The Coolidge examiner., 1931-01-30

MIN. llStedd he
sat down and wrote letter apply
ing for job. He directed the en-
velOpe to the Western Electric
company by mistake He received
an application blank from that
company in reply. While en-
barrassed by his error in writing
a letter to General Electric, and
then sending it in an envelope ad-
dressed to Western Electric, he for
got about it when he was hired as
a clerk by the latter company. His
pay was so n week.
His letter of application might
well serve as a model TO young
men today who are seeking to get
their start in the business world.
lie wrote, in part:
at is my wish to enter some
good business as soon as possible
after | leave here. Now if there is
only some position (nO matter what,
provided there will be fair
chance for a rise if it is deserved
in the General Electric company.
| should ike TO try it and would
endeavOr to suit.
THE fact that for two years out
here, | studied great deal on the
mechanical side mathematics,
chemistry, etc. may help as to the
kind of position | could fill. |
began with the intention of becOm-
ing mining engineer but for sew
eral reasons have abandoned it.
IF you wish any references, ETC..
| think | could get them. for. of
course, you know nothing about
what sort of a fellow | am"
Walter S. Clifford was born in
Salem, Mass, in 1885. He wrote
his letter Of application in 1904.
the year he was graduated from
Harvard. His early education was
received in the public schools of
his native city. He was bright
student and was able to enter high
school when he was eleven years
old. He completed his course at
Harvard in three years.
The future head of the American
Telephone and Telegraph company
was not a very husky and robust
lad. When his companions were
playing baseball, football and other
games he was generally off getting
his exercise and recreation by col
lecting butterflies and other in
sects. He had a notable collection
when he was a high school pupil.
They were all catalogued under
their Latin names.
His mother had been school
teacher before her marriage. While
she had other children, she was
able to devote much time to teach
ing her son Walter. The lads
memory was not of the best when
he was a schoolboy and as a result
he learned early to dig out the
facts. He was able to remember
them by not attempting to clutter
his mind with non-essential details.
1t was an excellent lesson for the
youngster to learn. Perhaps much
of his success in the business
world can be laid to his ability to
eliminate unimpOrtant details and
get down to the bed rock of a prop
OsitiOn.
His college course was a success.
1t didn't give him an inflated idea
of his knowledge or ability, as his
letter of application for his first
job shows. He had learned that a
man has to begin at the bottom
to be of real value to himself or to
business. He was willing, as he
wrote, to take anything, as long
as it offered an opportunity for ad-
vancement if he made good.
He could have gone to work in
a Salem bank when he was gradu-
ated. His father would have OBJ
tanned him position but the
youngster had other ideas. He
wanted to stand on his own feet.
He did So when he took the SO a
week job with the Western Electric
company.
His first job called for him to
make the trip to Chicago. He bor-
rowed money to pay his fare rather
than to accept it from his father.
He was determined to make his
own way from the very outset of
his business career.
Wages of $40 week didn't go
very far even in 1904. Young Gift
ford managed to make it do some
now. He lived at Hull House in
Chicago, where he had comfortable
and congenial surroundings at lit
tie expense. Needless to say, on
his meager wages, he had little
chance to do anything but work.
He rose from a pay roll clerk to
a position as assistant treasurer in
a short time with a good increase
in salary 1t wasn't long before he
was chief statistican of the Amer
ican Telephone and Telegraph
company. In that position he at
tracted the attention of Theodore
N. Vail then head of the concern,
and gained rurther promotion.
When Mr.. Vail retired, the man
who as a college boy had made the
mistake of misdirecting his letter
of application for job, was made
the head of one of the worlds
orpatpSt uti1itV OrO9Diz1tiOnS