The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-01-18
ADMIRE
 FINANCE GIANTS
But Forbes Says Some Are To Be Lauded And Many De
 serve Condemnation
By B. c. FORBES

A socialist paper once described me as "the semi-official sprinkler of per fume on the rotten rich"
 A leader of wonen's activities scolds me for not. writing more about women, and asks bitingly if the only people who interest mo are miilionaires.
 We'll. what's the answer7 r First, let me say that I don't write more about women because am not brought closely into contact with very many women in my work. I have written more or less about women. in business. But I do not feel qualified to write on the other activities of wom- en leaders. st. @
 May I add that, 50 far as my ob- servation and knowledge eo, women are making genuine progress in busi- ness. Not many of them have yet won national fame as industfial Or than ever before arc today occupying positions commanding from $5,000 to $15,00O, and more also are running successful enterprises of their own. And all indications arc that women will become an increasingly important factor in the business and financial world. I
 Now, how about my interest in "nillionaires" and my yalettng for the rotten richf" s s
 Let me confess frankly, that I plead guilty to writing great deal about men who have made millions.
 Why?N .
 Because wealth is the common re- ward for conspicuous achievement in the realm of business and I find that IA fn 0nf af y.4o hfsy doers on how they solved the prob lem of making headway In the world. People read intimate talks with men who have made their mark. Other business men like to learn how nota- bly successful business or financial or about theirown particular line or about domestic developments in pub lie affairs.
 The kind of people try to attract as readers are not particularly inter- ested in how much money . prominent man has, but they are Interested in what he does, how he has succeeded in doing it and in what he, is.
 recall writing only one compre- hensive article during the last 20 years on how much money our. richest men are believed to possess. That article, as | recall. was entitled "America's Thirty Richest" And might I add as an aside-that this particular article was reprinted and quoted uncountable times, indicating that a great many people are interested in the size of well-known mems bank accounts.
 Whether a man has five million dol- lars or 15 million dollars or 50 million dollars has long since ceased to inter est me. do not now and never will worship a mans millions. I am no more overawed when I meet John D. Rockefeller, or George F. Baker, or Charles M. Schwab, than T am when meet one of my own employees.
 q
 There are multi ti-millionaires whom have repeatedly refused to meet. If am convinced that a man has made his millions by condemnable methods, the only thing want to have to do with him is to take appropriate occa- sion to say 'in my conversation, in my speeches and in my writings how lit- tie think of him. Readers of this column may have noticed that the perfume" bottle sometimes turns out ] to contain vitriol. We have some oil magnates, some traction magnates of the old school, some finaEciers, some Wall street operators, some tobacco magnates and some others of great wealth I never mention except in terms of contempt, so pasely have. they to my mind acted in hoodwinking the public.