffi c Thu s ended e ff ort nu mber one
. .

Some time after when wa r again broke ou t b e

,

tw e en th e rival systems th e late VV illia rnH V a n der

,
.

bil t a sked me wh at I thou ght of t h e p roj e ct of h is

able and enterp ri sing so n in— law I\I r Twombly to -

,
.
,

e xtend th e R eading system to Pittsbu rg th rough

Penn sylvania I thought so we ll of it th at I s aid :
.

If you will undertake it I an d my friend s wil l go ,

with you to th e e x tent of a p r o di giou s

s um th en at lea st to u s .

“
If you will th en I will p ut in
,
al so he ,

rep li e d Thu s th e Sou th Penn sylvan ia wa s orga n

.

iz e d an d it s c onstr u ct ion b egun Here wa s a ch ance

,
.

for th e N ew York Central to grip an d hold it s

an ta goni st by th e th roat bu t th e Penn sylvani a ,

interests s eein g wh at th e movement involved a p

, ,
 RAI L WA Y RAT E S AND RE BATE S 3 79
o a ch e d Mr Va nderbilt while I w a s ab sent i n
pr .

E u rop e an d indu ced h im t o su rrender E xa ctl y .

what advanta ge th e N ew York Centra l s y stem r e

c e ive d
,
I do no t know bu t it shou ld h ave been ,

great indeed for th is wa s p robably th e grea t est

,

mista ke in its h istory Mr Twombly ha d foun d

. . .

the key t o ma sterdom fo r th e Vanderbilt interests

'

bu t it wa s foo lishly th rown away The wor k o n .

th e South Penn sylvan ia wa s stopp ed an d ou r in ,

vestment r etu rned Thu s ended e ff ort nu mber two

. .

My p ersonal eff ort t o build the B es semer R ailroa d

t o the L a kes came after these vain e fforts o f united

P ittsbu rg t o emancip ate herself .

Wh en Mr Ca s s att ended th e agreement entered

.

into b etween hi s p redeces sor and myself I wa s qu ite ,

p rep ar ed t o ta ke u p th e ch allenge We were on ce .

more free An idea stru ck me o ne morning I

. .

called upon Mr George Gou ld and s aid t o him :

.

“
Years ago soon after I h ad ta ken u p residence in
,

N ew York you r father app roached me in the Wind

,

sor Hotel a nd s aid h e wou ld bu y the control o f the

Penn sylvani a R ailroad an d divide p rofits equ all y
,

with me if I wou ld p romise to devote m y self t o it s

,

management It wa s a great comp liment t o be p a id

.

t o o ne s o you ng ; but my hea rt wa s already in s teel

develop ment and I declined This morning I come

,
.

to you a n d off e r a n opportunit y t o create a nd c on

37 8 TH E E MPI RE OF B U SI NE S S
Carnegie Steel Comp an y only g o t wh at th e new line

was to give it .

The e fforts of Pittsbu rg manufa ctu r ers t o es c ap e

the thrall of the great monopol y were first the ma k , ,

ing of a nindependent line to the L akes and conn ect ,

ing with the Ne w York 8: E rie N ew York Central , ,

etc which wa s done but sub sequ entl y sold to the

.
, ,

V anderbilt interests wh o off ered three dollars for o ne

,

invested It p roved t o be a great mista ke t o s ell

.
,

becau se it p ermitted the two railroad s y stems t o c o n

fer and come t o terms upon fix e d ra t e s and p rob ably x

division o f tra ffic Thu s ended effort nu mber o ne $

.

Some time after whe n wa r again broke ou t b e

,

tween the rival s y stems the late William H V ander

,
.

bilt a sked me wh at I thought of the p roj ect of h is

‘

able and enterp rising s on in law Mr Twombl y t o - -

,
.
,

e x t end the R eading s y stem t o P ittsbu rg th rough

Penn s y lvania I thou ght so well of it th at I said :
.

If you will undertake it I an d m y friend s will go

,

with you t o t h e extent of a prodigiou s

s um then at least t o u s .

“
If you will then I will pu t in
,
al so h e ,

replied Thu s the Sou th Penn s y lvan ia wa s organ

.

iz e d and its con stru ction begun Here w a s a ch ance

,
.

for the Ne w York Central to grip and hold its

an t agonis t b y th e th roat bu t th e Penn sylvania ,

in t erests seeing wh at the movement involved a p

, ,
3 8 0 TH E E MP I RE OF B U SI NE S S
trol a through line from the Atlantic t o the Pacific .

é
E xtend your line t o Pittsbu rg and we will give you ,
‘

a c on
s t ra c t for o ne third o f all ou r business p rovided
-

1a re e to give u S t h e rates p revailing el s e where

y o u g c

and enj oyed by ou r comp etitors I O ffered to

build west to meet h im and also to j oin him in build ,

ing east Fortunat ely he agreed and the result i s

.
,

th at the Gou ld syst e m to day is in Pittsbu rg enj o y -

ing that c o nt f a c t We were j u st upon t h e e v e o f

. . .

a rranging t o extend the line ea stwa rd tak ing in o u r ,

c oke wo r k s e n route which wou ld h ave been a h ard

-

blow to th e Penn sylvania R ailroad since we con ,

trolled ou r owncoke tra ffic when Mr Morgan a s ked ,

.

Mr Schwab if I wished t o ret i re from bu siness ; if

.

so h e thought he could let me out I replied in th e

, , .

a ffi rmative h aving resolved ea rly in life not t o s pe nd

,

my old age stru ggling fo r more dolla rs I h ad seen

-
.

s o many p itiable cas es O f men with fortunes to retire

;

u pon b ut nothing to retire t o condemned to con ,

t inuc like fl ies held fa s t by the revolving wheel t o ,

whom change means misery O f c ou rs e we stopped .

all negotia tion s looking to E a stern e x t e ns ion a ft e r

th is a nd the result was my retirement from bu sines s
,
.

With Mr C a s s a t t s retu rn to power a s p resident

.
’

o f the Penn s y lvania s y ste m came needed reform ,

and it g i ves me plea su re t o record the great servic e

that comp anion of m y y outh did t o the railroad in
 RA I LWAY RATE S AND RE BATE S 3 8 1

te re s t s o f
the country In doing s o he broke th e
.
,

con stitution o f Penn sylvania which prohib its any

,
$

o f its rail road s from controlling competi ng lines by

p u r ch a s e o r otherwise He . bought large interests

I n the B altimore 8: O hio and other competing l ines ;
b u t when he did this I do not believ e he knew he
,

wa s brea king the con stitution f o r in those days rail

'

way O ffi c ia ls thou ght little a bout the law because

,

it ra rely tou ched tran sportation oper ations These

.

i nvestments h ave since been sold b y the P e n ns yl

vania comp an y .

Hi s influ ence u pon comp eting lines became deci

s ive . He enforced u niform rates honestly$ o n th e
” Pen n sylvania syst em and he gradu ally indu c e d t h e
,
'

othe r lines to adhere to t h em Then wa s est ablish ed

.

“
what is called the communit y of interest id ea ” '

.
$

In the interval the Government h a d taken u p the

subj ect o f interstate commerce which the states
,

were an d a re clea rly u n able t o control . Wise laws

were p a s sed and a national commission appointed
, ,

and the evils of reb ates a re t o da y alread y unkn own .

U nder p resent laws no corporation can a ff o rd t o offer ,

neither can a ny pe r s o n o r comp any a fford t o r eceive

'

rebates the ris k O f exposu re and pu nishm ent being

,

now fortu n ately fa r t oo great .

1 Thu s the condition s described as p rev ail i ng I n the :

p a st in railwa y transportation then still

,
1nthe fo rma
3 8 2 TH E E M P I RE OF B U S I NE S S s

tive stage are rap idly being su cceeded by a s y ste m

,

fin all y t o become a s p erfect a s is possible for m a rk t o

create and maintain
The President h as p erformed a great service fo ,

e nsing the attention o f the cou ntr y upon certain cry

ing evils and the p resent position of the Governm e nt

,
'

i s all th at cou ld be desired The dead p ast is t o .

bu ry its p a st It i s rap idl y doing so It wa s the

. .

cu stom fo r di ff erent rates t o p revail in the beginnin g

o f railroad develop ment wh en a ll wa s chaos bu t
, ,

ou r condition s are soon t o be tho s e which the O ld

l ands h ave been led b y exp erience t o establish We .

a r e only following their exa m p le in sup ervising rail

w a y an d other corporation s strictly a s we d o na ,

t io na l b anks Lea ses mergers pu rch ases of shar e s

.
, , ,

control o f other lines o r corporations th e I s su e of ,

b ond s a nd stocks and th e rates O f freigh t m

,
u st all
be reported examined and app roved b y th e t ribu
, ,

n al which is to become o u r Indu strial Sup reme

Cou rt .

We ma y rest a s su red th at the Interstate Commi s

’
s ion p rogres sing from year to ye a r a s it gain s ex
,
‘

e rie nc e will su stain fair rates for the r a ilroad

p
comp anies an d establish wh at is i n
,

disp en s a bl e
e qu a lit yo f rates throu ghout the whol e cou nt ry $ T h e

equ alit y Of th e shipp er will soon become a n axio m

l ‘ $

ran k ing with the equ alit y of t h e c it iz e n o ne ship l

 8
3 4 TH E E M P I R E O F B U S I N E S S
to all t h e a ssu rance th at no e mergenc y c an arise in
ou r country which will n ot be p romptly and su ccess

fully met an intelligent j u st and fair minded

, ,
-

p eople at the b ase cordially app roving t h e salutary

mea s ures of their rep resentatives with the President
, ,

a great reforming force at t h e h e ad l ead i ng the way , .

TH E C O UN TRY LI FE P RE S S , GARD E N CI TY , N Y. .