The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1946-02-22
LOOKING
AHEAD
y GEORGE S. BENSON
\ presideNf--HardiAg College
Seary. ArkaRsaS
Initiative
THINGS YOU MAY
NOT HAVE KNOWN
TILL NOW

The son of a drainage engineer
who had done great deal of super
visory work with and for his father,
was indicted into the United States
Army during the war. Before he
had grown familiar with discipline
ne found himself digging a ditch to
divert surface water from camp. His
instructions had been verbal and
reasonably plain but were not pre-
else in every detail.
The youth had some knowledge of
soil drainage and a real interest in
it, so he set about to distinguish him
self with good workmanship. When
he was nearly half finished, his SER
geant appeared, ruddy with indigna-
ton. Firmly the sergeant denounced
the breach of discipline, going be-
yond orders. The recruit was con
fused and made a second mistake,
speaking in his own defense. ass,
Central Planning G
"But, Sergeant, / thought :"
"Oh, you thought" scornfully
echoed his superior. "What right
have you got to think? Are you
drawing a thinking mans pay?"
Such is augmentation! The young
man was not in school, where SUI
perior work yields superior grades.
He was not in business, where better
work means better pay. He was in
the army.
This is not criticism of military
discipline or army efficiency. 1 am
no military expert. / use this story
to illustrate how RECOMMENDATION kills
initiative. By the very nature of
its workings, it is destructive of
progress in peaceful pursuits. In
despot-ruled countries, things hap
pen to all thinking civilians very
much like what the young recruit
experienced.
Competition a Remedy
In lands where authority is COM
pletely centralized, strict obedience
to orders is the matter Of gravest
Importance to private individuals.
However wise and kind the dictator,
when power-hungry henchmen reach
into what we Americans call private
business Gas invariably they do)
progress is paralyzed. Farmers and
all other workers learn from unhap-
py experience to do as they are told,
period.
Admittedly, parallel things happen
occasionally in private enterprise
but competition corrects them.
Sometimes owners of businesses be-
come Indifferent, live apart from
their interests and try to run live
industries by dictum, as if methods
they worked out years ago were eter-
nally right. These cases develop
their own cure quickly. Every Of
flee and every shop of such pro-
prietor becomes a hatchery of po-
tential competitors.
Efficiency Rewarded
American business in general is
operated with an aim to get maxi
mum yield per hour of work. Ex-
ecutives and supervisors exist for no
other purpose. More yield per hour
means better wages for workers,
more profit for management and
lower prices for buyers who con-
sumo what is produced. The newest
recruit on any job can get paid for
an idea that improves production.
America is famous as the best
place on earth to live. Many peo-
pie know it who don't know why,
but here's why: In America, ideas
count. No matter who originates
them, they have value. Anybody
with an idea is free to use it and,
if it's good, we all benefit. Thus,
Americans live better than people
under centrally planned systems
where only the few think who are
officially appointed to think.