New Britain herald., 1918-02-05
William H. Hart Lays Aside Executive Burdens After G3 Years Continuous Ser vice in Office.
CHIEF FACTOR IN
 CONCERNS SUCCESS

QudnIS alu 'SeTVlco TWO "oiu9
 On Which He Has Erected One of
 Leading Manufacturing Plants in
 United States--Entered Employ of
 Company in 1s54-Now S3 Years of
 Age.
 After having held an executive of- flee in the Stanley Works for 63 con- secutive years and for good part of the timo holding two such offices at , once, William H. Hart has decided to give up his official duties in connec- tion with the corporation and has resigned as chairman of the board of directors.
 It is given to few men to see and actively participate in the growth of a business from a very small begin ming to the biggest in it's line in the world This, MT. Hart has done, and it may be remembered in 1915, when he resigned from the presidency of the company, he presented to the stockholders a sketch of the history of tho company, which was printed in the papers at that time.
 Few of the men in charge of our local industries today realize what struggle it was to win out in the early days when the managers were hampered by lack of capital and com- petition of older and stronger con- cerns The Stanley Works was or ganized as a stock company in Aug ust 1852, with the modest capital of $30,000. F. T. Stanley was president and Walter H. Stanley, secretary and treasurer.
 MT Hart entered the employ of tho company in March, 1854 with the un- derstanding that he was to be secre- tary and treasurer and on May 16 Of that year, he was elected to these of- fees, being then only 19 years old. Within two years after his election. the general management of the busi- ness practically devolved upon MT, Hart and the story of his struggles during those early days when he was working with Insufficient capital and had to compete with old established concerns, a great many times larger, Is interesting.
 Cornerstone of Success.
 Notwithstanding these disadvan- tages, MT. Hart was not discouraged and laid broad and strong foundations for the business to grow on and de- veloped numerous improvements many of which have been in use by the company up to the present time Among these. three stand out prominently as contributing largely to the success that the Stanley Works has attained.
 The first-the use of improved ma chinory and the consequent large re- duction in cost of operations and saving of waste.
 The second-The use of the tele- scope or double box, which MT. Hart invented and which is now uni- versa1ly in use for the packing of all kinds of goods. Previous to MT Hart's invention, wrought butts had been packed in glazed paper pack ages and MT. Hart ascribes a good deal of the credit for getting busi- ness away from competitors at that time to the use of these boxes and to the label system which he orig mated.
 Third-His development of cold rolled steel which MT. Hart experi- mented with until he had found satisfactory quality and Stanley Works enjoyed the advantages of using this line of material for six years before it became known to competitors. This part of the busi- ness has grown very rapidly as well as the rest.
 Numerous other things might be mentioned but the success of the Stanley Works may perhaps be sum- med up in the two ideas which MT. Hart has impressed upon all who have been associated with him quality and "service' to customers. Mir. Hart so impressed upon those trained under him these two things that the Stanley Works today enjoys an enviable reputation among the hardware trade for the quality of their product and the efficient serv- ice they give their customers.
 Resolution on Resignation.
 In accepting MT. Hart's resignation, the directors unanimously adopted the following resolution and ordered 1t entered upon the records.
 Willia mH. Hart entered the
 employ of the Stanley Works In
 1854 He was it's secretary from
 May 16, 1854 to 1872; it's treas
 urcr from 1854 to 1905; it's
 president from 1884 to 1915; the
 chairman of it's board of direct
 DTS from 1915 to the present
 time; filling all of these success
 sive positions of trust and re-
 sponsibility with marked devo-
 ton and ability, and in each case
 voluntarily retiring from the po-
 sition.
 By his energy and foresight,
 his unrenitting toll and unstint-
 ed devotion to the interests of
 this corporation during the whole