davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Washington herald., 1912-08-18
Big Business on Small Capital.

Have you ever heard of anybody fin-
ancing a half million dollar business on a
capital of three thousand dollars and a lot
OF inexperience? No. Well, 1 did, and I'm
going TO tell YOU how.
Just about that time. the breakfast food
idea was sweeping the country by storm.
People were beginning 10 realize that
piece of steak. several eggs and a stack OF
buckwheat cakes may make a good supper
to sleep on. but they make a mighty poor
breakfast to work on
So, the lighter. tastler breakfast foods
were beginning TO speed into popular favor
as fast a prairie fire after a drouth.
Corn. wheat, oats-alI the grains were
furnishing their share. But-right here is
whore the big idea came in-ny breakfast
food. while it was just as good and just as
nourishing and just as tasty as the others
cost nothing. The raw product could be
secured for a song. simply because No. .
Byproduct was what designed TO use.
First thing cd was TO go TO an adver-
tislng man i knew TO be reliable pIanked
down one thousand Of my three in front o.
him and said: Here's the first installment
on the biggest advertising account you've
bull; yet. II represents one-th!rd OF my tota.
capital, and IL the business goes, one-third of
it is yours This thousand IS TO pay for ad-
vice. Now. give It TO me. and l told him my
story.
- That man was broad-he had vision-he
could see pOssbilities-that's why l went TO
him And he certa :nly saw the possibilities
OF the No. By-Product Breakfast Food.
The Washington herald., 1912-08-18

higher grade achievement. Men are contin-
ually trying to get the achievement without
sharpening their tools for the work, which 10
harder than trying to make bricks without
straw.
There are people enough who will say.
/" What is the use?" The sure answer Is there
isn't any use in these things for you. The
quality OF your Imagination Is too low to con-
ce!ve of tho glory Of triumph there is in these
things. the joys of intensity, the uplift of
great and difficult work well done.
Men in general do not believe enough in
themselves. There Is a charming old Welsh
proverb which says that every grain of sand
has its portion of the beach. So every man
has his portion of the great sum OF human ca
pability. Our psychologists say that ca
pa5i.!;ies Of peculiar character exist in
every man and hat many genius goes to
waste for want of development. II is either
dwarfed at the start. never gets dts eyes open
10 possibilities and its muscle up for the work
Of discovering them. or II gets false notions
that bring deterioration.
A blessed ignorance OF what they could not
do has sometimes led men on with fearless
ness that has led TO a discovery of the great.
even vast things they could do. In spite of all
the sluggish Efe around Us. the unawakened.
slow. wasteful men and vcmen. We yet dare
to say that no one has a right to live excep.
upon the levels OF maximum efficiency. No
one has any right TO seek anything but the
best conditions Of his daily life. It is prin-
cipally matter of willing.
The Washington herald., 1912-08-18
Ideas Worthless Unless Executed:
Why Bookkeeper Didn't Advance.
By JONAS HOWARD.

1AMIsON. the third bookkeeper. ap-
preached the Desk OF his employe and
stood here hesitatingly.
I came in to find cut II l couldn't get
little raise he began. when the op-
portuaity came. I've been working
here
The employer raised a hand.
Jamison." he said. Il have been intend
ing 10 raise your salary for some time-and
l have been holding of in the hope that YOU
would deserve a better raise than the one !
am about to give you. Now, sit down l
want TO have a little talk with you"
Jamison's face lighted at the ease with
which he had won. Thank you." he said
as he seated himself. I'm glad to know that
I've been doing good work and
You're the worst disappointment I have
had in this ONCE in the last ten years" the
employer cut in. rather sharply. II am
giving you your raise simply because you
are disappointment. Now let me say what
l started out 10 say.
When you came here a year ago thought
I had. found a prize. Remember the day that
I stopped by your desk over there and asked
you how you were getting along? You
answered me with aiertness, and almost
swept me of my feet with the fiood Of ideas
that you were going to put into execution.
You had more IDEAS than a dog has f,ea..
Some OF them were good, some Of them In
different. and some Of them worse than NO
IDEAS at all-but they showed the right spirit.
and right then was for you. and for you
strong. You will remember that told you
to go ahead and put your ideas into execution
whether they won or not want Q man 10
come TO me with IDEAS. I'm willing to lose /.
little money experimenting on him.
The Washington herald., 1912-08-18
A MILLION DOLLARS ONE DIME AT TIME
Chronicled by IRVING r. ALLEN.

on the shelves Of practically every grocery
store in America
Pretty fast work, ! should say" re-
marked the Average Man.
" Not bit OF IT,. The Tall Dark Man
spoke sharply. Young man, do you realize
that over 100 jobbers were distributing our
breakfast nUod-that each jcbber Of this
hundred averaged at least ten men on his
local territory? That makes a sales force of
100 mea-coVerirs every town, hamlet. and
villag in America two times a year at east
and probably more
At the end OF the first three months got
our statement sheets out and the results
made my friend decide TO let go Of his adver-
tis!ng business and devote all his time and
all OF his energies to the breakfast food in
dustry. That meant something. too, for he
was a man Of standing In his profession.
- II took little nerve. but We did it-put
all of first years profits into advertising
except. Of course what We had drawn out
to live on. And 1t paid-raid big In the be-
ginning the natural merit Of the article and
the profit 1t afforded both dealer and jobber
moved it But when advertising made the
consumer Of the states demand Il and use
U-well-it moved 50 fast that We began
10 push our mills FOR more waste.
The Washington herald., 1912-08-18
Analysed by Food Expert.

Just in order 10 be on the square-for
l didn't want TO sell anything that wasn't
really good, l sent It 70 food expert down
east, and when my analysis came back
called in the partner.
e told him that the packers who made
meat out OF the body OF the COW. glue out of
the horns and hoofs. chemicals out of the
bones, and whip out Of the tail, had moth
ing on U.s. We are going to make money
out OF every pound of grain that comes
through and / proceeded to show him why.
We called the No. waste Papas Fine
Breakfast Food. and started TO market it
through our regular channels.
It went and went big. People liked 1T
the food experts analysis was justified by
the results the food itself produced. In a
short lime all Of the No: Byproduct was
being sold at a profit as breakfast food.
Right here comes the battle scene My
partner was just plain oldfa shioned hog
When he took me in. business hadn't been
so good. My money looked better than the
half interest he parted with. but now-with
The Washington herald., 1912-08-18

Janison attempted to say something. but
the employer went on:
Three weeks later l was again by your
desk The day had left you had prophe-
sled to myself within a month that vou
would be managing the whole Office instead
or doing bookkeeping. But thre. weeks Of
that time had gone by and I had not seen
any results that would justify me in sitting
up nights to think what a great manager
you were. Not one OF those IDEAS had shown
any working. You had simply told me of
them and then forgotten them.
That day We talked together again. You
had an entire new sst Of dreams Of things
you were going to do. waited month. but
nothing turned up. Two months later
remember We chatted together a few mo-
ments. You were the possessor OF a new set
Of plans which nobody but yourself could
carry out. Well. I waited for you to do
some carrying. but nothing occurred. And
that, Jamison. IS why you are still in the
position you had when you began with this
hrm-and II Is also why call you my great
est disappointment. You're fast in the head
and slow on your feet. I suppose you have
another batch OF lunches cooked UP for me
right this minute. their only trouble being
that you're the man who must carry them
out. and you will get tired before you begin.
Isn't that true?'
Wen, I've got some ideas all right"
Jamison said. Now. for instance"
The employer stopped him
I've got better idea than any Of yours"
he said. a. And that Is for you to go and
carry out some Of your plans first: then tell
me about them afterward."
Yes, sir" said Jamison mesklx
The Washington herald., 1912-08-18
What Human Fineness Means.

II is neither a false idea nor a new one that
great strength and fneness of quality 60 to-
gether, are consistent one with another. The
ancient symbol for this idea was the iron
hand IN the velvet glove. The modern is ex-
pressed in the fact that the strongest cable
for its size is one made OF thA greatest num-
br OF fine strands. Some kinds Of fneness
may mean an increase Of frasility. but real
increase in human fneness, in the sense OF
increased efficiency, never means this
The core Of the dynamo is the strongest
part. The core of humanity is the same thing
but II is often overlaid with lsz!ness inertia
useless inefictencies that make full liberia
ton Of energy impossible. To tear these off
is to arrive at the point where all this energy
OF the core can be liberated.
The modern idea was expressed almost fifty
years ago by the poet Browning in reference
to education. This was to him the opening
out a way whence the imprisoned splendor
could escape. It had previously been the
idea clapping something on that often
creaked in the Joints and was no real part Of
the man wearing It Today we get at quality
By opening the chestnut bur. by overcoming
outefdes stiffness and inner elowness, Just
40 we get to the breathing flesh by washing
Of everything that obstructs It's free exhala-
ftops
The Washington herald., 1912-08-18
Silent Rebuke Effective

Just then middle aged man, the manager
OF the place, got behind the counter himself.
and walking past the dreamy waitress took
the glass from in front of the customer,
walked clear to the other end of the long
counter and returned with Il full OF water.
He put the glass down in front Of tho custo-
mer and walked away noiselessIy without
looking at the waitress or at any one in par
ticular. II he were there for just this pur-
pose-to spy out an efnpty glass in front of
a patron Of the place and refill It
This action Of the manager awakened not
only the waitress who was caught dreuming
on her job, but all the other mattresses be-
hind the counter. Each Of the girls booked
over the customers she had served to see IL
there was anywhere an empty glass, and
upon finding such a glass she promptly re-
filled It. All through that noon hour every
waitress was strictly "on the Job" and the
customers got close attention and prompt
and solicitous service. There was no mis-
taking the action Of the manager. 1t vas 4
rebuke most effectively administered.
VINO was that man." a customer asked
OF the girl who was waiting on him, as he
pointed out the receGing manager.
o." replied the sri. d" he is The whole
boss here. 4 dear. air't he? He is nice to
you even when he calls you down.
To be nice even when calling an employe
down, 70 administer a Eebuke without
arousins the Ill will and sometimes hatred
OF a subordinate, is an art 1t Is. in fact
more than an art 1t is gift Of nature.
This particular manager has been boss Of
TIE restaurant for eight years. Thousands
of mattresses had come and gone under his
management He maintained high de-
gree OF efficiency at all times. Yet there
was not an empIoye. past or present. who
has harsh word TO say about Sim. And all
because OF this gift TO 90 the calling down -
gracefully and without wounding TIE feel
iuGs Of his subordinates
The Washington herald., 1912-08-18
SCIENCE NOTES.

Austria has equipped its largest navy yard
with floating derrick especially designed to
lift submarines.
A reinforced concrete tresle at New
Jersey manufacturing plant wtrflstands The
weight Of the heaviest locomotives without
apparent strain.
More than IS per cent Of the mileage OF
German railroads is laid upon iron ties, one
state. which is rich in forest. using them 81
most exclusively.
Psnnsyavania stez1nsraphr has won the
honor OF being the first woman to obtain a
wireless operators oetincate from The
government. enabling her to take such a
position on a steamship on the Pacific.
The Washington herald., 1912-08-18
EsAzsKz Among Hand Brain MGH&-z
How to Make Most of Yourself;
You Must Work Up Your Quality.
By C. S. MADDOCKS
By c. S. MADDOCKS.

- CALITY, It is quality that makes us
admire the lily; and almost. worship
~ the rose. The fine. the exquisite. the
perfect have an eternal fascination
for the human mind, just as they af-
ford delight TO the eye and ioy to the senses
in general.
The perishabie rose is born with quality,
but the imperishable gold must be refined.
The most fragile Of things, the beautiful
snow crystal. is perfectly formed, but the
diamond, which has long been considered the
hardest of known things. must be cut to bring
olt its perfection.
BY reasoning on such things as these We
come 20 the conclusion that any thing pos
sessed Of lasting qualities. almost irnperish-
able qualities is capable of refining, of per-
fecting, whether It be the diamond or human
ability, skill, and efficiency. These are all
Possessed of perfect ability. Hundreds OF
thousands Of persons can play the piano.
though few ever become Beethovens, Liszts.
Griege; yet knce these latter have done
what they did. we know TO what extent the
quality of human skill in the way of musical
touch can be refined and perfected, a perfeC-
lion that ia both mental and physical.
Toll is the process that refines human ef-
Fort; not any toll, but only that which is
increasingly efficient, only that which like
the lapicary or cutter brings out the facets
OF ability, It's many rejecting faces. The
working places, the shops. Offices, studios.
factories. are all cutting and polishing the
rough diamonds OF our effort into the fin
ished settings Of life-n We have the max
inss of quality in U.S.
The Washington herald., 1912-08-18
Perfect Human Machine Needed.

As we go up the scale OF human activity -
says DR.. Luther Gulick in The Efficient
Life" "quakty counts more and more.
The higher the quality Of the work the
greater the nervous cost OF II. and the more
highly perfected must be the machine that
does II.
The conditions for efficiency In the case
Of the ordinary laborer are not complex.
His work is that of a coarse machine. turning
out. like a grain thrasher, a great amount
OF production relatively low IN grade. His
efficiency is but little disturbed by constant
feeding upon indigestible victuals, by fire.
quent carousals. by a dirty rkin and bad
air. Low grade production does not need a
high grade organism"
The perfectine OF the quality of the hu-
nan machine so that Its output may be OF the
finest and highest type is one OF the most
vividly realized needs Of our day. Author
lawyer preacher, teacher. business man
any man or woman engaged in any of the
higher fields OF effort-have become acutely
aware of the perfection OF physical resources
needed II there is to be an increased mental
effort Of high quality.
OF course there has arisen an opposite
school which maintains that the works of
genius have been the result of a toxin. a
poison in the blood, but its representatives
are Overwhelmingly alone compared with the
preachers of the other school, and they can
not prove their theories.
DR.. Gulick says: THE health OF the
thinker. OF the hnancier, Of the executive
genius, demands a momentary alertness OF
all the faculties. an ability to grasp, to
originate. to carry out. trained perception
and an intelligent discrimination. He must
be the master Of delicate high grade ma
chine calculated to carry on high grade
work. His health is upon an absolutely DIFF
ferent level from that OF the farm hand or
the coal shoveler"
The Washington herald., 1912-08-18
Efficiency Is Latest Religion.

This constant improvement in the results
Of our human efforts we sometimes call in
crease In efficiency. The religion Of efficiency
is the very latest religion being preached
Those who would improve mems health are
preaching efficiency. Those who are trying
to get the best effort into the conduct of
business and industry are vitality interested
in increasing the efficiency Of those who do
the work.
Our psychologists are. taking general prin-
ciples and codifying them into definite rules
of action based on the natural laws OF the
mind in it's behavior. to the end that they
may help increase human efficiency. They
are more interested In bringing out the pos
sibilitiee In man than in any other one
thing. believing that the impulse toward eff
cheney affords field OF study Of more practi
cal value to the world than any yet which
their science has forwarded The great
teachers are deeply concerned with the max
ing Of teaching more efficient. and the con-
sensus of opinion among our v1sest thinkers
is that there is no place where there has been
greater waste Of time and effort than in the
schools. effort spent ineffsctively and an
irreparable waste Of wonderful brain stuff
and beautiful human spirit.
The elimination of waste has been one Of
the first steps and the most important in
increa sing efficiency. II We are to become
more proficient We need TO have all our ef-
forts telling efforts. There is about as much
difference between the concrete modern
methods Of preventing waste as between the
old methods Of securing power through a wa
terfall and that Of controlling a head of
water by dams so that hardly a gallon flows
on without doing work.
The Washington herald., 1912-08-18
Sold at Dime a Package.

80 We let her go-and the price Of the
package was a dime-1O cents.
The jobbers sold the goods-sold It fast
they paid us promptly for the sake OF liberal
cash discounts. As we had ninety days to
pay foT our raw material we had nine ty days
use Of the jobbers' money before We had to
pay our bills. And we made good use of L,
too.
% 1t took US one year to get national dis
tribution-by that mean 70 place our goods
The Washington herald., 1912-08-18

things a booming and tke money a coming
in. he Selt different.
So through a little carelessness on my
part in signing the original partnership
papers, / found myself out In the cold with
three thousand dollars cash-and-well that
and kept me from feeling bad because the
other asset was going to mention was The
Big Idea. That was worth more than half
a dozen one horse flour mills.
The Washington herald., 1912-08-18

~ RIEND,"' he commenced In n deep
~ - bass voice. never mind my early
Iife-never mind my birthplace
never mind the rest OF 1t. Your
question indicates that your inter-
est IN me starts al the point where the money
begins TO come in. Am right
You absolutely-positively," said the
Average Man. Go ahead-proceed."
Il will" The Tall Dark Man took breath
SO deep that the Average Man glanced down
to see any air was coming out OF the toes
Of his shoes. Find!ns everything all right,
he looked up again and the story teller pro-
ceedet Scene ], Act Ii am the bookkeep-
er, sale. manager. factory head. ONCE boy.
and partner Of the Fowler company. -four
mill located In a northern town. BY the list
Of my duties which l have just mentioned
YOU will readily understand that We were
comparatively small concern. l say we
advisecay for just one month before had
with q small legacy bought half interest in
the mill As said before interrupted my
self, Scene l. Act Ia bright August after
noon with me in overalls temporarily acting
Es chief engineer. Enter my partner. Jim
my says he, what do the 6eadbrokes do
with that No. Byproduct?'
How do / know / asked him. and right
here It might be we'll to explain. We gave
away a little -four 10 the poor people of the
town-charity. you know-end lately few
families had been carrying off lot Of our
No. Byproduot. srindings and cuttings left
over from the process of four making. So
this was what my partner was wondering
about.
Best way says I. to find out is to ask
en- So we le. the matter rest
The Washington herald., 1912-08-18
Bought 1t to Eat.

The next request for a gift OF the No. 2
byproduct was referred direct 10 me. !
asked the ragged kid who had come with a
little wagon for it. Do your folks use this
for chicken feedr'
mo, SIR said he. we haven't got no
chickens. Mother boi.s 1t and We all cat II. >
And as an afterthought he added, It's good.
too
Say. ! felt sorry for that outfit Clean
down to eating Byproduct from the mill.
So I loaded the kids wagon with a sack OF
good -four and told him TO take II along
Half an hour later the kid was back.
sack Of -four in wagon. and mother with him.
hey had rather have the No. ByproGuct
than the good -four.
1T seems that the family liked it 50 well
and Il was so nourishIng that he mother
preferred it TO -four. which could only be
used in bread. ! told her she could nave all
the No. she wanted and In return eNacted
from her the method used in cooking Simple
It was, too. Just matter of boiling and let
ting the stuff settle down into a cake like
cornmeaL
So took some No. 2 Byproduct home
with me and out OF curiosity had the wife
cook II according to the dope l had.
Surprisede Worse than that What
ever happened. I was going to keep right on
eating that boiled No. ,. 1t tasted good.
OF course, the shape the No. waste was
in made 1t impractical for general sale. but
little experimenting with sieving and clean
ing brought 1t to the point where II struck
me as being marketable.
The Washington herald., 1912-08-18
Perfection Brings Achievement.

Perfected control of physical faculties. per-
tected powers OF endurance. perfected powers
Of continuous attention. perfected sensitive
ness Of body and mind are all needed for
The Washington herald., 1912-08-18
Kind'CallDown'
Most Effective.
By A. B. ERDMANN.
MAN seated at tthe lunch counter OF
one Of the best patronized restaur-
ants in the downtown districts showed
, out his glass conspicuously to catch

the eye of the waitress. But the
waitress. slip of girl, though she was
only foot and half away from the counter
and almost facing the customer, failed to see
the request of the man for a glass Of water
The customer then put the glass to his
lips and drank its contents to the last drop.
He set the glass down on the counter with
a slight thud in the hope that this would
surely catch the eye and ear OF the waitress
Again he failed. however. The waitress stood
there in reverie. She would have made an
excellent subject for a painter at that mo
ment- As a waitress, however. she was his h
ly inefficient just then.
The man resignedly began to nibble at his
food. He could not swallow another bite
without drink OF water