New Britain herald., 1920-01-24


 success of any of these depends On the sureress of the plan, which must see each part as an important part, put only as part .x ne great hal monsSAs :aeS."
 Hi5h e3Aso1 boys wA re learning printings are making no mistake, if they give serious attention to their work. It is possible for 9. man to rise high in tho world, SO far as income is concerned. is he but center his mind on this learned profession which has as much prestige behind it, as many 1llustriouS men associated with it, s.s any that could be named The print ing course at the High school has had its hills to climb like any other inno- vation. butt in the end it will be found to have paid for itself, paid for the efforts put forth in its behalf. by giv- ing to tine city men who can make type sing.
 . Brief m ention has been made in the press of an article appearing, in
 the current number of the American
 Magazine" by James H. Foster, ;L
 former resilient of New Britain who
 Is now president of the Hydraulic Pressed Steel company, one of the
 largest Independent producers of steel
 V.
 ters life story reads like 8 romance,
 as, indeed, 1t is a romance of Anleri- ca's comm ercial world. He was born
 In. Meriden and was graduated from
 Williams, college. His carly training in industry was secured in New Brit
 ain which is still the home of his
 m other. -. .
 Realizing that the West, even as
 recently as nineteen years ago, of
 fered unlimited opportunities for men
 determined to win, he set out for
 Pittsburgh, which was then consid-
 cred quite vest His first em-
 ployment there was in the role of real
 estate salesman for which he was re-
 warded every week with the princely
 sum of ten dollars. It is hardly worth
 mentioning that ten dollars in those
 days was a reasonable figure, but it did not satisfy Foster. He then start cd the production of a steel automo- bile wheel but the age was not ripe for this progressive stride. In 1903 he went to Cleveland with bank roll of $2,0oo. He bought some U. S. Steel common stock at 40 on a margin, pyramided it and saw his small for tune wiped out when the. stock plunged to Ii. From that time on, according to the American Aaga- zine" interviewer. he never specuiat- ct. For the next three years he worked for Parish (: Bingham com- pany, manufacturers of hardware. He decided after that experience to go l into business for Himself and organ | ized the Hydra uiic company. It is reported that he frequently went to work before sunrise and remained 1 until long after dark. Tn this con- l nection he gives. some excellent ad- 1-fC yrt,n S111 1 are more dominant than their back l bones.
 There's one pretty definitely fixed
 rule of progress" he says. ''The man | who gets out ahead of the crowd 1 must work harder than the rest o1 1 the crowd. Seems elementary, doesn't | it? Yet it's so simple that some 1 folks never will believe it. ss- Poster is 8 great believer in man 1 in the mass His article is headed, 'Men Are Square," and he proceedz l to explain how he has conducted bus 1 mess on that principle. He believes | that men are real human beings and not to be considered in the light of an industrial commodity. He has in- | troduced labor "parhaments'' into the 1 four big units Of the Hydraulic com | pany and by this means gives his efn- | ployes a channel through which to express their views. It is said that 1 his door is always open to even the l most humble workman and he never refuses to give anyone a hearing. Dur 1 ing the recent steel strike his thou sands of employees rem aimed loyal and refused to be lured away from the ! man they admired by the pickets. As q doctor for industrial ills, Eos l ter appears to have had more than | ordinary success. He declares: Men are iastinctively- square, but many employers fail to make allow ance for the fact that it takes tima 1 to reach the minds of big body of workers and change deep-seated views. ---~ ".-.- '"rhe Iaboring man has special 1 sllept;cism toward plans for his wei. ] fare handed down ready made by l his employer. What's the game?' ha is likely to ask. The inquiry is only ] dustry worsmen have been frequent 1 ly tricked by unfair and specioua 1 bait. 1 "Whenever. have thought out tha 1 general prin ncipies of some new plan l to. make our plants more than & I place to work always sec that tha ] germ of the idea is planted in, the 1 minds of a number of the workmcn. l The rank and file then tl1resh it out among themselves, add suggestions of their own. and when the time is ripe I for a conference on practical details they are all referring to the plan as ours rather than the compaay's.'" ,- All. of which sounds like a sound ] method of doing business with em- ployes and one the NorthinesS of