Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1913-03-24
SENTIMENT GOOD
BUSINESS ASSET
|ind largest Corporations, En-
blowing Most Men, Need 1t
Most, Says Forbes.
Nv 3. c. FORBES.

sv 3. c. FORBES.
SENTIMENT IN BUSINESS is GOOD
BUSINESS.
AReEsT CORPORATIONS, EN-
., DYING THOUSANDS OF MEN, NEED
Most OF ALL. WITHOUT A RIGHT
-,,-,wENT BETWEEN EMPLOYERS
AND EMPLOYED NO GREAT ENTER
pslsE CAN LAST.
,,., 40 ahead and tear these state
80. ~ pieces, ys rule of thumb eco
mi, critics, ye nnutIplcatlon-table sta
.,,.,Ians ye machIue-IIke efficiency ex-
-, and We employers who hold aloof
=, ,our workmen. We can prove by
- nIoodIess Ioalc that business ls busl-
80. that the taskmaster must not be
,.1 nv sentiment, that men-and
.,.,,e,-sre but productive machines
.i.. must be "speeded up" to produce
,,.. cents worth Of toll. Sentiment
.r.rrls, etfemInate, habby stun, Is It
,otq II is all very we'll for the nursery
Cor the church and the home circle, but
T.. ~. mad rush for wealth It must ex-
49,, 70 be trampled and crushed.
An. fatal weakness Of the corporate
.,r,, NJ doing business has been the al
z,,., conplete humiliation Of sentiment
...,.sar those at the head and those be-
r,,y But the most enlightened corpora
.,,,s have determined to cure this evil
,, rsstore sentiment, a right esprit de
,orps. loyalty between. wage payers and
,.,os earners Is among the biggest prob
,.,,s faoIna America. II Is not merely an
Industrial or economic problem; It lies at
III. very foundation of our social and po-
tcaI structure. b.
How much Of the rampant discomfort
n recent years has sprung from the COLO
,.s, the heartlessness, existing between
sr,ovees and those employing them
u,lftbe sweIlngs Of dissatisfaction have
,or,s from lack Of sympathy between
the modern capitallstIc combination and
its workers. The old bond OF aneetlon
that often existed between an employer
and his servants was snapped when the
trusts thrust individually owned Dust
rssses aside. The new masters too often
made no effort to foster spirit Of under
standing, sympathy, loyalty and conn
dsnce. The relationship became one OF
-ot1 dollars and cents. The personal equa-
ton vanished. The trusts sole concern
III, far too many casey was TO make
noney-eyen at the cost Of unmaklng
men. Of turning them into mannlk'ns or
machines,
The hand of the servant was thus turn
ed AGAINST his master. Discomfort bad
bIo6d agitation fourished like weeds Up
hesvals threatened 70 shake the founda-
ton Of the republic. A readIustment OF
conditions became imperative.
o. -
This readlustment Is now under way. II
consists largely Of the restoration Of sen
tment in business.
Did you notice that President Mellen,
when pressed almost to the wall an
aounced that hereafter he would hoia
regular audiences with his men, hearing
.hetr complaints, learning their point OF
view and getting acqualnted7 And have
not the newspapers been filled with DE-
scriptions Of new pension schemes for
workers, sick benefits, workmen's com
psrsatlon measures, cost-prlce stores TOR
employees and their families. protit-shar-
ina plans. stock offerings and special bo-
muses. thereon to workers, the voluntary
granting Of a minimum wage scale I'm
proved hyglenlc conditions in factories
and other workshops, the establishment
Of recreation halls, lunch rooms and
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 unexampIed success has been
due to the cordial relations that have been
constantly fostered between officers and
men?
Sentiment In business, II has been
iearned-thoush in most Instances learned
. unoonsciously-ls good business. Ire
mendous forces are at work along these
lines 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 oftentlmes the
oudest grumblers. Bad workmen, says
the proVerb, quarrel with their tools. The
man who strives least to better his con-
oItIon Is usually the one who mouths most
about his right TO better conditions.