The French Broad hustler. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1896-1912, 1905-01-26
The Clerks Personal Habits.

Too often you hear young men who
hold salaried positions say that as long
as they do their work properly it was
no affair of the employer rs TO what
their habits might be, how they might
choose to spend their leisure time or
anything of that kind, and it has gotten
to be rather che impression of the en-
ployers themselves that they have little
personal habits of the man whose work
is in the main satisfactory. The Wes-
tern Electric Company. of Chicago, an
immense employer of young men, does
not hold to the time-honored view in the
matter, and has lately issued a bulletin
in which it is plainly stated that the
nan who CANDLES, who uses liquor or.
who uses cigaretts is in direct line for
the ''grand bounce"
The notice, as it has come to the men,
is about as follows:
"Playing the races and all other
forms of gambling, immoral conduct
and the excessive use of liquor or ciga-
rettes greatly impairs ones usefulness.
1.-THE best business houses in the city
do not desire the services of those who
practice any of these things.
"Notice is hereby given that any en-
ploye so abusing himself Is subject to
dismissal"
1t is not the question as to whether
the employer has the right to dictate
the habits of the clerk, but all must adj
NIT that the employer has the right 20
hire the most capable men and to get
rid of those who are not SO capable, and
if it is the opinion of large employers
that a man is better and more capable
who does not have bad habits, the en-
ployer has a right to let such objection
able men go and to get those who come
up to their standards of excellence.
The views of the Western Electric
people in the matter are summed up by
the superintendent in this way:
"We have found, much to our regret,
that the habit of playing the c was
developing to an alarming extent in the
ranks of our employees, and decided to
give'everyone fair warning of Our atti-
tude in the matter-an attitude which,
by the way, we have always held. AT
ter discharging some of the worst often
ders we thought it best to re-enforce
the point by posting the notice, which
includes not only gambling, but all
other forms of dissipation.
"Our position in the matter is not
Puritanical. 1t is evident on the face
of it that a mans value to US is greatly
lessened by these practices. II is a part
of our business policy. And, again, we
desire that the men who are employed
by us and who represent US shall be
gentlemen in every sense of the word,
which is perfectly natural, Is il not?
No nan can indulge in the practices
against which our notices are directed
and remain morally unspotted.
"As for cigarette smoking, we are
convinced that in excess 1t clouds a
"6A . AASOAAO@o00A PO"CTc. AA04AAS1
cigarette smoking in moderation we
have no complaint, although we allow
no smoking whatever within the build
ng during working hours.
"No college man in our employ has
ever caused us any ground for COM
plant. The men discharged were not
college graduates. Our college men
are a fine lot of fellows, and we are
proud of them. This spring a repre-
Sentative of the firm took a trip East
just before commencement time to n
gage fifty of this years graduates. That
ought to be a sufficient guarantee for
the college mans success in business.
The experiment was successful, and it
will probably by repeated next year.
Merchants Journal.