Perth Amboy evening news., 1920-12-16
THE HASKIN LETTER
MATCHING WALL STREET
WORKERS.


S,raa, tlese days is about as easy as
securing a passport 10 Russia, or
gaining admission to the Union
| League Club since the recent lIiSh
episode, Not n a wall street mas
reached the sa%turation point IN the
matter OF employment, as nave 81
MANY other districts all OF a suuJe
Ar is one place where jobs are still
numerous. But wall street does not
employ people in its former casual
and even careless manner. Instead
n ~oyerhauls them thoroughly, as
"a horse dealer overhauls a horse
before committing himself to its
purchase, and accepts only those
who are of rubust health, and inn
p~eccable character.
Judging by the nonchalent ease
with which clerks and messengers
ALWAYS seem to be getting away
with millions of dollars worth oil
bonds in his district. you would
never imagine that Wall street was
at all particular about whom It en-
ployed. But, as we have SAID. II
II. Nearly every large concern In
,ts narrow. crooked little streets,
NOWADAYS has its Personnel Depart
ment. which is its first line OF de-
tense against criminals in search OF
Jobs. since the recent explosion,
these departments have increased
RAPIDLY in numbers, while entrance
| examinations to the big financial in
st,tutions have become SO rigid that,
as one employee remarked sarcastic
! cally the other day. only the sons
of bank presidents can be messen-
gers in banks.
The typical Wall street personnel
department has three important di-
visions-namely. the psychological
| division, the health division and
the social service division. Per-
haps the health division should
have been placed first. since health
is the first consideration in eXamin-
ing q prospective employe. The
districts specifications in this re-
gard are quite as rigid as those of
the army. In order to land a job
here, a mans eyesight must be
good; his hearing perfect; his lungs
and heart and kidneys in good con-
dition; and above all his teeth
must not be defective. If a man is
in otherwise good health, but his
teeth need attention, he is required
TO have them repaired before he is
taken on the staff. The same con-
ditions apply to women employees
The Employees Health.
The health division of the person.
mel department usually employs at
least two physicians for the work
of examining applicants as well as
for the care of permanent employees.
One of these doctors is a mar and
the other q m 1t is their
duty to keep the permanent staff at
top-notch physical efficiency. and
to prevent employment of persons
with incipient tuberculosis or other
chronic diseases. One such dIvi-
sion also teaches hygiene to the
firms workers. and advises them as
TO their personal habits in diet,
| dentistry and baths.
When the health division gets
through with him, the prospective
employe is dispatched to the psy-
Geological division. where he is
given elaborate tests for determin-
ing his mental and moral grasp of
affairs. Sometimes a man who en-
ters this division believing himself
to be an expert secretary is in
formed that his powers lie in the
field of craftsmanship, and hence is
told that the firm will employ him
only as a salesman. According to
one psychologist working for a imam
cial institution employing hundreds
of people, as many young people
come to him undertaking their abil-
tiles as those who overestimate
them. Occasionally. he has to disil-
fusion a prospective bank clerk by
telling him he would make a bet
ter automobile mechanic of plum
Der, but not so often as one might
imagine. The average New Yorker,
he says. is usually pretty accurate
IN Endi,,o hiC nNvn mart icu1or ninha
Having passed the inquisitions of
these two divisions the applicant
must now encounter the equally
searching scrutiny of the social SER
vice division. which wants to know
a host of things. What is his full
name; his mothers and fathers
name: his nationality: his religion
and political belief, his birthplace;
and his chief recreation? Where
does he live; where has he lived,
and where will he live in the 1u-
ture? How many jobs has he had
before, and what and where were
they? How many people are in his
family, and who are they? All of
these, and many more questions are
asked. One young man. who re-
Gently obtained an important posi-
ton in a bank in the Wall street
district. asserts that its social SER
vice inquisitor eve made him write
down the names of all his women
friends and acquaintance.
This extensive record is then
filed in the company's files, to-
gether with a photograph of the
employe, and his list of references
investigated. If these are found to
be satisfactory. he is accepted as a
permanent acquisition to the staff,
but this does not mean that he is
exempt from further examinations
or Investigations. The social SER
vice division still keeps an eye on
him. And so does the health divi-
SION. If his work suddenly becomes
irregular in efficiency, he is whisk-
ed up to the medical Office for an
other examination, and If this does
not disclose the cause, the social
service division rushes UP to his
neighborhood and interviews his
family or l~andlady.
Home Life and Efficiency.
Experience has shown hat home
| conditions have the greatest posi-
! BILE influence or n mans efficiency.
An extravagant oil complaining
wife can drive a man to strange
acts of crime. which of course, is a
matter Of history. If the Revolu-
tionary War staff had only had a So
cial service department. Benedict
Arnold might have been rescued
from an ignominious immortality.
but even little nuisanees at home
play an important part in a mans
work. For instance. one social
service worker declares hat all the