Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1908-06-11

f discussion. Sets of books that have
: been through the fires of bankruptcy
actual accounts that have been al.
tered maliciously and fraudulently in
an effort u sSindle the proprietors or
others, are regularly available for
student consideration. Z are
given set of books out of balance,
| kept partly by single entry, partly by
double entry, partly by no entry at all.
partly by entries that have only the
the foundation of 'the chemical
laboratory of imagination" and the
student is instructed how to dissect
and annalyze the information, OBJ
tanned from the books and hunt down
the necessary information tocomplete
the accounts. He is instructed in
preparing a trial balance, not from
model set but from the actual work
ing set,-constructing balance sheet,
-construc Ting trading account
constructing manufacturing account
bringing order out of chaos,
ing illumination out of darkness
told when necessary how to proceed
and encouraged to use his own initia-
tive,
| Business men are now getting to
know that the students trained i'm
commerce has wide experience COM
pared to the narrow experiences that
fhe will get growing up with
any one business. The business man
knows that the well equipped and
trained men in commerce konws the
relation of things, knows the distinct
ion of movements. knows the combi-
nation of events and propositions,
that he is given view point to en-
able him to see both ends and the
middle of the projected plans. He is
in the position of man who assem-
blees al! parts of a complicated ma
chine rather than the man who
works all his life on one part,
wish to say to you, and l say it
with the courage of absolute convic-
tion and knowledge, that the college
prepared man in commerce is a sue
cess. The old sheer that is supposed
to know more than the proprie-
tor is getting to be literally true
at least So far as the broader outlook
upon commerce Is concerned, and
ability to analyze financial conditions.
have taken young men from my
classes in the University, within the
past week, and placed them upon COM
| plicated books which had been altered
scratched, mutilated and duplicated,
and they have taken the pace like
veterans and found the difficulties,
| Strengthened out the complications,
not alone on account of their techni-
cal knowledge of the principles of &C
counting, but on account of their gen.
eraFtraining. knowledge and auxiliary.
subsidiary and coordinate to the
| business in hand.
Now, as to what the public thinks
of these movements, | am reminded
that friend OF mine from Milwau-
waukee, distinguished ex.attorney
of this state, a man gifted with mar
velous mental equipment came into my
office and said to me, 81 have two boys
that l want to take your courses in
Commercial Law. l don't expect
them to be lawyers,--I don't know
| that l want them to be lawyers, neces-
Sarily, but want them to be equipped
| with the legal knowledge that bust
| ness man should have" He said the
perplexities, dangers, pitfalls and man
| traps in business life are SO much
greater today than they were ever
before. that it is absolutely necessary
that a different sort of equipment
should be given to the man starting
out in life. He also said to me, my
business friends come to me after
| they have done the most eXtraOrdi-
nary things, and after they have
signed the most extraordinary con-
tracts, and after they have been let
| into the most extraordinary danger
and are fellow victims Of the most ex-
traOrdinary temptations, and instead
of coming to me before, they come
after they get into these desperate
troubles. / want my sons TO keep
within the zonelof safety--away from
the thin ice and danger in connection
with their position and business
career"
/ have had the heads of great bust
ness enterprises ask me frequently,
| if there was not some young man Of
my acquaintance and in my classes
about to graduate. who was fit to
| take responsibilities in their business.
They have said to me these managers
of great enterprises. you know what
we are doing, what kind of men we
must have to make our business
success Furnish US with those men"
etc. OF course / could not recommend
anyone who was careless, thOughtless
and negligent men who were not
willing to work hard, and men who
were not willing to do several times
more than they were paid for doing.
Every man that | had in my mind
who could possibly fill the position,
| had to analyZe and see if he were
satisfactory, was big enough, would
he work hard enough, would he take
| interest enough in the buSinesS-would
he preserve his judgement and poise.-
would he be above temptations?
l think one Of the principal difficult
ties standing in the way Of success
of modern commercial education Is,
that men feel that the education that
they get in the commercial depart
ments Of colleges It's them for higher
priced positions without work, and
there never was greater mistake
made. The fact is,-if they are proper