The Washington herald., 1912-07-21

i
About 100000 tons Of ore VIII Is
brought down from Lake Superior dur
| ing the season Of 1872. The United states
Steel Corporation viii use half Of Il.
Independent companies will get the other
half. which shows that no one has .
monopoly Of the iron business The
price Of transportation is s. cents . ton
remember when the rate was g.
From first to last, the national gov
ernment, I suppose. has spent 900
| on lake channels and harbors. thus maxi
ing it possible for great ships to haul
great loads All Of the money and
more. too. has gone back to the public.
to the ultimate consumers in the form
of reduced freight rates Coal IL sent
by water into the Northwest from Ohio.
Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. Some
Of 1t is sold in Canada. Money comes
for their labor. Merchandise 10 shipped
up the lakes at cheap prices for car
riage.
Immense stores Of wheat are brought
down from Duluth and the Canadian
ports of Fort william and Port Arthur.
Much of the wheat Is unloaded at Buff
falo to be made into -four for the Amerf-
can people. Large quantities of II are
exported to Europe. The Great Lakes
are misunderstood by a large part Of
the public They are big inland seas
and have a decided influence on the
freight rates of misunderstanding trans
portation prices down to q keenly COM
petitive level
THE development Of Lake shipping
has been simply remarkable. I remem-
Der the ore ship Onoko. which was a
revelation in its time. II carried cargo
Of 200 tons Of ore. II II got into port
ar, n1ax- al hx- q trrr-
day owners and captain thought they
had done pretty well. Horses pulled the
ore out of the hold in buckets. Yet ship
capital Is earning q lower rate Of in
terest now than formerly. Alva Bradley.
in his day the most consicuous vessel
operator on the Lakes. thought business
was dull when he failed to pay for a
schooner out Of the profits of two sea-
sons. Dividends were larger in the old
days: they are small now. The people |
are pocketing the difference"
The Captains of ships.
You do not permit captains or en-
gineers." I said. "to serve on vessels |
regularly after they are sixty-five years |
OF age?" The question started Mr.. coul- |
by's talk about what he calls "the |
human side of business"
"A man of sixty-five," he answered. |
has lost some of his elasticity. A young |
man Of forty or forty-five is like a piece !
of new rubber; he snaps back when ,
stretched out by unusual anxiety OF !
labor. An old man must have time In 4
which to recover Our captains are re-
quired TO navigate their vessels through |
rivers in fogs and gales and during /
storms of snow and rain. They are fire. |
quently on their feet from twenty to |
thirty-six hours at a time. Three or |
four hours of sleep will bring them back |
IL they are young. II they are old they !,
may not come back for a week When d /
captain reaches the age OF siXty-five, /
therefore, We pay him fixed price for
the season and let him substitute during /
pleasant weather for regular captains
who are on duty But he is never per-
mitted to command vessel toward the
end of the navigation season when bad
weather Is a common occurrence. Nor
would he have the opportunity.
THE regular captain of a ship would
not think Of staying on shore when
storms sweep the lakes and sailing IL
full of personal danger. Were he to do
so, his mates would instantly declare
that he was suffering from fallitis.
which would be their way OF saying that
he was a coward. At the age of seventy,
every captain is permanently retired on
a pension. The usual pay Of a lake
captain is 5000 year. Engineers re-
ceive s175 month.
en- Rule was given to mankind. 1t Is
an ideal law OF action, but is rarely put
into daily operation. though 1t Is the
best doctrine, even in matters Of busi-
ness, that the world has ever known.
We say things have changed. That Is
so. Man. however. in his aspirations and
in all the fundamentals of his nature Is
The poor man and the rich
man may be unlike externally. Inter-
nally they are the same. And one gen.
Grafton in its elements Is similar to an
other.
Man Himself II Foremost.
IT say these things to show that there
Is a human basis on which to work in
dustrially, now and in the future. We
organize tremendous corporations and
sometimes forget the men who are to ]
make the corporations a success or q
failure. We only see the financiers and i
managers. Take my own business as an .
example. The government deepens our
channels and improves our harbors: ma ,
rine architects build US monster ships: ,
engineers invent marvellous loading and ,
machinery, but such things are
not sufficient in themselves. We must
have harmony. enthusiasm, and hope .
among the men who do the real work.
Esprit de corps has won all the vic ,
tories of history, In war. education, re- .
igion. and business. and always will. ;
THE human being in these days Of Z
immense combinations must be consid- ,
.red more than has been the. rule here :
ofore. On December 81 the average man :
ooks back over the year. He thinks, :
Z he is normal individual. that he )
night have done better. He faces the :.
lew year in confidence. The fair day :
n life Is always tomorrow. When a ),
nan has no tomorrow. he slips back :
nto yesterday or last week and his case .
s hopeless. II / have a clerk who is
atisfied to be a clerk, get rid of him.
When a mate tells me he never wants
he responsibilities Of a captain. I strike
lis name sooner or later on the pay 9
oil. 4
FAN things are possible in business to, 6
hose who understand human nature. I
include in the term all things such ,
matters as efficiency. economy. team :
work. and success. I say. and in pardon s
bile pride, hope, that the Pittsburg y
Steamship Company has the best type :
4 sailors in the world; that they re- =
eive higher wages than any other :
ailors In the world; that they have ,
'etter food and quarters than any other i,
ailors in the world. and finally and as r
n inevitable result. that they are haul =
ng freight at lower cost per ton mile .
han any other sailors on earth. IN
Coulby Explains His PeIicy. Z
IF you ask what methods the man =
cement has followed. reply that With q
% every man from Q deckhand up IN o
iven an opportunity to grow. What IL e
ona m n ahtn in fhia rosx,~c< - -