The Washington herald., 1920-03-28
BIZ" Men, w1h Grasp
of Titanic Business
Affairs, Need of World

This is the day of the big busi-
nesses and the big men. says Sir
Albert Stanley. former American
street railway magnate. and one
of the biggest" business men in
Great Britain today. He is at the
head OF London's underground rail-
way system and was formerly
President of the Board of Trade in
the British Cabinet. Everywhere
we see great commercial and in
dustrial concerns springing into
existence-vast combinations of
capital owned, not by a few indi-
viduals or a thousand individuals.
That is all to the good-good for
employees. good for the public. good
for everybody concerned.
1t means economy of effort,
economy of waste. 1t also means
economy in the wider sense-that
is, not only in the manner of pro-
duction but in the methods used
for production. 1t is, therefore. es-
sential to these huge businesses
that they should have big men con-
trolling and directing them. and
the finding of these men is one of
the greatest difficulties by which
they are faced today.
$4,000 Men Scarce.
There is no doubt about that
difficulty. Men capable of earning
from $4,000 to $4,000 a year are
very scarce everywhere in the
world. Positions worth s2,5O0 or
$1,000 can be filled any time, but
the s50.000-a-year man is difficult
to get and is well worth, the money
when he Is got.
1t is nonsense today to say that
the big salaries cannot profitably
be earned. One man may be very
cheap at $4,000 a year. while an
other may be an expensive luxury
at $4,000. 1t all depends on the
man. There are plenty of big posts
waiting for the big men,.
By the big men" 1 do not mean
the expert or the genius. 1 mean
the man endowed with good COM
mon sense, capacity for clear think
ing, absolute integrity and who
commands the answering support
and admiration of his associates,
who knows his business, who never
falters when once a decision is
taken, and who has faith in the
ultimate success of his venture.
Bold Man of Vision.
That presupposes the man of
large organizing ability, of initia-
tive, and with the gift of vision
the man who is quick to see the
coming need and bold in action to
meet il.
The big post may make the big
man or, alternatively. the big man
may make the big post. Which,
ever way it is, the capable man
always energies at the top. My
own sure belief is that the great
businesses create the big men. be-
cause they naturally attract what
I might call the raw MATERIAL
the young men of education and
ambition who prefer to get their
training in the largest and most
highly organized concerns.
1t is that training which pro-
duces the big man. because in these
great undertakings men are ac-
customed to see things on a larger
scale and think in terms of bigger
operations.
Where Opportunities Lie.
Then. of course, 1t is only those
vast business combinations that
can afford to pay the higher-grade
salaries and indulge in spacious
undertakings. II, say. a hundred
small concerns are all doing the
same thing none of them can af-
ford an expenditure of $500. 900.
though each may be able to ex-
pend $4,000; but IL you get a COM
bination of these hundred small
businesses 1t then becomes possi-
Bile to spend 100000. and that is
where the big men are wanted.
and where the big posts are Great
ed for them.
business has been largely built
mp BY men who have had a direct
financial interest in 1t. and who
have reached . magnificent achieve
ment. Now, however. the owner Of
the blk business u more or lAsa q