Evening star., 1926-10-07
MEN AND MONEY
BY M. S. Rukeyser.
(Copyright. 1921

Donald MacGregor Stern. who rose
from the rank of statistician to sue.
cessful f1nancier in a year. has just
returned from Europe with minority
report about the tipping evil.
At the Kurhaus, in Interlaken,
Switzerland, Mr.. Stern entertained
friends at tea. In paying the checK
he gave the waitress two SWISS francs
mot quite 40 cents-as her tip. 10
his amazement, sh3 said: THAT Is
too much" and returned l franc.
AS a matter of fact. the tourist IS
confused in going from countries with
deprecated currencies to those on
gold standard. In France and Bel.
GUM the franc is worth less tnan
cents at the present rate of exchange.
Even financiers are puzzled when they
cross borders. z. H. H. Simmons,
president Of the New York Stock Elk.
change, recently complained in Paris
that he had difficulty in determining
fair gratuity. The average French
serving person, eager to get all the
traffic will bear, frequently grumbles,
no matter how large the proffered tir
may be. Tipping in Europe has been
bereft of all subtlety. The worker
claims his pourboire as his due.
Stern Turned the Tables.
In his own development Mr.. Stern.
who once dreamed of becoming play.
wright or an editor. turned a personal
setback into the foundation OF his
succAss He was statistician for Ham
bleton G. Co, New York and Baltimore
bankers. During an economy wave
the bankers decided to get along with
out the luxury Of a skilled statistician.
Instead Of telling the world about his
troubles, Mr.. Stern decided to gather
data for his own purposes instead OF
for others It took him less than
year to test the merit of his idea, ano
in the second full year he earned as
much as he would have made at MS
old post in 18 years.
The business currents move rapidly
in Wall Street. and striking personal
successes CT this modest kind are per.
petually taking place, unheralded and
unsung.
Even as a boy Mr.. Stern took his
work seriously and sought to under
stand the major problems OF the en-
terprise for which he toiled. He never
was satisfied with merely performing
the task Immediately before him. Be
fore studying journalism at Columbia
University Mr.. Stern, at the age OF IL,
worked for a concern Of credit inves-
tigatorS. He was in deadly earnest
about his work. His sincerity outran
his sense Of diplomacy. Finally the
head of the firm told him that his
services were no longer required be-
cause there was need for only one
president in the concern.
Mr.. Stern's recent speciality has been
acting as broker for the sale OF local
gas and water companies to nation
wide public utility holding companies.
Trend Toward Concentration.
Incidentally, the trend since the war
has been toward the concentration OF
all public utilities into the hands OF
few large operating and management
companies. In general this has been
with the approval Of local communi'
ties, which felt they were getting bet
ter service Five years ago the hold
ing companies stayed in the back
ground, playing up in their advertis-
ing and public relations the name OF
the local operating company. But now
there is new feeling, and the holding
companies stress the fact that me
local companies are members OF a
large management group capable or
giving superior service.
In the electrical field the drift has
been toward unificatiors through finan.
cial and operating agreements.
The idea Of super power has been
means of interconnecting adjoining IN.
dependent power companies SO that in
an emergency one can give power to
the neighbor. Companies from Pitts
burgh to Chicago have become inter-
connected, and soon Pittsburgh will
be tied up with companies ranging all
the way to Texas.
The menace of super power has been
hinted in political quarters, but there
appears to be safety in the fact that
rates are determined by public com.
missions in the various States, which
can limit the power Of moncpolies.
Mr.. Stern's experience is typical Of
how enterprising men capitalize re-
verses.
The failure in business always com.
plains Of adverse conditions. The sue
cessful man.. on the other hand, per-
petually fights conditions, climbing
upward over hurdles.
Hobby Medieval History.
Mr.. Stern's hobby is the study Of
medieval history and culture. He Is
only 50, and looks younger. Yet he
will walk up to any big business man.
seek an option on his property, and
endeavor to find a buyer for it. The
bond statesmen sell certificates which
are small claims against gas, water
electric light and power companies.
Acting as an agent, Mr.. Stern sells
the properties themselves. Hence the
commissions are larger.
Less than two years ago Mr.. Stern
was digging up facts so that his
employers could put over big deals.
lie finds it more fun to work for
himself.
Talking Of being fired. Don Seitz.
who was Joseph Pulitzer's right.hand
man on the business side in the man.
agement of his newspaper was dis.
charged three times before he entered
the employ OF Pulitzer. Each exneri.