The Washington herald., 1914-03-23
HISTORY BUILDERS.
A Great Manufacturers Definition of
Specialization.
Written expressly for The Herald)
by DIR. Il. J. EDWARDS.

Specialization.
Written expressly for The Herald)
BY DIR. e. ,. EDWARDS.
About a year before the death OF
Abram s. Hewitt, in 1903, l met him at
luncheon at his club in New York City
at his invitation. He was anxious TO
talk about the anthracite coal strike
which at that time was a question OF
very grave concern throughout the
United States. especially in the Eastern
half
Mr.. Hewitt was at that time eighty
years of age. His mental activity
seemed not in the least impaired in spite
of sixty years of very active business
and public life. He had served for sew
eral terms in Congress. He was for one
term mayor of New York City. He was
chairman OF the National Democratic
Committee in 1876, the campaign in which
Samuel ]. Tilden was a candidate for
President He had carried on extensive
iron manufacturing. He was president
of the American Institute OF Mining En-
gineers and he possessed more pro-
found knowledge OF the history Of Amer
lean mining and metallurgy In the
United States than any other American
citizen.
Yet. notwithstanding the variety of his
pursuits and the intense application
which he gave to everything in which
he was associated, he was, although frail
Of physique OF exceptional mental vigor.
at least for a man Of his years.
Mr.. Hewitt went into the philosophy OF
the relations of labor to capital in the
course of our conversation. predicting
that the time had come when skilled
artiG
part of the stock of the corporations in
which they were employed.
When that time comes" said he,
I'VE shall begin to see n solution of the
difficult problems of the relation between
capital. ability, and labor" He looked
intently at me for a few moments in
silence. Then he said:
Il have often been thought to be
OF somewhat radical. revolutionary. or
unsOund economic views Yet. / think
that In every case where predictions
which 1 made became facts i was fully
sustained in all I said.
Fl hear a great deal in these days
about the evils of speculation. There
Is no evil in speculation. 1t is good.
II is necessary. Without IL business and
development would stagnate.
THE trouble is that people arc care
less in the use OF terms. When markets
are manipulated, when the game is play
ed with loaded dice. when there is fraud.
moral or legal. then there is no such
thing as speculation. Yet. almost every
body is accustomed to think Of specu-
lation in the sham meaning Of the term.
Let me tell you something from my
own career. With Mr.. Cooper Edward
Cooper his brother-ln-law). began
many years ago the manufacture of iron
in New Jersey. There were times when
We had in excess of three thousand ar
tisans upon our pay roll. There were
some years when our expenses were at
least a hundred thousand dollars in ex-
cess OF our receipts We struggled along.
not closing down our works. partly be-
cause II was economy not TO let tho
plant 20 to ruin. partly because Il was
real economy not to turn our employees
out into the cold.
When II became certain that the
Treasury Department at Washington
would resume specie payments before the
end of President Hayes administration
| was satisfied that this would be fol-
lowed, and. in fact, preceded for year
at least by a very great revival OF busi-
ness activity in the United States.
AT the time iron was commanding n
very low price. so stagnant was trade
Therefore Mr.. Cooper and I decided
to utilize our capital in buying all or
the iron ore and pig iron that We could
secure and holding II until the price ap-
preciated. We did that With the re-
sumption of specie payments there came
a very great revival of business and a
large demand for iron. The price ap-
preciated, and we were able to realize
upon our venture a large amount OF
money. enough to make good the deficit
between receipts and expenditures In our
acturtng business
Now that was speculation-nothins
else Anybody else had the same oppor-
tunity for forecasting the future that
did. There were some iron manufac-
turers who did. There was no unfair
advantage taken of any one Our profits
were as honorably obtained as they
would have been had they been secured
through the marketing Of our iron prod
ucts. Speculation establishes market
values. 1t is the very essence OF COM
merce, and only wish that people who
make use OF the word in its false sense
could have full understanding of what
the value of honorable speculation is
to any nation"
Copyright. Isli)