Evening star., 1926-12-14
MEN AND MONEY
By NJ. s. Rukeyser.
fCopyright, l926.)s

An ex-stcnographer presides over the
board meetings OF the principal unit
in the Rockefeller group of oil com
panies.
George H. Jones, who last year sue
ceeded the late A. c. Bedford as chair
man of the board OF directors OF the
Standard Oil Go. of New Jersey, takes
shorthand notes of proceedings at
committee meetings and later trans.
scribes them. Thirty-tive years after
he began as a stenographer. Mr..
Jones was elevated to his present
post at Il reported salary of $4,000
a year.
Former President Wilson knew
shorthand, and used It regularly as Il
supplement to his memory.
In the growth of American corpora
tions in the last decade. the post of
chairman of the board Of. directors
has become increasingly important.
Since the war many Of the elder
statesmen of business and banking
have stepped from the presidency
into the craftsmanship.
The significance of the Job varies
greatly in different companies. Some
times the chairman continues to be
the boss. and the president under him
merely relieves him of operating de-
chairman in other concerns Is almost
an honorary one, stripped Of
real power.
Coordinate Chiefs.
Where a young man is elevated to
the post Of chairman. 1t is likely that
he Is expected to play an active part
In management. In such cases the
president and the chairman are CO.
ordinate chiefs, each assuming def
mite responsibilities and having the
benefit of the advice and consultation
Of the other. In the affairs of the
Standard Oil Co.. Mr.. Jones and Wal
ter Teagle, the president. have devel.
oped this sense of partnership and
In the field of banking, in
the newly formed American Exchange
Irving Trust CO., which on Saturday
became the largest trust company in
the world, Harry Z. Ward, the presi.
dent, and Lewis e. Pierson, chairman.
have a system whereby each assumes
active leadership in complimentary
Outside Of the bank little has
been heard of Mr.. Ward. He started
as a messenger and has gradually
worked his way up. having remained
with the bank since he was graduated
from Yale. He is prodigious worker
and carries q multitude Of details in
his own mind. Owen y. Young,
chairman of the General Electric Co.,
and Gerard Swope, president. consti-
tute another exemplification Of the
success Of two.barrelled leadership.
In such cases the president Is in
charge of operations and the chair.
man concerned with the formulation
Of broad general policies.
Rockefeller Picks Well.
John D. Rockefeller, ST.. who Is in
his S8th year, has not acted in an
active executive capacity in connec-
ton with his properties since he
was so.
In this later period he has shown
skill in picking men of
marked ability. Accordingly, in spite
Of the growth of outside competition
and the breaking up of the Standard
OIL trust in 1911 into its component
parts, the Standard Oil companies
have grown with the country and be.
come unprecedentedly prosperous.
When the New Jersey Corporation
ferred stock and fioated a debenture
bond issue of $4,000, 900. the elder
through his personal rep.
Wall Street heard, play
ed a conspicuous part In shaping pol.
Ices. The transaction was of unprece-
dented magnitude In the history Of
industrial financing.
In general. however. Mr.. Rookie.
teller has been content to remain in
the background, specializing in the
art Of growing old gracefully. Mr..
has gone to Florida so
that the advent of Winter will not
interfere with his golf schedules.
In the last three decades, Mr.. Rock.
Teller has been primarily interested
In his philanthropies. In these activi-
ties. he Is represented primarily by
his son. John D.. jr., who Is more in.
In social questions, rather
than In the humdrum details OF bust.
ness.
The Rockefellers have been wise and
scientific In their. giving. and the
work of the foundations, which the
oil kings fortune created, has helped
to cause the public to revise its esti-
mate Of the family. The Rockefeller
has risen rapidly In recent
years.
Raymond Poincare, as premier and
finance minister of France, has seen
MA M.d.i.fn =