Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-03-10

hiring and firing, wrote the letters, han
died all matters of finance and, of
course, had no time for diversions like
golf.
Organizations dominated by one man
or by partners, of course, we're limited
in scope by the brain and potentialities
OF one man or of two. Moreover, many
new factors came into play. New modes
of transportation and communication
came into use and enlarged the markets
Machines and all manner of power tools
increased production New modes of
merchandising appeared, including,
much later on, national and mass ad-
vertising and one of its accompani-
ments, mass production, with the result
that mass financing In many cases re-
placed the era in which business was
owned by the founder or the family that
established it.
So, little by little, the picture changed
Today the presidents or other chief ex-
ecutiveS of our big businesses are not
necessarily familiar with the intricacies
Of production. Judge Gary, for instance,
/ who came over from the Federal bench
and knew very little about steel produc-
! ton, nevertheless proved invaluable as
chairman Of the board, chairman of the
| finance committee and chief executive
officer of the United States Steel Cor
poration.
AS a matter of fact, the new execu-
tive Is, as Calvin Coolidge has come to
be, a specialist in administration.
1t doesn't seem to matter much
whether the new executive got his train
ing in the corn fields, where the head of
the largest company manufacturing an
important automobile accessory told me
he got his, or in advertising or sales
manship. It doesn't matter whether he
went to college or not, whether he went
to high school or not, whether he halls
from Crestline, Ohio or Tulsa, Okla, or
or politics.
The essential thing really is that he
be an administrator of high order
For the new executive Is surrounded
with specialists. He has at his beck and
call all manner Of production specialists,
including, say, CIVIL mechanical, electri-
cal, other engineers. He has specialists
In planning years ahead, specialists in
merchandising, technical research, pub
lie relations, personnel, finance, and so
| on.
When hungry for advice or assistance
or ANYTHING else, he has only to press a
button. Necessarily, though, he must
have knowledge and ability with which
to select and get along with the special
lists and that larger vision which enables
a man to see clearly all the infinitude
Of important factors in an ever-changing
scene.
| Our metallurgical industries, such as
steel, wrought iron, copper, aluminium,
reflect the premium now put upon the
new type of administrator. James j.
Farrell, president of the United States
Steel Corporation, got his early expert
ence in steel mills. but both j. Pierpont
Morgan, chairman of the board, and
Myron G. Taylor, chairman of the
finance committee. represent the finan-
cial side In the triumvirate which ensued
after Judge Gary's death year ago.
CORNELIUS F. KELLY, president of
- the Anaconda Copper Mining Co.,
had legal training, as did Mr.. Taylor
and Robert G. Stanley, president of the
International Nickel Co. And, to take
only one more of many instances In
point, Roy A. Hunt, president of the
aluminium Co. Of America Is graduate
of Yale, who has had no plant expert
ence.
In the railroad industry, even more
conclusive than in the metallurgical in
dustries, there used to be a tradition
that every executive must begin at the
bottom--as telegrapher, for instance
If he was to ride to the top. James j.
Hill and z. H. Hartman, both financiers