New-York tribune., 1921-05-29


intimate way Of the affairs Of the
government and the activities Of cabi-
net ministers, bu. also Of the resuit
OF all important litigation and recent
court decisions these TWO being the
/ predominatlng features Of the dailr
press. do nol hesitate to express
the opinion that the average English
man IS kept more fully enl ghtened
ABOUT the trend Of affairs Of his gov
ernment, the views and activities Of
government officials and the interpre-
tacioH Of laws tnau is the average
Amer can. This is due in pa rt 10 the
concenfrat ION by the press on matters
pertaining to England ana her institu-
Ions, and, Of course. with this COR
centration full information is made
easier in u country of limited area. with
close accessibility to sources Of nfor-
nation
Hect on the EmpIoveesN
however all Of this Unsought pub
he}ty and these gloomy forebodings,
ADDED to the perfectly natural aDpre-
hehslon and concern of the members
or the Boots stats. did not tend 70
make our burdens any lighter. Most
OF these employees had spent Their.
NNes IN TINS business felt a real and
qeep allegiance 10 Sir Jesse Boots. KS
iounder, and the report Of this sudden
sale to complete strangers Of another
country left them disturbed. unhappy
ana apprehensive. Almost mined
ateIy groups Of managers began to
meet In sections to formulate criev--
ances, to organize for mutual protec-
ton ana to protest against the exploit
lhg O. tnelT experience and abilities in
the interests o. foreign capital.
There was only one re 81 edy. Of course
the same remedy which is aiwavs
effective # applied promptly and prep-
erly- personal contact. Matters of this
kind can never be settled bv givinq
out newspaper Interviews or writing
etters Or sending messages After
conferrlng closely with all Of the heads
Of the business, including departmental
managers, We arranged a schedule Of
meetings TO be held in various parts OF
England and Scotland at convenient
places so as to get the largest possible
attendance. At these meetings talked
to the employees with the utmost
frankness. expressed very definitely my
sympathy with their feeling of anxiety
and uncertainty and my realization
that the sale of the business had come
IS a shock. but SAID to them that after
all what they were really interested
in and what ] was interested in was
what the effect Of change Of owner
ship was going TO be and what it was
going to mean to them.
then outlined with great care and
sincerity our policies Of doing business,
our methods Of promoting contact and
understanding, our system Of promo
ton. and our method of rewarding ur-
usual cffort and results; n short our
cndeayor TO provide constant incentives
for DEVELOPMENT. ! tried 70 anticinate
the matters which were uppermosf in
r1,fp +NfT
about our business in the United States
(onlE as an illustration of some Of nv
points and in no sense in a ozstfu{
way and referred to what I believed
to be the strong points in their busl-
ness as well as the weak points Plans
tor strengthening the weak spots wers
outlined and I may say here that these
weak spots had resulted from the lack
OF sustained contact between head
quarters, branches and departments. in
other words, lack of information ami
igUtes to guide the men on the ground
IN running the business inteIlirentIv.
The attitude of the men attending
THESE meetings usually from 100 70
ZoU we're present was a first one os
frank curiosity. Most Of them knew
nothing Of the change except what
they had read in the newspapers. and
most Of them had never come into
actual contact with an American busi-
ness man or American business men. At
the conclusion Of each meeting. 7 in
vted them to ask me questions about
any matters about which thev we're
stlu concerned or that I had not made
sufficiently clear. This was what thev
wanted, as The Englishman is q born
interrogation, asks his questions df
directly and definitely and with com
plete franhness, although always with
respect and courtesy. The questions
asked covered wide range. some deal
ing with personal grievances and in
equalitles, some dealing with contem-
plated changes in the character ana
conduct of the business. some deaIinr
with pension funds, sick funds and VT
rare work. but in general all were
aimed to bring out our interfior
regarding the personnel Of the
endeavored to meet their questions
as squarely and as frankly as tbev u,er.
put, without any attempt to evsda ar
aVold any issue, nor TO temporize with
any subject. II was much more i'm
portant to win their confidence bv he
ing absolutely candid and sincere than
10 attempt TO gain popularity by max
'ng promises definite or indefrite
that would be difficult to fulflj Rn+
as matter of fact our previously
formed Intentions nearly always coin
cIded with their aims and wishes.
y n m Fufsps,Rr