The Wallace miner. [volume] (Wallace, Idaho) 1907-current, 1917-12-20

| fore to illustrate these principles
wherein my applications would lie. be-
cause of my work as a mining engin-
eer, am drawing on personal expert
ences in the mining field. II is not
possible to draw line of demarcation
where one mental quality begins and
another leaves off, but these examples
will serve to show what the combined
qualities that make up the proper ex-
ecutive may accomplish. For several
years a certain mine had been operat-
ed on a profitable basis, and returned
a good income to its shareholders.
Neither the president nor the general
manager was a man of imagination,
and while matters ran smoothly they
ran on a level much below the plane
of high efficiency. A change of man
agement was urged by some of the di
rectors, and after much persuasion
and pressure this was brought about.
Within 80 days after the new manager
was installed the output increased 260
| per cent, dividends doubled and the
surplus mounted by leaps and bounds.
In the first month the net profits in
creased $4,000, and soon they were
mounting at the rate of three quarters
OF million year. Now, the new
management worked with no equip
ment other than at the service of the
old management. 1t merely brought
INSTRUMENTATION If you will-to
the problem and saw what could be
done through simple and seemingly
slight readjustments all through the
organization, OF the changes made no
single one seemed of particular mom-
ent, but all in combination put the en-
tire business on a higher plane, and
gave the immensely profitable result
1t was judgment knowing what rear
rangements were feasible and proper;
and it was initiative, getting out of the
rut of the obvious routine. These
qualities in 80 days returned an actu-
al cash payment of $40000-well worth
while even to the practical mind.
Executive Narrow Mindedness chokes
Development.
Again, a certain mine is owned by
men having at their command all the
money that is needed to accomplish a
splendid piece of constructive work.
FYet year after year, for 20 years, the
mine has remained idle because they
see it only as a small property and
can not imagine it as large and high
| ~ profitable business, run as an indie
pendent industrial unit They also
lack the initiative to investigate the
best metallurgical methods and do not
understand how to engage the best
brains and bring them to bear on the
problem. This really doesn't seem a
difficult thing, but it is. The best
brains go with broad gage minds, and
the man whose mind leans toward do
ing things in small way will get help
from small men to help him, and he
will achieve small result. In this
particular instance the product of the
mine is silver and copper, both OF
which are now at super normal prices
in the market 1t would seem that
even narrow judgment would appre-
ciate that the obvious thing is to mar.
ket these products now. But this par
ticular Judgment does not APPARENT!
realize that to a degree as never be
fore has time become the essence o
, action and that all effort should b.
concentrated now without delay. Fail
ure to grasp the situation Is due solel.
to executive narrow -mindedness, ant
not to lack of money or labor
One more instance: A certain large
mining corporation retains in an i'm
portant executive position man wh'
does not get nor hold the goodwill o
it's customers. A competitor told M
that even if this corporation felt tina
its manager was too expensive to b.
retained, it would be good business TO
the competitor to pay the salary of tn
corporation official because OF tn
business that was diverted to the com
petitor through the unpleasant person
, atty of the corporation manager
| Needless to say the competitor is ar
: fluent, and has a broad minded, broad
: gage management in it's highest exec
1 utives, but the corporation with tn
unpleasant manager held place Il
the industrial procession two jump
ahead of the sheriff before the wa
prices of metals came and saved tn
J day. This corporation represents mil
lions of invested capital, and the won
!. der is that the executives at the to-
can remain either ignorant of, or ig
" more the conditions of personnel whic
: SO profoundly affect it's fortunes.
Old Timer Not Always the Best Ma
for the Job.
| sat last month with a group o
mine directors who had recent
bought property, and who were con
r tinuing as manager the man who sol
them the NINE Internationally ma
: say that mining engineers recognize
: this procedure as one of the mos
= fruitful causes of mine failure. 1t !
done on the theory that the man VIII
has been in charge of the mine know
most about it, but this is fallacy tina
3 has cost many men hundreds of thous
ands to unlearn.) This manager wa
3 the only "mining man" on the director