Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1913-10-06

Impressed by what they have been
reading in this column, the managers
of a large corporation are planning
10 treat their men with greater
liberality and consideration Some
two thousand men - and later on
nearly four thousand men-win be
benefited, not to mention the pleasure
and comfort that the new order viii
| bring to the wives and families Of
these men.
The general manager invited me t.
attend an informal talk he was To
! have with a number of employees
Yesterday afternoon. Undaunted by
| the deluge, we plowed our way 10
the meeting place, expecting to find
very few on hand. But there they
were, almost everyone who could
possibly get away.
This manager is one of the new
school On such men must this coun-
try depend to avert trouble between
capital and labor. He forms a con-
Meeting link between the employers
and the employees. a sort of bond
TO make this surgical tRatise. but
holding the two together.
He has struck the keynote that
has been persistently advocated here,
get together" re-establish the per-
sonai element in conducting a huge
business, enlist the interest of the
men by working for their best inter-
ests, mix with them, confer with
them, sympathiZe with them when
necessary. discipline delinquents with
firm hand-in short, not only give
them a fair deal bat cultivate their
acquaintance and friendship by all
honorable, manly means.
Three years ago." he remarked to
me- when l took charge, l found
many of the men in an ugly mood.
They all had grouches. The bust
ness was suffering in consequence
we were losing trade instead of gain
ing IT,
well. l sized up the situation.
saw that the men would have to be
taken in hand. How to turn them
into ,oyalists instead of anarchists
was my problem. Fortunately. / was
able to understand them, as / had
been in their shoes for years.
came from among them, having done
exactly the work they were doing
before ! took charge of men. l de-
cided to get close to them. to meet
them in friendly informal way and
hear their grievances.
AT first ! was almost eaten up.
1t took courage to face a big crowd
Of them They did not believe l was
sincere when l told them l wanted
to hear their complaints so that
might help them. They were dis
trustful. They were suspicious. Well,
you saw how they acted to-day"
The confab was such that other
managers might well initiate - and
envy. The manager frlternized for
some little time with the men before
the meeting began. Then he out
lined what the company intended TO
| do for them, and invited them to ask
questions or make comments. Sew
eral did-frankly and unabashed.
One fellow suggested that the
company should do a whole lot more
than was proposed-and the other
men Jumped" on him in jiffy, and
before they finished they had him
rather ashamed of himself
That the men were loyalists anG
not anarchists was plain. One
speaker from the floor assured the
manager that they would not wan;
the company to go so far in helping
them that the business would suffer-
And he was not sarcastic, either!
I'VE know the company means to dc
the right thing by us, and you know
that we want to do the right thing
by the company" he added. Were
with you every time"
BY a unanimous vote the man.
ayers plan to help the men was in
dorsed, and then three cheers were
given for him and the company.
In these days of labor unrest, of
bitterness. of lighting and wrangling,
Of strikes ana sedition, 1t was re-
freshing to witness such an exhibit
ton Of loyalty and cooperation be-
tween men and their employers. This
happy condition, however. has not
been attained without much thought
and good will on the part of the
DandS cement. A mere increase IN
wages would not have done it. There
had TO be bridging of the gulf be
tween the men and the corporation.
Luckily, the directors found a man
capable of doing it.
! have before now suggested q
course at some of our universities on
The Management of Men" Such Il
study is more needed to-day than
ever before. The man who can
handle large bodies of men, who can
bring out the best that is in them,
who can inspire them with enthu-
siasm, who can win their co-opera-
ton. is worth a fortune to any of our
gigantic business organizations. Z
is more valuable to know men than
to know merchandise. for there are
plenty OF experts on merchandise
and few experts on men.