Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1913-03-24
SENTIMENT GOOD
BUSINESS ASSET
and Largest Corporations, EN-
pIoying Most Men, Need 1t
Most, Says Forbes.
BY g. c. FORBES.

BY 8. c. FORBES.
SENTIMENT IN BUSINESS is GOOD
BUSINESS.
THE LARGEST CORPORATIONS, EN-
n,oylNG THOUSANDS OF MEN, NEED
.osT OF ALL. WITHOUT A RIGHT
CONTINENT BETWEEN EMPLOYERS
AND EMPLOYED NO GREAT ENTER
pRIsE CAN LAST.
ella
Noy 90 ahead and tear these state
ante 70 pieces, we rule thumb eco
wi, critics, ye multiplIcatIon-tabe sta
.,..,,fsns. We machne-IIke efficiency ex-
.., and We employers who hold aloof
..,r, YOUR workmen. We can prove by
.,r5 bIoodess logic that business Is busl-
-,,, that the taskmaster must not be
..-v.d by sentiment, that men-and
.,sr-are but productive machines
.,., must be "speeded up to produce
-. last cents worth Of toll. Sentiment
,,.rle. effemlnate, fiabby stuff, Is It
.., I, Is all very we'll for the nursery,
,,r the church and the home circle but
y. ~. mad rush for wealth II must ex-
meet 10 be trampled and crushed.
~, fatal weakness Of the corporate
,o-r, Of dolnq business has been the al
,,,,, complete annihiIation Of sentiment
.,.,.s, those at the head and those be-
lam But the most enlightened corpora
.i,rs have determined to cure this evil.
?. rss+ore sentiment, a right esprit de
,orps, loyalty between wage payers and
,y,oa sarners is among the biggest prob
l,,,s t,cIna America. II Is not merely an
Industrial or economic problem; It lies at
.,s very foundation Of our social and po-
ntlca structure.
uo,y much Of the rampant discomfort
a, rsesnt years has sprung from the cold
,.,, the heartIessness, existing between
s,,,Iovess and those employing them2
Half the swellngs Of dissatisfaction nave
,ons from a lack Of sympathy between
t,s modern capItallstlc combination and
IL, workers. The old bond of affection
that often existed between an employer
,,d his servants was snapped when the
trusts thrust Individually owned busI'
rssses aside. The new masters. too often
mad. no effort to foster a spirit Of under
standno. sympathy, loyalty and conf
ds,ce. The relationship became one OF
cold dollars and cents. The personal eaua-
ton vanished. The trusts sole concern
lin far too many cases) was TO make
money-eyen- at the cost Of unmaking
men. Of turning them into mannIkns or
machines.
The Rand Of the servant was thus turn
ed sualnst his master. Discomfort bad
blood, agitation flourished IKE weeds. Up
.heavaIs threatened to shake the founda-
ton Of the republic. A readIustment OF
conditions became imperative
This readiustnnent is now under way. It
consists largely Of the restoration of SEN
tment In business.
Did you notice that President Mellen,
when pressed almost TO the WALL an
bounced that hereafter he would hold
regular audiences with his men, hearing
heir complaints, learning their point o.
view and getting acquainted? And have
rot the newspapers been filled with de-
scriptons of new pension schemes FOR
workers, sick benefits, workmen's COM
pensatIon measures, cost price stores for
ina plans stock offerings and special bo-
muses. thereon to workers, the voluntary
granting OF a minimum wage SCALE I'M
proved hygenIc conditions in factories
and other workshops, the establishment
Of recreation halls, lunch rooms and a
hundred other benefits? All these are in
reality threads designed to bind together
employed and employer, to restore the
bonds Of affection that formerly meant
SO much for Industrial peace.
What measure of the Pennsylvania
railroads. unexamped success has been
due to the cordial relations that have been
constantly fostered between officers and
men?
Sentiment in business, It has been
Iearned-though in most instances learned
unconseiously-is good business. Ire
mendous forces are at work along these
Ines even though the large significance of
events has not yet been grasped by the
average mind intent upon its own i'm
mediate concerns.
have noticed, however. that the least
INDUSTRIOUS workers are oftentimes the
oudest grumbiers. Bad workmen. says
me proVerb, quarrel with their tools. The
man who strives least to better his con-
oFlon is usually the one who mouths most
about his right to better conditions.
sui that is another story and must wait