The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1902-04-13

'' PpNA. anu Z -
ly not an instance Of a Spectator who ha
lived a life, creditable to himself or advan
tageous TO the community"
The third danger he warns young mel
against is the ''perilous habit of indorsing
all the more dangerous, inasmuch as it as
sails one generally in the garb Of friend
ship"
The Endorsement of otherss notes. how.
ever. is taken to be the least of the trinity
of dangers.
Filled With Anecdote and Pl%easnntry
The book is full of anecdote and pleas
antry. and, while some. of Mr.. Carnegie's
claims VIII not bear strong analysis, yet 1t
Is written in a strain which IS calculated
10 inspire ambition. Mr.. Carnegie is no
deliberately misleading nor dangerous. II
be able to say things which are not quite
TUE in a way 10 make them impressive il
a valuable talent. Here is an example:
L congratulate poor young men .upo,
being born to that ancient and honorable
degree which renders 1t necessary they
should devote themselves to hard work. !
basketful of bonds is the heaviest basket /;
young man ever had TO carry. He generally
gets TO staggering under it"
Other excerpts from the book follow:
1t is very unfortunate that the irresisti-
BILE tendency of our age, which draws man.
ufacturing into immense establishments, re-
curing the work of thousands. of men. rem
ders it impossible for employers who re.
| side near to obtain that intimate acouaint-
ance with employees which, under the old
system OF manufacturing In very small es-
Establishments, made the relation of master
and man more pleasing to both.
When articles were manufactured in small
shops by employers who required only the
assistance of a few men and apprentices.
the employer had opportunities to know
every one. 10 become well acquainted with
each. and TO know his merits. both as a
man and as a workma and, on the other
hand. the workman. being brought into
closer contact with his employer. inevitably
knew more of his business. of his cares and
troubles. of HIS efforts TO succeed. and.
more important than all. he came to know
something of the characteristics of the man
himself.
All this IL changed.
Thus. the employees become more like hui
nan machines, as it were, to the employer.
and the employer becomes almost a myth
to his men. From every point of view this
Is a most regrettable result. yet it is one
for which l see no remedy.
The free play Of economic laws is fo--iTg
the manufacture of all articles of general
consumption more and more into the hands
of a few enormous concerns, that their cost
TO the consumer may be less.
There Is no longer any room for conduct
ing the manufacture Of such articles upon a
small scale: expensive works and machinery
costing millions are required, as the amount
per ton or per yard of what We call fixed
charges is SO great a factor In the total
cost that. whether a concern can run sue
cessfully or not, In many cases, depends
upon whether 1t divides these fixed charges
which may be said to be practically the
same in a large establishment as in a
smaller-by a thousand tons per day or by
500 tons per day of product.
Hence. the reason for the continual in
crease year by year in the product OF your
mills-not that the manufacturer wishes
primarily TO increase his product, but that
the strain of competition forces him into
extensions that he may thereby reduce more
and more per ton or per yard these fixed
charges, upon which the safety OF his cap
ital depends.
II being. therefore, impossible for the en-
ployers of thousands TO become acquainted
with their men. II We are not TO lose all
feeling of mutually between us. the en-
ployer must seek their acquaintance
through Other forms. 10. express his care
for the weil-being of those upon whose la
Dor he depends for success. by devotiIg part
of his earnings for institutions. and for the
accommodation of organizations. such as
cooperative stores. and | hope, in return.
that the employees are to show by the use
which they make of such benefactions that
thny. in turn. respond to this sentiment up
on the part of the employers wherever it
may he found.
BY such means as these we may hope to
maintain to some extent the cid feeling Of
kindliness, mutual confidence. respect and
esteem which formerly distinguished the re-
latiors between the employer and his men.
Every employer of labor is studying the
young men around him.. most anxious to
Gn1 A-n Of nxcantinp.I ahiIitN- Npthfpo i'm
the world is so desirable for him and SO
profitable for him as such a man.
Every manager in the works stands ready
to GRASP. 10 utilize the man that can do
something that is valuable. Every foreman
wants to have under him in his department
able men. upon whom he can rely, and
whose merits he obtains credit for, because
the greatest Of ability in a manager is not
the man himself. bSt the men with whom
he is able to surround himself.
These books on the shelves will tell you
tho story of the rise of many men from our
own ranks. 1t is not the educated. or So
called classically educated, man; it is not
the aristocracy. 1t is not the mona:chs, that
have ruled the destinies Of the world, either
in camp. council. laboratory or workshop.
The great ~inveptioIs. the improvements,
the discoveries in science. the great works
in literature, have sprung from the ranks
of the poor.
You can scarcely name a great invention
OF a great discovery. you can scarcely name
a great picture or a great statue, a great
song or Il great story. nor anything great
that has not been the product of men who
started. Ike yourselves. to earn an honest
living by honest work.
IKE importance of the subject is suggest
ed by the fact that the habit of thrift con-
stitu;es one of the greatest differences be-
tween the savage and the civilized man.
One of the fundamental differences be-
tween savage ard civilized life IS the abb
sence of thrift In the one and the presence
of 1t in the other. When millions Of men
each save n little Of their daily earnings.
these petty sums combined make an cnor-
nous amo,nr which is called capital. about
War =. zach Is written.
:. me. Consumed each day or each week
all they earned, as does the savage. of
course there would be no capital-that is,
no savings laid up for future use.
Now. let us sec what capital does in the
world. We will consider what the ship
builders do when they have to build great
ships. These enterprising companies offer