The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1905-04-30

That singular, but rcmunerative, virtue
called Executive ability which in more
vulgar language Is known as the power
70 boss, Is O. quality much TO be hun
gered for.
It Is the thing which enables one rnap
to sit cody off in comfortable corne
and placidly enjoy life. while scores of
others sweat to do his bidding.
And more besides. Executive ability ir
cot only sublime labor saving device
but q superb capacity for grabbing up
md appropriating to. ones own self the
glory won by the zeal. the industry, tilt
courage and the hardships of others.
Zeal, industry, courage and the will
ingness to bear hardshlps, are goods
which come cheap. One can purchase 3
pretty fair article in this line for a dol
lar a day. For two dollars one can buy
a first class article. And for a per diem
OF three dollars-why, one can acquire
an A No. slave, and that. too despite
Abe Lincoln's proclamation and all the
amendments to the United States Consti-
tuition punched together
Oh, It is sweet to be boss-sweet to
the vanity and sweet to the pocketbook!
It makes the present velvety and the
future one eiderdown cushion seat. Bet
ter still. 1t has Its posthumous attrac.
lions. Granting that one possess Eek
ecutive ability" In sufficient degree. zone
may rest assured that his tombstone will
be chiseled deep and chdseled euloglsti-
cally.
Verify, 1t may be said that on resurrec-
ton day, many an executive genius, just
risen from his mouldy couch, will pause
in astonishment-not' to say rapt admira-
tion-to note what that prince Of liars,
the eptaph-maker, has said about him.
For. along with the willingness to BIO
bossed. comes it's inevitable concomitant,
fear. And the fear OF leader endureth
even after death death of the leader. let
us hope), and willingly do the myriad
hosts of the white-hvered do homage to
his memory.
Executive ability" is the mystery Of
the animal kingdom. There Is, for In
stance, the boss-dog OF the bone-ynsd
Cemeteries are not here referred to-, at
whose instructions every bone Is gnawed
or not gnawed. There is the boss gander
Of the flying V-wedge Of waterfowl. who
leads the hkonklng flock of wild geese as
they travel the painless heavens, There
Is the boss monkey of the South American
jungles, whose prehensile tall wiggles
irresistible mandates for those in his
rear, and whose gatherings indicate that
he intends to be obeyed.
On every ashbank and muck-heap, too,
one can see the boss Shanghai. who
neither tolls nor spins nor scratches for
sustenance. but Is Johnny-on- the-spot
when some other rooster or admiring
pullet unearths worm or an insect,
And 30 1t goes, until we get to folks.
the queerest the meanest, the greedest,
the cussedest, and the most uncertain OF
all animals. Here we have chromatic
scale OF bosses. ranging from Napoleon
u n,r}or or Jt,1iN tn
e-dollar-a-week cockerels, who strut
behind grocery counters and terrorizo
their subordinates And Heaven defend
the amiable wretch at the bottom OF
the almost interm!nable ladder-the earth
worm with no scintilla of Executive
ability" In his miserable makeup Pity
and sympathy are not apt TO fall
to his lot II he winds It all up by getting
a berth in the potters field. It's lucky
day for him-luckier by far than his most
beatilc moment an the realm Of bosses,
Now this humble writer, who happens ia
be pretty near the bottom Of the ladde,
himself, and whose suhlimest emotions
and noblest aspiratlons--so he thinks
have been crushed to pulp by the
executive ability" Of his superlors
doesn't intend to say aught against boss
es and bosslsn. quite the contrary. Al
he asks Is: How can no be boss himself
| How Is Executive ability achieved and
how can one keep 1t when one gets It.
Is II brains that created the boss dos
| OF the boneyard, or Is 1t courage or Gun
ming or eelhshness or downright cruelty
| Or Is II that the subordinate pups arr
| Just a lot of NANCY, f,ea-bitten, SINKING
! hybrtds, who wouldn't have sense enough
to ind the boneyard unless tho boss dol
| got there first and began yelping orders
Maybe that's the explanation after all
for they say that no organization car
exist without leadership.
At any rate, the one painfully obviou
fact about the whole business Is thal