Omaha daily bee., 1903-01-02
THE BUSINESS MANS DAYS.
Present Conditions Compared with
Those of Twenty Years Ago.

Present Conditions Compared with
Those of Twenty Years Ago.
Twenty years ago, says the St. Louis
Republic. the st. Louis business man would
rise very early, ride down town in a bob
tail car. consuming nearly an hour to
come in" from Grand avenue, enter his
office, take UP his mail, which he enjoyed
the privilege OF opening himself, devote a
large part Of the day to answering it with
his own pen, walk about the store. inter
viewing everybody from the engineer up,
go to dinner-not lunch-with a big coun-
try customer, walk around to his bankers,
drop in at the hotels and generally look
after every end of the business himself.
True. he had men working for him.. but
their functions were largely mechanical;
they we're working for him; they had their
orders from him; the whole burden really
rested on his shoulders. A very glutton
for work. he was salesman, drummer, office
man. general superintendent and fnancier.
He was beset with a harrassing horde of
details on every side. and he rode back
home on a late bobtail, bewildered, wearied
and unstrung.
Suppose the busy man to have remained
in a Rip Van Wrinkle sleep for twenty
years; suppose that he just awakes this
morning in his old residence near Grand
avenue. AS he rubs his eyes the breath of
chimneys rather than of fields comes to
him; his ears are filled with strange noises
Of songs. the rattle Of granite pavements;
quiet is broken by a thousand sounds. He
is in the heart of modern rapidity and It's
appliances.
In a space Of ten minutes the dazed mer-
chant is whizzed down town in a queer
horseless car; demon-like vehicles whirr
past. II he survives the shock of odd
sights and sounds, he will reach his ONCE
to find a complete revolution in business
methods. Concentration of energy has been
the order.
Seated in a plush chair by a mahogany
table, within reach of a fnger-board OF
push buttons, he will have his trihingly
small mail, already rihed by assistants. laid
before him; in a moment a stenographer or
q photograph has recorded his verbal
answers A desk telephone is ringing at
his elbow; through it he receives calls, and
Is enabled to visit his bankers, here or in
New York. a Plttsburg or an East st. Louis
factory, his warehouse, his friend at the
hotel, agents anywhere, and to interview
a dozen people under his own vast roof
all within one little hour. In short, with
out turning in his seat, he may control
everything; his Office is a keyboard to
which every part OF the machinery re-
spends.
He sees little OF men. Details-if he
cares particularly about some point-let
him press a button and Mr.. X. appears at
once In respectful mien, with a head
primed with Information. A customer? oh,
refer him to the credit man. A private
secretary looks after miscellaneous caller
n --..A -. --.N a.
inner sanctum.
The head of the corporation-it was a
one-man business or a partnership when
he began the Rip Van Wrinkle nap-hnds
that his days business is pretty we'll
Cleaned up" after two or three hours.
He has time for a cigar and the news.
Strange names appear in the paper-con-
centration, combination, consolidation,
merger, community OF interests, pools.
Someone will have to tell him what theAe
mean. And who is this "Plerpont Nor
gan" occurring so frequently in big type7
What are captains OF Industry" Money
is expressed in millions" and billions
now; twenty years ago thousands was
the word.
Concentration of energy and brains will
tell the whole story. Walking through the
store the dazed merchant will find every
NOu1GA NNu GhGlBy Nv oIBNGAns II
Office boy is no longer untying the bundle
string-he Is slashing the knots at the rate
CT 100 a minute. Time and labor are worth
more than wasted string. Through the
establishment old ideas have given way
TO knew, loose methods to perfect work
ing machinery. The establishment thai
twenty years ago depended upon one head
now has a hundred thinkers with iti
concerns, improving it's system.
The president will find q board OF di.
rectors assisting him with the manage.
; ment, while he is a member OF many othei
boards. He will find that his own and his
fellows wealth, indeed the whole eoun.
try's wealth. has trlpled within the
twenty years and will learn that thu
wealthy and most successful men Of toda!
are these. who kept abreast OF enterpris
2 and have taken reasonable chances OF trad,
conditions, as opposed to the ultraconserv
, atives and mere human savings banks,
/, and that the fellows who kept In the OF
ruts are far behind the procession. II,
will discover a higher degree OF intelli
gence in the average business man Of tn
present.
!, These are but a few Of the Rip Val
Wrinkle discoveries. Especially would b
remarE that competition has multiplie'
and heightened In all branches Of trade
except where m~onopolies have throttled II
a., and TO strong competition he would n
doubt trace much OF the concentration 4
business methods and the gradual perfec
tIon NJ svsfem IN businesS.