The Wallace miner. [volume] (Wallace, Idaho) 1907-current, 1916-09-14


les Incident to general management,
considered many of his new duties as
less important. and more or less sub
ordinate to those of engineering, and
would still dwell upon the engineering
functions of the business instead of
developing the possibilities in his new
and broader field of effort. The tech
nically trained man too often over
looks the fact that knowledge of the
markets where the materials and the
supplies necessary to production may
be secured. their purchase, transpor-
tation and storage; the employment;
and application of labor, supplies and
power; the supervision. compensation
and organization of labor. and the
proper balancing of the activities of
each department in itself and its re-
.ations to the other departments; the
adjusting of the business as a whole
to the activities of the outside world;
the proper recording and analysing of
the operations of the business, the
the production must be sold, together
with the selling of the production;
the raising of working capital, dis
bursements and Investments of earn
iEgs: are all functions of the business
of mining that are separate and dis
tinct from that of engineering and
are coordinate in Importance. And
finally, there is ever to be borne IN
mind the great key of the secret OF
success In business administration,
namely the getting of other people to
do things for you. whether they be
people that are working for you, peo-
pie you come in contact with as buy
ers and sellers, or people who can in
any way assist you in getting things
done. The man who possesses this
art is often described as good mixer
Uncouth and imperfect as that tern,
may be- it expresses nevertheless
something of the quality that is i'm
portant
In the development and equipment
stage of mining and metallurgy, good
engineering is all important. With a
badly developed mine and poorly
designed metallurgical plant, the best
of administrators is bound to have
hard time. 1t was formerly the GUS
tom, in the days when our industry
bad not attained the organization of
the present era, that the mining and
metallurgical engineer was jack OIL
all trades The same man might de-
velop and equip the mine, design and
build the smelling plant, and operate
both of them. That day is long past
Not only do we now specialize be-
tween mining and metallurgical en-
gineers, but also do we specialize
among builders and operators. One
kind of metallurgical engineer designs
/ and builds the plant and turns 1t oVel
, to the other kind to operate, In the
: two branches of work, different kline
5 OF talent is necessary.
But of course the operating mel
. are the great majority of the technlc
!. ally trained engineers engaged in tn
f mining industry. Among them Their
. is no question that we need a create
= increase in business efficiency,
r greater direction of attention to min
e ing as business, rather than as a
f art and science. The great nee
= among our great mining and metal
Y lurgical corporations which hav
n wonderful technical departments an
: magnificent mechanical equipment,
:. not so much for more technical an
e mechanical efficiency, as it is for MOI
d business efficiency, more intelliger
I, purchasing, better organization, bette
recognition of the principles of ect
e romics. The genius who possesse
: those qualities shines the same
k whatever lie undertakes. The mimi
It industry does not merely obtain II
e generals some times from other field
Often it gives its own men to othe
= work. Consider Hoover, mining en-
j. gineer relatively young in years, VIII
e has become one of the great figures
n the world. We of the mining indus
: tr,t knew Hoover as great admins
S traitor long before the world at larg
1t had heard of him. During the las
Y two years we have seen him, who ha
It been conducting brilliantly mining OF
n erations in all parts of the world, eS
It ercise the same talents in feeding an
lie clothing a nation.
ir The story of how the Belgian CON
r. mission, under Hovoer, supported
le people requlrign $65,00O,OO0 per annul
d in food supplies with but $1OO0O,O0O
10 foreign contributions, is one of II
r romances Of business The BIRTHS
to press has constantly asserted that
is is not the generosity of American
lg for which Belgium should be mo
ne grateful but for the commissions o.
E. ganizing genius, which is to Sc
II overs genius The problem WI
j. huge. It was necessary to utilize Il
~ credit of a population deprived of
g. metallic and almost all paper Gu
rency; to do a systematic bankil
f. business across enemy lines. Hoo
d. ers commission had so organized
n charity that the destitute in Belgiu
on should be aided by their own countr
ne men. Its direct efficiency Is attest