The Bismarck tribune., 1933-06-15
No Business As Usual
(FrOm the Magazine of Wall Street

From the Magazine of Wall StreeD
II see where the Reconstruction
Finance Corporation is refusing loans
to railways unless they perform ma
jor operations on the high salaries
of high executives" said a men,
ber of a certain brain trust. Its
about time. There isn't railway In
America today that couldn't go down
to the stratum of division superin-
tendents getting $4,000 to $4,000 a
year and pick as good president as
it has. Same is true of all other
crystallized and routined businesses.
Salaries are usually assigned to the
job rather than to the man. Presi-
dents salary always has been big;
therefore, always have it big, even if
small man is rattling around III
the job-some bankers proxy, per-
haps. Take the life insurance COM
panies; presidents job is just about
pure rot. The big salary is bonus
for what he did once. Actually, his
salary should be smaller than that
of some Of his nominal interiors.
Whether jobs are big or little. or the
men in them big or little, the great
public would be most sadly disen-
chanted If it could get an appraising
look at the brains of some over-rated
executives. I know, my business is
to sanitate companies In distress
receiverships, reorganizations, etc.
president of one Of these compa-
nies got there because he was a
crackerjack salesman-when times
were good. Couldn't sell eggs at a
cent dozen in hard times; but his
crowd controls. This bird hasn't the
slightest conception Of the principles
Of finance. 1t isn't abusing him in
these times to add that he knows
nothing about economics - nobody
does-but he hasn't single signifi.
cant economic fact in his mind. Just
can't grasp initiation in its simplest
form. He has no trace of knowledge
Of what is going on outside his office
and not much inside. This relic o.
the past-and he's young enough al
that-has the interesting idea that
after little more rough going bust.
ness will be the same as it used to
be. He expects to be able to 60 out
and double-cross competitors, under.
cut prices here, and initiate then
there, sell bad goods with good ad.
vertising, swing high-pressure selling
campaigns, make enormous profit!
! while making speeches about the
hopeless profit outlook, shoot a flint
line of business ethics, ballyhoo at {
| national convention when he ough
to be shot for selling an all wool ar
ticle that hasn't five per cent wool
| This sort of executive talks abou
business as usual-just as We all triee
to at the beginning of the war, ever
i though we knew it was the veries
rot. He hasn't the faintest percep
ton that America is going through
the greatest revolution in its history
he can't visualize revolution with
out bloodshed or disorder. Well, II
like to be around when this high
priced ignoramus goes up agains
General Hugh Johnson"
Before the brain-tr truster had full,
recovered from his sputtering fit
asked him what he was charging fo
his services. "NoW that is something
else" he explained without battin
an eyelid. Il haven't a word to sa
against big pay for big work. Il
fact, can't think of anything wors
than letting stockholders get the ide
that dividends should be big and sal
aries small. If they did, we'd 500
all be mere job serfs of a bunch 9
heirs"